It was surprising to see Lady Dianther so casually engaging in midnight rendezvous—but then again, the House of Aspania was no ordinary noble family.
Starting with the master of the mansion—Lady Dianther’s father and my official employer—the family’s status was unmatched. Even those with royal blood, people so high above us they might as well live in the sky, wouldn’t dare speak lightly to the Duke of Aspania. The Aspania family’s influence was such common knowledge that even five-year-olds toddling through the capital’s streets would know better than to speak its name carelessly.
Which is why, whenever I stood before the Duke or Duchess, I felt frozen stiff with nerves.
Just like now.
“Dian, you look rather tired today. Didn’t you sleep well last night?” asked the Duchess, Lady Dianther’s mother, in her usual graceful tone—right as I was placing a steaming cranberry scone before Lady Dianther.
My hand slipped slightly as I set the plate down.
Thankfully, I managed to steady it with my pinky finger and place it gently onto the table without a sound.
Whew. Barely made it.
I stepped back quickly, massaging my finger discreetly and glanced up at Lady Dianther’s face.
She, ever the ice princess, betrayed no emotion.
“No, Mother. I simply stayed up reading,” she replied smoothly.
Stayed up reading? Really?
I tightened my grip on my white apron. Considering how casually Lord Edward Edwin Callinan had shown up again last night—asking me, once more, to guide him to her room—I very much doubted she’d had time to read anything.
The Duchess nodded thoughtfully at her daughter’s response.
“Well, books are good, but don’t read too late. Your health matters.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“And Amel—make sure to keep an eye on Dian’s condition. Report any abnormalities. To me, or to her physician. You attendants are the first to notice when something is off.”
…Every hair on my body stood on end.
Had the Duchess looked at me just then, she would’ve seen my wide, panicked eyes. Thank heavens she didn’t.
I managed to reply just in time.
“Yes, my lady.”
And that was that.
Lady Dianther glanced briefly at me, then turned her attention back to her plate. With the same elegance inherited from her mother, she picked up her knife and delicately sliced the scone, placing each bite-sized piece into her cherry-red lips one after the other, as if nothing had happened.
I poured a few more rounds of tea. Finally, once their breakfast concluded, Lady Dianther rose to prepare for her guest’s arrival.
I followed her quietly, still fixated on the conversation I’d just overheard. My eyes stayed on the trailing hem of her long silk dress.
What should I do now?
Report any change in her “condition,” she’d said.
But what exactly did “condition” entail?
I wasn’t the Duchess’s maid—I was Lady Dianther’s personal attendant. Sure, the Duke and Duchess were my formal employers, but wasn’t it my lady’s word that I should follow?
I’d worked in this mansion for five years, and though I’d risen to become a senior maid, my responsibilities had always stayed within the realm of ordinary duties.
But this wasn’t ordinary.
Facilitating midnight meetings between my mistress and her fiancé? That wasn’t part of a maid’s job—and I wasn’t bold enough to think otherwise.
Somehow, though, it felt like I was the only one troubled by it. Not Lady Dianther, not Lord Callinan—just me.
Once inside her room, I checked the outfit that had been neatly laid out on her bed during breakfast, and helped her change.
That’s when I felt her gaze.
I looked up, startled, to see her watching me.
“Amel,” she said.
“Yes, Lady Dianther?”
“Are you going to tell my mother?”
“Pardon?”
“She told you, didn’t she? To report everything about me.”
“Ah… my lady…”
“So I’m asking. Will you report my condition to her?”
That was the second time today I felt my blood run cold. I held the hairbrush tightly in my hand and tried my best not to tremble.
How should I respond? What was the right answer?
Lady Dianther sat with her legs crossed, watching me calmly, giving away nothing.
In the end, I could only speak my honest thoughts.
“I will do as you wish, my lady.”
“My wish?”
“I am… your direct maid. Though the Duke and Duchess are the ones who hired me, my master—right now—is you, Lady Dianther.”
“And?”
“If you don’t want something reported, then I won’t report it. That will not change.”
Yes. That was the right answer for a maid.
Even if I hadn’t served her since childhood… even if she didn’t particularly favor me… ever since I was appointed as her personal attendant, I had become her person.
So this was my truth.
“…Good,” she said at last.
When I looked up, I caught a glimpse of a faint smile on her face.
Our lady, who rarely smiled, looked just a little softer in that moment.
“I like that, Amel. That was an excellent answer.”
She extended her wrist, and I gently fastened her bracelet—a lovely piece with a blue gem she especially treasured.
“I hope you never forget that answer.”
She spoke quietly as the sunlight caught the bracelet’s gem, making it sparkle like a promise.
Moments later, a knock at the door announced the arrival of Princess Martine, with whom Lady Dianther had an appointment. I greeted the guest with a respectful bow and stepped out of the room.
Click.
The door shut behind me. I stood still for a while, leaning back against it, unable to stop the long sigh that slipped from my lips.
It felt like I’d been holding my breath the entire time.
As I tried to collect myself, a passing maid, Maria, sneered and muttered under her breath.
“She’s just a lady’s maid. What’s so hard about that that she has to look so stressed?”
Ha. If only she knew.
Let her deal with Lord Callinan, Lady Dianther, and the Duchess all at once—she wouldn’t last a week before crying and quitting. I’d bet my freshly laundered apron on it.
Too exhausted to argue, I just fixed my uniform and kept walking.
But there was one thing I now knew for certain:
No matter what happened… I had to stand on my lady’s side.
That was the only way I could survive in this mansion.
