maid chapter 4

Diana, who had been answering obediently, raised the end of her sentence in question. Sarah cocked an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“Why do we have to share a room? There are empty rooms, aren’t there?”

Ellie, momentarily thrilled at the prospect of sharing a room with the beautiful maid, quietly held her breath at Diana’s complaint. Putting aside her own feelings, was it acceptable to talk back to the head maid like that? As expected, Sarah crossed her arms and retorted haughtily, “Because I said so. Any problem with that?”

Rebuked, Diana clamped her mouth shut. Caught in the middle, Ellie’s eyes darted back and forth.

Then, the arrow unexpectedly flew in a different direction. Diana glared at Ellie with a murderous look, as if her very presence in the house were the problem.

A sharp gaze pierced Ellie right between the eyes. She gulped. Even angry, Diana was beautiful, but terrifying.

On her first day of temporary employment, Ellie had a premonition that life here wouldn’t be easy.

***

Diana strode down the hallway. The difference in their leg length was evident. Ellie practically had to run to keep up.

Ellie’s new workplace, the Stoner family mansion, consisted of a large main building and two annexes. One separate annex housed the male servants, while the other, connected to the main building, was the chef’s domain.

A place filled with the aroma of baking bread and a characteristic boisterousness. Stepping inside, Diana gestured carelessly here and there.

“This is the kitchen, that’s the pantry over there. Down there is the wine cellar.”

Her words were as quick as her steps. Wherever she was from, her accent was unusual, requiring intense concentration to understand.

By the time Ellie had finished looking around, Diana was already far ahead. She had been like this since showing Ellie the servants’ quarters in the main building’s basement. Not even making eye contact.

A few kitchen maids emerging from the pantry greeted Diana.

“Oh, Diana!”

“Diana, what brings you here?”

“Work.”

Unlike the friendly maids, Diana simply waved her hand dismissively. Yet, they didn’t seem offended at all and giggled.

Ellie was a little impressed. Diana seemed to have zero social skills, but perhaps it was the power of beauty at work. Everyone wanted to be friends with someone pretty.

Of course, Ellie had already ruined her chances from the start. A freckled maid tilted her head and asked, “Who’s that behind you? A newbie?”

Diana glanced back at Ellie. She could have introduced her, but she didn’t utter a word. Ellie had no choice but to speak up herself.

“Ellie Brewer.”

“Aw, cute. But why a housemaid?”

“We’re short-staffed too… why not come down to the kitchen?”

The kitchen maids surrounded Ellie, chirping like songbirds. They touched her hair without hesitation and even pinched her cheeks playfully. The sudden commotion in the hallway drew the attention of a few young dishwashers, who peeked out from the kitchen.

This was the first welcoming reception Ellie had experienced since arriving. But she wasn’t entirely happy. It felt like she had become an object of amusement. Flustered, she waved her hands.

“Oh, no, it’s not something I can just decide…”

Maybe Diana would help her. Ellie quickly looked around. But Diana was already crossing the passageway in the distance. Ellie scrambled to escape the group of women.

“Well, then, I’ll be going…”

“Her face is red, how cute!”

“Lucky you, getting to stick with Diana.”

“Yeah, so unfair!”

Whether Ellie was embarrassed or not, they continued chattering amongst themselves. A new face was enough to break the monotony of their daily routine.

Ellie hurried after Diana into the passageway. Without looking back, Diana said curtly, “Don’t get too caught up with them.”

Ellie blinked. Had she really just spoken to her? It was the first time Diana had addressed her directly, aside from the perfunctory tour. She was touched, but also a little hurt.

If that was the case, she shouldn’t have left her behind in the first place. Ellie grumbled, “They seem nice… don’t they?”

“Then go work in the kitchen.”

“That’s… I can’t just go there even if I wanted to, can I?”

Reaching the end of the passageway, Diana stopped abruptly. Ellie tilted her head, confused.

Diana turned around. Chin raised, she looked down at Ellie with a cold gaze. Ellie’s heart pounded.