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Chapter: 153 A World Both Similar and Different.
“As Lady Marguerite requested, you shall serve as her attendant. A mentor will be assigned to you, so for the time being, learn your duties from her.”
“...Understood.”
The head maid arrived at the servants' hall accompanied by Ortansia.
Even Ortansia herself had never set foot in such a place back when she was a duke’s daughter.
As she looked around with a sense of novelty, the Head Maid called out a familiar name.
‘Pamela! Is Pamela here?’
‘Eh, Pamela!?’
Standing before a startled Ortansia, the person who came scurrying forth from within was…
“Yes, here!”
There stood Pamela, the maid who had attended Ortansia in her former world.
‘Pamela...!’
Seeing her again, in a way that now seemed so deeply nostalgic, made Ortansia want to cry.
Pamela, having arrived, noticed Ortansia behind the head maid and her eyes widened.
"Oh? That girl... could she be a new recruit!?”
It was surely a natural reaction for Pamela.
But Ortansia was unexpectedly shocked by those words.
‘So she really doesn't remember me…’
Shortly after Ortansia was taken in by the duke's household, Pamela became her personal maid.
From then on, they were literally inseparable.
To Ortansia, Pamela was as dear as family.
Yet, in this world... She didn't remember Ortansia.
No, surely this was their first meeting, so she simply didn't know Ortansia at all.
“This is Ortansia, newly hired as the young lady's attendant. As she will be your junior, please ensure she is properly instructed.”
“Whoa, my junior!? Wow, I'm so happy!”
“Now, Pamela! As a servant of the Verité Duchy household, you ought to show more composure…”
Ortansia watched Pamela being admonished by the head maid, her mind drifting.
“Nice to meet you~, Ortansia!”
Seeing Pamela's bright smile, Ortansia felt like crying... She hastily bowed her head, trying not to let her expression show.
“...It's a pleasure to meet you. Pamela...san.”
“Ahaha, Pamela's fine. We're colleagues working together from now on, aren't we?”
“Yes…”
Pamela was gentle; if this had been any other newcomer, she would surely have felt relieved.
But Ortansia couldn't help feeling a strange unease.
‘Will I ever get used to this place…?’
A world that seemed familiar to Ortansia, yet where everything was very different.
Could she really manage to do well here?
Such anxiety spread through her chest like ripples, and Ortansia clenched her fingertips tightly.
“Wow! It suits you, Ortansia!”
Pamela exclaimed upon seeing Ortansia, already dressed in her new uniform.
Ortansia lifted her face and gazed at her reflection in the mirror opposite.
To her own surprise, she looked like nothing more than one of the countless servants.
It felt far more fitting than when she had worn glittering dresses and lived as a ‘Duke's daughter’.
‘...Was this the right world after all?’
Perhaps it had been a mistake to take her in as the Duke's daughter in the first place.
After all, Ortansia wasn't actually related to her father by blood; she was merely the daughter of commoners.
‘Then, what I can do is…’
Even if it was the world before fate changed, since being taken in by the duke's household, Ortansia had been protected and cherished by many.
Therefore, she wished to repay that kindness in any way she could.
Though it had happened by circumstance, she had become able to work for the duke's household.
What Ortansia could do now was likely not much, but she wanted to be of even the slightest use to the duke's household.
“...I look forward to your guidance, Pamela.”
Upon hearing this, Pamela's eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh my!, Ortansia, you're quite the sensible one! I'll have to work harder as your senior!”
Following Pamela, who offered to show her around the mansion for now, she left the room.
“First, our rooms. Ortansia, you'll be sharing mine!”
They arrived at the maids' dormitory in the basement.
Though incomparably smaller than the Young Lady's private chambers, compared to the tavern or orphanage rooms where Ortansia had lived as a child, one couldn't help but think how spacious and splendid this room was.
‘Truly befitting the House of Verite…’
Even if by chance, perhaps it was fortunate she'd ended up working here.
Ortansia felt this anew.
Once the tour of the servants' quarters concluded, the introduction to the main part of the mansion finally began.
“This is the library. Lady Marguerite rarely visits, so we probably won't have much reason to go in.”
‘Really?... That's surprising…’
“Over here is the lady's third dressing room! Lady Marguerite is very particular, so it's quite a task to find dresses that perfectly match her requests~”
“Goodness, what an immense quantity...!”
Stepping into the dressing room, Ortansia was astonished.
It was crammed so full of dresses one could almost imagine opening the finest boutique in the capital.
‘I possessed an absurd number of dresses myself, but Marguerite surpasses even that…’
And this was merely the third dressing room; there must be at least two more identical ones.
The sheer volume made Ortansia feel dizzy.
“Just the other day, sorting through these dresses took the entire day... Since the young lady absolutely refuses to part with any of her dresses, we might soon need a fourth dressing room.”
“Th-that sounds rather daunting…”
Though Ortansia herself owned many dresses, she had been taught that those too small to wear, or rarely worn, should be donated or given to the dressmaker to pass on to new owners. She had always followed this practice.
To keep every single one without parting with a single garment... the burden on a servant like Pamela must be immeasurable.
‘I must strive to be of use to Pamela too’
Overwhelmed by the rows of dresses laid out before her, Ortansia became determined..
As they walked down the corridor towards their next destination, Pamela suddenly stopped.
‘Ah, that voice…’
Straining her ears, she recognised the familiar voice echoing from a nearby room.
"Understand, my Lady? A lady must always, at all times…"
“Oh, Annabel, you're so persistent. All that nagging will only give you more wrinkles, you know?”
“My lady! How dare you speak to me like that!”
What they heard was the exchange between Annabel and Marguerite.
They were likely in the midst of lessons similar to those Ortansia had endured in her former world.
“Shall we take a peek?”
Whispering this softly, Pamela peered into the room from behind the quietly opened door.
Ortansia hurriedly followed her.
“Goodness me, it's lamentable that you've already made your debut in society! If you carry on like this, you'll soon be ignored!”
“Nonsense! Do you know what? Invitations arrive for me every single day from all over the place! Everyone is crazy about me! At the last court ball, I even danced with Prince Victor! Isn't that splendid!”
"...My lady. They are not looking at you yourself, but at your position as the “Duke of Vérité's daughter”. If you persist in such utterly unreasonable behaviour, the decent folk will depart, leaving only the unsavoury elements around you."
Marguerite pouted indignantly at Annabel's repeated admonitions.
“Annabel's being mean! I'm loved by everyone, so it's fine!”
“wow!”
As Marguerite came running their way, Pamela and Hortensia hurriedly hid behind a pillar.
Fortunately, Marguerite didn't notice them and ran off in the opposite direction.
“Honestly, the young lady…”
Annabelle, who followed them out of the room, sighed heavily as she watched Marguerite's retreating back.
‘...Annabelle isn't being spiteful; she must be strict for Marguerite's own good. But Marguerite doesn't seem to understand that.’
Thinking back to her own past, Ortansia couldn't really talk down to her.
Yet, considering Annabelle's frustration at her true intentions going unheard, she couldn't help but feel exasperated.
“Oh, you two…”
Unlike Marguerite, Annabel seemed to have noticed Pamela and Ortansia lurking behind the pillar.
“You are the young lady's maids, I see. As the lesson is not yet complete, please inform her to return as soon as you find her.”
“Ah, yes! Understood!”
“Really, both His Grace and Her Ladyship are far too lenient with Miss Marguerite.”
Muttering under her breath, Annabel walked off in the direction Marguerite had vanished.
As soon as she rounded the corner, Pamela let out a heavy sigh.
“Oh dear, the young lady's rebelling against Miss Annabel again”
“...Does this happen often?”
“Oh yes, it does. How to put it... perhaps they just don't get along. Not that Miss Annabel is a bad person, mind you.”
"...Yeah."
Ortansia understood that all too well.
She didn't know if Marguerite would listen to her, but next time she'd like to tell her, ‘Annabelle is being strict because she cares about you.’
“Right then, shall we go and find Miss Marguerite too!”
Pamela smiled as she said this, and Ortansia nodded gently.
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