The little maid handed Lillian another set of black-and-white clothes.
“Also, here’s your outfit. Try it on and see if it fits. I’ll be waiting outside.”
Taking the clothes, it looked like a maid uniform, but the moment she touched it, Lillian could feel an unusual smoothness. It seemed to be made from something far from ordinary.
She took off the ill-fitting maid outfit she’d been wearing and put on the new clothes, then inspected herself in the mirror.
It fit perfectly, clearly tailor-made.
The style wasn’t the usual maid uniform used by the Count’s household staff—it was obviously carefully designed.
Originally, even when Lillian wore the somewhat loose maid uniform, she looked somewhat cute.
Now, wearing this outfit without the awkwardness of an ill fit, she appeared neat and tidy.
Coupled with her still youthful face, she exuded a strong aura of vibrant youthfulness.
Sigh, I really am adorable.
Lillian admired herself in the mirror and couldn’t help but praise silently, then snapped back to reality.
Some things really are gone forever.
Not keeping the little maid waiting too long, after a quick check to make sure everything was in order, Lillian pushed open the door.
The little maid’s eyes brightened upon seeing Lillian and she let out an impressed “Oh—.”
It made Lillian a little embarrassed.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to where the young lady is.”
Lillian could hear the little maid’s anticipation in her tone.
Along the way, the little maid chatted with Lillian intermittently.
Lillian remembered the little maid’s name was Aileen.
As they talked, Aileen brought up the incident where Lillian fainted that afternoon.
“Lillian, have you been under a lot of stress lately?” Aileen asked cautiously.
“Actually, you don’t need to take the young lady’s words to heart. She didn’t mean it like that.”
Lillian could tell Aileen wanted to defend Elenora but seemed hesitant to say more.
If it had been the old Lillian, hearing this would have only made her feel singled out by Elenora and depressed.
She might have gone off to some corner to wipe away tears.
Thankfully, Lillian was no longer who she used to be.
She just nodded and said, “Mm, I understand.”
Her tone gave off the impression she hadn’t really listened, a rather perfunctory reply.
So Aileen looked a little suspicious, as if she didn’t quite believe Lillian.
Did she really understand?
Aileen thought to herself bitterly.
After Lillian had been punished before, she had tried to comfort her in the same way.
But the next day, Lillian was scolded again by the young lady for some other mistake.
At the time, she seemed to listen and show no expression.
But after Elenora sent Lillian away, Aileen saw her hiding in a small corner, secretly wiping tears.
Sigh…
Now, all she wanted was to give Lillian a heads-up.
She’d heard the young lady was very angry about Lillian fainting in the pavilion and wanted to give her a good scolding.
Oh dear, my young lady, at this rate, you’ll lose Lillian!
Aileen felt so anxious she wanted to bite herself hard.
After Lillian fainted, Elenora had sternly told all the maids that if anything happened to Lillian, they must report immediately.
One person’s care for another can’t be hidden!
But Aileen was only a lowly maid and could only watch Elenora’s actions helplessly.
Seeing Aileen looking distracted, Lillian scratched her head.
What’s up with this little maid? She seems weird.
Before long, Lillian and the little maid arrived at the door of Elenora’s room.
Dinner wasn’t held in the dedicated dining hall, which was mostly reserved for guests or occasional family gatherings.
Because the Count was away at war, Lillian had been having dinner with Elenora in this room ever since she arrived at the Count’s estate two weeks ago.
Aileen knocked lightly.
“Miss, Lillian has arrived.”
Lillian immediately felt a sharp gaze fix on her.
It was Elenora. She froze for a moment when she saw Lillian wearing the new maid outfit.
Noticing Lillian was looking at her, Elenora gave her a fierce glare.
Yeah, really scary.
Lillian barely suppressed a smile.
She just smiled warmly back at Elenora.
Seeing that Lillian wasn’t intimidated or shrinking away as she expected but instead looking at her like that, Elenora felt her heart race for some unknown reason.
W-what is this? Has she lost her mind from fainting?
Unconsciously, Elenora shyly averted her eyes.
The first battle of dinner ended with Elenora’s defeat.
Lillian looked puzzled.
Am I really this cute?
Maybe to regain her composure, Elenora immediately spoke after looking away, “You actually made me wait so long, Lillian. You’re getting really bold.”
It was clear she wanted to sound serious, but since she had turned her head and not even looked at Lillian, it sounded far from convincing.
Besides, it hadn’t been that long—it was just the time taken to change clothes. No need to find trouble over nothing.
“Sorry, young lady, for keeping you waiting.”
Lillian bowed and apologized, giving Elenora a way to save face.
“Hmph, good that you know. Come over.”
She was calling Lillian over to eat, apparently wanting to drop the subject.
Dinner was a bit different from usual.
Normally, maids would bring out the food and maybe lift lids, but handling the food—like cutting it—was done by the master themselves.
Only when dealing with particularly difficult meats, if the master didn’t want to bother, would the maid handle the cutting.
Usually, food was pre-cut in the kitchen rather than at the table.
But tonight, Lillian was tasked with the food preparation.
She served Elenora soup, de-shelled seafood, and cut beef or other meats.
Dinner went smoothly. The soup and appetizers went off without a hitch, and Lillian was confident.
Elenora kept watching her.
If she had been the old Lillian, she might have been distracted by that and made mistakes, inviting Elenora’s ridicule, “Can’t even do something this simple, really…”
Elenora was getting anxious, realizing her intense stares weren’t affecting Lillian anymore.
But thinking of the surprise she’d prepared for Lillian, she relaxed again.
The main course arrived: a huge steak.
Lillian had never seen a steak this large before.
It was roughly the size of two—no, three of Lillian’s faces.
She wondered if Elenora could actually finish it.
As usual, Lillian tried to handle the steak.
She sliced down, the blade sinking in, but her face froze.
Couldn’t cut through?
No way. The toughness was enough to eat the raw meat.
“You’re useless, Lillian. A maid who can’t even handle food properly?” Elenora sneered, clearly pleased with herself.
Lillian felt like she’d just been bitten by some brat who jumped out of nowhere.
She was a bit angry.
But before I transmigrated, I was a carnivore. There’s no way I can’t handle a little steak.
Lillian carefully observed the beef grain, turned the plate slightly, held the beef steady with a fork in one hand, and cut with the other.
Following the grain, a small piece of meat was cut off neatly.
Elenora’s smile froze.
Seizing the moment, Lillian mischievously decided not to put the cut piece on Elenora’s plate like before.
Instead, she cut it into smaller bits and picked one up with her fork, smiling brightly.
“Here, young lady, ah—”
Elenora seemed completely stunned, mechanically biting the meat on the fork.
Then, as if realizing something, she saw Lillian’s smiling gaze.
Her ears flushed red, lips pressed tightly, and she looked down at her clenched fists resting on her lap.
Lillian thought she heard the sound of a train whistle.
Hehe.
Pathetic young lady.
Lillian wondered how Elenora had become such a demon.
“Oh—oh—”
Aileen behind Lillian witnessed the whole scene, covering her mouth with both hands.
Oh my god, what did I just see!
The young lady actually got shy!
And it’s the first time!
She was almost in tears.
Young lady, Lillian, you two must be happy together.
Wuwuwu…