“My name is Su Ling, and I am currently Her Highness Sista’s personal maid.”
A trace of caution lingered in Su Ling’s words.
“Su Ling,” Marentia responded, “I’ve heard your name before. I serve Her Highness Nori as her personal maid. From now on, it’s inevitable that our duties will overlap. I hope we can get along well.”
As she spoke, she wrung the water from her clothes once more, droplets running down her sleeve and disappearing.
“Ah… This is really troublesome. My clothes are soaked too. I can’t keep working like this. By the way, are you going to change? Let’s go together.”
Su Ling’s gaze involuntarily dropped to the wet hem of her own clothes. Inwardly, she thought: If the strict Karsanna were to notice this bedraggled state, she’d probably get scolded again. Thinking this, she sighed softly and then agreed to Marentia’s suggestion.
“Well… let’s hurry and change.”
The two walked side by side, passing through the long corridor, heading toward the basement.
The staircase was filled with a faint damp and musty smell that mingled unpleasantly with the lingering wetness on their bodies, adding to their discomfort. As they reached the stair landing, a gust of cold wind swept by, causing Su Ling to involuntarily sneeze.
“Ah-choo—!”
The sound was soft yet startling in the quiet space, making Marentia flinch sharply.
“Could it be that you’ve caught a cold?” Marentia asked, brow slightly furrowed.
Su Ling rubbed her itchy nose and gave a wry smile. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s from getting a bit wet just now, feeling a little chilled.”
After a moment’s thought, Marentia suddenly stopped walking, a helpless tone entering her voice. “Forget it, come to my room first. Let’s dry your hair so it doesn’t get worse. After all, I should take responsibility for letting you get wet.”
Su Ling was taken aback at the offer and tried to refuse, but seeing the earnest look in Marentia’s eyes, she fell silent and followed her onward.
Marentia’s room was located midway down the right corridor of the basement. It was not far from Tii’s room, but compared to that, this place felt more private and secluded.
The door opened quietly, releasing a wave of stale heat. It seemed the room hadn’t been aired out in a long time.
Inside Marentia’s room, everything was in disarray. Clothes and miscellaneous items were scattered without order. Su Ling’s eyes flicked across the room, noticing many things that seemed out of place for a maid’s quarters.
On the table sat a cup with a copper rim, emitting a soft glow under the dim light; a chevron tapestry hung on the wall, intricately woven with a complex pattern.
Where had these items come from?
These objects were completely different from what Su Ling had seen in ordinary maid rooms, sparking greater curiosity and speculation about Marentia’s identity and background.
Her gaze finally settled on the towel in Marentia’s hand.
“Here, dry yourself,” Marentia said, tossing the towel into Su Ling’s arms.
Su Ling thanked her and took the towel, but her eyes couldn’t help lingering on the copper-rimmed cup on the table.
“What, are you interested in that cup?” Marentia noticed where Su Ling’s attention was fixed and began to boast, “These were all gifts from Her Highness Nori!”
“They look very precious,” Su Ling replied.
Marentia’s smile deepened, but her tone carried a subtle challenge. “Speaking of which, since we’re both personal maids, and you serve Her Highness Sista, doesn’t she show you anything like this?”
“Ah?” Su Ling gave a small gasp, her brow knitting briefly before relaxing into calm. She shook her head gently. “No, she doesn’t.”
“That’s really too bad. Maybe the princess isn’t satisfied with your work.”
Su Ling inwardly smiled bitterly at the comment.
“Maybe,” she murmured softly.
But Marentia didn’t seem ready to stop. She continued at length, “You know, back in the old days, the Royal Family’s personal servants were always from lower nobility families, to emphasize the royal status. But now, the Blood Clan prefers to use humans as personal maids. It’s really hard to understand…”
Su Ling listened quietly.
She recalled the subtle tension between Sista and the Countess at the last banquet and thought to herself: Perhaps it’s this mutual suspicion and distrust that make the Blood Clan more willing to choose humans as servants.
The girl opposite her rambled on endlessly, as if words would never run dry. Su Ling thought the so-called stories were nothing more than that.
“… But having humans as maids isn’t all bad. Do you know Laura, Princess Moria’s personal maid? She always thought Moria was very kind to the Countess, but Princess Moria has never really looked at her. Laura was just imagining things. Her Highness Nori is different with me…”
“Your relationship with Her Highness Nori is indeed unusual.”
Finally, Su Ling interrupted Marentia.
“Of course. I…” As she spoke, Marentia seemed to realize she had said too much. Her voice gradually softened and she finally fell silent. Her expression was somewhat complicated.
“What’s wrong?” Su Ling asked.
“Nothing, don’t ask so many questions,” Marentia turned her face away and took back the towel from Su Ling’s hands.
“I’m not trying to show off talking so much about Her Highness Nori. I was just answering your questions. After all, I’m not like Laura such a shallow woman.”
Su Ling quietly clicked her tongue.
She finally realized something was off. Would speaking like this in the palace really cause no trouble?
Displaying so openly the gifts the Royal Family gave her and revealing her relationship with the royals to a maid she barely knew wasn’t that dangerous?
She recalled how the day she and Bohm had been eavesdropping outside the door, making a loud noise, and Marentia hadn’t noticed at all.
This Miss Marentia really didn’t guard herself at all around others.
“Thank you for the towel. I’ll go change clothes now. I should get back to work soon.” Su Ling gave a slight bow to Marentia.
“Alright, then hurry back. Don’t let the Head Maid catch you.”
Marentia said as she watched Su Ling leave the room and closed the door behind her.
In the dim and stuffy room, Marentia was left alone.
She took two steps back and sat on her bed, which creaked under her weight.
“Did I… say too much again?” she sighed. “Her Highness Nori has warned me so many times. Oh well, I’ll just finish what Nori asked me to do first.”
Muttering to herself, she turned around and pulled out a thick stack of papers from under her pillow. They were densely covered in writing, messy and crooked.
“The investigation report… huh! It’s almost ready to present to Nori!”
She grinned, clearly pleased with her own progress.