PMZ 094 – High-Speed Rise to the Top

She looked at me with a disbelief

“Who would do something so extreme? Who did it?”

“I don’t know the name of the person, but it was a lot of hot water from a teapot. It’s not something people do lightly. unless she’s used to doing it.”

“Just as you say… It’s not uncommon for new maids to get injured and quit right away. …Is this the reason?”

“I don’t know. If this kind of thing happens all the time in the house, it will eventually lead to a decline in discipline. If people think they can do whatever they want as long as they don’t get caught, it will be problematic.”

She put her fingertips to her chin and thought about it, muttering, “I think we should re-evaluate our household member.”

Yes, poor discipline among maids sometimes caused by misuse of good and money embezzlement.

Needless to say, the cause of this is the fact that the masters, especially the Wife, are being manipulated.

In the case of this house, the Wife is neglecting her role, and Grand Wife, whom the maids treat as her replacement, is… old.

You could almost say that this was expected.

“Sit down here, dear, I’ll give you some medicine. Really… Helen, how long are you going to be a naive little girl? This is what happens when the Wife isn’t stern enough.”

Grand Wife muttered in an annoyed voice as she applied for some medicine on my skin.

Helen was the name of Miss Anna’s mother. For the first time, the problematic relationship between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law become clear to me.

This is my chance to get involved in their problem. I cannot let this chance slip away.

“You don’t like Mrs. Helen much?”

I choose my words carefully so she didn’t feel alienated. I wanted to know what she thought about her bad relationship with her family.

“There’s nothing to like or dislike. She needs to be disciplined as the Wife of Baron Maple’s household.”

Oh, no. This isn’t good.

Discipline?

Even though she’s been living with her Granddaughter for 15 years, she still thinks of Wife like that. The generation has changed, yet…

If you’re just chatting with her as a stranger, you’ll get a good impression of her as a caring, chatty old lady, but this is…

“Discipline ……? As I recall, the Wife is also from a baronial family. I’m sure her basic manners are good?”

“On the surface, it is. It’s just that I’ve been lingering around long enough that I know she needs to be stronger. Yesterday, when I gave her a little feedback on the new tapestry design for the hall, she cried.

I don’t know why she cried, but afterward, my son complained to me that I was tormenting Helen too much… If she had something to say to me, why don’t you just say it yourself?”

“That’s unreasonable. She’s scared, Grand Wife.”

I knew it was rude, but I say it. If she let it pass, it will be easier. From this point on, I will immediately apologize if it not, but I had the feeling that she will accept it.

As expected, the Grand Wife stared at me and then smiled bitterly.

“Scared, was she? I just say what’s on my mind.”

I wondered why she seemed to be a little happy even as she said that.

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of people in high positions who are happy to be called out on their mistakes.

Of course, there are people who are not like that, and there are tricks to say things in a certain way, and above all, there is a line that must not be crossed, but if you can find that line, even Her Royal Highness will allow you to say what you want to say to some extent.

“You see, that’s the point. If someone in your position says what she wants to say without reservation, it will make them scared. Maybe you should be a bit gentler to the Wife?”

“Gentle? After all this time? It’s no use being reserved when you’re a family.”

Oh, I see.

It seems that the Grand Wife thinks of her as family and says whatever she wants, but she thought of himself as “someone from another family,” causing her to be reluctant to say anything.

I wonder if this difference in perceptions, combined with the difference in personalities, is why they don’t understand each other all this time.

“It’s even more so when you’re family. If the Wife and the Grand Wife are like mother and daughter, then disciplining her is important, but isn’t it just as important to acknowledge her?”

Then the Grand Wife fell silent.

I may have said too much. I think I need to change the flow.

“…It seems that Miss Anna is worried about the relationship between her grandmother and mother.”

A special attack using her grandchild. There are not many women who are not vulnerable to this.

“Anna is…? She’s always acting like she doesn’t know me, but does she talk like that outside?”

“No, I just asked her out. She’s usually a quiet young lady.”

“Is that right…?”

The Grand Wife stared into the distance for a moment, then gave me a fierce look.

“You’re a tricky woman, aren’t you? I’m sure I’ve said too much, but what was the duke’s daughter thinking when she sent you here?”

“I don’t think she was thinking anything.”

It’s just a matter of momentum. Otherwise, who would be foolish enough to go into the home of a love rival with the object of rivalry in tow?

Then the Grand Wife sighed and held her mouth with her hand.

“You really are one rude maid, …Stella! please come here!”

She rang the bell placed on the table.

 –I’m sorry. Is it my time to be thrown out?

As I was reflecting on whether I had spoken too much, she then spoke to the head maid, Stella, who appeared not long after.

“Give her a senior maid’s uniform.”

I got a promotion.

There are many houses that have ranks within the maids, and it seems that in here, the Barony of Maple is no exception.

In the beginning, she had said that the work was not divided, but even so, it was mainly the senior maids who took care of the guests and the master.

The higher-class maids’ uniforms are made of finer cloth than the normal ones, with frills on the apron and velvet ribbons with pendants and scarves on the chest.

Looking at this uniform, I can conclude that the one who poured hot water on me was also a senior maid.

I quickly changed my clothes and returned to the Grand Wife’s room, where she was getting ready for lunch.

“It’s suited you. Why don’t we show it to others? You should let them know your rise in rank.”

“I’m honored.”

“I think we should go and have lunch. Please bring me that light blue shawl over there… What’s for lunch today?”

“Pasta with bacon and mushrooms, potato potage, and raspberry mousse.”

“Yeah, that troubling. I don’t mind mushrooms, but they’re a little hard to swallow.

There it is. She has the same syndrome as the Queen. If you take this to heart, you’ll end up being pushed around a lot.

“I’ll have the doctor examine you next time. Are you using this cane?”

“Yes, I do. This is my favorite one. The handle looks like flower ivy.”

“Oh, it’s lovely.”

The story about the hard-to-swallow mushrooms was already gone like dust in the clothes. Everyone should feel better after eating mushrooms from the Chef Brothers (as if). Then a quarrel or two won’t matter at all.

The Grand Wife walks slowly with her cane, and I match my step beside her. It’s going to take a while to get to the dining room. I wondered if there was anything to talk about at this time.

Oh, there is.

“Oh, by the way, Grand Wife, my husband wanted me to ask you. He wonders if he could install a birdhouse on the roof because there was a sparrow nest in the chimney. Would that be all right?”

“Oh, really? That’s fine. I can be there when he takes it down, can I?”

“Eh? That’s…”

I think we just leave it to the gardener to take it off.

Do you want to see Hayato, Grand Wife? But that’s not for me to decide, is it ……?

“I’ll ask him.”

“Yes, please do. Ah, you’re going to work tomorrow too, aren’t you? There are some servants’ quarters available for live-in guests, so you can stay the night in there.”

“Eh?”

“It’s easier that way, isn’t it? Maids need to be ready early.”

That’s true, but…

“I’ll make sure your husband can stay the night too, okay? See? Oh, it’s nice to have someone to talk to after all these years.”

“That’s a bit…”

Before I could interrupt her, she strode off into the dining room.

 — Her leg suddenly gained strength.

Maybe the cane was just for decoration.

Feeling as if I had been dancing to her tune, I followed the Grand Wife into the dining room and pulled out a chair for her to sit on.