This happened when I went to the kitchen to bring the food.
There, the trio maid glare at me with an unamused look when they see me as a senior maid. Even though I had already given them some lesson, it seems that their spirit is coming back when the three of them were together. {getter maid}
While lightly exchanging glances with them, I pushed the wagon full of food back to the dining room.
Then, except for the head of the family who was away on business, the other members of the household — the Grand Wife, the Wife, and Anna, as well as her sister and brother — were all at the table.
–By the way, I have an older brother, but he is already married and is currently living in a separate mansion on the premises. He’s going to move into the main house when he succeeds father, but that’s had nothing to do with this.
I’m sure it’s not just my imagination that the atmosphere among them is tense. The Wife was looking down, and Anna, her sister, and her brother were staring at the sky with disgusted expressions, as if to say, “Not again.”
“Thank you for your patience.”
The other maids looked at me in disbelief, but nothing would change if I got intimidated here.
It’s not uncommon for a newcomer to be unable to read the atmosphere, so I’m going to go with “natural flow” here.
When I went to place the food in front of the Wife first, a senior maid whispered, “Oi, you! Wait, the Grand Wife first!”, What? Is that so? But I decide to ignore her and give it to the Wife first.
It’s not I want to disrespect an elder or anything, but the order must be corrected. That’s my only priority now.
The only people who had the authority to override this order is either the Wife or the current head of the family.
As I was about to place the plate in front of her, she said in a mosquito-like voice, “Please take it to mother-in-law first.”
“Very well, madam.”
I withdrew my hand and placed another plate in front of the Grand Wife.
She looked up at me with a meaningful gaze, but I just shrugged my shoulders, and she gave me a wry smile as if to say, “Oh dear, you just can’t help it.”
See, she doesn’t care that much about this.
I thought this would be okay, too, since she had forgiven me for my rudeness up until now.
I’m sure that the rule to prioritize the Grand Wife first was coming from the servant’s assumption. They were never given direct orders to do that.
I finished serving the meal and stood by the wall. The other senior maid looked at me with disbelieves, but when I returned her gaze, she averted her eyes.
Hmph, this level of malice is a child’s play compared to Maria’s and other capture targets in my school days, that is.
It was hard back then, but the experience is definitely served me well now.
While I was admiring the fact that nothing in my life is ever wasted, I heard a few conversations from the quiet dining table.
The Grand Wife was talking to Miss Anna.
“Anna, how is the academy?”
“There’s nothing special going, was something wrong?”
“Yes. For example… when did you become friends with the Stuarts’ daughter? I believe last year you were not.”
“What? The daughter of the Stuarts? The one from the rumor? Is she Anna’s friend?”
Her ten-year-old sister took a bite.
I wonder what kind of rumors are out there. I’m not sure if it’s a good one.
But I didn’t do anything that I regret. It was all necessary. The same goes for this one.
As I stood by the wall, watching the sisters, then Miss Anna quietly shook her head.
“No, we’re not close,” she said. It’s her fiancé I’m close to. We’re sitting next to each other.
Why did you say we’re not close! I see you every day, you know.
“What? Is that the person you’ve been talking about a lot lately?”
“What’s that? What do you mean?”
“No, it’s nothing. Anyway, Grandma, can I make cookies again this afternoon?”
“Again? But well, I don’t mind that your hobby is baking, but you’d better not get in Luigi’s way.”
“Okay.”
“I wonder… who teaches you to play in the kitchen? It’s not like the hobby of the daughter of a nobleman.”
I felt the air tense up.
The Wife shrugged her shoulders and turned her head while her thirteen-year-old brother muttered in a low voice, “Not again…”
Don’t just [not again]! It, we’re talking about your own house here!
Miss Anna made a troublesome face and brought the spoon to her mouth with a difficult face. When I gave her a strong look, she noticed and lowered her eyebrows in annoyance at my face.
“Just say it.”
I tell her so with a movement of my mouth.
You promised me.
That you would stand by your mother at all times.
I know you don’t want to make trouble, but if you do nothing, it just the same as before!
As I continued to pressure her, Miss Anna put down her spoon as if she had made up her mind and said in a small voice, shaking a little.
“You’re too hard on Mommy, Grandma.”
The voice, though small, seemed to have reached her.
After she said this, she looked at me with the anxious face of a child who has just write her answer on a test, so I gave her a firm nod.
The Wife kept her head down and looked sideways at Miss Anna. Then the Grand Wife said, “Oh, really?” She didn’t seem to mind much.
Yes, this old lady doesn’t really get upset when she is told something; moreover, she’s stubborn, and she’s not taking any offense, so there’s no reason for her to change her behavior now.
But that doesn’t mean you can just stay silent at whatever she told you. If you don’t say what you don’t like, you will end up living under pressure even if you marry somewhere else, just like your current mother – the Wife.
She seemed to be surprised that her bold words were received so easily. I wonder if she was expecting Grand Wife to be angry.
After a while, she suddenly began to speak quickly. It was as if a dam had been broken.
“… that’s right. I’ve been listening to you for a while now, and I really don’t like it. Can you please stop it? The food doesn’t taste good at all to eat in this kind of atmosphere. I haven’t had a good meal here in years!”
The Wife seemed to be surprised by her daughter’s sudden outburst. She was horrified and intervened, saying, “Anna, Stop… don’t worry about me, don’t say more than this…”
Anna became more and more heated at such a mother.
“You to mom! Why did you always cry so easily? [As long as I can endure, it will be alright] Is that what you think? Nothing is settled, you know? Every time you cry, we all feel pain, you know? There’s nothing to be afraid of from that old lady. Why don’t you talk back? Be a little stronger!”
It’s scary when a normally quiet girl loses her temper.
All of a sudden, the young lady called the Grand Wife “that old lady” and began to abuse her. Everyone in the dining room looked at her with puzzled expressions, unable to keep up with her.
When she started crying, Miss Anna slammed her napkin down on the table, got up, and walked out of the dining room.
Anna’s mother seemed to be too frightened to move. I quickly walked up to her and told her from behind that I would bring their meal to Anna’s room later, and pulled a chair to force her to stand.
The meal wasn’t over yet, but there was no better time for mother and daughter to have a conversation than now.
I opened the door and pushed her out of the dining room as if I were pushing her out.
I sighed and turned around, only to find that all eyes in the dining room were fixed on me.
“Oh…, um… Can I get you some raspberry mousse soon?”
“It’s too early.” The Grand Wife quickly chimed in.
Ooo… That was intense.. 😆😆