TPNSIA-11

Chapter 11. Maid Catherine (1)

“Well, I don’t know. Isn’t that much within a nanny’s authority?”

Truthfully, I had no idea how much authority a nanny normally possessed.

I simply assumed that the nanny of an imperial prince ought to have at least that much power.

Judging by her reaction, it seems I wasn’t wrong.

The head maid glared at me, her face flushed red.

“You haven’t even been in the Imperial Palace for a month.”

Her words came rapidly, her voice thick with irritation.

“We cannot entrust His Highness’s safety to someone who hasn’t even been properly vetted yet. Do you understand?”

“That’s strange. It seems to me that I’m not the one who needs to be vetted. The maids attending His Highness are.”

“What did you say?”

“Surely you weren’t the one who ordered them to bring His Highness ice-cold water to wash with.”

The head maid pressed her lips tightly together, momentarily at a loss for words.

She glared at me for a long moment before her eyes twisted with contempt.

“Haah. Now I understand. There must have been a reason an insignificant adopted daughter of a count’s family managed to enter the palace with Mrs. Conrad’s recommendation.”

How considerate of her to mutter to herself loudly enough for me to hear every word.

More importantly, apparently the real ‘Rachel Brown’ was the adopted daughter of a count.

I’m more shocked that there’s a count’s family I don’t know.

Well, if the family had been granted its title sometime during the year I was dead, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

“If what Lady Brown says is true, then that is indeed regrettable.”

The head maid’s expression had already returned to perfect composure, as though nothing had happened.

Her ability to control her face was genuinely impressive.

“Very well. Then we’ll do this.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“From now on, everything concerning His Highness’s personal care will be entrusted entirely to his nanny, Lady Brown. Are you satisfied now?”

Apparently, she would rather die than apologize.

With a derisive snort, the head maid turned and left.

At the time, I thought things had actually worked out rather well.

That was before I learned just how much weight the head maid’s words carried in this palace.

“What do you mean?”

The very next day.

I learned exactly what the head maid’s final words had meant.

And I learned it first thing in the morning.

“The head maid said that from now on, everything concerning His Highness is to be handled by you, Nanny.”

The maid looked at me awkwardly.

“I’m sorry. I’m only doing what the head maid ordered…”

The maids who normally appeared in time for the prince to wake up and eat breakfast hadn’t shown so much as the tips of their noses, so I had come looking for them.

Only to be greeted by this bolt from the blue.

“So you’re saying I’m supposed to prepare His Highness’s meals myself too?”

The maid looked increasingly uncomfortable.

“W-Well, I have other work to do, so please excuse me!”

She avoided answering and disappeared before I could stop her.

“Haah. What a nuisance.”

I irritably swept my hair back.

That woman planned this from the beginning.

Watching the maids pass by while carefully avoiding my gaze made me scoff.

Apparently, the noble Imperial Palace wasn’t all that different from the filthy back alleys.

Then again, to these maids, I’m probably nothing more than an outsider who insulted their leader.

I had lived in this body for only two days, but one thing had already become painfully clear.

Not only did the imperial siblings have no allies here—

Neither did ‘Rachel Brown.’

What am I supposed to do now?

No matter how bad the situation was, I couldn’t exactly let the prince starve while I was his nanny.

But I can’t feed him something I cooked, either.

The only time I had ever cooked was when I needed to poison someone.

I was just about to go find some of the black bread eaten by the servants when voices reached my ears.

They were coming through an open window.

That sounds rather noisy. Is there a fight?

They said there was no spectacle quite like watching a good fight.

I casually stuck my head out the window.

Below, several maids had gathered around someone.

“Are you deaf or something? Didn’t I tell you to have all the curtains washed by this morning?”

“Why do I have to do your work every single time? I’m not your personal maid!”

“What did you say? How dare you speak to me like that! Insolent little—!”

Slap!

The sound of a palm striking a cheek rang out, and one of the maids fell to the ground.

The fallen maid had ivory-colored hair and pale tawny eyes.

With her tall, thin frame, she looked almost like a pretty scarecrow.

“How dare a fake noble like you try to put yourself on the same level as me, the daughter of a count?”

The maid who had introduced herself as a count’s daughter shouted with her chin held high.

She ground the heel of her shoe into the fallen maid’s skirt.

“I swear, Mrs. Conrad completely ruined the order of the Imperial Palace! The maids from the annex have become far too insolent!”

She continued in an irritated voice.

“As if that weren’t enough, she even brought in some bitch no one knows the origins of as the prince’s nanny—!”

Hmm.

There was only one nanny in the Third Prince’s Palace.

Was she referring to me as some bitch no one knew the origins of?

What remarkable intuition.

Still, I’m technically the prince’s nanny. Wouldn’t it be troublesome if even ordinary maids started looking down on me like that?

Respect toward the prince’s nanny should ultimately be an extension of respect toward the prince himself.

I’ll be staying here for a while, at least. I suppose I should establish some order before I leave.

After a moment’s consideration, I decided to intervene in their argument.

I swear to the heavens, it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they had been badmouthing me or that they were the head maid’s lackeys.

I was merely acting upon the admirable desire that had suddenly arisen within me to restore order to the Prince’s Palace.

“Are you talking about me?”

I rested an elbow on the windowsill as I called out.

Every maid’s head snapped toward me.

Their faces immediately went pale.

“N-Nanny?”

“If you’re talking about me, you should let me join the conversation.”

“W-Well, that’s…”

The maids froze where they stood the moment they saw me.

Perhaps it was because the person they had been gossiping about had suddenly appeared.

Or perhaps it was because said person had just effortlessly vaulted through a fairly high window and landed in front of them.

Then again, maybe the story about me dumping cold wash water over a maid had already spread through the palace.

I had no idea which explanation it was.

“You don’t seem particularly busy. Not if you have enough time to gather here and gossip.”

I deliberately made my voice sarcastic, and the maids’ expressions stiffened.

“So? Are you going to accuse us of some crime now?”

The maid standing in the middle, however, answered boldly without the slightest change in expression.

“Do you really think you have that kind of authority?”

“Of course not. Who am I to judge whether you’re right or wrong?”

At my answer, the maids exchanged triumphant looks.

“However, I believe I do have the authority to question you about insulting me behind my back while I wasn’t even present.”

As I continued coldly, their shoulders flinched.

“Why the long faces? Is it unpleasant having to listen to some ‘bitch no one knows the origins of’?”

“N-No, that’s not what…”

In terms of rank alone, my position as the prince’s nanny was higher than that of any of the maids standing here.

They knew that better than anyone, which was precisely why none of them dared openly argue with me.

Still, it seemed I had underestimated the shamelessness and ridiculous pride of nobles.

The maid who had claimed to be from a count’s family stepped forward boldly, a sneer curling her lips.

“This is exactly why you shouldn’t treat lowborn people too well. Show them the slightest kindness and suddenly they start acting like they’re important.”

Tap.

“Who do you think you are?”

She jabbed a finger against my forehead.

“Huh? Just who do you think you are?! Outside this palace, someone like you wouldn’t even dare raise your head in front of me! An adopted daughter of some count’s family who doesn’t even know her place—”

I seized the arm she was pointing at me and twisted it behind her back.

“Aaaagh!”

The count’s daughter let out a shrill scream.

I applied a little more pressure, and her face went deathly pale.

“Apparently, your family neglected to teach you that pointing your finger at someone is considered rude.”

“W-What did you say?!”

I deliberately leaned closer and spoke in a whisper.

Quietly enough that only she could hear.

“My lady, you should consider yourself fortunate that I don’t know the name of your family.”

“W-What?”

Like a mischievous fairy plotting a particularly cruel prank, I whispered playfully into her ear.

“Otherwise, by tomorrow morning, your entire family—and perhaps even everyone in your household—might have mysteriously drunk poison and died.”

“D-Don’t talk nonsense! You think I’ll be frightened by some pathetic threat like—”

“My lady, you really shouldn’t carelessly insult someone when you have no idea where they came from.”

“L-Let go of me! Let go and say that!”

“You never know.”

I gave a low chuckle beside her ear.

“I might have come from somewhere far more dangerous than you could ever imagine.”

The maid trembled violently as she struggled against me.

Naturally, it did her no good.

Her face had gone so pale that she looked ready to collapse.

Oops.

Had I gone a little too far teasing a sheltered young noblewoman?

I relaxed my expression and gave her a pleasant smile.

“If I catch you engaging in any more ‘unnecessary gossip,’ things may become unpleasant for you. Understood?”

This time, I spoke loudly enough for the maids behind her to hear as well.

They hurriedly nodded.

The moment I released my grip, the count’s daughter fled.

The two maids who had been with her hesitated in panic before hurrying after her.

Really.

It was always the insignificant ones who made the most noise.

I watched them disappear before turning around.

The maid who had been slapped was still sitting where she had fallen, staring blankly up at me.