Chapter 10: Heart-to-heart talk

After enduring all that turmoil, Fulo fell silent.

She suddenly lost the strength to resist; at least today, physically and mentally exhausted, she no longer wanted to keep struggling.

To Lincke, the young lady, after putting her clothes back on, seemed like a puppet that had lost its soul.

The etiquette lessons went surprisingly smoothly—no matter what order or instruction was given, as long as it was demonstrated once, Fulo could mechanically and precisely replicate it within three attempts.

Such a powerful learning ability and unfathomable composure caught the head maid off guard, who had been trying to probe Fulo’s true thoughts, and she quickly realized this couldn’t continue like this.

Fulo was clearly showing signs of a problem.

“Please show me a smile.”

The final lesson of the day was something Lincke thought would be the simplest to teach: greetings.

But no matter how hard Fulo tried, the smile on her face carried an indescribable sense of insincerity, more unsettling than a forced grin.

Everyone knew the false pleasantries of the nobility, but to display them so openly on one’s face was a loss of composure.

Lincke believed that what Moriah and the others wanted was a noble who could perform etiquette as precisely as a machine—not a machine that could perform noble etiquette.

“Aren’t I smiling brightly enough?”

Fulo, fully aware of this, looked at her with a perfectly standard smile, her tone free of mockery—only dullness.

What they got through their harsh methods was only this kind of cooperation.

If Moriah didn’t want to see this, she could always step up the pressure, strip Fulo bare, and throw her out on the street.

She had never hated others like this before; even when betrayed or mistreated, she had never felt this disgusted and nauseated.

Lincke stared at her for a long moment before lowering her gaze and whispering softly.

“I understand. You need to rest.”

“You don’t understand.”

Fulo frowned, but Lincke looked up and smiled at her.

“You’re tired.”

Again.

Whether it was this maid, her mistress, or those others, all had this attitude that made Fulo uncomfortable.

Clenching her fists tightly, she glared fiercely at Lincke.

She wanted to unleash all the venomous words she could imagine to attack Moriah and these people in front of her without restraint.

But that would only be impotent rage, bringing unnecessary consequences upon herself.

So she could only loosen her fists, cross her arms, and turn her head away.

“Then just go quickly. Let me rest properly.”

Only obedience remained.

In front of these people who seemed to give her freedom but actually controlled her entirely by their will, only by obeying first could she gain a chance to resist later.

She had to stay calm, or she might end up stripped naked and forcibly “corrected” on her gender identity—something terrible.

But Lincke didn’t choose to leave.

She stood, bowed to Fulo, and then sat back down.

“What do you mean?”

Fulo couldn’t understand this behavior.

Could it be some sort of companion service?

The mocking expressions of Moriah and the others flashed through her mind, and she shivered.

That seemed unlikely; if they treated her as a plaything, they would probably avoid her getting intimate with anyone else.

Hopefully…

Fulo wasn’t sure herself.

Because of her perfect performance, the other maids had been assigned to work around the villa, so it was just her and Lincke in the room.

Whether Moriah and the others were monitoring her was unknown.

No one could say exactly how she would be treated, but if anything improper happened, Lincke definitely wouldn’t be spared by Moriah and the others.

Thinking this, Fulo relaxed a little, while Lincke sat upright before her, hands clasped on her lap.

What Fulo didn’t know was that as head maid, Lincke had a privilege: she was aware of when Moriah was watching her.

This allowed her to serve two masters simultaneously with flexible tactics.

Of course, she understood that a servant serving two masters was not trustworthy; even knowing about the surveillance, Lincke spoke cautiously to avoid Moriah discovering she carried the lord’s orders.

“Lincke Aris, subordinate of Moriah von Delan. This is my identity. Currently, my responsibility is to teach Miss Fulo Emerald the basic noble etiquette, so she doesn’t embarrass herself at the ball a week from now.”

“Uh? Ball… what ball?”

Fulo, initially baffled by Lincke’s behavior, immediately perked up at that word.

Lincke had no intention to hide and spoke slowly.

“Of course, it’s your welcome ball for joining the team, your noble promotion ball, and the bounty gathering for the Emerald Heart Squad’s original healer, Fros Camille.”

Moriah was preparing a banquet for the new teammate.

Fulo blinked in confusion, only managing an “Ah?” after a long pause.

She wasn’t surprised that Moriah would do such a thing, but she was caught off guard that the head maid was willing to tell her this.

“I hope that outside of duty hours, you can relax a bit and not treat me like some harsh etiquette teacher.”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

Fulo couldn’t help but laugh and asked Lincke.

“It is. I never do things without confidence.”

Lincke’s answer was firm.

She poured tea for herself and Fulo.

“Nobles and servants are not the same. I know, Miss Fulo, that’s what you think. Even if I say the rights enjoyed by nobles come from the obligations they must fulfill, you would only see that as an excuse for me to lord over you with the power your lady has given me.”

“I… not really…”

Fulo was left speechless because she couldn’t deny it.

Lincke took a gentle sip of her tea, not looking at her, and continued to speak as if to herself.

“I’ve met many nobles, including many spoiled, willful, wild, unreasonable, and ignorant ones. Etiquette cannot restrain them; I know they cannot be bound by those rules. So I never put my hopes on them.

The reason I treat you harshly isn’t because I lack better methods—it’s because I have personal hopes.

Miss Fulo, I hope you can attend the upcoming ball dressed splendidly and become the new star of the nobility.”

“Why? We just met, haven’t we?”

Actually, what Lincke said wasn’t much different from what Moriah and the others had said, but her attitude was completely different, which instinctively made Fulo react differently.

As she replied, realizing this, Fulo felt annoyed inside but it was too late.

This was a trap—not very clever but extremely effective.

The maid who had just met her had already grasped her psychology perfectly, making it hard for Fulo to feel too much resentment or resistance.

Because in this face-to-face heart-to-heart, Fulo couldn’t refute what Lincke said.

“Why… because you’re different, Miss Fulo. I see in you a difference from those nobles.”

Lincke looked up at her, a radiant smile on her face, but with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“I must believe you are different, at least that you have a kind heart.”

“Is kindness really something a noble must have?”

Fulo recalled Moriah’s hypocritical smile.

“It’s not a requirement for nobles, but it’s a rare quality. Even without kindness, I beg you to consider yourself…”

“Is it because if I don’t train you well, that Moriah will punish you?”

Fulo immediately caught the deeper meaning in Lincke’s words.

The maid’s silent response made her face flush as red as raw liver.

Earlier, when she had chosen to commit suicide, it wasn’t entirely out of cowardice.

She had many people she could have turned to.

After being betrayed by her parents, not wanting to implicate or trouble others excessively, and fearing they might behave like her parents, she took her own life.

Now, Moriah directly tied her actions to the safety and even lives of ordinary people?

That hateful harlot!