Inside the elegantly decorated Manor Maid Training Room, the Etiquette Tutor stood with her arms crossed, her chin tilted at a critical angle.
“I don’t know what shady methods you used to deceive the kind Young Lady Tia, or how you made her softhearted enough to promote you to Personal Maids…”
Her gaze lingered intentionally on Viola’s faded collar and Lily’s still somewhat pale complexion, as if her look held a deeper meaning.
“…But listen up. Don’t think you’ll get past me, Margaret, so easily!”
Her voice rose sharply, carrying an unquestionable authority.
“You want to be Personal Maids with proper etiquette, fit to stand beside the Young Lady of the House of Earl Harris? You’re far from it!”
Usually, servants or maids with ulterior motives would show some degree of guilt under such an intimidating shout.
But the two girls before her were completely different.
Viola’s body straightened instinctively.
She did not shrink back; instead, she bowed her head deeply, her voice filled with determination.
“Please, Tutor Margaret, teach us!”
Lily followed suit with a slight bow.
Margaret was momentarily stunned.
Perhaps sensing their sincerity, the corners of her mouth twitched stiffly, but she still forced a sneer.
“Hmph. Anyone can say pretty words, but to back them with actions… Hmph.”
Before the sisters could speak, she stood firmly in front of them and extended a finger clad in a lace glove, counting off points one by one.
“Starting today, I will personally teach you every bit of etiquette a Personal Maid should possess—walking, standing, curtsying, greeting, serving tea, dressing, even your gaze and the curvature of your smile.”
“You will train for ten hours every day, with a maximum of one hour for breaks, which must be taken only with my permission. As for how long this training will last? One week? One month? Or half a year?”
She paused intentionally, savoring the fearful, retreating expressions she expected to see.
“It depends entirely on when those crude habits you brought from the slums are completely ground away. When I find you barely presentable, then the training will end. Do you understand?”
She expected to see two pale faces.
However, Viola only blinked, seemingly processing the information.
Beside her, Lily tilted her head slightly; there was no fear on her sickly face, only focused listening.
Margaret’s brow furrowed in dissatisfaction.
“What is it? Can’t you handle the length and intensity of the training? Hmph. I advise you two schemers to leave the manor now if you have any self-awareness. Otherwise, what you’ll face next is a literal he—”
“Heaven.”
A soft voice, filled with an indescribable excitement and joy, interrupted her.
Margaret froze, almost doubting her own ears.
“Wh-what?”
Viola snapped her head up, her eyes shining brilliantly.
Instead of being intimidated, she grabbed her sister Lily’s hand.
Her voice trembled with excitement.
“Lily, did you hear that? This… this must be heaven!”
She turned to the stunned Tutor Margaret, a sincere smile breaking across her face despite the tears in her eyes.
“Only ten hours of training a day, with fixed break times… No need to fear debt collectors bursting through the door, no need to work ourselves to death… We only need to learn how to walk gracefully and smile properly…”
Her gaze moved past the tutor, as if piercing through endless space to land on the Young Lady who had given them a new life.
Her eyes were full of gratitude and burning loyalty.
“This is wonderful… truly wonderful!”
“Lady Tia, please watch us! We will study with all our might to become maids worthy of you as soon as possible! We swear to follow you forever and ever!”
Her voice echoed through the room.
Although Lily didn’t speak, she squeezed her sister’s hand tightly, a flush of excitement rising on her pale face.
Over those many years of illness, she had seen exactly how hard her sister worked.
That self-reproach and guilt had tortured her every moment until now.
Having been reborn, she finally had the ability to help her sister.
Tutor Margaret froze in place.
She opened her mouth, but the prepared scolding was stuck in her throat, blocked by the girls’ sincere reaction.
An indescribable sense of shame and annoyance made her cheeks flush slightly.
“You… just you wait!”
‘It’s fake. All of it is fake!’
‘They used this sincerity to deceive the kind Young Lady, but they certainly won’t deceive me!’
‘The Young Lady’s Personal Maid? How could such an important position be given to people I can’t trust?!’
—
Tia naturally knew that Tutor Margaret was training the sisters.
She had initially hoped they would become her Personal Maids, so she was very interested.
After the first day of training, she went to the Garden and found the tutor sitting on a stone bench reading a book.
Tia lifted her skirt and approached with light steps, her face showing a proper mix of concern and curiosity.
“Tutor, how is the training going?”
Tutor Margaret closed her book and adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose.
Her face held the evaluative look of a strict teacher.
“Well, I didn’t expect them to be decent. They can actually endure such high-intensity training. If they truly want to be your Personal Maids, they wouldn’t be a bad choice. Unfortunately, their motives aren’t pure. They won’t be able to keep it up.”
Tia let out two dry laughs.
“Is that so? Haha.”
No matter what she said to the tutor, the woman was convinced she had been deceived by the two girls.
So, Tia eventually gave up on explaining and chose to let the tutor realize it for herself.
—
On the third day, in the Garden.
“Tutor? How is the training going?”
Tutor Margaret, sitting on the stone bench, seemed startled.
She almost dropped her book and scrambled to steady it, her eyes darting around.
“Ah, the training. It’s… it’s fine.”
‘What’s going on?’
Tia thought.
‘Why does it feel like she’s stuttering?’
While Tia was wondering, she heard the tutor muttering under her breath, seemingly talking to herself or complaining out of disbelief.
“Dammit… how is it possible? Those postures are so difficult. How are they learning so fast? Are those two girls monsters? Or are they still secretly training while I’m not around? Training for sixteen hours a day? Don’t they want to rest?!”
Tia’s eyes flickered, and she asked with pure curiosity, “Are they working very hard?”
Tutor Margaret snapped back to reality.
Meeting Tia’s clear gaze, she cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Uh, I suppose so.”
Her answer was curt; she clearly didn’t want to discuss the topic further.