Chapter 11. Bertino Mansion on Harrods Street, Part II

Killian’s cousin, Marquis Rhodius, was the son of the Emperor’s sister, Princess Tanisia. Although the line of succession to the throne was far below that of the Emperor’s sons, he was a royal family member. Having brought such a letter of introduction, she couldn’t send her back even if she had a very unseemly appearance.

Johanna sighed and looked at the girl before her again. Tall at 165 centimeters, she had broad shoulders, a thick waistline that looks as if it can’t be covered by both arms, fluffy hips, and stiff, thick, brick-colored hair.

The higher the nobleman, the more important the appearance of a maid. She was a maid meant to work in the Prince’s mansion, nowhere else. Johanna looked her with hawk’s eyes and gave up the search.

Her face was strangely small compared to her large body, and her complexion was so dark that she seemed to be sick, and even more earthy because of her red hair.

Besides, those thick glasses she wore! The heavy-looking glasses, which seemed to make her nose sink, made it impossible to guess what color and shape her eyes were.

Johanna spoke to the girl with an unsavory face, "Can you work with that dull body? Take care of the guest room on the first floor, the hallway of the dwelling places of the servants and maids, and the dining area. You should clean up as carefully as you can to make sure that you don’t get noticed by the guests and His Highness. Do you understand?"

Julieta’s eyes put on a prim air, as Johanna held her forehead and spoke grudgingly. "Yes, head maid."

But as she replied politely, the head maid continued, "Your room is one of the maids’ quarters on the fourth floor, right next to the stairs. Go up, leave your luggage and come down. I have to prepare clothes fit for you, so you just wear your clothes and work until your uniform is ready."

"Yes." Julietta bowed to her with good manners once again and climbed up to the fourth floor using the stairs behind her, which were available to the maids.

The room was not shown her by anyone, but she knew it right away. After she opened the door right next to the stairs and entered, she saw a single bed and a single room with a wooden box, with only a small table and belongings.

The small but clean room left Julietta unable to hide her joy. She was very happy to have her own space with windows and the sun coming in, as she had been living in a small room next to the theater’s prop room.

’Yes, I can gradually increase my quality of life. After paying off my debt to Maribel, I will raise enough money to open my own shop. But first, I am going to have to deal with the useless ability that a poop dog Manny gave me.’

Julietta sat down carefully on the bed, took out a cheap mirror of only palm size from her bag and carefully checked to see if her makeup had been erased.

An unsightly dull brown face with stiff, rough-looking brick-colored wig and thicker-than-usual metum fruit juice... Her eyebrows were twice as thick as her real ones, and her lips were painted in a dull color to make her look like a sick person, and hard to see. But this ugly face was a safety device that protected herself and others.

Julietta had once thought of breaking her disguise. She had felt sorry that she had to hide such a pretty figure with a disguise, so she had removed her make-up and taken off her wig in the prop room for a while.

When Amelia and Sophie saw this and started talking, Julieta decided to wear makeup again. They said she would look prettier than most of the actresses in the theater, admiring her colorful blonde hair, white skin and green eyes. Startled, Julietta immediately donned a wig again!

Since then, she had been angry at the idea that she could never remove her disguise until she solved the curse-like ability Manny had given her, but she had decided to take it easy, thinking the disguise might be a shield to protect her.

Julietta, feeling satisfied, arranged her few belongings in a wooden box and went down to the first floor.

"What is it? Is she a new maid? Oh, my God, look at her."

As soon as she was introduced to the people she would work with, she heard giggles and was pointed out for her appearance. Anyway, whether in the previous life or here, it seemed like looks were the biggest problem of mankind.

"I’ve never seen such an ugly, fat girl. Look at her hair. I can cut it and use it as a broom."

"Look at that skin color. What did she do to make her skin color like that? Her hands are white, but what’s wrong with her face? Hey, are you sick? It’s not contagious, is it? I’m talking about the disease that makes them all ugly."

Yelping at her, they were all in a fuss.

Julietta pouted at the people who were laughing at her face.

’If Manny had given me beauty control, I would have made them all ugly and opened the era of equality for humanity.’

Maids who were the same age as her ignored good manners and kept teasing Julietta, but no one stopped them. The head maid pretended not to hear and began ordering the maids to do what they had to right away.

"The Prince will stop by tomorrow, so clean the first-floor hall and help with the kitchen work. If the furniture has any dust on it, you’ll have to do it again all night, so do it carefully from the beginning. Now, go to your assigned areas and get to work in a hurry. Ali, please clean the room again for Lady Moira. I’m not going to let her complain like before."

The head maid pretended not to hear and began ordering the maids to do what they had to right away.

"The Prince will stop by tomorrow, so clean the first-floor hall and help with the kitchen work. If the furniture has any dust on it, you’ll have to do it again all night, so do it carefully from the beginning. Now, go to your assigned areas and get to work in a hurry. Ali, please clean the room again for Lady Moira. I’m not going to let her complain like before."

At Johanna’s words, the gray-haired maid who was laughing at Julieta grumbled. "The Lady was weird. She got kicked out by the Prince and vented her anger on me. Johanna, you know that."

"It’s our job to deal with it before we get a complaint from our superior. Don’t say anything, just clean it up again. You changed the sheets to red ones, right?" Ignoring the maid’s complaint, Johanna once again asked strictly.

Ali answered, "Yes. That’s why I ordered new ones, and I had to change them. His Highness won’t need to go to that room anyway, but I don’t know why she bites the dust asking me to change the sheets to red ones."

"Quiet. Everyone, split up quickly; hurry up and finish your work."

As the head maid clapped her hands and urged everyone, the maids, who had been complaining, scattered.

People went to their places and Julietta stood there in the empty hall, not knowing where to go. Johanna looked at her disapprovingly and ordered her to follow. "You follow me here. I’ll tell you where to work starting today."

Julietta, having a very straight posture for her dull body, followed the head maid and headed to the back of the first floor. She was introduced to Rowena, the maid in charge of cleaning. Rowena, whose hair had turned grey in her fifties, also frowned at Julietta’s dull body.

"I don’t know if she can do right what she is ordered."

Rowena’s discontented voice made Johanna look back at Julietta. "I’ll give you a daily quota. You’ll not rest until you’re done with it, so you’ll have to be diligent. If you move that much, you’ll lose that big belly."

Julietta tried to say something in an instant rage, as she had heard all kinds of insults from the moment she entered the house, but barely managed to endure and not say a word. She wrote the letter ’patience’ in ten times and answered politely, vowing not to get stung by their comments, "Yes. I’ll work hard. What should I start with?"