My Maid is Cute Chapter 71 : A Member of the Lambert House (Patreon)

*A Member of the Lambert House*

We were informed by the head maid that a tea party hosted by Lady Lisette was to be held in the Caldwell family garden.

From the very next day, Rebecca, along with the maids and other servants, spent their days immersed in meetings and preparations for the event.

"A tea party, huh? I wonder what kind of people will come," Rebecca muttered as she worked.

Carrie answered her. "Since they’re inviting Lady Lisette’s friends, it’ll surely be noble wives and young ladies."

Carrie shrugged her shoulders as she continued. "We have to be careful not to make any mistakes. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a tea party, after all..."

Rebecca tilted her head and asked, "Are tea parties and gatherings like this commonly held at this mansion?"

"Well, they are nobles, you know. Sometimes they hold soirées or dinner parties. Lady Lisette is hosting this time, but sometimes Lord Christopher takes the lead..."

That’s a huge difference from the Caldwell house that was shunned by high society due to the curse in the past, Rebecca whispered in her heart.

Carrie continued with a wry smile. "Lady Wendy never hosts tea parties, though. Which makes things easier for us, in a way."

"Well, Milady does seem like she would dislike those kinds of events."

Carrie nodded vigorously at Rebecca's words.

"Exactly. Even now, she rarely shows her face in high society. It seems she thoroughly avoids parties and the like, unless she absolutely has to go."

"Ah... I see."

"Lord Christopher seems quite worried about it, too. He’s concerned that at this rate, she might even skip her graduation party..."

At those words, Rebecca stopped the hand moving her broom abruptly and tilted her head.

"There's a graduation party?"

Carrie nodded lightly.

"That's right. I don't know the details myself... but I believe there's a party held on the night of the academy's graduation ceremony. Almost all the students attend to celebrate their graduation."

"Oh..."

"Apparently, all the noble young ladies look forward to that party. They need to prepare dresses and such, but Lady Wendy hasn't said a single thing about it. If this keeps up, she might really intend to be absent..."

Well, Milady would probably hate a party like that rather than enjoy it, Rebecca thought. Just then, the head maid’s voice called out from behind them.

"Carrie, Rebecca! The kitchen needs help!"

"Ah, yes!"

The two of them hurriedly headed toward the kitchen.

***

To my dearest Becca,

Is everything unchanged over there? Is the work not too hard? Is anyone being mean to you?

If anything happens, tell me immediately.

I am very well. Classes and studying are a huge hassle, but—

In the library, Rebecca carefully read the letter that had arrived from Wendy. After reading it over and over again, she let out a heavy sigh.

"...I miss her."

More than a letter, she wanted to meet her in person and talk. She wanted to hear that voice. She wanted to see that smile.

Even now, wanting to feel Wendy's presence even a little, she was reading the letter in the library, Wendy's favorite spot. Lately, spending time here had completely become her daily routine.

"...I want to see you... Milady..."

Surrounded by many books, as if to forcibly suppress her loneliness, Rebecca hugged her knees and buried her face in them.

***

Several weeks later, the day of the tea party arrived.

From the morning, Rebecca was swamped with work, setting up the venue and preparing the tea service.

The head maid, Carrie, and the other maids were assigned to attend to the guests in the garden. Since Rebecca couldn't perform serving duties during the tea party, her work was centered in the kitchen.

As the time for the tea party approached, she sensed the presence of many people arriving at the mansion.

"...They're here," Rebecca muttered instinctively.

The head maid, who was nearby, nodded with a wry smile.

"We must go greet them. Well then, Rebecca, please take care of the kitchen duties. Ask the head chef for instructions."

"Yes."

When Rebecca nodded firmly, the head maid led the other maids toward the garden where the tea party was being held. Rebecca mouthed, Good luck, to Carrie, and Carrie nodded and waved back.

After seeing off her fellow maids, she immediately headed to the kitchen and began her work. Taking instructions from the chefs and other servants, she helped prepare the tea and sweets and proceeded with washing the dishes. While being chased by a massive amount of work, time passed in the blink of an eye.

"That looks delicious..."

Rebecca muttered unintentionally as she stared at the cakes and baked sweets the chefs were making. A nearby chef heard her and spoke up with a laugh.

"You want some? Don't worry. We'll make suuuure to save a share for Rebecca."

He then vigorously patted and rubbed Rebecca's head. Rebecca pouted and voiced her complaint.

"Geez, please stop treating me like a child!"

"So, you don't want any sweets?"

"Well... I do want them, but..."

When Rebecca said that with a vexed expression, the surrounding chefs laughed.

Glancing occasionally at the sweets being carried out to the tea party venue, Rebecca wiped the washed dishes with a cloth. Just as she was putting away the tableware, imagining that the head maid and Carrie must be working busily at the venue right about now, she was interrupted.

"Rebecca, go take a break."

One of the chefs said this, causing Rebecca to tilt her head.

"Is that alright?"

"Yeah. Things have calmed down a bit here. It's just minor tasks left, so we're fine."

Grateful for those words, Rebecca nodded.

"Then... I'll step out for a bit."

She had honestly wanted to go to the bathroom, so it was a relief. Rebecca thanked the chefs and left the kitchen.

"I wonder if the tea party is still going on..."

After using the restroom, Rebecca muttered to herself as she walked down the hallway.

"The cleanup and cleaning afterward are going to be tough. If only this body were a little bigger, it would be easier to move around..."

Just as she was grumbling to herself and walking back toward the kitchen, she stopped.

"Huh?"

Rebecca looked down the hallway, her eyes widening as she let out a voice.

She saw the back of an unfamiliar woman. She was wandering aimlessly down the corridor.

Who is that? she wondered for a moment, tilting her head. But seeing the woman dressed in a gorgeous pale red dress, she immediately realized it was a guest from the tea party.

Rebecca hesitated slightly, but quickly ran up to the woman and called out.

"Um... is something the matter?"

Reacting to Rebecca's voice, the woman turned around. Seeing the woman's face from the front, Rebecca's body froze.

She was a very beautiful woman. Even Rebecca, who was used to looking at Wendy, instinctively held her breath.

Skin as white as snow, and luscious lips painted with a refined color. Her blue-tinted black hair was tied up with artistic beauty. Sparkling light violet eyes looked back at Rebecca. Her dignified gaze was striking; she was a woman with fearless, refined features.

"Uh, um... I-I am a maid of this house. Are you in need of assistance?"

While flustered by the woman's beauty, Rebecca spoke nervously.

The woman opened her mouth with a slightly troubled expression.

"Ah... Actually, I got lost while walking in the garden... Before I knew it, I had wandered inside the mansion. I don't know how to get back to the garden..."

She looked around with an anxious demeanor. I see, she's lost, Rebecca muttered in her heart and spoke up.

"In that case, I will guide you to the garden. This way, please."

When Rebecca pointed down the hallway and started walking, the woman followed behind her, looking relieved.

While they walked down the corridor, the woman stared intently at Rebecca and struck up a conversation.

"To think such a young child is working here..."

Rebecca replied with a wry smile.

"I... am not as young as I look..."

It was difficult to state her actual age, so she gave a vague answer. The woman furrowed her brows in wonder but didn't say anything further.

"Ah, it's right here."

Rebecca opened the door leading outside and pointed the way.

"If you go straight from here, you can get out to the garden. It's just a little further, so..."

Just as she was about to step out into the garden intending to guide her all the way, a voice called out.

"Lady Estelle!"

A loud voice rang out. A young woman, wearing a dress that suggested she was also a tea party guest, came running toward them in a panic.

The young woman, who seemed to be an acquaintance of the lost beauty, rushed up to them and let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness... You suddenly disappeared, so I was looking for you..."

The beauty called Estelle answered the young woman apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I got lost... This maid helped me."

Estelle answered while directing her gaze at Rebecca. Rebecca smiled back vaguely.

The young woman glanced at Rebecca but didn't seem to pay much attention to her, speaking again to Estelle.

"Well then, let's head back. Everyone else was worried, too."

"Yes."

Estelle answered briefly. Then, she smiled sweetly at Rebecca again.

"You saved me. Thank you, cute little maid."

"Ah... no... um..."

Rebecca bowed her head, flustered by that graceful smile.

Paying no mind to Rebecca's reaction, Estelle walked away toward the garden with the young woman to return to the tea party.

After their figures disappeared, Rebecca muttered quietly.

"...She was incredibly beautiful. Not as much as Milady, though..."

She was a little dazzled, but of course, Wendy was overwhelmingly more beautiful.

Thinking that once again, Rebecca started walking to return to the kitchen.

***

"Ughhh, I'm so tiiiiired."

"Good work today."

The tea party had finally ended. In the break room, Rebecca offered tea to Carrie, who was collapsed face-down on the table looking exhausted. Carrie spoke with her face still buried.

"I am really tired. I don't want to see tea or cake anymore."

Rebecca nodded at those words and took a sip of the tea she had poured into her cup. Then, she spoke to Carrie.

"The cleanup and cleaning are done, so starting tomorrow, it's back to our normal life."

"Right. Ahh... but I don't want to work anymore. I want to rest for about a week..."

After smiling wryly at Carrie's words, Rebecca suddenly remembered the woman she met during the day and opened her mouth.

"Come to think of it, during the tea party, I met one of the guests."

"Huh?"

Carrie lifted her face and replied with a puzzled look.

"Why? You were doing behind-the-scenes work the whole time, weren't you, Rebecca?"

"Well, it seems she wandered into the mansion while walking in the garden and got lost... She looked troubled, so I guided her back to the garden."

Rebecca continued, recalling the face of the woman called Estelle.

"She was an incredibly beautiful person... I was captivated without meaning to."

"Hehh. I wonder whose daughter she is?"

"Ah, I believe she was called Lady Estelle."

"Eh!?"

When Rebecca replied, Carrie raised her voice loudly.

"Lady Estelle? You mean... Lady Estelle Lambert?"

Hearing an unexpected name fly from Carrie's mouth, Rebecca opened her mouth in stunned surprise.

"La-Lambert?"

"Yeah. If she was called Lady Estelle, then it's probably Estelle Lambert, no doubt... Was she a stunning beauty with black hair? She's the daughter of Marquis Lambert."

Rebecca, while dumbfounded, asked again.

"Um, does that mean... the son of Marquis Lambert, who is said to be close with Milady..."

"His older sister, I think. I heard she graduated from the academy about two years ago."

Carrie spoke with a somewhat awkward expression for some reason. Rebecca tilted her head at Carrie and replied.

"You know a lot about this, Carrie."

"Well, because I hear rumors often... Estelle Lambert is known as one of the Three Great Beauties, after all."

"Ehh...? Is that so?"

"Yeah. Even at today's tea party, she stood out conspicuously, leading around a large entourage."

With that beauty, it makes sense, Rebecca thought as she took another sip of tea.

Meanwhile, Carrie continued speaking.

"Apparently, she's very popular. Gentle, calm, smart, skilled at magic—she's perfect, they say. I heard she got engaged a little while ago, though..."

"Is that so..."

Rebecca replied, impressed by Carrie's story.

"She sounds like an amazing person."

"I only saw her briefly from a distance while working, but she really was a beauty, wasn't she? How should I put it... she's glamorous... Lady Wendy is beautiful too, but..."

"Milady is more beautiful!"

Hearing Carrie's words, Rebecca retorted instantly. Carrie nodded with a wry smile.

"Yes, yes. Well, she's a different type of beauty from Lady Wendy. I'd like to see her up close too..."

Listening to Carrie's words, she pictured the face of Estelle, whom she met during the day, once more.

Milady is definitely prettier, Rebecca thought as she drained her cup of tea.

***

***

In the cafeteria of the Magic Academy.

The cafeteria used by the students within the academy grounds was quite large. The food had a reputation for being delicious, so almost all students utilized this cafeteria. When the lunch break began, students would sit at tables with their close friends and enjoy their meals while chatting lively.

Today, too, the cafeteria was crowded with many students. Amidst this, a single young man quietly stepped inside.

In that instant, the atmosphere of the cafeteria changed.

With blue-tinted black hair and beautiful clear violet eyes, the students in the cafeteria were instantly captivated by the young man. The female students, in particular, began to fidget. Everyone sent glancing looks his way, clearly conscious of him.

However, the young man paid no mind to those gazes and looked around the cafeteria restlessly, as if searching for someone.

Several female students called out to him.

"Oh my, Lord Nicholas. Are you alone?"

"If you'd like, won't you join us?"

"I want to talk with you at leisure, Lord Nicholas!"

To those female students, the young man called Nicholas replied with a cheerful smile.

"Those are lovely invitations, but I'm sorry. I have an appointment."

Saying that, he left them. The female students saw him off with voices of disappointment.

Nicholas called out to a female student who was eating her meal all alone in a corner of the cafeteria.

"Hey there."

The female student—Wendy—glanced at Nicholas and returned a cold voice.

"Good day, Corin."

Without asking for permission, Nicholas sat opposite Wendy. Then, he cast a silence spell so their conversation wouldn't be heard by those around them.

Wendy furrowed her brows for a moment at Nicholas's behavior but immediately returned her gaze to her meal. Moving her fork and knife, she spoke.

"—Corin, what about your meal?"

"Nah. I haven't had much of an appetite lately... I figured I don't need to eat."

"If you're not eating, isn't there no need to come here? Why not spend your time in some random classroom like usual?"

"True, but... I wanted to talk to you."

Wendy shrugged her shoulders at Nicholas's words. Without reacting further, she continued her meal quietly.

"...Wendy, did something happen during the break?"

"...Why do you think that?"

"No reason, just... since the break ended, you seem somewhat happy, or rather... I felt like you've become a little brighter."

"...Not really. It has nothing to do with you, Corin."

"I see."

Without probing deeper, Nicholas smiled gently.

Seeing that face, Wendy desperately suppressed the urge to grimace.

Wendy was bad with this face of Nicholas's.

She thought it was a very beautiful face. It wasn't that she felt revulsion.

But, somehow, Nicholas's overall atmosphere resembled her brother. She ended up feeling as if she were talking to her brother.

Unaware of Wendy's inner thoughts, Nicholas continued talking.

"I heard my sister went to a tea party at your house the other day."

"Is that so."

"She said it was very fun."

"Is that so... Ah, come to think of it, I heard your sister got engaged to the son of the Armand family. Congratulations."

Wendy reached for her after-meal dessert while continuing the conversation with Nicholas.

"Thanks."

Nicholas gave a short reply.

After that, silence fell between the two.

Nicholas stared silently for a while at Wendy, who barely changed her expression and showed absolutely no sign of enjoying herself despite conversing.

Fed up with the silence, Wendy took a bite of her dessert pie and spoke up herself, having no other choice.

"So? You came all the way here and even cast a silence spell, so you must have something important to discuss, right? Spit it out."

At those words, Nicholas looked away from Wendy as if hesitating for just a moment.

Then, clasping his hands slowly on the table, he opened his mouth.

"Wendy."

Called by name, Wendy shifted her gaze from the pie to Nicholas.

Nicholas smiled gently and overlaid his words.

"Won't you get engaged to me?"