“Yawn. I slept well.”

Waking up to the noisy chirping of sparrows, I massaged my stiff neck from sleeping leaning to one side.

After rubbing it with one hand and stretching lightly, I felt more awake.

‘I thought it would be terribly uncomfortable on a single-person sofa, but it was surprisingly soft and I slept deeply.’

Perhaps I’m a genius at adapting?

Anyway, I almost had to sleep alone on the cold cave floor, so this was no different from a hotel.

In fact, this mansion was more than just a hotel.

It was so large and majestic it could be called a palace.

I quietly got up from my seat and peeked my head out from beside the chair.

Dietrich was already gone from the bed, having woken up at some point.

Glancing around the room, it seemed I was alone.

“Hmm. He’s already left.”

I wanted to know the time, but for some reason there wasn’t even a clock in this room.

It was inconvenient for me, having lost my sense of time since entering the book.

I knew it was morning at least…

“What time is it?”

No sooner had I finished speaking than my stomach growled, demanding food.

Clutching my rumbling stomach, I thought of foods I wanted to eat.

Seasoned vegetables, pancakes, banquet noodles…

One thing was certain – it was time to eat.

I stood there in the room without a mirror, looking down at the clothes I was wearing.

No matter how I looked at it, these clothes seemed far from what the people here usually wore.

They looked like old pajamas made of very old fabric, perfect for being mistaken for a beggar if I went out the door like this.

But I couldn’t wait for Dietrich to come back and starve to death here either.

What should I do? After about 10 minutes of deliberation, I made up my mind.

‘Alright, let’s go get some food.’

I could already imagine Dietrich’s furious face when he saw me leaving the room without permission, but I had no choice.

What can I do when I’m hungry!

I can’t starve to death here!

‘Okay. Either way, whether I starve to death here or go out to eat and get killed by Dietrich, it’s the same.’

Thinking like that made me feel a bit better.

Being excellent at taking action, I went straight for the doorknob and turned it.

With a creak, the door opened wide.

And what I saw was…

Maids rushing around busily with brooms and mops.

Not knowing what was going on, I stood blankly by the door when a maid carrying a bucket of wrung-out mops called out to me.

“You there! Don’t just stand there blankly, help me carry this!”

“…Huh?”

“I said help me with this! We need to hurry. There’s no time.”

She asked for help so firmly that I awkwardly approached the maid.

Then I grabbed the handle of the bucket she was holding and lifted it together.

As soon as I grabbed it, I felt the weight and realized it must have been really difficult to move alone.

“Heavy, right? But we just need to move it to the terrace at the end of the corridor.”

The maid, wiping the sweat from her forehead, started moving again.

It didn’t seem like many steps to the terrace at the end of the corridor, but carrying the heavy water bucket made it feel quite far.

After setting down the bucket on the terrace with a groan, I finally stretched my back and let out a deep breath.

“This is heavier than I thought. Moving it alone must be hell.”

Finding my exhaustion amusing, the maid giggled softly and spoke naturally as if she had known me for a long time.

“I know, right? It’s so heavy, who made someone carry this alone?”

Then I should respond naturally too.

I wiped the dirty water that had splashed on the back of my hand on my clothes and asked.

“Who else? The head maid. If maids like us don’t do as we’re told, we get fired quickly, so we have to do it even if it’s hard.”

“I see. So here too, you have to do what you’re told without complaint. It’s never easy to make money.”

“That’s right. But wait a minute. ‘Here too’?”

At the end of the conversation that had flowed so naturally, the maid tilted her head as if something was strange.

Then she stared at the clothes I was wearing and frowned.

“By the way, why aren’t you wearing a maid’s uniform?”

To notice that only now.

Thinking she was quite unobservant for a maid, I swallowed hard.

I had managed to get this far smoothly, but how should I answer when asked about my identity?

Actually, I’m a distant relative of the first young master of this mansion!

My current appearance was too far from that to say such a thing.

It was obvious that claiming to be a noble wouldn’t work when I could be mistaken for a maid.

What should I do, I was worrying and stamping my feet when the maid hit her palm with her fist and exclaimed.

“Ah! You haven’t received your maid uniform yet!”

…Huh?

The maid clapped her hands as if everything made sense now.

“Of course. I heard they hired a bunch of maids because the second young master is returning from the academy. But still, not giving you a uniform yet is too much!”

It seems I was definitely Number One at escaping crises.

‘Oh my, to misunderstand like this. Yes, yes!’

Seeing this kind friend who didn’t doubt my identity, I nodded vigorously.

Then, as if taking my side, the maid patted my shoulder and smiled, extending her hand to me.

“Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Marie.”

When I grasped it, I felt the rough texture of her palm, unlike my own hand.

Marie shook my hand up and down cheerfully and asked me.

“What’s your name? Since you’re new, introduce yourself.”

“I’m Ha…”

I was about to say ‘Harpe’ but quickly shut my mouth.

There was no way the people of this mansion wouldn’t know what ‘Harpe’ was.

Of course, Marie being a maid might not know about the family’s treasured sword, but it seemed better to be careful.

So I rubbed my stiffened lips awkwardly and said.

“Heidi!”

“Heidi?”

“Yes. I’m Heidi.”

“What an unusual and pretty name!”

Marie seemed to have a good personality.

She kept muttering “Heidi, Heidi…” as if she liked the name, then asked.

“Oh right, it’s already lunchtime. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Oh my. Finally someone who cares about my meals!

I nodded vigorously with my hands clasped, looking deeply moved.

“No, no. I haven’t eaten a single meal.”

“I see. Understandable. Most girls who come as maids have similar family circumstances. Plus, you’re a new hire who just arrived today, right?”

Marie comforted me in a kind tone as if she understood everything, then put her hands on her hips and said.

“Alright then, follow me. Believe it or not, I’ve been working in this mansion for 5 years!”

“No, wait. Marie.”

I waved my hands in surprise at her words to follow, but Marie, already immersed in the joy of becoming a senior, didn’t seem to hear.

“First, let’s go to where the maids eat! Even Mount Riena is best viewed after a meal!”

‘Even Mount Riena is best viewed after a meal?’

Well, I guess it’s similar to the saying ‘Even Geumgang Mountain is best viewed after a meal.’

Marie, who had firmly grasped my hand as I quickly got lost in thought, strode off somewhere.

At that moment, I had a premonition.

Isn’t this situation going terribly wrong?

“Har… I mean, are you there?”

Dietrich, returning from morning sword training, went straight to his room, unlike usual.

It wasn’t that he was particularly concerned, but there was an unidentified spirit of a sword in his room.

Arriving with somewhat hurried steps, he was about to call for Harpe but stopped for a moment.

He had experienced yesterday that calling her Harpe would immediately pull her into the sword, so he decided not to use her name.

So he asked if she was there, but there was no answer.

‘…This is unsettling.’

Although he had just met Harpe yesterday, he could immediately tell that she was unlike the noble women of the empire, lacking in refinement.

Instead of elegant and graceful behavior, she had an unpredictable, capricious personality.

It made him more nervous that Harpe wasn’t answering when called.

Dietrich strode towards the sofa where she had been sleeping.

“You, why aren’t you answer…”

And he let out a hollow laugh, looking at the empty sofa.

It was a moment when he felt foolish for believing she would stay quietly in the room.

Having returned immediately after training, he rolled up the sleeves of his sweat-soaked white shirt to his elbows and gritted his teeth.

He immediately checked the bedside table where the sword was placed.

Unlike Harpe, the sword was still there obediently.

“…Harpe, Harpe.”

He called her name just in case, but there was no sign of Harpe entering or leaving the sword.

Where on earth did she disappear to?

After making a contract and everything, did she run off again somewhere?

In the end, Dietrich decided to go look for Harpe.

Even if she was within the mansion, it would be a big problem if the Duchess caught sight of her.

If the naive Harpe said something wrong in front of that woman, she would immediately become suspicious.

“It’s not boring from the morning.”

Dietrich roughly ran his hand through his hair, trying to suppress his rising anger.

Then he left the room and started looking for places where Harpe might be.

And 30 minutes later.

Dietrich encountered Harpe in an unexpected place, wearing unexpected attire.