Ariante opened one eye as if she was ready to hear strange things. When Maiana said, “Lady, you need to close your eyes,” she obediently closed them again.

Bridget, each time she opened and closed her eyes, admired Ariante’s long eyelashes that fluttered like curtains.

“Really! I didn’t know Lady’s eyelashes were this long. Perhaps you could attach matches to them? It seems like they might make a fluttering sound.”

Maiana couldn’t hold back her laughter and made a chuckling sound. Finally, when she finished wiping Ariante’s face, Ariante, with wide-open eyes, looked at Bridget and said,

“That’s called flattery.”

Instantly, Maiana and Bridget’s eyes met. Bridget had a very bewildered expression.

Maiana said, “Lady, Bridget is…”

“It’s not flattery!”

Bridget shouted. This time, not only Ariante but also Maiana turned to look at her, surprised.

“Flattery? No, it’s not! I really don’t know how to flatter. If I knew how to flatter, wouldn’t I be receiving a much higher salary than I am now? Or maybe I would have caught a man and gotten married much earlier. But you know, I can’t say things I don’t mean at all. In the old days, I got into a big fight. Once, I told a mischievous relative aunt, ‘You look like a wicked old granny,’ and got beaten until my butt caught fire.”

There were inappropriate expressions for a seven-year-old, but Bridget’s words were too fast for Maiana to stop. Even Ariante, who had scolded her for ‘flattering,’ looked at Bridget with her lips slightly parted in surprise.

Bridget smiled. It was a very kind expression with no malice.

“So, Lady, everything I say is genuine. Lady is truly beautiful! With the small dandelion-like blonde hair, and the eyes, how are they! When I look into Lady’s eyes, it reminds me of when I was young. Where I lived, there was a very clean stream, and on clear days, the sky reflected in it, looking really blue like a mirror. Lady’s eyes are exactly that color!”

Ariante looked at Bridget and Maiana one after the other. Then, suddenly, she twisted the bedsheet as if tearing it apart, sticking out her lips with a mischievous expression.

Bridget said, “Right! Get a hold of yourself. Now is not the time for this. I’ll go and get Lady’s breakfast.”

Then she hummed a tune and went outside.

Ariante said, “Is what Bridget said true?”

Maiana, who was organizing the basin, cloth, and soap, looked at Ariante and smiled broadly.

“Yes, it’s true. Lady is really beautiful.”

Ariante, looking frustrated, pounded the bed as if to say it’s not about that.

“No, not that! I mean, not your butt on fire! What if your butt catches fire? Then wouldn’t you die? You can’t sit down now because it’s hot.”

The questioning expression was serious. Maiana laughed heartily and explained what ‘butt catching fire’ meant.

Ariante repeated the newly learned words several times, then suddenly laughed with a mischievous expression, sticking out her lips as if to tease.

Just then, Ventis came in carrying the clothes Ariante would wear. Ariante, who was clattering, said,

“Ventis, if you play a trick on me from now on, I’ll make your butt catch fire. Got it?”

Then, Ventis, looking dumbfounded, stared at Maiana. Maiana was laughing so much that she was halfway to fainting. When Ariante, raising her little nose as if she were triumphant, pinched the tip of it, Ventis responded with a facial expression that was completely rebellious.
“If my butt catches fire, I’ll sit on the cushion you cherish the most, Lady. Then it’ll burn a hole in it!”

When it became 11 AM, Maiana went outside the mansion’s hall to meet the new maid.

Ventis and Bridget took Ariante for a walk in the forest. Since they also brought pies and desserts for lunch, it would probably take a while for them to return.

The deepening summer was gradually starting to cool down. The breeze brushing the forehead felt refreshingly cool, and the lush greenery, which had been vibrant, was slowly becoming fainter as it prepared for the next season.

Maiana, looking out at the garden with a renewed feeling, noticed a stranger walking along the path paved with round stones. She slightly opened her lips when she saw the unfamiliar person.

The first thing that caught her eye was the old and worn-out hat. Originally, there should have been a long ribbon along the brim, but it was nowhere to be seen, with only traces remaining. The strands visible under the hat were the black hair of a new-cut crow. The ribbon that tied and fixed the strands was green on one side and yellow on the other.

She crossed the stone-paved path with a very steady stride and finally reached Maiana’s nose. Then, as if asking, ‘What’s the matter?’ she stared at Maiana intently.

Maiana said, “Miss Iviane, right?”

Upon hearing this, she slowly closed and opened her eyes. Though not certain due to the shadow cast by the hat’s brim, her pupils seemed faintly red.

The woman, after a long silence that was long enough to make Maiana feel embarrassed, finally opened her mouth.

“Just call me Ivie. I dislike the name Iviane.”