After that, Meiana didn’t bother waiting for Jocelyn’s response and went up the stairs. Ivi also followed Meiana, passing by Jocelyn without even lowering her head.

Jocelyn ground her teeth and glared at the backs of the two as they walked away. Then, pretending to wipe the railing, she slapped the cheek of a maid who was humming around and disappeared somewhere.

Meiana, along with Ivi, entered Ariante’s room, making sure no one was lurking outside, and firmly closed the door. Ivi, holding an old bag in her hand, looked somewhat absent-minded as she glanced around the splendid living room.

“Ivi, please sit.”

Meiana offered a chair. Looking down at the luxurious armrest and the cushion woven with golden threads, Ivi said, “Are you telling me to sit on such a good chair?”

“You can’t sit on the floor, right?”

Ivi looked at the chair for a moment and sat down with a cautious attitude. The old bag remained clutched in her arms.

Meiana sighed briefly and said, “First of all, I’ll apologize on behalf of Jocelyn, the Stewardess. I hope you won’t take it to heart.”

Ivi’s eyes blinked quietly.

“You mean what she said about a ‘filthy wench’?”

“Yes. She’s a bit…”

Interrupting Meiana, Ivi responded, “Don’t worry about it. It’s not entirely untrue.”

Meiana raised one eyebrow, giving a subtle smile.

“What does that mean?”

“If you’re working in such a splendid mansion, that too… What did you say earlier? Stewardess?”

“Stewardess, indeed.”

Ivi nodded her head.

“Yes, Stewardess. If she’s a person like that, I must look like a wretched wench who doesn’t even know where I came from. I’m used to such treatment, so there’s nothing to take to heart. Instead, I’m more surprised that she’s the Stewardess. I thought she might be the owner of this mansion.”

Meiana firmly nodded.

“Not at all. Anyway, don’t think too deeply about Stewardess Jocelyn. It’s better not to think about getting involved with her. If you end up working here, you should be especially cautious of Stewardess Jocelyn. You’ll find out why gradually.”

Instead of answering, Ivi blinked her eyes very slowly again. The speed at which she blinked her eyes was so slow that Meiana almost thought, ‘Should I tell her to open her eyes?’ By the time she had such thoughts, it seemed as if she had read Meiana’s mind and opened her eyes again.

Meiana glanced through her records once again. There was no special content, just one short sentence.

When addressing a noble family, it was common to attach the owner’s title to the end, like ‘The Duke of Westminster.’
Because of that, Meiana could tell that the ‘Glaster household’ where Ivi worked was not a noble family. Cediloy must have noticed that as well.

“This Glaster household… What kind of work did you mainly do there? Were you a live-in maid?”

“That’s right. It was a place a bit away from my hometown, a house I went to through my mother’s relative’s introduction. I did everything… squeezed milk, raised pigs, cleaned the barn, pulled weeds while carrying a baby.”

“It was a farm. But you’re only nineteen now? You started working at sixteen…?”

“It was a house where a lot of work needed to be done. Glaster Madam couldn’t do any household chores because she became pregnant. Originally, I was planning to look for a job elsewhere after finishing postpartum recovery, but then she ended up giving birth to twins.”

Meiana nodded.

“So you continued working.”

“That’s right. Then Glaster decided to give the tenancy to someone else and leave for the city. I thought she might take me with her, but that didn’t happen. She said it would be better for the maids to go to the city as the children had grown up a bit.”

“Goodness.”

Meiana sighed briefly, her expression twitching.

“Still, even if… how many years has it been? Three years. You worked for three years, and she didn’t take you with her?”

Ivi shrugged as if to say, “What could I do?”

“There was no alternative. I couldn’t hide in the luggage cart. While in such a situation, I heard a rumor by chance. They were recruiting new maids at the Westminster Duchy. So, I applied. I didn’t know if I would actually get it.”

“You can’t say you’ve ‘got it’ yet. We need to figure out what kind of work you’ll be doing here, what to be cautious of, and whether you can handle it… Both sides need to make judgments.”

Ivi nodded with a slightly tilted head. Given the urgency of finding a job in such a situation, her attitude and way of speaking were surprisingly relaxed. There was no sign of her trying too hard to look good.

“First, this will be the place where you’ll work. Here is the east wing of the mansion, where Lady Ariante resides. Lord Westminster’s residence is on the opposite west side. Most of the maids in the east wing stay only here. If you end up working, you will share a room with another maid named Bridget. It’s the room over there.”

Meiana pointed to the entrance with a round arch. Ivi’s gaze, which had been slowly following along the wall adorned with red silk and white gypsum decorations, returned to Meiana.