That smile, resembling the distinguished guests treated very highly even in the duke’s family, could only be faintly glimpsed through Isabelle’s peripheral vision.

Distracted by that smile, Isabelle was a beat late in responding.

“What?”

“What? Well, it seems like you didn’t properly learn from your governess. Uncle hopes I have a comfortable stay, so he sent you. But it seems like you might not fulfill your duties properly. Go back.”
With that, Neris turned her body.

The firm attitude and sarcastic words left Isabelle perplexed, not knowing what to do. Naturally, Isabelle couldn’t turn back now. She couldn’t disappoint both Nellusyon and Valentine; she knew what consequences awaited.

At the very least, being sent back to the mansion. In the worst case, she could be expelled without a letter of introduction. She might never get a job in any noble family again.

That was absolutely unacceptable. Isabelle wanted to climb to a higher position than she was now.

And now, isn’t it an opportunity to be noticed by both the young lady and the young master?

“I apologize, miss! I will immediately rectify my shortcomings. Please allow me to serve you! I will do my best to make you feel comfortable.”

Therefore, Isabelle began to kneel down with a plea.

Neris turned her body again, looking down at Isabelle with a bored narrowing of her eyes.

Even if Isabelle were to bang her head on the floor, it wouldn’t impress Neris. Such things weren’t even punished in the royal palace.

Kneeling down a few times and then straightening her knees again was enough.

“Get up. As you might have seen, this room is very small. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do.”

Isabelle, unable to breathe properly, quickly stood up. Neris looked at Isabelle with unreadable eyes, then casually nodded.

“It seems like there’s a lot of laundry to do since I came to the dormitory after a long time. Bring the bed sheets right away and wash them. We need to sleep on clean sheets tonight.”

It was an absurd statement. It was already close to evening, so if she washed the bed sheets now, she would have to sleep damp all night.

Seeing Isabelle’s face full of doubt, Neris smirked.

“Don’t you know how to launder?”

In other words, wash them now and quickly dry them with an iron. Isabelle felt a bit more unjust than before.

Both laundry and ironing were manual labor, and in the duke’s mansion, it was mostly done by novice maids.

“Lady.”

Thinking that she probably didn’t know what a ‘maid’ does, Isabelle raised her neck stiffly. After all, who would have tried to teach someone lower class?

“Why are you calling me?”

“I am a maid of the duke’s mansion, not a kitchen maid. I haven’t learned or done the things you mentioned. I follow and serve to ensure that the lady lives with dignity.”

In Isabelle’s contemptuous tone, the appearance of begging to fix her shortcomings just a moment ago was nowhere to be found.

Neris laughed inwardly. Whether in the past or now, Isabelle was persistent. Even though it seemed like she was bowing her head, she always had a mental superiority, wanting to be superior to others in some way.
“Then, I don’t need you. As you can see, the maid needed in this room is someone who can handle anything alone, not a servant trailing behind me like a child.”

Neris’s attitude was much firmer than Isabelle had anticipated. Isabelle briefly rolled her eyes, unable to judge how she should act.

The little blonde spoke gently, “Kneel again. It seems painful for you to look up.”

Isabelle knelt again. And she was belatedly surprised at the fact that she didn’t hesitate for a moment.

Certainly, the voice was soft, as if persuading, but each word from Neris was imperative. And those orders had the power to make even an adult like Isabelle obey without question.

“If that’s the case, you’d better go back now. I don’t need someone below who doesn’t know their place. A servant who doesn’t obey the master’s orders is more useless than a servant who can’t do the work. …Well, and earlier, you said you’d fix your shortcomings, didn’t you?”

It didn’t end there. Neris lowered her eyes and continued speaking.

“How do you fix stupidity? Come to think of it, perhaps Nellusyon Orabni sent me an uneducated child. So you probably haven’t learned enough from the maid, and even if you did, your head is so bad that you wouldn’t remember it, right?”

Isabelle almost shouted in frustration and anger. However, her last bit of reason barely prevented such a catastrophe. She just expressed a bit of protest! But insulting someone to this extent?

Neris Trude’s impression that Isabelle had received until now was all wrong. This little girl had a dirty personality suitable for her background. She was a very nasty girl.

It would be nice if she could just get fed up and leave Lady Valentine!

Neris could see into Isabelle’s mind as she thought that. When facing someone who possesses something she wants more than herself, a person shows their inferiority.

And when Neris was adopted into the Duke’s house, she frequently saw Isabelle’s inferiority.

Neris looked at Isabelle, sighing gracefully.

“Don’t you have a mouth? Speak for yourself, Isabelle. Would it be better for me to tell Nellusyon Orabni that either you are stupid, or the Elendria maids, from the head maid to the lowest maid, don’t seem to do their jobs properly? The kind of servant who follows behind and serves to maintain the dignity of the master is a high-ranking maid. If you want me to assign such tasks, your brother probably sent a maid from a higher background than you, attaching her to take care of the child.”

Goodness, this little one knew well about the class of servants! Isabelle turned pale and prostrated herself on the floor. And she begged desperately.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, miss! I made a mistake. Because of my incompetence, I’ve made you uncomfortable! I’ll do well, I’ll really do well! Please…”
Neris sighed once again, sounding more like an adult. Isabelle even thought that the sound itself was sharp as a thorn.

She couldn’t help but worry that this young one might rush to Master Valentine and say something unpleasant, causing her heart to race.

A moment later, Isabelle heard a voice like salvation.

“I’ll let it slide this time. Not because I think you’ll be useful, but because I don’t want to see the faces of my brother and Valentine. Don’t misunderstand and work diligently.”

“Yes, miss! Thank you, thank you…!”

“Now, can you do the laundry?”

“As you say, miss.”

After saying that much, Isabelle, feeling relieved, added a word.

“Um, how about having a meal during that time?”

“A meal?”

With an attitude that blatantly revealed, “How dare you speak so freely about my schedule?” Neris raised her thin and dark eyebrows. Isabelle lowered her eyes and said obediently.

“Miss Valentine suggested that Miss Neris join for dinner by the lakeside today. She said to meet at the white gazebo by the lakeside.”

“So?”

Neris smiled slyly. Knowing vaguely what Valentine had prepared for today, Isabelle resisted the urge to triumphantly reveal it on her face.

Let’s see how long this little pretense can last! It would be great if the annoying girl fainted or something! No, it would be even better if she caught a cold and died!