Chapter 6 - Walking on Eggshells

Jubelian’s tone made her doubt herself. It didn’t seem like she was irritated or angry. Merilyn stared at the beautiful lady with suspicion. When their eyes met, a brilliant smile blossomed on Jubelian’s face like a flower.

“Ah, and please prepare some bath products that will help me sleep. I am tired and want to go to bed early.”

“Y-yes. I will prepare lavender scented ones.” Although she stuttered, she was able to compose herself and reply in time.

‘Why is Lady Floyen suddenly acting like this? I can’t get used to it…’

If anyone asked Merilyn what she thought of the lady, she would say that Lady Floyen was an unfavorable person to serve without hesitation. Although she had never physically abused her maids, she had done plenty of psychological harm.

“I’ll be waiting for the bath then. Thank you.”

Jubelian, who had finished their brief conversation with grace, walked past Merilyn and entered her room. She had given her an encouraging remark rather than a spiteful one. Merilyn glanced at the closed door, then staggered when her legs lost their strength.

“Merilyn! Are you okay?”

Sella, an assistant maid, rushed towards her. Merilyn refused her help.

“I’m fine. I will prepare a bath for Lady Floyen. Please prepare some clothes for her.”

Merilyn tried to calm herself after giving instructions to Sella.

‘I thought she would be angry… She’s acting very strange today.’

The Jubelian she knew would throw tantrums when she wasn’t in a good mood, which would ruin everyone else’s mood in turn.

‘It’s as if she’s become a completely different person.’

The moment she thought of this, goosebumps pricked her skin. Merilyn struggled to compose herself. 

‘Let’s not think useless thoughts. I just need to do my job well.’

Nevertheless, Jubelian’s smiling face continued to plague her.

‘Is it because she didn’t seem energetic? I even felt sorry for her.’

At this thought, Merilyn let out a sigh and slapped herself in the face. 

‘What am I thinking about? Wake up, Merilyn.’

She reminded herself to stay vigilant in front of the Lady. 

* * *

Taking a bath was always an enjoyable experience. Useless thoughts would scatter the moment I soaked myself in warm, fragrant water. However, I was so tired from today’s events that even a bath didn’t seem appealing.

‘Should I just skip it?’

I had been thinking about just going to sleep for a while now but quickly decided against it. 

‘No, they must be doing their best to prepare it. I shouldn’t change my mind at the last minute.’ 

I felt sad after realizing that I had been so cruel to the maids. I wished I could start over from the beginning, but it was already too late. Even if I showed kindness to them now, they probably wouldn’t think it was sincere.

Now that I decided to be a nice lady from now on, I continued to wait for my bath to be ready. Despite my determination, I couldn’t stop yawning. 

‘I’m really about to pass out. What should I do?’

After waiting for another five minutes, I began thinking about cancelling the bath. Just then, I heard a knock.

“The bath is ready, Lady Floyen.”

“Alright.”

I rose from my chair to go to the washroom. However, I was so sleepy that I kept resisting the urge to keep yawning. When I finally gave in, tears began to flow down my cheeks.

‘Ah, I’m really, really sleepy. I don’t think I’ll be able to take a bath like this…’

I raised my hand to wipe my tears and heard a voice.

“Lady Floyen!”

Merilyn was in the room watching me with astonishment, which was quite an unusual look on her.

‘Oh no, did she just see me yawning?’

I probably looked like a hippo with my mouth wide open.

‘Well, that’s embarrassing.’

I smiled as gracefully as possible while trying my best to keep my lips shut. 

“Sorry about that. Did I look bad?”

Like a professional, Merilyn didn’t say anything about me yawning.

“Are you okay?” she merely asked with a careful tone. 

‘I’m just going to be honest with her since she’s asking me like that.’

I guess I really looked tired in her eyes since she asked me if I would be okay to take a bath. I decided to tell her the truth.

A few tears leaked from the corner of my eyes as I said, “I’m really tired, so I’ll take the bath tomorrow. Could you change me into my sleepwear?”

Merilyn nodded silently and began helping me into my clothes. For some reason, she bore a sullen expression. 

‘Maybe… it’s because I made her prepare the bath for no reason.’

I had heard somewhere before that it’s easier to see things from someone’s shoes if you’ve been in a similar situation before. Maybe it was because of what I had experienced at my part-time jobs, but I felt sorry for Merilyn who suffered all this time under the previous Jubelian.

“It’s because… I’m very tired right now.”

Merilyn’s eyes widened at my excuse. She hurriedly lowered her head.

“It’s not a problem. Please rest.”

She was probably still upset, despite pretending that everything was okay. 

“Thank you, Merilyn.”

Her legs seemed to wobble for a second, but I was so tired that it must’ve been an illusion. As soon as Merilyn left the room, I collapsed on my bed.

‘Ah, did I really end things with Mikhail today?’

I felt so happy that my body shook with laughter. 

‘What a relief!’

Although I felt sorry for Merilyn who was probably upset by what I did tonight… I had at least successfully broken up with Mikhail. Because of that, I could sleep soundly.