I bowed. Fortunately, this time Alicia also noticed and bowed to greet her. The man who had been standing with his back to us hurriedly turned around and bowed as well, but he still couldn't properly look at Joelle.
As soon as the man finished his greeting and turned back, Joelle immediately fixed her gaze on the male servant. Her eyes curved even more.
"What's the name of the cute one there?"
"Joelle, you should freshen up first."
"Ah, right, Audrey. You're clueless."
"You'll catch a cold if you stand like that."
"Alright, alright."
Joelle waved her hand, got up from the bed, and glanced at Alicia and me.
"I like pretty girls."
"Huh?"
Her smiling fingertips touched Alicia. I was puzzled, and Audrey pushed Alicia forward to Joelle. Alicia looked back at me, flustered. I was also flustered, but there was nothing I could do. Audrey then escorted me and the male servant out of the room.
Only then did I realize that Joelle had chosen Alicia as her personal attendant. The man was just following, but I had been kicked out.
I never thought I would be discriminated against based on my appearance here too. I sighed secretly as I looked at the closed door.
"You two, wait here for a moment."
After saying that, Audrey left, claiming she had other things to do. As a result, only the man and I were left in the hallway.
I stared blankly at the door and then glanced at the man. He seemed dazed. The events of just now must have been quite shocking.
"You seem really surprised."
"Yeah, a little. Actually, quite a lot…."
Seeing him stammer, it was clear that the situation had been quite awkward for him. His face, which had been slightly flushed, turned beet red again.
"Your face…."
"No, no! I didn't think anything."
What were you thinking? I just wanted to tell him that his face looked like it was about to burst from being so red, but he was so startled that he vehemently denied it, flailing his hands. His reaction was quite amusing.
"Why are you being so polite to me?"
"I'm always polite."
"No, why do you keep talking like that? It feels awkward."
"What do you mean?"
His red face twisted.
"Don't you recognize me?"
"Who are you?"
"Hey, it's me. Johnny!"
What?
"Johnny… the one who asked to introduce Alicia…?"
"Yeah! That's me!"
My mouth dropped open. Johnny? The scruffy guy?
I quickly scanned him from head to toe. The neatly dressed man looked perfectly fine. His face was clean, with no trace of dirt.
"Wow! It really is Johnny?"
"Yeah! It's me!"
"Really, you're that scruffy Johnny?"
"Yeah, I was the scruffy—wait, hold on."
Johnny, who had been reacting enthusiastically, suddenly stiffened.
"Scruffy?"
"…."
I immediately shut my mouth and turned away. I pretended I hadn't said anything, but the words were already out.
"That's too much! What do you mean by 'scruffy'? Was I that dirty?"
"Well… a little?"
To be honest, he was quite scruffy. Johnny's expression turned sour at my answer. I didn't retract my words because it was the truth.
"You're still the same here."
"You've changed a lot. I didn't recognize you."
"Changed that much?"
"Yeah, you look like a different person."
Johnny touched his face. Is it that different? I nodded firmly. I hadn't recognized him when he was dirty, but now, with his neatly styled hair and clean face, he looked so much better. I could almost believe he was a different person.
I examined Johnny's face again. With this appearance, he might have a chance at his unrequited love.
"How did you end up here? Did you get an offer too?"
"No, someone else got the offer, but I said I wanted to come too. They said they'd pay well. Did you get an offer?"
"My younger sister."
"Ah, I see."
Why 'I see'? His reaction was unpleasant, but it was also familiar.
"They said they'd pay well."
He shrugged and stared blankly at the closed door. Johnny, standing beside me, quickly regained his cheerfulness and asked, "Right?"
"But you cut your hair. It's shorter now."
He pointed at my fringe. That made me wonder.
"How did you recognize me?"
"Huh?"
"I was covering my face with my fringe. Usually, people can't recognize me."
"Oh, don't you remember? You were sweating so much from the heat that your fringe stuck to your face. I've seen your face thousands of times."
I see. I thought I had covered my face well, but the sweat must have given me away. I turned away, embarrassed, and Johnny patted my back, saying he was glad to see me. I frowned and kicked his calf. Johnny yelped and clutched his leg.
"Ouch!"
"I'm in pain too. Stop it."
At that moment,
The door suddenly opened, and Alicia tumbled out, falling to the floor. Johnny and I quickly rushed to her side.
With Johnny's help, Alicia sat up and glared fiercely at the front. There stood Joelle, wearing only her underwear.
"You're not my type."
"…."
Joelle pushed her blonde hair back and looked annoyed. Even the gesture of pushing her hair back exuded irritation.
What did I do wrong? Looking at Alicia, she was still glaring fiercely at Joelle. A strange tension flowed between the two women. I looked at Johnny, flustered. He turned away quickly, his face turning beet red. He seemed to be the most unfortunate victim in this situation.
A white arm suddenly emerged from Johnny's back and wrapped around him. Joelle pressed her face against Johnny's back.
"See you again?"
"Ah!"
Johnny looked like his heart had stopped. Joelle giggled and gently stroked Johnny's hair with one hand.
"What's your name?"
"U, u, u, I, I."
"Is your name 'UuuuIii'?"
"No, no. No, it's not."
Johnny hastily denied it.
"Then what is it?"
"J, J, J, Johnny, Johnny."
"Right. Johnny. Nice to meet you. Would you come to my room tonight?"
"Huh?"
"Hehe. Your surprised face is so cute."
Joelle tapped Johnny's face with her fingers, making him stiffen. She blew into his ear, and Johnny, suddenly regaining his senses, screamed and quickly escaped to the opposite side of the room.
No one could catch him as he ran away at an incredible speed. I watched his retreating figure, now a dot, with a sigh.
"You really are my type."
I could sense Joelle's excitement in her voice. It felt like an innocent village boy had caught the eye of a mischievous noble girl. I sent a silent message of sympathy for the unfortunate situation he was about to face.
After staring at where Johnny had disappeared for a while, Joelle turned to me.
"You, come with me."
She pointed at me and turned around. I was flustered by the sudden command but quickly followed her.
Joelle suddenly stopped and looked at Alicia.
"You, go."
Then she slipped back into the room.
I helped Alicia up and dusted off her wrinkled clothes. I glanced at her face, which had been glaring at Joelle the whole time. Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out. Her tightly closed mouth suggested that something had happened.
I sighed and followed Joelle into the room. As soon as the door closed, Alicia's gaze disappeared. For a servant to dare stare so boldly at her superior. I would have to warn her not to do that again.
Turning around, I saw Joelle putting on a robe. She tied the belt around her waist and headed to the wardrobe. I stared blankly at her back.
She's Joelle, right? Is she the mistress of this mansion? Or the countess? I leaned more towards the latter. Her every step and small gesture exuded grace. She seemed like a well-educated noble girl.
She turned to me as I stood in front of the wardrobe. I quickly approached her and opened the wardrobe.
"Choose one."
"Me?"
"Yeah. A bright one."
A bright one… I was puzzled by the command and thought for a moment. There were quite a few dresses hanging in the wardrobe, in various colors and designs. It felt like all the dresses in the world were in this wardrobe.
I carefully examined each one, trying to be cautious. Since she wanted a bright one, I chose a light blue dress. I wasn't very confident in my choice. Glancing at Joelle, I saw her frowning and shaking her head, indicating she didn't like it.
I put it back in the wardrobe and took out a white dress hanging next to it. But Joelle shook her head again.
I tried a few more dresses, but they were all rejected. After being rejected again with a light pink dress, I took out a yellow one and showed it to her. Tired of rejecting, Joelle waved her hand and sat down on a chair behind her.
I was flustered and looked through the wardrobe again. I didn't know what to take out next after being rejected so many times.
"What's your name?"
"Po… Anne."
"Right, Anne."
Her voice was tinged with amusement. I could feel her gaze on me, but I didn't turn to look at her, continuing to search through the wardrobe.
"Where are you from, Anne?"
"A small village. It's so small it doesn't have a name."
"Is that your hometown?"
"No, I have a different hometown."
"Philton?"
At Joelle's question, I stopped rummaging through the dresses and turned around.
"How did you know?"
"The girl who was in my room just now told me. She said you two are sisters?"
Ah. I nodded and continued to search through the dresses. She must have asked Alicia the same questions. I focused on the dresses, becoming even more cautious after being rejected so many times. Joelle kept asking me questions, seemingly bored with waiting.
"Is this your first time doing this?"
"No, it's not my first time."
"Hmm. Then you've done it elsewhere?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"It's not a place worth mentioning."
While carefully choosing a dress, I answered her questions without much thought. But when she asked deeper questions, I chose my words more carefully. I quickly scanned the dresses, wondering if this one would be good or that one.
Finally, I chose one.
It was a white dress that clung tightly to the body. It didn't have any prominent patterns, but the floral embroidery at the hem made it not too plain. It looked neat and easy to wear.
Alright, I've decided!
"How about this one?"
I turned around with a wide smile and showed the dress to Joelle. If she rejected it again, I would suggest she choose one herself. As I thought this, I looked at her, but her gaze was fixed on my face, not the dress.
Her gaze was sharp. So sharp that my smile faded. It was strange. She was smiling, but it felt like I was being scrutinized.
"…Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Anne, you're so small and delicate."
"Huh? Oh, yes. I am a bit small."
"Yeah. You're probably the smallest among the servants here."