23

“Is that so? I’ll keep that in mind, senior.”

Bartolo laughed heartily and slapped my back as if he’d finally met someone who understood him.

“Haha! You look young but you understand words perfectly? Very good, very good!”

I immediately began investigating workplace life in this damn fantasy world. Interviews with Pinea and people from the merchant guild were very helpful. People are the same everywhere; even if the world is different, workplace affairs seemed similar.

‘Of course, I have no intention of following those customs even if they’re this world’s culture.’

Having been steeped in modern common sense, I couldn’t possibly accept being told to follow such customs now.

The interview results were as follows.

“Tea? Well? In our merchant guild the youngest usually does it, but there’s no rule that a woman has to serve it. What, did you get caught by some pervert?”

“There are people who prefer that. But who would do it for fun? They just do it because their superior told them to.”

“By that logic, would women need men to pour their tea for it to taste good? That’s all bullshit.”

In the end, they said they didn’t want to do it but did it because their superior wanted them to.

I followed orders: greeted the young lady and went to her office to pour tea. Several maids who saw me offered to do it, but I declined.

‘Shall I start lightly?’

Today the young lady told me to leave my things in the office and come to her room right away. So I deliberately entered about ten minutes late.

“What is this, Cornelia. Why are you so late? I heard the butler wasn’t even at the office. Is showing your face because you came to work all that’s required? I thought I told you to come quickly.”

Lady Kiara didn’t look pleased at all. I was bewildered and didn’t know what to do.

“Ah, I was greeting my senior… I’m sorry, milady.”

“What?”

Both of Kiara’s eyebrows shot up and she straightened from her chair. Butler Penel, who stood beside her, urgently urged me on.

“Cornelia. What do you mean by that?”

“Ah, well…”

As I hesitated and shifted my eyes around, Kiara raised her voice.

“Cornelia, answer me.”

I opened my mouth with a slightly frightened look and told everything.

“Aide Bartolo said he’s my senior and that after greeting you I should also come to greet him every day…”

“What?!”

The atmosphere chilled rapidly.

‘This is harsher than I expected.’

I hadn’t expected such a reaction. My plan was just to tease my subordinate a bit.

“And?”

I strained out my answer with a pained, fearful expression.

“He said tea tastes better when served by a woman and told me to bring tea when I come to greet him…”

“Butler.”

“Yes, milady.”

“Bartolo. What kind of man is he?”

Sensing something off, Butler Penel answered briskly.

“He is an aide the marquis trusts, managing major affairs within the marquis’s house. He has a good reputation even among the retainers.”

Of course—I expected that. He’s probably the type who picks targets with a clear hierarchy.

“But the one I hear about from my aide is that he is a bastard?”

Penel took a handkerchief from his chest pocket and wiped his cold sweat.

“I’ll look into it further, milady.”

“If he’s a favored subordinate of my father, I’ll let it slide this time. You will be responsible for delivering this. If he uses being a senior to harass my aide, he might find himself without even soup to eat.”

“Understood, milady.”

I planned to catch him properly later and give him a severe punishment, but this was a more powerful result than I expected.

“Cornelia.”

“Yes, milady.”

Lady Kiara, looking less tense than before, admonished me.

“If that happens again, come to me immediately and tell me. You are my aide. In this house, don’t bow to anyone except me, my father, and my mother. Phew.”

She seemed to be holding something back with difficulty.

I thought I heard something like ‘what a piece of trash,’ but I wasn’t sure.

“You haven’t been in a noble house long, so you probably don’t know. You’re still young, too.”

‘I’m actually a lot older than the young lady…’

Lady Kiara seemed to regard me as a lamb ignorant of the world.

“You look cute, so those pesky flies will swarm around you. They’ll make any excuse to get close. Every time, you must firmly say you dislike it and refuse. What I hate most is people who just endure.”

Judging by this gossip young lady, she definitely has a payback nature.

“Who will press you down with status? Name me to their faces. Make them know who’s behind you and whose aide you are. Understand?”

I unconsciously opened my mouth at the bold instruction to use her family’s name.

‘She told me to name her—how cool is that.’

It’s the kind of thing only a chaebol family could say. But on the other hand, it seemed childish to open her heart so easily to someone she’d just met.

Lady Kiara’s power showed itself the next day. Bartolo called me aside.

“I thought you had some sense, and yet you went and told her everything?”

“…”

Following my superior’s order not to abase myself, I kept my head high and silently listened to his twisted outburst.

“Seems like the young lady’s completely taken with you; it’ll change soon. You’d better be careful. Do you know anyone who’s crossed Bartolo and lived to tell the tale?”

His level of conversation was so low I had no energy to respond. He glared at me ferociously and left.

“And should I just stay still?”

I’ll strike you before you strike me.

Impressed by our young lady’s leadership, I resolved to sincerely perform my role as social scene adviser.

Through Pinea I devoured every society magazine and stored past gossips in my head. If the articles were true, the social scene was indeed a war without gunfire.

“It’s convenient not to have to explain everything separately.”

The young lady had difficulty describing her own society image, but when she learned I’d already researched it, she felt relieved yet conflicted.

“Not everything is true, but my actions are accurate. I don’t have a particularly good image in society. To put it plainly, I’m called a villainess.”

Perhaps because of the Black Dia-themed bedroom decor, the young lady’s aura amplified her villainess image.

“I want to lead trends with the image I want in society, but reality is completely different. Regardless, I’m very interested in fashion and beauty. I believe my sense in that regard is second to none among the noble families.”

That was true. You reap what you invest. Having tried various styles, the young lady knew what radical looks suited her.

“But why is that?”

I held up the gossip young lady (gossip magazine) and asked, whereupon her brow knitted tightly.

“It’s infuriating.”

“What?”

“Deliberately wearing a dress similar to one I wore, treating my favorite boutique as outdated, someone else getting credit for a trend I started, losing items I entrusted… it’s all so annoying.”

‘No wonder she’s pissed.’

“It looks too deliberate to be mere coincidence. If someone uses that strategy against you, they’re not to be taken lightly. Who is she?”

She nodded with an unusually downcast expression.

“Princess Lilis Seref.”

‘Ah, an even stronger chaebol family.’

A troublesome opponent.

According to Pinea’s investigation, Princess Seref had an angelic image and was the crown prince’s fiancée. So even if they did the same thing, Seref would get the attention.

As I pondered strategies, the young lady asked in an insecure voice.

“Do you think it’ll be difficult even from your perspective?”

She seemed to have been through a lot. Being naturally honest, she seemed mentally hurt by the trap. That led to a vicious cycle.

But reputation work never ends; now might actually be a better time.

I shook my head.

“Do you want to change your image, my lady? To an angel image?”

She thought deeply and shook her head.

“Actually, not really. You can tell from my personality. But that image works in society if you want to lead people.”

That’s a relief.

“How about embracing it as is? As a very stylish, chic villainess.”

“…!”

I slid a Black Dia catalog image in front of her.

“Wouldn’t it suit you perfectly? With our brand.”

“Cornelia, you…”

Kiara was speechless as if struck on the back of the head. Her gaze landed on the Black Dia ring on her finger.

I whispered softly.

“No need to force a change. Milady, you are already stylish.”

I’ll make you the black swan of society.