Home/The villainess's personal maid is very good at her job/ch 81

Episode 81

To Kendrick—

Hi. How have you been, Kendrick?

I'm doing pretty well myself.

Living in this bustling place, I found myself thinking of you, so I decided to write.

……But what are people supposed to write in letters anyway?

I don't know. I'll just say what I want to say.

You won't be able to reply anyway, right?

My handmaiden—and my friend—Janet's birthday is in a few days.

But I've never celebrated anyone's birthday before. What should I give her?

There are already two other people eyeing Janet's birthday, and I want to give the best gift among them!

Janet is my best friend.

Not those guys' best friend!

Actually, now that I think about it, it makes me angry. Why do they keep hovering around Janet?

They're just tall, good-looking idiots! Our Janet is a thousand times better than them.

Anyway, that's all I had to say.

Take care, Kendrick.

I'll come see you again.

—Julietta

"……Did Julietta never learn how to write a proper letter?"

After reading the entire letter, Kendrick seriously pondered this.

What made it worse was the rather complicated route by which he'd received it.

Julietta had sent it from the townhouse, and before it arrived in Ludwig, Hobbs had intercepted and brought it to him.

Since Kendrick had also moved his residence to the capital, Hobbs would be staying there for a while as well.

And since he was coming to the capital anyway, Hobbs had taken on the duty of delivering the letter.

"Why? I think it's spirited and wonderful. If you look closely, it even includes recent updates."

"Yes. It certainly does include updates."

"Right. And it has information about the people around her too. I especially liked the line about 'tall, good-looking idiots.'"

At Hobbs's grinning remark, Kendrick smiled with crinkled eyes.

"You must be bored with life lately—your nonsense has increased. How about I make things less boring for you?"

"……Ah, I'd better go unpack. I have a mountain of work to do. Busy, busy!"

As Hobbs hurriedly left the room, pretending to be busy, Kendrick clicked his tongue.

'A birthday gift, huh……'

In truth, Julietta's dilemma was also his dilemma. He didn't necessarily feel the need to give a better gift than Julietta or Richard, but……

'……A good gift would be nice, though.'

Hmm.

Kendrick carefully folded Julietta's letter back to its original state and tucked it deep into a secret drawer.

Then he pulled out the gift list he'd prepared earlier and began reviewing it again.

---

And so, Janet's birthday arrived.

"Happy birthday, Janet."

Naturally, Julietta was the first to offer her birthday wishes.

"My Lady……?"

"Are you forgetting you're on sick leave? It's Julietta, not 'my Lady.'"

"Ah, right. Julietta."

Janet called her name dazedly, staring blankly at Julietta.

"Here, this is for you."

"A gift? For me?"

"Who else would I give it to?"

"……A birthday gift?"

"Yes. A birthday gift."

To be honest, since this was Julietta's first time celebrating a friend's birthday, she felt shy in many ways.

"……Can I open it?"

"In front of me?"

"Yeah. Is that okay?"

"Well, I don't see why not. Go ahead."

At Julietta's words, Janet nodded and unwrapped the gift.

Rustle, rustle.

Even though Janet was the one receiving the gift, it was Julietta's heart that pounded more.

What if she doesn't like it?

Was it too childish a gift?

Should I have just bought something more expensive? Like a necklace dripping with jewels or something……

A dozen thoughts raced through her mind as the gift box was opened.

At last—

Click.

After untying all the ribbons, Janet carefully opened the box.

"This is……"

Wide-eyed, Janet lifted the object from the box.

It was a teddy bear with fluffy, soft fur.

One of the Empire's most popular brands, known for its slogan, "Your one and only friend!"

"You don't have any memories before fifteen. And after that too…… hm. Anyway, I figured you'd never really had a proper stuffed animal like this."

Janet stared at the teddy bear, dazed.

Whether she liked it or not, Julietta couldn't tell.

Nervous, she asked.

"Do, do you like it?"

Like it?

Of course she did.

"……Yeah. I love it."

With a sincere answer, Janet hugged the teddy bear deep into her arms.

The bear was a bit small for an adult to hold, but somehow, it felt like the little bear was embracing her.

"Thank you so much, Julietta. This is the best gift ever. I'm so happy."

At her brightly smiling face, Julietta smiled back.

---

Janet's birthday was just beginning.

"Handmaiden! Where should I put this?"

"For now, put it on the desk."

"Yes! I'll put this box down here for easy access."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Sandy! Another one arrived……! Handmaiden, where should I put this?"

"Then put that over there……"

Mid-sentence, Janet blinked blankly.

Good heavens. What was happening?

The day had started joyfully with Julietta's surprise celebration and gift.

'I never really expected anything for my birthday……'

She'd assumed this one would pass quietly too. Though many things had changed since coming to Ludwig, old preconceptions were stubborn things.

In any case, for Janet, Julietta's celebration alone had already made the day complete.

But shortly after morning passed—

"Happy birthday, Miss Janet."

"Happy birthday, Miss Janet."

"Huh? Thank you both."

"Here, I prepared a small gift for you."

"I, I did too……!"

Mary and Sandy, who had come to work as usual, gave her birthday wishes and gifts.

A lace handkerchief embroidered with flowers, and a ribbon hair accessory.

Janet accepted the gifts, feeling a bit dazed.

'First Julietta, and now Mary and Sandy?'

Was it really okay to be celebrated this much?

But she had no idea that this was just the beginning of a long rush of gifts.

Boxes piled up, filling half her room.

Janet calmly sat down and checked the senders one by one.

"This one is from Head Butler William."

Along with a short note wishing her a happy birthday and telling her to take care of her health, the gift was an elegant teacup set.

The next gift was from Geron and Joanna.

"Hup. How adorable."

Geron's birthday card had a drawing he'd made himself.

It showed a small child and three adult women, and she could tell at a glance who was who.

'The one on the far right is Julietta, the center is Madam Joanna, and the one on the far left is me, right?'

In the drawing, Geron stood in front of Joanna, holding up both hands and smiling.

In wobbly handwriting, it read: "Happy birthday, Janet!"

'I'm glad he's doing well.'

Joanna's gift was a summer parasol. She'd added a note saying the capital's summer would be hot, even if not as much as the West, so she should be sure to use it.

There was also a gift from Madam Betty.

A palm-sized storybook with beautifully detailed illustrations.

She was so charmed that she absentmindedly flipped through it and finished reading it right then and there.

As for the remaining gifts……

'Are all the rest from Lord Oscar and the Marchioness?'

Back   Next