The Villainess With White Roses

Chapter 3 - A Little Bit Of Mischief

——-
HANNAH

I pace my room, fuming.

"What the hell just happened? How could she—that spoiled little bitch do this to me?"

The nerve of her! I have been nothing but loyal, more than any other maid in this cursed estate, even though its not my job. And this is how she repays me? She doesn't know who she's messing with. She might think she's the daughter of a marquis, but I've been here longer than she can remember.

I know the ins and outs of this household. I know all the secrets, and I could ruin her if I wanted to. She wouldn't even see it coming.

"Doesn't she realize that I could tear apart what's left of her reputation? It's already hanging by a thread! She parades around like she's some noble lady, but everyone knows how much of a disaster she is."

A joke among the nobles.

And now she thinks she can just... what?

Embarrass me? I grind my teeth, thinking about how she smugly walked past me earlier, as if she holds all the power. If she pushes me too far, I swear, I'll show her exactly how much control I really have.

I've got the other maids in the palm of my hand. They listen to me, hang on my every word. I am the Housekeeper after all.

If I tell them she is scheming, they'll believe me. They already gossip behind her back anyway—half of the rumors floating around this estate started because of something I let slip.

And what if I say she's the one lying? That she's losing her mind, or trying to cover up some scandal? The Marquis barely even looks at her these days. He wouldn't believe a word she says over me.

He trusts me; I've been running things for him for years. I make sure everything runs smoothly, not his useless daughter. She thinks she's clever, but she has no idea what I'm capable of.

I've already got a plan brewing in my mind, and this time, I'm not holding back. I'm going to make sure she pays for what she did. By the time I'm done, She won't even recognize her own reflection. She thinks she can outsmart me? We'll see about that.

Oh, she has no idea what's coming.

______
ANDRELISE

What does it even mean to be a noble lady?

I circle the question as thought once again. This is painfully annoying.

Seriously, I've read about it in books and seen it in plays, but living it? That's a whole different story. If I'm going to survive in this high society, I need to figure it out, and fast.

The pressure feels like a heavy blanket around my shoulders, and every day I wake up, hoping I'll have some sort of epiphany that will magically tell me how to conduct myself like one of those flawless ladies I've seen at the balls.

I let out a dry laugh as I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

"There really should've been a class on how to be a noble lady back in modern times. Would've come in handy right about now."

I had no idea what I was doing. None of the old Andrelise's memories helped me either. All I knew was that if I wanted to survive here—and not just survive, but thrive—I needed to figure it out. And fast. But before I could tackle the high society thing, I needed to deal with the most pressing issue: Hannah.

That maid had been acting way too nice lately. It was suspicious. The way she'd leave me alone without snide remarks or glares?

No way she wasn't planning something. I could feel it.