Chapter 2

‘Sorry, Estelle, but it seems you can no longer work at our orchard. Please work only until today.’

On the morning Estelle arrived at the orchard, she lost her job.

The reason was Estelle’s alleged misconduct.

‘I heard you seduced Baron Leobard. The Baroness is very upset. Regrettably, I have no choice but to let you go.’

After hearing the orchard owner’s explanation, Estelle returned home. Her house was full of family members who did not go out to work.

“What is this? Why are you back so early?”

The woman lying on the sofa turned over.

A face identical to Estelle’s.

Lumiere Muhamot.

She was Estelle’s twin sister.

“…Lumiere, this is your doing, isn’t it.”

“What?”

“The one who seduced Baron Leobard and pretended to be me.”

“What?”

Lumiere sprang up, her round eyes opening wide.

“You just figured it out?”

Her previously innocent face split into a mischievous grin, and she began to cackle. Lumiere rolled around, clutching her stomach.

“Of course it was me! Who else in Barrenfield looks just like you besides me?”

Lumiere came closer, her expression full of interest.

“So what did they say? Did you get slapped? Huh, doesn’t look like you did.”

Estelle clenched her trembling hands and endured it. Once again, it was Lumiere’s doing.

Lumiere approached every man in Barrenfield as if it were her mission to seduce them.

It didn’t matter whether the man had a lover, a wife, or a family.

But all the consequences fell solely on Estelle.

“Please, stop using my name.”

Whenever Lumiere committed her misdeeds, she always used Estelle’s name instead.

“No.”

Lumiere coughed in Estelle’s face.

Estelle, as if accustomed to it, wiped her face with her sleeve.

“I’m stuck here, unable to go far or work, but you’re healthy.”

Lumiere’s green eyes were as cold as poison.

“Can’t I at least do this much? Why? I’m trapped here every day, with nothing to enjoy except things like this.”

“When have you ever been trapped?”

“Estelle!”

At that moment, a scolding voice was heard.

“Estelle Muhamot! How dare you speak so harshly to your sister!”

Catherine Muhamot, rising angrily, glared at her. Their father, Charles Muhamot, did the same.

At the same time, Lumiere coughed repeatedly as if she were ill. Leaning on their parents, Lumiere watched as Estelle struggled to keep her body from trembling.

“Lumiere, my dear. Were you startled? Come rest with Mom, okay?”

“Hic, I’m fine. Estelle is just jealous of me, so don’t scold her too much… I’m sorry, Estelle.”

“Our Lumiere, you’re just like an angel, aren’t you?”

Catherine, feeling sorry for Lumiere, clicked her tongue at Estelle.

“How did I end up with a child like that?”

Lumiere, sticking out her tongue, entered the room in her parents’ embrace.

Estelle was left alone in the cramped living room.

* * *

“Ugh, that crazy girl. If a person is desperate all 365 days of the year, shouldn’t they just be locked up in an animal pen?”

Katie, upon hearing the news, crunched into an apple.

Katie was Estelle’s neighbor since childhood, her friend, and her only confidant.

The only friend with whom she could share her true feelings.

“Because of Lumiere, you haven’t been able to work as a caregiver for ages, and now she ruined your orchard job too? Is she brainless or what?”

Estelle gave a faint smile at Katie’s refreshing words.

In her suffocating household, the occasional chats with Katie were her only escape.

As Katie said, Estelle now had nowhere to work.

She still did some sewing for pay, but it was hard to earn much.

Currently, Estelle was the only one in her family earning money, and she personally had reasons to save up as well.

Estelle lifted her head resolutely.

“I’ll have to look for another place.”

“Do you have anywhere to go?”

“Don’t poke where it hurts.”

“Ugh, you fool. Why do you always let her walk all over you? It’s so frustrating.”

Katie, scanning Estelle’s face, took out some ointment.

“Look at the mark on your face. Is this from when Rose hit you, saying you stole her boyfriend? That was Lumiere’s doing too, wasn’t it?”

Katie applied the ointment generously, grinding her teeth.

“I should’ve beaten that Lumiere to death when Mr. and Mrs. Muhamot weren’t around.”

Katie muttered curses, regretting it.

“The caregiver pay was pretty good. If not for Lumiere, it’s such a shame!”

“…Yes, it was.”

Estelle nodded.

Barrenfield was a village filled with noble villas. Its beautiful scenery and clean air attracted countless nobles for recuperation.

Estelle mainly cared for elderly ladies and earned a lot of money.

But after Lumiere pretended to be Estelle and seduced the son of a noble family she was caring for, Estelle could no longer work as a caregiver.

That incident had made Estelle the infamous temptress of Barrenfield.

“If only you could be half as bold as Lumiere.”

Katie looked at her with regret.

The breeze made Estelle’s hair gently flutter.

Her hair was dazzling silver, as if woven from the purest moonlight.

In the sunset, it resembled pale gold, and at night, she became as beautiful as a moon fairy with her silver hair.

Her round eyes, reminiscent of a rabbit, and her gently sloped eyelids, with a hint of tears and a moist gaze, made her green eyes shine even more.

Estelle’s eyes resembled lush greenery.

From her nature-like green eyes, one could sense a rainy forest in the monsoon, or cool breezes sweeping through meadows, making it impossible to look away.

Though exposed to sunlight for a long time, her skin was clear and flawless, and her slender, deer-like neck was admirable.

Katie, who had been quietly watching her, wiped her mouth.

“Geez… all that prettiness is a crime. A crime.”

Estelle smiled at her friend’s compliment.

“It’s only like that in your eyes.”

“Oh, you fool. I wasn’t going to call you a fool again, but you really are one!”

At that moment, Katie grabbed Estelle’s cheeks and turned her face left and right.

“If you weren’t pretty, would others even care about you? Those rotten guys wouldn’t have fallen for Lumiere’s seduction so easily.”

Katie’s voice grew louder, as if frustrated.

“Ugh! You fool! Fool!”

“Katie…”

“Listen well, Estelle! You’re the most beautiful woman in Barrenfield! Lumiere, who looks just like you, uses this to her advantage like crazy, so why can’t you? Why?”

Katie, angry, brought her face right up to Estelle’s nose.

In her eyes, full of seriousness about aesthetics, there was a fierce determination.

“So, here’s what I’m saying—there’s still a chance for you to work.”

“Work? Really?”

“In our village, guess what, Duke Giselleberg has arrived!”

Katie, holding her breath for a moment before bursting out, had sparkling eyes.

“It’s been a few months, apparently? There were only rumors, but it’s true. My mom works there. The real Duke Giselleberg has come.”

Barrenfield had a villa belonging to the Giselleberg Duchy.

Everyone in Barrenfield knew of the beautiful mansion’s reputation.

Estelle nodded.

“I see, but why?”

“Because my mom hurt her arm and they urgently need a maid to work in her place.”

Katie grabbed Estelle’s hand.

“How about it, Estelle, do you want to give it a try?”

“But…”

“The pay is five times what you got at the orchard. Five times.”

At the same time, Estelle’s eyes widened.

* * *

“Oh my! You’re here. You must be Lumiere? My name is Susan.”

As she reached the fountain, a middle-aged woman came out to greet her warmly.

“If there’s anything you don’t know, just ask me.”

“Thank you, Aunt Susan.”

“You’re just as polite as I heard.”

Estelle agreed without resistance when Susan called her Lumiere.

“We’ve been short-handed, so I’m really glad you came. Now, there’s no time, so hurry and change into your maid’s uniform. Here’s an apron, too.”

Estelle went to a small room set up for maids to change clothes.

Even the maid’s uniform was of better quality than what Estelle had worn before.

Barrenfield, 27th Street.

Of all the countless noble villas, this one stood out with a particularly elegant presence. She almost got lost walking from the mansion’s front gate to here.

She had to pass through several forests and cross a lake before the mansion finally appeared.

In summer, white roses bloomed everywhere, and their fragrance filled all of Barrenfield.

This beautiful mansion, nicknamed the ‘White Rose Mansion’, was the villa of the Giselleberg Duchy.

‘There, even the servants’ behavior matters. The Duke is extremely particular. No gossip allowed. Estelle, do you understand what I’m saying? Sorry, but you’ll have to work under Lumiere’s name instead of your own.’

Here, Estelle was ‘Lumiere’.

Estelle fully understood Katie’s mother’s words. Her reputation was the worst possible.

Those close to her knew the truth, but others didn’t know Lumiere’s real nature.

All of Lumiere’s wrongdoings had become Estelle’s.

‘I have to do well here.’

If she wanted to save enough money to leave this village, she had to stay with the Giselleberg Duchy.

‘I need to save up and go to the capital.’

Estelle wanted to leave Barrenfield. It was a desperate wish she’d had since childhood.

Nowhere else paid this much.

Because of Lumiere’s mischief, there was hardly any noble house left where she could work as a caregiver, so getting a maid’s job at the Giselleberg Duchy was like a dream.

“Lumiere! Are you ready?”

At Susan’s call, Estelle hurried outside.

Aunt Susan, Katie’s mother’s friend, always wore a warm, gentle smile.

She handed Estelle a mop.

“Sorry it’s your first day, Lumiere, but we have to finish all the work before sunset.”

“What should I do?”

“See that main building over there?”

Susan pointed to the most splendid and spacious building.