Chapter 1 – Part 1 (The crown prince’s specialty is nitpicking.)

Scratch, scribble, scratch, scribble.

In the silence that filled the room, only the irregular rhythm of a pen tip brushing against paper could be heard.

I dipped the pen in ink and wrote a new sentence in my diary.

[So, I got off work early today! What are you doing?]

This diary wasn’t just an ordinary diary. I wasn’t trying to talk to it for no reason.

Don’t be surprised. This is an enchanted exchange diary.

What I write appears directly in my friend’s diary. Moreover, what my diary friend writes appears directly in my diary as well.

This means that if the timing is right, we can even chat in real-time!

I picked up my pen again and wrote another line in the diary.

[Oh, you might still be working.]

It seemed like my diary friend often worked late.

As I waited for my friend’s response, I flipped through the pages of the diary. Then, I saw the conversation we had last night.

[I recently got a new job. But I’m worried it might be tougher than I thought.]

When I wrote this, my diary friend asked me,

[What kind of job is it?]

[Um, I’m working at a teahouse. A very special guest comes there. But I heard that the guest is incredibly picky. Many employees have been fired because of that guest.]

Just as I read up to that point, someone knocked urgently on my door.

Knock, knock, knock!

I closed the diary and put it deep in the drawer before opening the door.

My direct senior, Libby, was standing in front of the door.

“Erica! I’m sorry to bother you after telling you to leave early, but the head maid is calling you to the tea storage room.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you need to go right now.”

Libby furrowed her brows in worry and fidgeted anxiously.

‘This doesn’t seem good.’

But as a mere maid, I had no choice.

I obediently followed Libby, taking quick steps. Suddenly, someone came running at full speed from the far end of the crown prince’s palace.

Who would dare run so recklessly in the crown prince’s palace? Judging by the attire, it looked like a servant. What a disgrace!

But why are they coming this way? And with such a terrifying expression!

“Eek!”

“Get out of the way!”

Libby grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to the edge of the hallway.

At that moment, a knight who was chasing the servant grabbed a vase from the hallway and threw it.

Crash!

‘Strike!’

The servant was hit on the head by the vase and collapsed to the floor.

‘He’s not dead, is he?’

The knight who had thrown the vase quickly ran over, picked up the unconscious servant, and called out to us.

“Oh, excuse me, maids!”

Then he slung the limp servant over his shoulder like a sack and disappeared.

‘What did I just witness? What on earth is this?’

While I stood there, stunned, Libby beckoned to another servant loitering on the other side of the hallway and asked them to clean up the broken vase shards on the floor.

Then she hurriedly led me to the tea storage room, and everyone we passed was gossiping about the same thing.

A maid said,

“I heard the crown prince broke another teacup?”

A servant next to her replied,

“Oh, don’t even talk about it. He fired the servant who was attending him on the spot. I saw his knights dragging the servant out.”

“Was that the servant who was just carried out?”

“It must be. I thought he would last longer, but…”

Another servant lamented,

“I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened. Do you know what caused it this time?”

“I remember it clearly. His Highness said to the servant, ‘Such a poor job, these tea leaves are wasted on you. Even your younger sibling could brew better tea than this, don’t you think?'”

Wait, that wasn’t a reprimand; it was just sarcastic mockery, wasn’t it?

Is the crown prince’s personality really okay as it is?

Can I, who has to serve him up close, survive?

The image of the servant who was hit by the vase, collapsed, and carried out like a sack kept floating in front of my eyes.

‘Could I end up like that servant too?’

I was so deeply worried that I followed Libby half-dazed.

* * *

If you’re wondering how I ended up in this situation, it’s only fair to explain.

Actually, I was a tea enthusiast in my previous life.

Black tea, oolong tea, green tea, white tea, herbal tea!

So, when I discovered that there was tea in this world too, I was overjoyed.

‘Well, if there are apple trees and peach trees, it makes sense there would be tea trees too.’

Moreover, I was born into a noble family in this life. Lucky me!

But tea was a luxury item and quite expensive. Good tea leaves were even more costly. So, I spent all my allowance on tea. Yet, it was never enough.

‘It seems there aren’t as many categories and names for tea here as in my past life.’

Still, after trying all the tea I could find, I noticed that the flavors differed by region.

‘I’m forging my own path in the way of tea.’

I relied solely on my taste and sense of smell.

Remembering my experiences from my previous life, I distinguished and blended teas, drinking a lot of it.

Then one day.

I used my allowance to buy some good tea leaves, brewed them with care, and shared a cup with my father, who gave me the allowance.

My father, sipping the tea as usual, said,

“My daughter makes tea so well. I’ve never tasted such delicious tea in my life. Plus, drinking this tea makes me feel more energized.”

“Oh, come on, Father, don’t exaggerate.”

“I’ve had tea at the palace, and it wasn’t as good as this. Our Erica is really impressive.”

Puffed up with pride from his praise, I thought,

‘Haha, if you want to compliment me, give me money instead, so I can buy more tea leaves.’

But then my father said something completely unexpected.

“So, Erica, how about becoming a palace maid?”

“What?”

“Now that our second daughter is grown, I’ll be honest. After passing the title and estate to your elder sister, there will be nothing left for us.”

‘Father, are you serious?’

I was shocked, but my father continued without a hint of hesitation.

“The palace maids get quite a decent salary. “

That part caught my interest.

“I heard they receive a generous pension upon retirement, too.”

“Yes, I’ll do it!”

Please, just hire me!

Then my father quickly arranged through a palace official for me to become a tea-serving maid in the crown prince’s palace.

I was thrilled.

The salary for a palace maid was indeed generous. Plus, after completing the probation period, I would have free access to the precious tea leaves of the crown prince’s palace, which I was looking forward to.

* * *

At that time, I had no idea.

That the crown prince I was to serve had such a dog-like temper.

‘They said His Highness’s specialty is nitpicking and his hobby is firing servants, and it’s true!’

No, it might be worse than the rumors. Today, they said he even broke a teacup in a fit of rage.

‘How many days are left in my probation period?’

Once my probation period ends, I will serve the crown prince directly. After witnessing a servant faint and being carried out like a sack, I was already worried sick about that day.

While I was lost in these thoughts, Libby and I arrived at the tea storage room, where the head maid had summoned me.

Standing at the door, I glanced back to see Libby looking at me with a strangely wistful expression.

‘This feels ominous. Very ominous!’

I took a deep breath and knocked on the tea storage room door.

When I opened the door and entered, the head maid was sitting at a table near the cupboard.

“Lady Marnel.”

“Y-yes!”

“It might be sudden, but I’m ending your probation period now.”

“Already?”

I can’t even find my way around the crown prince’s palace alone yet!

As I hesitated, the head maid tried to entice me with a promotion.

“If you take on the responsibility of serving His Highness’s tea from now on, I’ll immediately promote you to senior maid.”

“May I have a moment to think…”

“The weekly pay for a senior maid is 96 silvers.”

What did you just say? 96 silvers?

Receiving 96 silvers every seven days means the monthly salary would be a bit over 4 gold.

Out of habit, I calculated the value of the money.

By the standards of my previous life, 4 gold was a substantial amount that could support a family with two kids for two or three months.

Calculating it yearly, it would be a whopping 50 gold!

It was too much money to refuse.