Chapter 23: The Rebel!

Coco returned to her room and found everything just as neat and tidy as when she had left.

Her mood loosened a little at once.

She flopped onto her small, simple bed, took off the special headband that hid her cat ears, and rubbed her little head into the neatly folded quilt, nuzzling it.

Her small cat ears twitched continuously in the process, as if from sheer comfort.

Haa… so comfy…

The bedding wasn’t as high-class as the luxurious hotel she’d stayed in before, but it was full of her own scent.

This was the feeling of home that made her whole body relax.

Da-da-da—

“Please wait a moment, coming!”

As soon as she heard the knocking on her door, Coco’s cat ears instantly stood up.

She hurriedly sat up from the bed, quickly and skillfully straightened the creased blanket and slightly messy quilt, then ran to open the door.

“Coco, we’ve all eaten already. The master ordered the chef to make a special meal just for you. Go eat while it’s hot.”

“Mmhmm, I’m grateful for the master’s kindness.”

Coco was genuinely surprised.

The viscount had actually ordered the chef to cook specifically for her.

Her guilt over lying earlier grew even stronger.

As Coco walked toward the servants’ dining room, the maid who had spoken continued to follow behind her.

“Don’t you have other work to do?”

“Well, the master specifically ordered it, so I have to escort you there for it to count as done. It’s in the birthday room.”

Coco nodded.

Indeed, if the master said “prepare a meal for someone and bring it to them or look after them,” that naturally included accompanying them.

The birthday room was right next to the servants’ dining room, a small and elegant separate room.

There weren’t many servants in the estate to begin with, but whenever someone had a birthday, the chef would prepare a special birthday meal for them to eat in that room.

The butler was responsible for remembering everyone’s birthdays.

You could say that having an extra meal, and in the birthday room no less, was extremely generous treatment.

So my return is being treated like a new birthday?

Coco’s thoughts wandered.

Then she tilted her head and asked the maid, “Excuse me, where are the young lady and my mother? I haven’t seen them at all.”

Did they go out?

The estate felt much quieter than usual.

“Seems they went back to the master’s hometown with the young lady. They’ve been gone a while already.”

“But after you went missing, your mother looked really out of it, so I guess the master wanted her to relax for a bit.”

Coco saw the uncertainty on the maid’s face and nodded with a trace of doubt.

The viscount’s home was not in Green City.

He had been one of the high-ranking officers who took the city back then and received the title of viscount and this old castle as a reward from the king.

His family didn’t move here with him.

His wife had died from illness not long after giving birth to the young lady.

He had never remarried.

“Oh, I see.”

Feeling a bit down was normal.

The people who had left were her mother and the young mistress she looked after—her childhood playmate.

The maid walking with Coco noticed her sadness, but said nothing to comfort her, focusing on leading the way.

Her dinner was clearly something the chef had put great effort into—better than the usual birthday meal.

Maybe she was just tired of birthday meals after all these years.

Coco really didn’t have much appetite, but since it was a reward from the master, it would be bad not to finish.

So she forced herself to eat, then hurried back to her room.

After changing into her nightclothes, Coco wrapped herself entirely in the quilt.

She lay there, eyes open, staring at the ceiling she’d been looking at for almost eleven years.

No matter what, she couldn’t feel happy.

Her energy felt like it had all been drained away.

The people she wanted to see, she hadn’t seen.

The person she wanted to see… she didn’t know if she ever could again.

The former were her young lady and her mother.

The latter was that strange Miss Yiluo.

Did I… make the wrong choice?

Coco thought this, but quickly denied it.

Coco, you don’t even know how your mother and the viscount who’s fed you all these years are doing after the bandits, and you’re already thinking about Miss Yiluo—that bad woman who’s always tricking and teasing you!

Coco puffed out her cheeks in a sulk, her round eyes glaring.

Her cat ears twitched up and down.

She was scolding herself in her heart, scolding Yiluo as well, but anyone looking would think she looked very… happy.

Hmph!

Sleep!

Tomorrow I’ll work hard and absolutely won’t mess up on my first day back!

In the end, Coco found that all that remained in her mind was Miss Yiluo.

She yanked the quilt over her head in a sulk, as if it could block out every worry, and went to sleep.

.

.

The next morning, Coco got up very early.

It was a habit she’d had since childhood.

She carefully folded the maid outfit she’d bought with Yiluo and put it at the very bottom of her little cabinet.

Then she changed into her older, slightly worn maid uniform.

She deftly tied the laces at the back, pulled her white, over-the-knee socks up along her thighs, then adjusted them so they sat three inches above her knees.

She put on her little black leather shoes, tied the bow at her collar neatly, and finally placed the headband on her head.

Then she slapped her cheeks lightly with both hands.

Pa-pa—

It stung a little, but it woke her up properly.

That was Coco’s habit.

Otherwise she would always be half-asleep in the mornings.

“A new day is starting—time to do my best!”

There was plenty for an early-rising maid to do:

Sweep and clean the corridor and rooms for the first time.

Help the chef wash and chop vegetables.

Clear leaves in the courtyard.

Prepare the master’s and young lady’s washing supplies.

Brew their coffee…

Normally, Coco just went wherever she was needed, a little all-around helper.

Her young mistress would usually get up a bit later.

But today was different.

Her young mistress had apparently gone back to the viscount’s hometown, and her room was empty.

Just because the young lady had gone back home didn’t mean Coco’s work had lessened.

If anything, it should have increased.

The young lady’s room still had to be cleaned every day, her clothes thoroughly washed, and all the little daily necessities taken care of.

Yes, a new day starts with being busy!

Filled with energy, Coco fetched a new mop from the storage room and went up to the second floor.

But when she reached the open door of the young lady’s room, she saw another maid already cleaning inside.

The maid, Feifei, was scrubbing the floor.

When she saw Coco enter with the mop, she did something unusual.

Instead of asking her to help, she waved her hand.

“Coco, the master told me to tidy up the young lady’s room. You go have breakfast first.”

The master?

Wasn’t this sort of thing usually assigned by the butler?

Coco was puzzled, but still smiled and shook her head.

“Feifei, let me help you then.”

When Feifei saw Coco wetting a cloth to start wiping the furniture, she quickly put down the mop and stepped in front of her, taking the cloth from her hands with a smile.

“Coco, the young lady’s room isn’t that big. I can manage by myself. If the master found out I needed your help for something this small, I’d be scolded.”

“But…”

“It’s fine, really. Go eat first. If you really want to help, you can go see if anyone else needs it.”

Without giving Coco a chance to say more, Feifei gently pushed her out of the room, as if afraid her work would be stolen.

Coco’s mind was a complete blur.

Normally, Feifei was the one who loved to slack off the most.

Coco frowned.

Feifei seemed strange today.

But since the other maid was so insistent, Coco couldn’t force her way in.

She could only leave and look for someone else to help.

“Coco? You’re up early.”

“Ah, no need to help. The weather’s warm and there aren’t many fallen leaves. I’ll clean the courtyard myself and get some fresh air.”

Wait.

Is this not the time maids are normally supposed to be up?

“We’ll handle the laundry. Your hands are so delicate, Coco—if you wash too much, they’ll get rough. Go eat something first. Leave this kind of work to us!”

Wait.

Weren’t you the ones who always praised how cleanly I washed clothes?

“Ah, it’s you, Coco. Cutting vegetables is too dangerous. You’re still young. Go wait for breakfast; it’ll be ready soon.”

“What? Washing the vegetables?”

“No need. They’re already washed. Just sit and wait to eat.”

Coco glanced at the basin of vegetables in the kitchen that clearly hadn’t been washed yet.

She pursed her lips, said nothing, turned, and walked to the servants’ dining hall.

She sat down on a bench, looking at the still-empty room, feeling angry and wronged.

At this time of day, everyone else was busy.

And she was just sitting there like a fool, waiting for breakfast.

She’d only been gone a little over ten days, and somehow she’d become… unnecessary.

For a maid, having nothing to do and not being needed was like having everything taken away.

Coco had never felt this before.

Bitterness spread through her chest, and her eyes grew moist.

But she quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, then patted her cheeks and forced herself to keep a gentle smile.

I can’t cry.

Crying would only trouble others.

Troubling others was one of the biggest taboos for a maid.

Coco never forgot that.

It must just be that while I was gone, the jobs were reassigned and things got stricter.

After I eat, I’ll go find the butler and ask him to give me new tasks.

With that self-comfort and adjustment, her spirits gradually lifted again.

Waiting felt long.

During the meal, everyone seemed in a good mood, greeting her warmly.

Only Coco couldn’t truly smile.

In the end, she felt she could no longer stay in the dining hall and left.

For some reason, she had become the one everyone took special care of, the center of attention.

Those servants she had always known now spoke to her with smiles and enthusiasm that felt… like masks.

The distance between them was something Coco could clearly feel.

It was very strange.

If she had to compare it to something, Coco could only say—this was even weirder than Miss Yiluo!

Miss Yiluo’s weirdness was something she could at least trace back to certain reasons.

But the way the servants were acting now—Coco had no idea what was behind it.

No direction.

No clue at all.

After spending some time with Miss Yiluo, she had become a bit sharper than before.

Their fake smiles couldn’t fool her eyes.

They’re hiding something from me.

I have to find the butler and ask what happened.

The butler is always the kindest to me.

But Coco couldn’t find the butler who should have been managing the estate.

Only after asking around did she learn that he had apparently gone to the viscount’s hometown as well.

This blow shattered what was left of Coco’s resolve.

Dragging her weary body, she stopped caring about anyone or anything, went back to her room, and collapsed onto the bed to sleep.

Sleeping in broad daylight on a workday, without being sick—

For a maid, that was an act of rebellion.

Almost on the same level as lying to her master.

Coco had no solution and no way to deal with her current situation.

All she could do was use sleep to temporarily escape from a reality that had slipped out of her control.

The reality that she had become a maid no one needed.

The only way to fix it, she thought, was to go to the master and ask him to assign her work.

But on such a sunny day, the master would surely be reading the papers, drinking coffee, and enjoying the morning air and sunshine.

If she went to complain now about her predicament, it might only make things worse.

She had already broken one of the greatest taboos of a maid.

At this point, working-hours napping didn’t seem like much to add on.

Coco didn’t know the phrase “letting the pot shatter because it’s already cracked,” but it fit her current state perfectly.

But… could she really sleep?

She lay sideways on her small bed, head resting on the neatly folded quilt.

Her slender right arm lay across her forehead, and through the gap between her elbow and temple, she could see the blue sky outside the window.

The clouds were faint, the wind was gentle…

Her rebellion felt so light that even her guilt had faded.

She just wanted to lie still and rest for a while.

Exhausted in mind more than body, Coco actually fell asleep.

She slept until after four in the afternoon, when the sunlight had grown softer and the maids had begun sweeping leaves in the courtyard again.

Coco squinted through half-closed eyes at the scene outside the window, completely unwilling to move.

Her body felt devoid of strength.

All the things she’d persisted in since childhood, the person she’d always tried so hard to become—

She’d shattered them in a single day.

She’d become a rebel.

A rebel against herself.

She began to imagine what Miss Yiluo would do in this kind of situation.

Fight back.

Miss Yiluo would definitely fight back.

Coco’s own personality was stubborn enough in important matters—once she decided something, she didn’t easily back down.

But compared to Yiluo, she was far behind.

Still… how was she supposed to fight back, like this?

Time passed quickly when there was no work to do, yet for Coco, who had nothing to occupy her, it also crawled.

Lying in her bed, she watched the morning pass and the evening fall.

At last, she gathered her courage and decided to become a true rebel.

She would go to her master—the viscount, the man who held the highest authority here.

She would disturb his evening, when he was supposed to enjoy a good meal.

Mess up the time he should be spending reading and writing in his study.

Ruin what should have been a pleasant day.

Her heart was full of questions.

Even if she might lose her position as a maid, she had to know the answer.

She would transgress yet another great taboo of a maid.

This was not retreating.

This was moving forward.

She knew that.

Otherwise, she would be completely stripped of her right to be a maid.

She had to take this step.