Excessive Benevolence

Lydia didn't have a plan for the fourth night.

Once again, she blinked her eyes open against the scattered lanterns in Lorelei's room. What would she do today? What if she went to the library to read about this world? Except, that'd be really boring. Maybe she would just sit quietly in the room. Once she sat up, all of those plans went out the window.

Standing next to her was Sara, the maid who'd ratted her out to Jason. Straightening, Lydia tried to look as graceful as possible. Why was Sara here? Did Lorelei talk to her? What had she told Sara?

After an uncomfortable minute, Sara spoke, "Good eve to you, Lydia."

"Yes, good evening to you, as well." It took a second for Sara's words to process. "Wait, how do you know my---I mean, that name?"

Sara smiled kindly, which terrified Lydia. "Lady Lorelei has informed me of your switch," she said. "The lady has tasked me with helping you."

Well, that was unexpected though, when Lydia thought about it, it made sense. With Sara's help, she'd have an easier time figuring out how to be Lorelei. Plus, she could use Sara to get information on how things worked here.

Lydia turned to Sara. "Does that mean you won't rat me out for acting weird again?"

Sara nodded. "Yes, Lady Lydia," she said. "Your secret is safe with me. That said, you will have to work to keep that secret yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"To start," Sara said. "I heard a contraction in your last sentence. Nobles do not do that unless they are close with the person."

"You also avoid contractions," Lydia pointed out.

"I come from a Baron's family, so I know basic etiquette," Sara explained. "I work to support them."

Lydia leaned forward. "Does that mean you can teach me," Lydia asked excitedly.

"Yes."

That was a huge load off for Lydia. "You'll ah," Lydia started, then remembered the contractions thing. "You will teach me about Lorelei too, right? I know she does not like lemons, but that's all I've got." Man, contractions were hard to drop.

"Yes," Sara said. "We can start there, if you wish."

"God, yes."

Sara spent the next twenty minutes giving Lydia a crash course on Lorelei. She came from the family of Marquess Aerfare. She had three brothers, most of which were known for being troublemakers. She had a huge rivalry with some Lady Sophia Fikhan. Lorelei was known at the Count's manor for her temper, namely at the maids. Lorelei hated the dark, as Lydia had guessed. Even worse, apparently, was when someone feigned ignorance. Wonder what that's about.

After getting that information, Sara had them move to etiquette. She grabbed fancy white teacups with purple trim. Matching the teacups was a teapot that, if the steam was any clue, was already filled with something.

"Lesson one is split into two parts," Sara began. "First, we need to fix your posture. Any noblewoman who saw you tonight would believe you to be unrefined. Before anything else, you need to learn how to carry yourself." Sara then proceeded to spend an absurd amount of time teaching Lydia how to fix her back.

After Lydia finally got that down, Sara moved to the tea set. Picking up the teapot, she spoke to Lydia, "For part two, you should begin to learn how to pour tea."

"Wait, really?" Lydia asked. "Aren't there more basic things before tea?"

"Contraction," Sara chided.

"Sorry."

Satisfied, Sara went on, "Normally, this would be a later lesson. Unfortunately, we do not know what the future will hold. It is entirely possible that you may have to use this skill sooner. The count is no stranger to evening teatimes. Though he normally chooses an earlier time, that may not always be the case."

Tilting the teapot, Lydia watched as the tea slid out like perfectly. Not even the tiniest splash came out. When Lydia tried it, half of the dang thing went sploosh all over the table. Perfect.

Sara regarded the mess for a bit. "We have a lot of work to do."

After about an hour, Sara finally agreed that Lydia had had enough for one night. After some begging from Lydia, Sara even agreed to let them head to the kitchen for a snack. Now that Lydia knew what Lorelei actually liked food-wise from Sara, she knew just what she wanted.

Surrounded by tan bricks, the kitchen looked nice. Everything was perfectly cleaned, and the supplies were all organized. Heck, the tools were even labelled. In the middle was a man with short brown hair who could not look more at home as he wiped down one last counter. His black eyes were focused on the task in front of him.

"Chef," Lydia said, making sure to keep her back straight. "I would like a strawberry food, pl---now." That was close.

"My lady," the man said. "We do not have any strawberry desserts left. Perhaps you would prefer a blueberry food?"

That was also a favorite of Lorelei's, but Lydia made him wait a bit, since that's probably what Lorelei would do. "Yes," she said after a minute. "That will do."

Nodding, the chef went to get her food. Although, he probably wasn't the chef. Why would the chef be working so late? Maybe he was a servant boy? That was a thing in isekai stories, right? Either way, he brought her food and handed it to Sara, which was great. If he hadn't done that then Lydia would have taken it herself, which noblewomen probably didn't do.

With food acquired, Lydia and Sara started to walk back to Lorelei's room. On the way, Lydia heard some people whispering.

"I have to attend to the Lady Lunatic tomorrow."

"Oh, Spirits save you! I hope you don't catch her in a bad mood. I still remember what happened to Anna."

"Would you two shut up?!"

"Sorry, Ashley."

What the heck was that, Lydia wondered.

When Sara closed the door to Lorelei's room, Lydia immediately grabbed the tray from her. Placing it down, Lydia took one of the treats and started eating.

"Remind me to teach you table manners soon," Sara said.

Jason didn't seem to mind. "Speaking of manners," Lydia said, shoving the last piece of her treat in her mouth. "What was up with those girls? You heard them, right?"

Sara sighed. "They are arrogant fools," she said simply.

Lydia thought for a bit. "Are those the maids Lorelei yells at? The reason everyone thinks that Lorelei is mean?"

"That is correct," Sara replied.

"Then why the heck doesn't she do anything about it?!"

"The lady tried before," Sara said. "Every attempt at punishing the culprits only made Lorelei look worse."

"Is that what happened with Anna?" Lydia asked. "Did she get kicked out?"

"Yes," Sara said. "After Anna, rumors about the incident painted Lady Lorelei as the villain. As a result, the lady tries to ignore the cretins. Sometimes, however, they upset her too much. Thus, she lashes out before repeating the cycle."

"What about the count?" Lydia asked.

"He is aware that something is going on," Sara replied. "He believes that Lorelei is lashing out from stress and that, in the aftermath, Lorelei keeps the maids out of guilt. He does not wish to intervene with her personal staff lest it worsen her reputation."

"Why can't she just fire all the bad ones?"

"If she did that, word would get out that the lady could not keep her staff in line," Sara said.

Lydia thought to herself for a couple of minutes. Those girls were clearly causing problems. Given that the Ashley girl had shut them up, it was possible that not everyone was on the Lorelei Hate Train. They couldn't fire the ladies, and they probably couldn't force them to quit. If they couldn't be mean to them. . . 

"What if," Lydia started slowly. "What if they didn't have to leave?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"What if there was another way," Lydia asked. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'kill them with kindness' before?"

"No," Sara said. "I am afraid not."

"Well," Lydia said. "It's basically like fighting fire with water. The fire may be blazing, causing all kinds of trouble but, when the water comes in, the fire has to calm down. If you add too much water, the fire will go out. It won't have the chance to burn anybody."

"I am assuming you have a plan," Sara said.

"Of course I do," Lydia replied. She then filled Sara in.

"Alright, Lady Lydia," Sara said. "While I have no qualms about your plan, I feel that we should run this plan by the lady."

Given that it was her life, that made sense. "Alright," Lydia said. "Then we'll see about it tomorrow."

"Contractions, Lady Lydia."

"Dang it!"