Caelum set me down, and I had to take a moment, resting on the carriage to calm myself down.
The thought of my beautiful face almost getting scarred due to my carelessness nearly gave me a heart attack.
I should be more careful of carriages from now on.
My body moved with etiquette, and I did things I don't think the original Lyssa had done, so I imagined I was someone of high status in my past life. Then, didn't that mean I used to enter carriages?
But I don't act like someone who's been in a carriage before. Or are the carriages in this world just too big compared to the ones from my world?
I'll never find an answer, so it's better to let it go.
I finally stood straight and stretched my arms, fully recovering from the shock just now. Then, I turned. My eyes widened at the mansion that was before my eyes.
We were currently inside a huge estate, and this mansion, as magnificent as it was, was just the annex.
Caelum said something about not being able to take me through the front since it'll create more misunderstandings.
And so, he led me towards the servant wing from the back. As we walked, I saw a lot of the servants, some carrying laundry baskets, some carrying brooms and brushes, all in the days work.
And of course, all eyes were on me. At first, they blushed to see Caelum, but their eyes turned razor sharp as they saw me.
Then, we came across one specific server girl, a rabbit beastman with two long ears sticking out of the top of her head.
She was cute, even more so when her eyes sparkled as soon as she saw Caelum. I assumed it was just like how the other servants gushed at him, but the way Caelum looked at her as well... The gaze between them.
I smell a rat.
There was definitely something suspicious going on between these two. Could she be the unlucky commoner girl that he could not dare to bring out to the public? I wonder.
The gaze broke as the rabbit girl turned to look at me. She saw me wearing Caelum's coat, smelled his scent on me, and her face grew agitated.
"Who...?"
"This is Lyssa," Caelum said, and I gave the peace sign. "She'll be staying here for a while."
"Just so you know, I'm not a servant like the rest of you," I said, making sure to put it out there that I wasn't someone they could boss around.
"Yes, and be careful around her," Caelum warned his little darling rabbit, knowing the kind of things I was capable of.
Even though he did not know the full extent of my cruelty, he already got to taste part of it and was already worried.
I chuckled.
"Yes, be careful around me. I bite."
The rabbit girl did not see this as a joke. What she saw was a female who was wearing her supposed lover's coat out in the open. Something she was probably never allowed to do.
"I'll go now. I have to check if my brother has returned, or is returning soon." Caelum said, his gaze on the rabbit girl more than on me. She nodded, her smile soft and warm that I nearly gagged on our maker's behalf.
Soft, innocent-looking girls like her always made me want to hit them. It was no different in Linna's case, too. I hate when they're weak and meek. Most of them are actually super pretentious, making villainesses like me seem pure in comparison.
Then, Caelum turned to me, leaning over to whisper,
"Don't cause any trouble while you're here." He said. "Once I confirm with my brother, I will come get you."
"Alright, I'll try my best," I said, rolling my eyes towards the rabbit girl who was ready to chew me out with her cute little buck teeth. He should be telling this to her, but noooo, I'm the bad one here.
Once Caelum left, the sweet innocent look in the rabbit's face dropped, replaced with that of jealousy as she looked me in the eye, but I ignored her little pout.
"So, where do I stay?"
"Follow me." She said and turned around. "I'll take you to the room that suits you."
As much as I'd like to like the sound of that, I knew it wasn't any good coming from her.
Oh well, I can just flip the entire place if she tries anything funny.
And just like I thought, she took me to a dusty and dirty attic and said,
"This is the only room available." She had a secret grin on her lips. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to make do with that."
I looked at the dusty attic. I was sure I saw a rat crawl about, and then I looked back at her.
She sure felt like the smartest person in the world, huh?
"I don't want it," I said and folded my arms.
"What do you mean?"
"I said I don't want it. It's dirty and dark and smells too. I refuse to stay in a place like that."
"W-well, with a little cleaning and renovation, it should be fine. There aren't any more rooms, so..." She began to feel flustered, but I wasn't buying it.
"I don't care. You can try to clean and renovate the place, but like I said," I took a step towards her, and she stepped back. "I don't want it."
"You..."
"What's going on, Beatrice?" A voice came from behind, and we turned. This rabbit girl, Beatrice, looked glad to see the two servants approaching.
"This female... She doesn't want to take the room I'm giving her." She said, like it was some goodwill charity. The two girls looked at me.
One was a raccoon beastman, and the other didn't have any particular features to show she was a beastman, but she was one. The scales crawling on her neck said so. I just don't know what she was.
"She won't take the room?" They both looked at the dark and creepy room.
"Would you take the room if you were me?" I asked them. "Anyway, I don't need you to answer that. You're clearly her back-up and you'll side with her, so let me spell it out for you. I'm not taking that room. If you want me to, then you'll have to convince me on why I should stay in a dirty and dusty place when I'm a guest here."