The moment Ann walked into the kitchen, all of the workers there seemed like they just saw a ghost waltzing inside. They immediately dropped all their work and proceeded to welcome her.
...At this moment, Ann felt like she was an emperor who just walked into his concubine's room and was greeted like this by everyone in the room. It was an uneasy sense of superiority.
"No need to mind me, I'm just here to wash my hands, go and work," Ann waved her hand to dismiss them as she paid no mind to all of them and just... did her business—that was washing her hands.
Actually, Ann noticed the chefs seemed to have a questioning look, but she thought that everything she did would be weird to them, as Ann was no longer the old Arlea.
Finishing her hand hygiene routine, Ann sat back on the chair and proceeded to grab the food with her hands—then she turned them into a good hamburger that she could just chomp on instead of using the fork, knife, or spoon... gah. Yes, she liked eating the convenient way.
"...!" Ann could hear the others' silent gasps, so she turned around to look at the maids in the dining room, with sandwich still in her hands. Her cheeks were a bit puffed as she accidentally chewed more than she could take.
"Whasdemata? (What's the matter?)"
Again, Ann overestimated her ability to multitask. She used to talk while eating in her previous world, but this... She wasn't too accustomed with Arlea's body yet.
Ann decided to quickly chew and ask, "Sorry, I mean, what's the matter?"
"...," the maids didn't answer and only continued to stare at her in disbelief.
Ann was so confused.
"That, Arlea-sama, the way you are eating...," One of the maids timidly voiced out her mind.
"Oh, this? Convenient, right? Eating the breakfast like this is better in her opinion. Try it out sometimes~," Ann advised them instead of picking up on what was wrong.
She was even proud she could share her knowledge as a modern human being to the people of this world. She even began to hallucinate that she might be able to revolutionize something with her knowledge of modern world... Then she would become famous, and then she would live leisurely...
"...That wasn't meant to be eaten that way...," Another maid seemed to mutter something, but her voice was too tiny that Ann couldn't tell what she was saying.
"Pardon?" Ann quickly recovered from her far-fetched imagination as she turned her head to the maid and asked.
"Ekh! No problem, no problem at all. I didn't see anything," the maid shook her body. She was sure if she were to voice her thought, this vicious mistress of hers won't give her any mercy! She would definitely suffer a fate worse than death!
"...?"
Weird. It wasn't like you saw something bad that you should keep quiet of, right?
Ann thought.
After that, none of the maids asked anything, so Ann finished her delicious hamburger-like breakfast happily.
Aaah, my belly was so satisfied with this delicious food!
Ann grabbed the cup of tea to refresh her mouth. Out of habit, she washed the inside of her mouth using the tea in a very quiet manner—in order to make sure there wasn't any food slipped around her teeth. Anyway, this was at home, so it was no problem. She should take a mental note not to do it in public.
At that moment, a maid who was tidying up the table almost dropped the tableware as she couldn't believe what Arlea was doing.
Ann gulped the tea and quickly helped her, "Be careful."
Still, the maid wouldn't look at Arlea's face, despite her trying to be the good person.
Guess it was too fast to expect people would turn kind to me all out of a sudden, huh? Yes, my overnight change was also suspicious in their eyes. It couldn't be helped.
Ann decided to pay no mind to it as she believed that her good will would shine in the end. She was completely clueless of the noble etiquette that the ladies in this world was supposed to have. Yes, the modern her didn't pay any attention to the noble etiquette in the games she played. The games she played didn't portray noble etiquette that much.
Most were just otome game with dialogues related to the story, portrayal of noble etiquette was like 'walking like you were walking on a catwalk', just the easy thing. Ann believed that at home, table manner wasn't so important. This was where she was so wrong.
...Not that she could do anything about that, given that she never took any table manner classes back in the modern world.
After the awkward breakfast and morning, it was finally time she went outside. Ann was also planning to eat her lunch outside. Therefore, she grabbed her wallet and saw...
Huh? What kind of money is this?
She admitted she never really paid any attention to the economy in the game. The game didn't involve money at all, so it was only mentioned in passing. Why bother, then?
...Ann deeply regretted her decision. If she knew she would be reincarnated here, she would seriously learn more about this world.
...Nobody would guess she would end up here, though.
I guess it couldn't be helped. I should be able to figure things out when I go to downtown.
After all, I decided to drop all the overthinking and seriousness I had as a corporate slave and normal woman in my past life here. I just need to enjoy my remaining time.
With that in mind, Ann packed the essentials in the modest bag she could find. Again, the bags Arlea possessed... one seemed too precious as it was made from some kind of an animal skin.
One seemed full of jewelries as decoration, she would be a joke in downtown for using this. Another one was too small. No, there were lots of small bags. Why the heck didn't she buy more medium-sized bags with modest designs? Thank goodness there were some that Ann could use without feeling embarrassed.
The last problem she had before going out was... the shoes.
...HOW THE HELL DID ARLEA MANAGE TO WALK USING THIS HEELS?! Look at the pointy thin heels, oh my god! And it's so high! I'd lose my feet using this.
This one... Too fancy to go with my dress. Out of option.
This one... Why did people use gems in shoes? It seemed precious... Oh no... Definitely not. What if I stumble upon a rock and lose this gem? It would add to my financial loss. Cross this out.
This one... is too beautiful, it should be used as a room decoration instead.
This one—the sharp heels... I think I can kill someone with this, hehehe...
This... The heels... The heels... Forgive me, it's impossible.
...Oh, found some flat-shoes that I could use. It should go well with my dress. Okay, flat shoes, I choose you!
Ann's choice of fashion today to go out: A medium-sized brown handbag, a simple floral-patterned pink dress with a red ribbon belt, and a brown simple flat-shoes.
If her money was enough and there were good outfits to buy, she should buy them.
...Next time, she should hire a carriage and sell some of Arlea's stuff that she would never use.
Yes, pawn them away for things she could use!
After making sure for one last time that she hadn't left anything, Ann opened the door to freedom—to the outside world, full of anticipation.