Molly felt she should sincerely thank Adele on behalf of all the human maids, so she said earnestly, "Thank you."
Of course, there was also some self-interest involved. She had wanted to deal with the head maid for a while, but she always felt that eliminating one of her own kind wasn't right, so she kept holding back. But if pushed to the limit, she would act.
She sometimes wondered, if she ever broke the line she had set for herself, would she still be human?
Molly knew very well that, aside from her outer shell and her innermost thoughts, her body didn't have much to do with being human. What human could control their hair even after it was cut off? Let alone trample on non-humans and capture high-ranking vampires with ease. These weren't things a human could do.
But as long as she firmly believed, and maintained her mindset that she was human, then she wouldn't be anything else.
Molly's sincere thanks flustered Adele, who, being a bit tsundere, turned her face away to hide her slightly flushed cheeks. She whispered, "N-no need to thank me."
After that, Adele was too embarrassed to speak. After a brief silence, Molly broke the quiet, "Lady Adele, was there something you needed?"
"Oh, right, where's my headband?"
"Which headband?"
"The black one, with velvet grey leaves and pale blood-red flowers."
As soon as Adele mentioned it, Molly knew exactly which one she meant. She quickly found it in the dressing room and handed it to Adele. Adele gave the headband to Molly, asking her to style her hair. Molly's hairdressing skills were average at best, but Adele was quite satisfied with her technique.
Molly parted Adele's hair evenly on both sides, braided it, and tied it up with the headband. Molly's hands moved swiftly, and before long, Adele's hair was neatly done. After finishing, Molly made a quick exit. Adele wanted to say something, but Molly left so fast that she couldn't keep up. All she could do was sigh and let it go.
After leaving Adele's room, Molly was soon confronted by the head maid. The head maid had pulled Molly out of the servants' quarters, where she had been sharing the latest gossip with the other maids. Molly suspected that the head maid had overheard her bad-mouthing her earlier, as her face was particularly grim.
The first thing the head maid said upon seeing Molly was, "Don't be too arrogant…"
Molly almost laughed because the head maid's words were such a classic line for a minor villain. After thinking it over, Molly decided that, since the head maid was at least one of her own, she shouldn't provoke her too much. So instead of saying, "What if I am?" she replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Seeing Molly feign innocence only made the head maid angrier. "Wasn't it you who called Lady Adele over?! You deliberately didn't go to her room this morning just so she would come looking for you, didn't you?"
Since she had been seen through, Molly didn't bother hiding it. "Yes, it was me."
Seeing Molly's nonchalant attitude infuriated the head maid. She clenched her fists tightly at her sides, and after Molly admitted it, she raised her hand as if to slap her. But unfortunately for her, Molly caught her wrist before she could land the blow.
The head maid, now desperate and enraged, found herself in a situation that displeased Molly. Molly's cold eyes bore into her. The head maid's expression shifted from anger to a hint of fear as soon as she met Molly's gaze.
From the moment Molly first arrived at the castle, the head maid had disliked her. To the head maid, Molly's gaze was all wrong. The vampires and humans in the castle hadn't noticed anything off, but the head maid wasn't fooled. How could a six-year-old girl have such cold, detached eyes? No matter who she looked at, it was as if she were gazing at an ant on the ground, with nothing and no one worthy of her attention. The head maid didn't like that kind of look, so she often found excuses to punish Molly, determined to correct her gaze, to stop her from arrogantly looking directly at her.
Over time, Molly's gaze did change; the coldness in her eyes faded, replaced by indifference, but at least it wasn't as disdainful. The head maid always thought it was due to her own strict teaching, but now she realized that Molly had simply grown up and learned to hide her true self.
The head maid opened her mouth, trying to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. She was so frightened by that gaze that her knees felt weak. Instinctively, she struggled, trying to free her wrist from Molly's grip, but to no avail—Molly didn't budge and held her wrist firmly.
The scariest part was that the head maid knew Molly wasn't even using much strength.
Molly wasn't exerting much force, as the head maid didn't feel any pain in her wrist, but that was what made it terrifying. Despite the lack of force, she couldn't break free. How… how could she do that?!
Cold sweat beaded on the head maid's forehead. She realized it now—Molly wasn't human. How could a human do what she did?! She must be a non-human infiltrator in the castle! If she could bring this information to the master or the lady of the house, they surely wouldn't listen to Lady Adele and would have her expelled!
The head maid's thoughts were laid bare before Molly, who suddenly said, "Lady, you've caused enough trouble. I've tolerated you long enough." By now, Molly had reached a level where she could control her killing intent precisely and limit it to a single person.
At that moment, the head maid felt as though a sharp blade was pressed against her throat, ready to slit it at any moment. She couldn't help but glance at Molly's pitch-black eyes, finding them truly terrifying. From the first time she saw Molly, the head maid had felt this way.
Molly's eyes were a deep black, not gray, but a pure, unyielding black, so dark they didn't reflect any emotion, only the person she was looking at, devoid of any of her own feelings.
The head maid realized… this was Molly's threat; she wanted to kill her!
Molly released the head maid and flung her wrist aside, causing the head maid, whose legs had gone weak, to collapse onto the ground. Molly looked down at her from above, and the head maid lowered her head, avoiding eye contact. But Molly knew this wouldn't be the end of it.
The head maid wouldn't be content with being driven out of the castle and would surely find a way to stay.
But that was fine. Adele would be her best weapon to clear the head maid out. Honestly, Molly had tolerated her for too long. The things she had done would be considered abuse for anyone other than Molly, with a high probability of causing a six-year-old child's death.
But Molly's thick skin and resilience meant she was just fine.
Even after being scolded by Adele, the head maid still assigned two maids to help Molly. However, these were low-ranking vampire maids who, at the sight of working alongside a human maid, grumbled incessantly but dutifully cleaned the courtyard.
The reason was simple. Molly overheard them whispering to each other, "Shh, let's not cause trouble. Just do our job properly. This one's a favorite of the young lady; if we bully her, we might get kicked out by Lady Adele."
Thanks to Adele, Molly managed to finish cleaning the courtyard with ease.
The castle was always particularly busy before the lady of the house returned, as she was the epitome of a noble lady, both before and after marriage. In Molly's words, she was a bit of a fuss.
On the day of her return, all the maids were busy from dawn till dusk. Once the castle was spotless, they lined up in the hall to await the lady's arrival. The adult version of Adele, essentially a miniature version of Lady Black with silver hair, walked in from outside.
Since she was from the Gordon family, Lady Black had long golden hair. She walked into the hall in high heels, and all the maids bowed in greeting. Adele, at the front, curtsied alongside her younger sister.
From her place in the maids' line, Molly heard Adele's voice, "Mother, welcome back."
"Hmm." Lady Black nodded graciously. She surveyed the hall, ensuring there wasn't a speck of dust, and then she was satisfied. She reached out and embraced her daughters, one on each side, and led them back to her room.
This time, Molly couldn't sneak around to eavesdrop, as she had plenty of work to do, but she knew that after a brief mother-daughter chat, Adele would lodge a complaint on her behalf.
As Molly predicted, in the sitting room of the lady's quarters, the three of them sat apart while the lady's maid served them all tea, thoughtfully adding artificial blood sugar cubes to Adele's cup. After the small talk, the lady inquired about Adele's school life.
After listening, she asked if anything noteworthy had happened recently.
After a moment's hesitation, Adele finally said, "Mother, I don't think the head maid is suitable for her position."
The lady took a graceful sip of her tea, intrigued. "Oh? And why is that?" She glanced around at the other maids. "It's not because she's human and unfit to lead the vampire maids, is it?"
She said this deliberately, knowing her daughter had a soft spot for humans, especially the first maid she had ever brought back, the one she cared about the most. So it certainly wasn't for the reason the lady had suggested.
Adele shook her head at her mother's teasing, "Of course not."
The lady nodded in agreement, "Indeed, for us, there's no difference between humans and low-ranking vampires. As long as they're useful, anyone can be put to work. You know, many clever inventions come from humans. Though they're weak, their minds are sharp."
She set her cup down and asked, "So what's the real reason you think she's unfit for the job?"
At that moment, Lady Black seemed more like a teacher to Adele than a mother.