7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to His Worst Enemy!

Chapter 16: My name is Rishe Irmgard Weitzner

"YOU'RE ALL SO USELESS!" Diana the redheaded maid's voice rang out inside the stone washhouse.

Three days had passed since the afternoon Rishe shook off her guard and came out to the well. Rishe was once again dressed to fit in with the maids. At Diana's shout, she looked up without pausing in her work.

"Is even laundry beyond your capabilities? I asked you to wash these this morning, and now it's past noon! Meanwhile, we've finished cleaning the entire first floor in a third of the time!"

"I-I'm sorry, Diana."

The new maids went silent with shame. Among them was Elsie, the girl Rishe stood up for the other day. Rishe pulled her hands out of the soapy water, gently rinsed them, and said, "Let me help. What still needs to be done?"

"You again?" Diana rounded on Rishe. "I don't know who you serve, but I'm amazed you have the time to do other people's work. I wish I had so much free time."

Huffily, she turned from Rishe. "Let's just ignore these useless fools. Laura, Maya. Come on. If we want to be chosen as Lady Rishe's maids, we mustn't waste our time."

Diana took out a slip of paper from her pocket, smoothing it out. "It looks like the new bedsheets for her palace will arrive today. We should inspect them to make sure everything is perfect!"

"Wait up, Diana!"

The two maids followed Diana out.

Rishe waited for the door to close before turning to Elsie and the others. "Let's keep working. If there's anything too large and cumbersome, feel free to pass it over to me."

"Th-thank you so much!" The new maids went weak with gratitude. One of them, a girl on the verge of tears, even fell into a full bow. Rishe muttered encouragement as she scrubbed some bedsheets.

Elsie, who was washing the sheets with her, wore a rueful look. "I'm so sorry for the trouble. We're just not learning fast enough."

"You haven't been working here long, have you? It takes time to learn a new job, no matter who you are," Rishe said as she kept scrubbing. "And it's not like you've never washed a single thing in your life before, right?"

Elsie nodded nervously.

Rishe had realized over the past few days doing the laundry that not all the newcomers were complete amateurs. They'd obviously done chores at home, or something similar. When set a specific task, they could perform it properly, but Diana's complaints weren't unfounded. They did take far too much time with laundry.

But it's obvious why.

"Do you know anything about Diana?" Rishe asked Elsie.

"Like, is she from a well-off family?"

Elsie said, "I heard that her father was a business owner. She worked with him."

"I heard that as well," added another maid. "But he fell into debt and had to sell off."

Rishe stopped scrubbing for a moment to consider this.

"Um, is something the matter?" Elsie asked.

Rishe smiled and shook her head. "No, nothing. Let's just focus on getting these washed for the time being."

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That afternoon, thirty maids were assembled in the detached wing of the palace. Ten of them were old hands, long in service to the royal family, while the other twenty were freshly hired. The crown princess was to choose her maids from among these thirty. They wore their nerves plainly on their sleeves.

"Hey, I thought this palace was in a terrible state of neglect," one maid whispered. "Why is it so sparkling clean?"

"Yeah, you're right," said another. "Someone must have sorted it out before we arrived."

"I wonder what kind of person Lady Rishe is. Ooh, I'm so nervous."

The girls looked around anxiously.

"Hey, Elsie, that girl who was always helping us isn't here."

Elsie blinked. "You're right."

"Look, Diana. That impertinent newbie didn't get picked."

At her friend's observation, Diana preened with satisfaction. "No surprise there. You need some manners to attend to Lady Rishe. I bet she got kicked out of the running!" Her eyes sparkled with confidence.

At last, there was a knock at the door.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Rishe."

The maids quickly fell into bows. Diana's chest ached with anticipation as heels clicked on the floor, approaching the line of girls. From the corner of their eyes, the maids saw a wide-skirted court dress. A gentle scent washed over them.

Without even looking at her, they could tell Crown Princess Rishe was a lovely woman. Diana and her friends swelled with pride that she was to become their mistress.

But then Laura whispered to Diana, "Hey, isn't this scent familiar?"

"Quiet!" Clearly it was some sort of expensive perfume. Or so Diana thought, but then she realized what it was. The words just slipped out. "It's soap."

"Huh? Did you just say something?"

"It's soap. The same kind we always use." Diana was sure of it.

The princess said, "Please rise."

Why did her voice sound so familiar? An incredible foreboding gripping her, Diana looked up. She gasped.

"My name is Rishe Irmgard Weitzner."

Before her stood the beautiful newcomer—the thorn in her side for the past few days. The smile she wore was peaceful and just the slightest bit satisfied.

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