Chapter 22

It has been several days since the day Ariana and Alicia were sent to Silverwood.

After the influx of Ethan’s well-wishers at the mansion finally subsided, Isabel and I could slowly return to our original duties.

Instead of pouring our time and stress into entertaining guests and working in the kitchen, we wandered the mansion together as before, handling chores like cleaning and laundry…

…however, there was one slight change to our usual routine…

“Lilith? Um, Lilith! I’ve cleaned all the floors on the second floor! Is there anything else you need me to do?”

“No, if you’ve finished everything, just go ahead and rest.”

“Oh, should I clean the windows instead? Actually, I used to clean most of the windows on the second and third floors almost by myself until last year! Lilith, ummm, I can finish faster than you, so I can help!”

“No, this is my job. If you’re done with cleaning the hallway, just rest. I’ll take a break after finishing tasks with Isabel.”

“Um, well, but… Lilith is still working, so is it okay for me to rest first…?”

“In the first place, you are my superior, Senior Catherine. Stop worrying about me and just go rest.”

“Okay, I understand…”

Since Catherine joined Isabel and me, almost all the tasks have been like this.

Initially, Isabel and I would leisurely finish tasks at our own pace, but Catherine ended up doing about 70% of the work alone, leaving Isabel and me to wander around aimlessly until the work was done.

Since Ariana and Alicia disappeared into the distance, it wasn’t strange for Isabel and me to work with Catherine.

Honestly, thanks to her, the work itself finished faster than before, which in turn gave us more time to rest.

From a purely physical standpoint, it was undeniable that the burden had significantly decreased…

‘This work used to be quite overwhelming at times; this is great.’

However, just leaving everything to Catherine, who seemed eager to take over even the tasks I should be doing, was gradually making me uncomfortable, bar the physical fatigue.

I’ve never been fond of relationships where one person only receives and never gives anything in return. If possible, I prefer dry relationships where we don’t exchange anything at all, and if not, at least a give-and-take relationship to some extent.

Handing over all the tasks I should be doing to Catherine every time made me feel uneasy.

“Just a little more, and my work will be done too. Please, Catherine, take a rest. You’ve already cleaned the second-floor hallway by yourself; how much more of our workload do you intend to take away?”

“Oh, alright… Then, um, I’ll go rest first…”

Seeing Catherine walking away with a gloomy expression because I didn’t assign her any tasks, I couldn’t help but feel guilty deep inside.

Yearning for the days when Isabel and I worked together in peace was an unavoidable reality.

‘She’s just so pure and kind to the core…’

Of course, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand her feelings at all.

With the resolution of the theft case involving Thanasia’s necklace, the suspicions hanging over her were lifted in an instant.

Even the unjust debt burden placed on her was removed.

If I were in a similar situation as Catherine, I, too, would have felt intense gratitude towards Lilith.

However, expressing gratitude to that extent might burden the other person, even though I understand the sentiment.

“Sigh, why can’t I just treat her as an ordinary fellow maid?”

“Indeed, Senior Catherine is a bit burdensome.”

‘Woah!’

Lost in thought, Isabel, who had approached unnoticed, almost startled me by echoing my thoughts, just like last time.

She always manages to come near when I’m lost in thought.

“Have you finished cleaning the windows, Lilith?”

“Just three more to go.”

“Then I’ll help too! Let’s finish quickly and go rest together!”

“Thank you, Isabel.”

Isabel took one of the dry cloths I held in my hands, and we started cleaning the windows together. Yeah, this level of distance felt just right, not burdensome at all.

Rather than burdening me with the awkward suggestion to rest while she takes over, her light proposal to finish together because she’ll help felt much better. This way, when the time comes for me to help Isabel next, I can approach her without feeling pressured.

“I wonder what to do about Senior Catherine.”

“Why? Did she offer to do the work again today?”

“Yeah. I feel like if I don’t say something properly, this will keep going.”

“It’s fortunate that the suspicions against her have been cleared, but she does seem a bit too ecstatic, just as you said.”

“Well, considering the rumors about Seniors Ariana and Alicia, it’s not entirely unjustified why she’s in this state…”

The fact that Ariana and Alicia went to Silverwood was already publicly known within the mansion.

Harold deliberately didn’t stop the rumors from spreading to show the consequences that awaited those who mishandled Thanasia’s belongings.

Some of the servants, including myself, understood the severity of being reassigned to Silverwood as a punishment.

Yet it seems Isabel remains unaware of the true meaning behind being dragged to that horrible place.

Well, if she doesn’t know, there’s no need to reveal the grim reality. It wouldn’t make anyone feel good to hear the truth that senior maids were dragged away as slaves.

In that sense, perhaps it was indeed fortunate that Catherine was rescued. If she had been condemned to a lifetime of slavery in a place where she didn’t commit any crime, she would have likely felt nothing but a desire to end it all.

Of course, I couldn’t justify the current situation just because I rescued her from such a miserable fate.

It wasn’t an act I did in hopes of repayment, and if we were to argue, I was just as guilty as Catherine for using the situation she was in when I sent Ariana away.

Perhaps it was simply an action to save myself from future peril, not an attempt to save her from her predicament. So, expecting gratitude was odd in itself.

Of course, even if I were to explain this to Catherine, she probably wouldn’t believe it. Nevertheless, she’ll likely continue her voluntary acts of kindness, claiming it was indeed out of gratitude for my assistance.

“Sigh…”

The problem was, the more Catherine’s behavior like that continued, the more I stood out.

Initially, there were around a dozen maids in the mansion, including us three. Including other staff like butlers, guards, and chefs, there were probably around 50 to 60 servants in total.

Amidst all of that, my behavior towards Catherine might have seemed like I was exploiting her, almost like lower maids were prioritizing tasks in a hierarchical manner.

Honestly, it was a behavior that stood out a lot, and not in a good way.

As I’ve mentioned before, whether it was good or bad, I didn’t like being the center of attention.

Now, thanks to recently finding Thanasia’s necklace, I, along with Harold, was receiving attention from several people.

Any further attention than this would be toxic to Lilith. It was a deadly poison that could potentially reveal her ability to use magic if mishandled.

However, despite having warned about it verbally over a dozen times already, nothing seemed to improve. Yet, I couldn’t blatantly scold or shout at Catherine in front of Isabel either.

Isabel, observing Lilith worrying about a problem that might eventually blow up, subtly offered her advice.

“If Senior Catherine is burdensome, why not confront her about it directly?”

“We’ve already had several confrontations…”

“No, not just asking her to stop verbally, but having you ask something of her properly.”

“…Huh?”

“Ask Senior Catherine for something reasonable and frame it as repaying her kindness from last time. Wouldn’t Senior Catherine somehow understand and agree to it?”

“Hmm…”

Indeed, “Clever Isabel.” She definitely has a knack for practical wisdom like this.

She’s good at her work, smart, and quite pretty too.

If only she didn’t lack combat skills, she could have easily been a sub-heroine in the Luminor Academy.

Nodding in agreement with her plausible advice, I responded positively.

“Yeah, Isabel, your idea sounds good.”

“Really?”

“…but I’m not sure what favor to ask for. Just asking for something like help with maid duties might not be taken seriously.”@@novelbin@@

“Hmm… Senior Catherine started to work at this mansion a year before us, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Then why don’t you ask her to take you on a trip to the Blackwood fiefdom *1 next holiday? I’m sure she knows more about it far better than you and I, after all.”

“Huh?”

“I heard that Senior Catherine was exonerated not long ago, and her debt-maid status was lifted. I’m sure she’d be happy to hear that.”

Isabel kept coming up with plausible suggestions one after another as if she had prepared them in advance; it was almost like she was using ChatGPT.

Thanks to the wisdom of “Clever Isabel,” I almost forgot my status momentarily and was about to agree that it was a good idea.

Sadly, there was one fatal flaw in Isabel’s proposal that couldn’t allow me to implement it.

“Isabel, truth is, I’ve been too embarrassed to say this until now…”

“Huh?”

“I’m actually a maid working off my father’s gambling debts. I might not be able to leave the mansion grounds.”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry… I didn’t know Lilith was in that situation…”

“It’s okay. I didn’t mention it from the start. Still, I appreciate your advice.”

Isabel’s advice itself was pretty useful, indeed. If only I wasn’t in debt as a maid.

If I had free access based on my status alone, I wouldn’t be taking walks in the mansion but hunting slimes in the back mountains.

Already having nearly 20 times the maximum health due to the increased magic capacity, it was essential to learn new skills to make use of this overflowing magic power.

“Still, you know, Lilith…”

“Huh?”

“Not long ago, you played a significant role in recovering Lady Thanasia’s belongings. So, maybe if you ask the head maid nicely, she might allow it?”

“…Do you think it’ll work that easily?”

“There’s no harm in giving it a try. If it doesn’t work out, you can think about it then. I’ll take care of things here, so why don’t you go talk to the head maid now?”

“Oh, okay…”

With Isabel’s suggestion pushing me halfway, I made my way to the head maid’s office.

Without much hope, I asked if it was possible to get permission to go out.

“So, next holiday, you want to go to the Blackwood fiefdom *1?”

“Uh, it’s just something I wanted to try asking about. Since I’m a debt maid, I can’t leave the mansion grounds, so even if it’s not possible, I understand…”

“I understand. Lilith Rosewood is trustworthy, so I’ll grant you special permission to go out.”

“Really…?”

“You’ve been through a lot with this recent incident, so take this opportunity to rest with your colleagues.”

“Oh, okay…”

I was actually a bit taken aback by how easily the head maid granted permission.

…I couldn’t believe it, but it’s actually happening.

T/N

A fiefdom is an area where a specific person or organization exclusively owns or exerts authority on.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!