Chapter 3
The duchess very rarely summoned a maid or a servant.
Her personal attendants and dedicated maid were always by her side.
If she'd singled me out and called me in, it meant she had something for me to do.
Surely she wasn't firing me, was she? I'd worked so hard—surely not?
As I walked down the hallway, lost in thought, I soon arrived at the duchess's room.
Even though I'd spent seven years here, I was still nervous at a moment like this.
"My lady. I heard you wanted to see me."
"Come in."
I opened the door and peeked inside, and saw the duchess processing paperwork so fast her hands were a blur.
If I could've had paperwork skills like that, maybe I wouldn't have died from getting off work so late.
Well, that's all in the past now.
"For now, have a seat over there."
"Yes."
I'd been in the duchess's room before, but this was my first time sitting on the sofa.
I had no idea what it was made of, but it was incredibly soft.
A long while passed after I sat down, but the duchess didn't say a word.
What was this, some kind of neglect play?
I sat there blankly staring into space until the duchess finally got up and sat down in front of me.
I hurriedly wiped away the drool that had been slipping from my mouth as I zoned out, then straightened up.
"What's your name?"
"Ah, I'm Serena."
"All right, Serena. How old are you now?"
"I'm fifteen."
"That's an appropriate age."
I didn't know what work she was assigning me that required this much hesitation, but the seed of anxiety that had just begun to sprout inside me
seemed to be growing larger and larger.
I had a feeling this definitely wasn't going to be anything good for me.
"Do you know who the next duke will be?"
"Of course. It'll be Lord Rael, the young duke."
"You know your stuff. Then start today."
"Pardon?"
"Starting today, you'll be serving the young duke."
At that bombshell, my mind went blank for a moment.
My head began to ache as if someone had hit it with a massive hammer.
"I have to serve the young duke?"
"Yes. It's already been decided, so you'll start learning your duties at the main residence today."
No.
There was absolutely no way I was becoming that good-for-nothing's maid.
I didn't know what he'd do to me, but what I hated even more was having to call that bastard Master.
Absolutely. Never. Even if I died, that was the one thing I would never accept.
But how could I refuse? No, did I even have a valid reason to refuse?
Damn it. No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn't come up with an answer.
"There's something I'd like to say."
"What is it?"
"I was thinking I might still have some shortcomings when it comes to serving the young duke."
"Are you saying my judgment is wrong?"
"N-No! That's absolutely not what I mean. It's just that I'm still very inexperienced."
"Then I'll arrange for you to go to the main residence right now and learn the job."
If I refused one more time, I'd be fired.
Not fired from my job as a maid, but literally beheaded.
Was there really no way out?
In an atmosphere where refusal was simply impossible, I finally accepted, feeling like I was swallowing a bitter pill.
Though I wasn't sure whether to call it accepting or submitting.
"Shion. Show that girl to the main residence."
"Understood."
'Yikes! Since when were you there?'
It wasn't as if I didn't know that the butler was always by the duchess's side.
But when I came in, the duchess was definitely the only one in the room. How did he suddenly appear?
Shion. Wasn't he the handsome, taciturn one who was popular among the maids and servants?
I'd never seen his face before, but I'd heard so many compliments about his looks that I knew he was handsome.
'He really is ridiculously handsome.'
Compared to my original appearance, it was like comparing a person to a bug.
Now that I put it that way, I feel a little gloomy.
"Please gather your belongings and come to the entrance of the annex."
"Ah, yes."
After that brief exchange, I went straight to tell the people I'd been staying with in the annex.
"So it turned out this way after all."
"I expected it, but I didn't think you'd leave so soon."
"You all already knew?"
"Why wouldn't they make use of the estate's most highly regarded worker, someone who gets the most done?"
That's certainly true.
It's awkward to say this myself, but I did everything perfectly as a maid.
Cleaning, cooking, and even combat.
Even if a talent hasn't manifested, sometimes it shows in everyday life, and I was one of those cases.
People even joked that my talent must be being a maid, so that tells you everything.
Of course, they weren't wrong.
My talent hadn't shown any sign of awakening even once in seven years.
Even my status window had only changed my age and height; everything else was exactly the same.
When you end up in a place like this, don't you usually get quests or missions?
So why hadn't I seen anything like that in the past seven years?
"It's sad to see you go so suddenly."
"I like it here, too. But the lady of the house gave me a direct order, so there isn't anything I can do."
"I'm sure you'll do well over there, too. If things get tough, come back here and rest."
"Thank you, Chloe."
After saying our goodbyes, I went to my room and gathered the things I was taking with me.
Though all I owned was some clothes and daily necessities.
As I was quickly packing, someone opened the door and came in.
"Ryuan?"
"Why didn't you tell me ahead of time?"
"I only found out today, too. I didn't expect this to happen so suddenly."
"Does that mean you can't come back?"
"It's not like I'm moving to another region. I'm sure I can come back."
"Then come visit often. It's so boring without you."
"All right. I'll come by often."
Ryuan sat beside me while I packed.
That guy really is like a puppy.
After packing everything and saying my final goodbyes to everyone in the annex, I headed toward the entrance.
I thought I'd finally started to feel at home here, too.
It's a little sad.
"Ah, you're here."
"Yes."
"Let's go right away. He's waiting."
"Who is?"
"Lord Rael, the young duke."
The moment had come.
I was going to meet the person I had to serve from now on, and the one I had to avoid at all costs if I wanted a peaceful life.
My heart was trembling a little at the thought of meeting the villain I'd only ever seen in the novel.
As I walked, thinking through different scenarios and wondering what I should say, I soon arrived in front of the main residence.
'It's freaking huge.'
The main residence was so enormous that it couldn't even be compared to the annex where I'd been living.
On top of that, there was a vast garden and a massive marble fountain.
It was such a splendid and imposing sight that anyone could tell they had more money than they knew what to do with.
"This way."
"Ah, yes."
It had taken us over ten minutes just to get here, which showed just how enormous the estate was.
By the way, this Shion guy wasn't just taciturn, as the rumors said—he barely spoke so much that I wondered if he was mute.
Even when I spoke to him first, he didn't answer at all.
Once we went inside the mansion, an even more extravagant sight unfolded before me.
The word extravagant from the novel didn't even begin to describe it.
All kinds of sculptures, paintings hanging on the walls, and rooms stretching out seemingly without end.
'It's so extravagant that it almost feels unreal.'
We climbed the stairs and passed through an enormous hallway, then Shion stopped in front of a room.
"We've arrived."
"Can I just go in?"
In response to my question, Shion said nothing and simply grabbed the handle and opened the door.
Couldn't he just answer a normal question like a normal person?
I swallowed my minor complaint, ready to pick up a much bigger one, and stepped into the room.
As soon as I entered, the door closed again, leaving me alone inside.
Why close it? Why not just leave it open?
I quickly looked around, moving my head and eyes, but couldn't see anyone.
Thinking they might be somewhere in the large room where I couldn't find them, I called out.
"Is anyone here?"
No matter how many times I called, I heard no answer.
Looking around more carefully, I saw that unlike the outside, the decorations here were very simple. The room was merely large, with a strangely empty feel to it.
I was so absorbed in looking around the room that, after a while, I lay down on the bed—and at that very moment.
-BANG!
"Eek!"
The door, which had been closed, suddenly flew open, and someone strode in.
I hurriedly got up from the bed, pressed myself against the wall, and turned to look at the person who'd come in.
The silver-haired man walked into the room, lifted the bottle in his hand, and started drinking.
Judging by his hair, he had to be Rael, but why was he drinking?
"Who are you?"
"Ah, I'm Serena, the maid appointed to serve the young duke."
"A maid? Ah, right. I guess I did say that back then."
-Grab.
"Young Duke?"
"Shut up. You came here wanting this, too, didn't you?"
"No, wait! What are you doing?"
Rael dropped the bottle he was holding, grabbed my shoulders, and shoved me down onto the bed.
He skillfully started undoing the ties on my maid uniform, while I grabbed his hands and tried to stop him.
'He wasn't just a good-for-nothing—he was a pervert?!'
I could push his hands away if I wanted to.
But if I accidentally hurt him and anything happened to him, I'd definitely lose my head.
"Stay still. It'll be over soon."
I could vaguely guess what he was trying to do.
It wasn't exactly surprising for a good-for-nothing to do something like this.
But I used to be a man—there's no way I'd do that kind of thing with another man!