episode_0003

It has been a week since I realized that I had reincarnated into the “Luminor Academy.”

Surprisingly, each day at Blackwood Manor was passing by smoothly, contrary to my worries, with nothing out of the ordinary happening, except for the past few days being hectic due to the illegitimate son of the Blackwood family awakening from a curse after five years.

To be fair, it wasn’t really Edan himself who was bothering me yet. If anything, he was probably still in a daze shortly after waking up from the curse.

Strictly speaking, it was true that I had become busy fundamentally because of Edan, but the exponential increase in visitors to Blackwood Manor following his awakening from the curse was the main reason for this.

Originally, apart from preparing and serving meals three times a day, doing some light cleaning, and laundry, the household of the Blackwood family was quite leisurely with not much else to do.

However, now, due to the influx of guests visiting the manor following Edan Richard Blackwood’s awakening, the servants of the Blackwood family were also busier than ever before.

They had to greet and bid farewell to guests streaming in and out every day, prepare meals and beds for all the guests filling the Blackwood family’s rooms, and handle the increased cleaning and laundry workload.

Even the maids who usually shared all tasks evenly were now operating in a strictly divided labor format during this emergency situation.

There were maids solely dedicated to laundry and others solely focused on cleaning.

And among the many tasks I was assigned, the most exhausting one was, unfortunately, the ‘reception’ duty.

In reality, assigning me and Isabelle the most tiring task that senior maids avoided was almost like giving us the same treatment as extra characters.

“Haah… I’m so tired…”

Harold Richard Blackwood, the head of the Blackwood noble family.

Known throughout the country as a descendant of the prestigious swordsmanship lineage of the Blackwood family for centuries, Harold, who had no interest in status or wealth, was unable to manage his illegitimate son, Edan.

In the background story, he was known to cherish his entire family, including his late wife Tanashia. However, after her death, he seemed to have become even more attached to Edan.

How could a mere junior maid know about Tanashia, who had passed away even before I came in?

Spending 2,000 hours in gameplay inevitably led to knowing the backstories of such extra characters.

Especially when following the release route, it was inevitable to get involved with the Blackwood family, encountering Harold frequently.

…Of course, in the current situation, Harold was not just an extra character from Luminor Academy; he was the master holding my lifeline.

“Release, it’s time for shift change.”

Isabelle entered the servants’ waiting room right on time for her shift after an hour of rest.

My body, responding to her voice, slowly rose from its place like a zombie.

“Oh, um… I’m just resting…”

“…If Release is too tired, should I work for another hour before changing?”

“No, it’s fine. I have to do my job.”

I didn’t want to burden Isabelle unnecessarily, risking her collapsing from exhaustion and making things even more tiring than they already were.

Besides, I didn’t want to owe Isabelle more than I already did.

“Got it. Stay strong!”

“Yeah, thanks…”

“If it gets too tough, feel free to come for a shift change anytime!”

“Okay…”

Isabelle’s lively encouragement was somewhat comforting amidst this merciless emotional labor.

In games, when riding the release route, I often met characters who were old friends of the release. Thanks to that, her voice was quite familiar to me.

Receiving her farewell, I walked wearily out of the servant waiting room to resume my shift.

Returning to the story, Harold Duke’s only illegitimate son, Edan, woke up from the curse and within just three days, the news spread throughout the empire.

After that, nobles from nearby estates visited one after another to congratulate Edan, known as the only thing Harold Duke truly treasures, in hopes of building a relationship with him.

Some nobles even brought their daughters along, proposing engagements shortly after Edan’s awakening from the curse.

…Yes, given all that, it was understandable that each day was busy and tiring, welcoming guests non-stop.

Regardless of who I was in my past life, I am currently a maid of the Blackwood family. To escape the Blackwood family, I had to faithfully serve as a maid for the next seven years.

However, there was a separate issue that made my already tired self even more exhausted.

Mostly, it was the male guests visiting the mansion that were the main cause.

“Welcome, Viscount Cassis Vanderbelt. If needed, I can personally guide you to the study on the third floor where the master is.”

“Thank you. …By the way, what’s your name?”

“Lilith Rosewood.”

“Such a beautiful name as your face. How many years are left in your contract with the Blackwood family?”

“About 7 years remaining.”

“…Hmm, that’s a shame. If it were around a year, I would have considered taking you as my third mistress.”

“I appreciate your words.”

“Welcome, Marquess Arthur Montdrake. The master is currently out, so if necessary, I can inform him later…”

“It’s fine. I’ve been here before.”

“Understood.”

“More importantly, we’ll be staying tonight, so prepare my room. …And if you wish, you can come to my room tonight.”

“I appreciate your offer.”

“…A maid from the Blackwood family seems quite expensive.”

“Welcome, Duke Oscar Piermont. Since the master is currently out, if necessary, I can… ”

“Ah, indeed. Maids from the Blackwood family are no joke. How much do you earn and work per month? With a face like yours, you must earn at least five gold coins.”

“I cannot disclose the salary of a servant as it is internal information of the Blackwood family.”

“Even though Harold Duke supposedly couldn’t forget his deceased wife, he’s been holding onto women like this every day! How much do you get paid each time you’re with the Duke? If I pay enough, could I…?”

“The master does not engage in private time with servants. Also, as a servant of the Blackwood family, I do not entrust my body to outsiders…”

“You’re pretending to be expensive, huh? Hey, do I look like an easy mark just because I’m a duke? Even I formed relationships with Harold and his brothers during the war ten years ago! Huh?!”

“…I never knew I had formed a relationship with someone like you or even Harold during the war.”

“…Harold, sir?”

“I will personally attend to him, so please wait in my study. I have something to tell you in a moment.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Sir, uh, no, Lord Harold…. There was a momentary misunderstanding just now…”

Roughly several times a day, due to the guests—or rather, the visitors—coming to visit, my head was getting tired in a different sense these days.

As I’ve mentioned before, inside the Blackwood Mansion, there wasn’t a single person lower in status than me. This includes all the guests who visit the mansion.

The only commoner who could pass through the entrance of the Duke’s mansion was at best a servant of the mansion.

It was better to consider it almost nonexistent for a commoner, other than nobles, to receive permission to enter and exit such a mansion.

Realizing that there was not a single person I could act recklessly towards, the number of guests I had to attend to increased, and among those guests, the number of bastards who stared at me with eyes like trash also increased, so naturally, I had to extend my vigilance twofold.

Of course, there were guests who didn’t give me strange looks, but my appearance itself, being the main heroine of an adult game, attracted even more attention from other men.

Recalling the memories from when I was released, after the manifestation of secondary sexual characteristics, there seemed to be quite a few men who looked at me with lecherous eyes.

At that time, I hadn’t yet remembered my past life experiences, so I couldn’t properly grasp the nature of those gazes.

“Is she trying to be a character from an adult game? She’s even wearing a maid outfit that looks like a prostitute’s….”

This outfit, which exposed almost half of my chest and thighs, was malicious in many ways.

Of course, being based on an adult-oriented SRPG game, it was a normal maid outfit in this world.

However, in the case of other outfits that could be obtained as part of late-game events for Release… it was better not to imagine them in many ways.

As a player, the heroines’ outfits offered a variety of choices, but most of the outfits made me feel a sense of crisis at the thought of actually wearing them.

Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, Release was a character so pitiful that it could be assumed that the creators filled her with malice.

Before entering the academy, for nearly five years, I was under Edan’s command, and after entering the academy, there were countless occasions where I experienced severe situations that could drive one insane.

It’s obvious what kind of outfits the creators would make for such a character.

Anyway, with such a noticeable appearance and outfit, it was inevitable that I would attract the gaze of men, whether they liked it or not.

In any case, the character named Release Rosewood was one of the main heroines of the Luminoir Academy. She definitely had more physical appeal than other ordinary women.

Since regaining my memories, the only men I had met who had never looked at this body with lustful eyes were all noble children under the age of five.

Although young, they could at least recognize that I was pretty based on my appearance, but they did not send overtly suggestive glances at my chest or thighs like adults would.

…Excluding children who had no concept of sex in that way, there was just one more person.

A truly remarkable individual who had never once looked at me with lustful eyes in multiple senses.

“…You’ve kept me waiting.”

As the door to the study at Blackwood Mansion opened, a tall man entered the room.

I reflexively bowed my waist in greeting to the master who appeared before me.

“Welcome, Master.”

Harold Richard Blackwood.

He is currently my employer and the damn bastard’s father.

Moreover, he was the only man in this mansion who didn’t look at me strangely.