Development (2)

Harold Richard Blackwood.

The current owner of this mansion where I’m employed, and the father of that disgusting bastard who would make me his exclusive maid in the future.

No, wait. Now that I’ve regained my memories, there’s no way in hell I’d become that disgusting brat’s exclusive maid, so let’s cancel that last part.

Anyway, he was the only man in this mansion who didn’t look at me with lustful eyes.

“Welcome back, Master.”

The memories ingrained in Lilith’s body from working in this mansion for a year, and my instinct to faithfully perform maid duties for survival, automatically made me bow to him.

With a curt “Yeah,” Harold passed by me and moved straight to the table in his office.

He then sat in the innermost chair and picked up some documents from the table.

Judging by this reaction, it was easy to guess that this man didn’t feel much emotion toward anyone, not just me.

His eyes were naturally empty, as if he wasn’t really looking at anyone. In this world, I’d never once seen those eyes change.

In the Luminor Academy game I played in my past life, I’d seen them change a few times, but…

‘…What are you doing now, Ethan.’

‘The maid won’t listen to me and keeps trying to go somewhere! Lilith is my exclusive maid!’

‘…No, Master. I was just going to wash the young master’s bedding…’

‘Shut up, shut up! Don’t talk back!’

-Slap!!

‘Aghhk!!’

‘…So you’re walking around the mansion with a collar on your exclusive maid, whipping her?’

‘Yeah! Lilith is mine! So she can’t go anywhere!’

‘Sigh…’

Most of the time Harold’s eyes showed any emotion, it was in situations like this involving Ethan.

Of course, those emotions were mostly pity and sympathy rather than anything positive.

Somehow, despite fathering that perverted pig of a delinquent, Harold was relatively normal.

That said, ever since regaining my memories, I never once thought Harold would be on my side.

As I said before, this Harold was a damn fool for his son.

‘…Don’t be late for lunch. I told them to make tomato soup, your favorite.’

‘Yeah!’

‘W-wait, Master! Then what about me…?’

‘Have another maid take care of Ethan’s bedding. From now on, your top priority is keeping Ethan company.’

‘Huh…?’

‘Hurry up, Lilith! Before lunch, I’m going to tell everyone that Lilith is my dog!’

‘W-wait, young master! That’s the male servants’ waiting room…’

-Slap!!

‘Aghhk!!’

Fuck.

As soon as this flashback scene-something I had to endure every time I entered Lilith’s route-popped into my head, curses automatically spilled out.

This storyline was notoriously divisive because it involved “saving” Lilith after years of abuse from Ethan that left her mentally broken.

As a unicorn (someone who prefers pure romance), I naturally hated this plotline.

As the flashback shows, Harold was no ally of mine-my top priority was escaping that disgusting bastard.

While he wasn’t a bad master in areas unrelated to Ethan, when it came to his son, he was a doting father who never stopped him no matter what he did.

Building a half-hearted friendship with Harold would only be dangerous.

Not that he seemed like someone you could even build a friendship with in the first place.

“……”

Harold, who had called me in only to suddenly sit at his desk and read documents.

I waited until a few papers slipped from his hand onto the table and he was about to pick up another stack before speaking.

“Master.”

“…Ah, right. I had something to tell you.”

…Judging by that reaction, if I hadn’t interrupted, I would’ve been standing in his office like a statue for another two hours.

This method of speaking up at the right moment-so as not to annoy the other person-was also part of the servant knowledge Isabelle had taught me.

Harold, who had been about to lift the documents, set them back down and scanned me up and down as if “observing” me.

Then, as if he’d figured out the cause, he nodded slightly and spoke.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll work in the kitchen for a week. Tell the head maid I ordered the transfer.”

“Pardon?”

“Too many people have been asking you unnecessary questions because of your looks. Stay out of sight until they’re gone.”

“Ah…”

“Do you have any objections?”

“…No, none.”

How could I object? If anything, I should be jumping for joy.

The fact that I wouldn’t have to see those creeps’ faces for the next week was the best news I could ask for.

I felt like dancing on the spot.

Of course, if I did that, even Harold would look at me like I was insane.

“That’s all. Your senior should still be in the kitchen, so learn what you need to do starting tomorrow morning and then leave.”

“Yes, understood!”

“Dismissed.”

“Then I’ll take my leave!”

Barely suppressing a grin, I quickly closed the office door behind me.

I couldn’t stop smiling all the way to the kitchen.

Not having to deal with those creeps was great, but what really excited me was something else.

Starting tomorrow, I wouldn’t have to waste any more meaningless days.

Being transferred to the kitchen-a place normally off-limits to first-year junior maids-meant one thing:

Finally, it was time for this Lilith Rosewood to do something.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Kitchen duty.

In this world, maids had various duties, and kitchen work was naturally one of them.

Cooking itself was the chef’s domain, so junior maids had no place interfering, and the kitchen was strictly off-limits to them.

But tasks like serving or dishwashing were entirely the maid’s responsibility, so I’d often entered the preparation room right next to the kitchen.

However, during busy times like now, when the mansion was full of guests, even food prep became part of a maid’s job.

Washing fruit or peeling vegetables were things anyone could do without cooking knowledge, and the number of chefs available to prepare meals was limited.

Being assigned to kitchen duty during such a busy period meant handling this prep work and dishwashing-a golden opportunity for me.

Finally, the stage was set for me to use magic in Lilith’s body.

“I’ve been itching to do this for so long.”

Even though only a week had passed, ever since realizing I could use magic, my body had been tingling with anticipation.

The problem was that various circumstances prevented me from using magic freely.

If anyone saw Lilith using magic, it wouldn’t end with just a minor commotion.

In this world, only those of noble blood could use magic, and commoners who could wield it were practically nonexistent.

It wasn’t a legal restriction but part of the setting. Nobles had special mana in their blood that allowed them to use magic-that kind of nonsense.

If a commoner could use magic, they’d either be the protagonist of Luminor Academy or at least a main character.

…And the character I’d possessed, Lilith Rosewood, was one of Luminor Academy’s main heroines.

This seemingly ordinary commoner maid could become a main heroine precisely because she could use magic.

“…And the reason she suffered so much in the game was also because of this magic.”

I’ll explain later how Lilith could use magic and why that became the reason for her suffering.

What mattered now was that my transfer to the kitchen had created the first opportunity to use magic.

In this world, magic was a blessing reserved for nobles.

If it became known that a commoner like Lilith could use magic, attention would inevitably focus on her.

For a powerless commoner girl, that kind of attention would only lead to a bad end.

The nobles of this world, with their elitist mindset, wouldn’t hesitate to dispose of a magic-wielding maid.

Moreover, most of Lilith’s magic was support-based-buffs or shields-so using it to resist danger was practically impossible.

Thus, I had to keep my magic a complete secret.

From Harold and the other nobles, and even from Isabelle, my closest friend.

“Playing as the protagonist all the time, I never realized how many restrictions Lilith had…”

If the only issue was avoiding detection, I could just use magic where no one could see.

But the problem was that most mansions in this world had “magic detection barriers.”

Any magic used inside the mansion could be tracked and exposed.

Where, when, and by whom magic was cast.

Except for one place in this vast mansion-the kitchen.

To accommodate various magical tools, the “magic detection barrier” was disabled there.

Finally, the moment had come to unleash my pent-up magical energy.

“The long, oppressive wait is finally over.”

The sensation of sharp magical energy coursing through my body.

Now was the time for Lilith the mage to take the stage.