Dogfight (2)

Blackwood Mansion, B1. Etiquette Training Room.

We, who had started a brawl in the kitchen’s preparation room, were dragged here without even a moment to make excuses.

Currently, all four maids, including myself, were kneeling on the floor, listening intently to Head Maid Melissa’s lecture.

To be precise, we had no choice but to listen intently.

“What, in the world, is all this commotion…!!!”

The Head Maid lectured me and the other maids in a booming voice, as if she had eaten a dragon’s vocal cords.

Her hair was braided and coiled at the back, and she delivered her sermon in a high-pitched voice loud enough to echo through the entire mansion.

As Junior Maids, we were stuck there, unable to escape, and had to endure the Head Maid’s lecture.

“You are disqualified, disqualified! As ladies! As maids!”

I don’t know her exact age, but she’s probably in her mid-40s or early 50s.

There was no official information, so I didn’t know for sure. Even if I had played 『Luminor Academy』 for over 2000 hours in my previous life, I couldn’t know information that the game company hadn’t revealed.

“Lillith!! Are you listening properly!!!”

“S-sorry!”

Oh, shit. My heart almost dropped.

There was no need to yell right into my ear just because I was lost in thought for a moment.

It was a blessing in many ways that Melissa wasn’t a main character.

If Melissa’s voice had been implemented in the game, there would have been countless players startled during gameplay.

After scolding me once, the Head Maid looked at the four of us again and continued her noisy lecture.

The lecture, which began with the basic posture of a lady, continued tirelessly for a full hour.

‘Ugh, my legs hurt….’

After kneeling for an hour, my calves were cramping, and my whole body was tingling.

Fortunately, I had secretly used Clean Magic to get rid of the garlic smell lingering in my mouth.

If I had to endure a self-inflicted biochemical attack while sitting in seiza for an hour, I would have lost my mind in many ways.

“…As servants of Blackwood, we must always maintain our composure and approach our duties with a noble attitude….”

After another 30 minutes of lecturing, Melissa finally scanned our faces one by one.

As if to confirm that we had been listening properly, she began to call out each person’s name.

“Aeria Lawrence.”

“Yes.”

“Alicia Hayes.”

“Yes.”

“Katarina Rain.”

“……Yes.”

“Lillith Rosewood.”

“…Ugh, yes….”

“I will assign you all to clean the entire first-floor hallway and the stables for one month.”

Oh, fuck. I’m screwed.

I already felt like dying just doing kitchen assistant duties for three days, and now what?

Not only cleaning the entire first-floor hallway, but also the stables?

And with those two bitches, Aeria and Alicia?

My head spun at the thought of such an unacceptable job transfer.

The moment I was about to offer my opinion on the personnel change, Aeria cut me off and spoke up first.

“Just a moment, Head Maid-nim….”

“Head Maid-nim. Please reconsider this personnel change and disciplinary action.”

That bitch is always so damn fast to act.

If I were to interrupt Aeria again and run my mouth in this situation, the Head Maid-nim would only think worse of me, so I lowered my hand and quietly shut my mouth.

If I waited, an opportunity to speak would eventually come.

“Aeria.”

“Yes, Head Maid-nim.”

“Are you implying that the disciplinary action I imposed is unfair?”

The Head Maid narrowed her eyes and looked at Aeria after her statement.

However, Aeria, without a change in her expression, began to strongly demand a revision of her disciplinary action.

“I believe the Head Maid-nim’s disciplinary action is perfectly just and proper. However, I think this judgment was made because you were unaware that Alicia-yang and I were unwillingly caught up in an unfair fight.”

…That bitch, seriously.

Look at her already working her angles, just like the cunning bitch she is.

An unfair fight? When she was the one who threw the first punch at Katarina?

And what about those bitches who ganged up on her two-on-one with Alicia?

I barely managed to hold back the torrent of curses that almost burst out, given the setting.

Soon, Aeria’s brazen and deceitful claims continued in the Etiquette Training Room.

“Go on, explain yourself.”

“First, I would like to inform you that today’s violent incident occurred during the process of Alicia and I pointing out Lillith Rosewood-yang’s negligent work attitude.”

“…Negligent work?”

“Yes. Lillith Rosewood-yang has not properly performed her kitchen duties even once since the day her workplace was changed to the kitchen three days ago.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Lillith, quiet.”

“…….”

The Head Maid-nim cut me off the moment I tried to interrupt Aeria, who was suddenly spouting such absurd nonsense.

For now, I kept my mouth shut and quietly watched what Aeria would babble on about.

“What do you mean she didn’t perform her kitchen duties, Aeria?”

“Exactly as I said. Alicia, Katarina, and I have been working together in the kitchen for a long time, so we operated with efficient working hours. Normally, a maid’s shift starts at 6 AM, but considering the breakfast preparation time and the chefs’ arrival time, it was our usual routine to come out at 4 AM every day to prepare vegetables.”

“Continue.”

“However, Lillith Rosewood-yang claimed she couldn’t understand our working hours and never came in at 4 AM, not even once. Furthermore, even after arriving at 6 AM, she continued to be negligent in her duties. She even left her post before break time, despite barely doing any work herself.”

“So you’re saying you pointed out Lillith-yang’s unfaithful work attitude, and a fight broke out in the process?”

“That is correct, Head Maid-nim. Therefore, I earnestly ask that you focus on Lillith-yang’s wrongdoing rather than ours, Head Maid-nim.”

“Can you take responsibility for that statement?”

“I can take responsibility.”

“…I also concur with Aeria’s opinion, Head Maid-nim.”

…Seriously, those two bitches.

I diligently came in two hours early every day and finished all the work, and now what? Negligent work?

Seeing Aeria’s brazen act of lying without batting an eye, and Alicia concurring, I almost blurted out the curses that had risen to my throat.

She even subtly tried to recruit Katarina to her side.

She must be thinking she can butter up Katarina later, and for now, she’s focused on screwing me over.

Calm down, Lillith. If you get angry here, you’ll definitely lose.

…And to be precise, Katarina hadn’t been ‘taken away’ yet.

“Katarina, do you also concur with those two’s opinion?”

“…….”

Katarina hesitated, her head bowed, not answering.

She was probably conflicted about what stance to take.

Given what she had endured from Aeria until now, it would probably be natural for her to instinctively submit to her.

At least, more so than defending a Junior Maid she had only met a few days ago.

However, Katarina was currently under the impression that I was some noble.

In that case, there was a possibility she wouldn’t readily agree with Aeria’s opinion.

After all, I had already finished sufficiently threatening… no, persuading her early this morning.

“N-no….”

“Yes?”

“I… I do not… c-concur with Aeria’s opinion….”

“Does that mean you are claiming Lillith worked diligently?”

“Th-that’s right…. N-no, Lillith… she even did… all the work… that we were supposed to do….”

Despite her timid nature, Katarina somehow defended me and didn’t fall for Aeria’s temptation.

At least, I was relieved that a helpless 3-to-1 defeat in the battle of public opinion didn’t occur.

I apologize for calling you a fucking idiot maid who pees herself in front of her junior, Katarina. I only thought it, but I apologize nonetheless.

Thanks to her courage, I avoided the worst-case scenario of losing my right to speak.

Now it was my turn to somehow save Katarina.

Though it was closer to pulling just her out of a sinking ship.

“Then there’s a conflict of opinion. Aeria’s and Katarina’s claims contradict each other.”

“Katarina is merely lying out of sympathy for Lillith-yang, Head Maid-nim!”

“No, Head Maid-nim. Senior Katarina’s opinion is correct. I can explain it in more detail.”

“…Go on, Lillith.”

Lillith’s right to speak, secured somehow by Katarina’s refusal to concur.

It was a precious opportunity, and I had to use it effectively.

I had to prove my innocence, and most importantly, I had to somehow assert that Aeria had ‘thrown the first punch.’

“Since the day my workplace was changed, I have come to work at 4 AM every day without fail to prepare vegetables. And from that time until 6 AM, the other seniors did not come to work and merely left all the work to me… no, they just left all the work to me.”

“When you say ‘seniors,’ does that include Katarina?”

“Yes. Because I don’t lie.”

I deliberately emphasized the word “lie” while looking at Aeria, then immediately continued my defense to save Katarina separately.

“And the seniors who induced me to come to work alone at 4 AM were Senior Aeria and Senior Alicia. Senior Katarina, being soft-hearted, merely went along with their opinions out of necessity. In fact, Senior Katarina even came to work an hour earlier than the other seniors this morning to help me with my duties. She even apologized for having excessively assigned work to me until now.”

“Is that true, Katarina?”

“Y-yes… it’s… it’s true…. Head Maid-nim….”

I didn’t lie.

It was all true: Katarina coming to work earlier than usual to help with kitchen duties, and her apologizing for excessively assigning work to me.

Of course, the process itself was certainly not as dry as I had just described.

“On the contrary, I would like to accuse Senior Aeria and Senior Alicia of unfairly neglecting their duties and leaving them to me.”

“Can you take responsibility for that statement?”

“I can. Furthermore, I humbly request leniency for Senior Katarina, who was injured while protecting me from Senior Aeria’s unjust violence.”

“Hmm.”

Head Maid Melissa looked back and forth between me, Katarina, Aeria, and Alicia.

After looking into each of their eyes, she nodded once and spoke.

“If one side’s claim is true and the other’s is false, then I cannot determine the level of disciplinary action as is.”

“……Yes?”

“Head Maid-nim, Lillith-yang is lying….”

“Therefore, regarding this matter, we will resume the disciplinary procedure after dinner. The four of you are to attend this meeting again, bringing any evidence or witnesses that can support your statements.”

“…Evidence or witnesses?”

“If you have none, you may still attend. However, if one side secures more definitive evidence or witnesses to support their claims than the other, I will adjust the level of disciplinary action accordingly.”

“…….”

“…….”

…I didn’t realize that hitting that bitch Aeria would make things this serious.

In the end, that fucking bitch is dragging this meal preparation duty into an all-out war.

It was the moment I instinctively knew that at least one of us, either me or Aeria, couldn’t avoid severe disciplinary action.