episode_0014

“Senior Katarina, hurry up! We’re done peeling the potatoes, so next time, please bring the onion sacks!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Please stop with the formalities!”

Realizing that kitchen tasks were far from being completed in the dwindling time.

As soon as we recognized the issue, Katarina and I hurriedly got to work in the kitchen, each of us moving busily to complete the remaining tasks as quickly as possible.

There was about 20 minutes left until the other senior maids arrived for their shift.

We had to somehow organize all the vegetables to be used by dinner within that time frame, leaving no room to deeply contemplate anything else.

In a frantic state, we gathered as much work as possible and skillfully sliced the vegetables using our respective magic and techniques.

The large pots, about 1 meter high, were gradually filled with the vegetables we had sliced.

“How much time is left?!”

“Um, ab-about 10 minutes?!”

“Oh, damn it!”

“Eek…!!”

Although swearing inadvertently slipped out due to forgetting the need to delay releases, my mind was too overloaded to pay attention to such details.

Triple casting itself required a lot of mental effort, let alone repeating it dozens of times through repetitive tasks.

Furthermore, the lingering smell of garlic in my mouth made me feel dizzy.

Normally, I would have intermittently rinsed my mouth with a cleaning spell, but wasting magical energy on that while needing to peel more vegetables immediately would have been extravagant.

“I’ve finished peeling all the carrots here…! Oh, no, I mean, I’ve peeled them!”

“Then onto the onions! I’ll finish with the garlic and potatoes, so start on the onions first!”

“Uh, okay! Got it…!!”

Fortunately, Katarina’s work speed wasn’t completely hopeless.

Actually, objectively speaking, her work speed was quite fast. She could peel a carrot while I triple-cast a cleaning spell to peel three potatoes.

Despite wondering why I, who was good at my job, was delegating tasks to a junior, I couldn’t afford to waste thoughts on such questions right now.

All I could do was handle as many vegetables as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“How much time is left?!”

“W-what?! Hey, not about the onions, the time!”

“T-time?! At this brightness…uh, probably about 5 minutes…”

“Oh, I’m going crazy!”

“Eek, I-I messed up…!!”

With almost one-third of the work still remaining, it was impossible to finish within the original timeframe at this rate.

If we failed to complete the tasks on time, Aeria and Alicia would surely question why they couldn’t finish either.

Moreover, if they saw me working directly, their suspicions would deepen.

Considering I used to finish a day’s worth of vegetables in just two hours, my current chopping speed was significantly slower than Katarina’s.

Thanks to our busy work in the remaining 5 minutes, we managed to reduce the remaining workload to about one-fourth, but the amount left was still a cause for concern.

If only I could freely use magic, we could probably finish the remaining tasks in another 10 minutes.

If I were to do it without using magic, it would take almost two hours. If I continue like this, the other senior maids will definitely start doubting the work I’ve been doing all this time.

Katarina was somewhat stupid… no, innocent enough to deceive others as a noblewoman, but the other two girls were not so easy to fool.

Especially that cunning Eria, if she found out that I use magic, instead of pretending to be a noblewoman, my weakness would have been exposed.

“…So do you know what she said back then? She kept insisting that it wasn’t her fault…”

“…She’s really foolish, then and now. That’s why she’s still so pathetic…”

“Oh no, what should I do? It seems like Eria and Alicia have arrived at the restaurant entrance?!”

“….”

…I need to go inside and figure this out, damn it.

I could manage to finish the task in just about 10 minutes, no, 5 minutes.

It would be incredibly unfair to be caught just because I couldn’t finish this simple task.

If I could buy just a little more time, it would be fine.

…Just 5 minutes would be enough, so if I can somehow prevent the two from entering the kitchen.

“Oh no?! What should I do?!”

“….”

What can I do?

Although it’s not quite perfect yet, I must make use of everything I have.

“Katarina, it’s an order.”

“Huh?! Oh, um, yes?!”

“Go to the kitchen door right now and make sure no one enters the kitchen for the next 10 minutes.”

“Prevent them from entering?! How?!”

“I don’t know. Whether you talk to them, argue with them, or take those girls somewhere else, that’s up to you to figure out.”

“But how can I…”

“Are you mocking nobility? If I decide, not only you but those two girls as well will disappear without a trace…”

“I-I’ll do it! I’ll figure it out, Miss Relis!”

Though it felt almost like a threat, there was a slight pang of conscience in resorting to such words, but in the current situation, this was the best course of action.

Unless spoken to in this manner, that girl seemed incapable of understanding instructions at once.

“Hey, hey everyone~! G-Good morning! The weather is so n-nice today…!”

“Katarina? Did you just come out of the kitchen?”

“K-Kitchen? What are you talking about? I-I just arrived…”

From the pantry between the kitchen and the dining room, while listening to Katarina stirring up trouble with the two girls, I poured out the last remaining potatoes and onions onto the worktable.

If I can just finish this much…!

***

“Katarina? Did you just come out of the kitchen?”

“K-kitchen? What are you talking about? I just arrived…”

“What do you mean? I didn’t see the back of your head even once while walking here with Aria.”

“W-Well…”

Katarina truly wanted to cry.

Her day had been a mess since dawn, to the point where she wasn’t sure how things had gotten so out of hand.

Perhaps if she hadn’t pursued Relis early this morning, she wouldn’t be suffering like this now.

After waiting for a full hour, what she discovered at the end of her pursuit was the meeting between Lord Ethan and Relis.

Furthermore, she witnessed Relis using clean magic to prepare vegetables.

Trying desperately to seek forgiveness for her mistake, she ended up making a humiliating spectacle in front of the nobles.

For Katarina, all of this had unfolded within a mere three hours.

To top it off, she had just finished helping Lady Relis, who was busy getting angry due to being delayed by her, with vegetable preparation until a moment ago.

In addition, she was in a situation where she had been forcibly given the task of guarding the kitchen for the next 10 minutes.

“What should I do…!”

Having been taken advantage of by her colleagues for the past year, Katarina felt as if her vision darkened when standing in front of Eiria and Alicia.

The relationship among the three was no longer that of equal colleagues as it was when they first entered the Blackwood Mansion. It was closer to two masters and one slave.

Due to the past year spent being used by her colleagues, a deep sense of defeat had already taken root within Katarina.

Engaging in casual conversation with her colleagues was practically an impossible task.

The problem was not only that but also the fact that there was a bigger issue pushing her from behind, preventing her from escaping.

“Are nobles amusing?”

Recalling Lady Lillis’s vitality for a moment, Katarina gathered herself and somehow continued the conversation with the two.

After all, she had no choice in the matter.

“Rather, Alicia! Eiria!”

“…Yes?”

“Would you like to take a short morning walk with me? Just to change the mood before work…”

“A morning walk~?”

“Yes… Since the weather is nice for once…”

Even Katarina herself couldn’t help but find the suggestion quite absurd, but unfortunately, this was the best excuse she could come up with.

If they took a brief stroll around the mansion, they could easily pass about 10 minutes, which would allow Lady Lillis to save some time, as she had mentioned.

Therefore, Katarina continued the conversation in a way that seemed to pique Alicia’s interest as much as possible.

“What about going to work?”

“L-Lady Lillis… How would the junior maid know anything? How dare she question us for taking a leisurely walk before work?”

“Oh~ What’s gotten into you, Katarina? I didn’t know you were capable of saying such things.”

“Don’t pay attention to foolish girls like her, whether they work or not…! Just relax a bit more…”

“I’m sorry, Lady Lillis!”

Katarina, who reluctantly persuaded Alicia in order to carry out the task assigned by Lady Lillis, realized a bit too late that the person she should have been persuading was not Alicia but Eiria.

“Forget about the walk. Let’s just go to work for now, everyone.”

“…Eiria?!”

The mastermind who trapped her, turning her into a debt maid and thoroughly exploiting her over the past year.

Katarina had assumed that Eiria, given her current state of exhaustion, would naturally agree to take a break while Lady Lillis worked, so she had postponed her efforts to persuade her.

Contrary to Katarina’s expectations, Eiria expressed her intention to go to work.

“Eiria?”

“Well, I’ve been milking this for three days already. Gotta go to work on time. Even if it’s just to let our tired junior take a break.”

“Do we really need to do that? If she’s a junior maid, she should handle things whether seniors arrive late or not…”

“Hmm, that’s odd~? The Katarina I know wouldn’t say such mean things.”

“….”

“Could it be that there’s a reason I shouldn’t enter the kitchen right now?”

“…!!!”

A look of suspicion that had turned into absolute certainty.

Seeing Eiria’s confident gaze, Katarina could barely realize.

Unlike Alicia, Eiria had noticed her awkward acting from the beginning.

“She knew everything…!”

From that incident a year ago to the present moment, Eiria still had the upper hand over her.

Having lived as her servant for a year, Katarina knew one thing better than anyone else.

Attempting to deceive her in the first place was a foolish act.

“….”

…Nevertheless, the fact that she had to prevent Eirene from entering the kitchen remained unchanged.

“Will you come out of the door, Katarina? Lilith is waiting inside.”

“….”

“Hmm, it won’t be very fun.”

-Whack!

“….Oof!”

“….!”

Despite barely blocking the door for about 3 seconds, a sudden slap came without warning.

Katarina’s decisive action left not only herself but even Alicia astonished.

Before they could grasp the situation, Eirene’s slap turned Katarina’s opposite cheek red once again.

-Whack!

“….Oof!”

“…If you behave, I might treat you like a pet dog.”

-Whack!

“….Ugh!”

“Not hitting you lately seems to have emboldened you. Maybe a dog needs a beating every three days to listen?”

-Whack!

“….!!!”

As the cold gaze of her palm moved back and forth, Katarina’s cheeks grew hotter with each pass.

However, with unwavering determination, she managed to guard the kitchen door and enter.

Showing no sign of yielding, Eirene’s kick pushed Katarina aside this time.

-Ouch!

“Grrr…!”

“Katarina, how far are you willing to go?”

“Grrr…!”

“You’ll see after work. I’ll make sure you know who’s in charge around here.”

After clearing the fallen Katarina from the preparation room floor, just as she decisively reached for the kitchen door…

Even before her movement, a black-haired maid from inside the kitchen opened the door and revealed herself.

“….”

“Lilith?”

“Have you arrived for work, seniors?”

“Sorry, Lilith. We tried to arrive early, but someone was blocking the kitchen door, causing a delay.”

“I see.”

Looking somewhat tired, Lilith glanced around the preparation room once and soon spotted the collapsed Katarina, as well as Eirene’s slightly reddened palm.

“By the way, Lilith, have you finished your tasks for today?”

“Yes.”

“As expected, Lilith is the most professional among us. We always seem to be too idle, sorry if we appear that way.”

“Why aren’t you answering? Are you being rebellious?”

Listening but appearing lost in thought, the black-haired maid furrowed her brows as if contemplating something.

Finally making a decision about the unfolding events, Lilith met Eirene’s eyes and whispered quietly.

“Eirene.”

“Lilith? That’s a bit shor…”

“Bite your tongue, you little…”

-Thud!

“What the…?!”

A heavy punch struck the senior maid’s jaw, sending Eirene flying momentarily into the sky.