episode_0032
by fnovelpia“First, it’s about my experience.”
The foundation I first presented to Harold was my experience as a maid.
“Experience?”
“As you have highly evaluated my abilities, I would like to gladly accept the position of your exclusive maid. However, I have only just started building my career as a maid, barely a year ago.”
“Having experience doesn’t necessarily prove one is good at their job. Isn’t that something evident from observing your seniors at Silverwood?”
“But Master, you recently celebrated your nineteenth birthday, whereas I have not even reached that age yet.”
“….”
“Do you not think, Master, that I am too young to be designated as your exclusive maid? I am concerned whether I, who is younger than you and lacks the experience and expertise to assist with your mistakes, can handle the job well.”
In truth, Lily’s birthday was approaching soon, so the expression of being young was slightly exaggerated.
Of course, Harold wouldn’t remember each servant’s birthday, so I purposely omitted that detail.
Acting a year younger would significantly improve my chances of escaping from being Edan’s exclusive maid.
“When someone younger than oneself claims to be the exclusive maid and vows to take care of oneself, it sounds presumptuous and might hurt your feelings, Master.”
“Hmm….”
Well, what do you think?
Whether for some reason Harold placed me in the position of an exclusive maid through unconventional means, I could only respond with a perfectly reasonable argument.
Perhaps Harold had considered this issue at least once. It was likely that having a very young maid attached to his child might not be beneficial for emotional development.
According to the official statement from the game company, Edan’s official age at this time was undoubtedly 19 years old. His mental age might be younger.
Although the age difference between Edan and me was artificially created by the game company to evade Korean censorship, the fact remained that we were close in age.
Harold did not see his son as just a 13-year-old kid. Nor did he view him as a 19-year-old youth; it seemed he saw him somewhere in between.
The fact that the illegitimate son of the Blackwood Duke had been asleep for five years due to a curse could be a vulnerability in various ways for maintaining power.
Above all, unlike Edan, Harold’s time had continued to flow steadily during the five years his son had been asleep due to the curse.
No matter how young he appeared physically, it would be difficult for Harold to fully accept his son’s age as 13.
So when I firmly presented this argument, Harold could only nod in agreement.
“You speak as if you see my son as a mature nineteen-year-old youth.”
“…I have heard about Edan’s curse-induced slumber, but that does not change the fact that his birthday has not passed yet. It remains true that when Edan first emerged into the world and saw the light, I was still in my mother’s embrace.”
“I see… I see.”
…He seemed to have just shown a subtly ominous expression.
Hoping it was just a mood swing, I waited for Harold’s response, but his mouth began to open again, directed towards me.
“Yes, that’s right. Indeed, only you truly see my son for who he is.”
“What? What do you mean just now…?”
“There’s no need to worry. So, is that the only reason you think I shouldn’t become Edan’s exclusive maid?”
…What?
First of all, is it getting through properly?
Facing Harold, who seemed to be able to read expressions to some extent, I continued to point out relentlessly that I was not suitable as his exclusive maid.
“…It’s embarrassing to say this, but not long ago, I foolishly insisted on fighting Hookgoblin alone. If I had died recklessly in such a dangerous act, I would have ended up being just another forgettable lower maid in your service due to my foolish behavior.”
“Yes. Thanks to your courage, even when dangerous monsters like Hookgoblin appeared in the commercial district, they were subdued without noticeable casualties.”
“…And recently, I engaged in violence against my senior maids and caused chaos. How can you guarantee that someone lacking in social skills to the point of breaking order even among fellow maids won’t make mistakes with you, sir?”
“You probably prevented those maids who disrupted the organization, stole valuables, and framed others for crimes from being caught forever. You might not have even found my wife’s necklace.”
“…Perhaps you may momentarily forget, sir, but I am a debt maid sold to pay off my father’s gambling debts. A maid like me, with nothing to lose and no status to uphold, will undoubtedly bring nothing but trouble by your side.”
“Well, instead, it feels like there is a sense of responsibility in becoming a debt maid to repay your father’s gambling debts, which isn’t even your own responsibility.”
“……”
“So, do you still have more to say?”
…Damn, what should I do now?
No matter how hard I try and come up with all sorts of excuses, each one is being refuted one by one.
Of course, even though he was Harold, the head of a prominent family, I didn’t expect to easily win verbal disputes with him, but I didn’t anticipate having all my prepared excuses completely countered.
“Why is this guy suddenly so fixated? Originally, Lily wouldn’t even have been considered a candidate for Edan’s exclusive maid.”
Now, I couldn’t even think of an excuse to refuse the position of exclusive maid anymore.
In the first place, the arguments I had made so far, except for the age part, were somewhat forced, and…
Well, considering that this guy was the one who designated me as the exclusive maid, he must have thought enough about me.
Thinking that way, the conclusion of why he insisted on making me his exclusive maid was unclear.
“……”
Quietly, with nothing more to say, I looked at Harold, and this time, he was the one to read my expression first and ask a question.
“It seems you still believe you don’t fit into this role.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“In that case, let me ask you in return. If you weren’t to take the position of Edan’s exclusive maid, who do you think should take your place?”
…!
Is it working?
The thought that my repeated pleas to Harold might have resonated with him briefly crossed my mind.
Desperately, I strategized to find a way to escape from the position of exclusive maid in this situation.
If not me, then who should take the position of Edan’s exclusive maid….
For a moment, the faces of Isabelle and Katarina, the closest ones to me, flashed in my mind, but naturally, I had no intention of mentioning their names.
Isabel was a close friend who had helped her since her time as an apprentice maid, so she didn’t want to put someone at risk of becoming Ethan’s slave.
Fragile girls like Katarina would be easily swayed by Ethan the moment they became his exclusive maid.
The problem was that aside from these two, there were hardly any familiar faces among the senior maids. However, mentioning Melissa, the head maid, was out of the question…
First and foremost, I needed to emphasize that I didn’t fit in, so I had to make myself appear as distant as possible.
“Firstly, I believe there should be a significant age gap between Ethan and the maid he can trust and follow.”
“…So, you’re saying anyone older will do?”
“That’s not what I mean. However, an appropriate age difference would allow Ethan to trust and rely on them while also being able to assist him. A maid with too small an age gap might not discipline Ethan properly.”
“Go on.”
“In my opinion, being an exclusive maid doesn’t just mean agreeing with everything Ethan says. It involves giving warnings for improper behavior and boldly scolding him when he acts unbecomingly. But whether young maids like me, Isabel, or senior Katarina can fulfill that role properly… I cannot guarantee.”
“….”
“That’s why I’ll say it again. Ethan needs a maid with slightly more experience and expertise than me for the position of his exclusive maid. Someone who can display unwavering loyalty to Ethan but also provide guidance when necessary, perhaps fulfilling a motherly role…”
“…A motherly role… did you say that?”
Ah, shit.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
“You just said we need someone who can fulfill a ‘motherly role,’ right?”
Fuck. You heard it correctly.
What should I do? What should I do about this?
Did I lose my mind? Mentioning Ethan’s mother in front of Harold? Triggering the highest level of danger, Tanathia?
And what’s with that? ‘Motherly role’?
I should have thought before speaking. Whether I have a brain or not.
The need for a maid who can fulfill Ethan’s mother’s role is essentially the same as saying to replace Tanathia’s role.
Having blurted out such nonsense in front of Harold, it was now almost impossible to gracefully leave this room.
There was no way Harold could let go of a lowly maid who spouted arrogant remarks about replacing his wife, whom he has not been able to forget for almost ten years.
In reality, it was no longer just a matter of taking on the role of an exclusive maid.
It was a matter of life and death, regardless of being an exclusive maid or not.
The feeling that my fate might mirror Aeria’s, who was slapped across the face and sent flying by Harold in the underground etiquette training room, crept up on me.
The sense of impending doom, where my own fate might resemble Aeria’s a few minutes later, slowly began to surface.
“Mas… Master…. I’m sorr… sorry….”
I tried to utter words of apology to survive, but due to extreme tension, my mouth couldn’t form the next words.
Eventually, before I could finish speaking, Harold spoke first and called my name.
“…Lilith Rosewood.”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes….”
“I share your thoughts.”
“……….Yes?”
“That’s why I placed you in Ethan’s exclusive maid position. Do you understand?”
“…Why is he muttering something again?
It’s not like Harold to just let it slide when someone insults Tanashia.
Why did the topic suddenly shift back to Eden’s personal maid?
However, bringing up my recent verbal slip in front of Harold felt like I was tightening a noose around my own neck.
I was actually relieved that he didn’t dwell on my mistake and chose to move on in this manner.
“Rilis Rosewood.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ve heard all that you’ve said, but no other maid besides yourself comes to mind who would be suitable as Eden’s personal maid.”
“Th-that’s right.”
“Your position remains unchanged. You will be Eden’s personal maid starting tomorrow, so keep that in mind.”
“Ah, yes, understood.”
“You may go in.”
“I-I will go in.”
My mind was already a jumble of emotions at the thought of making such a fatal verbal slip.
In this chaotic state, unable to bring myself to refuse the position of personal maid, I hastily left Harold’s office.
“H-haa… I-I survived…”
For some reason, I felt fortunate that the guy didn’t mention my mistake and swiftly moved on.
…Man, I seriously thought I was a goner.”
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