Pitiful Maid Katarina (3)

“Senior Katarina, hurry! I’ve finished peeling all the potatoes, so please bring the sack of onions next!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Please stop using honorifics already!”

After realizing that there was little time left and the kitchen work had barely progressed.

As soon as we became aware of the problem, Katarina and I hurriedly began working, busily moving around the kitchen to complete the remaining tasks as quickly as possible.

There were about 20 minutes left until the other senior maids arrived for work.

We had to somehow prepare all the vegetables needed for dinner within that time, so we didn’t even have the luxury to think deeply about other matters.

In our frantic state, we just gathered the tasks and used our respective magic and skills to peel the vegetables.

The giant pots, about one meter tall, were gradually filled with the vegetables we peeled.

“How many minutes do we have left?!”

“Uh, t-ten minutes?!”

“Ahhh, fuck!”

“Eeek…!!”

I accidentally let out a curse, forgetting that I was supposed to act like Lillith, but my brain was too overloaded to worry about such things now.

Triple casting alone was already mentally taxing, and doing it repeatedly over dozens of times was exhausting.

On top of that, the damn garlic flavor lingering in my mouth was making me feel dizzy.

Normally, I would have rinsed my mouth occasionally with Clean Magic, but wasting magic on that now when I needed to peel even one more vegetable was a luxury.

“I-I’ve peeled all the carrots here…! Ah, no, I peeled them!”

“Then next are the onions! I’ll finish the garlic and potatoes, so handle the onions first!”

“Uh, okay! Got it…!!”

The only saving grace was that Katarina’s work speed wasn’t completely useless.

No, objectively speaking, her work speed was actually quite fast. While I was triple casting Clean Magic to peel three potatoes, she could peel one carrot in the same time.

For a moment, I wondered why someone who worked so well would dump tasks on a junior, but I couldn’t afford to waste thoughts on such questions now.

All I could do was work as fast as possible and prepare as many vegetables as I could.

“How much time is left?!”

“Uh, wh-what?! I just started the onions…”

“Not that, I mean the time!”

“Ti-time?! At this brightness… ah, maybe about 5 minutes…”

“Ah, I’m gonna lose my mind!”

“Eeek, I-I’m sorry…!!”

There was still about a third of the workload left, so at this rate, completing it on time was impossible even if I died and came back to life.

If that happened, Eiria and Alicia, seeing the remaining tasks, would naturally suspect why we hadn’t finished them.

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

Considering that I usually finished a day’s worth of vegetable prep in two hours, my realistic chopping speed was far behind Katarina’s current pace.

Thanks to our frantic work in the remaining five minutes, we managed to reduce the leftover workload to about a quarter, but…

This much remaining was still a cause for concern.

If only I could use magic freely, I could finish the remaining work in about 10 minutes.

But without magic, it would take nearly two hours, so if things continued like this, the other senior maids would 100% suspect what I had been doing all this time.

At least Katarina was dumb… no, naive enough to be fooled into thinking I was a noble, but the other two weren’t pushovers.

Especially if that sly Eiria found out I was using magic, forget pretending to be a noble-she’d use it as leverage against me.

‘…Do you know what she said back then? She kept begging, saying it wasn’t her…’

‘…She’s still as dumb as ever. That’s why she’s still so pathetic…’

“Uh, what do we do?! E-Eiria and Alicia seem to have arrived at the dining hall?!”

“……”

…I heard them too, damn it.

If only I could buy 10 minutes-no, even 5 minutes-I could finish the remaining workload.

It felt unbearably unfair to get caught just because I couldn’t finish this little bit of work.

If only I could buy a little more time, just enough to stop those two from entering the kitchen…

…If only I could stop them from entering the kitchen for just five minutes.

“Wh-what do we do?! What should we do?!”

“……”

What else could I do?

She’s still not entirely reliable, but I have to use everything at my disposal.

“Katarina, this is an order.”

“Huh?! Ah, no, yes?!”

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

“St-stop them from entering?! H-how?!”

“I don’t know. Whether you talk to them, pick a fight, or take them somewhere else, that’s your job to figure out.”

“B-but how can I…”

“Do you think nobles are a joke? If I wanted, I could bury not just you but those two bitches without breaking a sweat…”

“I-I’ll do it! I’ll do whatever it takes, Lady Lillith!”

I felt a twinge of guilt for what was essentially a threat, but it was the best option in this situation.

After all, it seemed like she wouldn’t understand unless I spoke to her like this.

‘H-hey, guys~? G-good morning! The weather’s n-nice today…!’

‘…Katarina? Did you just come out of the kitchen?’

‘Th-the kitchen? What are you talking about? I just got here too…?’

Listening to Katarina desperately trying to draw their attention in the preparation room between the kitchen and dining hall, I dumped the last remaining potatoes and a sack of onions onto the worktable.

If only I could finish this much…!

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

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

“Th-the kitchen? What are you talking about? I just got here too…?”

“What are you saying? I didn’t see the back of your head even once while walking here with Eiria.”

“Uh, well…”

Katarina genuinely wanted to cry.

She had no idea how things had come to this, but her day had been a mess since dawn.

If only she hadn’t followed Lillith this morning, she wouldn’t be suffering like this.

After waiting a full hour to start tailing her, she discovered Lillith meeting with Young Master Ethan.

Then she saw Lillith using Clean Magic to peel vegetables.

And in her desperate attempt to be forgiven for her mistake, she ended up humiliating herself in front of a noble.

All of this had happened within just three hours for Katarina.

On top of that, she had been frantically helping Lillith peel vegetables after the latter got angry at her for delaying their work.

And now, she had been forcibly assigned the task of stalling at the kitchen door for 10 minutes.

‘Wh-what am I supposed to do…?!’

Having been used and exploited by her peers for the past year, Katarina felt her vision darken the moment she stood before Eiria and Alicia.

The relationship between the three was no longer that of equals, as it had been when they first entered Blackwood Manor. It was closer to that of two masters and one slave.

After a year of being used by her peers, Katarina had developed a deep-seated sense of defeat.

Engaging in natural conversation with them to stall for time was practically impossible.

The problem was that an even bigger issue was pushing her from behind, making it impossible to escape.

‘Do you think nobles are a joke?’

Remembering the murderous intent Lillith had exuded for a moment, Katarina steeled herself and continued talking to the two.

After all, she had no other choice.

“C-come on, Alicia! Eiria!”

“……Huh?”

“L-let’s go for a morning walk! To clear our heads before work…”

“A morning walk~?”

“Y-yeah… The weather’s nice for once…”

Even she knew it was a ridiculous suggestion, but sadly, it was the best excuse Katarina could come up with.

A quick stroll around the manor would easily take 10 minutes, which would buy Lillish the time she needed.

So she tried her best to persuade Alicia, who seemed somewhat interested.

“What about work?”

“Wh-what does that junior maid know? How dare she question her seniors taking a leisurely walk?”

“Oh~. Katarina, what’s gotten into you? I didn’t know you could say things like that.”

“J-just ignore that stupid girl…! Let’s just rest a little more…”

‘I’m sorry, Lady Lillith!’

Forced to slander Lillish to fulfill her task, Katarina somehow managed to persuade Alicia-only to realize a moment too late that the person she needed to convince was Eiria, not Alicia.

“Forget the walk. Let’s just get to work, girls.”

‘…Eiria?!’

The mastermind who had trapped her into becoming a debt maid and exploited her thoroughly for the past year.

She had assumed Eiria would naturally agree to the idea of resting while Lillish worked, so she had prioritized persuading Alicia.

But contrary to Katarina’s expectations, Eiria insisted on starting work.

“Eiria?”

“What? We’ve been working her hard for three days. We should at least let her rest a bit. For our tired junior’s sake.”

“D-do we have to? A junior maid should handle things whether her seniors are late or not…”

“Hmm, that’s strange~? The Katarina I know wouldn’t say something so mean.”

“……”

“Is there some reason I shouldn’t go into the kitchen right now?”

“……!!!”

A confident gaze that went beyond suspicion-it was as if she already knew.

The moment Katarina saw Eiria’s eyes, she finally understood.

Unlike Alicia, Eiria had seen through her awkward acting long ago.

‘She knew all along…!’

A year ago, and now.

Eiria was still above her.

After a year of living as her servant, Katarina knew that better than anyone.

Trying to deceive her in the first place had been foolish.

“……”

…Even so, the fact remained that she had to stop Eiria from entering the kitchen.

“Will you move away from the door, Katarina? Lillish must be waiting inside.”

“……”

“Hmm, this isn’t very fun.”

-Slap!

“…Hic!”

“…!”

After barely blocking the door for about three seconds, a sudden slap landed on her cheek.

The unhesitating violence shocked not only Katarina but even Alicia.

Before they could even process the situation, Eiria’s hand turned Katarina’s other cheek red.

-Slap!

“…Hic!”

“…I told you I’d treat you like a pet if you behaved.”

-Slap!

“…Hngh!”

“Haven’t hit you in a while, so you’re getting bold? Guess dogs need to be beaten once every three days to behave.”

-Smack!!

“…!!!”

With each cold, calculated strike, Katarina’s cheeks grew hotter.

But she stubbornly held her ground, blocking the kitchen door.

When she refused to budge, Eiria kicked her in the side to push her away.

-Thud!

“Kgh…!”

“Who do you think you are, Katarina?”

“Hngh, hic…”

“I’ll remind you later who’s in charge here.”

After shoving Katarina to the floor, Eiria reached for the kitchen door-only for the black-haired maid inside to open it first.

“……”

“Lillish?”

“…Are you starting work, seniors?”

“Sorry, Lillish. We tried to come early, but someone was blocking the kitchen door.”

“…I see.”

With a tired expression, Lillish glanced around the preparation room before spotting Katarina sobbing on the floor.

Her gaze lingered briefly on Eiria’s slightly reddened palm.

“By the way, Lillish. Did you finish today’s work?”

“…Yes.”

“You’re the real professional among us. I feel bad always slacking off.”

“……”

“Why aren’t you answering? Are you rebelling?”

Ignoring Eiria’s words, the black-haired maid frowned as if deep in thought.

After judging the situation, Lillish met Eiria’s gaze and spoke quietly.

“…Eiria.”

“…Lillish? You’re being awfully shor-“

“Shut the fuck up, you bitch.”

-Crunch!

“Gwaaahk?!”

A dull impact sound, followed by a heavy fist striking the senior maid’s jaw.

And just like that, Eiria took flight.