Interlude: A Maid's Life Journal (Dorothy & Anjel)
My name is Dorothy!
I'm an apprentice maid of the Leonhart family.
Before I know it, it's almost been a year since I came here as an apprentice. I'm still a walking disaster of mistakes, but I'll keep working hard today so I can become a proper full-fledged maid.
Except—I just heard that the new girl who arrived not long ago beat me out and became Lady Noir's exclusive maid.
How dare she? A brand-new hire just waltzed in and took the exclusive maid position from me?
I'm still only an apprentice!
I will never forgive this!
The new girl named Blanc is so busy as exclusive maid that she never even seems to rest—she's always working hard.
Hmph! That passion of hers is impressive, but I still won't forgive her for snatching the exclusive maid post out from under her senior!
And don't think that pretty face is going to win me over, either. I am not falling for it!
"Hmph!"
I snuck into the maids' break room and pulled the snacks set aside for the staff out of the cupboard.
"Whoa!"
Today's snack was soft, bouncy, sweet pudding. I was so happy.
I cut a little piece off the pudding with Blanc's name on it and took a bite.
Even I had to admit it was a truly wicked thing to do, and a little corner of my heart pricked with guilt—but she brought this on herself.
"Mmm~!"
Delicious!
A truly devilish flavor!
The sweetness spreading through my mouth made me smile without meaning to, and I almost scooped up another spoonful—but I stopped myself in the end.
Even so, taking a second spoonful would have been going too far.
Hmph! If you don't want your snacks stolen from now on, you'd better watch how you carry yourself!
Early in the morning, Blanc was doing the morning cleaning all by herself.
She cleaned this huge mansion alone...? Really...?
Ah!
For a second I almost felt respect for how diligent she was!
But I will not be fooled.
That's just Blanc's scheme to hog all our work for herself!
A truly devilish idea!
I hurriedly rounded up the other senior maids, and together with Blanc we finished the big house cleaning without a hitch.
Then, to mess with Blanc, I picked up two pieces of trash that had fallen on the floor and dropped them right back onto the floor she had just cleaned.
Gah! Throwing trash on a floor that had only just been cleaned!
A truly devilish act!
Uuuugh....
I'm sweeping the courtyard, but the sun is especially scorching today...
Ugh... I want to rest in a cool patch of shade....
Just as I thought that, a huge shadow suddenly appeared and made a nice cool shade for me.
What is this?
Ah! Could it be the fairy of shadows!?
I knew fairies were real!
Thank you, fairy!
I snuck a taste of the cookies Blanc made in the kitchen.
Ah! A truly devilish food!
They were so good I ended up eating three of them!
Gah! I have no choice but to admit it!
I thought about sticking raisins into the cookies to ruin them, but—
ruining these cookies would be a loss to all of humanity! A truly archdevilish crime!
Pretty good, actually.
Hmph! Still, if someone makes cookies like these, they at least deserve a word of praise.
I left a little note on top of the cookie basket and bolted out of the break room.
And then Miss Asabella caught me and rapped me on the head.
Hiiing...
Uuu, I lost the romance novel I just bought yesterday...
It was a new release I'd been looking forward to...
Lately there's been a rumor that if you leave a novel in the break room, it sometimes vanishes. Could it be a ghost...!?
Kya—kyaaaaah!
When I came back to the break room, the novel I'd lost and a plate of delicious-looking macarons were sitting on the table!
Eh? What? Is this, like, a thank-you for the book?
Then the one who took the book wasn't a ghost—it was the fairy?
Miss Asabella was smiling as she praised Blanc.
With me she only ever nags...
Uuu...
My head is spinning...
I want my mom....
My coworkers fretted over me when they saw the state I was in, but I didn't want to be a burden, so I told them I was fine...
Ah, my head hurts again...
I can barely wal...
I opened my eyes in bed.
A cool damp cloth was resting on my forehead.
Had someone helped me?
Thinking carefully, I was pretty sure I'd seen beautiful silver hair right before I blacked out.
—Knock, knock.
With a knock at the door, Miss Asabella opened it and came into the room.
"What in the world were you thinking, you little fool!"
I'd never seen Miss Asabella that angry.
She was really scary.
I worked harder than usual so I wouldn't fall behind Blanc—and ended up breaking a plate.
"Ow!"
I hurried to pick up the pieces and nicked my fingertip, and when Miss Asabella saw that she really laid into me.
I... I wanted to do better too.
I want to be good at everything, like Blanc...
I wanted to make Miss Asabella smile the way Blanc does...
"Hey, you little disaster! How many times do I have to tell you to be careful!"
"Uu... u.... uuuu!"
While Miss Asabella went to find the first-aid kit, I fled to my room and hid under the covers.
"Uuu...."
Why am I always like this?
Everything I do is full of mistakes, and I only make people worry.
I'm not good at anything—just a walking headache who causes accidents.
I want to be like Blanc.
I want to be good at everything, like Blanc.
"Dorothy! Open this door!"
"Dorothy dear! Please open the door!"
Miss Asabella and Anjel unnie's voices came from outside.
Seeing the two of them worry about me on a day like this only made my chest hurt worse.
Dorothy, don't cry—hold your head high and grow up strong, okay?
I can't cry.
I can't cry.
I can't cr....
"Miss Dorothy!"
"Huuueeng!"
I'd buried my face in the pillow, holding back the tears as hard as I could—when suddenly Blanc came running in and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Eh? I'm pretty sure I locked the... door?"
"Picking a door lock is a basic maid skill. More importantly—are you all right?"
Huh? That's a basic skill?
That's the first I've ever heard of it!?
"Miss Dorothy, so—are you all right?"
"U-uh... I'm fine, so let go..."
"That's a lie. Your voice is shaking."
I thrashed around, trying somehow to get free of Blanc, but she still wouldn't let me out of her arms.
It was a different kind of warmth from the blankets, the kind that made my heart melt—but I couldn't keep imposing on Blanc like this...
"It's all right. No one will scold you for crying."
"Ah..."
Blanc stroked my hair and whispered gently.
How did she know...?
When I looked up at her in surprise, her face didn't wear its usual cold blank expression—there was a faint little smile on it.
Seeing that kind smile of Blanc's, I felt the lock I'd fastened so tightly around my heart crack open.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Blanc... uuu.... uwaaaaah...!"
In the end I clung to Blanc and poured out tears all day long, and only after two whole hours could I finally stop crying.
I woke up earlier than usual.
I finished getting ready for work in a hurry and started cleaning the mansion.
The area I'm cleaning right now is Blanc's assigned section.
I'm not helping Blanc—I'm deliberately stealing her work from her.
A truly devilish thought.
Hmph. I'm definitely not doing this because I'm grateful or anything...
....Thank you.
My name is Anjel.
Though it was far more than I deserved, Miss Asabella, our head maid, recognized my ability and allowed me to become a full-fledged maid.
The work is exhausting in a way that really does live up to a ducal household—but there are so many adorable girls here that I can endure it.
Heehee. Just imagining the forbidden relationships between these children is enough to get me through three meals a day.
Ah!
Come to think of it, a darling new girl named Blanc arrived not long ago. She's clearly still a child, and yet her skill is extraordinary and she's so diligent—a truly lovable junior. No wonder she was assigned as exclusive maid from day one.
She might even be more capable than Miss Asabella?
Anyway—Lady Noir and her exclusive maid, Miss Blanc...
Black and white....
Mistress and maid...
This is truly a forbidden...!
Oh my, oh my! How noble!
I feel as though I've gained one more joy in my work!
Lately little Dorothy can't seem to focus on her work at all—she only stares daggers at wherever Miss Blanc happens to be.
Oh my, oh my. Is Miss Blanc weighing on her mind that much?
It was a thoroughly noble sight.
"Hmm, where could it have gone?"
How troublesome.
My noble book, filled with forbidden love, has vanished.
Even so, one can hardly bring anything too extreme to the workplace, so I did choose the lightest volume I could—but if someone else were to read it, it would be a problem. And since it's a book I've been carefully savoring, I do want to find it quickly.
The book I'd lost came back to the break room.
Hmm... I searched so thoroughly yesterday—did I simply overlook this spot?
Still, recovering the book is a great relief.
"Oh my, Lady Noir."
"A... afternoon, Anjel...."
When I ran into Lady Noir in the hallway, her condition seemed quite strange. Tears stood in both her eyes, and there were traces of blood at her nose. Her face was flushed bright red—was she unwell somehow?
"My lady, you don't look well."
"A-ah, no! Blanc! I'm fine!"
Miss Blanc, who was nearby, approached Lady Noir with a worried look, but the lady's face only grew redder.
I hope she recovers soon.
That said—it may not be the time for such thoughts, but... that whole scene was extremely noble...
Oh my—Miss Asabella and Miss Blanc together.
Quite an unusual pairing.
Even in Miss Asabella's usually exacting eyes, Miss Blanc must have made a good impression. Even Miss Asabella, who is so often angry, tends to smile when she's beside Miss Blanc.
A truly noble sight.
"Dorothy dear! Dorothy dear!"
"Miss Anjel, hurry and fetch a doctor...!"
Little Dorothy collapsed!
We should have looked after her better...!
For the moment I left Dorothy with Miss Blanc and ran to call the doctor as fast as I could!
"What in the world were you thinking, you little fool!"
A loud scolding rang out from Dorothy's room.
Miss Asabella was scolding her with a face full of anger, and Dorothy finally burst into tears.
"W-what do I do...!?"
I was hovering uselessly in front of the door, not knowing whether to go in or stay out, when Miss Blanc entered the room and mediated between the two of them.
Thank you, Miss Blanc.
Once again scolded by Miss Asabella, Dorothy was sniffling under the covers.
"Uwaaaah!"
When Miss Blanc carefully approached and stroked Dorothy's hair, Dorothy clung to her and let out every tear she had been holding back.
"Ha. I was fretting over nothing."
"Heeheehee..."
It was such a heartwarming scene that the maids secretly watching couldn't help shedding tears of their own.
It seems Dorothy has been looking at Miss Blanc more often than usual lately.
But before, the way she looked at Miss Blanc was rather unfriendly—and these days, the light in Dorothy's eyes when she looks at Miss Blanc is very different from before?
What a fine side dish—ah, no, what a fine sight.
For colleagues to build such camaraderie... how noble!
Thanks to that, I've had plenty of energy for the whole day.