Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Pitiful Maid Katarina (3)
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“Katarina, hurry up! I’ve finished peeling the potatoes, so next grab the sack of onions!”
“Y-Yes, yes!”
“And please stop with the formal speech already!”
The moment I realized we had almost no time left and the kitchen work was barely done.
The instant I recognized the problem, Katarina and I dove into the tasks, bustling around the kitchen to finish the remaining work as quickly as possible.
We had about twenty minutes until the other senior maids arrived.
We had to prep all the vegetables needed for dinner by then somehow, leaving no room to think deeply about anything else.
In our frantic state, we just gathered the work and peeled vegetables using our magic and skills as best we could.
The massive pots, towering a meter high, gradually filled one by one with the vegetables Katarina and I prepped.
“How many minutes left?!”
“Uh, t-ten minutes or so?!”
“Aaa, fuck!”
“Eek…!!”
I’d forgotten to stay in character as Lilith and let a curse slip out carelessly, but my brain was overloaded, too fried to care about that right now.
Triple casting was mentally taxing to begin with, and I’d been repeating it dozens of times like a machine.
On top of that, the lingering garlic stench in my mouth made my head spin.
Normally, I’d rinse it with Clean magic now and then, but wasting spell slots on that when we needed to peel even one more vegetable was pure luxury.
“Th-The carrots here are all done…! N-No, I mean, done!”
“Then onions next! I’ll finish the garlic and potatoes, so handle the onions first!”
“O-Okay! Got it…!!”
The one silver lining was that Katarina’s pace wasn’t total trash.
No, objectively speaking, she was pretty fast. While I triple-cast Clean to peel three potatoes, she could handle one carrot.
I wondered why someone who worked this well made her juniors do the grunt work, but now wasn’t the time to ponder that.
All I could do was prep vegetables as fast and as many as possible.
“How much time left?!”
“Wh-What do you mean?! Hey, I just started the onions…”
“Not that, time!”
“T-Time?! At this light… uh, about five minutes…”
“Ah, this is driving me insane!”
“Eek, s-sorry…!!”
We still had about a third of the work left, so at this rate, it was impossible to finish on time—even if we died and came back.
If we left it like this, Aeria and Alicia would spot the undone work and question why we hadn’t finished.
And if they saw me working directly, their suspicions would deepen.
Considering I’d always prepped a full day’s vegetables in two hours, my actual knife skills were way slower than Katarina’s right now.
Thanks to our frantic efforts in the last five minutes, we whittled it down to about a quarter.
But even that was still a risky amount.
If I could use magic freely, I could finish the rest in ten minutes.
Without it, it’d take over two hours—meaning we’d 100% get called out by the other seniors for what I’d been doing.
Katarina was dumb… no, naive enough to fool by pretending to be noble, but the other two weren’t pushovers.
Especially Aeria—that sly bitch. If she caught me using magic, forget the noble act; she’d have me by the throat.
‘…So you know what that bitch said back then? She begged and begged, swearing it wasn’t her…’
‘…What a moron, then and now. That’s why she’s still such a pathetic mess…’
“Wh-What do we do? I-I think Aeria and Alicia are at the dining hall already?!”
“……”
…I know, damn it.
It was an amount we could finish if we bought just ten—no, five minutes.
It felt ridiculously unfair to get caught over something this minor.
Just a little more time, and we’d be good.
…Even five minutes. If I could just keep those two out of the kitchen.
“Wh-What do we do?! What should I do?!”
“……”
What can we do?
She’s still unreliable, but I have to use everything I’ve got.
“Katarina, that’s an order.”
“Huh?! N-No, yes?!”
“Go to the kitchen door right now and keep anyone from coming in. For the next ten minutes.”
“K-Keep them out?! H-How?!”
“Figure it out. Strike up a conversation, pick a fight, drag them somewhere else—whatever.”
“B-But how could I…”
“You think nobles are a joke? If I wanted, burying you and those two bitches would be nothing.”
“I-I’ll do it! I’ll make it work, Lady Lilith!”
It felt a bit guilty, basically threatening her, but this was the best play right now.
She wouldn’t get it otherwise in one go.
‘H-Hey, girls~? G-Good morning! The weather’s n-nice today too…!’
‘…Katarina? Were you just in the kitchen?’
‘K-Kitchen? What are you talking about? I j-just got here…’
Hearing Katarina desperately pulling aggro in the prep room between the kitchen and dining hall, I dumped the last potatoes and a sack of onions onto the counter.
If I could just finish this…!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“…Katarina? Were you just in the kitchen?”
“K-Kitchen? What are you talking about? I j-just got here…”
“What are you saying? I didn’t see the back of your head once on the way here with Aeria.”
“Uh, th-that’s…”
Katarina genuinely wanted to cry.
She had no idea how her day had gone so wrong since dawn.
If she hadn’t tailed Lilith this morning, she wouldn’t be suffering like this.
After waiting a full hour, the tailing led her to Young Master Ethan and Lilith meeting.
And further, to Lilith using Clean magic to peel vegetables.
She’d desperately sought forgiveness for her mistake, only to end up humiliated in front of a noble.
All this had happened to Katarina in just three hours.
On top of that, she’d helped the angry Lilith—who blamed her for the delay—by frantically prepping vegetables until moments ago.
And now, she was forcibly tasked with blocking the kitchen door for ten minutes.
‘Wh-What am I supposed to do…!’
After a year of being used by her peers, standing before Aeria and Alicia made Katarina’s vision go dark.
Their relationship was no longer equal like when they first entered Blackwood Manor. It was more like two masters and one slave.
A year of abuse had rooted deep defeatism in her.
Stalling with natural conversation was practically impossible.
The bigger problem was the force pushing her from behind, preventing escape.
‘You think nobles are a joke?’
Recalling Lilith’s sudden killing intent, Katarina steeled herself and kept talking to them somehow.
She had no choices left anyway.
“A-Anyway, Alicia! Aeria!”
“……Yeah?”
“H-How about a quick morning walk? To refresh before work…”
“Morning walk~?”
“Y-Yeah… The weather’s nice for once…”
Even she knew it was a ridiculous suggestion, but it was the best excuse she could muster.
A lap around the manor grounds would easily buy ten minutes, fulfilling Lilith’s order.
So she pushed to convince the intrigued Alicia.
“What about clocking in?”
“L-Lilith th-that… l-lower maid knows nothing. What guts would she have to question seniors taking a leisurely walk?”
“Ooh~. What’s with you, Katarina? Since when do you talk like that?”
“Th-That idiot—ignore whether she works or not…! Just rest a bit more…”
‘Sorry, Lady Lilith!’
To complete Lilith’s mission, Katarina had no choice but to badmouth her. She succeeded in convincing Alicia somewhat.
But too late, she realized the real target was Aeria.
“No walk. Let’s clock in first, girls.”
‘…Aeria?!’
The one who’d trapped her into debt slavery and exploited her for a year.
Katarina assumed she’d side with slacking off while Lilith worked, so she’d deprioritized her.
But contrary to expectations, Aeria insisted on clocking in.
“Aeria?”
“We’ve used her for three days straight. Least we can do is clock in on time. For our tired junior who looks beat every morning.”
“D-Do we need to? Junior maids handle it if seniors are late…”
“Hmm, weird~. The Katarina I know wouldn’t say such nasty things.”
“……”
“Maybe there’s a reason I shouldn’t go into the kitchen right now?”
“……!!!”
That confident gaze, beyond suspicion—practically certain.
Seeing Aeria’s eyes, Katarina finally realized.
Unlike Alicia, Aeria had seen through her awkward acting long ago.
‘She knew all along…!’
Back then, a year ago—and now.
Aeria was still above her.
Katarina knew that better than anyone after a year as her slave.
Attempting to fool her was foolish to begin with.
“……”
…Even so, she still had to block Aeria from the kitchen.
“Step aside from the door, Katarina? Lilith’s waiting inside.”
“……”
“Hmm, this isn’t fun.”
-Slap!
“……Hngh!”
“……!”
She’d only blocked the door for three seconds, but the slap came without warning.
It shocked not just Katarina, but even Alicia.
Before they could process, Aeria’s hand reddened Katarina’s other cheek.
-Slap!
“……Hngh!”
“…I said I’d treat you like a pet dog if you behaved.”
-Slap!
“……Hmph!”
“Haven’t hit you lately, and you’re climbing already? Do dogs really need a beating every three days to obey?”
-Slaaap!!
“……!!!”
With every swing of Aeria’s cold palm, Katarina’s cheeks burned hotter.
Yet she guarded the kitchen door with grim resolve.
When she wouldn’t budge, Aeria’s kick slammed into her side.
-Thud!
“Kghngh…!”
“You piece of trash Katarina—how far do you think you can crawl?”
“Kh, hngh…”
“You’ll pay after work. Time to remind you who’s on top.”
After shoving the collapsed Katarina aside on the prep room floor, Aeria reached for the kitchen door without hesitation.
But before she could, the black-haired maid inside flung it open and stepped out.
“……”
“Lilith?”
“…You’re here for work, seniors?”
“Sorry, Lilith. We tried to come early, but someone was blocking the kitchen door, so it took forever.”
“…I see.”
Lilith, looking somewhat fatigued, scanned the prep room outside the kitchen. Her gaze landed on the sobbing Katarina on the floor.
And briefly on Aeria’s faintly reddened palm before moving away.
“Anyway, Lilith. All done for today too?”
“……Yes.”
“Lilith really is the pro among us, huh? Makes us feel bad for slacking so much.”
“……”
“Why no answer? Rebelling or something?”
The black-haired maid ignored Aeria’s words, frowning as if deep in thought.
Once she’d assessed the scene, Lilith met Aeria’s eyes and murmured quietly.
“…Aeria.”
“…Lilith? Watch your tone—”
“Shut your fucking mouth, you bitch.”
-Thwack!
“Gwak?!”
A heavy fist slammed into the senior maid’s jaw with a dull thud.
And just like that, Aeria flew into the air for a moment.