Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Girls(?) Talk (1)
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A few days had passed since Aeria and Alicia were sent off to Silverwood Territory.
After the endless stream of visitors coming to check on Ethan at the mansion finally died down, Isabel and I were able to return to our regular duties.
Instead of wasting time and stress on reception and kitchen work, we went back to wandering the mansion together, handling chores like cleaning and laundry, just like before.
...Though, to say it was exactly like before wouldn't be quite accurate—there was one new change.
"Miss Lilith... Ah, no, Lilith! I've finished cleaning the entire second-floor hallway! Anything else you want me to do?"
"...No, if you're done, go ahead and rest first."
"Ah, should I wipe the windows instead? Actually, until last year, I handled almost all the windows on the second and third floors by myself! I can finish them faster than you... Er, faster than Lilith!"
"...No, this is my job. If the hallway's done, go rest first. I'll finish up with Isabel and rest after."
"B-But... Is it okay for me to rest first while you're still working...?"
"Katarina's my senior to begin with. Stop worrying about me and just go rest already."
"U-Unh... Okay..."
Ever since Katarina joined our team with Isabel and me, nearly every task had gone like this.
What should have been leisurely work for just the two of us was handled about seventy percent by Katarina alone, leaving Isabel and me to fumble around until it was done.
With Aeria and Alicia gone far away, it wasn't strange that Isabel and I ended up working with Katarina.
Honestly, thanks to her, the work finished even faster than before, giving us more rest time as a bonus.
Physically speaking, the burden had undeniably lightened...
'She must feel seriously indebted or something.'
Left to her own devices, Katarina seemed ready to snatch up all my work too, and separate from any bodily fatigue, it was starting to make one corner of my mind feel uneasy.
I'd never been a fan of one-sided relationships where I only received without giving back.
I preferred dry relationships where we exchanged nothing at all, or at the very least, a give-and-take dynamic that felt balanced.
Handing off all my tasks to Katarina every time like this just felt off.
"I'm really almost done here too. Please, Senior Katarina, just go rest. You've already cleaned the entire second-floor hallway by yourself—how much more of our work do you plan to take?"
"Ah, got it... Then, uh, I'll go rest first..."
Watching Katarina walk away with a dejected expression since I wouldn't give her any work only made me feel unnecessarily guilty again.
I couldn't help but miss the days when Isabel and I had worked leisurely together.
'She's a good person at heart...'
Of course, I could somewhat understand her feelings.
With Thanacia's necklace theft resolved, the false accusations against her had been lifted in one fell swoop.
Her debt maid status, unfairly imposed, had been restored to normal too. If I'd been in her shoes, I'd probably feel intense gratitude toward Lilith as well.
That said, was expressing thanks to this burdensome degree really appropriate?
"Haa... Can't she just treat me like a normal fellow maid?"
"Yeah, Katarina's a bit overwhelming for sure."
'Whoa!'
Lost in thought, Isabel had snuck up beside me and chimed in on my muttering, nearly making me jump and fall like last time.
This girl really had a knack for appearing right next to you if you looked away for a second.
"Done with the windows, Lilith?"
"Just three more to go."
"Then I'll help! Let's finish quick and rest together!"
"Thanks."
Isabel took one of the dry cloths from my hands, and we started wiping the windows side by side.
Yes, this was the perfect distance—not too burdensome, just right.
Not "I'll take over, so rest first," but a light "I'll help, so let's finish together."
That way, I could help her next time without hesitation.
"What should we do about Senior Katarina?"
"Why? Did she offer to do your work again today?"
"Yeah. Feels like unless we have a proper talk, it'll stay like this."
"It's great her false charges were cleared, but yeah, she's overdoing the gratitude a bit, like you said."
"Well, after hearing the rumors about Seniors Aeria and Alicia, I can kinda see why she's like that..."
The fact that Aeria and Alicia had been sent to Silverwood Territory was already common knowledge in the mansion.
Duke Harold had deliberately let the rumors spread to show what happened when you mishandled Thanacia's belongings.
Some servants, including me, had even figured out the "true intent" behind the punishment of assignment to Silverwood Territory.
"They went to Silverwood Territory, right? If you hadn't cleared her suspicions, Senior Katarina might've really ended up there."
"...Could've been."
"I hear it's freezing there year-round, snow never melts. And tons of dangerous monsters. I'd hate to go somewhere like that too..."
So Isabel didn't know the real meaning—being dragged off as sex slaves.
Well, no need to tell her if she didn't know. Learning senior maids were turned into sex slaves in some remote outpost wouldn't exactly lift her spirits.
In that sense, saving Katarina really might've been fortunate.
Living as a sex slave forever for a crime she didn't commit would've left her wanting to die for real.
Of course, that didn't justify the current situation just because I'd saved her from that fate.
I hadn't done it expecting repayment anyway, and if anything, I'd exploited her situation to get rid of Aeria.
It was more about averting my own future crisis than genuinely helping her, so expecting thanks felt off to begin with.
Even if I explained that to Katarina, she wouldn't believe me—and she'd insist it was still gratitude for the help, continuing her voluntary pushover behavior.
"Haaa..."
The problem was, the longer Katarina acted like this, the more I unintentionally stood out.
There were about a dozen maids in the mansion including us three, and with butlers, guards, cooks, and such, around fifty to sixty servants total.
In that mix, it looked like I was bossing Katarina around, like junior maids establishing hierarchy by dumping work—which wasn't great.
Honestly, it was drawing eyes for all the wrong reasons.
Like I'd said before, attention—good or bad—was the last thing I needed right now.
I was already under scrutiny from Duke Harold and others for finding Thanacia's necklace recently.
Any more viral exposure would be poison for Lilith. A fatal toxin that might expose my magic use.
But verbal warnings hadn't worked after more than a dozen tries, and I couldn't yell or scold her openly in front of Isabel.
As I pondered this ticking time bomb of a problem, Isabel offered some advice-like words.
"If Senior Katarina's really bothering you, why not just have a firm talk and settle it once and for all?"
"I've tried that several times already..."
"No, not just telling her to stop. Actually ask her for a proper favor."
"......Huh?"
"Ask her for something reasonable, then say that settles her debt from before. Think she'd accept that?"
"Hoo..."
As expected of 'sharp Isabel.' She really had a good head for life hacks.
Hardworking, smart, and pretty too.
If only she had some combat ability, she'd make a solid sub-heroine in Luminor Academy.
I nodded at her solid advice, giving a positive response.
"Yeah, that sounds good, like you said."
"Really?"
"But I dunno what to ask for. If I request maid work like now, she won't even see it as a favor."
"Hm... Katarina's been working here a year longer than us, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then on the next day off, ask her to show you around Blackwood Territory? She knows the area way better than us."
"Huh?"
"Her false charges got cleared recently, so the debt maid restriction's lifted too. She'd probably agree happily."
Isabel rattled off one plausible idea after another, like she'd prepped in advance or something.
Her 'sharp Isabel' wisdom almost made me forget my own situation and agree it was great.
Unfortunately, her suggestion had one fatal flaw I couldn't go along with.
"Isabel, I've been too embarrassed to say this until now."
"Yeah?"
"I'm actually a debt maid too, sold here for my father's gambling debts. Probably can't leave the mansion."
"Ah, s-sorry... I had no idea you were in that position..."
"It's fine. I never mentioned it. Still, thanks for the advice."
Her advice was pretty solid. If I weren't a debt maid.
If I could come and go freely, I wouldn't stroll Blackwood—I'd head to the back hills to hunt slimes.
My max mana had ballooned, now nearly twenty times my max stamina. I needed new skills to make use of it.
"Still, y'know."
"Hm?"
"You just recovered Thanacia's heirloom recently, so if you ask the Head Maid nicely, she might allow it?"
"...Think that'll work?"
"No harm in asking. If not, we'll think of something then. I'll finish tidying here, so go talk to the Head Maid now."
"Ah, okay..."
With that, half-pushed by Isabel's suggestion, I headed to the Head Maid's office.
I asked without much expectation if I could get permission to go out.
"You want to go into Blackwood town on the next day off?"
"I-It was just a thought. Since I'm a debt maid and can't leave the mansion, if it's no, that's fine..."
"Approved. Lilith Rosewood is trustworthy, so I'll grant you special leave."
"Pardon...?"
"You've been through a lot mentally with this incident. Take this chance to rest properly with your colleagues."
"Ah, yes..."
The Head Maid's approval came so easily that I was the one left flustered.
...No way. It actually worked.