Maid Chief Hilde: A Fleeting Peace (1)
Under Maid Chief Hilde's guidance, Emilia entered the bathroom and sank into the warm bathtub, washing away the grime from her body and tidying herself up neatly.
When she stepped out, she donned a simple dress that Hilde had prepared and headed to the dining room. Unlike usual, Melrn Count wasn't there waiting ahead of time. According to Hilde, he occasionally skipped meals for personal reasons. Personal reasons? Maybe indigestion or something.
"Even so, he instructed us to ensure Lady Emilia never skips a meal."
Hilde clapped her hands lightly as she spoke, and the dining room doors opened. The employees, moving like puppets controlled by strings, efficiently set the table for dinner.
――"Meals are important."
――"This precious time must be spent in the same space, sharing the same food..."
He'd said that just yesterday. And yet, what could this "personal reason" be that made him skip a meal? It was puzzling—and a little intriguing.
"If we neglect Lady Emilia's meals, we servants will starve for a week."
Those words from Hilde. She didn't need to say something so threatening-like; Emilia had no intention of skipping anyway. It just made things feel burdensome.
Clink... clink...
Munch... munch...
With Maid Chief Hilde watching, Emilia ate alone. It had only been three days, but it felt like an eternity since her last solitary meal. At first, thrilled by this rare freedom from Melrn Count, she ate happily.
But as the meal dragged on, she noticed a strange emptiness creeping in. Slicing meat with her knife, she glanced back unconsciously. Picking up salad with her fork, her shoulders twitched as if to turn. Even choosing dishes, his presence lingered inescapably.
Those times when he held her in his lap during meals, feeding each other. Times she'd hated so much she didn't know what to do, utterly repulsive.
Yet now, eating alone, this void... Something felt fundamentally broken.
Still, grateful for the delicious meal, she finished. Hilde then escorted her back to her room. Wondering if Mona or Melrn Count had some business, leaving her alone for the day—
"Please undress, Lady Emilia."
Such a request came from Hilde. Not for anything lewd, but to take measurements.
"...Didn't you measure yesterday?"
"We received records from Lady Mona, but she's so... free-spirited..."
Her prim eyes behind the glasses lowered calmly. Hilde maintained her usual expressionless face, but a hint of irritation seeped through.
Ah, this woman suffers from Mona too, Emilia realized. That carefree, reckless succubus probably caused trouble everywhere like breathing.
Thus, Emilia stripped down to her underwear—no, completely bare—and let Hilde measure her body meticulously.
Unlike with Mona, no bizarre measurements like nipple size or vaginal length. Just sensible, precise, serious ones.
It was... moving. Her first normal experience in this mansion nearly brought tears for some reason.
"...All done. Please dress. We'll adjust the outfits to these measurements. I'll procure new undergarments too."
"Y-... Does the maid chief sew clothes too?"
"Feel free to call me Hilde. I don't make them from scratch, but adjustments are within my abilities."
She pushed up her glasses with an enigmatic "Because I'm the maid chief." Emilia didn't know the link between maid chief and sewing, but Hilde exuded competence.
Beautiful and capable—why work for a creep like Melrn Count? It felt like such a waste.
Measuring took time, but there was still until the next meal. Hilde led her elsewhere, saying there was more to do.
It was outside the mansion proper—a spacious garden at its center. More like a training ground than a garden, rough and shrouded in thick fog. Despite the sun high overhead on a clear day, the space felt dimly oppressive.
Into it stepped Hilde in her maid uniform and Emilia in her dress with shorts underneath.
"I've obtained permission from the master. Use it freely."
"...Here...?"
"Yes. You seem restless from not moving your body."
Emilia eyed her curiously. Hilde went to a corner, retrieved something, and handed it over—a well-crafted wooden sword.
Hilde hiked up her long maid skirt, securing it firmly, then took a similar wooden sword and positioned herself at a distance.
"Don't you want to exercise?"
"...Can you handle a sword?"
"To a certain degree. ...I couldn't match a serious hero, but sparring to loosen up? I can manage."
Hearing this, Emilia looked down at the wooden sword in her hand, then swung it lightly at the air.
Whoosh—a clean sound. Cleaving the crisp air and fog, the heavy wooden blade's presence resonated.
Just one swing, and something inside uncoiled like a bursting bundle—pent-up emotions adrift, and with them, the hazy memories and will of the hero and adventurer, long suppressed.
"......"
Emilia's dazed aura sharpened instantly. Gripping the wooden sword, she emanated a heavy presence like a sharpened blade or a prowling beast.
"...One more time: no going all out."
Hilde, facing her, removed her glasses and hung them on a nearby pillar, cautioning again.
Emilia and Hilde faced off, lightly stretched, then Hilde stepped forward first with a swing, starting a simple spar.
Melrn Count's goal wasn't merely to create a doll. Craving Emilia as the hero's bloodline, he wouldn't settle for stuffing her like a taxidermy exhibit.
He desired her purely as a hero. He had no wish to erase or shatter her shining will, her true soul.
Thus, Hilde—able to judge with human eyes—managed her. Staying within reason, she'd relieve Emilia's stress, impart knowledge, maintain her human life.
To preserve the hero Emilia's radiance long-term, never letting it break easily. All for Melrn Count's pleasure, Hilde devotedly served, preparing much for her.
About two hours. Not long, but enough for Emilia to feel satisfied after moving freely at last.
Hilde's skill far exceeded her modest words—impressive, perhaps B-rank adventurer level. Nowhere near a Platinum-rank hero, but fluid and admirable. Emilia was impressed.
Why be a maid chief? Working for that mad pervert Melrn Count, with such talent... The thought slipped in.
But maid chief wasn't trivial. Maybe it was rude to think so, even with that employer.
No amount of gold would make Emilia serve a dog like him.
Wrapping up the light spar, Emilia bathed again under Hilde's guidance, changed into a slightly fancier dress than morning, spritzed sweet perfume, and headed to dinner.
"Oh, my Emilia! Feels like ages. I missed you so much!"
"...Tch."
Regrettably, unlike breakfast, someone awaited: Melrn Count. Beaming like at a lover, arms wide to welcome her into the dining room.
Utterly loathsome, repulsive man. Yet seeing his face, the morning's emptiness oddly faded.
...No way. There was nothing there to begin with.
"Come here, my love. Your seat is always ready."
Melrn Count sat legs spread, beckoning. Regretting not bringing the training sword, Emilia clicked toward the table's end where he sat.
