Chapter 309: Slave Experience (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 309: Slave Experience (2)
Sold as a slave to the Laurentius Duchy, Rami was ordered by Violetta to perform household chores.
In other words, she had become a maid.
Forget a warm bath; she was doused with cold water from head to toe. The tattered clothes she’d been wearing were treated like cursed objects and incinerated.
In their place, she was given a few sets of spare clothes, women's underwear, and a maid outfit—a pretty one, complete with frills.
The very outfit she had once forced upon her own slaves, she now had to wear herself.
Rami stared blankly at the maid outfit.
‘How do I even wear this?’
She had experience taking them off, but none putting them on.
As she stood there blankly in her underwear, Marta, the maid in charge of her training, gave her a sharp look.
“What are you doing? Get dressed, quickly.”
“I don't know how to put it on.”
“What?”
One might wonder what was so hard about getting dressed, but to Rami, who had been a man until only yesterday, the articles of clothing before her were an intricate puzzle.
She had no idea what to put on first.
Unaware of the circumstances, Marta found her utterly pathetic.
To not even know how to put on a simple outfit.
She'd heard Violetta had bought this slave at the market. Was she the daughter of some fallen noble house?
“Of all the people they could have sent, it had to be a dimwit…”
There was nothing more troublesome than a noble lady who knew nothing of the world.
She could already tell this was going to be a pain.
Marta snatched the clothes away.
“Give them here. I'll show you how it's done, so make sure you can dress yourself from tomorrow on. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Marta approached Rami, holding the clothes.
“Hmph, look how fair her skin is.”
Her flawless, milky-white skin was clear proof she had lived a pampered life.
“Watch carefully and memorize this.”
First, the chemise to protect the skin, then the drawers underneath.
Next was the corset. While not required everywhere, all the maids of the ducal house wore one. It maintained one's figure and improved the fit of the dress.
It was a matter of the ducal family's dignity, attending to even the smallest details.
Marta cinched the corset tight around Rami's torso. The suffocating pressure forced a groan from Rami's lips.
“Ugh… The world must do away with corsets for women. Guarantee our right to be corset-free…”
“What nonsense are you spouting? You'll be scolded if you don't wear this. Well, I suppose with your figure, no one would notice if you didn't.”
After the corset, she was helped into a black maid's dress. Unlike the short skirt Karami had put on Mirabelle, this one was long enough to cover her ankles.
An apron, shoes, and finally a headband completed the outfit.
“You can dress yourself from now on, right?”
“Probably?”
“Not ‘probably.’ Practice tonight. Mornings are too hectic, you won't have time to spare.”
“Thank you.”
“…”
Marta stared at her.
Rami tilted her head.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You're surprisingly polite. I was sure you'd be a brat.”
“Fair enough.”
Rami inspected her new attire.
It was certainly more uncomfortable than men's clothes, but it was still just clothes. Not unbearable.
Besides, it was a thousand times better than rags. And there was a world of difference between being scantily clad as a man and as a woman.
That whole trope about armor getting skimpier as defense stats increase was complete bullshit. You’d be so worried about exposure that you’d get hit by attacks you could have easily dodged.
Anyone who fought dressed like that was a pervert, nothing more, nothing less.
And yet, Narsha used to walk around the mansion in nothing but an apron…
‘I'll have to apologize to her again.’
But that was a task for later.
With no mirror available, Rami checked her reflection in the windowpane.
A thought suddenly struck her.
“I'm actually really pretty.”
For a woman, looks were the number one survival strategy.
Even if this was just a temporary amusement, now that she was a woman, she couldn't help but be conscious of it.
She would have been secretly hurt if she'd turned out ugly, but to her own eyes—accustomed as they were to being surrounded by beautiful women—this new face was quite attractive.
She cautiously ventured that her looks might even rival theirs.
Marta, who had been watching quietly from the side, muttered.
“Of course. Fucking bitch.”
*
Rami was now a maid in the Laurentius Duchy, working at Violetta's villa.
She ran into a crisis on her very first day.
“Seriously, how can you not even slice a carrot? Have you never used a knife before?”
“I've stabbed things with one, but this is my first time slicing.”
“…”
She was kicked out of the kitchen.
“You know how to clean, I assume?”
“You mean people?”
She was kicked out of the bedrooms, too.
“Is there anything you can do?”
“Hmm, attending to guests?”
And so, receiving guests became Rami's duty. She much preferred it to the other chores.
After all, she had survived this long on her silver tongue alone. Plus, Narsha had thoroughly drilled her in the etiquette of the nobility, so she could handle herself even in the presence of royalty.
The first guest Rami greeted in this new role…
…was Claude Laurentius, the second son of the Duke.
She greeted him with a practiced air.
“Welcome. Are you here to see Lady Violetta?”
“…”
“Young Master?”
“Ah, yes?”
Claude, who had been staring intently at Rami, finally snapped out of it.
Ahem. He cleared his throat and composed himself.
“I don't believe I've seen you before. Since when did my sister have a maid like you?”
“I just started working at the villa today.”
Claude's eyes fell on the shackle around Rami's neck.
‘So this is the woman Violetta brought back from the slave market.’
For his sister, who so thoroughly despised slaves, to buy one herself… It was unheard of.
“I will show you inside.”
Rami led Claude.
Claude gazed intently at Rami's back as she walked ahead with light steps.
‘A maid, walking with her hands clasped behind her back.’
Normally, he would have yelled at her, but he didn't.
The woman before him was somehow different from his typical image of a slave.
Most people trembled when faced with a son of House Laurentius, yet she showed no such fear. In fact, her composure seemed almost practiced.
The aura she exuded was also unique. Despite the crude shackle and simple maid's uniform, she had a mysterious air about her.
And her looks, too.
She was far too beautiful to be a mere maid.
‘I should have gone with her when she asked.’
Then she would have been my slave, not my sister's.
Arriving at the guest room, Rami knocked on the door.
“My lady, Young Master Claude has arrived.”
“Send him in.”
Rami gave her usual smiling-eyed look.
“Shall we go in?”
It was a habit of hers, but coming from her female form, the effect was devastating.
For a moment, Claude's eyes widened and he hitched his breath, unconsciously averting his gaze.
He went inside. Violetta was waiting. She frowned upon seeing Rami enter with her brother.
“Why are you here?”
“The head maid told me to attend to the guests.”
“A slave greeting my guests? Are you trying to disgrace me? Stop spouting nonsense and get back to your chores.”
“Hmph.”
Rami hung her head.
“That's a bit harsh, sister.”
Just then, Claude stepped in to defend her.
“What?”
“Her service was impeccable. It's wrong to treat her that way simply because of her status.”
Everyone who heard Claude's remark stared with wide eyes.
Who… said what?
Claude was, after all, a Laurentius. Which meant he had quite the temper.
Looking down on the staff was second nature to him. If anyone on the street so much as rubbed him the wrong way, he wouldn't hesitate to resort to violence, even against a child.
And this man was defending a mere maid, talking about status?
“If you don't like her, give her to me. I'll trade you one of my own servants for her.”
Ah, there it is.
As if that man would suddenly start preaching about equality.
Men. They were all the same.
“One of your servants? It would be covered in your filth. Why would I accept something so disgusting? I refuse. That's a losing trade for me.”
“Tsk…”
“My pathetic little brother, what brings you to my villa?”
“Mother sent a message. There's a dinner banquet tonight, and you are not to miss it.”
“It seems Mother feels like playing family for a change. Very well. I suppose I have no choice but to play along. Tell her I will be there.”
“…”
“Wipe that filthy look from your eyes and get out, little brother.”
Claude clicked his tongue. He shot one last, lingering glance at Rami before leaving the room.
“I must get ready. And…”
Violetta's finger pointed at Rami.
“You, come with me.”
“My lady?”
“My little brother is acting like a beast in heat. As his older sister, how can I possibly let that slide? Naturally, I have to toy with him.”
“B-But if she's rude in front of the Duke…” another maid asked nervously.
“Wouldn't that be amusing in its own way?” Violetta replied with a smile.
From the moment they first met until now, sold as a slave, Rami had never lost her carefree composure.
She was curious to see just how long that composure would last.
*
The main building of the estate, where the Duke and Duchess Laurentius resided.
Tonight's dinner was a gathering of the entire immediate Laurentius family.
Sometimes, a negative plus a negative can make a positive, but not here.
Here, the worst mixed with the worst just created the fucking worst.
Not even the slightest mistake was tolerated.
The new maid, Rami, was to attend this perilous event that everyone else dreaded, as Violetta's personal attendant.
All because she had caught their eye.
The other maids felt sorry for her, but they were also relieved. If it hadn't been her, one of them would have had to go.
As for Rami, the person in question…
‘Wow, maybe I have a talent for being a maid?’
She was finding the whole situation endlessly amusing.
Not only had she been chosen by the Duke's daughter, but she'd also caught the eye of the son, and to top it all off, she was now invited to the banquet.
Well, attending as an assistant, not a guest, but still. For a new maid who'd only arrived today, it was an astonishing achievement. A chance to make an impression on the Duke himself.
It should go without saying, but she had zero interest in attracting male attention. The way Claude looked at her was fucking disgusting.
She had to restrain the urge to kick him in the balls. If she caused a scene, she'd lose her head, and this little game of hers would be over.
So she had to walk the line carefully.
This was all just a game, anyway.
A fleeting amusement.
She was going to enjoy this irresponsible pleasure to the absolute fullest.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and follow me. Do you want to get your head chopped off?”
“Coming~”
Rami lifted her skirt and skipped along.