Chapter 1

"Hmm."

I swept the front entrance.

It was early morning, with the dim light gradually brightening.

As a maid, my first task was to clean the front entrance thoroughly.

Although hardly anyone passed by, the entrance was always spotless, but I had to sweep it every day without fail.

That's what a maid does.

"Hmm!"

After dusting, the next task was to water the small pots of flowers placed on each floor of the stairs.

Actually, this was the gardener's job, but in this mansion, job distinctions were meaningless.

In the Weatherwax household, everyone cleaned together, tended the garden together, and cooked together.

The reason was that the master's wallet was severely strained.

"Hmm!"

I stopped watering the flowers and looked at the iron gate beyond the small, desolate garden.

A man had been clearing his throat loudly since a while ago. Including the men who seemed to be his subordinates, there were four of them in total.

When our eyes met, he put on a very arrogant expression, but it was clear that he wanted me to speak to him.

However, there was no need for me to step in.

The head maid had already crossed the small garden to greet the man.

"Are you here again?"

"Oh, again? That's embarrassing to hear."

"Like I said last time, the time before, and the time before that, we are not selling the mansion. Please go back."

He seemed to be a real estate agent.

I turned my head and continued watering the seeds I had bought cheaply from the market.

I didn't know the name of the flowers that would bloom from these seeds. I had bought the cheapest and most abundant seed packets.

"Today, it's not about that. I must see the new Lord Weatherwax. Please lead me inside the mansion."

"I'm sorry, but the master is currently not at home."

"I've heard that three times this month!"

"I'm equally sorry. The master is very busy."

An agitated answer burst out in frustration.

"Busy? At this point, I can't just stand by. Is there really a new Lord Weatherwax in this mansion? For over a week, the only people who have walked out of this mansion are the three servants. Everyone is saying it's a ghost mansion without a master! And what about the mansion's dark exterior? Isn't it ruining the street's appearance?"

"That's not our concern..."

"Not our concern? Move aside! I can't take it anymore!"

I looked up, and the man pushed the head maid's shoulder and entered the gate.

He surveyed the desolate small garden and muttered with a sour expression.

"Tsk. To let such a beautiful mansion fall into such a wretched state... Hey, maid!"

Was he calling me?

"Why are you staring like that? Aren't you coming over here immediately?"

I went over when called. The man, with an arrogant look, crossed his arms and asked.

"How long has the new Lord Weatherwax been absent from this mansion? Two years? Three years?"

I thought of Lord Weatherwax, who was sleeping soundly in the bedroom, and replied.

"He's not absent."

"What?"

"He's not absent."

The man, who had been glaring at me with a sullen expression, asked again with a deeply patient look.

"Your tone... No, perhaps the new Lord Weatherwax is very ill? So ill that he can't move even once a week?"

I thought of Lord Weatherwax, who had been lying still for ten days with skin as smooth as a boiled egg, and replied.

"He's healthy."

"Tsk. You're quite cheeky. Don't you know who I am? Well, a maid hired by such a mansion wouldn't know much. I am Lord Pedigal, a close friend of your late master."

What was he trying to say?

It seemed he wanted me to be shocked and beg. There was actually something to be shocked about, though.

The fact that this Lord, who claimed to be a noble, came three times a month to demand the sale of the mansion.

"Before he died, he left me a request to help the new Lord Weatherwax settle in this city. So, don't worry and just be honest. Is everything fine with the Lord? Is there really nothing I can help with? Huh?"

"There isn't."

The noble, moved by my polite answer, opened his eyes wide.

"Really, really! I was sure of it from your attitude. There is no new Lord Weatherwax here! This is just an empty mansion with two maids to make it look occupied. If the Lord lived here, a mere maid wouldn't speak like that!"

I was also certain. This man was a schemer after the Weatherwax family's inheritance.

A despicable man. He would strip the fleas of their backs. What could he possibly take from a family that had already sold all their silverware?

Bang!

The noble, who didn't act like a guest, opened the front door and pushed me into the mansion.

The head maid, startled, followed with a tense expression.

"What are you doing, Lord!"

The noble sneered at the head maid's cry.

"You go outside and make sure no one enters the mansion. You, search the mansion for something to use as a whip. It's perfect. I was wondering how long the Weatherwax head maid would keep her mouth shut. I need to make her understand her place."

"Yes."

"Understood."

Following the noble's orders, one of them closed the front door and stood guard, another disappeared down the right corridor, and the last one stood between the head maid and me.

The noble, who had been quietly surveying the interior of the mansion, fixed his gaze on a portrait hanging above the stairs. It was a portrait of the late Lord Weatherwax.

"A familiar face. How would my friend lament the state of this mansion? It's been four years since he died in the Mage War, hasn't it? Time flies."

The Mage War.

If I were to explain what this war was, it would take a long time, so let's skip it. Just remember it was a terrible war that lasted nearly ten years.

The noble, with a greedy look, surveyed the interior and smiled sardonically.

"For the sake of the one who sacrificed himself for his country, I must help the new Lord Weatherwax. There's no other way to honor my fallen friend. Yes, that's right."

It was a short statement.

But my heart raced, and hot blood surged through my body like a tide.

Just because he dismissed the Mage War in a few words, it doesn't mean he can dismiss the countless sacrifices it contained.

The fallen were those who left to protect their loved ones and friends. To use such a noble sacrifice as an excuse for personal, dirty desires was unacceptable.

As someone who had witnessed the ten years of horror, I couldn't let this pass.

There is a code of conduct, and for this man, it was to honor his friend's sacrifice, not to covet Lord Weatherwax's wealth.

But the noble's actions were far from honoring his friend's sacrifice. This meant that the noble was not Lord Weatherwax's friend.

Since a non-friend had forcibly entered the mansion, this man was a thief.

That was my conclusion.

"Lord, I've brought it."

"Good, I like the sturdy look of it."

The noble, who had received a shovel from his subordinate, turned to me. He was going to use that shovel to whip me.

The head maid's expression turned cold.

"Stop now, Lord Pedigal. You mustn't touch that girl. Rather, take me..."

"Oh, head maid. Your concern for your subordinates is commendable. So, I'll give you one last chance. Tell me where Lord Weatherwax is. If you do, I promise not to harm any of the mansion's employees, including you. I mean it."

"The opportunity is not for you but for me. Please maintain your composure for your own safety..."

"Tsk, still not getting it? I'll count to three, and if you don't speak, I'll start whipping. You won't have a chance to complain. I'll take this girl and sell her as a slave in the East! One."

Talking about the East, he must be involved in the slave trade too?

A thief who can't even follow the code, and now a scumbag who deals in slaves?

As a diligent maid of the Weatherwax family, my stance was clear.

The head maid called me with a tense look.

"Daisy."

By the way, Daisy is my name.

The noble, who seemed to find the situation amusing, raised two fingers.

"Two."

"Please hold on."

I nodded obediently, as a good maid should.

"Yes."

Then I swung my right hand.

"Three... Gasp!"

The neatly dressed maid had only swung her right hand horizontally, but the sturdy noble flew like a stone and hit the wall.

The area instantly became quiet. The noble's subordinates, who had been staring blankly at the fallen noble, rushed to his side.

"Lord!"

The head maid called me with a stern look.

"Daisy!"

"Yes."

"I clearly warned you to hold back. Why didn't you listen? You know that using your strength puts the life of that sick badger at risk, don't you?"

"I'm holding back."

"Can you still say that in this situation?"

"My right hand couldn't hold back. Look."

I struck the cheeks of the two subordinates who were trying to help the fallen noble with my right hand.

"Gasp."

"Choke."

The two sturdy men fell on top of the noble. What a harmonious master-servant relationship.

"Can't control my right hand, can I? I'll scold it properly when this is over."

The head maid glared at me again, but it was beyond my control.

My right hand sometimes followed my heart rather than my head, and in such moments, even I, the owner of the body, couldn't consciously control it.

"What..."

After neatly finishing off the third subordinate who had fearlessly entered, I asked the head maid.

"Shall I ask?"

The head maid, who was the top contributor to the mansion's security, glared at me.

"Don't say such terrible things. Where did 'Roo' go?"

The unpleasant name made my brows furrow.

"Out to buy groceries."

"Don't be so brief. Ha, there's nothing I can do. These people will be... in front of the mansion..."

"Should I hang them by their necks?"

"I'll just sit them down normally. Normally."

"Sending them back will complicate the aftermath."

"Will hanging them simplify it? It's surprising that you can make such a rational judgment, Miss Daisy. While they did act wrongly, it's hard to say they committed a crime worthy of... execution. Sending them back is the right thing to do. Since this was also a form of self-defense, we can resolve it appropriately. Trust the Weatherwax family. They will protect us to the end."

As someone who knew the true nature of Lord Weatherwax, I found this persuasion hard to trust.

But a maid must do as she is told.

Following the head maid's request, I had to carry the grown men like princesses and move them outside the mansion.

I laid them in a row on the paved road and wished for them to be trampled to death by horse hooves.

They say a maid's other name is hardship. The hardships of hardship are endless.