Chapter 3

Minan opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

"Excuse me, then."

She bowed to the lord and lady in the room and quietly closed the door. It had been three years since she started serving as a maid in the Kleinzelt household. Due to the successive "punishments" of the senior maids, she, with her limited experience, had been assigned to attend to Sora Kleinzelt, the heir, for the past year.

She was proud of how she had managed to handle things without any issues.

"Until today..."

She muttered, looking up at the sun through the hallway window. She regretted telling Sora about the state of the territory, almost under duress. She had even said things that could be interpreted as criticism of the lord.

If this were to be known, she would not see tomorrow's sunrise.

"Still, what was that all about?"

Minan muttered to herself. She was deeply troubled by Sora's various malicious actions, despite the fact that Sora never made any demands and always avoided causing trouble for the servants.

Had Sora been poisoned by the lord? They were of the same Kleinzelt lineage. Blood is thicker than water.

"The thought of Lady Sora becoming a monstrous pig like the lord... I don't even want to think about it. If she grows up to be like that, I'll take responsibility and die with her."

She muttered a disrespectful comment to herself. She walked down the hallway, where expensive landscape paintings and vases were placed. A maid who had come to the mansion the day before was cleaning with a gloomy face. She sent a sympathetic glance to the poor new maid who had been invited to a living hell.

After all, this mansion was fraught with danger. A small mistake could lead to execution, being noticed by the lord could put one's chastity at risk, and being glared at by the lady of the house could result in being sold to a brothel.

To avoid these, one needed either a powerful patron or to show such exceptional ability that it would be a loss to let one go.

How long could the new maid, who was new to this harsh workplace, last?

"Hey, new girl. You're from a fishing village, right?"

Remembering the task Sora had given her, Minan called out to the new maid.

"Y-Yes."

Caught off guard, the new maid straightened her back and replied in a high-pitched voice.

"Relax, take a deep breath."

"Sorry..."

Following Minan's advice, the new maid took two deep breaths and calmed down. Seeing this, Minan got to the point.

"Have you ever seen grass that's frozen all year round at your home?"

"Frozen grass, you say?"

"Don't look so worried. I'm just asking out of curiosity, so don't worry."

There's no such thing as grass that's frozen all year round, she continued to herself.

Minan wasn't doing this to bully the new maid. Sora had asked her to bring grass that was frozen all year round. However, it was impossible to find something that didn't exist.

Minan began to suspect that she herself was being bullied.

As she pondered this, the new maid hesitantly spoke up.

"There is grass that looks frozen along the coastline. It's salty, right?"

"...It exists. The world is full of things I don't know."

The information about the salty grass matched what Sora had told her. The characteristic of growing by the sea also matched.

"Lady Sora wants it. She says she'll give you a day off using her authority as the next lord, so can you go and get it?"

"Really, I can take a day off!?"

The new maid's gloomy expression vanished, and her eyes sparkled with hope. It was understandable, given the chance to escape this living hell, even for a short while. Minan would have run away immediately if she had the chance.

"However, the condition is to bring the frozen grass with the soil. Understand?"

"Yes! But why does she want such grass?"

"Who knows? She's at the age where she wants to know everything, so she probably just wants to see it. She also said to bring more than ten plants. And bring a fisherman with you."

Minan had talked about fishing to the extent of her knowledge, but it wasn't enough to satisfy Sora's curiosity. That's why she was told to bring a real fisherman.

After explaining the situation, the new maid seemed to be thinking of a suitable local fisherman.

"Understood. I'll go right away–"

As she was about to leave, Minan grabbed the back of her neck and held her back.

"Finish your cleaning first."

"Tch..."

Ignoring the new maid's tongue click, Minan left the scene.

The task wasn't over yet.

"The rest is to gather as many old clothes as possible and secure a hundred wooden boards, and to check the town's situation and the body types of the homeless, right?"

It seemed that noble children had different interests from commoners.

She thought there was something else she was supposed to do, but couldn't remember what it was.

"Well, never mind."

Giving up on trying to remember, Minan left the mansion.

She would start by checking the body types of the homeless.

If she stayed in the mansion, she might be noticed by the lord and taken to his bedroom, so it was better to run away.