Chapter 40

by Jessie@AFNCC

It has been another month since I stopped the shitty routine of Ethan calling me every hour.

With more free time from my busy schedule, I maximized my remaining time as efficiently as possible.

Of course, I was still restricted from going outside, and as an indentured maid, I couldn’t just leave the mansion freely anyway.

The efficient way I utilized my time was naturally limited to things I could do inside the mansion.

Last time, I casually tried to ask the head maid if I could get permission to go out again, but the reaction wasn’t good.

<…Lilith Rosewood? Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten the ruckus you caused last time and are shamelessly asking for permission to go out? Go to the etiquette training room right now…>

<Ah, no! I just wanted to ask if you had any errands in the commercial district, Head Maid! That’s why I…>

Judging from Head Maid Melissa’s reaction, which I witnessed recently, it seems it will still take more time before Lilith gets free permission to go out.

I had to hastily make up another excuse to calm Melissa’s anger.

Having to face that dragon lady one-on-one in the etiquette training room was something even I tried to avoid.

So, the ways I could spend my remaining time inside the mansion were limited to just a few options.

The most productive activity was knitting.

“…Lilith, you inserted that part wrong there.”

“Ah, you’re right. It would have been a big problem if I hadn’t noticed later.”

Lately, whenever I had free time, I would head to Isabel’s room to learn how to knit, using my free time as productively as possible.

I didn’t understand before why characters in comics and anime always spent time knitting. Still, these days, I can somewhat understand why those characters were created.

Apart from trying to make money from knitting, in this damn medieval fantasy world, knitting is about the only leisure activity available to maids.

Electronic devices like smartphones and even books and paper were difficult to obtain.

And doing fitness training in these cumbersome maid outfits was out of the question.

Knitting was the most popular pastime among maids since the materials were easy to obtain and the finished products were easy to sell.

I regularly bought knitting supplies from the wagon driver who delivered goods between the commercial district and the mansion.

And sometimes, when I completed a knitting project, I would sell it back to him.

Knitting products made by the Blackwood family maids were one of the reasonably profitable items.

This way, I could slowly save up to prepare for when I eventually leave the Blackwood mansion.

If I would start a second life as an adventurer somewhere, I needed to save up at least a decent starting capital.

Being an adventurer was quite grueling, especially if one started without initial capital. They’d have to pay the adventurer registration fee at the guild, afford basic needs and lodging, etc.

It also didn’t pay very well until reaching the upper ranks.

It would be the same if I chose another profession besides being an adventurer.

Opening a shop somewhere required an enormously large starting capital, just like in my previous life.

Of course, areas with enough floating population to do business would naturally have high land prices.

Luckily, this world doesn’t have things like key money *1, at least.

Anyway, no matter what future I envisioned, slowly saving up these small amounts of money was an important factor.

These days, I’ve been gradually learning from Isabel and making knitting products.

‘To be honest, if I really wanted to make money efficiently, I should register as an adventurer and hunt monsters with magic…’

I really hate this damn indentured maid status. I leveled up for once but can’t utilize it, so I’m stuck inside the mansion.

…Well, at least these days aren’t all bad compared to before.

Gathering in Isabel’s room to casually chat together is a blessing in itself.

“By the way, Lilith, how have things been with your work lately?”

“Nothing much. Just…waking up the young master in the morning, straightening his bedding, cleaning and moving laundry, that’s about it.”

“When you first became his exclusive maid, you were called away so often that I thought being an exclusive maid was extremely busy.”

“I…I thought so too…”

“…It was just really hectic for the first few months with various things. Now that it’s all settled, it’s become manageable.”

My work hours were adjusted through an amicable agreement with the person involved. …Though our lives did hang in the balance during that process.

Of course, Ethan still called me when something truly requiring a maid came up (like accidentally breaking something in his room, etc.), but not a single prank was pulled on me on those days I was summoned after that one time.

Come to think of it, my emotional outburst and charging at him back then ended up being a good thing in the end.

Moreover, after I called him out about his table manners last time, these days, he seems to be clumsily trying to use a fork and knife properly when eating.

I guess you really do have to call a mad dog mad for it to learn.

“By the way, you’re amazing Lilith.”

“Hm?”

“I mean Ethan, the young master. He was famous for never listening to the head maid’s etiquette lessons before, right? But these days, the head maid says he’s been diligently attending every class.”

“Ah, I…I heard that, too… As expected of Lilith…”

“How did you do it? Lilith, how did you convince the young master to attend the etiquette lessons?”

“…It has nothing to do with me.”

And it must have nothing to do with me.

If word spread around the mansion that I straightened out that brat by strangling him, my life could be in danger.

It’s the same with me whispering insults like “disgusting” in his ear in the dining room.

Especially if Harold were to find out what I did, a punishment far more horrific than what Ariana or Alicia faced would surely rain down on me.

“Geez, there you go again. There must have been something between you and the young master, right?”

“There was nothing, I’m telling you.”

“Oh, right! If Lilith says there was nothing, then there really was nothing!”

“……”

Isabel shoots me a slightly suspicious look as Catherine blatantly covers for me.

If there really wasn’t anything between Catherine and me, Isabel’s “sharp intuition” could potentially discern the secret between us.

The secret that I can use magic, and Catherine thinks I’m a noble lady, so she’s covering for me.

Fortunately, my relationship with Catherine wasn’t solely based on that one thing.

The incident where I helped clear Catherine’s name was something Isabel was already well aware of. Thanks to that, Catherine’s overt attitude towards me didn’t raise much suspicion.

‘Let’s just keep like this.’

By the way, Catherine herself also thought Ethan’s change in attitude was because of me.

She thought the change wasn’t simply due to my education as his exclusive maid but because I, supposedly some noble lady, had negotiated with Ethan.

Of course, it was a completely nonsensical misunderstanding, but it had gone on for too long to correct now.

Catherine wasn’t the type to readily reveal secrets about me, so I just let it go.

I turned my gaze back to Isabel and warned her about the suspicion she had directed at me earlier.

“Isabel.”

“Yes?”

“I understand you’re curious, but it’s better not to mention the young master too much.”

“Hm?”

“You saw what the master was like last time in the etiquette training room when Senior Ariana said one wrong thing to the young master, right?”

“Ah, that’s true…” Searᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“I too… was scared of the master back then…”

Harold was so singularly devoted to loving his son that a remark like ‘Ethan lied’ would make him emanate a chilling aura.

If I carelessly let slip comments like ‘the young master has changed’ or ‘the young master is different from before‘, and they reached Harold’s ears, it would not bode well.

He would undoubtedly ask sternly, ‘Then what was Ethan like before?’

Though relatively kindhearted for a noble, there was no need to provoke a ‘sword master capable of physical enhancement magic’ over a few casual remarks, even if severe punishment was unlikely.

“Ah, Isabel. Can you show me how to knit this part? If I want to connect this seam naturally…”

“Here? It’s better to fill the gap with the knitting needle and finish it off. You do it like this…”

And so, another half a year passed by living the quotidian life of an ordinary maid together with Isabel and Catherine.

It had already been a year since I regained my memories.

T/N

Key money refers to a fee paid by a lessee to a landlord or property owner to secure, renew, or extend a lease. In South Korea, key money (전세, jeonse) is treated similarly to a security deposit. Tenants provide a substantial lump-sum deposit, typically ranging from 50% to 80% of the property’s market value, instead of paying monthly rent. This deposit is refunded to the tenant at the conclusion of the lease period.

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!

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