Chapter 3
The game wasn’t fun at all.
Under the sharp, piercing gaze directed at me, I shrank back.
I want to leave… I seriously want to quit.
The dark gray eyes glaring at me made her seem even colder.
“Were you really that sick?”
“Uh… y-yes. I was… sick.”
I lowered my head and mumbled.
“Really?”
“Yes… I truly was.”
I spoke in a tiny voice, doing my best to look pitiful.
The head maid wasn’t an important character. In the original story, only her name appeared, so it was hard to understand her. I secretly glanced at the status window that appeared beside her name.
★★★
McKenna
Gender: Female
Age: 45
Notes: Practical, maid-type. Cold yet warm personality. Head maid of the Vicious Marquis household.
Affinity: ●●○○○
Still, with two affinity points, shouldn’t she at least have some affection for me?
Then why was she staring at me so harshly?
Her gaze was so intense it felt like I might take damage.
And, as expected—
[McKenna’s anger has reduced your HP by 2.]
You’ve got to be kidding me…
I slowly stepped backward.
[McKenna’s anger has reduced your HP by 1.]
Another notification popped up.
I glanced at it—my already low HP had dropped again.
[Tip! HP can be restored through rest or other methods.]
Even the tip wasn’t helpful.
“Seriously…”
This is ridiculous. It doesn’t even give me time to rest, and that’s the tip it gives?
Only after I gritted my teeth and stepped back a couple more steps did the HP loss stop.
I felt miserable again, realizing how weak this body was.
“Who made you work so hard that you ended up bedridden for days?”
“Pardon?”
Startled by McKenna’s sharp tone, I took another step back.
“If something was too much for you, you should’ve said so and asked someone else to handle it.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Everyone here knows your body is weak. Is this the first time you’ve collapsed?”
“…No?”
Her scolding continued, and I nodded repeatedly.
It reminded me of being harshly criticized by my boss back in my previous life.
“If you’re weak, you should at least learn to manage things properly.”
“Yes, yes… I’m sorry…”
“You insisted on washing clothes in cold water and ended up sick for a week. You could’ve just asked Betty to do it. Do you even know how many people worry about you?”
Her words poured out—half scolding, half concern.
“Yes, yes… I’m sorry—no, thank you for worrying—no, I mean, I’m really sorry and thankful—no…”
“Ugh.”
At her heavy sigh, I shut my mouth.
I didn’t even know whether to apologize or thank her.
Was that two-point affinity really because of this harsh concern?
Thankfully, after stepping back, I stopped losing HP from her raised voice.
But if I couldn’t handle this situation, I might lose more.
I tightly shut my eyes and forced out tears.
She’s not just a head maid—she’s basically a workplace boss.
Someone I need to impress.
And since this is a game, if acting works, then that’s enough.
“The person I admire most in the world… is you, Head Maid. Your flawless appearance at all times! Your thorough work and lightning-fast efficiency! And even so, your elegance and composure never falter… I wanted to learn all of that from you…”
“……”
“You’re always busy, yet you still take care of us… so I thought I should at least try to do something… sniff…”
Tears fell again.
I forced them out, even though inside I felt like curling up in embarrassment.
Betty, who had been anxiously watching, stepped forward.
“Evelyn, don’t cry. Head maid Evelyn says she’ll do better. I’ll help her a lot, so please forgive her this time. Okay?”
This was where her four-point affinity really shined.
She wrapped an arm around me protectively.
I leaned slightly against her shoulder, clutching my broom as I trembled.
“…Sigh. Alright. Maybe I was a bit too harsh. So, are you feeling better now? Can you work?”
“Y-yes, of course.”
I have to if I want to clear quests.
“I’ll stay by Evelyn’s side and help her!”
McKenna still didn’t look fully convinced, but after hearing Betty, she finally allowed me to go to work.
Ta-da-da-dam! Bam! Bam!
A flashy sound rang out, and a sparkling window appeared.
Unlike the others, this one had a luxurious golden frame.
⩙⩙⩙
Congratulations! Tutorial Complete!
Reward: (10) Gold
Your journey in the Demortva Empire begins now!
⩙⩙⩙
What part of that was a tutorial?!
This is completely different from the first test!
If dying twice and getting hit by McKenna’s anger just to reach work counts as a tutorial… then the rest of this journey is obviously going to be brutal.
Still—
10 gold as a reward?!
Compared to the tiny scraps I got before, this felt like winning the lottery.
Honestly, the developer of this game must either be incredibly petty, mentally fragile… or downright cruel.
I didn’t expect this… I’m already exhausted.
Ba-bam!
Another dramatic sound played.
[Episode 1. The Vicious Marquis Household
The era of the Demortva Empire has begun! You are a maid in the prestigious Vicious Marquis family. You are spending peaceful days with kind coworkers.
But something is wrong.
Dark clouds are approaching.
Laura’s wrath has reached the Vicious household.
Hurry—avoid her wrath and protect those you cherish.
The episode notification appeared and disappeared.
If this were a novel, this would be where the main story begins.
“Lady Bianca’s personal maid, Reina, won’t be coming for a while. Evelyn, you’ll take her place. Betty, you help in the laundry room.”
As soon as the head maid finished speaking, a quest window appeared.
Ding!
[Main Scenario I-1 Quest has arrived.] Become Bianca’s temporary personal maid and attend to her.]
[Reward: (1) Gold, (50) Silver ▶ Continue]
Finally—a main scenario quest.
The first mission began, fittingly, with meeting one of the main characters.
The only daughter of the Vicious Marquis family.
The one desired by Laura, the final boss of Laura’s Chronicle.
The heroine of both the original novel and the game—
Bianca Erze is vicious.
Please don’t let me die from getting hit with a teapot or something…
According to the world setting, even a passing sparrow would be so charmed by her kindness that it would stay.
True to her name, Bianca had an angelic appearance.
She was kind, warm, and loved by everyone.
She even remembered every maid by name.
Because of this, she was incredibly popular—not just among nobles, but also among servants.
She was the complete opposite of Laura, who drove the world toward destruction.
Honestly, I don’t want to get anywhere near the main characters.
With this fragile, near-useless body, staying close to them is basically like jumping into a pit of fire.
But to complete the scenario quests, I have no choice but to stay by her side.
So for smooth progress, I need to secure at least a small place in her favor.
I tightened my grip on my lifeline—the old broom—and made up my resolve.
“Leave the broom behind, Evelyn.”
Betty pointed at it, looking at me oddly.
“Huh?”
“You’re not planning to serve her with that, are you? The head maid already left. Let’s go.”
“Oh—right. I was just about to leave it.”
While Betty looked away, I pretended to lean it against the wall.
and quietly stored it in my inventory.
As we walked side by side toward Bianca’s room, I noticed people staring and whispering all around us.
“That’s Evelyn.”
“Wow… it’s my first time seeing her this close. Her skin is glowing.”
“Evelyn, please look this way just once!”
Betty clicked her tongue.
“Ugh, here we go again. Evelyn, don’t pay attention to them, okay? It’ll just tire you out. It’s because you’re way too pretty.”
“Haha…”
At the same time, I remembered the pile of flowers and gifts that had nearly crushed me earlier.
So this is because of my charm stat.
…What a ridiculous effect.
This is going to be exhausting.
