Episode 6
When Gremory came to her senses, she was already dressed in a maid uniform like Anna’s.
Even the bandages that had been tightly wrapped around her body were gone. Apparently, when she had used a bit of force while healing her leg, it had ended up restoring all her other injuries as well.
Cestion stood with his arms crossed, studying her condition.
“Hm. How did you recover so quickly? Did feeding her a lot of meat from the Northern Snow Tribe do the trick?”
“Maybe!” Anna said brightly, looping both arms around Gremory’s left arm. “Our Mori, can she work with me in the laundry room?”
The way she had gone from “Miss Mori” to simply “Mori” felt strangely irritating.
And to think Anna’s kindness had been purely motivated by the desire to make her work.
What exactly was I expecting?
“Hm. The laundry room would be fine, but it might be better for Mori to look around and choose for herself. For today, follow the head maid and get a sense of the overall atmosphere.”
At that moment, a middle-aged head maid appeared with a gentle smile. Gremory puffed out her lower lip slightly and followed after her.
I, Gremory, am supposed to do household chores? Me?
If anything, she’d rather be dragged onto a battlefield and ordered to slaughter enemy troops. Or told to spread plague through the Crown Prince’s household.
Housework—of all things. In the Demon Realm, she had been part of the upper leadership, handling affairs of great importance. And now she was expected to do laundry, cleaning, and serving snacks.
Damn it. Well, it can’t be helped.
Gremory squeezed her eyes shut in reluctant acceptance.
Her goal was to live quietly in this household, unnoticed, like dust. A maid was practically part of the manor itself—like furniture or decoration. If she became one, she could avoid the attention of other witches. Besides, how difficult could trivial human chores possibly be?
…Or so she thought.
“Good heavens, Mori. ‘Laundry’ means you wet the clothes, then apply soap. No, why are you trying to eat the soap?”
“I thought you’d be good at physical labor since you’re from the Northern Snowfields, but you’re completely like a noble lady. Oh my, a heated frying pan is hot! Don’t touch it! …Don’t tell me that look means you’re wondering what a frying pan is?”
“You can’t possibly not know what a broom is… right?”
Human work was far more complicated than it looked. Deceptively simple, yet strangely exhausting. She wanted to use magic, but there was no such thing as magic developed for chores. In the backward Demon Realm, all such tasks were left to slaves.
The head maid’s face gradually turned pale. She had come to a grim realization: there was nothing Mori could be assigned to do.
“What am I supposed to do with this girl…?”
What am I supposed to do? Gremory stood there with one leg casually crossed, looking utterly unconcerned.
The head maid, sighing deeply, silently dubbed her the “hopeless noble lady.”
Cestion, who happened to pass by and witness the scene, let out a faint laugh as he approached.
“So Mori was raised like a proper noble princess, was she?”
“……”
“In that case, perhaps she’s better suited to being a lady-in-waiting rather than a maid. How about becoming my personal attendant?”
“…?”
The head maid, who had been listening nearby, abruptly stood up.
“Are you certain about this? If she becomes a lady-in-waiting, she’ll have to learn everything from Lady Isolen. You know her personality very well.”
“I do. I think she and Mori will get along quite well.”
“I believe they are complete opposites.”
“We’ll let her try for a few days. If it doesn’t work out, we can always assign her elsewhere.”
Sigh… I don’t understand this at all. Please do as Your Grace wishes.
With a dissatisfied expression, the head maid left.
Isolen? Gremory tilted her gaze at Cestion in question. He responded with a gentle smile.
“Isolen is my only personal attendant. She comes from the Count’s family of Sien. Truthfully, she alone is already enough to handle everything, but if the two of you work together, things will be much easier. Both of you could enjoy a more comfortable life, in a noble sense.”
“……”
“Let’s start by changing your clothes. Something more suitable for a lady-in-waiting—a proper dress.”
Gremory changed into a dress with Anna’s help. While Anna assisted her, Gremory scribbled in a small notebook.
『What is the difference between a maid and a lady-in-waiting? Why must I wear a dress?』
“Hm, in terms of rank, a lady-in-waiting is much higher than a maid! They’re usually from noble families, so they wear dresses to maintain their dignity. Anyway, it’s an honor, Mori! Congratulations on becoming a lady again.”
『But why yellow? Is there no black?』
“Black is only for mourning clothes. Now, stop writing and stand still.”
After changing, Gremory stood in front of the mirror with a look of utter distaste.
Then she headed toward Cestion’s office.
Before opening the door, she paused.
Voices were coming from inside—Cestion’s, and another woman’s she did not recognize. It seemed to belong to this Isolen.
“Am I really that lacking? To the point you need to bring in a new lady-in-waiting?”
“I already told you. I’m not replacing your position.”
“You once said one attendant was enough.”
“I did. But you look like you’ve been overworking yourself. I simply wanted to give you some breathing room.”
“…I don’t need breathing room. Even if it’s hard, I just want to stay by your side. Only me.”
So it seemed she had unknowingly become a rival to Isolen.
Gremory clicked her tongue and swung the door open.
Inside, a startled woman with green eyes turned toward her. Her eyes were red-rimmed, as if she had been crying.
And that woman—Isolen—had black hair.
Clearly, she was someone who had been persecuted by witch hunters, rescued by Cestion, and had since fallen in love with him, choosing to serve as his attendant.
“…I won’t teach anything to that woman.”
With a sharp, prickly attitude, Isolen bumped shoulders with Gremory and stormed out of the office.
Cestion rubbed his face tiredly.
“Ha… I didn’t expect her to react like that. Mori, I’m sorry. I thought the two of you would get along since you’re both difficult personalities, but I was mistaken.”
“……”
“When I first rescued Isolen, she was just like you, Mori. Anyway… huh? Mori? Where are you going?”
Gremory had already left the office and was following after Isolen.
Sensing her presence, Isolen quickened her pace as if trying to avoid her. Then she suddenly stopped, turned around, and snapped:
“Don’t think you can easily take the position I worked so hard to obtain. No matter what you say, I have no intention of acknowledging you as a colleague. Just stay shut up in the break room all day.”
Gremory nodded obediently.
Yes. That’s exactly what I want, you black-haired temperamental woman. You do all the work. I’ll relax in the break room.
Her unusually compliant reaction made Isolen falter.
“…You’re really going to just sit in the break room?”
Gremory pulled out her notebook and wrote:
『You do all the work. Break room is mine.』
“……”
Isolen’s expression twisted strangely.
If she really had to do all the work alone, it would actually be a huge loss.
The workload of a lady-in-waiting was, honestly, quite heavy. That was why she had secretly wished another person would be assigned to help her.
She just hadn’t expected someone like Mori.
Beautiful. Completely unlike her expectation. Someone who looked like trouble in every possible way.
『Don’t complain later. This is what you wanted.』
As Gremory showed the message and stretched lazily, about to walk past her, Isolen grabbed her shoulder.
“Wait.”
“?”
“…I’ll at least teach you how to organize the remaining documents. Go sit in the break room and do that.”
Gremory shook her head.
With light, drifting steps, she left.
The break room was spacious and luxurious, meant for the ladies-in-waiting. A refreshing space decorated in white with accents of green.
Though soon enough, it would become dark, gloomy, and tinged in crimson.
Just as she was about to remove a silver candleholder—
“Don’t touch my things.”
Isolen appeared again, carrying a stack of documents, her face full of dissatisfaction.
“Since it’s a shared space, don’t change anything. Sit down. Put the candleholder away.”
The two sat across from each other at the table.
Isolen pushed a pile of complicated documents toward Gremory and began explaining. To Gremory, who was unfamiliar with human affairs, it might as well have been written in an alien language.
Isolen finished her explanation without caring whether Gremory understood or not, then stood up.
“Something this simple should be manageable, right?”
Gremory crossed her legs, rested her chin on the back of her hand, and pouted.
It meant: I’m not doing it.
Isolen smiled faintly.
“Do you know what happens to useless black-haired women in this household?”
“…?”
“They get kicked out—with hair dye.”
“…!”
Gremory’s eyes widened slightly.
