"It looks like the kind of mansion the devil would come out of."
Even the doorbell was out of order, so I had to shake the bars of the front gate to call someone.
After shaking the gate nonstop for about three minutes, a person came out of the front door.
A woman in her thirties, dressed as an employee, looked at my face and opened the main gate.
"Is this Miss Daisy Fager, who came to work as a maid? I apologize for being late. I am the head maid of the Weatherwoods mansion. Please, come in."
The maid, who was about to guide me to the entrance, stopped and looked at me.
"Where is your luggage?"
Just as I was about to shake my head, I remembered the interviewer's advice.
"I come empty-handed."
The maid gave me a strange look and then turned around.
"Originally, maids cannot use the main door or the front entrance, but you can use it comfortably in this mansion."
We passed through a barren garden that looked as if it had been ravaged by war.
"The owner of this mansion is Viscount Weatherwood, alone. We are three employees—you and I, and the cook and gardener who will arrive in three days. Your work will be distributed appropriately. Whether it's cooking, cleaning, laundry, or tending the garden."
We stepped onto the faded carpet of the main hall and went up the stairs.
"Salaries are paid on the first day of each month, and the workday starts at 6 in the morning and ends at 7 in the evening."
We arrived at a room at the end of the hallway; the dusty windows passed by.
The maid opened the door, and a spacious bedroom greeted us.
"It's large, isn't it? The only place where a maid can use a bedroom on the second floor, not the attic, the annex, or the basement, would be the Weatherwood mansion."
The reason I discovered it was a bedroom was due to the presence of a large, old bed placed against the wall.
Luxurious but old stoves; luxurious but old desks; chairs; black curtains that would probably shy away from dust if moved; luxurious but rusty iron chests; and there was even a door that seemed to lead to a bathroom.
This was a decently furnished room. As the head maid said, it was quite good for a maid to use.
"You are free to enter and leave anywhere in the mansion. There is only one thing to keep in mind," the maid warned me with a firm voice. "Do not enter the Master's bedroom. And if anyone asks about the Master's whereabouts, let them know he is out. There are no exceptions—be they acquaintances, friends, or distant relatives. The Master is very busy, so he cannot greet outsiders. Make sure you remember this."
I nodded.
"Don't just nod; answer."
"Yes."
I think I was told to add something after saying yes... I forgot.
"Ha, you really are... no, then, go and unpack now. Then start working immediately—oh wait, did you say you had no luggage? If so, take a ten-minute break and then come down to the first floor. I heard it's the first time you've done this job, so I folded clothes for you to use there. Let's get along in the future."
The maid quickly left the room, leaving only her words behind.
I was left alone, but I wasn't in the mood to feel sentimental about it. I threw myself onto the bed.
"Cough!"
Dust covered my body almost immediately, but I didn't feel like getting up. It had been a while since I had a bed; I felt as if I were going to melt into it.
After I lost consciousness in the face-to-face confrontation with the Great Wizard Mephisto, the next time I opened my eyes was, surprisingly, almost four years later.
I woke up and found myself in a wasteland of ashes; my appearance was no longer that of my younger brother, Andert.
The male body, which had been maintained by powerful ancient magic, had returned to the originally female body.
Did I die and fall into hell?
The question didn't last long. Because I heard a strong heartbeat inside my chest.
"...I definitely died."
But had I come back to life? How the hell did that work?
I went down to the town I loved, but there were no human beings there. The town had been burned and remained a war-torn site.
There I found a garment that looked like a dress and headed to the port. Fortunately, there was a military post on the coast, where some soldiers found me and took me to the post.
Later, the soldier, who was investigating my status, looked at the loose sleeve of the dress I was wearing and asked;
"Bertie? Is your name Bertie?"
Bertie Lushan.
The name was engraved in small letters on the inside of the sleeve, and it was one I knew very well.
This was Bertie.
I stroked the name of the friend who had died long ago with my fingertips.
Bertie and her family died in the war. It was during the air raid by the wizard Mephisto. I still vividly remembered the day I picked up their bodies and buried them in the ground.
"You look very young; how old are you? Is your name Bertie?"
After a brief series of thoughts, I nodded.
The subsequent investigation was completed at a rapid pace. Bertie was an old friend of mine from home. Since I knew her home, her family, and her life better than anyone else, falsifying her identity was very easy.
Sorry, Bertie.
I would borrow her name for a while and then give it back to her.
"Don't worry, Miss Bertie. The world is safe now. The Magic Union defeated Mephisto and achieved peace! Four years have passed. The Empire is now at peace!"
I heard from the soldiers every detail of what happened to the Union during the last four years and in what direction the empire had gone.
They encouraged me to act as a refugee in the southern part of the Empire, but I refused.
The reason was simple. Because I didn't want to get trapped there and get involved with my former comrades, including Raphael.
By that time, I realized that this body had a major defect.
When the soul of the great wizard Mephisto and my soul collided in a massive impact, the lifespan of my original body was reduced to three years.
I had no desire to reunite with Raphael in this body.
I was no longer Andert, and I had no reason to live as Andert either.
Were Raphael and all my old comrades not the links that belonged to Andert?
Even if I return with a shattered woman's body, I will only receive sympathy and compassion.
I didn't want to provoke their guilt.
Considering this and that, I felt that the best way was to live as "me" in the future, not as Andert.
I will repair this broken body while I live as myself.
Even if it was impossible, I'd try.
To do this, I chose Midwinterre among the many cities of the Empire.
If I could find that hidden thing in Midwinterre, my life could be prolonged.
After that, memories of the month before my arrival here came to mind, but I stopped thinking about them. After all, from the beginning to the end, it had only been a struggle.
When I put on the maid clothes and went down to the first floor, the maid was waiting for me.
"I spent a lot of money to bring you here. I would like you to last at least a week. That way, you will get paid for your work and you can leave."
Was that why the interviewer looked at me as if I were a goose that laid golden eggs?
"Shall we start? You have a lot of work to catch up on. It's going to be a bit difficult."
From that moment on, the head maid started making me work like a slave.
And I really worked like a slave.
Dusting the chandelier in the main hall that seemed not to have been cleaned in a century, cleaning it, and reinstalling it.
Dusting the stair handrails. Cleaning with a cleaning brush. Shaking out large carpets. Brushing indefinitely. Cleaning window sills. The windows themselves. Oiling the...
Was this even a house? Was I a maid? Or a slave?
Was I a slave?
"As expected, the speed is much faster when there are two of us doing it. Your head turns quickly and you have good stamina."
It was a sincere exclamation, but I couldn't even laugh.
The maid was the one who would feed me, let me sleep, and give me money for the next three years. So I shouldn't hit her. Despite the impulse.
"The sky is already cloudy. I think we should go shopping before sunset. I'll be finishing today's work, so go run an errand."
The maid was the one who would feed me, let me sleep, and give me money for the next three years. I shouldn't answer back.
"Here are the ingredients and expenses you will need. Don't even think about sneaking off with even a single thing. I know the market price of every ingredient in the nearby market. It's not good to disagree with the merchants, so be polite. Especially regarding your way of speaking."
If you're so worried, buy it yourself.
It must be the maid's duty to protect the mansion somehow.
The time had come to leave the mansion for a few cents worth of products.
"Oh, no! Be careful with your head. You'll be in big trouble if your pretty face gets scratched, miss."
A large table brushed past my face amidst the bustle.
I wondered what was happening and saw men removing furniture from the house across from the Weatherwoods mansion one by one.
"They are moving."
Will the owner change? I don't think I'd like to have a mysterious neighbor for the house across the street.