This is a story from Catherine’s perspective.
“Alright, let’s start with cleaning here. The pots displayed on the side seem to be valuable, so be careful.”
“Yes.”
Under Yuria’s instruction, Catherine began cleaning. She regularly cleaned at Marie’s Bakery, so the task itself was not problematic.
“Catherine, you have a good knack for this. Once we’re done here, we’ll move on.”
“Yes.”
Catherine received instructions for cleaning areas one after another from Yuria. As she became absorbed in her work, she completely forgot what she was originally supposed to be doing.
“Catherine, quick! The Queen is coming. Stop what you’re doing and move to the side. Don’t forget to bow your head.”
“What? Ah, yes.”
From a distance, she saw a woman dressed in beautiful clothes, accompanied by several servants, walking towards them. Seeing the Queen at the center of the group, Catherine remembered what she had to do. The other maids cleaning also stopped their work and moved to the side, bowing to the Queen. Catherine hurriedly stopped cleaning and bowed beside Yuria.
“Oh?”
She had thought they would just pass by, but suddenly, the Queen stopped in front of Catherine and the others. Yuria next to her trembled, wondering if she had done something wrong.
“Please raise your faces.”
“Yes!”
At the Queen’s words, Catherine and Yuria looked up.
“Hehehe, you must be new? Listen carefully to your tutor and do your best. …Oh? You can’t even reply?”
“Ca, Catherine, reply, reply.”
“Ah, yes, thank you.”
The Queen, with a happy-looking expression as if she had found an interesting toy, spoke. Catherine, who had expected to be told something else, was at a loss for words, but Yuria, next to her, nudged her with her elbow, prompting her to reply. Catherine hurriedly thanked the Queen for speaking to her. After listening to Catherine’s reply with satisfaction, the Queen and her entourage left as if nothing had happened.
“I was so surprised. I thought we had done something wrong.”
“Yuria, your forehead is covered in sweat!”
“Well, of course. How can you remain so calm when facing the Queen? In a way, I’m impressed.”
While Yuria’s forehead was beaded with sweat from tension, Catherine remained calm. Since she saw the Queen regularly in both her public and private life, she had been nervous at first, but she had become accustomed to seeing the Queen.
“The Queen said so, so I must do my best. Come on, let’s resume work.”
“Ah, yes.”
Motivated by the Queen’s words, Yuria showed more enthusiasm than before and continued the cleaning work briskly.
(Judging from the Queen’s tone, today’s training is probably canceled. It means I should continue my work as a maid.)
Catherine interpreted the Queen’s words that way.
“Alright, it’s time for a break. Let’s go back to the waiting room.”
“Yes, yes!”
After finishing the cleaning of their assigned area, Catherine and Yuria returned to the servants’ waiting room for a break.
“Do you know how to get your meal here?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Really? Then please follow me.”
It seemed they were going to have a slightly late breakfast. In the slightly larger dining hall next to the waiting room, various male and female servants were gathered, each taking their meal.
“Just take one of these trays and put on whatever you want to eat. Though there aren’t many varieties, it’s great that you can eat as much as you want for free. Apparently, servants of higher rank are assigned to a different dining hall and can eat better food than this. I wish I could taste it just once.”
According to Yuria, servants were assigned to two types of dining halls, and access depended on rank. Following Yuria’s movements, Catherine also placed food on her tray.
“Oh? Catherine, is the meal today not to your liking?”
“N-no, it’s not that…”
As she was eating her slightly late breakfast after preparing it, Yuria, who noticed Catherine wasn’t eating much, asked with concern. To be honest, the food here was not delicious. She often had meals with the Queen in the castle, so she was accustomed to food of royal quality or at least of good quality even when not dining together. Eating such meals constantly meant her palate had adjusted to them. Here, the ingredients were not of the best quality either, and the seasoning was simple. Furthermore, as the daughter of a baker, she found the taste of the flat bread she saw for the first time in a while unacceptable.
“Nowadays, fluffy bread is the mainstream in town, and we don’t see much of this kind of bread anymore. Once you get used to that taste, this bread, which you didn’t mind before, starts to taste bad. I understand.”
Seeing Catherine staring intently at the bread, Yuria seemed to think the bread’s taste didn’t suit her.
“Apparently, the other dining hall serves the fluffy bread, so if you want to eat that, you’ll have to work hard to raise your rank.”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Thanks to her connection with Margaret, bread from Marie’s Bakery was now being delivered to the castle. Unable to say, “Actually, the fluffy bread is made at our shop,” Catherine could only reply with a wry smile.
“Well, we’ve finished eating, so let’s head to our next job.”
“Y-yes!”
After returning the trays they had finished eating from, Catherine followed Yuria to their next work assignment.
“May I have a moment?”
“Yes, uh? Clara?”
“Are you the one in charge of training the new recruits? Once you finish cleaning this area, could you go to Lord Gordon’s room and clean it? Of course, bring the new recruit with you as part of the training. I’d appreciate it.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Yuria and Catherine were cleaning the corridor where the aristocrats’ offices were located. There, Clara spoke to them and instructed them to clean Gordon’s room.
“Catherine, please do your best.”
After Clara quietly spoke to Catherine so only she could hear, she walked away.
“What should I do? Clara, the head maid to the Queen, spoke to me. And to clean Lord Gordon’s room… Oh no, I’m starting to get nervous.”
“Is Clara a remarkable person?”
“Yes, she’s also my goal. I don’t think anyone can move with such efficiency.”
“I see…”
Watching Yuria send Clara off with admiring eyes, Catherine felt a mix of emotions.
“So, this is Lord Gordon’s room. We were told to clean it, so he shouldn’t be here right now. Let’s get started quickly.”
Although the room was empty, as a matter of politeness, they were supposed to knock before entering. Yuria knocked on the door.
“Excuse us.”
“Excuse us.”
Since they had knocked as a formality, Yuria entered the room without waiting for a response from inside. Catherine followed her.
“Oh? How dare you enter my room without waiting for my reply?”
“My, my sincerest apologies. We assumed you were not present and failed to confirm. We are truly sorry. (It was my oversight, but you should apologize too.)”
“I am truly sorry.”
Gordon was in the room. He was sitting on the sofa, enjoying reading. He expressed his displeasure at the two maids entering before he could respond. Yuria hastily bowed deeply to Gordon and apologized. She then told Catherine to bow as well.
“So, what is your business in this room?”
“Y-yes. We were instructed to clean this room…”
“I see. Then, please do not mind me and proceed with your work.”
“Yes.”
Gordon showed no signs of leaving the room. Reluctantly, Yuria and Catherine began cleaning the room.
“So, Catherine, what is this situation? Why are you wearing servant’s clothes and working like this? I was told to ask my mother for an explanation.”
Gordon asked Catherine as Yuria moved away to begin her work. Gordon knew Catherine from their acquaintance during their company retreat, so he spoke to her in a casual tone, as if addressing a friend. It seemed the Queen had instructed him to have her sent to clean this room. Catherine explained the situation from when she entered the castle.
“Hahaha, so you were mistaken for a servant. Well, think of this as part of your education and do your best as a maid.”
Gordon said, patting Catherine’s shoulder with a laugh.
“Oops, it seems the tutor has returned. Though it felt like you already knew, I’ll inform my mother of the situation myself.”
Saying that, Gordon returned to his reading as if nothing had happened.
“Catherine, this is next, please.”
“Yes, I’m coming.”
After finishing their conversation, under Yuria’s instructions, Catherine moved on to the next cleaning task.
