Volume 2 - CH 12

Meanwhile, back at the mansion and about three days into the start of the second week of classes…

Selena woke before sunrise as usual; as a Magical Marionette Maid, she did not actually need to sleep, but Melody had made her able to do so, believing that Selena, as a maid, needed to be as human as possible. Of course it was not without merit; Selena consumed less magical power as she slept, so it was to her benefit to sleep regularly as long asit did not interfere with her regular duties.

Selena had her own room in the servants’ living quarters, right next to Melody, that she shared with one other: the puppy Grail, who was currently sleeping quite comfortably on its back in a cushioned basket by the bed.

“Nom nom… Bow before me, you worthless lowlifes… Zzzz…”

Selena giggled as she overheard Grail’s sleeptalking. It had surprised her at first, hearing human words come from a small puppy, but she grew accustomed to it, and even found the contrast between the terrifying words it seemed to be saying with its disheveled face to be quite silly.

After finishing her morning preparations, Selena went off to begin her maid work, leaving behind the still-sleeping Grail.

“Good morning, master and madam.”

Having finished with the morning cleaning, her next task was to serve morning tea to the Count and his wife. Melody had taught her to wait after knocking on the door to the master bedroom; it was important for her to hear a reply back before entering lest she find herself seeing something undesirable… which was exactly what happened to a certain young lady.

Then, after finishing the morning tea, Selena would assist the couple with their own morning preparations, starting first with the head of the household, Hughes.

Normally it would be the butler or another male servant handling the work, but this was not an option for House Luthorburg. Instead, it was Selena who, paying no mind to Hughes in only his underwear, quickly helped the master get dressed.

“Hmm, it would be nice to have a butler around, even if they were in-training. Having only maids is a little inconvenient.”

“If only we could have someone sent over from the territory…”

“If we were to do that, we would leave our home understaffed.”

The coupld discussed matters as Selena dressed Marianna and arranged her hair. While they had better financial leeway for additional servants due to the reward money from Luciana protecting the Crown Prince as well as Hughes’s pay raise from his new job at the Office of the Prime Minister, they still met with a major problem: a lack of applicants for their recruitment notice.

And even with that leeway, the household finances in the Luthorburg territory were still in dire straits; they were not yet at a deficit, but that was a result of careful budgeting and keeping only the bare minimum of staff and servants. To avoid trouble, they would have to hire someone while in the capital.

“It is done, madam. Is this acceptable?”

Selena had finished preparing Marianna’s hair while she and Hughes had been talking. Marianna gave a nod of approval, and Selena led them to the dining room for breakfast.

“Selena, has there been any news from the Commerce Guild regarding our post?”

“We have not yet received any messages or updates regarding the advertisement, master.”

They were now having a relaxing after-breakfast tea. Hughes took a careful sip from his cup, a disappointed expression beginning to mar his face as he listened to Selena’s response.

“Shall I check again later this afternoon?”

“Hmm… That would be good. I know I said I wanted a butler earlier, but it would be most ideal to hire a butler as well as another maid. We cannot put everything on just you and Melody all the time.”

Selena smiled as she lowered her eyebrows. It was a fact that, because Melody taking care of Luciana at the Royal Academy, Selena took care of the entire mansion on her own, despite being a Magical Marionette Maid.

In other words, the comfort the Luthorburgs were enjoying now were wholly due to Melody. If she were to quit, House Luthorburg would find itself becoming House Luthorbroke once more.

But even if that were the case, it was simply unimagineable for someone as dedicated to their duties as Melody to quit her job. Yet, as head of household, it was still important for Hughes to have a plan in case of an unexpected event, such as Melody becoming sick or injured. Thus, as part of one such emergency plan, Hughes wanted more personnel available at the estate.

“Hmm… We asked for applicants to have a letter of reference, but at this point, we cannot afford to be too picky about recruitment. In fact, we would not have found Melody if we only took in applicants with a letter of reference. It would perhaps be a better idea for us to interview any potential hires and then make a decision… Selena, please inform the Commerce Guild we will be waiving the letter requirement and have them revise the posting.”

“Understood, master.”

After giving his orders, Hughes was off to work at the Office of the Prime Minister. Selena and Marianna saw him off, and after the front door closed, Selena reviewed the day’s schedule with Marianna.

“Are there any major plans for today, madam?”

“Let’s see… I have reply letters that need to be sent back to Lady Haumea and Lady Christina, so I would like you to have them mailed out when you go over to the Commerce Guild later. After that, I will be relaxing in my room.”

“Understood, madam. I must also apologize for being unable to accompany you this afternoon, since I cannot create clones of myself like my dear sister can.”

Although Selena inherited Melody’s knowledge and skills and could even rival her in terms of maid work, it was impossible for Selena to be as capable in magic.

After all, it was by Melody’s magic that Selena existed in the first place, and although Selena could use that stored power for magic, most of it was so she could fulfil her maid duties. Furthermore, that amount was not enough to replicate magic as complex as Melody’s clone spell.

…That was a chilling thought to consider: being able to create copies of Melody like a mass production line.

“Fufufu, I dare not impose further when you have been so helpful already. Besides, visiting the Commerce Guild today is important to our House, so you need not worry about me for now.”

“I am most grateful for your kind words, madam.”

Selena gave Marianna a short bow before returning to the kitchen, where Grail sat waiting.

“Good morning, Grail. I shall have your breakfast ready soon, so please wait a little longer.”

“Woof!”

Grail had woken up without Selena realizing, and it gave an energetic bark in reply, as though impatiently waiting for its meal.

“All right, it’s ready to eat now. Enjoy your meal.”

“Woof!!”

Grail dove headfirst into the bowl of food, and the noisy chewing sounded like Grail was saying “Yum, yum!” as it ate. Selena wondered for a moment how a dog could sound like it was saying human words but paid it no further mind as she admired Grail’s cuteness.

Finally, after it finished eating, Grail looked up from its bowl, giving Selena a satisfied look.

“Fufufu, looks like you finis– Ah!”

“Woof woof!”

Grail suddenly jumped toward Selena as she was reaching down to retrieve the food bowl and began nuzzling against her and licking all over; it seemed to want to be spoiled, having sated its hunger.

But when Grail licked at her chin, Selena turned away to avoid its tongue, exposing a certain choker, and …

“Waoow!”

… the moment Grail’s tongue touched the silver on Selena’s choker, it was as though an electric current raced through its body, and every bit of its fur stood on end.

“Huh? G-grail?”

Grail had suddenly frozen in place, its eyes widened and mouth hanging open. It reacted a moment later, coming to its senses and locking eyes with Selena.

“Kyain!”

Like something out of a slapstick comedy routine, Grail let out a desperate yelp before jumping out of Selena’s arms and dashing off at full speed, as though escaping from danger.

“Was there static electricity on the choker?”

Selena lightly touched the silver on her choker, but nothing happened. But from around the corner, Grail carefully watched Selena with fear in its eyes. Selena, clueless as to what had happened, only felt shock and sadness seeing Grail’s sudden change in behavior.

What had even happened to make Grail act like this? It was truly a mystery, a real enigma of an issue, yep.

Later that day, in the afternoon, Selena left to visit the offices of the Commerce Guild. There she informed the receptionist of the changes House Luthorburg would be making to their recruitment advertisement.

“We understand and are ready to make the changes you have requested, but are you sure about allowing servants without a letter of reference to be hired for a noble household?”

“That is correct. For now, we want to attract any potential applicants as we can. Please rest assured as we shall properly interview any applicants that come our way looking for work.

“Understood. Then, we shall update your recruitment notice per your request–“

That was when it happened.

“Uh, um, about that job posting, if you’re looking for a servant, please hire me!”

Selena turned on reflex and found the speaker: a small, young girl with pink hair in pigtails.

The girl looked to be around ten years of age, but the serious expression she wore belayed the childishness of her appearance.

“Oh, you’re here today as well?”

“Is this girl someone you know?”

It seemed this receptionist knew the child..

“She’s from an orphanage nearby, but she’s been coming here and looking for anyone who would hire her for work.”

“From an orphanage nearby, you say… Is there any place that would even consider hiring a child this young?”

“That is exactly what I’ve been trying to tell her…”

The receptionist let out a troubled sigh of resignation.

If it had been some years prior, there could have been more opportunities for the girl to find employment. However, that was no longer a possibility because of the carriage services, a transportation reform the Crown Prince had introduced. Many used it to move to the capital to find work, and as a result, there was a greater number of able-bodied adults to take on any number of jobs in the capital, making it unnecessary for employers to resort to using child labor. By now, the most a child could do was stay home and help witht he chores.

While this was the ideal outcome for children, who should be spending their time for play and study, it was clearly inacceptable for this orphan girl looking for work.

“Like I have said again and again, there is no employer that would hire someone of your age, nor could i recommend any jobs for children.”

“Umm, I understand why, but…”

The girl dropped her gaze to the floor but suddenly turned to stare up to Selena, a hopeful glimmer in her eyes.

“Are you… interested in working under our household?”

“Y-yes! I overheard you saying you wouldn’t be needing a letter of reference! So, please let me work for you!”

The girl bowed her head with vigor, and Selena put a hand to her cheek as she considered the girl’s earnest request.

(Even if we hired her, I don’t know how helpful she would be. She is much too young, much too weak. There are not many chores she would be able to do… What should I do here…)

Selena had not expected an applicant to appear right as she requested the change to the recruitment details, and a child at that. Perhaps it would be for the best to turn her away, and yet… even without asking for a letter of reference, would there be any other applicants to this post?

The chance of that happening was… not very likely. And even if it did happen, without the letter of reference requirement, there was no guarantee those applicants were any better suited to be a servant than this girl was.

(On the other hand, children are bursting with potential. This one is only ten years old, but we can train her and develop her maid skills over the next five years. While Lady Luciana will only be at the Royal Academy for the next three years, the master’s post at the Office of the Prime Minister is a permanent one, so it is not unlikely for the household to remain in the capital for even longer…)

Selena looked over the girl, whose head was still bowed, once more. From a glance, the girl was rather clean and tidy for an orphan, and her attitude earlier suggested maturity and cleverness despite her young age.

Furthermore, if she also had a hidden aptitude for maidwork, that would be an unexpected but welcome windfall. At least, Selena thought so.

And then, with Melody absent, Selena was currently in charge of all servant matters at the Luthorburg estate. If House Luthorburg were to recruit an adult servant, how would they handle working under a girl who looked to be about seventeen but was actually less than a month old? The short answer was: they would adjust rather poorly to the circumstances.

With those points in mind, Selena concluded this girl was a must-hire applicant; the potential cost-efficiency was too good to pass up.

(In any case, my duty was to find applicants. The final decision is for the master to make.)

After all, it would be a betrayal of her master’s order if Selena were to refuse to accept an applicant on the basis of their age. Thus the answer she would give here was obvious.

“We are looking for servants, but you will be working at a noble’s mansion. Are you sure you would like to work there?”

She flinched when Selena mentioned ‘noble’s mansion’, but the girl remained otherwise undeterred as she answered “Yes!” with strong enthusiasm. Seeing the girl’s courage, Selena inwardly sighed with relief.

“And do you happen to have any experience working as a maid or servant?”

“I do not! But I promise to do my best!”

The girl’s fortitude was quite commendable as she readily admitted her own shortcomings while declaring her intention to improve. In the face of such determination, Selena had only one response.

“I understand. Then, would you let me speak with your guardian at the orphanage?”

“Oh! Of course, thank you very much!”

The girl gave Selena a deep bow as she faced the maid with a shining smile.

“Um… Is it really all right to have decided everything so quickly?”

The receptionist, having watched the entire exchange, finally gave voice to her concerns.

“The final decision to hire will be for the master to decide. And it is true that while the recruitment post has not yet been updated, it does not change the fact that we decided to waive the requirement for a letter of reference.”

“Well, if there are no problems regarding this on your end, then all should be well…. Oh, what should we do with this updated job posting then?”

“Please go ahead with posting the update. We are still looking to hire at least one more servant, preferably male.”

“Understood. Then, please excuse me as I finish the processing.”

“Thank you very much for your help.”

Selena and the receptionist exchanged bows, and Selena exited the Commerce Guild, following the new potential hiree.

“Oh, I believe we have not yet introduced ourselves. May I know your name?”

“Ah, of course. I’m sorry for not mentioning it sooner, but my name is…”

“…Micah.”

As the two made their way to the orphanage, Micah felt an excitement bubbling away within her heart.

(With this, I can help save the orphanage! I won’t let what happened to the orphanage in the game happen here!)

And that was how the young Micah, formerly a Japanese grandmother named Kurita Maika, met the Magical Marionette Maid Selena, whose creator was Melody, a reincarnator of Japanese origin.