*Scrub scrub scrub…

Hello, it’s me again, Lyrina. Today we are heading out to subjugate an ancient evil dragon that has, for nearly half a century, terrorized the ancient Yggdrasil Forest…or not.

I’m actually working hard, scrubbing the outhouse’s latrine located behind the estate stable. Catheline said she is to be responsible for the kitchen shift today, so the dirty jobs naturally fall to me, her direct junior. She had, for some reasons apologized for not being placed on cleaning duty with me, not that I mind, girls shouldn’t be cleaning dirty latrines.

Since today is moderately humid, I’m working with my sleeves rolled up and my collar unbuttoned. Since no one is around, I don’t think it should be a problem? Hmm, this poop stain is not going away no matter how hard i scrubbed it with a brush…

Unsurprisingly, a maid’s daily life is anything but exciting. I know for a fact that magic exists, as confirmed by the Intelligence and Mana stats which appeared on the Status Window, however as a person with no aptitude for it, I’m stuck in this endless loop of repetitive manual labors.

In a world with neither worker associations nor labor laws, where debt maids(slaves) exist, it is a given for the concept of maximum weekly work hours to be unheard of, not that complaining will do me any good. Courtesy of my beloved, alcoholic father.

I do get to eat 2 proper meals a day, despite receiving no pay. Maids are allowed to take short breaks for meals, which I often spent eating with Catheline. While lost in thoughts, mindlessly scrubbing the latrine until it finally shines, footsteps could be heard approaching.

“Lyrina~ the head maid is looking for you” A head full of curly auburn hair, peaked into the shed. Pasha, a thin and tall maid, roughly the same age as Catheline, appeared.

“Oh, are you busy?” Pasha inquired, seemingly taken aback, perhaps noticing my dirtied attire from diligently cleaning this shit hole.

“Greetings, senior Pasha, I was about to finish up, is it perhaps an urgent matter that requires my immediate presence, senior?”

“Well, the head maid didn’t seem to be in a rush, I think you ought to freshen first or you’ll be scolded” Pasha had a weird smile on her face, huh was that…sympathy?

“Thank you senior, for your valuable advice”

“S-sure, no problem” Pasha gave me once last glance before departing, to resume her respective duties, I assumed, after all the maids here weren’t known to slack off.

Now what possible reason could the head maid have for wanting to see me? I picked up the cleaning supplies and was about to head for the storage room, located on the rear annex of the manor…

*Neigh~ Neighhhhh~!

“B-Brutus! I’m sorry, if I had even an ounce of competency, your leg wouldn’t have been injured!”

I stop dead in my tracks, a voice belonging to a male youth could be heard from the wooden stable.

“It was because I pushed you too hard during today’s training, despite my inadequate ability, I- “

Hmm? What’s this? Fortunately, the shed is positioned right behind the estate’s stable, allowing me to discreetly sneaked up to the back of the building. As the structure is made out of thin wooden boards, the tiny gaps between those planks allowed for audible sound leakage. If I squint hard enough, I can peak into the stable via those tiny separations. I slowed my breathings taking caution to not be discovered.

“Unlike brothers, I-I’m not good at anything…the tutors…they shower me with praises but in their eyes…in their eyes I-m…!”

Light golden hair, reminiscent of the sun at dawn, Eidrich Dawnspear is a striking youth, with angled jaw and piercing dark blue eyes yet still with traces of insecurity. His height seems to be around 180cm, tall yet on the leaner side. How do I know it’s him? Obviously, the emblem of the golden half-sun behind a white spear sewn onto his riding jacket.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“You are the only true friend I have, Brutus. You are the only one whom I trust and listens to my worries without judgement…”

According to the head maid, this guy should be around a year older than Lyrina. Being a son of a powerful duke, certain standards must have been demanded of him regardless of him being the youngest, after all, pride is everything to the nobles.

I leaned further onto the wooden boards of the stable trying to get a better view. Eidrich is tenderly brushing a black steed, who I’m assuming is Brutus, with a desolated face all the while mumbling self-pitying phrases. He looks to be apologizing to the horse, occasionally glancing down at the its right foreleg, supported by a splint.

Well, this feels like I’m doing something I shouldn’t be doing. Eavesdropping on the young lord of the house? They say curiosity killed the cat, but I’m not a cat.

“What must I do to become as strong and as capable as eldest brother Rygon, or big brother Irgo? E-even father, that look of disappointment in his eyes when I failed the swordman ship tests conducted by the tutor!”

…Oh? As is often the case with most villainous characters’ background stories, they’re often plagued by extreme inferiority complex. Overshadowed by their overachieving siblings, seen as a failure in the family, they eventually became ostracized. Finally, those feelings of seeking acknowledgment and love, turns into ones of hatred. Getting involved with guys like him could possibly leads to my demise, I should instead avoid and seek out the protagoni-

The thin stable wall I was leaning on, for a split second, glowed-

*~Creeeak Craash!

-then gave way under my weight.

“Eeek!” I painfully landed on all four, amongst the scattered debris.

“!!Aack!!” Eidrich exclaimed in surprise, at my sudden entrance, right next to his leather boots.

Still grovelling, I kept my face downcast, focusing on his boots as if it was the most important thing in the stable.

“…Who are you? Are you a spy? Answer me before I dealt with you!” Eidrich raised his voice, his words carry with them the promise of violence and death. A golden aura could be seen emitting from him.

“T-this lowly maid a-apologize to master Eidrich, I-I’m n-not a spy. Master, I-I was cleaning the outhouse a-and happens to…to” My mind went blank, I’m finding it difficult to even breathe. Eidrich shifted his body, his boots directly in front of my face.

“Tell me your name maid” As if backed by the golden aura, his every command carries with them tremendous pressure, slowly suffocating me.

“I-it’s Lyrina, master Eidrich!” I gasped, my body trembling involuntarily.

“Lyrina? I haven’t seen you before, how much have you heard, maid, answer carefully, know that your fate depends on your next words”

“N-nothing master Eidrich, I heard nothing!”

“Lies!” In an outburst of violence, Eidrich kicked the wooden debris next to my face, causing me to flinch. Is this bastard going to kill me? For something so trivial?

“If you had ‘Accidentally’ fell through the wall, without even once looking up at my face, how could you have known that I’m Eidrich?”

Crap, he got me there. The pressure increased.

*Drip, drip

Why is this body crying all of a sudden? Tear drops descends onto the floor as I desperately gasp for air.

“Huh? How dare you ignore me, look up so I can probably see your face!” Eidrich bent down and roughly grabs me by the hair, lifting my head up to face him. It hurts. This is unjust violence!

With a tear-stained complexion, I faced Eidrich. His features contort in anger, his posture, surrounded by golden glow looks as if he was about to tear me apart right then and there. Then his eyes widened in…surprise?

“…” Why is this bastard silent all of a sudden? He had, for a few seconds, a look of confusion, then it was gone, consumed by anger once again, albeit with much less flame compared to before. He abruptly let go of my hair, nearly causing me to faceplant.

“Tell me, what is your name again maid?” His voice a low growl.

“I-it’s L-lyrina, m-master…” I managed to squeeze out between tears. I seem to be able to breath easier.

“Hmm, Lyrina…if a single word of what occurred here were to be known…” His hand moves to a sheathed sword at his side. I gulped.

“…Do you understand me?” The threat was made and received.

I nodded, still involuntarily trembling like a newborn fawn. I prostrated, my head touching the ground. Having just narrowly escaped my second death, this much is nothing.

“Thank you, master, for granting mercy to this lowly-“

“Leave me”

I pushed myself up, still afraid of meeting his gaze, picked up my scattered supplies before hastily exiting the stable. Not before bowing once again, in sincere gratitude to the young lion, for not snapping this rabbit’s neck. I could feel his burning stare from behind as I hurriedly scurried away to my hole.

----------------------------------------

Still dazed, I rid myself of dirt and debris with a bucket of water, sighing at the unbelievably dirtied state of my maid attire, before giving them a thorough wash. There appears to be small tears on the dress, I should patch them up later.

Nearly forgetting that the head maid had asked for me, I quickly adorned my spare uniform before hastily answering her summon. I was then made to listen to her sermon for being 3 hours late. However, after seeing my lifeless complexion, she sighed and mentioned that she had originally call for me to simply check in on my work and daily living conditions. As it happens to be near dinner time, I was soon dismissed.

I skipped dinner, having lost my appetite. Instead spent the evening fixing my banged-up uniform with a borrowed sewing kit from Catheline.

I had made a grave mistake; I had simply taken everything with a light heart. The fear was real, this situation I’m in, this body I’m possessing, is undoubtedly my reality. I don’t want to die, not after being given a second chance at life.

With those thoughts, I once again, welcomes the comfort of the darkness, succumbing to slumber…