Free Web NovelChapter 351: The New Shop
Hearing this command, Tess was, understandably, even more panicked than before.
When her family encouraged her to apply for a position at the Balfour Manor, Tess never imagined she would actually be hired.
Even if by some miracle she was employed, she thought that she would be assigned some menial tasks like doing laundry, washing dishes, or taking out garbage.
Maybe she would catch a glimpse of those high noble lords from a distance every once in a while, but as for meeting or speaking with one of them? That was impossible.
So, how did she end up being recruited by Princess Christina Rockwell to become her personal servant?
After somehow making her way back to the servants’ quarters in the manor that night, Tess collapsed on her bed, still dazed and confused about just what had happened today.
Her roommates asked what was wrong, all of them seemingly worried having heard she was forced by the princess to kneel and apologize in the kitchen, but Tess could only shake her head, also uncertain how she should explain.
.....
The following morning, before the sun even rose, Tess got up, changed into her uniform, and headed to the kitchen.
When she got there, she was stunned to find that her new employer was already waiting, causing her to panic and apologize once more.
Waving off the skittish maid’s concerns, Christina simply informed her that, after discussing it with the Head Chef and Head Steward of the Manor, the transfer was complete and she now exclusively served her.
Despite being quite nervous about what that actually meant, Tess bowed deeply, "T-Thank you, Your Highness! I will do my utmost to s-swerve you!"
Having stuttered and bitten her tongue, Tess blushed furiously, keeping her head down in embarrassment.
Understanding that teasing the young maid right now might result in her trying to commit ritual suicide to seek forgiveness, Christina resisted that urge and simply waved her hand, "Good. Your first job is to pack up the yeas... these fruit juice jars and follow me."
"Yes! Your Highness!" Tess nodded and got to work.
As she grabbed the first jar, however, the maid hesitated for a few seconds before turning and asking quietly, "Y-Your Highness... should I... should I burp these first before packing them?"
"Hm?" Raising her brow, Christina was pleasantly surprised Tess had taken the initiative to ask this.
Given this nervous maid’s personality, she had assumed it would be a long, long time before Tess started proactively offering her own thoughts and suggestions, but here she was, on the first morning after being hired, doing just that.
Even if it seemed like a simple action, Christina knew it must not have been easy for Tess to speak her mind like this, regardless how limited and benign her words may have been.
Smiling happily at this development, the princess brushed aside her new maid’s concerns, "I’ve already done that, so there’s no need."
Turning a bit pale, Tess stammered, "F-Forgive my impertinence, Your Highness. Not only did I speak out of turn, I even arrived late and forced you to take action yourself."
This time, Christina really couldn’t help herself and let out a peel of laughter, "Pay it no mind, I simply arrived here early because I was eager to make progress on my... project."
"U-Understood, Y-Your Highness," Tess grabbed the jars and packed them into a large leather bag she found somewhere in the kitchen.
Half-an-hour later, Christina and her new assistant stepped down from a simple, unmarked carriage and walked over to a small shop in the western quarter of Misty City.
"Sister Tina!" Jessie, who was busy polishing a newly delivered countertop, perked up when the princess entered the store and pulled her cloak hood down, revealing her head of long, silver hair.
Hearing the girl who was just a few months younger than her call out like this, Christina smiled and replied, "Hi Jessie."
Glancing around and not seeing her other friends, Tina asked curiously, "Where are Jake and Jenny?"
Throwing the towel over her shoulder, Jessie left the counter and came over to give Tina a hug, a big grin covering her face, "Big Sis is taking care of the little ones back at the barracks while Big Brother went to Uncle Ned’s smithy to pick up the new oven."
"Oh? The oven delivery is today?" Christina, who was the one who actually put in the order to the blacksmith shop, was a bit surprised to hear this.
As far as she could recall, the oven was only supposed to be finished a couple days from now.
Receiving it early was unexpected, but nothing to complain about, so the princess simply nodded, "That’s good. While we wait for Jake, we can try out my secret weapon."
"Oooh! Is it finally time?" Jessie asked eagerly.
Christina had told her and her siblings that she had a special ingredient that could be used to make light, fluffy bread, but up until now, she hadn’t shared any more details with them.
Naturally, Jessie was quite curious to see what this secret ingredient was and began glancing around, only then noticing that Christina hadn’t come alone today.
Tilting her head slightly, Jessie inquired, "Sister Tina, who’s this? Is she also one of your friends?"
Tess, having watched this whole episode play out, was somewhat slack-jawed at the moment.
Judging from where they were, and how the young girl named Jessie was dressed, Tess didn’t believe the former was a noble daughter, but that didn’t make any sense.
How could a young commoner girl interact so casually with an honest-to-Heavens princess?
Still, having the conversation be directed towards her, Tess hurriedly waved her hands in denial, nearly dropping the sack she was carrying in the process, "C-C-Certainly not! I... I am simply Princess Christina’s servant, Lady Jessie!"
"Lady?" Jessie chewed on the word for a moment, confused by it being used to refer to her but still somehow enjoying it.
Rapping her daydreaming friend’s head lightly with her knuckles, drawing a funny noise from Jessie’s lips, Christina explained, "This is Tess, a maid from the Manor. She’s been helping me prepare my secret ingredient."
Next, turning to the flustered maid, Christina continued, "Tess, this is Jessie, my friend and one of the co-owners of this shop."
"I-It’s a pleasure to make you’re a-acquaintance, Lady Jessie," Tess bowed deeply.
Walking over to the slightly older girl, the ever-friendly Jessie grabbed Tess’ hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you too, Tess. Let’s get along from now on!"
"Uh, um, yes, Lady Jessie..."
"Just Jessie! I’m not a Lady," Jessie smiled and insisted.
"Uh, er, en... Miss Jessie," Tess fumbled.
Shaking her head subtly, Christina clapped her hands to gather her compatriots’ attention, "Let’s get started, shall we?"
"Okay!" Jessie shouted enthusiastically while Tess simply nodded.
Leading the two girls back into the shop’s kitchen, Christina had Tess unpack the fruit-yeast jars while she asked Jessie to prepare a set of bowls and the ingredients necessary to make some simple bread.
While her instructions were being carried out, Christina made her way to the back of the shop where a small well was located.
Of all the shops around this area that were available for purchase, Christina had chosen this one specifically because it had its own well, something that would make cooking and baking much easier.
There were a large number of public wells in Misty City, and there were also some enterprising people who ran businesses that delivered clean, fresh water to homes and shops, but as Tina had learned over the past few months, nothing beat the convenience of having your own private water supply.
Grabbing the handle for the newly installed hand pump that she had ’requisitioned’ from her Senior Brother, Christina drew a couple of big buckets of water from the well before carrying them back to the kitchen.
Seeing the princess doing this kind of manual labour, Tess nearly had a heart-attack while trying to apologize, a scene that Jessie couldn’t help laughing at, finding the whole routine funny.
After taking a moment to calm Tess down again, Christina had her open the various jars of fruit-water.
Originally, Tina had prepared 24 of these roughly 500 mL jars using 4 different types of fruit.
4 of the jars had burst, 3 of them had spoiled, and 2 more hadn’t started bubbling leading Tina to suspect they hadn’t worked, which left 15 to experiment with.
Fortunately, each of the fruits was represented in the surviving jars, so Christina didn’t need to make a new batch of fruit-yeast before starting.
Throwing on an apron, Christina tied back her hair, rolled up her sleeves, and thoroughly washed her hands with soap and warm water.
Jessie followed suit, as did a very anxious Tess.
Next, the princess pulled out a notebook, pen, and ink from her Space Bag, preparing to record the results of the experiment.
Jessie also brought out a set of scales and measuring cups that Jake had ordered for the shop.
Tina instantly recognized this equipment as something Lucas had designed, but that didn’t surprise her. The measurement system her Senior Brother had introduced her to was much easier to understand and use than any other she had ever come across, so it made sense that most people from Redwood Town had adopted it.
All the ingredients and tools were ready, so all that was left now was to start baking and with any luck, they would be enjoying fresh, fluffy bread with dinner tonight.
