Reborn As A Maid

Chapter 18: Chapter 18 - Head Maid ( Part 1 )

The following morning was unusually quiet.

Unbelievably quiet.

The kind of quiet that normally preceded a storm on a battlefield.

Jennie was familiar with this sensation.

In her past life, it used to be followed by wars, invasions, murder plots and disasters of the political kind.

Today, however, the disaster appeared to be breakfast.

The whole family of Queens was sitting around their breakfast table in complete silence.

Bread.

Soup.

Meat.

Tea.

Untouched.

This was enough evidence for Jennie to conclude that the world was coming to its end.

As we know, for Jennie, every meal was a sacred ritual.

Now everyone was just sitting, silently gazing into thin air.

Arthur massaged his forehead.

Once again.

Once again.

Once again.

Jennie wondered whether constant rubbing could ignite a fire eventually.

Elena across the table sighed.

Usually calm and gentle, she wore a rather complicated mixture of emotions on her face.

Relief.

Fear.

Thankfulness.

All mixed up.

At last, she opened her mouth.

"You almost died."

Jennie blinked.

"Technically."

"Jennie."

"Yes, Mother?"

"You almost died."

"... Yes, Mother."

Former Sword King wisely surrendered.

Some battles could not be won.

Mother was one of them.

Arthur sighed in exhaustion.

"If Princess Lilia hadn’t spoken yesterday..."

He did not finish the sentence.

It was unnecessary.

Everyone knew the ending.

Execution.

Even now, this word sounded ridiculous.

Jennie lowered her eyes.

For the first time after her reincarnation, she admitted that she made a mistake.

A big one.

Her initial plan was ideal.

Or so she thought.

Become markless.

Get rid of the noble status.

Flee the kingdom.

Travel.

Train.

Devote herself to mastery of the sword.

A simple plan.

A beautiful one.

A peaceful one.

But somehow...

Execution showed up.

Jennie was still unsure about how exactly. freewebnøvel.com

It seems that she seriously underestimated importance of divine laws.

It was a mistake.

A huge one.

Fortunately, Lilia managed to solve this issue.

Unfortunately...

She caused another problem.

A maid.

Jennie was now a maid.

A former Sword King of an entire era was a maid now.

Life was weird.

---

Knock was heard from the other side of the mansion.

Servant entered.

"Lord Arthur."

"The royal carriage has come."

Arthur got to his feet at once.

"The King."

The atmosphere immediately changed.

Several moments later King Aldric and Queen Celestine entered the dining room.

Arthur and Elena bowed.

King Aldric waved his hand in response.

"Enough."

"No formalities."

"I’ve had enough formalities for one week already."

This was fair.

The whole kingdom had nearly exploded yesterday.

The King looked tired.

Not physically.

Mentally.

The kind of fatigue that could cause politicians.

Deadliest species existing in mankind.

He looked straight at Jennie.

A source of approximately ninety percent of his headaches.

Jennie bowed politely.

"Your Majesty."

King Aldric scrutinized her for several seconds.

Then sighed.

"You caused quite a bit of trouble."

Jennie pondered the phrase.

"Technically, I stayed still."

The king’s lips twitched.

Queen Celestine laughed immediately.

Delicate and elegant laugh.

The kind that warms the whole room.

King Aldric shook his head.

"No wonder Lilia likes you."

Jennie was not completely convinced that it was a compliment.

---

The atmosphere slowly started to relax.

For the first time after the ceremony, Arthur could breathe normally.

And suddenly he got up on his feet.

And bowed deeply.

Absolute silence in the room.

"Thank you."

King Aldric blinked.

"For what?"

"For saving my daughter."

The king looked aside.

His expression softened.

"It was not me."

Everyone knew.

Princess Lilia.

The stubborn little princess had fought against nobles, priests and hundreds years of traditions.

For Jennie.

For several moments, no one said anything.

Jennie sensed some unusual warmth in her chest.

Some strange feeling.

Leonis KingHeart was respected.

Feared. ƒrēewebnovel.com

Admired.

But protected?

This was weird.

And surprisingly nice.

---

Unfortunately, King Aldric ruined the mood soon.

"Now then."

Jennie’s instincts immediately activated.

Danger.

The King smiled.

A suspicious smile.

"You still have duties."

Jennie could feel her soul leaving her body.

---

"What duties?" she asked cautiously.

The King looked absolutely happy.

This was never a good sign.

"As Princess Lilia’s personal maid."

Complete silence.

Arthur nearly choked on his tea.

Elena hid her face behind her hands.

Jennie stared dumbfounded.

No matter how many times she had heard these words, they did not sound true.

The greatest Sword King in history.

Personal maid.

What a wonderful descent from grace.

---

The King mercilessly continued.

"You will accompany Princess Lilia."

"You will help Princess Lilia."

"You will serve Princess Lilia."

Each sentence stabbed somewhere.

Jennie had defeated dragons.

She preferred dragons.

They were more honest.

---

"And," said the King.

"You will start your maid training tomorrow."

Jennie slowly turned to look at him.

"My maid training?"

"Yes."

"...Why?"

The King looked puzzled.

"Because you do not know how to be a maid."

Technically, this was true.

Jennie knew how to lead armies.

Make treaties.

Rule kingdoms.

Defeat monsters.

She did not know how to make beds.

---

Then the name came.

The name that changed the atmosphere of the room.

"Martha Morius."

Arthur looked away.

Elena suddenly became extremely interested in the ceiling.

Even Queen Celestine wincingly.

Jennie noted all of that.

That was not reassuring.

"Who is Martha Morius?"

The King smiled.

A smile full of sympathy.

"Head Maid of the Royal Palace."

Jennie waited.

The King continued.

"She served three generations of royalty."

"..."

"She once made a prince cry."

"..."

"Twice."

Jennie frowned.

This sounded ominous.

---

Queen Celestine explained further.

"Martha corrected Aldric’s table manners during a diplomatic summit."

King Aldric immediately disagreed.

"I was holding a fork wrong."

"For three hours," said Celestine.

"..."

Arthur whispered.

"I saw generals being afraid of her."

"I saw academy instructors saluting her."

Silence fell in the room.

Jennie understood everything.

This person was dangerous.

---

In some distant place, inside the Royal Palace...

Martha Morius stood near the window.

Silver hair.

Immaculate posture.

Sharp eyes.

Flawless black maid uniform.

She looked more like a final boss.

A nervous maid approached.

"Lady Martha."

"Yes."

"A markless girl will arrive tomorrow."

Martha fixed her glasses.

"The future maid."

"Yes."

Silence followed.

Long.

Terrifying silence.

Then—

"Hm."

The young maid nearly fainted.

Martha looked out at the city in distance.

At Queens’ Mansion.

At Jennie.

"I trained princesses."

"I trained duchesses."

"I trained future queens."

Her eyes narrowed.

"And now..."

A smile appeared on her lips.

A terrifying smile.

The kind that could scare veteran knights away.

"I shall train you too, Jennie Queens."

Back in the mansion—

Jennie suddenly sneezed.

Once again.

And once again.

An unpleasant shiver ran down her back.

Somewhere there was danger approaching.

Real danger.

Not dragons.

Not assassins.

Not wars.

Danger carrying a feather duster.

And for the first time in many years...

Jennie Queens was afraid.

Tomorrow...

Her biggest battle would start.