Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 20 - Head Maid ( Part 3 )
Jennie had faced dragons before.
She had fought on battlefields splashed with blood of war.
She had duelled master swordsmen.
She had negotiated with proud nobles.
Even with Princess Lilia herself.
However...
Right now she...
Was facing a leaf.
A leaf...
That somehow made her feel more stressed than usual during fights.
The leaf lay serenely on the stone path.
Martha Morius was standing beside it. freēwebnovel.com
Watching.
Waiting.
Judging.
Jennie looked at the leaf.
Then at Martha.
Then at the leaf.
"..."
"..."
The former Sword King had absolutely no idea what she was expected to do.
---
"Well?"
Martha’s tone was calm.
Far too calm.
Jennie carefully bent down.
Plucked the leaf off the ground.
And held it up.
"I defeated it."
Several maids in the vicinity nearly choked.
One maid turned away, trying not to laugh.
The other one looked horrified.
Martha just stared at her.
Silence stretched.
Even longer.
Longer.
Then—
"Dispose of it properly."
Jennie put the leaf back.
There were apparently rules.
Of course there were rules.
There must be a rule in this palace for everything.
The flowers were probably regulated.
The benches were probably licensed.
---
During the following hour, Martha told her the basics of maid work.
Jennie learned stuff she never would have expected to learn.
The right way to clean furniture.
The right angle to carry a broom.
The difference between cleaning noble’s chamber and royal chamber.
The difference between silver polish and gold polish.
The difference between folding regular blankets and royal blankets.
Apparently royal blankets had their own special folding rights.
Jennie stopped asking questions after twenty minutes.
---
Unfortunately...
She realized one thing pretty soon.
The maid work required effort.
A lot of effort.
Unbelievably huge amount of effort.
The palace was immense.
Absolutely immense.
Every hallway stretched to infinity.
Every room was spacious enough to accommodate an army.
Even storage rooms had storage rooms in them.
At some point Jennie started thinking that this palace must be reproducing somehow.
This place couldn’t fit in just one building.
---
The next assignment led them to the laundry section.
Several huge baskets were placed nearby.
Filled with clothes.
Royal clothes.
Noble clothes.
Ceremonial clothes.
Valuable clothes.
Clothes worth several villages.
Jennie looked at the pile.
The pile looked back.
It was war.
---
Martha pointed at the baskets.
"Clean them."
Jennie’s eye twitched.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"Today?"
"Yes."
Jennie suddenly understood why the maids moved so quickly.
They were trying to run away.
---
Naturally...
Jennie cheated.
Little bit.
Just a tiny bit.
Microscopically little bit.
Not enough to be noticed.
When Martha went to supervise other maids, Jennie subtly circulated mana inside her body.
Mana core immediately reacted.
Invisible strings of mana entered the water.
The soap dissolved much more easily.
The dirt loosened itself.
Clothes cleaned themselves much faster.
Not enough to draw any attention.
Just enough to ease the process.
Jennie smiled.
Perfect plan.
---
Three hours later...
The entire laundry section became sparkling clean.
All clothes got cleaned perfectly.
All baskets became perfectly organized.
All surfaces shone brightly.
Jennie looked at her handiwork.
Efficiency really is a wonderful thing.
---
Then she noticed silence.
Dangerous silence.
The kind of silence that precedes disaster.
Carefully turning around...
Jennie saw Martha standing behind her.
Once again.
This woman moved like an assassin.
Absolutely terrifying assassin equipped with cleaning supplies.
---
Martha looked around.
Then at the clothes.
Then at Jennie.
Then at the clothes once again.
Several maids in the vicinity were staring.
One of them whispered.
"She already finished it."
The other whispered back.
"How?"
A third one seemed emotionally affected.
"I’ve never seen such beautiful laundry."
Jennie did not know that laundry could look beautiful.
Apparently she was wrong.
---
Martha carefully picked up a shirt.
Checked its stitching.
Examined its collar.
Then its sleeves.
And finally the buttons.
Everyone was silent.
Finally...
Head Maid nodded.
"Excellent."
Jennie blinked.
Was it all?
No comments?
No speech?
No impossible requirements?
Just... Excellent?
---
Surrounding maids looked shocked.
One nearly dropped her basket.
Another one crossed herself.
A third one muttered prayer of gratitude.
Jennie wasn’t sure for whom.
---
The last assignment of the day brought them to the Grand Hall.
One of the largest rooms in this palace.
Giant crystal chandeliers hung on the ceiling.
Marble pillars lined the walls.
Golden decorations gleamed in the sunbeams coming from huge windows.
The floor stretched to infinity.
An endless sheet of white marble shined brilliantly.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
But apparently still dirty.
Martha pointed at the floor.
"Clean it."
Jennie followed her finger.
There wasn’t a single speck of dirt on it.
Not one.
It was cleaner than most hospitals.
Cleaner than any temple.
Cleaner than the reality itself.
However...
Apparently this was not enough.
---
Jennie sighed.
Started working.
Using tiny amounts of mana once again.
Dust gathered.
Particles dissipated.
The floor became even cleaner.
Somehow.
Jennie did not understand how this was physically possible.
---
Hours passed.
The hall became sparkling clean.
The marble shone brightly.
Even the sunbeams seemed brighter.
Jennie stepped back.
Satisfied with her work.
---
Martha slowly crossed the floor.
Looking at it.
Judging it.
Testing it.
Every maid around nervously awaited the verdict.
Finally...
Martha stopped.
Looked at Jennie.
Something strange appeared in her eyes.
Not satisfaction.
Not approval.
Something very dangerous.
Joy.
Pure joy.
The joy of a scholar discovering a lost masterpiece.
The joy of an artist discovering a perfect student.
The joy of a teacher meeting somebody gifted.
Jennie immediately became uncomfortable.
Extremely uncomfortable.
---
Martha adjusted her glasses.
"Jennie."
"Yes?"
"Do you like cleaning?"
Jennie nearly choked.
"What?"
"Cleaning."
"No."
The answer was given immediately.
Too immediately.
Several maids laughed.
---
Martha nodded thoughtfully.
"I see."
Her tone indicated that she did not believe a word.
Not a single word.
---
Behind the corner of the hallway...
Princess Lilia secretly observed everything.
She had arrived earlier.
Mainly out of curiosity.
And partly because she was bored.
The princess looked at Jennie.
Then at Martha.
Then at Jennie once again.
Mischievous grin appeared.
"Oh no."
Adrian, Prince standing nearby, immediately recognized it.
"What?"
Lilia giggled.
"I think Head Maid likes her."
Adrian looked at the hall.
At Martha’s strangely satisfied expression.
Then at Jennie’s worried face.
"...You’re right."
---
Inside the hall, Jennie felt chill.
A dangerous chill.
One that had nothing to do with magic.
Nothing to do with enemies.
Nothing to do with monsters.
Martha Morius was smiling.
And somehow...
This was more terrifying than her anger.
The former Sword King understood one terrible thing.
Head Maid was not trying to survive the training.
She was enjoying it.
Which meant one thing.
Tomorrow would be worse.
