Not a Villainess but a Maid

#060 Ah!! Vacation homework!!!

It’s already a week before the start of school.

After finishing all the housework, it became natural to go to the bed in Ruby’s room and lie down.

As she continued to roll around in her bed with her, an ominous thought flashed through her mind.

‘Vacation homework…!’

I remembered the 50-page report the professor gave me.

I put off my priorities while playing, and it got to the point where there was only a week left.

Ruby asked as I jumped up from her bed and grabbed her head.

“What’s wrong, Amber?”

“I didn’t do any of my vacation homework. “A big problem happened…”

If she didn’t do her homework and got a failing grade, her grade wouldn’t be acknowledged, so she wouldn’t be able to attend with her for the rest of the semester.

“What about the lady? Are you done?”

“Yes. “I finished it all on the first day of vacation.”

“50 Pages in one day!?”

She had a look of wonder on her face when she saw that she had finished that portion in one day.

Is this the difference in abilities?

Ruby, who was looking at my troubled expression, lowered the novel she was holding and asked.

“···Can I help you, Amber?”

“Wow, really? “If you can help me…”

After talking up to that point, I stopped talking.

When faced with a problem in life, the first thing to consider is whether it is something I can solve on my own.

If even these things are too much for you, there will be no further development in the future.

“···It’s okay. Miss. “I’m going to try as hard as I can.”

When I declined her offer, Ruby shrugged her shoulders and lifted her book again.

“Okay. “Try hard.”

If you combine it with housework, it’s going to be a hell of a week.

Still, I didn’t have much of a choice. If you plan on continuing to attend the academy with Ruby.

***

The next morning, I woke up completely exhausted.

It was nice to work hard until dawn to write down the report. The problem was that even after several hours, I couldn’t fill a single page.

After finishing grooming with a clunky movement, I picked up the blanket and went out into the yard.

On holiday mornings, I used to hang my blanket on the clothesline to shake off the dust.

“Hello. “Merylda.”

Merylda said as she saw me walking staggered, carrying a lump of blanket larger than my body.

“Oh my god. “Did you sleep, Amber?”

“Yes. About an hour or two? “Maybe so.”

“There are almost no zombies staggering around.”

She looked at me with a sad expression on her face and took the blanket from me and said,

“You go and get some rest. “I’ll do it alone.”

“Yes? But then Merilda…”

When I hesitated, she smiled softly and explained.

“Yesterday, the young lady asked me a favor. “Please let me rest until your assignment is finished.”

“···.”

After listening to the story, it seemed like Ruby visited Merilda last night.

“Really, you and I have become incompatible with each other. “This is the first time in my life that I have seen Ruby ask me for something like this.”

“Are you okay with doing the housework by yourself? “It might take a week…”

“It’s okay. Even without Amber, we’ve been doing well. Besides, sending you to the academy is something I agreed to to some extent, so I have a responsibility.”

“···Thank you, Merilda.”

As I said that and hugged Merylda from behind, she sighed and said.

“Anyway, if you know that it’s cute… You won’t be hated anywhere. It’s been hard for me to be angry with you since long ago. “

“hehehehe…”

Merilda, who was stroking my hair as if she were petting a puppy, asked me with a slightly serious expression.

“···By the way, Amber. How long are you going to do this?”

“Yes? “I think I would keep doing it if I could.”

“That would be perfectly fine, but you also need to think about the future a little bit.”

“···What do you mean?”

“As you know, Lady Ruby will be getting married soon. “We can be by your side now, but I wonder if we can continue living like this even after we get married.”

Ruby is getting married. It was an issue she had never thought about.

“What happens if she gets married?”

“If that happens, there is a high probability that Lady Ruby will be staying in another family’s mansion.”

“Can’t I follow her lady?”

“We are, after all, maids of the Sarka family. “Would I be able to work in another family’s mansion?”

More than simply being a family property, a maid was a professional occupation operated systematically according to a leadership system.

In most cases, it was not welcome for a maid from another family to suddenly appear and disrupt the leadership system.

“Maybe even one maid from another family would be accepted. “I’m also the lady’s dedicated maid…”

“That is something that is difficult to give a definite answer to. First of all, even I, the head maid of this small mansion, do not particularly prefer external personnel. “It is quite difficult to divide the work, and the impression that you are an outsider is strong.”

“···I never thought about it that far.”

“Of course, I’m not saying you’ll lose your job. “We will still be working in another mansion belonging to the Sarka family.”

Meryl stopped hanging up her blanket, looked at me, and continued her sentence.

“··· What I really want to ask is, will you continue to be her maid even if you can no longer be by her side?”

“What do you mean…?”

“It feels like… You’re insisting on doing this just to be by Ruby’s side. “Am I wrong?”

I couldn’t answer Merilda’s question.

Just like Merilda said, the reason I was a maid was because I was by Ruby’s side.

She, who has been watching me for many years, must have known that already.

That’s probably the only reason you’re struggling to do something you don’t have the talent for and aren’t suited for.

“···Amber. Unlike me, you are still young. “Even if it’s not your job, you can try many things.”

“…Thank you for the realistic advice. “Merylda.”

Merilda was the most down-to-earth person I’ve ever known.

I guess you could say it’s a wisdom that comes with age.

That’s why I tried my best to listen to what she said.

“True. Speaking of marriage, Miss Ruby, what type of man do you like? These days, it looks like they are not interested in the opposite s*x, so there is no way to know.”

“Ah… “I’m also good at that…”

“Well, since he’s still in puberty, we’ll have to wait and see. And actually, when you’re young, if you get dissatisfied, it can be done in just one night…”

“Yes?”

“Oh my, what can I say…? Pretend you didn’t hear it. Ho Ho.”

I couldn’t bring myself to mention that Ruby wasn’t interested in men at all.

Merilda would probably faint if she heard that you were obsessed with Lily’s novel.

As she returned to her room after her conversation with Merylda, several thoughts went through her mind.

She wasn’t comfortable with what she said, but it was probably necessary advice.

Because it was a problem that had to be faced seriously someday.

***

After that, thanks to Meryl Da’s consideration, I was able to speed up the writing of her report a little more.

When I sat down at the simple desk and completed about half of the page, I opened my mouth.

“Lady. “What are you writing?”

Ruby is sitting across from the desk, staring at me and writing something down on paper.

She put down her pen and spoke with an indifferent expression.

“Amber Observation Journal.”

“What on earth is that?”

“I am recording your behavior by writing it down here. “Do you want to see it?”

“···It’s okay.”

While she was doing her assignment, I had her every move recorded. What kind of ant observation could this be?

Ruby, who was silently writing a journal, asked me.

“···Can I help you a little bit?”

“It’s okay. “I will do it alone.”

I was the one who chose to be by Ruby’s side.

In order to protect this right, there were clearly things that had to be done on one’s own.

If I continue to receive her help, I may not be able to be by Ruby’s side.

Ruby seemed bored and kept snooping around me and observing.

This adds another strange hobby to her. Writing a maid observation diary.

I couldn’t believe that a girl with such hobbies was a villainess who enjoyed burning small animals in the original work.

As I was writing her report, I remembered the story she had just told me about Meryl Da and asked her.

“Lady.”

“Huh?”

“Miss Ruby, do you have any intention of getting married?”

“Why is that?”

“I’m just personally curious. “You don’t talk about this much.”

Ruby, who was silent for a while in response to the question, spoke to me.

“I’m not sure yet. “I don’t really think about it at the moment.”

“···Is that so?”

I didn’t have a partner in particular, nor was there anyone I was interested in.

Not long ago, I wondered if he was showing interest in Coral, a girl like him, but these days, it didn’t seem like he was interested at all.

Even when he stayed at Coral’s during vacation, he didn’t show any signs of anything special.

When you played the truth game, it seemed almost certain, but have you cooled off by now?

Well, it was Ruby whose true feelings were so unpredictable.

“Miss, then what will you do if you find yourself with an unwanted marriage partner?”

It was common in this era for people to get married due to pressure from their families or parents.

Even in the case of Amethyst, people around us were having a hard time with that problem.

Ruby answered my question immediately without even thinking about it.

“I will run away, taking only you with me. “To a place where no one can find.”

“···.”

“Well, considering the situation, I guess we can take one more milk there.”

If she’s like Ruby, she’ll give a Ruby-like answer. Without realizing it, I burst into laughter that she had been suppressing.

“Are you serious, lady?”

“What’s funny? “I’m serious.”

“That’s a very young lady’s idea.”

“I’m really going to do it. Just know.”

Hearing her words made her feel relieved, but at the same time she was worried.

If I really ran away, I would have to abandon my status and everything and live a difficult life.

“Is it worth it to me? “I assure you that it will not help your survival.”

“It’s okay. “Wherever I go, all I need is you.”

“If I run away, I won’t even be able to read the novel, right?”

“···Ah, that’s a bit much.”

Ruby frowned slightly as if she hadn’t even thought about it.

Anyway, how seriously was she thinking about it? Run away.

After working hard with my pen to fill in the last word on the page, I stood up, cheering.

“Hey!”

“Are you done?”

“Yes. “It’s just one page.”

That’s right. I completed just one page of the report in two days.

Ruby, who was looking at me with an indifferent expression, asked softly.

“···Shall I help you?”

“Yes. Please.”

She eventually learned that there were some things she couldn’t do without Ruby’s help, but she managed to complete at least one page on her own.

If we can develop little by little like this… It will be okay, right?

Hoping that my intelligence level had increased by at least 1, I filled out the remaining pages with Ruby.

I’m so glad Ruby is by my side at times like this.