Chapter 04
“Haah…”
My family.
The House of Elesia—everything I had poured myself into.
Don’t tell me it disappeared altogether? That it collapsed sometime over the last three hundred years…?
“Ugh, whatever.”
Not like it’s my concern anymore. It’s not as if there’s anyone left there I’d even know.
Sprawled flat on the ground, Seres gazed blankly up at the cloudless sky.
A strange hollowness welled up inside her, heavy and suffocating.
As though she’d been toyed with, strung along by some unseen hand, only to be struck hard across the back of the head.
If Enoch were here, he’d already be running for the hills.
That boy might’ve been slow-witted and gentle on the surface, but he had a keen sense for reading the air.
Which was why, whenever she was in a mood like this, he would bolt before anyone else—because he knew all too well how exhausting it was to be caught up in it.
“Hey, wash this too.”
Then it happened.
“This one as well.”
“You can manage at least this much, can’t you?”
Faint voices carried across the courtyard.
Curious, Seres pushed herself up and spotted a small group of girls gathered together in conversation.
Among them was a face she knew well.
Jay?
Her maid.
The others seemed to be servants working here in the manor as well.
What’s this about?
Seres decided to watch for a moment.
“These clothes are things Madam treasures, so you’d better handle them with care.”
“Wash them with gratitude, with your whole heart.”
“Of course you should. Surely you lot from the House of Drow know whose generosity is keeping you fed right now?”
Madam…
Seres immediately understood the picture.
Unless her mother—who’d died in an accident years ago—had somehow risen from the grave, there was only one person in this house who could be called Madam.
Agne, wasn’t it?
Her aunt.
Most likely, those three were people Agne had brought into the household.
As Seres suspected, she herself was still officially the young lady of House Drow—more precisely, the acting head.
But since she had been left reeling from her parents’ deaths at such a young age, the conferring of her barony had been delayed again and again.
Agne had supposedly wailed and carried on, demanding how anyone could saddle such a fragile child with such a heavy burden.
“But really, what’s with the color of her dress? How many times has she worn that thing? Did she even bother to wash it?”
“It’s worn out, that’s why. No amount of washing will fix it.”
“Haah, honestly—if it weren’t for our Madam, the whole household would’ve starved to death by now.”
“Exactly. You should have chosen your master more wisely.”
Well… they weren’t wrong. Whatever one did in life, everything came down to whether you ended up under the right superior—
Wait a second.
As she found herself nodding along in sympathy, Seres abruptly froze.
If Jay’s master was anyone… it was her, wasn’t it?
…Did those brats just insult me?
Seres’s lips slowly curved upward.
***
Eek! Lady Grace, please don’t smile like that!
For a moment, it was as though she could hear her disciple’s horrified scream echoing faintly. Surely it was just her imagination.
***
“What are you standing there for? Hurry up.”
“We’re busy, can’t you tell? Move it.”
“Wash them thoroughly. I’ll say it again—these are Madam’s dearest clothes.”
“…Fine.”
Head bowed low, Jay eventually accepted the bundle they thrust into her arms.
This wasn’t the first time. It wasn’t even the tenth. There was nothing new about it.
At least they didn’t hit me today.
Usually they’d “accidentally” drop something sharp on her foot, or throw down heavy loads for her to catch. Sometimes they’d shoulder-check her in passing. Those things were simply part of the daily routine.
But no matter how used to it she’d become, that didn’t make it any easier to bear.
Her lips pressed tight, Jay let out a weary sigh—and at once, the three maids’ eyes snapped up sharply.
“Oh, would you look at this? Did you just sigh?”
“Unbelievable. Are we asking something unreasonable here? All we did was ask for help, and you glare like that?”
“Ah…”
“Honestly, you’re so slow! We told you, we’re in a hurry! Stop dawdling and—”
Splaaaash!
“Kyahhh!”
“Wha—ahhh!”
“Wh-what in the world—?”
Startled, Jay jerked her head up.
All three maids stood there, drenched to the skin.
Her mouth fell open. What on earth just happened…?
“Hmm. Maybe not enough water?”
That voice—
The three whipped around, and their eyes went wide.
There stood Seres, an empty bucket dangling casually from her hand, as if she were deep in thought.
They instantly connected the dots and lunged toward her.
“What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”
“You—you doused us with water? Hah!”
“Unbelievable! How dare you—”
They were beyond indignant. That she of all people had done this? It was absurd.
Had nearly dying rattled her mind?
This was the same girl who used to bow her head at the slightest insult, who couldn’t even lift her gaze when they mocked her openly. And now—this?
“Why? You wanted laundry done, didn’t you?”
“…What?”
“I thought I’d wash the clothes you’re wearing. Don’t you start with water first? Forgive me, I’m new at laundry—I must have gotten confused.”
“What nonsense—!”
“Here? You mean to do laundry here?”
“Mm-hm.”
…Did she just nod?
“What’s the problem?”
The problem is everything!
The maids gaped like fish while Seres tilted her head, as though genuinely puzzled by their reaction.
Then she reached into the washtub, plucked out a bar of soap, and strolled toward them.
“You said you were busy, didn’t you? It’ll be faster if I scrub while you’re still wearing them.”
“…Wh-what?”
“Sun’s nice today. They’ll dry in no time.”
“Ridiculous!”
“No one washes clothes while—while still wearing them!”
“Stop joking!”
“Joking?”
That smile again—creeping up the corner of her lips.
“I wasn’t aware we were on joking terms. Were we?”
“……!”
The three maids swallowed hard.
Her expression—
She couldn’t really mean it, could she? Surely she wasn’t serious about laundering their clothes on the spot?
But her eyes, cold and utterly unamused, said otherwise.
“Why? You don’t want me to?”
“Of course not!”
“Really?”
Seres took a step closer.
“Then take them off.”
“…What?”
“Take them off.”
Step.
They flinched back in unison, startled by their own instinctive retreat.
Why did we just—?
Had they truly just recoiled from Seres?
This weak, pitiful thing they’d always laughed at?
“If you don’t want them washed while you’re wearing them… then remove them.”
“Y-you—!”
Step.
Another involuntary flinch.
The truth was undeniable—they were afraid of her.
Their minds screamed that it made no sense, but their bodies refused to stand their ground.
That gaze…
It was not the timid, broken look of the girl they knew.
It was detached, unreadable—and staring into those empty eyes sent shivers racing down their spines.
“You asked me to wash, didn’t you? Then…”
Step.
“Take them off.”
“W-we—we’ll do it ourselves!”
“That’s right! We’ll wash them!”
Like cornered animals, the three stumbled back in panic. If she grabbed hold of them, they might truly end up being scrubbed down like dirty linens.
“Why? Weren’t you saying you were so busy?”
“N-no! We’re not busy at all!”
“Not even a little!”
“Oh? Not busy, hm?”
“Yes!”
They nodded so vigorously it was almost comical, desperate as though their very lives depended on it.
“So you weren’t busy, and still tried to foist your chores onto someone else?”
“Th-that’s—!”
“We—we thought we were busy, but clearly we weren’t!”
“Yes, we were mistaken!”
They babbled excuses, tripping over their own words.
“Is that so?”
Seres studied them for a long moment, then sighed softly, almost disappointed.
She pressed the bar of soap firmly into the nearest maid’s hand, reclaimed the bundle of laundry from Jay, and shoved it back at them.
“Well then. I’ll leave it to you.”
With that, she turned and walked away, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.
“L-lady Seres, wait for me!”
After a moment’s hesitation, Jay scurried after her.
“……”
“……”
“……”
In the silence that followed, the three dripping maids stood frozen in place, as the oppressive stillness lingered over the courtyard.
