Chapter 3.1 - Have you gone mad, Master?
Scar was never an unscrupulous master. He said that guest rooms and recreation rooms that were rarely used could be left unattended.
This excessively large mansion could never be managed by Lucy alone. In the end, her tasks included preparing Scar’s meals, managing his room, doing laundry, and cleaning up his mess. However, there was one condition.
“Stay out of my sight.”
As long as she stayed out of sight, Lucy wouldn’t have to shave her head.
“Easier than I thought, huh?”
Not only Scar, but most homeowners disliked their employees being noticeable. They had to work like ghosts, and those who weren’t butlers and parlor maids would often be fired if they were seen by guests.
“It must be comfortable here with no guests coming.”
Although the house was large, Scar only demanded minimal maintenance, so it wasn’t an impossible condition to fulfill. Lucy slowly familiarized herself with the mansion’s layout and began to do what she needed to do.
Four weeks have passed since Lucy arrived at Scar’s mansion. It was enough time for her to get used to her self-imposed minute-by-minute schedule.
Lucy’s daily routine starts by waking up at 6 a.m. and quickly washing herself. Then, she cleans the dining room, library, parlor, and living room fireplaces, lighting new fires. She sweeps the carpets in each room, dusts off any dirt, and returns everything to its proper place. On her way back to the kitchen, she cleans the stairs.
By 8 a.m., Lucy prepares a simple breakfast for herself and then proceeds to prepare the breakfast for the master. While Scar is dining in the kitchen, she goes up to the second-floor bedroom to tidy up the room. Scar finishes his meal in less than 30 minutes and returns to his room, where Lucy must move swiftly compared to other areas. By this time, even though it’s autumn, Lucy’s body becomes warm, and she starts to sweat.
Before Scar comes up, Lucy goes outside to replenish the coal and firewood. She repeats this process to replenish firewood in every room, ensuring that regardless of where he goes, the rooms are warm.
By 11 a.m., Lucy gathers the laundry from each room and heads to the laundry room to do the laundry. She ensures that warm water is prepared in advance to prevent her hands from freezing. She hangs the laundry in front of the laurel tree, known for its deodorizing effect, and prays for it to dry well. While doing so, she also checks the mailbox for any mail and takes care of it, as instructed by Scar.
“It’s all rubbish anyway.”
Occasionally, Lucy would come across mail with the royal seal, but her priority was always following the master’s instructions. Once collected, these items would burn well when used as kindling for the firewood.
By the time she finishes this work, it’s already 1 p.m. Lucy takes off her sweaty and dusty morning uniform and changes into her afternoon uniform. She has lunch with the meal prepared in the morning and also prepares lunch for the master. While Scar is having lunch, Lucy cleans the dishes by the well outside. While she’s at it, she takes the opportunity to mend the lamps that will be taken outside at night.
From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., it’s the rest time that Scar allows. During this time, Lucy rests in her room, lying down like a soaked laundry. Once 5 p.m. passes, she goes to light the firewood in each room.
At 6 p.m., Lucy eats the meal prepared for the employees that she has made in the morning. Afterward, she prepares the meal for the master and serves it. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lucy goes back upstairs to replenish the firewood in the bedroom fireplace. She also thoroughly cleans the adjacent bathroom until it shines. Fortunately, Scar tends to leisurely enjoy his dinner, so Lucy is able to keep up with the timing.
After finishing the bathroom cleaning, Lucy returns to the kitchen to prepare for the next morning. Once done, she goes back to her room and takes a bath. Since there is no separate bathroom for the employees, she fills a small tub next to her bed with water and washes herself.
The strict household has designated specific days for the employees to bathe with warm water, but Scar didn’t pay much attention to such trivial matters. Thanks to that, Lucy was able to take a warm bath in front of the fireplace every day, and once she finishes cleaning the tub, her maid duties were complete.
“
Ahh
~”
Lucy buried her head in her friable sheet. The texture of the flour sack she had repurposed and sewn together. It was a sheet often used by indifferent homeowners who had no interest in the well-being of their employees.
Master will never come into this room, so he wouldn’t notice if one clean sheet went missing.
The maid contemplated a small act of rebellion as she tossed and turned on the bed. However, soon silence settled in, and a somber atmosphere hung in the room. The greatest concern for a maid working alone was not the workload but rather this profound sense of solitude.
“
Haa
.”
In the past month, Lucy only encountered two people. One was Scar, who came to explain the household rules, and the other was a delivery person who came to deliver groceries. There were no gardeners or hunters in this large mansion. Naturally, Lucy found herself talking to herself more often.
“So boring~.”
Isn’t the master also lonely?
He was truly a peculiar being. He had things like holy water and a crucifix in his bedroom, but he didn’t seem like a very religious person. Lucy had never seen him pray or meditate.
Normally, he would sleep all day or lock himself in the study and not come out, but once every 1-2 weeks, he would go out. Every time he returned, his clothes would be a little dirty, but he never revealed where he had been.
He’s not a nobleman, so where does the maintenance cost of this mansion come from? Moreover…
「On the night of the full moon, there’s no need for a meal. If you hear any noise on the second floor, never come up. No, instead, I will give you an extra allowance, so go to the village, spend the night, and come back tomorrow.」Of course, he didn’t explain the reason. Lucy, who wanted to earn even a penny more, naturally saved that money and rested on the bed, gazing at the full moon.
It was breaking the rules, but as long as she stayed in the corners of the house, it should be fine… Besides, it’s just the forbidden nature of a full moon night, not like he’s a werewolf or anything.
Lucy chuckled. Dragons and werewolves don’t have anything in common.
Thump
,
thump
,
thump
.
From a while ago, there had been a sound of something being struck on the second floor, but it was faintly audible due to the distance. Lucy’s kitchen was located at the western end of the first floor, while Scar’s bedroom was at the eastern end of the second floor. It was surprising that the sound could be heard at all.
‘If that’s the case, I should have brought some knitting or something. But there wasn’t enough time… and it would have been a waste of money…’
Thump
,
thud
!
The sound of something breaking began to be heard.
On the second floor, there was no intact place except for the master’s bedroom and bathroom, so it was unimaginable that the master himself was breaking something. Could it be that an enemy’s face would appear on a full moon night?
Fortunately, he did not vent his anger on his employee.
‘His belongings are fine. They’re his own. He didn’t even ask me to clean up. He’s not the best employer, but he’s not the worst either….’
Then, suddenly, there was a loud noise that shook the entire house. It was a deafening sound that made her ears ring and her head hurt.
“Is it an earthquake?!”
Lucy hurriedly crawled under the table, hoping for the noise to subside. Worried that the ceiling might collapse or that she might die here, she anxiously waited for the noise to finally fade away. The entire mansion fell silent, as if such a sound never occurred.
“Ah, the, the master…!”
As she felt relieved, she began to worry about the upper floor’s safety. Lucy quickly emerged from under the table and grabbed the doorknob. She was about to rush to the second floor, but then she remembered Scar’s request. She started spinning around in front of the door.
‘What should I do? He explicitly told me not to come upstairs.’
But what if the earthquake caused the building to collapse? What if something was broken, or if there was an accident? What if he was trapped or seriously injured somewhere? If she pretended not to know, what if he ended up dying?
Scar may be cold and distant, but he wasn’t a bad person.
If someone dies because I pretended not to know…
As Lucy’s thoughts reached this point, she hardened her resolve and grabbed the doorknob, opening the door.
Please forgive me for pocketing the fee for the overnight stay, Master…!
Hello, everyone~!!! Eica here~ Thank you for having the time to read my translations.Due to my ongoing classes and my upcoming departmental and final exam, I'll be taking time off until the end of this January. No worries as I'll be updating it once my exams are done.Despite my shortcomings in translating this, I hope everyone of you will have a good time reading this.For any mistakes, you can comment down below, or you can ping me at discord.You can support me on ko-fi. And please rate this on NU. Any comments of yours will be appreciated. And though I may not reply, rest assured that I'm reading and anticipating each and every comment of yours.Once again, thank you, everyone~!!! Happy reading~!!!