Surviving as a Maid - Chapter 5 Part 1

Translator -amy

“When is your break? I’ll try to match our schedules.”

After the proposal passed, Seya shifted the lesson content to focus on the ability to read rather than the ability to rewrite. I still couldn’t read well and I still made grammar and spelling errors. It is already hard when I am awake, but now that Seya is getting busy preparing for the commemorative party that we work earlier than before, at dawn and of course I would not be awake this early, but rather be falling asleep on the desk.

Since the mistress was less scary, I wanted to ask if we could put a pause to studying until we pass this busy period, but I was too scared of Seya or the mistress.

The interesting thing is, how work is harder when there are more people working now. Because human’s physical states have limits, Ellie fed the baby during the day and I proceeded to take care of him at night. Honestly, in my case, I was working a full time job with no restrictions on working hours, but Ellie covered most of the daylight work. Therefore, I consistently told the mistress that if one of us called in sick that would lead straight to disaster that she finally sent one more person our way.

Ellie did seem a little disappointed when Anna did come though. Sav was good at taking care of baby prince, but because Pepe pushed her down the stairs, she had not recovered fully enough to where she can freely walk around, so there was a rumor that she was growing into a specialist in the embroidery and tapestry class.

Anyways, Anna was here now, but because it was her first time with a child and because the baby prince wasn’t familiar of Anna, we had to reteach everything to Anna that I get more exhausted every day. When would I stop being tired? I was tired yesterday, I am tired today, so will I be tired tomorrow?

I was lying on the desk like I used to in school and without really waking me up Seya’s words slowly processed in my head. My off day? Why? Set what?

It was D-5 until the party.

And I had said that I would watch the parade with Seya.

Ah, wait a minute. Let me wipe of my tear. The mistress, who he calls his cousin, is a strong woman who would not look stabbed even if she was. On the other hand, Seya is such a kind and sweet person. I have not heard what and when are we going to do something as a means of actually meaning something in a while. Memories of when the simple times of ‘Let’s go for a tea’ raised sad moments in the past. I believed. I believed it.

“Are you really going to hang out with me that day?”

Seya replied with a pretty fold of light green eyes, which was overwhelmed by his heavy work.

“Of course, Ms. Ahsee. It is going to be fun.”

“I have my day off the day the Army comes back.”

“There are many other fun events days after that, but why did you pick the first day?”

“For most part, the first day seems to be the most decorative and meaning.”

“You are right. First does have a meaning.”

We smiled at each other as if we were herbivores who can hold a conversation.

After Seya left, I was busy. To be honest, there were multiple times I wanted to yell ‘What the hell,’ but I kept it to myself. I shouted after I passed on the baby as if I was throwing it to Sir Mio and handed him the warm milk bottle.

“Sir Mio! Feed the baby the whole bottle and pat his back after! And don’t forget to talk to him while feeding him! Here’s a towel! Shoulder! Just in case he throws up! You’ve seen it plenty of times? I’ll be right back! If I don’t come back right away, message his legs or play with him after!!”

“Wait Ahsee! This is nanny’s job…”

“Ah!! I’m in a hurry, let’s talk after!”

I busted open the door and ran towards the maids room. The corridor of the Queen’s Palace was dark, not lit up yet, and I was the only one struggling here. Life is unfair. Why am I working when others are working and working when they are sleep? I was in such a hurry I almost ran into the corner wall. After stopping a narrow escape, I ran towards my destination and busted the door open.

“Ellie! Anna! Wake up, it’s urgent! Hurry!!”

As Anna and Ellie became official nannies, they became roommates. Their pay went up, probably? Anyways, it was good. I brutally and relentlessly turned on the lights in the room, kicked off their blankets, and woke them up.

“What time.. 5? I’m going to kill you… Do not wake me up…”

Ellie took her blanket back and wrapped herself in it. I put Anna on hold and targeted Ellie by smashing her back with my palms.

“I said it is urgent, ah!”

After a lot of effort, I woke both of them up. They were sitting with their eyes closed, but they can hear me. I grabbed both of their hands and said. It felt like a confession.

“It’s an emergency. I have to go see the parade in 5 days but… I don’t have clothes to wear.”

‘Ahsee’ must have walked around naked. There’s no way she has this little clothes. She should’ve bought some nice clothes with the money she used to buy music boxes. I respect her taste. She can save what she eats, wears, puts on, to save for something she wants. You have to have what you want. People desire didn’t things and I can understand all that. But isn’t it too much to not have any civilian clothes?

“Just wear what you are wearing right now.”

“Yeah. It is simple. That is good.”

Yawning as if this was nothing, Ellie and Anna was about to go back to bed. They don’t understand my urgency.

“I’m going with a guy.”

They sat straight up.

“hey, hey hey, you bring all the clothes you have.”

“Wait, no, wait! We can go up. Ellie, bring up your stuff.”

“There is nothing you need to see, you’ve seen everything already!”

“You don’t wear anything besides funeral clothes. Show us what you hiding!”

“Nothing!!! This is for real all I have. Help!!”

“God, you said you don’t have any family to support. What did you do with all your earnings?!”

I learned something good. ‘Ahsee’ must be an orphan. It wasn’t something I was looking for right now.

When I was buying clothes in Korea, I hated free sizes. The concept of free size in Korea did not feel free whenever I put it on. My body was not free. And like that it was hard to find nice going out clothes from my friends that fit me nicely. I don’t understand how girls here are so skinny as well.

Even though they were half awake, Ellie and Anna tried their best to find maids similar to my size and hunted them like a vampire would for victim and went through their closets. Step by step, they got me a pretty ribbon and some pretty earrings.

“Don’t forget. There is at least one person who did well by wearing what I gave them.”

Pepe said as she brought her unworn heels. To be honest I felt a little uncomfortable about that one. If I didn’t introduce them I felt like I could get stabbed or hit with that heel of hers. Sav was an example that already happened.

I don’t know what is the rumor that has been going around but there was one about where everyone in the palace was sent to some rich family or that they can only have rich husbands or things like that. They were invested. Well. The Queen was not in a good environment to meet other man.

In a short amount of time left, Ellie and Anna got new items each night. They tried their best to build the best combinations.

Time flew by. In the meantime, Seya and I coordinated time to study. I am trying my best to look my best for the perfect date, but I wonder if Seya is putting in the same effort. I felt like he wasn’t and felt discouraged.

“Baby. Look carefully over there. You’re nanny has rarely looked after you these couple days because she is so invested on her date.”

“Sir Mio, I can hear you.”

“I am going to tell the baby until he is 20 that you left him when he was not even 100 days old to go on a date.”

“If you go on a date, Sir Mio, I will try my best to accommodate to you. Aha but since you don’t have anyone to take your spot, that won’t happen, hm? Would you want to use the proposal I made?”

Sir Mio sat the baby prince on his laps and put his one hand on the baby’s stomach. He put his other hand on baby prince’s small hands and played with his hands. I pretended like nothing was wrong, but I always felt an empty side. You wouldn’t lie about me to the baby prince but about the Queen.

The final decision was the dress Jesse let me borrow, a gold dress. The problem was that my skin looked a bit dark when I wore it, but I decided on it because the lace on the end of the sleeve that came up to the elbow was too cute. I know what I like is not what I look good in but it is hard to let go of what you want to wear, so I had to find something that satisfied both.

The dress itself was a basic design, so on top of that I put on a lace shawl that Mina gave me. I also put on the small droplet shaped earrings that Sav let me borrow. And my hair was done by Pepe, who visited me early in the morning. After Anna’s hard effort to finish my makeup, I was ready to leave.

I looked at myself in the mirror and it wasn’t too bad.

“I didn’t realize you liked Sir Mio.”

“I don’t like him like that.”

“But you dressed up like that?”

Sir Mio must have not had a date with a girl before. Well, he does love Jurgel. To be honest, I’m not sure if the men who love Jurgel in ‘Escape’ love him naturally or is from hormones.

“I try my best at every possibility.”

There is a thing called law. Like drawing black lines on pumpkins won’t make them a watermelon and putting a chicken on a diet won’t make them a handsome chicken. The clothes I borrowed overwhelmed me and all the accessories felt too much. Even the heels were not mine. I looked at the mirror again. I would not have walked around like this in this makeup in Korea. I just thought of that.

“You don’t think my stomach is sticking out?”
“It’s okay. You can cover with the shawl.”

“Can you just say that I don’t”

“Sorry, I can’t lie about something that’s there.”

Ellie and Anna was busy from morning trying to beauty me up. As the baby prince started to stretch in Sir Mio’s arms, Anna took the baby from him. Baby started to move more as he was in Anna’s arms, so Ellie had to take the baby from Anna. I suddenly have a bad feeling. Of course, Ellie is a trained nanny, but could I leave the room and trust them?

“But… Sir Mio, are you not getting ready?”

I was worried, but the pretties maid in the palace, Anna, batted her long eyelashes and asked. Looking at that, Sir Mio and I made the same face.

“Sir Mio is working the whole day. Do knights have shifts?”

If you looked at Ellie and Anna’s face right now, it would be like I just confessed that I was actually Jurgel’s sister or something. Anna, full of betrayal and shock, even shouted at me.

“It is not Sir Mio?! Then who are you going on a date with?!”

Ah no wonder. All the items that they picked and brought were pointed towards a commoner knight. I just thought it was because the highest a maid can aim for was a knight ranking.

I then realized that Anna or Ellie has never seen Seya.

“Yes there is. A kind and considerate baron.”

Right. He is very loyal who acts on “let’s have a meal together” in real life. I like this justice society. I believe that those who say “let’s meet up” and never act on it should get stomach flu or something.

Epilogue———————————————

When someone says let’s go eat sometime, I wish they actually set the date and follow up with it. If they didn’t mean it, then I wish they never said anything from the beginning. L