The normal cause of significant change within an inner palace was the arrival of a new concubine. While Capua’s inner palace was far removed from the “general” inner palace in many ways, the same held true there as well.
Upon the addition of Freya as a concubine, there was a major change within the inner palace. Until that point, only the main building had been used, but now an annex was in use and inhabited by not only Freya, but the maids she had brought with her from the Northern Continent.
Fortunately, Freya was an extremely incisive person and had strictly selected the maids she would bring, keeping the number to a minimum. Therefore, the usual negatives associated with change within an inner palace had been all but absent. The changes themselves, though, could be considered even greater than was normal upon the addition of a new concubine and group of maids.
After all, Freya was a person to whom it was difficult to apply the word “normal,” and her husband, Zenjirou, was someone who gave her almost unprecedented freedom to express herself.
Freya’s confidante, Skaji, was allowed her weapons even within the inner palace. Freya had also learned how to ride a dash drake within the gardens and, once considered capable, mainly traveled on drake rather than by carriage. Of course, she could hardly do so wearing a dress, so she wore hunter’s clothing which had pants to cover her legs.
Inevitably, the maids then had to care for not just the dresses they were used to, but leather hunter’s clothing. Tending to the gardens was no longer just removing weeds and pest control, but re-covering areas of lawn the dash drakes had trampled, and the maids were saddled with work that would usually be left to those running military parade grounds.
For better or worse, there was another change taking place in the inner palace today: the installation of glass panes in the windows. The head maid, Amanda, was standing right in front of those windows, addressing the young maids assembled before her.
“This is a glass pane ordered from the Northern Continent. At present, they are only here in the living room and in Lady Freya’s living room in the annex, but we plan to install more depending on their reception. There are some points to keep in mind while maintaining it, but fortunately we have people familiar with the process here, so they will provide some guidance.”
As she spoke, Amanda swept her gaze over the three maids from the Northern Continent.
“There is a knack for cleaning glass panes properly, but I am sure you will all be familiar with it soon,” their representative, Ragnhild, said. Her role was managing the maids that Freya had brought with her, and the young maids had—with a single glance—called her a palette swap of Amanda. In the months that followed, that impression had been utterly cemented.
The younger two from the Northern Continent saw Amanda the same way, only in reverse, so apparently it was a widespread sentiment. While their hair, eyes, and skin were all different colors, the two women were similar enough that there were periodic rumors that they were actually related by blood. The strict expressions and way they carried themselves while instructing the younger maids, coupled with how precisely they wore their clothes, were all exactly the same between the two of them.
“Therefore,” Amanda continued, “those on duty for cleaning within the main building will be accompanied by Ragnhild, Elvira, or Rebecca so you can learn. I take it you all understand.”
The assembled maids all chorused their agreement. In addition, their thoughts were in unison as well. “Please be Elvira, please be Elvira...” was running through all of their minds.
✦ ✦ ✦
Today the three on cleaning duty were Faye, Dolores, and Letti. They were joined by Elvira to make four. Either because their prayers were the strongest or due to sheer coincidence, the three problem maids were being taught how to deal with the glass by Elvira.
“So, allow me to explain,” the maid, her brown hair bouncing as she spoke. She was one of the three maids Freya had first brought from the Northern Continent, who had since been supplemented by more of the girls who were on standby.
Ragnhild was Freya’s aunt on her mother’s side and was here as supervisor for both the maids and Freya. Rebecca—another of the younger maids—was one of the people who had trained with Freya when she was taking her trials as a warrior and was a trusted friend of hers. In contrast, Elvira had strictly been selected for her skills and personality.
She was roughly the same age as Rebecca, but her abilities were closer to Ragnhild’s. She was intelligent, gifted in her work, and well-liked. She was perfect to integrate into a group and exercised her abilities well. The Capuan maids all had a definite degree of trust in her.
“As you can see, the window panes are somewhat complex. There are the round, transparent parts, which are made of glass, dark lead surrounding them, and the wooden frame. All of them require different treatment, so make sure you pay attention.”
As she spoke, she demonstrated, dipping a cloth into a cleaning liquid and then wiping the glass. As implied by her saying “round transparent part,” the clear parts of the window were made of circular glass.
Each individual piece of glass was around ten centimeters in diameter. They were held in a lead frame and lined up horizontally and vertically to make the window.
These were known as rondel windows, and it was an old style. Relying on the example Elvira had provided, Faye, Letti, and Dolores set about cleaning the glass.
“Hmm, it’s slippery, but it’s also surprisingly bumpy. Getting it properly polished is pretty difficult,” the maid with particularly short hair—Faye—commented.
Indeed, the individual rondels were far from flat. They were made through a process called the crown technique, which was, put simply, something that began in the same way as making a glass phial through blowing. The blank was then cut off and attached to a pole, which was spun at high speed. The centrifugal force drew the glass out into a crown—a flattish sheet.
The rotation meant that the glass sheet was inevitably circular, and the fact that it was spread out through centrifugal force put an upper limit on its size. Not even a skilled glassblower could get it as flat as modern glass sheets, and the leftover from cutting it loose from the pole would always remain. While the undulating glass rounds had a certain “vibe” to them, the fact remained that cleaning them was difficult.
“Where they are might be a problem,” commented the tallest of the maids—Dolores. “It might be fine for everyone apart from the exceptions like Faye, but some of the maidservants are as short as her.”
Dolores was right. The upper part of the windows were well within reach for her and her hundred and eighty centimeters of height, but someone like Faye—who was around thirty centimeters shorter—would find it rather difficult.
Fortunately, the maids working in the main building were all taller than her, but there were indeed some of the maidservants who were just as short.
It wasn’t far enough up that she couldn’t reach the top of the windows if she stretched, so it was at least possible. It was rather risky for something which required so much attention, though.
Even a one-in-a-hundred chance of failure would happen eventually if the task was done daily.
Elvira considered the comment for a while, tilting her head. “It is somewhat dangerous with Faye’s height. Considering how valuable they are, though, I imagine the maidservants won’t be cleaning them for a while. Lady Nilda is the only other maid of a similar height, but she isn’t involved with the cleaning, so it likely won’t be an issue. Faye has you in her group, so that won’t be a problem either, will it?”
Faye nodded along with Elvira’s explanation before darting her small hand into the air and turning to the roommate at her side.
“Dolores, the top’s all yours!”
The tall maid didn’t bother hiding the reluctant smile as she replied, “Sure, sure. In exchange, you get the bottoms and floor.”
Dolores was just as cunning as always, taking on the upper portions of the window in exchange for diverting more of the work to Faye.
“That’s right,” their third member—distinguished by her wavy, light-brown hair and conspicuously well-endowed chest, Letti—mused in her normal easygoing tone. “Nilda isn’t in this position anymore.”
Nilda, one of the minority of a similar height to Faye, was now the first maid of the annex Freya lived in. On the whole, being first maid of the annex was effectively like being the head maid there. She wouldn’t be personally cleaning windows in that position—though Amanda had often been seen with cloth in hand while they were short on numbers. Now, though, she was in much more of a supervisory and directing role.
Despite the addition of another thing to clean in the windows, the addition of Elvira—and her high level of skill—meant that the work was actually done quicker than when it was just the three of them.
With their work done for the time being, the three problem maids and Elvira could spend their time relaxing with tea and snacks in the dining room provided for them.