The rest of the maids stared at her in silence.
Not one raised a hand to take the notes from her.
“I’ll just leave it here,” Nina said. She laid the book at her feet, then turned away from them.
Nina had come to the estate on the recommendation of her mentor to be a lady’s maid. Accomplished in languages and well-versed in the rules of etiquette, she had done well in that role, but couldn’t help but be bothered by other things. There were the grimy corridors, the haphazardly served meals, the patchy education of the master’s sons—all things with one, easy explanation: The count hired his maids primarily for their looks.
It was important for some, such as parlor maids, to be pleasing to look at, but he had used the same criteria to select maids who didn’t serve guests, and so duties all over the household went unfinished. The one who remedied this was of course Nina. Despite how large a house it was, she was the sole maid-of-all-work.
What will happen now...? For a moment, Nina imagined what might become of the household without her, then gave her head a vigorous shake. I’m sure the housekeeper will see to it that the household keeps running even after I’m gone. Besides, none of them would want Nina’s concern. The housekeeper would know what needed to be done.
Or so Nina thought. Sad to say, the housekeeper did not know. Nina, following her mentor’s command to “be inconspicuous,” had gone about all her work without attracting notice. She was a lady’s maid and yet a full year had passed after she started before the lady of the house realized she existed and asked for her name.
As she went along, worrying about the future, Nina used a cloth from her pocket to wipe at fogged patches she noticed on the windows, swept up dead leaves that had blown inside, and put away a mop that had been left out. She made each task look as effortless as though she had simply strolled down the corridor, leaving it spotless and sparkling in her wake.
It was in a way inevitable that the other maids would fail to notice Nina given her incredible level of accomplishment. They had no notion of how special Nina was, and Nina never boasted of it, and so unfortunately, they never realized their mutual misunderstanding.
“Oh...” Nina’s gaze fell on a corner of the corridor where there had been a mysterious stain when she first arrived at the house. She remembered the hours she spent getting it out. The window opposite was high up, so she had asked the gardener to lend her a ladder to wipe it. She had spoken to the cook about the servants’ meals, which, prepared in advance to be eaten in spare moments, were often eaten cold, to work out a menu that would still taste good.
That broom closet... That window at the end of the corridor... That ceiling... Even the servants’ wing had received Nina’s attention, although it was the main house where she pulled out the stops and cleaned until it sparkled.
Nina paused. The final place she passed was the kitchen in the servants’ wing. Roy was the cook for the main house, but he also put his culinary skills to work for the servants. At this hour of the morning, he was sure to be here. From inside, Nina could hear the chopping of a knife.
Roy is a genius cook, Nina thought. Even the count’s wife ordered the maids to knock once before entering when she needed something from the kitchen in the main house.
Nina knew his reputation as a cook with impeccable manners, and that he was very good at his job. You could see it in how exacting he was about ingredients. He insisted on the best, seasonal produce bought at precisely the right time...
Nina wondered if she ought to say a word of farewell. Then she shook her head and hurried on past the kitchen.
“Eh?” Roy glanced over his shoulder, but that was all.
“Where should I go...?”
Stepping out onto the front of the estate, Nina quickly found herself in the busy streets of the city of Sickle, a bustling center full of people in the Crecente Kingdom.
Amid it all, Nina was alone. She gazed blankly at the people coming and going. “Of course...” she murmured. “I never thought about anything other than my work for the household.”
She had started helping out with housework because she enjoyed being praised, then, when her mentor had uncovered her gift for maid work, she had absorbed knowledge like a sponge. It had been fun.
Along the way, Nina had sent most of her wages back to her family in the countryside but had never spent what little she kept for herself, so she’d been able to save half a million gold. That could keep her going for half a year if she were thrifty. A whole year, with a place to live.
“I wonder if I should go home,” she mused. “But I’d only be a burden.” Her parents were farmers and not especially wealthy. Nina could offer nothing more than help with the housework, so even if she moved back in, she wouldn’t bring in any more income. She’d just be another problem for her parents to deal with.
“Hmmm...”
Just then, Nina heard the clang of a handbell.
“All aboard! Coach bound for the city of Fulmoon, heart of trade of the kingdom! It’s pretty as a picture and full of rare curiosities from across the land! Perfect for a bit of sightseeing!”
It was a coachman looking for customers. Just like that, it hit Nina that the world beyond the house was almost entirely a mystery to her.
Sightseeing. Nina wanted to see new things.
It was on the spur of the moment. Like as not, she simply wanted to distract herself from her misery over her dismissal.
“E-Excuse me! I would like to come!”
Nina took a step toward the coach—and that was how one maid set off on a journey.