53. Inside the Heart of Maid-senpai

* * *

H-Hello. I’m Maid.

I’ve been serving at the Salar Baronial household since a very young age, working as a maid for about 10 years now.

After the elderly Maid-senpai passed away, for the past few years it’s just been me and Uncle Mauve, a fellow servant, handling various chores around the residence together.

And now, I’ve gained a junior apprentice.

Her name is Emi.

A black-haired, black-eyed cursed child.

My encounter with her was so shocking that I will likely never forget it for the rest of my life.

On our way back from paying a visit to the Viscountess who governs the neighboring territory, to introduce the young Lady before her admission to the academy, accompanied by the Baroness and the young Lady…we were assaulted by a band of violent robbers.

Despite the Baroness’s valiant efforts to stall for time, when the robbers’ blades were closing in on the young Lady, Emi appeared.

I was utterly terrified and confused, with no understanding of what she did or how.

However, one undeniable fact was clear.

She killed most of the robbers, and saved us.

And yet.

I cannot bring myself to think favorably of her.

She is a forbidding cursed child with a fearsome appearance.

……And more than that……no, even putting that aside.

She is a killer.

The sound of the robbers’ heads bursting is still burnt into my mind.

The way she killed the robbers without a shred of emotion, not even twitching an eyebrow.

Horrifying.

She terrifies me.

Clearly, taking down those robbers was not an unlawful act.

Otherwise, many adventurers would be criminals.

But.

The fact that she did it to save us.

It wasn’t illegal.

Even so.

An emotionless killer possessing unfathomable powers.

I could never accept someone like that.

* * *

And that killer is to serve at our residence as my junior for a month.

This was conveyed to me by the Lord Husband the very next morning after my encounter with Emi.

……I nearly fainted from dizziness.

And I began to question the Lord Husband’s sanity.

The Lord Husband often self-deprecatingly calls himself a “pauper noble,” and regrettably, that is indeed the truth.

However, even if the Lord Husband is merely a pauper noble, just a minor regional official, if word got out amongst the other nobles that he had hired a black-haired, black-eyed cursed child…

……Would his standing not be jeopardized?

It may not be codified in law or written in the teachings of the gods, but simply having a cursed child at one’s side for a month could potentially become a scandal of immense proportions – this much the Lord Husband surely understands, does he not…?

Yet I am but a servant.

I am in no position to offer any opinions on the Lord Husband’s decisions.

If ordered, I have no choice but to obey.

No choice but to obey.

As terrifying as it is.

The first task I had Emi do was floor mopping and cleaning.

Incidentally, cleaning is my greatest forte. To the extent that it would be no exaggeration to say that amongst the six siblings in my family, I alone was allowed to serve in this household precisely because of this.

Therefore, it was only natural that there would be a significant gap in cleaning speed between the amateur Emi and myself.

Around the time I had more or less finished mopping the second floor hallway, Emi had barely advanced from the spot where she had started cleaning, dithering about aimlessly.

I saw this as an opportunity.

I would leave that area’s cleaning to Emi, while I tackled the cleaning of the first floor myself.

That way, I could keep my distance from that eerie girl.

Yes, that was my intention, but……

It was thwarted in the blink of an eye when Emi closed the distance between us and grabbed my hand holding the mop.

“Senpai, your cleaning is amazing. Fast. Spotless. Please teach me how.”

Saying that, she reflected my visage in those pitch-black eyes like abyssal depths devoid of any discernible emotion.

……There is an expression about a frog being stared down by a snake……at that moment, I was precisely that frog.

This child could easily crush my hand in her grasp if she so wished.

She could tear my body in half……she could make my head burst, just like those robbers…

I had no choice but to comply.

And yet.

When she asked me to teach her, there was nothing particularly special about what I was doing.

I was simply accustomed to cleaning. My speed stemmed from that familiarity.

For the time being, I decided to demonstrate in front of her.

Truthfully, I was consumed by dread, terrified of incurring her displeasure.

Pathetically, overwhelmed by fear, I mopped the floor in tears.

……The sight of a Maid-senpai reduced to mopping the floors in tears.

It felt like our positions were somehow reversed, but given the terrifying nature of this cursed child, it could not be helped.

“……Senpai’s cleaning is magic.”

As I turned back to polish the area Emi had left unfinished, those were her words to me.

This was likely a figurative expression on her part.

Her speech is fragmented and her grammar is occasionally incorrect, making her difficult to understand.

She probably meant that I cleaned so thoroughly it was like magic.

“Well……thank you for the compliment.”

Saying that, I managed to put on a smile.

It seemed to satisfy her for the time being.

With that, the mopping of the second floor hallway was complete.

I had hoped Emi would continue polishing this hallway alone, but it could not be helped.

We proceeded to clean the first floor together.

Remarkably, after merely watching me clean once, Emi’s skills had rapidly improved.

There were still some rough areas, but considering she was a beginner, her work was more than satisfactory.

Terrifying. Formidable.

A cursed child she may be, but with her help, the work would undoubtedly be completed faster.

That much was certain.

As I was contemplating this, I realized Emi was no longer there.

Looking around for her whereabouts, I found her clinging to the ceiling like some sort of black insect, cleaning up there.

No……admittedly I did want to clean that area as well, but it was too high for me to reach, so I had been wondering how to tackle it.

But what is this?

What’s going on?

How can she adhere to the ceiling……upside down like that?

I don’t understand the meaning of this.

That child is just……terrifying……