Not the Villainess, but the Maid

Chapter 3: The Young Lady’s Cat Is in Danger!

It had been two weeks since I started my life as a maid candidate.

More than half of the maid candidates had already voluntarily given up and returned home or were eliminated.

My scores for living standards were disastrous, but thanks to the tea recipe secretly taught to me by Merilda, I somehow managed to recover my grades and survive until now.

The grueling work schedule of a noble’s mansion was still overwhelming, but even someone as unskilled as me could adapt to some extent by sheer repetition.

By now, I could tie my hair quickly, and the only thing that still troubled me was bath time.

“Don’t mind it… It’s just a body…”

Even though I was in the body of a young girl, my mind was still that of a man.

The sight of dozens of naked candidates was far too stimulating for me.

So, in the communal bath, I mostly kept my eyes on the floor and quietly washed myself in a corner to avoid being conscious of others.

If someone asked whether I had made any friends, I could confidently say no.

Everyone seemed puzzled as to why I hadn’t been eliminated yet, and after the tea incident, they seemed to distance themselves from me even more.

I neither bullied nor was bullied by them, but our relationship was nothing more than ambiguous and indifferent.

* * *

The young lady Ruby had a pet.

It was a white Persian cat named “Milk,” with a round, fluffy body that resembled a ball of fur.

“Where on earth have you gone…?”

I constantly had to keep an eye on this troublesome creature that disappeared at every opportunity.

You might ask, “What’s the big deal about a noble’s cat?” But this animal would have a significant impact on her future.

In the game, after her beloved childhood pet died in a tragic accident, Ruby developed a deep aversion and hatred for animals.

To prevent such a thing from happening, I couldn’t take my eyes off this cat.

And now, Milk had been missing for three days.

The head maid, Merilda, gathered us with a serious expression.

“…As you all know, the young lady’s cat has gone missing. Miss Ruby has been tirelessly searching for Milk. You understand what I’m about to say, don’t you?”

With a determined look, she ordered us,

“This is a serious matter. All candidates must search every corner of the mansion to find the cat!”

At her words, the candidates scattered and began their search.

I was also lifting furniture and searching for Milk when I saw Ruby walking down the hallway with a much gloomier demeanor than usual.

“Milk… Where have you gone… Poor thing…”

Watching her, I couldn’t help but feel perplexed. How could this girl, who would one day delight in burning animals alive, turn into such a psychopath?

Just how severe a shock had she suffered to transform so drastically in just four years?

By sunset, Milk still hadn’t been found, and we were forced to halt the search and disband.

“Where could that darn cat have gone…?”

Exhausted, I collapsed in the dormitory, but I could hear the grumbles of the other candidates.

“All this trouble for a single cat?”

“Exactly. They have plenty of money, so why not just get a new one?”

They seemed full of complaints about being tasked with this job.

After weeks of communal living, they were visibly fatigued, and complaints had become more frequent.

At that moment,

“…Candidates, may I have a word?”

Merilda’s voice came from outside the door, and the grumbling ceased as everyone straightened their posture on their beds.

Merilda entered with a stern expression, glanced around, and then bowed deeply.

“I sincerely apologize for forcing you to do work unrelated to your duties as maids.”

We, including myself, froze in shock.

“This matter is urgent, and while I knew it was unreasonable, I involved you all. As the head maid of this household, I sincerely apologize for that. Starting tomorrow, you will return to your usual tasks, so please forgive me and the young lady.”

Merilda left the room with a somber expression, leaving the dormitory in a solemn atmosphere.

“…”

It was supposed to be bedtime.

Though exhausted, I couldn’t get Merilda’s bowing figure out of my mind and eventually left the dormitory on my own.

In the hallway, she was still diligently searching for Milk.

I naturally gravitated toward her.

“Head Maid, let me help you.”

Startled, she asked,

“Candidate Amber? Isn’t it past bedtime?”

“I can’t sleep knowing Milk is still missing. Please, let me help.”

After some hesitation, she reluctantly nodded.

“…Don’t stay up too late. You still have work tomorrow.”

There was no extra credit for helping her.

I simply felt it was the right thing to do.

* * *

Despite searching the mansion all night with Merilda, Milk was nowhere to be found.

By morning, I had only slept about three hours and was covered in dark circles.

“Yawn…”

Unlike me, who was still bothered by Milk’s disappearance, the other candidates were in high spirits.

Perhaps they were happy to be freed from the task of searching for the cat.

At least no one seemed to have the dissatisfied expressions they had the previous day.

As I sluggishly forced down breakfast, a candidate burst into the dining hall.

“Everyone, the young lady found the cat in the yard…!”

At the welcome news, we all ran outside to the yard.

There, Merilda, Ruby, and some of the other candidates were already gathered.

Ruby should have been overjoyed to find her cat after almost four days, but her expression was darker than ever.

“Milk… Don’t move…!”

A ferocious stray dog, which had appeared out of nowhere, barked fiercely at Milk, who was precariously perched on a tree branch.

“A stray dog here…? Did it come down from the mountains?”

The young lady’s villa was a bit secluded from the village, so it wasn’t uncommon for wild animals from nearby mountains to enter through small holes in the fence.

Usually, it was rabbits or raccoons, but this was the first time a dangerous wild animal like a stray dog had entered.

Milk had likely climbed the tree out of instinct to avoid the stray dog.

Ruby tried to approach the tree, but Merilda stopped her.

“You can’t, young lady…! It’s too dangerous…!”

“But Milk is up there…!”

No one could act recklessly.

If only there were someone with magic, they might have been able to do something, but there was no one like that at this villa, which housed only Ruby and the staff.

Throwing a rock might only provoke the stray dog into attacking people, and no one seemed willing to risk their safety for the cat.

“Someone go to the village and fetch help!”

Merilda sent a few candidates to the village, but Milk didn’t seem strong enough to hold on until help arrived.

It had been days without food, and even clinging to the tree was a struggle.

If Milk fell, it would surely become the stray dog’s prey.

“Could this incident be why Ruby came to hate animals…?”

If she witnessed her beloved cat being devoured by a stray dog, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to be traumatized.

For a 13-year-old girl, such an event would undoubtedly distort her values.

If I didn’t intervene, she would grow into the twisted character from the game.

“I have to do something…”

I was scared of the stray dog, but the thought of losing Milk was even more frightening.

I racked my brain for a way to save the cat.

I remembered a tidbit from a TV program I had seen long ago.

“…I heard stray dogs think clothes are part of a person.”

If I had a bag, that would be ideal, but all I had was my white apron.

I untied the apron and ran toward the tree where Milk was.

Merilda, alarmed, shouted,

“Candidate Amber, come back immediately!”

Ignoring her, I kept running.

“I’m sorry…!”

Though I had only known Milk for a few days, I had grown attached to the chubby, fluffy cat.

Knowing it would die if I did nothing, I couldn’t just stand by.

“Woof! Woof!”

As expected, the stray dog charged toward me as a new target.

“I hope this works…!”

I threw the apron at the dog with all my strength, and it bit down on it, tearing it apart fiercely.

“Got it, it’s distracted…!”

While the stray dog was preoccupied with the apron, I reached the base of the tree.

From afar, the tree hadn’t seemed tall, but up close, it was quite high.

Feeling around its surface, I found several decent handholds.

The scattered small branches also made climbing easier.

I climbed halfway without much difficulty, but my outfit became a problem.

“This skirt is so annoying…!”

My skirt’s weight and design made climbing the tree far more cumbersome than it would have been in pants.

“Woof!”

“Ah…!”

While I was still climbing, the stray dog bit the hem of my skirt and held on.

‘Let go…!’

Feeling threatened, I kicked its head hard, and the dog released my skirt, which tore as it fell to the ground.

“Yelp!”

The dog, apparently intimidated after being kicked in the head, ran off with my torn skirt in its mouth.

‘Serves you right, you mangy mutt.’

The incident left a significant portion of my skirt shredded, now resembling a miniskirt.

Ironically, this made climbing much easier. I quickly scrambled up to the branch where Milk was perched.

“Milk, come here…”

“Meow…”

I reached out toward the precarious branch where Milk was perched.

“It’s okay now. Let’s go down together.”

Whether it understood me or simply felt safer after the dog left, Milk cautiously moved toward me.

“…!”

At that moment, the long branch cracked with a loud snap.

“Milk!”

I instinctively grabbed Milk and held it close, but I lost my balance and fell.

* * *

“Meow…”

I felt a ticklish sensation on my cheek.

“Hmm…”

Unable to resist the tickling, I opened my eyes to find a white, fluffy cat lovingly licking my cheek.

“Milk! You’re safe…!”

Overjoyed, I hugged the cat.

Milk hissed and bit my arm in response.

“Hiss!”

“Ouch!”

“Meow!”

Milk then casually leapt off the bed and strutted out of the room.

‘What a temper…’

As I rubbed my bitten arm, a familiar voice came from beside me.

“What were you thinking, doing something so reckless?”

Startled, I turned to see Merilda glaring at me with an angry expression.

“What if you’d been seriously hurt! You’re lucky it was just a bump on the forehead…”

“I’m sorry…”

Only then did I notice the bandage on my forehead.

“I’ve disinfected it. It’s just a small scrape, so it should heal quickly.”

Her expression was scarier than ever as she stared at me.

“Amber, you disobeyed my orders and acted on your own.”

“Yes…”

“I’ve told you countless times how much of a disqualifying offense that is in this maid selection process.”

Acting independently against orders was a strict rule Merilda constantly emphasized to the candidates.

“I have nothing to say in my defense.”

This was a significant enough infraction to potentially end my time as a candidate, but I didn’t regret my actions.

Even if I were placed in that situation again, I would make the same choice.

“You are warm-hearted and kind, Amber, but you are also dangerously unpredictable. You frequently act impulsively and, despite your efforts, your skills as a maid remain subpar.”

Her assessment of me was brutally accurate.

Despite my constant effort, I lacked the aptitude and efficiency that others possessed.

“I’ve worked as a maid for over 30 years, but I’ve never met anyone like you. I can’t decide if you’re bold or just hopelessly naive…”

I accepted her words without complaint, knowing she was right.

After a deep sigh, Merilda’s expression grew more serious than ever.

“Amber, I’ve discussed your future at length with the young lady.”

“With Miss Ruby…?”

“Would you like to hear what conclusion we came to?”

“…Yes.”

I thought my dream of becoming Ruby’s exclusive maid had come to an end.

Though I felt a little sad, I believed that changing someone’s life for the better was enough of an accomplishment.

Resolute, I nodded, and Merilda spoke.

“We’ve decided to appoint you as Miss Ruby’s exclusive maid.”

“…What?”

I froze in shock at the unexpected outcome.

“Really? Me?”

“Yes. The young lady personally insisted on it.”

I couldn’t believe it. Out of all the candidates, she had chosen me.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her so assertive. She’s always refused every maid assigned to her, but this time, she outright said she wouldn’t accept anyone but you.”

Though Ruby and I had never had a proper conversation, she had still chosen me.

“To be honest, I also think you’re the right person to be her exclusive maid.”

Surprised by Merilda’s unexpected comment, I blinked.

“You do?”

“Yes. Right now, the young lady needs more than a perfect maid—she needs a good friend who can have a positive influence on her. Based on what I’ve observed, I believe you are the best fit for that role.”

I never imagined Merilda thought so highly of me.

Embarrassed, I scratched my face awkwardly.

“What about the other candidates? Will they be dismissed?”

“The other candidates?”

“Will they all be sent away?”

Merilda widened her eyes in surprise and shook her head.

“Sent away? Of course not…!”

“…They won’t be dismissed?”

“The eliminated candidates will leave this villa and continue their maid training at the Sarka family’s main household. Where did you hear such a dreadful rumor…?”

Recalling all the hardships I had endured, I felt a wave of emptiness.

What had I been working so hard for…?

“Ha… Haha…”

As I smiled wryly at the absurdity of it all, Merilda looked at me with an amused expression and said,

“Amber, you remind me of myself when I was younger. Clumsy but overly enthusiastic…”

“…Clumsy? You, Head Maid? I can’t imagine that.”

To me, she seemed like a flawless iron woman who excelled at everything.

“Of course, I wasn’t as hopeless as you. I meant the resemblance in personality.”

“…”

After ensuring I was okay, Merilda stood up.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be much busier than before. Get as much rest as you can.”

“Yes, Head Maid.”

“Just call me Merilda. We’ll be working together under the young lady from now on.”

And so, my life as Ruby’s exclusive maid began.

—-

Stray dog ​​(Author dog)

Trait: Vicious