HowDeadTL: 10.The Whisper of the Duke's Maid

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The Duke's Daughter Goes Her Own Way

[The Whisper of the Duke's Maid]

Translated by: ME

Today, I will polish the Young Lady's room from corner to corner.

Good day to you all.

I am Marina, a maid attending to Lady Elizabeth of the Macnagan Dukedom. I have no surname. The name was given to me by the one who raised me.

The Macnagan Dukedom is the second-highest ranking of the five ducal families in this country, a great noble family. Its history spans over two hundred years, and the mansion in the royal capital boasts a similar history and imposing appearance.

The Duke's family consists of four members: the Lord, who is the head of the family, the graceful and beautiful Lady, the little shit... or rather, the Young Master, and the Young Lady, who possesses both fairy-like loveliness and intelligence.

Besides me, there are two other maids attending to the Young Lady. We rejoice every day in being able to attend to our lovely and gentle Young Lady, and we devote ourselves to our daily work.

[I am truly glad that I don't have to attend to the little shit (Young Master). Yes!]

Originally, I am a lowly person, not worthy of being a servant in the mansion of a great noble family ranked second in the country. When I was a child, my birth family and village were too poor, and it seems I was abandoned to reduce the number of mouths to feed. I assume this because I was too young and don't even remember my parents' faces.

I was picked up by a traveling merchant and named Marina. I traveled with the man, touring various lands within the country. Sometimes, we even went abroad. The man taught me how to read, how to calculate, and various other things necessary for survival. How to start a fire. How to hunt wild beasts. How to butcher and eat them... And also, how to kill people.

After traveling with the man for several years, I learned that the man's profession, which he called merchant, was actually a shady business. He received large sums of money from shady individuals and eliminated the people they requested. The man had turned me into an accomplice. I don't have any particular resentment or bitterness about it. If the man hadn't picked me up, I would have disappeared anyway. I owe him at least some gratitude.

I don't know my exact age, but I started counting my age from when the man picked me up, assuming I was three years old. It was when I was eleven years old. The man failed at a job. It was the usual job of eliminating a merchant who was a business rival of another merchant. However, the target merchant had foreseen it, and the man was caught and killed. I was also injured, but I managed to escape somehow.

I ran and ran... and when I could no longer move my legs, I collapsed at the base of a tree in some scrub forest. Why did I run in the first place? The man is dead, and even if I survive alone, what will happen? When I thought about it that way, I suddenly lost all my energy.

[Oh well, whatever happens, happens☆.]

That's how I felt. As an aside, these are the words that Lady Ellie occasionally mutters. Mainly when she is being clung to by the little shit (Young Master). The singing-like melody is very cute, and it was a phrase that became very popular among the servants for a while.

When I came to, I was lying in some bed. The injured hands and feet were properly treated. Although the room was simple, the wallpaper and doors were clean and beautiful, and I guessed that this was probably a noble's residence. A man brought me food when he noticed I was awake. It was Thomas, the butler. His gray hair was neatly combed back, he wore a monocle with a silver chain, and he wore a spotless tailcoat, a '100% butler' type of person. Even I, who didn't know Thomas's background at the time, thought, 'Ah, a butler has arrived'.

[Does it seem like you can eat something?]

I was asked in a low, quiet voice, and I nodded. Thomas placed a plate of bread porridge on my lap as I sat up in bed. I still remember how good it smelled.

[This is the servants' quarters of the Macnagan Dukedom. You were found collapsed in the forest on the Duke's estate.]

The place I thought was just a scrub forest was apparently on the Duke's estate. ...It looked like just a scrub forest that hadn't been maintained at all, though...

[I have investigated your background. ...You are the foster child of the 'Jet Black Deathbird,' aren't you?]

I nodded when asked. That is the alias of the man who picked me up. ...Why could that man say this name without any shame? I can't do it... J, Jet Black... (Agonizing).

[The man's body was found in an alley on Aims Street. ...Do you want to confirm it?]

Thomas also doesn't seem to want to say that embarrassing alias, and calls him 'the man'. When asked if I wanted to confirm, I silently shook my head from side to side. I thought there was no need to confirm it. Even if the body wasn't that man, he and I would probably never meet again. A small-time underworld girl who failed at a job would have a hard time even finding a place to live in the future.

[Will you go back to that job again?]

When asked, I stopped the spoon I was bringing to my mouth. It's not a matter of whether I will go back or not. It's because 'there is nowhere else for me to be'. When I told Thomas that, he only said, [I see.]

I silently ate the bread porridge, and Thomas took the empty plate and left. Am I still allowed to be here? I don't know, because Thomas didn't say anything. However, my injured leg hurts. For the time being, I will rest to heal my wounds. Thinking so, I got into bed and wrapped myself in the blanket.

Every day, someone brings me three meals. They are servants wearing elegant uniforms, but I don't know their names because they don't talk unnecessarily. They bring me food and change my bandages. These were strange days.

Perhaps those days lasted for about five days. Thomas visited the room. He had what looked like a maid's uniform in his hand.

[This is your uniform. If you have nowhere to go, stay here. If you are dissatisfied, leave.]

The folded uniform was thrown onto the bed with a thud. Is he telling me to become a servant? Thinking I had misheard, I looked back and forth between the uniform and Thomas several times.

[I will be waiting in the hallway. Get changed quickly and come out.]

Thomas said only that and left the room. I didn't understand what was going on, but I couldn't resist Thomas's indescribable pressure, so I slowly got out of bed. My injury had improved a lot. There was no problem with walking. I somehow squeezed myself into the uniform, which I didn't know how to wear for the first time, and gently opened the door of the room. Thomas was standing right there, and I was startled. ...He made no sound at all.

["Are you ready? Then, follow me."]

I followed Thomas, who said only that and started walking, trying to walk as elegantly as possible. I was handed over to the head maid, and a whirlwind of days began.

The woman who became my instructor was named Elsa. She is currently a maid attending to the little shit (Young Master). Elsa, who was fifteen years old at the time, had the terrifying background of being a former member of the royal palace's dark side.

I was taught various things directly by her, such as stealth techniques, handling of hidden weapons, body movements... ...Laundry? Cleaning? Yes, I did them too (very rarely).

Unlike the Jet Black whatever that I had been doing on my own, her techniques were based on solid theory and experience, and were very advanced. I was also taught how to make tea in between. Along with lectures on poisons that don't change the taste of tea. Well, that's right. Almost everything was different from what I thought a 'servant' was.

But somehow, I started to enjoy learning. Above all, the chatting and playing with someone of the same sex who was close in age was very warm and fun. The Duke, who is the head of the family, is a laid-back person, and the Lady is a gentle person. They never raise their voices at us servants. I had seen many nobles who mistook servants for livestock or something, so I was surprised by the Lord and Lady.

Before I knew it, the Duke's residence had become a very comfortable place. The gentle Lord and the beautiful Lady. The Young Master, who was still just adorable at the time, and the Young Lady, who was like a flower fairy. For them, and for this Duke's residence where they live, I would use the power I have. Before I knew it, my heart was set on that.

Thankfully, I was given the role of 'maid attending to the Young Lady' by the Lord, and I was honored to serve by the side of the Young Lady, who is like a child of the goddess of love.

At the same time that the Young Lady was growing up healthy and sparkling, the little shit's (siscon) also grew up a lot. The record of the battle between me and the little shit (Young Master) would be long and make you feel bad, so I will omit it. Let me just say that a little shit is a little shit. It is simply hateful and bitter to think that the little shit (Young Master) is growing along with the improvement of my various skills as a maid.

It is our joy that the Young Lady, whom we have protected with desperate determination, has become the Crown Prince's fiancée and is favored by His Highness.

[Your Highness is also a very wonderful person, and is more than qualified to be entrusted with our beloved young lady.]

As the young lady has grown, the 'shit bug' (young master/siscon) has grown even larger and more grotesque. The Macnagan Duke family's biggest concern for the past few years has been how to protect the young lady from the 'shit bug' (young master). It was even said to be the most difficult problem in the Macnagan Duke family's two-hundred-year history.

...Basically, they are people who avoid trouble and are pacifistic, so even though they have a history of over two hundred years, they are a family that has not had many major problems.

It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself who solved this extremely difficult problem. He said that he would hide the young lady in the royal castle, where even a 'shit bug' (young master) could not crawl!

How should I express that moment? (Information regarding His Highness's statement was instantly transmitted to all members via hand signals passed down in the Macnagan Duke family.)

To have taken a liking to the young lady, who is like a child of the goddess, is he himself a god! I truly thought so. The only one who was not moved by that statement was the 'shit bug' (young master), who was unaware of such a statement.

One day, I noticed that a small, handmade altar had been created in the servants' break room. A portrait of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was displayed, surrounded by beautiful flowers. Sweets and coins, among other things, were placed as offerings, though who offered them I do not know.

I couldn't help but put my hands together in front of the altar and close my eyes. May the young lady be happy and at peace $\times 3$ . Whew. I feel relieved now.

Since he is the savior of the Macnagan Duke's residence, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the benefits will surely be great. I should offer some money later. Should I offer today's dinner dessert as well?

The altar was removed at the direct request of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but it was secretly moved to another location and is still enshrined, a secret from His Highness.

What fulfilling and enjoyable days these are. There is a world of difference between these days and the days when I repeatedly committed evil deeds as I was told.

Thomas-sama once told me, [Offer all your gratitude to the master, the mistress, and the young lady.] What should I do with the feelings of gratitude that I could never repay in a lifetime? It is a happy question.

The young lady is currently residing in the royal castle. I was originally an orphan, and moreover, a person from the wandering underworld, so I cannot enter the royal castle with the young lady. Therefore, I am still working as a servant in the Duke's residence.

Even so, I am still 'Miss Ellie's maid'. That is because the mistress said, [Keep that title until Ellie-chan finishes her wedding ceremony.]

Today, too, I will prepare the young lady's room. I will polish the furniture, change the bedding, and ventilate the room. So that the young lady can return home at any time. So that the young lady, when she returns, can be at peace, even if only a little.

I am Marina, the maid of Miss Elizabeth of the Macnagan Duke family.

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