A Capable Maid

A vision came by a blur. 

She realized it was a dream. In it, she had become another person.

Someone called ‘her’ in the dream.

“What’s for today’s tea?”

“It’s Cholgwaneum (Tieguanyin) tea, my lord”, A gentle voice answered. 

“Cholgwaneum?” 

“Yes, it is an Oolong tea from the Southern Fujian Province and is said to have a clear taste.” 

In the dream, ‘she’ offered a clear-scented tea to the man. ‘Her’ movements were controlled and elegant. 

The man sipped the tea and sputtered in admiration. “As expected, it is indeed clear. This was brewed very well.” 

“Thank you. It has a clear taste because the quality of the tea helped.” 

“No, if someone else brewed this, it wouldn’t taste like this.”

The man shook his head and smiled. “Viola, you’re my greatest treasure.” 

♡♡♡♡

At the end of that conversation, Marie opened her eyes. 

“Ah, it’s just a dream. Who is Viola though?” 

She shook her head. Viola was not in the least familiar. Moreover, even the architecture and furniture did not seem like the imperial palace. 

“It looks like England, the island nation at the far west end. What a vivid dream.” 

The dream was quite short, but yet so vivid. It was as if she had assumed a glimpse of the maid’s life. 

Then a loud voice called out to her. 

“Marie, are you awake? You’ll be late! Hurry up, let’s go!”

It was Jane, a fellow maid who shared a room with her.

She glanced at the clock.

It was 5:30 in the morning. 

If she doesn’t get ready soon, she’ll be late. 

Marie hurriedly put on her uniform and headed to the Lily Palace, where she was assigned. 

Jane, her fellow maid, said, “Marie, be sure to do well today. You know how strict Madam Susan is, don’t you?” 

She nodded her head.

“If you make the same mistake again, it might not end with just a scolding.

“Yes, I will do my best.” 

She was anxious as well. Lately, the scolding she received from Susan, the head maid, was getting more and more frequent. 

How will she survive this day? ‘I wish I could work adeptly like the maid in my dream.’ 

In the dream, she was a perfect maid. 

Other than chores like cleaning, dish-washing, and laundry, there were also complex tasks such as serving meals, preparing tea ceremonies, and filing paperwork.

No, she wasn’t just good at her job, but rather, the chores became an art form in her hands.

Like a master in the maid world? 

Marie wouldn’t get into so much trouble if only she could work half as much as the latter. 

‘Better not think about useless things, let’s just work hard and do our absolute best.’

Soon after she arrived at the Lily Palace, she headed to her assigned spot.

The place where she worked in the morning was the hallway near the drawing room on the first floor. She must clean up before the VIPs could arrive, and then after breakfast, she would also be in the kitchen to clean.

“Good luck, Marie.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

After she bid her farewell to Jane, she took a deep breath. 

She looked at the hallway with heavy determination. Today, she will not be scolded because she will do her job perfectly.

Suddenly, she felt something strange. “Huh?”

She cocked her head. She couldn’t identify it but there was a strange sensation of being ‘different’. 

In blink of an eye, she regarded the world with a new set of eyes. 

“O-Oh my God. What’s this? Is there something wrong with my eyes?” Her mouth hung open as her eyes wandered.

A new reality unfolded before Marie’s eyes… 

‘I-It looks filthier.’

…It was absolutely awful. 

‘Was it always that dirty?’ 

She blinked. 

There was dirt in every nook and cranny of the walls, thick dust between the crevices of the windows, faint debris on the floor, etc. — all of which were an eyesore.

‘Why didn’t I notice this before?’ 

Surely they didn’t accumulate overnight, they had been around for ages and she’s only seeing it now. It’s as if she suddenly had a magnifying glass for eyes. 

‘Let’s clean it up quickly before Madam Susan arrives.’ 

There were so many spots she had to clean, she couldn’t possibly finish it on time. 

She hurriedly brought the mop to the floor. The moment she did it, she felt another strange sensation. 

‘…How come I don’t feel tired at all?’ 

She blinked, wondering how she suddenly got better, for the mop feels extremely light. 

It wasn’t strenuous at all, and every time the mop glided, the dirt was immediately wiped off. In addition, cleaning was made easier because she could clearly locate where the dirt was. 

‘It’s as if I was possessed by the maid in my dreams.’ Marie mused to herself. 

The woman in her dream last night had similar abilities. 

Eyes that could see every possible detail imaginable—even those that were not visible to the naked eye—and an excellent cleaning skill; all were part of her abilities. 

‘N-No way…’ Having similar abilities to the person she dreamed of sounded utterly ridiculous. 

But then she suddenly remembered… 

‘If you had that ability, what would you do with it?’

His voice suddenly came to mind. 

‘N-Nonsense. Did the prayer really come true? There’s no way that could happen!’ 

While she was stewing in her bewilderment, she unknowingly finished cleaning the hallway, done at an unmatched speed. 

“Whoah!” 

She looked around the hallway and exclaimed in admiration. 

It was clean alright, but it wasn’t just clean, it seemed to have a subtle shine. 

‘I did this?’ She couldn’t believe that it was the work of her own hands. She blinked. It was real, it didn’t disappear before her eyes! 

‘What on earth happened?’

She looked at the drawing room with a dazed expression. 

‘It’s quite dirty there too.’ 

It was an area that had always been managed, so it was supposed to be the clean side, but now, under her new vision, it looked like it still required some cleaning. 

‘What should I do? I still have a few minutes to spare.’ 

The drawing room was not her area of responsibility, so it didn’t really matter whether it was clean or not. 

But… the urge to keep cleaning persisted. She wanted to get rid of all the filth and make it all sparkly and spotless. 

“W-What happened to me?” She muttered in confusion. It’s as if she had turned into a completely different person. 

Despite her baffled state, her body moved on its own. 

‘There’s not that much time left, so let’s focus on the things that irritate my eyes the most.’

She wiped the tables and chairs, swept the little dust off the carpet, and wiped the stain off the window that overlooked the garden.

But then, she still had time to clean the other spots.

After cleaning the shelves, she neatly organized the decorative dishes, and wiped the dust off the statue in the corner. 

Of course, the invisible dirt on the chairs’ legs was cleaned as well. 

‘I want to wash the carpet too’ As she muttered this to herself, a sharp voice called out to her. 

“Marie! Why are you standing there idly instead of actually cleaning! The Countess of Lexington visited the palace today so you’re lucky that I was busy…” 

It was Susan, the head maid. 

As soon as Susan saw the hallway that Marie had cleaned, her shrill voice faltered. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, gazing down the hallway. 

‘Huh? How come it’s squeaky clean?’ Normally, Marie doesn’t have an eye for details, she never fails to leave some parts unclean, but not today. 

It was clean. No, it wasn’t just clean, it’s as if she had entirely transformed the area. 

‘Even every corner?’ Susan checked to see if Marie had cleaned the hidden parts as well, and as expected, she had. 

‘How come that useless Marie cleaned up so satisfactorily?’ 

She found it suspicious. “Marie, who helped you?” 

Marie replied, “I did it myself, Ma’am.” 

“You? Don’t be ridiculous. Be honest, I won’t scold you.”

“I did, really…” Marie answered tentatively. 

Susan frowned. “Truly? I don’t believe you.” 

Susan knew that Marie might be useless in many ways, but a liar she was not. 

But still, she found it incredulous. 

She shook her head as she deliberated on what to do. “Well then. Go to the kitchen and help me clean up.” 

“Yes, Ma’am!” 

Susan watched Marie scurry off to the kitchen like a squirrel, and murmured to herself, ‘We’ll see if she really did it’ 

She would find out the truth soon enough once she observed her. 

Little did Susan know that the surprise has yet to come. 

♡♡♡♡

marie to susan: i actually did it myself… yeah *insert julia fox meme* 

okay, here’s the thing. i am the type of person who gets random bouts of enthusiasm to do something and then immediately lose interest as soon as i’m doing it. i’m still not picking this up, i don’t want to get y’all’s hopes up but i was in the mood, ok? my bad. also, i’m scared of korean authors coming for me, my friend translated a kn novel once (up to 10 chapters iirc) and received a cease and desist email (rip), so yeah.