A Capable Maid

It wasn’t just cleaning in which Marie excelled at. The speed with which she cleared the mountain of dishes was fast. Not only that, but the dishes she washed seemed to glisten. 

“That’s Marie, right?” 

“I-I guess, yeah.”

“But how…?” 

The fellow maids in the kitchen looked at Marie with their eyes wide open. After washing the dishes, Marie picked up a rag and started tidying up the mess. Every time she used her hands, the kitchen, which looked like the remnants of a battlefield, transformed into like one of those public showrooms. 

Everything was perfect, even down to the way she stored and preserved the leftover ingredients. 

The maids stared at her, their mouths hanging open. Everyone looked as if they were seeing an apparition. Among them was the head maid, who had always been critical.

‘Has that child always worked so well?’ 

The head maid blinked. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it, even after seeing it with her own eyes. Of course, she’s aware of how the young maid always tried her best to do well. Emphasis on the word try; she often bore the brunt of the head maid’s reproaches due to her slow hands and her never ending mistakes. But now, she seemed to be a completely different person. 

‘Did I scold her too hard?’ Seeing her do so well made her feel a little bad that she was too severe. 

The head maid hesitated for a while before eventually opening her mouth. “…Marie.” 

“Y-Yes, Ma’am?” Marie, who was in the middle of cleaning, turned her head when the head maid called her.

“Do you need help with something?” 

“No, not like that.” 

The head maid shook her head and said, “You’ve worked so hard.”

“…!” Marie’s eyes widened, caught off guard. 

‘Is she talking to me?’ It was the first time she had heard such words from the head maid. No, not just the latter, rather, no one had said anything like that to her. ever. 

She’s always been severe. But the surprise didn’t end there. “You did a great job today. We’ll take care of the rest, so go get some rest and be ready for tomorrow’s chores.” 

“Oh, no need. I’m not tired yet!” 

“No. I’m rewarding you for your excellent performance today.” 

Marie wondered if she’s still dreaming or not. ‘Did she just compliment me?!’

The head maid nodded and said, “Keep up the good work.” 

***

Marie came out of the kitchen and headed to the storeroom. The latter, where they kept the cleaning supplies, was a place where maids like her could rest. 

‘I can’t believe she praised me’ Marie was dumbfounded. 

‘It’s so unreal’ Her heart swelled. Sure, it was just a simple compliment, but it meant a lot to her. 

‘Why are you such a useless child?’

‘What are you even good at?’

It left an impact because it was the first praise she ever received her whole life, unlike the usual abuse she got from being incompetent. 

“But what on earth is happening to me?” She murmured in confusion. 

She was delighted from the compliment, but something felt off. ‘I have never been this competent…’ Had she really become the maid in her dream? 

‘Is it really because of the prisoner’s prayers?’ 

Mulling it over, she shook her head. “I don’t know. Let’s just work hard for now and think about it later.” 

‘Keep up the good work.’ 

Recalling the praise she received, her heart swelled again. She didn’t know what to make of all this—whether it was a blessing or not. 

Still, it would be nice if this miracle would last a little longer, Marie thought.

Thus, Marie’s new life as a maid began, employing the ability of ‘Viola’, the maid in her dreams. 

Sweeping, laundry, dishwashing—nothing was amiss. 

The head maid, Susan, who initially regarded her with suspicion, called her and eventually said, “It seems all this time, I was wrong about you.” 

“Miss Susan?” Marie raised her head in surprise. 

“Lately you’ve been distressed because I’ve been scolding you a lot, haven’t you?” 

“…!”

Marie shook her head in shock. “N-No, not at all.”  

“Nonsense. Anyhow, you’ve worked hard. You’ve been trying a lot lately, so you’ve improved a lot. I hope you continue to work satisfactorily like this.” 

At those words, Marie was touched and cried, “Yes, Ma’am, I will continue to work hard.” 

Susan nodded and asked, “Marie, are you familiar with serving tea?” 

“I’m still…” Marie’s answer faltered when she realized what Miss Susan was trying to say. 

“Miss?”

“Yes, you should start serving tea as well. From now on, practice whenever you have time.” 

“…!” 

Tea service! That’s the kind of task an intermediary maid (maid of honor)—who served nobles—would do. 

*the one in parenthesis is not translated, it’s literally like that in english. i think they meant lady-in-waiting…

“Why? You can’t?”

“No. Thank you so much!” Marie bowed her head, marveling at whether what she heard was real. 

Among the numerous low-ranking maids, only a few were in charge of serving tea. Since it involved dealing with nobles, she never entrusted anyone with it.

‘To think I’d be serving tea.’ 

Coming out of the room, she pinched her cheeks. It wasn’t a dream after all, since she felt pain. 

So she started serving tea. and incredibly, she was also good at it.  

Susan exclaimed in admiration, “Amazing, Marie! How can you move with such precision? Have you served tea before?” 

But could she have served tea before? Marie only shook her head with a troubled face. ‘What is happening to me? Could it really be the manifestation of that old man’s prayer?’ 

She thought about it, but nonetheless, she couldn’t figure it out. Anyhow, apart from her confusion, Marie’s name was elevated among the maids in the Lily Palace. 

Marie, who was good at everything! 

“Thank you Marie.”

“As expected of Marie. This one too, please.”

Her life took a turn as if the bullying she had suffered until now had never happened. It’s as if she were Cinderella; it all felt like a dream. 

But then, something happened that changed her daily life once again. 

She had a new ‘dream’.

***

A hazy image. 

Marie realized she was dreaming again, for she felt exactly the same as the last time she dreamed of Viola, the expert maid. 

In the dream, ‘she’ climbed on top of the wall and closed her eyes. 

Someone talked to ‘her’. 

“What are you doing Fiona?” 

“I’m feeling the wind.”

“Wind?”

The man said to the ‘her’ in the dream, “Looks like you’re getting inspiration again.” 

The ‘her’ in the dream nodded. “Anyway, this is great. It’s already the best land in the continent, but they don’t rest even for a moment.” 

“…”

“Then the next work must be related to the wind. I look forward to it.” The man said to ‘her’. 

「Fiona, seeker of the garden..」

*** 

Marie, who was dreaming, suddenly opened her eyes. ‘What is that dream? Is it the same kind of dream as last time?’

It was really vivid, like the dream with Viola, the expert maid. It’s as if she was the person in the dream. 

However, it was quite different from the previous dream. 

‘Fiona? What kind of person is she?’ She blinked. 

She couldn’t make out the identity of the person in the dream because, unlike the last time, it was fragmented. 

‘A piece of art that captures the wind? Seeker of the garden? Is she a gardener?’ 

She looked at her hands, wondering if anything had changed, but she didn’t feel anything special. 

‘Well, just because I had a dream doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll use her abilities.’ 

The change that has yet to happen to her was still unclear. 

Was it possible that whenever she dreamed, she could use the ability from it? Or perhaps the last time was a fluke. 

As she was contemplating this, someone from outside called out to her. 

“Marie! Marie!”

“Yes!”

When she opened the door, she saw a senior maid standing before her. 

Marie asked in confusion, “Senior, what brings you here?” 

“Are you okay now? Miss Susan calls for you.”

Marie looked puzzled, as her superior, Susan, rarely called her. 

***

T/N: i had nothing else to do. YOLO at this point