Chapter 14: Maid
Aside from that, the two of us head back to the house carrying my clothes.
Today’s meal has been taken care of for now, I heard.
“Welcome back, Vilhelmina-sama, Alex-san.”
“Yes, Hilka.”
“Thank you for watching the house.”
As he said that, Alex-sama is avoiding her gaze a little bit.
Yes, Hilka is wearing Alex-sama’s clothes that I was wearing just now, but this is indeed disgraceful!
“Alex-sama, may I change my clothes right away?”
After confirming his nod, Hilka took the clothes Alex-sama was holding and went up.
I changed my maid clothes that I was wearing into normal clothes.
She said in a depressed voice.
“To think My lady will be wearing commoner’s clothes from now on…”
“Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“Can you manage?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. Alex-sama is not a bad person, but we just met and I haven’t even started my life as a commoner yet.
When I went down, Alex-sama had spread food on the desk.
Come to think of it, the cleaning has also progressed a lot.
“Uh, Hilka-san, would you like to eat?”
“No, I have to go back to the mansion today.”
“Oh, I see. I bought three, do you want to take one with you?”
“Fufufu, thank you very much.”
Hilka headed for the entrance and, when she looked back there, she took a deep curtsy like spreading her skirt beautifully before me.
“Vilhelmina-sama, may I ask for your permission to serve you again?”
“I’m glad you feel that way… But you can’t.”
I sighed and looked at Alex-sama.
“…I think we should hire a maid.”
Fufufu, he must have said it out of consideration, but that’s not the case. I shook my head.
“Since Alex-sama has moved from the male dormitory at the laboratory to a house, it is necessary to have all-works, domestic servants. I would be happy if you could hire her. But Hilka is a “maid”.
“Is there a difference?”
Indeed, it may not be understood by him who is a commoner.
“A maid is a lady’s maid, in other words, a senior domestic servant who accompanies the female master or a young lady of the nobility. They must have a wide range of skills and knowledge about fashion, including choosing clothing, dressing, hair styling, and decorating hats with embroidery.
Making the bed is also part of their duties and they must stay up late or even until dawn if the female master attends a ball, which is why they are also called lady in waiting.
“…hm, in other words?”
“The domestic servants and maids have different status. Do you think a commoner laundress would understand the fashions of the nobility?”
Alex-sama’s face turns pale.
“By, By any chance, is Hilka-san a noblewoman?”
Hilka stood up and nodded to Alex-sama.
“Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Hilka Henni Hakala, the third daughter of the Hakala Viscount family.”
“This, this is disrespectful!”
Alex-sama lowered his head.
“So I cannot hire you, Hilka. Neither in terms of salary nor position.”
“I don’t mind even if the salary is small.”
“I do mind. You also have to grab your happiness. That surely cannot be found here.”
“But my happiness is…!”
Tears fell from her eyes.
“To be by Vilhelmina-sama’s side and become the wet nurse(nanny) of your child someday!”
“…Yes. It was an honor, Hilka. But, that cannot be fulfilled here.”
“I-I see.”
“Excuse me for asking this, but is it possible that there’s no work available for you at Periknen’s estate and that you can’t get a referral letter?”
“No, I’ve been told to serve Marjana-sama.”
It’s my step-mother’s child. To me, she’s like a younger sister who’s different from me. She’s about to turn debutante next year and it’s not bad to have a maid. But she’s been pampered, so she doesn’t know how to behave around people. I hope Hilka doesn’t have a hard time.
“Please tell the butler Talvo too. We can’t hire you guys at the Peltra house. We would like to hire a maid, but we can’t even get a room for a live-in maid in this house.
“Yes…”
“If everyone comes to check on me from time to time, then we’ll welcome you.”
“Yes!”
So, in the end, Hilka left the house with a slightly cheerful voice.
Alex-sama and I sat at the dinner table. As we ate the food that was served, he muttered quietly.
“Vilhelmina, you… “
“What is it?”
“It seems like you’re well-liked by the servants.”
I put down my fork and plate.
“Yes. I tried to be a good master and it seems like they responded well to that.”
Alex-sama also put down his plate and looked at me straight on with a serious expression.
“Which side is your true nature?”
