【Trainee Maid】
【Experience: 42/100】
“Sigh—”
Early morning, while eating with the maids, Lilian stared at the System Panel before her and let out a sigh.
Five days—exactly five days had passed, and aside from the daily experience gained from interacting with the maids, her experience points hadn’t moved at all.
Correspondingly, she hadn’t seen Eleanora for a full five days either.
She would get up, eat, then go to the Knights’ Order for training, exercise until evening, and have lunch and dinner there as well.
After returning to the Earl’s manor, she would take her medicine and go to sleep, only to repeat it all again the next day.
On one hand, her strength and constitution attributes were steadily increasing; on the other, her maid level remained completely stagnant.
Lilian stirred the soup in her bowl with the spoon in her hand, propping her head up with the other and sighed again.
“What’s wrong, Lilian? You seem distracted.”
The little maid, Eileen, immediately noticed Lilian was troubled, so she scooted closer and nudged her with her elbow.
“Nothing much, it’s just that I haven’t been working at the Earl’s manor these past few days…”
Lilian took a spoonful of soup and answered weakly.
What? Someone unhappy because they’re not working?
Eileen didn’t quite understand. If she were in Lilian’s place, she would definitely be enjoying the break.
“Isn’t not working kind of nice? Besides, the young lady said it’s fine since you’re busy training at… uh… that place. You’ve basically got a vacation.”
Eileen suddenly realized a blind spot and exaggeratedly said, “I get it now, you’re missing the young lady, huh? Hmph, I told you no one can resist her charm.”
Since the last time when Lilian and Eileen were both punished to stand and reprimanded by the young lady, their relationship had improved a lot, and occasionally Eileen would tease Lilian.
Before Eileen could finish, Lilian rebutted, “No! It’s just that all my clothes, food, and living expenses are paid for by the Earl’s manor, but I don’t even have to work. I feel kind of guilty…”
That was the truth.
Lilian’s laundry and room cleaning were all done by the other maids.
She only needed to focus on training and didn’t have to do any of the maid duties herself.
Even Miss Shaya, who guided her training, was arranged by Eleanora through the Captain.
Though the reason for this guidance was due to some strange bet Eleanora insisted on…
Still, if it weren’t for Eleanora, it would have been very difficult for Lilian, formerly a civilian physician, to gain access to the Knights’ Order, special training methods, and exclusive recovery medicines.
She owed Eleanora a huge favor.
Lilian hated owing favors to others; such debts were the hardest to repay.
So, she sighed once more.
Seeing Lilian’s reaction, Eileen swallowed her food and patted her own sparse chest.
“Ah, I get it, I get it.”
Yeah, right.
Lilian couldn’t help but pinch Eileen’s cheeks until they reddened.
Eileen squinted her eyes, clearly enjoying it.
Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she opened her eyes and muttered vaguely, “Oh, right, today I’m in charge of the young lady’s morning affairs. Do you want to—”
She meant to use the same stomachache excuse as last time to get Lilian to cover for her.
“Forget it, I still don’t know how to dress the young lady yet…”
Sigh, nobles really make even dressing a hassle.
Besides, if she did that again and Eleanora actually got angry and ordered the maids to stop making excuses to let Lilian cover for them…
That would be burning bridges.
Getting up to serve was when Lilian interacted most with Eleanora.
Once her maid level rose, she’d be able to dress her, and she was counting on that to level up.
Oh.
Now she didn’t have to worry about Eleanora starving herself.
She was eating at the Knights’ Order now.
“Then at least combing hair should be doable,” Eileen suggested. “I’ll dress the young lady first, then you can take care of her hair. It won’t take long and won’t hold up your training.”
Lilian nodded.
After all, every little bit counts.
So, after finishing their meal, the two headed toward Eleanora’s bedroom.
Eileen slipped inside and emerged shortly after.
Eileen didn’t know why, but she was smiling brightly and hurried Lilian inside.
When Lilian entered Eleanora’s bedroom, Eileen couldn’t help but laugh softly.
“Hehe…”
She always knew shipping the young lady and Lilian was the right choice.
Inside the room, Eleanora sat at her dressing table, eyes closed and resting.
Hearing footsteps approaching behind her, she yawned lazily and said, “Eileen? That fast… Hurry up and finish combing my hair; there’s a lot to do today…”
Her hair was gently cupped and combed awkwardly but tenderly.
Eleanora was a little puzzled—Eileen’s technique wasn’t this rough.
Opening her eyes, the mirror reflected the person behind her.
Dark green hair—Eleanora wouldn’t mistake it—it was Lilian!
Because the hair was still in Lilian’s hands, Eleanora didn’t turn sharply.
Instead, she playfully scolded, “Lilian, why are you here? Get out!”
“As a maid, isn’t combing the mistress’s hair here quite normal?”
Eleanora felt Lilian was different today.
Her words weren’t as teasing or aggressive as before, but simply stated as fact.
Her expression wasn’t as animated as usual—just calm and gentle.
Noticing Eleanora watching her in the mirror, she squinted and gave a soft smile.
For a moment, Eleanora thought it was Lilian from her past life combing her hair.
This… feeling…
Eleanora felt her heart involuntarily quicken again.
【Mistress’s Heartbeat Accelerated, Maid Experience +2】
No, she needed to take the initiative!
“Hmph, if you’re combing my hair here, does that mean you don’t plan to train anymore? Then you lose the bet. When that happens, you’ll have to kneel and lick my feet!”
Lilian didn’t respond, silently continuing to comb.
Eleanora pressed on.
“I get it, you’ve got your eyes on my feet. My punishment’s actually a reward for you! Such a perverted maid!”
Still no reply. Lilian lifted the comb from her hair and moved to another spot, gently combing again.
Her movements remained soft and careful.
Wh-what is she doing?
What’s going on?
Could she have been irritated by my words? Does she hate me so much that she won’t speak?
If that’s the case, shouldn’t she look upset and wipe away tears in some corner?
That’s how Lilian used to be.
Or she’d be really mad, saying she quit and storming off.
That was what Eleanora wanted.
But this—smiling silently without a word—
Too sly…
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the combing ended.
Eleanora heard Lilian reach the bedroom door, sigh sadly, then open and close it.
“Click.”
Silence fell.
Because of Lilian’s sigh, Eleanora’s mind began to wander.
Could it be about the knight training?
Because of the bet, Eleanora had specifically instructed Captain Martin to ensure Lilian completed the entire Knight Initiation Training.
Eleanora had experienced initiation training herself in her past life and knew how challenging it was, both physically and mentally.
By her judgment, Lilian shouldn’t have lasted more than one day, and would have given up immediately.
That way, Eleanora could humiliate her and make her hate her.
Back then, Eleanora had been happy all day.
But she didn’t expect Lilian to have persisted for five days!
Eleanora knew that if things continued like this, Lilian might actually complete the entire Knight Initiation Training.
“Click.”
The door opened again; this time it was Eileen.
Eileen entered and immediately heard the young lady ask, “Has Lilian mentioned anything recently… like being tired of training or wanting to quit?”
“No, actually, it seems Lilian is quite happy to be training…”
That was true. Eileen remembered asking Lilian how she felt, and Lilian had only said training felt refreshing after finishing.
“What do you two usually talk about?”
Oh, the young lady’s starting to care about Lilian? How heartwarming!
Eileen almost teared up and answered, “Mostly about maid experiences. Usually after chatting about a few things, Lilian goes off to train. We rarely talk about anything else.”
Eileen could see that Lilian really wanted to be a good maid.
“Oh, and young lady, Lilian actually asked to come comb your hair today,” Eileen added, fanning the flames.
Eleanora fell silent after hearing that.
She recalled that stubborn girl on the small training ground, shouting: “I want to train hard, improve myself, and protect my mistress!”
Lilian had asked to come because she wanted to say something to her.
Maybe she wanted to say, I’ve managed to last five days; I can do two weeks; I will definitely complete the bet?
Or maybe she wanted to talk about the difficulty of training and hoped for some comfort?
But whatever she wanted to say, Eleanora had shut it down with those two sentences.
That last sigh—was it sadness?
Eleanora knew well she would lose this bet.
She believed that if Lilian could persist for five days, she could complete the whole training.
The bet was meant to humiliate Lilian and make her hate Eleanora.
But that goal had failed.
All Eleanora had done was trample on Lilian’s feelings with those two sentences and made her sad.
She only wanted Lilian to hate her, not to hurt her.
If those words could have sparked even a trace of hatred, that would have been a necessary means.
But clearly, they hadn’t.
Lilian was just calm, finished combing her hair, and left with a sigh.
She must be heartbroken.
Thinking this, Eleanora bit her lip in self-reproach.
This time, she might have gone too far…