If you could complain about one thing, it would always be the ungodly hour that you have to wake up at.
Previously, waking up at 9 might not sound too bad—that is if you don't count doing basic human necessities as part of your morning routine. Not to mention the horrible traffic that seems to come with every job in the early morning ever—seriously, it felt like you were always forced to choose between your time or your health
No wonder those 1 room apartment in the cities always costed so much, those bastard landlords are taking advantage of the working class!
It's gotten so bad that you wished you were back on service, atleast when you wake up there—you'd already be in your workplace.
But that was in the past now.
Now, being the personal maid of the Dashiell's beloved daughter, you're expected to be stationed outside her room before dawn to attend to her every need—with the your second job being; keeping watch just in case anyone tries anything funny.
Not that you get a bonus even if you did your second job...
The hours are somewhat worse sure—a little similar to your army days, but you don't really have to worry about being late much since they always have a back-up maid on standby—worst that will happen for being late is probably just working someone else's shift, no mopping the rain, no 30 minute lecture from your supervisor, and no potentially crashing your car in traffic.
All those talk about maids disappearing can be chalked up to simple collateral from the many assassination attempts, a bit dark to refer to them as such but it has happened so often that people stopped caring. So in the end TECHNICALLY the Dashiells doesn't kill their servants for no reason, they just used them as meat shields.
It's rather relaxing really, makes you wonder where all those rumours about the Dashiell's came from...
...
Is what you would have said if you've never met Iona Dashiell.
Seriously, HALF of the daily problems you're forced to deal with wouldn't have even existed if she's just a little less of... herself and found a hobby that didn't involve harassing people. From overworking maids to calling someone a slur at a party.
Where to start...
Well first off, apparently she has targeted over a dozen other nobles that were somehow connected to very wealthy and influential families, either by pure coincidence or just absolute bad luck. Like damn, you heard that just a few years ago, she was throwing water at an orphan girl who just so happens to be the LONG LOST DAUGHTER OF THE KING. Another time she had slapped the WIFE of the Northern Duke, the guy that basically commands the military!
No wonder everyone hates her! The only reason this family is not obliterated yet is because the Dashiells are simply way too good at their job to be replaced.
Her parents must love her very much to deal with all that hassle...
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
You glanced at an approaching patrol, making brief eye contact before you returned to staring at a wall—daydreaming.
Security has always been pretty tight in the estate, even more so after Iona started socializing. It's not really a surprise that people would make an attempt to get rid of her, but the sheer abundance of the attempts sure is.
It's gotten so bad that every servant are handed a dagger that they are expected to carry at all times. There's even a smith working in the estate that forge weapons specifically for the servants!
In a week, you can expect up to 4 attempts—most of which were halted by the guards.
If they somehow slipped pass, they'll get caught by the servants and subsequently dogpiled on before the guards arrive to deal with them.
And if they got pass that too, you're granted full permission to eliminate them.
However, there's always one thing you've noticed about every single one of them is that they're all no-name bandits hired by aliases that they didn't even met face-to-face. Whoever is doing this doesn't want it to be traced back to them.
Not that it's particularly hard to guess who sent them, but without proper proof there is not much the Dashiells can do about it.
Ding~
The chime of a bell beside you caught your attention, you glanced at a nearby clock as you moved towards the door—barely even dawn, unusually early for your mistress to be awake.
Potential trouble?
You quickly yet quietly shoved the door open—eyes scanning the room for any assassins as your body tenses, ready for a fight.
What you were met with was a very startled Iona hiding behind her blankets. Red hair messy and her matching eyes wide with shock—her looks are as flashy as her words are ragebaiting.
Now seeing that there was nothing wrong, your relaxed—straightening your back and clasping your hands in front of you, waiting quietly for an order.
Her frightened look turned into an annoyed expression as she lets go of her blanket.
"What in the world is wrong with you?! Bursting into my room like that! Do you know how much that scared me!?" She scolded, getting out of bed to make her way over to you. "Count yourself lucky, i have better things to worry about besides your rude behaviour." Iona crossed her arms, letting out an annoyed huff.
You simply stood there with a calm look, you've been through worse—like hell you were gonna let some kid get on your nerves. Instead, you gave her nod as you waited for her order.
Soon enough, she rolled her eyes—waving you off with a dismissive huff. "Whatever, just get me a glass of water."
With a bow, you immediately made your way towards the kitchen—ignoring the insult she muttered under her breath.
As you exited the room, you pressed your hand against the door frame—creating a sigil that will alert you to any screams or sound of struggle.
You didn't make it a few steps away when your paranoia got the better of you, so you left a few more sigils in place—each with different ways to halt or straight up maim an intruder.
Now with your irrational paranoia satiated, you left to complete your task.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
Thankfully nothing eventful happened during your shift.
You waited outside the door to your mistress' room as the other maids helped her get ready for the ball, the occasional yell and footsteps being the only thing you could hear from the other side.
Soon, the sound of another footstep caught your attention. Glancing at where it came from, you noticed that it was Natasha, one of your maid friends—you usually had a hard time telling people apart but fortunately, her suspiciously golden blonde hair (you hope that this isn't another long lost princess bs) and bubbly personality was enough for you to tell her apart.
You fully turned to face her, giving her a smile as you met eye contact. She returned the smile but something on you seems to have her interest, she didn't looked panicked, worried, or anything—just looking at something in particular.
"(Y/n)! Congratulations on your promotion, i know that the mistress could be a handful but stay strong!" She exclaimed, saying the 'mistress' part with a hushed tone. Suddenly, she stood up on her toes and held your face closer to hers.
It somewhat caught you by surprise, but you managed to hold youself back from suplexing her on instinct.
"Sorry, sorry—i forgot how tense you are." She said apologetically before trying to wipe something on your face. "There's just this thing on your face, i thought it was just dirt but it seems to be more like a tattoo..." She took out a hankerchief, trying to wipe it away again but to no avail.
Soon enough, she lets go of your face—allowing you to stand up straight again.
"Huh... weird." Her eyes narrowed as she took a step back—still focused on the tattoo on your face. "I'll look into it, but for now we'll need to do something about that." Natasha reached into her apron and pulled out a band-aid.
She reached towards your face again and used it to cover the tattoo. "There, should be less distracting now—don't want you stealing all the attention away from the mistress, eh?" She joked, elbowing your side with a grin. "Just take some of these, in case anymore appears."
You gave her a thumbs up as she handed you several band-aids.
"Alright! Good luck at the party! If you need any tips, just ask Mara—she used to be the one that accompanied the mistress to these types of events." Natasha continued before walking away.
Before you could think more about the implications of the tattoo, your attention was diverted when the door opened behind you. After stepping out of the way, you bowed to your mistress.
"Finally... maid! Let us go now." She confidently walked pass with you quickly following behind.
From behind, you could hear some 'goodlucks' and other words of encouragement from the servants—all of them silently praying that the mistress could keep her temper in check.
You can only hope she does.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
You helped your mistress enter the cart as the escort got ready to make sure she arrived at the party without incident.
The escort was quite large, if any normal civilian were to see this they'd definitely would have thought that you were transferring some sort of dangerous artifacts or at the very least one of the 4 Dukes—not one of the most hated person in the kingdom.
Since it would still be a few more minutes until you begin your journey, you decided to look for someone you'd recognize. Just behind your mistress' carriage, you could see your senior talking to a few other servants, so you decided to approach them.
They easily spotted your approach (not hard considering that you're taller than basically everyone in the estate) and waved at you.
Mara proceeds to tell them something, to which they nodded and walked off to attend their various duties—it seems like she wants to speak to you alone.
With short silver hair and two braids framing the side of her face, Mara is a very common sight in the eatate—having served many other nobles and even the king's late father before being Iona's maid and now currently the marchioness', her experience in being a maid is unmatched. She's even served in the Order of Knights, having been your instructor—you've seen how good she is with magic firsthand.
But despite all that, the biggest mystery is how she still look 20 despite being in her 80s—hell, you're not even sure if she IS in her 80s.
"How have you been (Y/n)? I surely hope the mistress has been treating you fairly well." She glanced at the band-aid on your face, her eyes narrowing but didn't say anything. "Now i'm sure you're quite nervous, seeing that it's your first time after all."
You nodded.
"Just make sure the mistress is always in your sight or use the sigils to monitor her." She paused, looking behind you before continuing. "Remember, do not hesitate to use lethal force—the mistress' safety is always your main priority."
You wondered for a second on how you'll accomplish that scenario without revealing your affinity with magic only for Mara to answer your question.
"And don't worry about the potential executions, that's simply something i tell new hires to prevent them from accidentally causing a mess." She said with a smile, acting as if she didn't just straight LIED to you and made you stress out over NOTHING! "As servants, we are affiliated with nobility—so in legal terms, we are not considered as the general public."
A superior lying to you, wow that does bring back a lot of memories.
Your change in expression made her let out a chuckle, which only served to agitate you even more.
"Lighten up (Y/n), you don't want to get kicked out for sending death glares at the gala do you?" Mara changed to a more professional tone but you now she is still laughing at you. "Very well, if this goes by without any hiccups—i'll treat you and the girls to dinner this week."
Well that sure made you feel better and there's really no use in holding a grudge so with an annoyed huff, you simply shrugged.
"Wonderful! Come, we're just about to depart." She took your hand as she led you towards your very own carriage near the front.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
For the most part, the journey was very quiet—having only Mara to talk to for the entire ride (she was asleep for the entire time too) your only source of entertainment came from looking out the window.
Most noble lived far away from the main part of the kingdom, to better manage their own lands and avoid commoners who could not afford to live there—since straying too far from the walls has it's own set of problems, notably: wild animals, hostile beasts, and rarely bandits. Usually those that DO live outside gather together in small communities for protection, often times living in a noble's land in exchange for service or taxes.
Taxes sounds bad, but considering that the other option is a 50/50 on whether or not you get to see the next day, you supposed that it's fair.
The northern border is practically an exclusion zone, no one lives there unless they're affiliated with the Order, a criminal, or worse.
Even most high-ranking adventurers avoided that area.
The other borders are relatively safer with soldiers from other kingdoms also actively patrolling the area, but still should be avoided by normal civilians due to political tension.
The lush green plains soon turn into small houses and farms as you got closer to the kingdom.
People paid no mind to your entourage, since nobles passing by was a rather common sight—but you saw how some of them scowled once they saw the Dashiells' family crest on your cart. Despite managing arguably the most land out of every nobles, the Dashiells rarely allowed any commoners to settle in the lands they managed due to having reserved them for the Kingdom's military, political, and economic needs.
Those who do get to settle stay in temporary housing with pretty strict rules until they found a permanent home for them to stay. Atleast they don't have to pay rent or think about food? You still remembered when a man got beaten by the guards for talking smack about the family though.
Other nobles have tried to use these incidents as an attempt to smear the Dashiell's name, saying that it was inhumane and vile—acting like they weren't doing worse stuff...
It never went anywhere though, the Dashiells proved to be too useful to simply throw away over such minor (to the King atleast) accusations. Seriously though, next to the Saint of the kingdom as well as the 4 Dukes, the Dashiells' probably hold the third most important role—getting rid of them would create such an imbalance that it could cripple kingdom
So it's not a surprise why the people holds so much contempt against the Dashiells.
Just as you thought about more reasons to hate your employer, your attention was caught by your reflection on the window. Another one of those tattoos had appeared, a black line running down your right cheek.
Was this what Natasha was talking about?
With a sigh you took the band-aid she had given you and covered the line on your cheek. You inspected yourself again to see if there was anything else on your face when the cart suddenly jumped, causing you to slam face first onto the glass.
You barely suppressed the urge to yell as you rubbed your bruise, silently cursing the driver and blaming the lack of care towards the public roads because of course they'd take their sweet ass time to fix potholes...
With a frown, you decided to do what Mara was doing and to just lay down on your seat and hope that the tax money was being put to good use.
You had your doubts, but one can only hope.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
A/N: Hello, sorry for the amount of exposition in this chapter.
Exams next week so updates might be late, but i don't really have a schedule so it's not really late huh.
He had multiple memories of his encounters with you but he was always uncertain on which one was actually the truth. Now that he thought about it, this feeling of skepticism was most definitely your doing or atleast was because of you in general.
Who would've guessed?
Many of his memories conflicted with one another, some has him recognize you since his childhood while others depicted your first meeting as an event that happened somewhere during his teenage years.
And even those were inconsistent, he still hasn't figured out wether you both met in that old cabin near the creek or at the playground when he snuck out at night.
To be honest, he doesn't really know what you are, were you even real or something he had made up due to his less than ideal childhood? Everyone sure doesn't seem to notice no matter how close you were.
Then again, the damage you leave behind were definitely real.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
The rain was something he never really liked.
It always gave him the feeling of being even more isolated than he already was, which he'd much rather avoid really.
Not that he had a horrible childhood, compared to many others he would say that he had a decent one. He wasn't picked last in sports, his parents cared somewhat, and he had a few pals that he still talked to.
It's just that, he always felt as if he couldn't fully opened up without being judged, no matter how many times they say otherwise, he knows they would.
Everyone did, and that was what he thought,l—he'll never find anyone who would just not care about who he is. So maybe it was better to just suck it up and follow the crowd.
That was until You came into his life.
When was the last time he had something meaningful? Maintaining something has not been something he was ever good at, be it items or relationships—he'd always manage to ruin everything.
His first partner left him because he was too distant and cold.
His second left him because he was too clingy and open.
And his third...
...
Maybe it's better to just not mention them.
Through thick and thin, no one in his life never really stuck with him, even those closest to him really only managed a few encouraging words and not much else when he was going through his worst.
But atleast You stuck around.
...
Is it a bad thing? Probably.
...
Does he care?
...
No.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
The place was dark, humid, and somewhere he'd rather not be.
Not that he had a choice, it was either he wait out the rain in this grimy shack or risk catching a cold and ended up not coming to school.
He never thinks before doing something, it's practically engrained into his psyche with the amount of times he gotten himself dragged into similar situations. The only reason he's stuck right now was because he wanted to catch that rabbit he caught a glimpse of.
Extremely stupid in retrospect but what has been done is done.
Humming along to a familiar tune, he wondered how long this specific rain would last—they all vary in length don't they?
A creek came from somewhere in the dark, making him pause.
He turned around and was met with a sight.
Oh what a sight it was.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
"Hey?"
He blinked, annoyed that someone managed to surprise him when his guard was down.
"What." A gruff voice came out, a bit harsher than he intended to but it gets the message across all the same.
"The guy wants to see you, for the interview?"
Again, he blinked—then suddenly stood up.
The person was understandably surprised, especially with how fast he did so.
And without another word, he turned and entered.
...
"...Christ."
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
Blood smeared the walls and ceiling, guts was littered everywhere, and what remained of whatever creature was being devoured laid motionless on the floor.
Someone, something, stood before him. Their abyssal gaze piercing into his soul.
He moved, or tried to—quickly realizing that making any sort of movements was futile as his very essence was frozen to the core.
To say it looked human would be a great overstatement, other than having 2 legs and what appears to be a pair of arms, there was barely anything human about the thing.
It was abnormally tall, it's head reaching the ceiling despite being hunched over. An ominous shadow covered it's face with only two sharp (Color) eyes being visible. The claws that had replaced where it's arms would have been had some sort of thick plating on it, which reflected the dim lighting, looking almost metallic.
It wore a long-sleeved dark grey sweater with a simple skirt of similar color that reached it's calves.
A complete mockery of a human.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
"Thomas Woodsman, correct?"
He nodded.
The interviewer gave him a glance before readjusting their glasses to read the paper in front of them.
"Mister Woodsman, i'm sure you understand what we do here? Seeing that you came here from our training program."
A nod.
"Alright, that makes things easier on our end. You'll be sharing a room with two other new hires, so we hope you can get along, teamwork is what keeps people alive during any unwanted events."
Another nod.
"Just make sure to follow protocol, listen to those with higher clearance, and try not to cause a breach."
Again.
"...Welcome to the Foundation."
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
A/N: Hiii, this is a much older piece i wrote last year—as you can tell it's gonna be very inconsistent in personality and lore, it's pretty experimental and if y'all don't like it i'll just stick it to this one fic.
Let me know what you think and thank you for reading!
Humans are such a fascinating species—their history so short yet so packed, their people so kind yet so cruel, their lives so fragile yet they continue onwards through the dark despite their fears.
You do not understand what has made them so endearing in your eyes.
Sure, it was pretty scary when the huge hunk of steel was approaching you at terminal velocity—but atleast that one was instant, too fast for you to think much about it. The next one wasn't though, nope. It was a cruel and miserable existence with the only goal being to make you suffer as much as possible.
If there was a God then they sure are a trickster, since your life has been nothing more than a string of loosely connected jokes.
"Maid! Which dress do you think would fit me better?!" A distressed girl rushed out of her walk-in closet carrying two dresses, both were somewhat similar in terms of the excessive amount of jewelry and gold fabric used—the only visible difference being the color of each garments.
Yep, the malevolent entity called "Unpaid Overtime" followed you well into your next life, in the form of being a maid.
Even in another world, capitalism was still the bane of your existence...
With some thought, you pointed at one of the dresses—thinking that it would fit your current 'mistress' better.
Ugh, even saying it leaves a bad taste in your mouth...
"Hmm... I think i'll pick this one instead!" And just like the upper-management from your old job, of course your input was ignored...
You could only let out a silent sigh as you stood beside them, offering your assistance whenever it's needed.
After an hour of simply putting on accessories, you were finally able to leave—weaving pass the many maids who were more suited with putting on make-ups.
A servant soon tripped over their own feet, clumsily falling face first towards the floor. Luckily you had caught them just in time, grabbing them by the scruff of their shirt—you pulled them upright with one arm before walking away, not responding to their gratitude.
When did it all started again? Oh yeah, you dying.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
It felt... weird. Like waking up from a dream, didn't help that you woke up in a bed. Really though, for a moment you really thought that everything that happened to you–from your childhood to your demise–was all a dream, hell, you thought you were still dreaming!
That slight hope off thinking that maybe you WERE in a dream was shattered when you were kicked out of your room by who you assumed to be your landlord telling you to pay your rent.
Then when you realized that this wasn't a dream, you began to have hope that maybe—just maybe, you can live your life without having to worry about getting a job!
Yeah, didn't last long.
Seriously, how poor are you in this life? The landlord was even sorry enough to give you some money to "survive a week"! Since when do landlords have a moral compass?! Do you seriously have nothing other than the clothes on your back!?
You checked yourself for anything that might have been on you when you got transported here.
Your hand eventually landed on a small box that was on your person—pulling it out, you found out that the item was a box of cigarettes.
Seriously?
Whatever, time to search for a job.
Again...
And so you wandered the streets, occasionally looking around to marvel at your surroundings.
The city? Kingdom? Place? It looked like something that was ripped straight from those manhwa stuff you got ragebaited by while doomscrolling. It looked fantastical, otherworldly! From what you could tell, you were in the 'lower' parts of the kingdom and it still looked beautiful! You could hardly believe this wasn't a dream.
The streets were filled with stalls, merchants selling their wares, magicians performing tricks in order to attract more costumers, and smiths forging equipment right before your eyes. People of all sort of races that you would only known of in fiction and stories were walking the very streets you were on! Elves, orcs, dwarves, and so on. It was wonderful!
Unfortunately you were quickly brought back to reality when you remembered that you still needed a job...
God damn it!
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
After several more hours of wandering around, weaving pass crowds and occasionally punching a pick-pocketer, you found a paper saying that a certain family of nobles were looking to hire more maids—something about some of them mysteriously dissappearing after an incident, didn't took a detective to know actually happened...
You pondered about the potential danger, but seeing that housing, food, and the slight chance of promotion were all being offered–you decided to take the risk.
Reading the paper once more, you saw the address and decided to start making your way towards it. Using signs, and sometimes pointing at the address to people to get a general direction of where you were supposed to go.
However, people seems to have a worried look on their face whenever you did so before proceeding to straight up ignore you.
Rude, but what else can you do?
It was getting dark, the streets were now being illuminated by lamps that seems to have a glowing orb in them. Merchants were packing up for the day as others took their place, selling wares or streetfoods that you couldn't find during the day.
Soon enough you approached a stall with a sign that advertised some sort of beverage that you don't recognize. As you got closer, you noticed that the person tending to the stall was a male orc who was busy with cleaning a glass.
His gaze landed on you as you approached—a friendly smile appearing on his face.
"Welcome lass, take a seat. Care for a drink?" You gave him a nod before sitting down on one of the stools, taking your time to read the menu that was carved onto the counter.
Most-if not all, had weird names that you don't recognize. Even some of the ones that you do know of has an extra name that make you unsure if they would even taste the like the ones from your world.
"Here's the food menu. If yer looking for a bite." He said, sliding a wooden tablet towards you.
You haven't realized it until just now, but you're feeling pretty hungry.
Taking out the pouch that you were given, you pour the contents of said pouch onto your hand.
About 20 copper coins.
Looking back a the menu, you pointed at the cheapest drink and some cooked potatoes—both of which costing a total of 5 copper pieces. Soon after confirming your order, he took the wooden tablet away and started preparing your meal.
As the smell of roasted potatoes filled the air, you turned around and rested your back against the counter.
To say that you were overwhelmed would be an understatement, it's actually quite ridiculous how you weren't having a breakdown right now. Luckily, you were quick to adapt to your new circumstances and had already gotten over the initial shock—now all that filled your head was 'What now?'
Well that problem will be up to tomorrow's you to solve, for the moment—you just want to get that maid gig and secure your housing problem first.
You thought about the other potential jobs you could go for, adventuring is a hassle, you don't want to join the military again, and running a shop is literally retail but worse.
Not to mention that most of them don't guarantee a proper bed or food.
How bad could being a maid be anyway? You'll get a roof over your head, food, and a bed! Who knows, maybe if you're lucky enough then you'll get to travel around the world. In exchange for cleaning rooms and dishes? That sounds well worth it to you.
Are maids underpaid here? You sure hope not—then again, you're not sure what you'll use the money for anyway.
You're notified that your food was finished when a plate was placed on the counter alongside a mug.
"Enjoy yer meal lass." He said. "Anything else i can do for ya?"
Oh, you almost forgot what you came here for.
You turned around and showed him the paper as you pointed at the address—silently asking him for directions.
His brows furrowed the moment he laid eyes on the paper and you can't tell if he was upset by you or the paper.
"Ya sure lass? I'll tell ya where to go but i really recommend finding another job..." Oh, so he was upset by the paper—that's good to know.
You gave him a raise brow, curious as to what he meant.
"Ah, am guessing yer new in town ay?" He sighed before leaning over the counter. "Those folks aren't the friendly bunch you'd like to be around, even worse than those outskirts' nobles." His voice came out in a hushed tone as he occasionally glance around—making sure no one is listening.
"Why'd ya think they looking for more servants? They're brutal, any slight accident could land ya on the chopping block—not to mention, they'll not think twice bout sacrificing ya as a scapegoat."
That is... concerning...
"Last week, their carriage got ambushed by bandits—y'know what they did?"
You shook your head.
"They took the guards with em and left them servants to fend fer themselves." After saying that, he stood back—eyeing your form with concern.
"Yer young lass, there's plenty of work with less danger. But if yer really desperate about this—i can tell ya where to go."
You sat there contemplating the risks and reward for a moment as his warning rang in your head. After a minute of thinking, you finally reached your decision.
With a determined look, you met his eyes and nodded.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
That's basically the summary of how you ended up in this position.
The interview wasn't all that complicated really—just you and a few other maids swearing loyalty to the family that you will be serving, who just so happens to be the Dashiells.
You can't help but feel like you've heard that name before.
After that, your little group went on a tour around the estate—the guide showing you all where the kitchen is, where the bedrooms are, and when to clean them. She even shared some tips such as what not to do, codewords for various different emergencies, and how to bail yourself out when the mistress is angry.
As the tour came to an end, you were all given your uniforms and a congratulations as you were now officially a part of the household staff.
Yay for you.
Too bad that happiness of getting a job will be replaced by the realization that you have a job.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
That was over 2 months ago.
In that time alone, you've became one of the most trusted maids in the household—even having been entrusted the role of being the personal caretaker of Iona Dashiell—of course with a role like that, some form of special training would be expected.
What you didn't expect was for you to double as a bodyguard, don't they have knights around here for a reason?
Luckily you're already well-versed in basic hand-to-hand so you quickly caught on with the basics, even surprising your instructor who thought you were some oblivious maid who didn't understand what she was getting into. It all seems normal at firsr, just some basic workout and sparring lessons.
But then they taught you magic.
You've seen it before during your time as a maid and walk around town, you just didn't expect to be learning it for yourself and so soon too. You can't help but worry when you had to swear keep this a secret under the threat of execution, apparently only nobles and certain registered mages were allowed to learn magic—something about it being too dangerous for public knowledge.
Atleast you have a lighter always on hand.
Literally.
Now here you stood, on one of the many balconies in the estate—leaning onto the railing as you reached into your pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes.
One left.
It's been years since you've quit smoking, unfortunately the last 2 months had been nothing but hell for you—unhinged working hours, ridiculous demands, and low pay has had it's toll on you despite thinking that you've gotten used to it long ago.
You took out the cigarette, pocketing the box for whatever use you'll have for it.
Tomorrow was gonna be the day of the royal gala, having been selected as the maid to accompany your mistress—chasing after a promotion really came to bite you in the ass didn't it? You can only hope your mistress doesn't cause too much of a scene, you'd really rather not be on the chopping block for being involved with ruining the crown prince's birthday.
With a tired sigh, you placed the cigarette between your lips before lighting it.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
A/N: Can't decide between normal isekai manhwa villainess schtick or just every fantasy trope shoved into one.
Remember the amount of villainess!reader with yandere male leads/female leads a few years ago? Yeah, but what if reader was the maid and also overworked, underpaid, etc.
You know the story, person dies and gets reincarnated in a world of fantasy, where magic is real and the monarchy lives on.
Of course if they were to spend their next life as royalty, they'd sure as hell live to the fullest until they eventually get hung by some sort of revolution that caused the heroine to have a character development that lasts for 2 sentences.
But unfortunately, they're gonna be too busy mopping floors to care much about all that.
Meeting after meeting after meeting consumed your once empty schedule.
Long gone were the days where you could jump from building to building just for fun, when you've beaten the flash in a race by bashing their leg, when you would work the fields and come back to a warm meal prepared by Mrs. Kent.
Hell, even your days back at the asylum was more fun than this purgatory that is now your life.
If you had known that this was what awaited you at the top then you would have gladly stuck around at the bottom.
...
This sucks, you kind of want to go back to the farm again.
"Boss?" A voice snapped you out of your pondering, turning to greet them, you were met with your secretary.
"Have they decided to cancel the meeting?" You asked, leaning back and crossing a leg over the other. You stared at your ever so faithful secretary with a smile and tilted head, clasping your hands together.
"No, they're waiting for you now."
"Hmm, i see..." Although you remained calm, the smile became forced now. Shoulder tensed and teeth gritted-you stood up from your squeaky chair and sauntered towards the door.
Before leaving the room, you threw one last glance at your secretary.
"Be sure to send a candy bowl to the meeting, fill it with the usual. If i do not receive it in the next 10 minutes then expect me to end up in the news."
With that, the door was slammed.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
It has only been 4 minutes since the meeting started and you're already getting restless.
You had made sure to arrive about 5 minutes before the conference started just so you could pick your favorite seat. Knowing that everyone seems to always arrive at exactly 3 minutes before it starts.
You aren't sure why it's always 3 and are too pissed off after every meeting to talk to any of them for more than necessary
"(Name), please pay attention to the meeting. And behave, please? i expect someone as high standing as you would have some manners." Hearing Lex (The bastard) speaking never fails to agitate you, with his snotty tone and look on his face.
Rolling your eyes in annoyance, you reluctantly removed your feet from the table-but not without making sure the table shook for a bit.
Looking around the table, you were met with the same boring stockholding billionaire guy #35-#45. Really, the only one here that even deserves an ounce of your attention is just Lex, and that is only because he was a major buyer of your products.
Oh yeah, Jackass Wayne is also there you supposed.
Despite the fact that your products is solely focused on dealing with speedsters, Lex always decides to complain about it not working on goddamn SUPERMAN.
It's a miracle that you haven't strangled that bald man already.
"Now onto the next topic: Superman." AGAIN?!
"I'm sure you've all known by now, but our stocks have gone down almost 4% due to the Kryptonian. Many of our consumers have also avoided purchasing our products, saying that it's ineffective against the Man of Steel"
You rolled your eyes at him, not bothering to hide your obvious annoyance. Lex glanced at you, but either didn't notice or he had just gotten used to it. Honestly, you're surprised that the two of you were even still business partners, let alone speaking terms.
"Do we have any ideas on how to deal with this situation?" Lex asked, placing his hand on the table to support himself as he leaned forward.
"Your back is gonna have a situation if you keep doing that"
"Thank you for the suggestion (Name), anyone else?"
One of the attendees cleared their throat, Lex turned his head to address them.
"We could try to find out his secret identity, ambush him when they least expect it-"
"Seriously?" All eyes are on you now, not like you cared though.
"Excuse me?"
"Finding Superman's secret identity? What, you think he's less super when the costume's off or something?"
"Well, even if he is, his friends and family couldn't possibly-"
"Oh yeah, let's target his friends and family! Real good idea to give the guy something to be pissed off about, it's not like he can move PLANETS or anything!" You said with a mocking gesture, the one that suggested the idea opened his mouth to defend himself but quickly closed it-instead he just opted to let you finish, knowing from previous meetings that it was a bad idea to interrupt you.
"Actual morons you lot are, pissing off the boy scout? Really? Might as well just tie your assets to a nuke and detonate it at that point." You unwrapped a piece of candy and ate it, purposely flicking the wrapper at Lex, which didn't even made it halfway to him.
"Well then, do YOU have any better idea (Name)?" Lex said through gritted teeth, already feeling his blood pressure starting to rise from dealing with the gremlin.
"Me? I say we should just cut our losses, invest in something else." You nonchalantly suggested, resting your chin on a hand as you inspected a candy piece, barely paying him attention at all. "Your assets are mostly military, am i correct?"
"Yes, where are you going with this."
"I am simply saying that maybe it's about time to widen your horizons, open your eyes, see the larger picture! Whatever saying you want." You turned your gaze back onto Lex, throwing the candy back onto the bowl.
"Point is, maybe invest in something else, like health or something. Who knows! Maybe you'll find a way to grow some hair on that barren head of yours." You KNOW that Lex popped a vein from how his grip almost cracked the pristine table.
"Mentioning my baldness again? How very mature of you (Name)" Despite him not wanting to admit it, Lex was getting increasingly more aggravated.
"mEnTIonInG mY BAlDneSs aGAiN? HoW VerY MAtuRe oF yOu (Name)" Ah, your signature special: Getting Under People's Skin.
"I thought you were an adult, but i supposed i was wrong for once seeing how you are acting" Lex stood up to his full height, barely holding himself back from leaping across the table.
"Yeah? Atleast i'm not bald"
"As much as i enjoy this, we're getting off topic-"
The new voice was silenced when the two immediately yelled "SHUT UP WAYNE" in perfect unison.
Lex turned to face the little gremlin once again, his glare piercing through their very soul. "Really, again? Do you even have anything else other than that?"
"Losersayswhat?"
"What?"
"Hahaha, moron"
That seemed to have made him snap, seeing how he kicked his chair back, causing a few of the attendees to jump in their seats. The bald billionaire pointed an accusing finger at you-his face twisted into a look of complete anger.
"(Name) (Surname), might i remind you that you are acting like nothing more than a child! Completely unbefitting of someone in your position!"
"LALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
Safe to say that the meeting didn't end well.
After a few more back and forth, (Name) was kicked out of the room. And a few minutes later, Lex who was busy kicking his chair also left, apparently too worked up over the whole debacle to focus back on the meeting.
Then one by one, everyone left the room and the staffs were too busy cleaning up candy wrappings and chair pieces to notice another argument coming from the next room over, involving the same two person.
They were really only forced to confront reality when the fire alarm started blaring.
♤ ♡ ◇ ♧
A/N: Hi, hope you enjoyed it! I'm still figuring things out here so i'm sorry if there are any grammar errors.
The original was actually a platonic yandere fic turned into crack, currently still stuck in the flash arc since i haven't gotten around to writing at all lately.
I think i might use tumblr to publish more of my uh, oneshots/scrapped ideas? Or maybe as a way to introduce people to my writings. Atleast it's Better than letting them rot in a draft right?
I guess i'll see you on the next one? Until then, take care!
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