HTPTMOTMM Chapter 23

A room where the bedding, carpets, sofa covers, tablecloths, curtains, and other items used in the mansion are regularly disinfected.

Masked maids shook the dust from colorful fabrics hanging on clotheslines and sprayed cleaning solution they had prepared themselves in the laundry room.

Then one of the maids looked around to see if there was no supervisor nearby and whispered.

"Did you hear? Another maid in charge of Room 1 disappeared."

"Don't tell me she went into the Devil's Garden again?"

"That's what they say. Thomas saw the other Room 1 maids taking all the missing maid's belongings to the incinerator."

The other maids also began opening their mouths one by one while busily moving their hands.

"What was the reason this time?"

"They say she switched Lord Lusca's medicine. She insisted it wasn't intentional, but... seeing how she went into the garden and never came back, it's obvious. Oh, could you give me some more of that cleaning solution?"

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

During this, a maid with an unfamiliar voice naturally joined in. The maid who received the cleaning solution looked puzzled for a moment, but since the maid arranging the bedding had very skilled hands, she soon withdrew her questioning gaze.

"But do many of the Room 1 maids go into the Devil's Garden?"

"You haven't been in the mansion long, have you? It happens sometimes. Lady Marianne doesn't tolerate even the smallest risk factors that might affect Lord Lusca."

The maids whispered among themselves a bit more about the Devil's Garden.

Saying it was a cursed garden that would suck the life force out of anyone who entered, and that they had never seen anyone return safely after going inside.

Besides that, many stories that they could never tell in front of the other high-ranking people in the mansion were exchanged. Originally, people tend to let their guard down and become loose-lipped in front of colleagues in similar situations.

"But if everyone knows Lady Marianne is so strict, why do so many maids still want to work in Room 1? And Young Master Lusca... well, his health isn't exactly the best either. You'd think that would be a major disadvantage."

"I don't know for sure, but physical health isn't the biggest factor in evaluations... And it's true that Room 1 consistently maintains high scores during rankings."

"That's true. There's more than one way to excel as a ■■, after all."

"And honestly... there's something that makes you want to cheer for them. When I see Lady Marianne and Lord Lusca, I want to cheer twice as hard for the previous Room 1 occupants' sake too."

"Ah, right. I came in later so I didn't see the previous pairs directly, but employees who worked for over a year say they think a lot about the old days when they see Lady Marianne and Lord Lusca."

"But what really happened to the previous Room 1 pair? Everyone's so tight-lipped about it. Was it the Morose? I mean, looking at Lady Marianne, her sister who was the previous caretaker must have been pretty strong too, but I suppose even the strongest person can't defend against a surprise attack..."

"From what I heard somewhere, it might not have been because of the Morose."

"Huh? Then what?"

Then a maid who was flipping carpets nearby chimed in.

"You heard that rumor too? The story that the previous Room 1 pair was actually murdered by someone in the mansion."

"Uh... Not an accident? Like accidentally falling from a balcony railing or stairs, something like that?"

"From what I heard, the previous Room 1 young master was murdered, and the caretaker committed suicide."

"No, I heard that Lady Marinez was the one who was murdered."

"What, so either way, one of them was definitely murdered?"

"Anyway, thinking about that, it's not just the Room 1 pair, but the Room 2 caretaker is also pitiful."

"Huh? You mean Lord Cheswick, the Room 2 caretaker? Why?"

"Why else? Because he was lovers with Lady Marinez, the previous Room 1 caretaker."

"Gasp!"

A loud intake of breath was heard among the maids. One of them seemed particularly shocked.

A maid who heard that choking sound opened her eyes knowingly.

"You were interested in the Room 2 caretaker too? Well, he's not my type, but I see quite a few girls who like him."

The conversation briefly veered off in another direction, turning into a critique session of the male caretakers.

Opinions were divided on Room 2's Cheswick - some thought he looked pathetic because he seemed too controlled by his charge Minuel, while others found his obedient nature toward children homely and caring.

"I like the straightforward type like Room 6's Gilbert."

"Doesn't he seem a bit gloomy? He's excessively quiet. If you were dating him, how would you even have fun meetings?"

"Then you prefer the talkative type like Room 4?"

"Who said that? Well, he does look decent. They say he's from Stella too. Hmm, no... actually no. But being that loose-tongued is also not great. He's too conceited."

"If I had to choose just one among the caretakers, I'd pick Lady Marianne and Lady Eugenia."

"Hey, but is this conversation even meaningful? Why is everyone suddenly getting so serious?"

The maids put their heads together and giggled.

"They're from another world anyway, so we can at least talk about this much among ourselves, right?"

"But if the story about Lady Marinez and Lord Cheswick is true, it's quite surprising. Looking at Lady Marianne, her sister must have had a strong personality too, but Lord Cheswick seems a bit... unreliable and clumsy?"

"Maybe that's why opposites attracted?"

Then the maids' voices stopped briefly as they turned over the fabrics hanging on the line.

A moment later, another maid spoke while shaking out a blanket.

"Hmm, like Lily said, you might be more drawn to people with opposite personalities. You guys know Sara among the maids, right? Sara seemed genuinely interested in Lord Cheswick."

"Gasp, really?"

"Oh please. Honestly, Sara is really pretty, right? But no matter what she tries, he absolutely won't fall for her. So she's really bitter about it now."

"What, what. Don't tell me... he won't accept Sara because he still can't forget Lady Marinez?"

"That's possible, isn't it?"

"Wow... What a loyal man."

"That kind of thing is both sad and cool."

After being solemn for a moment, the maids changed the subject and talked about other recent events in the mansion.

The purple annex hasn't had the sound of children's footsteps at night lately, and Merida, who temporarily took over after Head Maid Jane died, is too strict with work assignments.

Oh, and that shopping-crazy caretaker from whatever room had someone come yesterday and bought clothes by the pile, and some kid from another room fell off their horse during riding class today and hurt their leg, and on and on...

"Hey, stop chattering and get to work."

"Eek!"

Then the supervisor returned. The maids hurriedly pretended to work diligently and closed their mouths.

The maids only became relaxed again when break time came.

"Ugh, it's hot. But strangely, we finished really quickly today?"

"Right. Sister, come here and drink some water too."

"Huh? But wasn't there one more person until just now?"

"Oh, really? Where did that girl go who kept to herself and spoke formally?"

The maids who had taken off their stuffy masks looked around puzzledly, but Lynne had already left.

'The maid network is the best!'

I stepped out into the corridor, felt the cool breeze, and mentally gave a thumbs up to the maids' information network.

'This is why I've been obsessed with the maid job all this time.'

Of course, there was also the tremendous advantage of being able to watch my bias Diana up close, but maids were definitely the best job in the game - they could move around this suspicious mansion more freely than anyone and gather information most easily.

'But I'm not actually a maid right now, so sorry for the cuckoo act, sisters! In exchange, I worked like a house fairy repaying a favor, so let's call it even.'

Having lived as a maid in the game for quite a long time, I worked as well as any veteran maid. So I thought today was mutual benefit - both the maids and I got what we wanted.

"But I learned some surprising facts."

I recalled what I had just heard.

Of course, the fact that the Room 1 maid who went into the Devil's Garden really disappeared, and the content about the Devil's Garden sucking life force or whatever, was also interesting. But what made my ears perk up the most was something else.

The previous Room 1 people might have been murdered. Could it be that an episode like 'Find the Mansion's Murderer' was added?

Also, the story that Cheswick was lovers with the previous Room 1 caretaker was surprising.

Is that why there was a slightly strange atmosphere when I mentioned the previous Room 1 in front of him?

And despite the famous beautiful maid Sara openly showing interest, he absolutely wouldn't fall for her...

Then I guess I was right when I almost misunderstood after seeing just a partial scene in Cheswick's room earlier.

Although I was still slightly suspicious that it might be mutual, I'm sorry, Lord Cheswick...!

Come to think of it, even then the maid was leaning toward Cheswick, but Cheswick didn't lay a finger on the maid. Plus, Raven, the Room 4 caretaker, said he had never seen Cheswick meet women before.

'Then... could Cheswick's character setting be someone with a sad past?'

Maybe it's because I'm easily influenced. Suddenly after hearing such stories, Cheswick began to feel like a man with painful wounds and a story behind him.

Sometimes when he would just sit there blankly as if everything in the world was boring, maybe he was actually immersed in melancholy.

"Huh? Lady Lynne?!"

Just then, Sara Rose, who was passing through the corridor alone with a tray, spotted me.

"Oh, no, what happened? Why are you dressed like that...!"

She looked at me wearing the same outfit as her and her eyes widened in surprise.

Oops, I borrowed a spare maid outfit from the supply room and got caught.

Sara Rose was a new maid, so I couldn't get information about the mansion from her, and she hadn't built enough rapport with other employees to have such deep conversations yet. So I thought I'd probably need to wear these clothes often in the future.