Lord Abernath's home was a townhouse just a block away from the coast. Being that it was taller than the coast-side buildings, she imagined that he had a nice view of the lake from the second and third floors.
It wasn't too narrow of a building either, at least for a townhouse, but it wasn't sprawling. It was a well-groomed and well-maintained house made of interlocking stonework and reddish brick with a greenhouse jutting out of the side that wasn't pressed up against the neighbour's place.
The manager of the North City Housekeepers Association brought her up the steps to the front door, then pulled out a kerchief to dab at his brow. He was a tall, well-built gentleman who seemed entirely ill-suited to this kind of work.
"Lord Abernath is a very peculiar man," he said. "I just wanted to advise you that he can be--"
The door opened with a sudden pull, and standing there was the man that she presumed was Lord Abernath. He was a shorter, more rotund man, with thin lips and a brow made for scowling. He stared at the Housekeepers Association manager, then flicked his attention onto Rosario.
She cast a quick and hopefully surreptitious [Inspect].
Joshua Abernath
[Lord Ministerial] - Level 31
"Well, come on in," he replied.
They did so, stepping into a small foyer, then to the side into a living room where a few seats were laid out facing an unlit hearth. "Lord Abernath, this is Cinderella Dumps. She is a [Maid], and she has recently become available for work."
"Dumps?" the Lord asked.
Rosario curtsied. "Of the Dumps family of Hazelfort, my lord." She was tempted to add more to the lie. Maybe some story about how the Dumps family had a long and proud lineage of [Chambermaids] stretching back nine generations, but lies like that could be caught out. A simple lie was harder to disprove.
"Interesting. Hazelfort is a gorgeous city. I spent a summer there not so long ago."
"The summer, my lord? They can be quite warm to those unused to the local climate."
He nodded. "Quite so. You seem like you have a decent pedigree, Miss Dumps. Finally. The Housekeepers Association has done nothing but send me rabble." His eyes scanned her up and down, lingering on her hips and chest and then face in a way that she found somewhat unpleasant.
Then again, she had been a Twitch streamer. One weirdo staring at her was kind of nothing.
"Very well, then. You understand your duties as a maid?"
"Indeed, my lord," she replied with another quick curtsie. "Though, if you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate a few days to acclimatize myself with your estate? Perhaps a thorough cleaning to begin with? I can't help but notice an unbecoming amount of dust."
He sniffed. "That should tell you all you need to know about the quality of the previous help. Very well, then. Cleaning supplies are in the closet in the hall. Your rooms are in the attic. Mind the library and my office. I don't like being disturbed. The plants need watering daily, the dogs need their waste cleaned from the yard, and I take tea at nine and one."
She bowed gracefully to him. "I'll start immediately while you confer with the gentleman from the Association. If my work needs correcting or adjusting, please tell me so, and I'll do my best to accomodate."
"You lot should have sent an elf sooner. See, this is what a proper maid looks like," he snapped at the Association man.
Rosario slipped out of the living room, then she... kind of simply wandered around.
It was deeply strange to just walk about someone's home as though she had every right to be there. Part of it bothered her a little, but she pushed past that. This was work, after all.
She discovered a closet in the hall that did, indeed, have cleaning supplies, though she noted that some of the products were running low. She wasn't sure how to address getting more, but that was an issue for later.
Then she moved into the greenhouse while exploring and came face to face with two large creatures. One was standing already, but the other was quick to job to its feet and start growling. Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
They were dogs. Of a sort. If dogs grew to be nearly as tall as an adult human, with rippling muscles and boney spurs poking out of their spines.
A quick [Inspect] on both of them confirmed that something was up with these.
Bubbles
[Bone Hound] - Level 38
Killer
[Bone Hound] - Level 31
Second tier monsters, though also monsters that could be tamed with the right job. She'd seen players running around with something like these as pets. The idea of being a monster summoner never truly appealed to her, however.
Killer growled, lowering itself as though to pounce. The [Bone Hound] had two sets of teeth in his massive jaws, all of them covered in saliva.
Rosario wasn't afraid of some little pooch. She gestured to the side and pulled her broom out of her inventory.
Then the inevitable happened and when Killer leapt at her, she spun it around and smacked the bristle end down onto the dog's head... with a bit more force than strictly necessary as the dog crashed into the greenhouse floor with a yelp.
A reader's note: this version was taken from the author's publication page without approval, while reading the source supports them.
Rosario carefully stepped up next to the dog. She loosened the grip on her magic and felt it filling the room. There was a very useful [Green Mage] spell. It was mostly used to traverse areas where the monsters were of a lower level and where you didn't want to be attacked by aggressive mods.
"[Killing Intent]," she muttered.
Her magic sharpened. The room, to her, felt slightly less stuffy. There was frost rime pressing up against the windows and the two dog's breath came out as puffy steam. They started to tremble.
"You will not cause me trouble," she informed the dogs.
Killer whimpered.
Bubbles laid down onto the ground, then rolled over and exposed his tummy.
"Good boys," she said. Reaching down, she gave Killer a little pat on the head, as a treat. Then she rubbed Bubble's chest, not to leave him out.
Rosario finished her inspection of the house soon afterwards. It wasn't a mess, but it could definitely use some attention. There were a few spots of what may be mold in the bathrooms and the library was begging to be dusted.
So, she started with that, taking into account her lesson from her prior mistakes with cleaning large spaces. Windows were opened and drapes shaken out, and she soon found herself attacking every room with a feather duster in one hand and a damp cloth in the other.
Lord Abernath crossed her path, but other than a bit of staring, he didn't say much and simply left her to her work.
Rosario finished up the dusting, then noticed the time. It was almost one in the afternoon, time for Lord Abernath's tea.
She didn't know how he liked it, and to be honest, she wasn't well-versed in making tea, but it could hardly be complicated. Boil water, toss leaves in.
Shrugging, she made her way to the kitchen and rooted about for ingredients. A quick spell made the water she put in the kettle explode out of it as a gust of steam, so she elected for a not-so-quick spell instead while she cleaned the mess she made.
She was rewarded almost as soon as she finished putting together a tray with tea and biscuits and milk and honey.
[Scullery Maid] level 3
Charisma +1
Rosario grinned. A level! The pace so far had been... significantly slower than in-game. No one would play a game where early levels took multiple days to achieve. The final levels, sure. There should, ideally, be a scale applied to the time and effort it took to level up, and so spending a few weeks grinding out the last levels was expected and fine. But the early levels? No, players wanted their dopamine hits more regularly than that.
She was happy to see the prompt, however. It was a good sign.
She grabbed the tea set and moved up to Lord Abernath's office where the man was waiting. "Your one o'clock tea, my lord."
"A little tardy," he said after glancing at a pocket watch.
"Indeed. Forgive me."
"No matter," he said. He set aside some paperwork and gestured for her to place the setting on the table. He didn't comment on the way she had prepared it, though after taking a sip he did scowl. "A little strong, don't you think?"
"Noted, my lord."
"What sorts of teas do you have in Hazelfort?" he asked idly. It did feel like he was just making conversation.
Rosario smiled. "All sorts. You must know that we elves enjoy our teas. I'm fond of a particular leaf found deep within the Bowman's woods. With permission, I'll see if I can't find a sample in the local markets?"
"Bah, you're unlikely to find anything. All the good stuff from the Aerie stays there. Especially nowadays."
"Nowadays, my lord?" she asked. "Do you refer to the rebellion I've heard much about?"
"Heard of them, have you?"
"Only in rumour. I don't truly know what their goals are."
He sniffed and took another sip. "Bunch of upjumped animals. When we finally captured the Demon Lord and put down his animal kin, the locals ought to have rolled over like good dogs. Instead they keep nipping at our heels. They can't appreciate the civility we bring them and would rather rut in the mud."
She put on a placid smile and nodded while folding her hands before her stomach. "Of course."
As far as she remembered, the area around Lithos was perfectly fine for the NPCs before the Aerie took over.
"It's why you need the guidance of the more civilized races. Humans and elves and... oh, I suppose the dwarven folk as well. Not these demons that pretend to be civilized, and certainly not these half-humans and bug folk. Disgusting."
"And now they rebel?"
"Yes. Of course. Repugnant fools. What do they think will happen if they bite the hand that feeds them?" he shook his head, then touched some papers on his desk. "It'll all be over soon enough. Hah!"
Rosario continued to smile, as a good maid should. But perhaps she was feeling her opinion shift a little more in favour of Penny's little rebellion.
***