My name is Sarah Berry. I am eighteen years old.
This might come as a sudden surprise, but I was just fired from my job.
“N-No way…!”
The sky is covered with a gloomy, dark ink color. With my face clouding over even darker than that sky, I blinked in sheer shock.
“I’m sorry, Miss Sarah.”
Giggling is the head housekeeper of the Albright Duchy—or rather, my former employer, as I was just fired moments ago.
The head housekeeper is at the top of the female servants. She has the right to hire and manage maids, holding a senior position with more practical authority than a lady’s maid.
“P-Please wait—”
When I frantically tried to hold on to her, the head housekeeper coldly shook her head.
“Unfortunately, someone like you who hasn’t even debuted in high society is not fit to be a maid for a prestigious ducal family.”
Just as the housekeeper said, I have not debuted in high society.
To become a debutante, you need to take lessons to learn manners and prepare gorgeous outfits suitable for the venue. It takes a lot of time and money.
My struggling family, which could be blown away by a mere gust of wind, has no such luxury.
Furthermore, a maid serving a noble family does not just keep the mistress or young lady company. Her job is to pick out dresses for every occasion, choose matching accessories, style hair according to the latest trends, and help with makeup.
In other words, the more sensitive a woman is to the trends of high society, the better she is at giving precise advice and the more skilled she is at sophisticated coordination.
Since I don’t know much about fashion and have no eye for gems, I am a failure as a maid.
I was well aware of this myself, so I tried my hardest to be useful in other ways. I worked hard managing the mistress’s huge collection of clothes and accessories, and carried heavy bags when the young lady went shopping.
I never talked back to the strong-willed mistress, nor did I ever talk back to the energetic young lady. I always fulfilled all their requests.
“Farewell, Miss ‘Weed Lady’.”
The head housekeeper sneered, flicking her wrist with a sharp, swift snap.
Thud. My bag was tossed aside and thrown to the ground.
It’s light. It makes such a light sound. I wish it would at least make a heavy thud.
It can’t be helped since it only contains a few clothes and small items, but the half-empty bag landed on the street with a pathetically light sound.
“…No way…”
And just like that, I became unemployed.
Even though I worked for nearly two years, being kicked out without a single recommendation letter is too harsh.
I felt depressed for a moment, but I have no time to mumble and sulk.
Thinking of the family I left behind in the northern territory of North, I cheered myself up.
“For everyone’s sake, I have to find a new job!”
As the name suggests, the North territory is the countryside located in the northern part of this country. What a fitting name.
Growing only grass, the North territory is poor, and the Berry family is a small, insignificant minor noble family fitting the description of a small-fry house.
Mocking the unfortunate trait that “only grass grows here,” I am called the “Weed Lady” because it is a rural countryside where nothing else is around.
Struggling with the management of a territory that has no special local products, my good-natured father was easily tricked by a dishonest merchant two years ago, leading to a huge debt.
That is why I, the eldest daughter, worked as a maid in the Albright Duchy and sent my earnings back home.
In the North territory, my mother—who is just as kind-hearted as my father—lives together with my little brother and sister, living a modest life.
There are no jobs to be found if I just crawl back home. To help my precious family, I have no choice but to stay in the capital and look for a new employer.
“Watch me, Father! Mother!”
Gathering all my weed-like spirit, I swore to my parents.
“I am the eldest daughter. I won’t let my cute little brother and sister starve on the streets!”
If I don’t have a recommendation letter, the place to rely on is the employment agency. It is a place that handles various job openings and undertakes introductions for applicants.
The moment I was fired, I headed out to town and went straight to the employment agency.
“Hmm. Your previous job was a maid in a ducal family.”
The man at the agency tilted his head as he flipped through the job listings.
Being a maid is not the kind of profession recruited through public job listings. Connections to the upper class are literally everything.
“It doesn’t have to be a maid. Any job as a general maid is fine. Housework, yard work, I will do anything!”
After all, I was fired because I was told I wasn’t fit to be a maid. I am even better at odd jobs. I might be a failure as a noble young lady, but since it’s the truth, it can’t be helped.
“Yard work, huh. Oh, in that case, there is a house that happens to be looking for a gardener’s assistant.”
The man said this, but he frowned with a bitter expression.
“Is it a haunted or troubled house?”
“No, no. It’s a prestigious and fine family. They just had a bit of misfortune.”
Without caring about that, I leaned forward. I have no intention of being picky while unemployed.
“I’ll do it! Please let me do it!”