Michael walked out of the room, his head lowered, an aura of despair surrounding him. He was so distracted that he walked right past Shirley who had been waiting outside the door for him the entire time.
"Michael dear? What’s wrong?"
He flinched, only relaxing when he realized who it was. Yet his mood turned gloomy once more as he was forced to explain his new post.
"I’ve been assigned to be a personal butler—"
"Oh, that’s wonderful. Out of all the job’s, that is surely one of the best," Shirley exclaimed, cutting him off. "Who did you get assigned to? Was it the lord?"
Michael shook his head, feeling his brain slosh around like jelly inside his skull.
"Hmm? Did they decide to send you to another family then?" Shirley’s expression turned grave, "That bastard... I’ll give him a piece of my mind," she grumbled, ready to burst into the estate manager’s office.
"N-No... They assigned me to Miss Melody."
Shirley tilted her head, confusion painting her features. But it quickly changed, turning into one of elation, "Oh how wonderful!" she exclaimed with unbridled joy.
"Wonderful?" Michael spat, "Miss Melody hates me, she’ll surely make my life a living hell..." he complained, unable to accept her words.
"Now now, you clearly don’t understand us women, young Michael." She stated with a grin, patting him on the shoulder.
Michael didn’t know how to respond to such a statement. In his mind, Melody would probably run him around until he was forced to quit, especially with how their last interaction had gone.
Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead, at least then I won’t have to ingratiate myself to that girl... he contemplated.
"Come, let’s go get breakfast, I’m sure you’ll feel better with a full belly," the young maid said, patting him stiffly on the back, causing him to lurch forward.
The sudden hit had caused his bladder to almost burst.
"Ah... I’ll meet you there." Michael said, quickly breaking into a run towards the restroom.
Once he’d relieved himself, Michael felt a little better. His body’s condition seemed to allow him some faculties to properly think things over.
I survived in the mana-scarred lands for three days, and even trudged through the wilderness by myself... If I can handle that, I can handle a spoiled noble child, he reasoned.
Michael already had to see Melody every day for their tutoring sessions, at least while Arcadia Academy was on break. What harm could a few more hours together do? New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NoveI[F]ire.net
Or at least this was what he told himself.
After arriving in the servants quarters again, he saw Shirley waving her hand, trying to get his attention. Making his way over, he saw the young maid had fetched him breakfast and was already tucking into her own.
"You’re looking much better, Michael." She said smilingly.
"Mmm, I feel better." He replied, nodding.
"Oh, I brought along Esther to speak to you. You’ll be replacing her as personal maid—or butler in your case." She stated.
Michael looked over Shirley’s shoulder and saw a woman with tied up blond hair and bags under her eyes, looking exhausted. It appeared as if she hadn’t had any sleep in the past ten years.
She seemed quite a bit older than Shirley who was in her twenties, but she wore a bright smile, as if she’d just won a grand prize.
For some reason, Michael felt a sense of trepidation when looking at her.
"I’m Esther, nice to meet you," she said. Her voice was husky, almost as if she wasn’t used to using it often.
Michael nodded and greeted her politely, turning to his food.
"Wow Esther, I don’t think I’ve seen you smile since you first started working here a year ago." Shirley commented.
Esther chuckled, or at least Michael was sure it was meant to be one. It sounded like a crow calling out to its brethren on a dark and cold night.
"I have been freed, Shirley... Now that I don’t have to watch over the young miss, I can finally pursue a husband. My mom has been complaining ever since I turned eighteen in the spring."
Michael’s mouth which was full of food was suddenly projected out of his mouth as he overheard the conversation. He began to cough as shock struck him hard.
She’s eighteen!? Just what did Miss Melody do to make her look like that!? He cried inwardly, his gloomy mood returning.
In the next moment, a heavy hand struck him in the middle of the back, almost forcing his face into the table. It hit him rhythmically, almost splitting his ribs in half from the impact.
"Are you okay Michael?" Shirley asked, relinquishing her hand once he stopped coughing.
"I-I’m fine," he replied in a strained voice.
He quickly got up to go get some cleaning tools for his mess, all the while stealing a few more glances at Esther. But no matter how he looked at her, he still couldn’t fathom that the woman was only eighteen years of age.
When he was done, he returned to his seat and sat in front of his now cold food. Whatever morale he’d recovered from his self pep talk earlier had evaporated into nothing.
That was when Esther approached him, her smile now gone. She placed a stack of rolled parchment in front of him, tied in a bow.
"This is the notes on miss Melody’s rules, likes and dislikes. Basically everything you’ll need to know if you’re going to be her personal butler..."
Michael looked down, noting that there had to be at least ten full parchments of paper rolled together. He resisted the urge to cry, choosing instead to thank her meekly.
The woman placed a hand on his shoulder before they locked gazes.
"Stay strong..." she added in a low voice.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned around and let out a laugh, practically skipping on her way out of the servant’s quarters.
Just what have I gotten myself into?