Bumped Into a Maid

I was just thinking about where to go next, when I heard a vaguely familiar voice crying out my name.

"Agnes, I finally found you, how dare you leave me behind."

Well, in the first place, no matter where I went the servants would either not remember me or more or less be apologetic. I really don't understand what there was to feel sorry about.

"So, you think you can just escape, huh? I'll have you know that with my power, there's no place in this mansion that you can hide in."

There was also that thing with the Archduke title. I sadly lost all those documents together with the letter for the Duke. It's not like I wanted to, but the horses disappeared with all my stuff and my dress didn't have any pockets.

"Wait, I can't believe it, but are you per chance ignoring me?"

Maybe I should get some new clothes too. Let's see whe- ouch. The back of my head suddenly hurt. Oh, it was more like my scalp that hurt. I turned around to ascertain what caused the pain, only to see a black haired girl pulling at my hair.

"Looks like you finally feel like talking."

"More than anything, is that how you catch all your friends? No wonder you are single."

As I said that, she began pulling tighter.

"I'm voluntarily single, what don't you understand? Also we aren't friends. We aren't even acquaintances."

"I see, then would you please show some restraint and not assault a stranger in broad daylight."

"Tsk, when has your mouth become so toxic," she said and finally let go.

"So? Is there anything you want from me?"

"No, if I had to tell you the truth, I'm just here to annoy you."

Well that was very straightforward, thank you very much. Still, go to hell.

"Why me? Go be a pest somewhere else."

She stared at me with cold eyes, "hmm, but since you stand below me, it's my right to bully those who are weaker than me."

I felt like I just heard something extreme there. I didn't really know how to answer that.

"Who taught you such things?"

"Everyone knows that if you want to survive, you obey the strong and work the weak. It's what we live by."

It was like we were talking, but we weren't communicating. As if we were different species. I mean, from a certain standpoint she was right, still as civilized humans who are part of a society, we should really watch out for each other. And I couldn't believe I'm saying this, but the world has rules, you know.

"Do you have anything to say? Stop glaring at me," she ordered.

"I'm not staring though."

"I will only say this once," she put her hand on my head. However, it wasn't in a friendly way, "don't act so cheeky. I am, in all aspects, superior than you. If you understand that, then keep quiet and obey me, or else I will make your life very hard."

Right back at you. I wasn't going to make it hard, though. I'd just kill you straight up.

"But the reason for why I am here, other than gloating, papa has called you," she told me, her face annoyingly smug.

"Who the hell is papa?"

"Are you pretending, or are you really that stupid? Who else, other than my dad," she struck out her chest, and covered her mouth with her hand, "the one who runs this territory."

"And who are you?"

"Wha- It's Raya, Raya. Your cousin, dumbass. Did you hit your head somewhere."

I touched my head, and said, "no you see the original Agnes died, and I only took over her body. It's magic, I tell you. Magic."

She furiously stomped on the ground, her face seethed with frustration, "enough with your jokes, it's always been like this. Since we were small, you never showed me any respect. Let me tell you this," she pointed at my face, "I absolutely detest you."

Oh no what will I do. My cute little cousin's in her rebellious age. Or rather, we were just talking normally, how did we get to this point. I wasn't even lying, but fair enough, I was kind of making fun of her.

However, she wasn't done. She continued, "but for the sake of it, I will play a long with your farce. You want to know your 'past' then? You are the girl that's hated by the whole household. Even servants have more worth than you," she began smiling, " but it's over now. You finally messed up, and now it's come back to bite you. I'm impressed that you even had the guts to come back."

Well, I do feel like I was taking it a bit too lightheartedly.

I guess this is how it is, huh. For anyone else, this would be a big hurdle. But after having talked to the king, and being ambushed by bandits, I don't really feel the pressure of these kind of events anymore.

Wait, hadn't this world been unreasonably hard on me? It kept throwing one dead end after another at me, it's a miracle that I've even made it this far.

I lightly slapped my cheeks. Maybe I should take this more seriously.

I was after all in an unfamiliar environment, and to make matters worse, it wasn't friendly.

I didn't have any information and I had no one to confide in. I mean, I would never understand what the original went through, living in thise kind of environment.

I felt around my arms. From touching my small shoulders, to my frail wrist, I was able to tell how thin I was. Like a twig that could accidentally be broken.

Everyday, she was met with contempt and ridicule.

Everyday, she would walk this path, head lowered and in shame.

Everyday, she fought alone.

A bit bitter, these thoughts.

Since I was lost in my own world and didn't talk, she interpreted it as me having nothing to say.

"Alright, let's go then," the girl urged me.

"But I don't want to."

She pulled me along my sleevess, "just get over here."

"Fine, I'll come with you. Let me go."

"No, I have a feeling that you'll just run away."

She then took off with me unwillingly following behind her. We passed the rooms I went to, and also made our way through places were I hadn't been. The lighting changed from colorful to dark and from bright to gloomy, it kept alternating as we walked past the windows and walls.

"How far are we going?"

"We are almost there."

Every step, the squeaky floor reminded us of its age and there was a musty smell lingering in the air.

As Raya and I took another turn into a hallway, we unexpectedly bumped into a maid causing the basket she was carrying to fly through the air with the colorful cloth dropping like confetti on a birthday.

Raya stumbled on the floor, trying to catch her fall by grasping around her, but there was nothing to hold onto. Ultimately she landed on the ground, as I dodged her body diving towards me.

Huh, I think I could use what's happening to my advantage.

"Watch were you are going, dumbass," Raya shouted at the maid, while rubbing her back in pain.

The maid rapidly stood up again and in a swift yet clumsy manner, picked up the cloth spread on the wooden floor. With her head lowered and her hair hiding her face, she kept apologizing, "I'm so sorry, I didn't see anyone approaching. Please forgive me."

"You think the world is that easy, that you can just get away with a few words," Raya insisted with a strict tone.

No, in the first place, wasn't it your fault for running in the hallways, while pulling me along?

The maid lowered her head even more and gripped the edges of her uniform.

She tried speaking, but started stuttering out of nervousness, "this humble servant knows only how to beg for leniency."

"Well, that's the only thing you can do when you have no worth," Raya criticized her harshly, "but then you also don't get to decide their fate, though."

The maid flinched.

"Because of a certain someone, I've been pretty irritated today. I was just thinking about how to relieve my stress when you hopped along."

She then squatted in front of the maid and stared at her face. With a voice that was almost tempting, she asked, "so, how will you atone for this?"

The maid shuddered and her whole body stiffened. She abruptly jerked her head up, inadvertently revealing her face to me.

She was in her early twenties with big, round eyes and freckles covering her cheeks.

At the moment, her face was as pale as a ghost and the vigor she was supposed to have at her age, was nowhere to be seen.

Her lips were trembling as she bit into them. With an indignant gaze and crooked eyebrows, the maid looked at me.

She whimpered, and without warning, tears welled up in her eyes and fell down her cheeks leaving a trail like a slug on a leaf.

The maid covered her face, but showed no signs of stopping, rendering Raya and me dumbfounded by the scene we were witnessing.

"Uwah, you made her cry, how do you feel about yourself?"

"What, how is that my fault, I didn't even do anything," Raya replied with a stiff smile.

The maid was still sobbing and tried explaining herself, but she kept choking up.

"I-it's not like," her voice cracked, "that. It's not your fault," she sniffed, "I was just t-trying to give my best, my whole life I've been here," she kept rubbing her eyes, while emphasizing how old she had already become, "everyone else is already gone, I'm alone now, I'm alone now," she repeated.

Yes, I didn't really get what she's saying, but I felt like she had a story to tell.

"Why don't you calm down first," I suggested.

She slightly nodded her head, and let out a deep, audible breath.

After several minutes she slowly began to relax, although her face was still red and puffy, and her eyes bloodshot.

"I shall take my leave now," she said, tugging the sides of her long dress and bowing with grace.

As she was about to leave, I grabbed her shoulder, and with a glistening smile I asked, "hold it. Why were you crying in the first place?"

She twirled her hair and looked away in embarrassment ,"what do you mean?"

I got closer.

"The tears."

"I do not know what you are referring to."

She tried to escape, but I didn't let her.

"Are you trying to pretend it didn't happen?"

Meanwhile Raya tilted her head send a piercing gaze towards the maid. She looked like she was thinking hard, in the end she said, "wait, aren't you my sisters personal maid?"

"indeed, I am," the maid replied.

"Ah, so was it her fault that you were crying, she can be pretty willful after all."

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I see.

"No not at all," the maid denied whilst shaking her head.

I joined the conversation again and asked, "then why were you?"

"Ugh," the maid was still hesitant, but finally caved in and told us, "if for whatever reason, you ever felt like you had to do something even though you aren't supposed to, would you do it?"

"You have to be a bit more specific than that."

The maid twirled her thumbs as she was having an internal conflict, "it is a bit hard to explain, but in essence, I was wondering if I was happy with the way my life was going now," she watched the distant sky set, "they way I am, is this really all that I amount to?"

"Ah I see, a midlife crisis."

"May I ask, what's a midlife crisis?"

"Something like feeling lost in their own identity, thus possessing a lack of self confidence and a need for transition in their lifestyle."

"ehh, I guess that's kinda right, so do you perhaps know what should I do?"

Yes, I wonder. I hadn't lived long enough to experience such a thing, even in my previous life, so I couldn't really base it off of experience. I thought about it for a moment, and then answered truthfully.

"Do whatever you want."

At least that is what I would do.

The maid was first confused, then saddened by my answer, causing her to tightly grasp the basket she was holding.

"If I could, then I wouldn't have this problem in the first place."

"Why can't you?"

"It is my duty as a maid to not be influenced by my own desires."

"No that's wrong," I said, "if you could derive your answer from your existing values, you wouldn't have the problem in the first place."

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"A change of setting perhaps, how about you quit being a maid?"

The maid waved her hands, "I can't do that."

"Sure you can, or do you plan on staying a maid until you ultimately die alone?"

The maid was startled by what I said, and was in deep thought. I then continued on, "don't you think pursuing your own happiness would be more important? Missing your chance would be quite devastating."

"Then should I just follow my whims, disregarding the consequences?"

"Yes, you should. The future can go to hell. If you think about it, the future is just the present at another time, so if you just follow your whims again, then it will all work out."

"Uh, I feel like you are oversimplifying some things."

"It's alright, it's alright. Just look at me, I turned out fine, right?"

"No you didn't," Raya interjected.

"Buzz off, no one invited you to this conversation."

"What, it was me who started it in the first place."

"What it was me who started it in the first place," I repeated in a mocking tone.

"Are you a child?"

I proceeded to ignore Raya temporarily as I had deemed her to be an unnecessary asset for this discussion.

"You just thought about something really annoying didn't you?"

"Anyways, that's about the gist of it, whether you want to follow it or not is up to you. I do sincerely hope that you find your happiness wherever it is hiding."

The maid began to laugh, "you're right, if I want a change in my life, then I should take matters into my own hands. I am in your debt, miss," she said," I sincerely thank you," she then bowed, "I shall take my leave then."

"Ah, wait," Raya stopped her, "I didnt get what you were talking about, but if you have any problems, I'm sure my sister is willing to lend a hand. She may be stubborn at times, but you can trust her."

"I will keep that in mind, my thanks to you too, miss Raya."

Afterwards the maid disappeared around a corner with a faint smile.