Ch. 9 – Gossip ~ Today, I’m a Maid?!
My name is Shayna and I recently became a maid of the Daegal Ducal House. Just last week, I was the youngest daughter of a moderately successful merchant here in the capital.
My father ran a small shop selling general goods to the servants of nobility, on behalf of their masters, and we did pretty well for ourselves - well enough for all five children to attend school from a young age. Unfortunately, my dad somehow angered the head servant of an important noble. That noble leveraged their connections with the bigger merchants to interfere with dad's business and trick him into a bad business deal.
That deal would have ruined my family's business, but the kind head butler of the Daegal house - Mr. Wex - was super nice and jumped in to help. Turns out the lady of the house just got pregnant! So Mr. Wex was looking for a young girl who could be the child's personal maid and close companion, someone already educated that they could train up. As the youngest child ~I'm just 6 years old after all ~ I was chosen as the lady's personal maid. What an honor!
I'm super happy my family will be okay, but I wonder why dad looked so conflicted when Mr. Wex took me with him? He doesn't need to be sad, I'm sure the Duke's house will treat me well.
I do kind of miss home, because the days are so busy here! I get woken up super early by the head maid of the manor ~ Ms. Ravenna. She has really striking red hair and is super pretty. I heard from Mr. Wex that she's 40 years old, having served the Duke her entire life, but I don't believe it - she looks even younger than my mom does, and she's 35.
After Ms. Ravenna wakes me up, it's off to etiquette training. They chose me because I could read and write, but apparently there's a bunch that I need to know if I'll be the personal maid of the future Duchess. Posture and walking training were the worst, because Ms. Ravenna would whack me with a switch if I made a mistake. Aside from that, Ravenna taught me all sorts of things - how to make tea perfectly, the history of the nobility and church here in the Holy Kingdom, and all the different etiquette you need to know. I didn't know you needed to bow or dress differently depending on noble rank!
My training continues even during meals. There, I get taught the proper utensils and eating orders for different foods and meals. Why would someone need three different forks for one meal?
After lunch, it's Mr. Wex's turn to train me. He makes me run around the manor to build my stamina and, after I tire myself out running lap after lap, I'm forced to drag myself to combat training.
I originally thought Mr. Wex was super cool and nice, but he gets really mean during combat training. Knife play, hidden weapons, and even unarmed combat - I had to learn them all. Over time, I became pretty good with my favorite knife - but is this really the type of thing a 6 year old maid should be learning?
Once physically exhausted from the mock combat, it was time for my favorite lesson - magic! I never would have thought I had talent for the earth attribute; it was a ton of fun learning how to manipulate magic power and shape it into spells.
After my magic lessons, I would be mentally exhausted on top of being physically exhausted - falling onto my bed and falling asleep almost immediately.
My days were jam-packed with things to do and learn, but it was all to prepare for my future service to the Miss. I can't wait to meet her!