Chapter 1:

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh my, we already have enough workers.”

“You should look somewhere else.”

Despite the polite greeting, the door slammed shut with a loud bang!

A chilly wind swept past, making the hair of the small girl standing in front of the closed door flutter.

“Again… Again!”

Rejected. Rejected. Rejected!

She had failed again.

This time, she really thought…

“I really thought I could get accepted this timeee!”

Anne shouted while clutching her head.

People passing by the street looked at her in surprise and whispered among themselves, but she couldn’t hear any of it.

To put it simply, Anne Marita had just been rejected from her fiftieth maid application.

She couldn’t even feel the people’s stares or hear their whispers.

They said there was a labor shortage…

They said they would hire anyone as long as they were willing to work!

The long continental war had finally ended.

The Crown Prince, who had made an enormous contribution to the war, marched toward the capital with countless massive warhorses.

His appearance was a little dirty after the long campaign, but his face was bright with joy.

It had been a valuable victory.

The capital quickly became prosperous with the countless tribute goods and sacks of grain being brought in by carriages and wagons.

It seemed like only yesterday that starving people had been crawling through the streets, yet now parties and celebrations were being held every day, and flowers filled the streets.

It was truly an age of gold.

The nobles who had immediately fled to their territories when they heard about the war were slowly returning to the capital.

The number of people who had gained new positions or noble titles because of their achievements also increased.

Empty townhouses were being cleaned and repaired one after another.

The market was also busy because so many places that had been abandoned for years needed to be renovated.

Naturally, there was a desperate need for workers.

It was time to fill all the empty positions.

‘Workers wanted. Fast hands preferred. Simple labor.’

‘No experience required. No recommendation letter needed.’

‘Looking for household servants. We’ll treat you like family!’

Notices like these were scattered all over the streets.

The news quickly spread throughout the empire.

‘I heard there are lots of jobs in the capital.’

Naturally, people struggling to make a living began heading toward the capital.

Anne Marita was one of them.

There were jobs in her hometown too, but places that hired young girls like her always took advantage of them, paying them little more than snack money or pocket money.

‘I’m not worth only that much.’

Anne needed a lot of money.

A huge amount of money that could completely change her life.

‘But what’s the point if nobody will hire me?’

Anne sighed deeply.

“Anne. How did it go this time? Did you get accepted?”

“Do you think she did? Just look at that gloomy face.”

The tavern where Anne worked, The Quiet Night, became noisy once evening came. Unlike the quiet mornings when there were barely any customers, many more people came and went late into the night.

It was cheap, and it also offered lodging.

Because of that, most of the guests at The Quiet Night were travelers and wanderers.

Men who had lived rough lives without even knowing where they were born had a remarkable talent for finding entertainment in even the smallest things.

For example, Anne’s endless stream of rejection notices.

“Yes, yes. I got rejected again.”

Anne slammed a plate of peanuts onto the table.

Her face was terribly scrunched up, but the people watching her seemed to find it entertaining.

“She got rejected again! I told you!”

“Ah… I thought she’d get accepted this time!”

“Come on, one copper each! One copper each!”

‘These old men have actually been betting on me?’

Anne opened her eyes wide in disbelief.

The hunters were holding wooden cups filled with coins.

‘Look at how full those cups are. This isn’t something they started doing just yesterday.’

“Good grief. Why do you keep teasing a child? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

The tavern owner, Ana, stepped in.

She smacked the men on the back and snatched the wooden cup away from the hunter.

“We’re not teasing her! We’re just worried about Anne…”

“That girl is doing perfectly fine taking care of herself. Worry about your own futures, you drunken fools!”

At Ana’s words, the hunters awkwardly sat back down.

Leaving the grumbling hunters behind, Ana gave Anne a gentle smile.

“Anne. It’s already almost midnight. Aren’t you going out again tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow…”

There were hardly any places left for her to apply to.

This was her fiftieth rejection.

She had been rejected by fifty different mansions. Were there really any places left?

For a moment, everything went dark before her eyes, and she blinked.

“I heard the Anemone Mansion hires anyone who comes. Did you really get rejected there too?”

“They didn’t even look at my face…”

“Oh dear…”

Ana looked at her sympathetically.

“Anne. If things really don’t work out, why don’t you try applying somewhere else?”

Somewhere else?

“I heard theaters and shops also need quite a lot of workers. I know some people there. Do you want me to introduce you?”

Why was Anne Marita so determined to become a maid after being rejected fifty times?

The reason was—

‘Being a maid is a lifelong career.’

For Anne, who had no connections or recommendation letters, being a maid was the most stable job she could get.

If she worked at one place for a long time, she would gain experience. And even if she later moved to another household, getting a recommendation letter from her previous employer would make finding another job much easier.

Of course, it was even better if she could stay in one mansion for a long time.

But more importantly—

‘The salary is good.’

That was the most important thing.

“Thank you, Ana. I’ll try a little longer. There must still be… somewhere left!”

Anne cheerfully said this while twisting her hair around her finger, as she always did.

She needed to at least get an interview.

If they saw her incredible cleaning skills right in front of them, they might change their minds!

She was certain that there wasn’t anyone else in the capital who could clean the large windows with such speed, almost as if she had wings.

“…If that’s really what you want.”

Ana let out a deep sigh before hesitantly speaking.

“Would you be willing to try… a place like this?”

If someone were asked to name the largest and most magnificent mansion in the capital, the Count’s Estate of Frenetta would undoubtedly be the answer.

It had enormous grounds, and despite having been built long ago, the mansion was still incredibly magnificent.

‘I thought she was going to introduce me to some insignificant new noble family.’

Anne, who had already failed to get a maid job fifty times, had never once set foot inside such a huge mansion in her entire life.

And this was a count’s household, no less!

According to Ana, the owner of this place had recently changed, so they urgently needed new servants.

‘Even so, would a place like this really hire someone like me?’

She thought that nobody could easily get into a place like this.

But then—

“You’re accepted.”

“Really?”

Anne jumped to her feet as she shouted.

The strict-looking head maid, whose hair was pulled up neatly, twitched one eyebrow.

Oops.

Anne quickly smoothed down her skirt and sat properly again.

Judging from Head Maid Bellence’s expression, however, she was probably already too late.

“Are you going to withdraw your application? If so, it’s better to say so now.”

“No! Absolutely not! Why would I do that?!”

“Then we need to draw up the contract.”

Is this a dream? Or is this real?

Apparently, this wasn’t a joke.

She had really been hired.

Really?

Me?

By a count’s household?

Anne secretly pinched her cheek while avoiding the head maid’s eyes.

Ouch!

Pain shot through her cheek, and tears gathered in her eyes.

‘Oh my goodness! God! Lady Ana!’

Her days of being unemployed were finally over.

Before this incredible luck disappeared, Anne quickly accepted the contract.

Good heavens, it’s an official contract!

She clenched her teeth tightly.

She almost shouted again.

It was rare for a household to make a formal contract when hiring a maid. Usually, they simply made a verbal agreement.

There were even places where people were too afraid to ask for a contract because they worried the master might say, ‘What? You want a contract? Then don’t bother coming in tomorrow!’

‘Maybe this is because it’s the capital?’

Anne kept touching the contract.

The paper itself looked expensive. It was thick, smooth, and even had a pleasant scent.

‘Huh?’

But then she noticed something very strange on the contract.

Anne turned the paper toward the head maid and pointed at one particular section.

“Excuse me, but I think there’s a mistake here. This part, the salary…”

The head maid adjusted her glasses and looked over the contract.

“There is no mistake. That is the correct amount.”

Really?

Anne took the contract back and looked at the section again.

No matter how many times she checked, it seemed strange.

It wasn’t 150 copper coins.

It wasn’t 1 silver coin either.

It was 15 silver coins.

That was far too much.

How much could you buy with just one silver coin?

Two decent outfits.

A month’s worth of groceries.

Ten days at an inexpensive inn.

And they were going to give her fifteen of them?

“Do you have a problem with it?”

“No! I don’t have any problem at all! It’s just… it’s much higher than other places…”

The room suddenly became completely silent.

Anne raised her head from the contract.

Head Maid Bellence was staring down at her with an utterly baffled expression.

“You… do know about the Count, right?”