Chapter Two
After swiftly donning her maid uniform and completing her ablutions, Lisbeth exited her room and headed towards the main hall of the Demon Lord’s Castle.
Though the Demon Lord’s Castle could only be described as immense, both in its sprawling grounds and intricate internal structure, it felt as familiar as her own childhood home to Lisbeth.
Consequently, she was confident she wouldn’t get lost on her very first day.
“Oh, the sheer number of maids here is truly astonishing,” she mused.
As she continued her walk towards the hall, she noticed at least two dozen maids, all clad in uniforms similar to hers, also moving in the same direction.
However, upon closer inspection, Lisbeth realized the style of their maid outfits differed distinctly from the one she currently wore.
Witnessing this, she instinctively tilted her small head, a puzzled expression on her face.
‘Hmm, that’s really strange. Why does my maid uniform have so many inexplicable ribbons, and why is there a huge bow tied at the back, while theirs are just regular maid outfits?’
Truth be told, she had seen maid uniforms before, back when she lived in the human kingdoms.
When she first saw her own uniform and the one worn by Hilda, the Head Maid, she had assumed the styles varied greatly due to racial differences.
Yet, the outfits worn by the maids walking alongside her now were identical to those she had encountered in the human realms.
‘Well, just in case, I should probably ask. If that old hag is intentionally messing with me, at least I’ll be prepared.’
Having made up her mind, Lisbeth promptly reached out and gently stopped a maid who was walking in the same direction.
She then politely inquired, “Hello, would you mind if I bothered you for a moment?”
“Ah, um, this. May I ask what you need?”
“Oh? My apologies if I startled you, but we are both maids. Why are you treating me with such formality?”
As the newcomer maid, Lisbeth expected to be the one displaying shyness.
Instead, the maid she had stopped appeared even more nervous than she was.
Lisbeth couldn’t shake the feeling, almost as if it wasn’t her imagination, that the maid standing before her was subtly trembling.
“Um, because you are…”
“Lisbeth, what are you doing here? Hurry up and come with me!”
Just as the maid in front of Lisbeth was about to answer her question, Hilda, the Head Maid, seemingly appeared out of nowhere behind her.
She promptly grabbed Lisbeth’s ear and declared, “I told you to go straight to the main hall after getting ready. Why are you still wasting time here?”
“Ow, ow, ow! Old hag, let go! You’re going to pull my ear off!”
“Oh, you dare call me an old hag! Just you wait, I’ll teach you a lesson!”
As Hilda was about to reprimand Lisbeth, the maid Lisbeth had previously stopped immediately bowed deeply.
She then timidly asked, “Um, Head Maid, if there’s nothing else, may I be excused?”
“Hmm? Ah, of course. My apologies, I haven’t properly disciplined this idiot, causing an interruption to your duties. If you’re late today, I won’t count it against you, so please go ahead.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you, Head Maid.”
Upon realizing she was free to leave, the maid let out a sigh of relief and quickly hastened away from the scene.
Watching this unfold, Lisbeth turned a gaze upon Hilda, as if looking at a complete stranger, and then exclaimed, “Old hag, was that truly you just now? Why can you smile so sweetly at others, yet you’re so utterly ferocious towards me!”
“Hmph, isn’t it because you constantly call me an old hag, and after only a few days, you’ve already forgotten your true identity? Hero, Alex.”