“It looks like the sort of mansion the devil would walk out of.”

Even the bell was out of order, so I had to shake the bars of the main gate to call someone.

After shaking the door nonstop for about three minutes, a person came out of the front door.

A woman in her mid to late 30s dressed like an employee stared at my face and opened the front door.

“Is this Miss Daisy Fager, who came to work as a maid? I apologize for being late. I’m the head maid of the Weatherwoods mansion. Please come in.”

The maid, who was about to lead me inside the entrance, stopped walking and looked back at me.

“Where is your luggage?”

Just when I was about to just shake my head, I recalled the interviewer’s advice.

“I come empty-handed.”

The maid looked at me with a strange expression and then turned back.

“Originally, maids cannot use the main gate or front door, but you can use it comfortably in this mansion.”

We passed through a barren garden that looked like a war had swept it by.

“The owner of this mansion is Viscount Weatherwood, alone. There are three employees, you and I, and the cook and gardener who will arrive in three days. Your work will be properly distributed. Regardless of whether It is cooking, cleaning, laundry, or taking care of the garden.”

We stepped on the faded carpet in the main hall and went upstairs.

“The salary is paid on the first day of each month, and the day starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m.”

We arrived at a room on the end of the aisle, dusty windows passed us by.

The maid opened the door, and a spacious bedroom greeted us.

“It’s big, right? The only place where a maid can use a bedroom on the second floor – not the attic, annex, or basement, would be the Weatherwood’s mansion.”

The reason I figured out this was a bedroom was due to the presence of a large, antique bed placed against the wall.

Luxurious but old stoves; luxurious but old desks; chairs; black curtains that would probably shirk dust when you move them, luxurious but rusty iron chests, and there was even a doorway that seemed to lead to a bathroom.

This was a decently furnished room. As the head maid said, it was pretty nice for a maid to use.

“You are free to come and go anywhere in the mansion. There is only one thing to keep in mind.”

The maid warned me in a firm voice.

“Do not enter the master’s bedroom. And if anyone asks about the master’s whereabouts, let them know that he is out. There are no exceptions to this, whether they are acquaintances, friends, or distant relatives. The master is very busy, so he can’t greet outsiders. Be sure to remember this.”

 Nods.

“Don’t just nod, answer.”

“Yes.”

I think they told me to add something after saying yes…I forgot.

“Ha, you’re really…no, then, go and unpack now. Then start working right away, oh wait, did you say you had no luggage? If so, then take a 10-min break and then come down to the first floor. I heard this is your first time doing this job, so I folded the clothes for you to wear over there. Let’s get along well in the future.”

The maid quickly left the room, leaving only her words behind.

I was left alone, but I wasn’t in the mood to feel sentimental about it. I threw myself on the bed.

“Cough!”

Dust covered my body almost immediately, but I didn’t feel like getting up. It’s been a while since I’ve had a bed, it feels like I’m going to melt in it.

After I lost my consciousness in the face-to-face showdown with the Great Mage Mephisto. The next time I opened my eyes was surprisingly nearly 4 years later.

I woke up to find myself in a wasteland of ashes, my appearance no longer that of my younger brother, Andert.

The male body, which had been maintained by powerful ancient magic, had returned to the originally female body.

‘Did I die and fall into hell?’

The question didn’t last long. Because I heard a strong heartbeat inside my chest.

“…I definitely died.”

But have I come back to life? How the hell does that work?

I went down to the village where I loved, but there were no human beings there. The village had been burnt black, and was left as a site devastated by war.

There, I found a piece of clothing that looked like a dress and headed to the port.

Fortunately, there was a military post on the coast, where soldiers who were coming up found me and took me to the post.

Later, the soldier, who was investigating my status, looked at the loose sleeve of the dress I was wearing and asked;

“Bertie? Is your name Bertie?”

Bertie Lushan.

The name was engraved in small letters on the inside of the sleeve, and was one I knew very well.

‘This was Bertie.’

I caressed the name of the friend who’d died a long time ago with my fingertips.

Bertie and her family died in the war. It was during the air raid by the wizard Mephisto. I still remember the day I collected their bodies and buried them in the ground myself vividly.

“You look very young, how old are you? Is your name Bertie?”

After a short series of thoughts, I nodded.

The subsequent investigation was completed at a fast pace. Bertie was an old friend of mine from home. Because I knew her home, family, and life better than anyone else, the forgery of her identity was very easy.

I’m sorry, Bertie.

I’ll borrow your name for a little while, and then return it.

“Don’t worry, Miss Bertie. The world is safe now. The Magic Union defeated Mephisto and achieved peace! It’s been four years. The Empire is now at peace!”

I heard from the soldiers every detail of what happened to the Union over the past four years and in what direction the empire has gone.

They encouraged me to act as a refugee in the southern part of the Empire, but I refused.

The reason was simple. Because I didn’t want to get caught up there and get involved with my old colleagues, including Raphael.

Around that time, I noticed that this body had a big flaw.

When the soul of the Great wizard Mephisto and my soul collided in a huge impact, the lifespan of my original body was reduced to three years.

I had no desire to reunite with Raphael with this body.

I am no longer Andert, and I had no reason to live as Andert anymore either.

Aren’t Raphael and all my former colleagues the ties that belonged to Andert?

‘Even if I go back, with a broken woman’s body, I will only receive sympathy and compassion.’

I didn’t want to provoke their guilt.

Considering this and that, I felt the best way to live as ‘me’ in the future, not Andert.

‘I’ll fix this broken body while living as me.’

Even if it’s impossible, let’s try.

To do so, I chose Midwinterre among the many cities in the Empire.

If I can find that thing hidden in Midwinterre, my lifespan may be prolonged.

After that, the memories of the month before I came here came to mind, but I gave up on thinking about them. Afterall, from the beginning to the end, it’d only been a struggle.

When I changed into the maid’s clothes and went down to the first floor, the maid was waiting for me.

“I spent a lot of money to bring you here. I’d like you to last at least a week. That way, you’ll get paid for your work and can leave.”

Was that why the interviewer looked at me like I was a golden goose?

“Shall we begin? You have a lot of work to catch up on. It’s going to be a little hard.”

From that moment on, the head maid began to make me work like a slave.

And I really did work like a slave.

Dusting off the chandelier of the main hall that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a century, wiping it, reinstallation. Dust the handrails of the stairs. Wipe with a cleaning brush. Shake off the large carpets. Brush indefinitely. Clean the window sills. The windows themselves. Oiling the…

“Me.”

Is this even a house? Am I a maid? Or am I a slave? Am I slave-maid?

“As expected, the speed is much faster when there are two of us doing it. Your head rotates quickly and you have good stamina.”

It was a sincere exclamation, but I couldn’t even bring myself to laugh.

The maid is the one who will feed me, put me to sleep, and give me money for the next three years. So I shouldn’t hit her. Despite the urge.

“The sky is already cloudy. I think we should go get the groceries before sunset. I’ll be finishing up today’s work, so go run an errand.”

The maid is the one who will feed me, put me to sleep, and give me money for the next three years. I shouldn’t talk back.

“Here are the ingredients and expenses you’ll need. Don’t even think about sneaking around at even one thing. I know the market price of every ingredient in the nearby market. It’s not good to be at odds with merchants, so be polite. Especially with the way you talk.”

If you’re so worried, buy it yourself.

It must be the maid’s duty to protect the mansion somehow.

It was time to leave the mansion for a few pennies worth of produce.

“Oh no! Be careful about your head. You’ll be in big trouble if your pretty face gets scratched, Miss.”

A large table brushed past my face busily.

I wondered what was happening, and saw men pulling out furniture from the house across the Weatherwoods mansion one by one.

“They’re moving.”

Will the owner change? I don’t think I’d want to have a dim neighbor for the house in front.