A Capable Maid

even know his true identity.

‘Was I just grateful for the sweets from last time? A mere impulse to express my gratitude?’ But while he was contemplating this, another voice called out to her.

“Marie! Come here and help me in the kitchen!”

“Yes, I’ll come right away!”

The girl hurried away in the direction of the voice, vanishing from sight.
Rael found himself unconsciously reaching out towards her, but stumbled and stopped in confusion.

“What on earth is happening to me?” The Crown Prince of Blood muttered to himself.

Marie had another dream that night.
It was a dream of war, just like the one she had the day before.

“Aaah…”

“H-help me…”

The scene of war was gruesome, just like what she’d dreamed of in the past.
In it, she was a soldier.

Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Why do you look so down?”

“Ah, commander.”

“Are you feeling guilty? It’s not your fault that those guys died.”

At these words, the soldier hung his head low, and tears filled his eyes.
“But…couldn’t they have been saved? If only I had done better.”

The commander patted the soldier’s head.
“It’s okay.
You did your best as a medic.”

Tears streamed down the soldier’s face as they thought about their fallen friend.
“I don’t want anyone else to die,” murmured the soldier in her dream.
“If only I’d been better at first aid, I could’ve saved more people.”

Marie’s eyes fluttered open as she murmured to herself, “What on earth…”

She let out a sigh.
“Why did I dream of a battlefield during the festival?”

Despite how it may sound like a trivial matter, Marie knew from past experience that her dreams often foreshadowed future events.
But a dream related to the festival? It was utterly perplexing.

‘I hope nothing’s wrong.’ She shook her head and got up from her bed.
She couldn’t help but worry about what might happen, but until something actually happened, there was nothing she could do about it.

“Good morning!” Upon arriving at the Lily Palace, Marie greeted brightly to shake off her anxiety.

However, her superior, Susan, had a strange look on her face.
“Marie? Have you heard the news?”

“What news?” Marie asked, looking puzzled.
What news could it be?

“So you don’t know yet.”

“What happened?”

“Well… I’m a bit surprised too.” Marie’s expression became even more perplexed.
What could it be?

“Your workplace has been changed.”

“What? My workplace?”

A sudden change of workplace? During the busy festival season too? Marie was surprised.

“Uh… I didn’t choose this.
So you didn’t know either?” The situation was becoming even more difficult to understand.
If it wasn’t decided by the head maid Susan, who changed her workplace then?

“Anyway, from now on, you’ll be working at the Gloria Hall instead of the Lily Palace.”

“Gloria Hall?” Marie raised her head quizzically.

Gloria Hall.

It was a banquet hall where functions were held during the festival season.

“Am I going there to clean up the banquet hall and the kitchen?” She recited the duties of a junior maid, but Susan shook her head.

“No, you’ll go directly into the banquet hall and serve the guests.
But that’s not a job for a junior maid like you, it’s a job for an intermediate maid.”

Intermediate maids are those who directly serve nobles, mostly low-ranking noblewomen, and occasionally those who have been promoted from junior maids.

“But why?”

Susan sighed.
“Congratulations.”

“Pardon?”

“You have been promoted from a junior maid to an intermediate maid starting today.”

“What?” Marie’s eyes widened.
What kind of absurd situation is this all of a sudden?

Susan shook her head and said, “I’m surprised too, but the order bears the royal seal, so there’s no mistake.”

Marie was left speechless.
What’s this? ‘Could this also be a dream?’

Marie wasn’t the only one surprised.
Susan, the head maid, was even more shocked.
She recalled the order she’d received earlier that morning.

‘Promote Marie to an intermediate maid?’

The one who delivered that order was none other than the Palace Manager, Count Gilbert!

Count Gilbert’s looked bewildered as he couldn’t understand why he’s delivering such an order.
‘Yes, Marie… was it? Oh well, what a truly maid-like name.
Anyway, promote that Marie to an intermediate maid!’

‘Why…’

‘I don’t know either! It’s confidential, so don’t ask any more.’

With that, Susan had no further information.
All she could guess was that someone even higher than the palace manager, Count Gilbert, was taking an interest in Marie.

‘Who could be higher than the palace manager?’ There weren’t many people who fit the description.
Even the palace manager held considerable power.
‘How did Marie catch the attention of someone like that?’ Susan tilted her head.

Marie was a prisoner of war and therefore of low status.
Moreover, her appearance was not particularly striking enough to draw the attention of powerful people.
While she was cute in her own right and not ugly by any means, there were many more attractive women in the palace than her.

Then Marie asked, “So after the festival is over, will I come back here to work?”

Susan shook her head.
There was a separate order that had come down.
“No, you’ll be working somewhere else after the festival.”

“Where?”

Susan answered with a congratulatory tone.
“The Lion Palace.
That’s where you’ll be working from now on.”

For Marie, it felt like the world was ending.