Strongest Maid In Another World

Loraine and the chefs walked out of the dining hall, the door shutting behind them as they stood there for a moment, a huge sense of relief washing over them. The chefs began to converse and whisper among each other, talking about how nervous they felt to have been serving them their dishes in front of two giant powerhouses.

Loraine however had a faint smile on her lips, her eyes wandered to the ceiling of the mansion where chandeliers danced in the soft moonlight, remembering the little treat she had made sure to give to young Lilith.

’I hope she enjoys it~" Loraine thought with a soft giggle, even though she knew how much Margret hated seeing Lilith endulge in sweet things. The girl needed to have a treat once in a while, and because there were a lot of people in that room, Loraine knew Margret wouldn’t dare make a fuss over the kid.

At least not while she’s in there.

"Man It sucks we couldn’t have gotten some of that food ourselves..." A cook muttered, slumping forward in defeat. "I would’ve loved to taste Loraine’s excellent dishes, I was practically drooling at the aroma!"

"Indeed, my heart broke when I had to place the meals down, perhaps we should ask Loraine to cook for us next time!" Another added.

"I wish that was possible, but if we let her do that, then we’ll be seen as lazy, and I don’t want us to lose our jobs...but it might be worth it for a bite of she can make!"

"I know right!"

The cooks practically celebrated with their task of preparing food for the families behind that door, even though most of the cooking was carried by a maid nobody had respect for.

’Loraine...’ A woman thought, glancing at her hands as she remembered how invaluable Loraine was in the kitchen. She thought back to a few hours earlier, where the [Head Chef] of their kitchen had suddenly fallen ill, and needed to leave the mansion to go home and recover.

It was all so sudden, up until now he didn’t seem ill or bothered by anything at all. She was somewhat skeptical of the situation, but she didn’t dare question it as that would’ve resulted in a confrontation, and they had no time to bicker around as the Vincent family’s news had struck them with great urgency.

Her eyes drifted to where Loraine was standing, only to find the maid had long gone vanished, already having left the area as she blinked in surprise. She glanced around a few times, cursing herself inwardly as she was too lost in her own thoughts to notice her leaving.

’I need to find her and thank her for what she did today!’ She thought to herself, taking off as she began to sprint in the mansion’s halls, catching the cooks off guard as they watched her leave with great haste.

"Wait! Where are you-!" A cook was about to shout, but his friends quickly seized control over his mouth, covering it with their hands as they desperately shushed him to avoid him making too much noise.

"Quiet down you baffoon! The Ashbournes and Vincents are right behind this door!" He said in a whisper full of rage and anger, glancing behind him to make sure nobody had heard his scream.

"O-Oh...sorry!" He apologized, facepalming as he now felt stupid for doing something so careless.

’I wonder why she’s running so fast, you know running’s forbidden in the mansion...’

The woman continued her chase, running past a few maids who were cleaning and maintaining the household as she moved, eyes darting everywhere.

’Damn, how could she have moved so quickly?!’ She thought, catching her breath as she leaned against a wall. She caught her breath for a moment, her chest rising and falling with every second that passed.

’She must be at her room..’ She thought, turning around a corner, and low and behold, there she was, walking towards her room’s door.

"Loraine! Wait!" The woman called out to her, startling Loraine as she grabbed onto her door’s handle, jumping in surprise as she turned to see the woman approaching her, a small flush of embarrassment coating her face.

’Jeez that scared me!’ Loraine thought inwardly, not having expected anyone to have followed her. While everyone was talking about the two families, Loraine had taking that window of opportunity to escape.

"What’s up? Do you need something?" Loraine asked, raising a brow. She noticed how exhausted the woman looked, a sweat breaking off at the side of her head as she smiled nervously. "You...weren’t running after me, were you?" She asked.

The woman blinked, a small flush colouring her cheeks in embarrassment at the question. She chuckled awkwardly, averting her gaze for a moment as she scratched her cheek. "Well...maybe I was." She answered meekly, a laugh tearing from Loraine’s throat in response.

"But forget about that," The woman said, her gaze locking on into the maiden’s crimson gaze. With great respect and honor, the woman lowered her head in a gracious bow, the sentiment catching Loraine off guard as she blinked in confusion and surprise.

"W-What are you-!?"

"I wanted to come and thank you for helping us in our preparation today," The woman said, cutting Loraine off as she continued. "We would’ve struggled a lot more if you hadn’t showed up, and for that, I am most grateful for your assistance." She said, lifting her head.

Loraine was rather stunned by this, for the first time in what felt like forever, someone actually thanked her for her work, it was a strange feeling that lingered in her chest for a moment, the feeling of happiness a strange sensation that danced across her skin.

"...." Loraine wanted to play it off, but she knew that it would be a lie and she didn’t want a moment as important as this to fade so quickly. "You’re welcome, It’s been a pleasure." Loraine said with a bright smile, a happy expression settling on the woman’s features as she sighed in relief.

"If possible, is there any way I could perhaps repay you for what you did for us tonight?" The woman asked, her voice full of sincerity.

Loraine thought about it for a moment, a grin forming on her face at the idea.

"I have something in mind, do you think you could do it~?"

Somewhere in the mansion’s garden....

The moon was shining a soft glow, painting the garden in a soft ethereal light.

Beatrice sat down by their usual meeting spot, drinking a cup of tea as she awaited for Alice’s arrival. Her crimson locks turned as she saw the woman approaching, a downcast expression on her face.

She looked absolutely mortified, as it she had witnessed something horrifying, a confused look appearing on Beatrice’s features.

"Alice!" Beatrice smiled, waving enthusiastically to the girl as she approached. "Did-"

"It didn’t work...." Alice said, interrupting Beatrice as she blinked in surprise to her words. "Nothing worked...we’ve tried for nothing..." She said, pulling out a chair and sitting down on it, leaning her arms over the table.

"What...do you mean?" Beatrice asked, and for the first time, she too started to feel uneasy.

"Remember our plan to send Loraine out into the city?" Alice asked, Beatrice nodding in response.

"Of course I do,"

"Well it didn’t work out as I had expected." Alice said before continuing, "I had convinced Margret to send Loraine outside of the mansion’s gates, in an attempt to have her get lost in the city, or better, have her get killed in an alleyway somewhere." She said.

"That...last part is a bit extreme, don’t you think?" Beatrice asked.

"Look at where the Ashbournes are located, Beatrice. We’re in one of the most dangerous locations in the Royal Capital, gangs, thieves, and other criminals roam around these parts, do you think someone like Loraine..." Alice stopped herself for a moment, gritting her teeth as she hurt to admit her next words.

"Do you think someone as...beautiful, as Loraine would just be able to roam around late at night? Especially around these parts?" Alice asked, remaining quiet for a moment. She sighed before continuing.

"When Loraine had returned, we noticed her clothes had been torn apart really badly, but there were no wounds on her body whatsoever. She said it was an accident from a magician in the streets, but I knew better, she would’ve died if she were to be hit with magic of that level."

"So why is she alive then?" Beatrice asked, raising a brow.

"Because they gave her a...healing potion, apparently." Alice said.

"Well what about the kitchen? You were planning on making Loraine fail in the cooking department, how did that go?" Beatrice asked, a grim expression on her face. So far none of their plans had been working, and she was starting to get worried.

"That too....had failed." Alice admitted with a sigh. "I had managed to successfully bribe the [Head Chef] and forced him to leave, as I knew that without their main chef around the kitchen was destined to fall apart."

"But...that didn’t happen." Alice said, the last words hitting Beatrice like the final nail in the coffin, a chill running down her spine. "I’ve noticed it from when she first arrived, she felt different, I couldn’t tell exactly why, but..."

"Something about how she moved had changed. It was like I was seeing a different person."