Strongest Maid In Another World

Present day...

The question hit Loraine like a freight train, even though she had expected it, it still sent quite a bit of fright through her system. She remained silent for a moment, taking in everyone’s presence.

The chefs and cooks looked scared and intimidated, Christine glanced at her, nervous and unsure on what to do, and the Ashbourne family was watching her very closely, eyes locked onto her being and studying her very closely.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, exhaling slowly as her shoulders fell with the motion, regaining some level of confidence as she opened her eyes, staring back at Kain with conviction in her eyes.

’It’s all over, there’s no point in hiding anymore....’ Loraine thought.

’I didn’t think I would be forced into a situation like this so early, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go at all!’

Loraine thought, wanting to have stayed hidden for at least a little while longer, but fate had other plans, and she wasn’t prepared for them in the slightest.

"Yes, I was present in yesterday’s culinary preparation." Loraine confessed, the whole family’s eyes widening in surprise, as Kain and Cecilia gave each other a shocked glance, Valmont being surprised at her words, and young Lilith not paying much attention as she didn’t take in the gravity of the situation.

And she really couldn’t grasp it either, after all she was just a child.

’I see...so this is why I’ve been feeling off lately. Something was definetly up, but I wasn’t expecting....this.’ Kain thought to himself, locking his fingers over at the table as he stared at Loraine for a while, still a bit doubtful.

"However," Loraine spoke up, placing her hand on her chest. "I never did this willingly or on my own accord, I was simply following the orders given to me by Margret herself." Loraine said, pointing her finger at the head maid.

Kain’s eyes widened, surprised.

’Margret ordered her?’ He thought, eyes squinting in confusion and dumbfoundedness. They had plenty of cooks and chefs, and even a [Head Chef] to handle most of the work and lead the others. His eyes turned cold and disattisfied, giving a slight glare to the [Sacred Maid] and head maid of their household.

’This...this girl!’ Margret thought to herself, a look of shock and panic blooming onto her features, her heart beating in her chest rapidly.

’She actually outed me...in front of everyone...’

"You insolent girl!" Margret said, her voice rising in octaves as she marched angrily towards Loraine, pissed off to the limit as she threated to use [Magical Grasp] to choke the girl. "I’ve done no such thing! Why would I ask someone as worthless as you-!" Margret was about to strike at Loraine, who herself was standing calm and collected, knowing that such a sight before the Ashbourne family wouldn’t be easily tolerated.

"That’s enough! Stand down and let her finish!" Kain commanded, his words booming through the room with authority as the pressure in the room reached a crescendo, Margret nearly toppling over as she was forced to her knees, her chest tight and unable to grasp for air.

"I’ll deal with you later..." Kain said coldly, a look of pure horror and terror settling on Margret’s features as she couldn’t believe her ears.

Cecilia chuckled at the notion, finding the spectacle to be most entertaining as she waved a fan at her face, eyes drifting from Margret to Loraine, the worthless maid who today, miraculously peaked everyone’s interest.

Loraine remained silent for a moment, feeling the pressure from Kain’s glare crushing her chest, everyone nearly doubled over and struggling for breath, but out of everyone present, Loraine didn’t falter as much. She could still surprisingly stand up-right.

’How interesting...’ Kain thought to himself, studying how Loraine was the least affected by his presence, his wrathful gaze lifting as everyone finally felt the pressure float off their chests.

She took a moment to catch her breath, clearing her throat as she continued to speak.

"As I was saying, Margret ordered me to help prepare last night’s meals. Apparently, the [Head Chef] was not feeling well yesterday, and needed to head home, so I was...the ’only one’ available at the time, and had to fill in for the [Head Chef]’s position." She explained, turning back to glance over at Christine.

’It all makes sense now, why the hell would a maid be in the kitchen of all places?’ Christine nodded to herself, her mind putting the pieces together offered by Loraine’s insight. It was all helpful information, but it still didn’t feel right.

’As far as I knew, the [Head Chef] wasn’t showing any signs of illness at all yesterday, so him suddenly falling ill and leaving before such an important event is strange. It’s all too suspicious...’ Christine thought to herself, glancing back at Margret who still looked absolutely terrified from Kain’s piercing stare.

’Could she have been behind this too?’ Christine thought, but she didn’t entertain the idea any further, after all, she had no proof whatsoever to go off of.

Kain nodded in understand, finding the story intriguing. So the [Head Chef] was sick, and Loraine had to take his place, all because Margret forced her to do so. Normally they wouldn’t have cared in the slightest, after all it was Loraine they were talking about, the person with the least amount of value in their entire family.

But last night’s dinner proved something invaluable, the food that was prepared was nothing short of divine, absolutely heavenly, and even the [Head Chef] couldn’t compared to what was served that night.

’I find it hard to believe that Loraine could’ve cooked something like that, but today’s breakfast proved otherwise.’ He said, looking down at his plate, an unsatisfied look on his face as he didn’t nearly enjoy as much as he did the other time.

"You say all of this, but you still have yet to prove to me that these statements are valid." Kain spoke up, addressing Loraine’s claims. "You said you’ve partaken in the act of preparing the dishes right? Well I want you to prove it."

"I want you to prepare breakfast once more, without the help of anybody else."

"Huh!?" Loraine said in shock, eyes widening in surprise as she wasn’t expecting him to answer like that. She remained quiet for a moment, taking in the atmosphere as she surveyed the scene.

’Breakfast...again?’ Christine thought in surprise. ’Isn’t that a bit....weird? They just finished eating their meals, now they want to indulge once more.’

Everyone’s eyes were on her, a huge sense of unease washing over her as she didn’t know what to do in that moment.

’This....wasn’t what I was expecting...’ Loraine thought to herself, gulping nervously as she glanced over at Christine. ’I was expecting something far more hostile, but they just wanted breakfast....again.’

’Well its at least a better alternative, as weird as it sounds.’

"Alright," Loraine bowed respectfully, "I’ll be right back, please wait a moment." She said, quickly excusing herself as she made her way out of the dining hall.

’Shit shit shit...’ Loraine thought to herself, panic rising in her chest as she started to sweat uncontrollably.

’What do I do? What will they think after they find out I’ve awakened?’

Her mind started to race with the worst scenarios possible, more abuse, tougher workloads, or perhaps even death. As absurd as they all sounded, they were still possible just from her terrible reputation alone.

At least that’s what she would expect them to do.

"Perhaps I could run away from here," Loraine muttered under her breath, glancing out of the windows as she saw the giant walls of the mansion, the guards regularly patrolling the area. "If I activate [Aura Of Haste], I could have enough speed to give myself a chance of escape. But would that even work?"

She thought about it for a moment, staying here was incredibly dangerous, as she didn’t know what could happen to her after her recent awakening was revealed. But at the same time, leaving the mansion grounds was equally dangerous, who knows what could be waiting for her out there? Where would she even go?

’Damn it....’ She sighed in frustration, walking into the kitchen as she stood in front of the counter for a minute, getting her bearings as she calmed herself down. She glanced at her hands for a moment, taking out the [Silver Knife] from her [Ring Of Storage] as she gazed at her reflection, her crimson eyes deeply rooted in fear.

’If the worst comes, I won’t go down without a fight.’ Loraine thought to herself, clenching her fist as she activated [Magical Grasp], a powerful shockwave bursting forth from her powerful grip as she turned her attention back at the task at hand.

Loraine recalled a few recipes back from her time on earth, her hands a blur of motion as [Cooking Excellence] kicked in, working furiously to prepare the best breakfast a noble could ever ask for.

"Let’s just get this over with."