Strongest Maid In Another World

Loraine moved through her Daily Quest, moving toward the garden as she put on her gloves and took some tools with her to assist her. She had gotten a lot better at attending to the garden, and now that she only had to attend to one area, it was definitely a lot less work.

’I suppose being revealed wasn’t so bad, I can even do stuff like this now.’ Loraine thought to herself, using [Magical Grasp] to lift up bugs, weeds, and garbage from the soil of the plants in the garden, without getting her hands dirty.

Simultaneously, she watered the plants, using her telekinetic abilities to move the watering can about in the air. She felt exhilarated by the efficiency she could operate on, no longer having to worry about constantly hiding her abilities.

"Alright, that’s checked off." She said with a grin, having finished her task as she picked up her tools and such and moved back into the mansion, having cast [Cleanse] on her body as she did so.

Loraine arrived back in the mansion, her presence carrying a different weight all together. As she passed, she could feel the eyes of every maid on her, whispering and talking about her behind her back.

It was the usual, but today it felt off, way more intense, and they weren’t trying to hide it anymore. As she moved past them, the maids stood further back, making way for her to walk as they didn’t want to be near her, news of her awakening having reached them.

"Did she really awaken?" A maid’s whisper caught her eye, tone full of disbelief.

"I always knew something was off, she just acted way different than normal!"

"Loraine used to be so timid and small, now she walks like she owns the damn place..."

"Tsk, she’s getting cocky, so what if she’s a [Sacred Maid], we’ve contributed more than she ever has!"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down! That’s the same Class as Margret we’re talking about!"

"I heard she received a promotion too! Jumping straight up to Upper Maid!"

"What!? She skipped Lower and Middle instantly!?"

The maids were in a world of their own, discussing Loraine’s recent awakening among themselves, jealousy, disbelief, and hatred being flung out in all directions. Loraine didn’t really care upon hearing all this discourse, she had tried being friends with them before, and that didn’t work.

It didn’t matter whether she was awakened or unawakened to them, the mental image they formed of her wasn’t going away anytime soon, but Loraine was fine with that

She didn’t need to be liked anyway.

’It doesn’t matter what they think of me, I’ll have my way in the end.’ She thought to herself, eyes furrowing in determination as she approached the flight of stairs that would take her to the upper floor.

’Whether they like it or not.’

Loraine began to ascend the flight of stairs, each step feeling an erasure of everything the old Loraine stood for, as the weak version of her in the past would never have had the chance to even move up these stairs in the first place.

The upper floor was large and expansive, a narrow corridor greeting her as she stood at the entrance. Expensive pots, and ceramic crafts stood atop of wooden tables, and above those tables stood paintings of important figures in the Ashbourne family.

Loraine wasted no time as she summoned forth a broom from her [Ring Of Storage], using her [Clean] Skill to begin cleaning the floor. She felt an invisible pressure on her shoulders as she moved through the upper floor, as almost every inch of this place was worth something valuable, and the thought of breaking something valuable scared her and messed with her concentration a bit.

’Why deliberately keep such expensive items in places where cleaning is mandatory? These things could easily be knocked over with a simple push, and now I’m feeling a huge weight on my shoulders to not be a dumbass and break something.’

Loraine sighed, placing her broom to the side of the wall as she began touching the tables and other furniture with her hands, casting her [Cleanse] Skill on them. The furniture were instantly rendered clean and took on a brand new appearance, every speck of dust, and knot of age was instantly removed, as everything she used the Skill on looked as good as new.

As Loraine was moving about, focusing on her task of cleaning the upper floor, the sounds of anger and wrath caught her ears, a sharp shiver running down her spine as she tensed up immediately at the sound.

She stood at the cross roads, leading to two hallways, where Kain’s office was located. She could hear the sounds of him shouting at someone, most likely Margret as though she couldn’t hear what was being said specifically, she could only imagine how bad it must feel to be in Margret’s position.

’I hope I don’t get to experience that one day.’ Loraine thought to herself, shaking her head as she let out a small smile, happy that Margret finally got a piece of her own medicine.

Soon, the upper floor was cleaned up, and Loraine made her way downstairs. She entered the Great Hall and glanced at her Daily Quests, as every task but the Study was finished, her feet already on the move as she made her way there immediately.

Alice on the other hand was moving in the mansion halls, eyes still brimming with fear as she recalled Margret’s words.

’She’s...she’s actually awakened...’ She thought, her eyes glued to the ground as she was lost in her train of thought.

As she continued to walk, eyes down and trembling uncontrollably, she accidentally bumped into someone, feeling as if she had collided with a wall as she stumbled backward and fell on her bum.

"Oh crap-!" Loraine blurted out, eyes widening with panic as she had just knocked someone over by accident. She felt a wave of guilt wash over her for a moment, but it all disappeared as she saw the face of the person she had ran into, one of the people she liked the least in this unforgiving mansion.

Alice.

’Oh nevermind, I don’t feel bad anymore.’ Loraine thought with a bit of a sadistic smile on her lips, a small chuckle escaping her lips.

"Are you okay?" Loraine asked, reaching out a hand to her as she knelt down. While she didn’t like Alice at all, she still wanted to be decent and reach out a hand to the girl, even if she knew that Alice would most likely never accept her help.

"Oh, damn! Who the hell-!" Alice’s eyes turned violent as she fell to the floor, finally snapping out of her thoughts as she gazed up at the figure she had bumped into. Her eyes immediately widened in shock and fear as the one person she was hoping she wouldn’t run into was standing in front of her, tall, majestic, and seemingly unbothered.

"It’s...you..." Alice said, her voice as silent as a whisper. Loraine was surprised to see Alice look so lost and disheveled, the same Alice who used to hate her and tried to extort her, was now shocked by the news of her awakening.

The Loraine she knew, the pathetic maid who couldn’t do anything, the worthless, good-for-nothing, was now a dominant figure in the mansion. An Upper Maid, the same rank as her, and another addition to her and Beatrice, the sudden reality of it all was overwhelming.

’Is she alright? She looks like she’s seen a ghost.’ Loraine thought.

"You alright?" Loraine asked, a tinge of genuine worry leaving her lips as she glanced at her. She had always known Alice as a confident person, as Alice had often used her rank in the maid hierarchy to put Loraine down and mistreat her and Sarah. So it was quite awkward seeing someone so untouchable look so terrified.

Alice stared at her for a moment as if Loraine’s words hadn’t registered, her teeth gritting as her expression immediately turned violent and defensive, her hand moving to slap away her hand, her body trembling from the motion.

"How dare you try to help me, keep your filthy hands to yourself." Alice said with a click of her tongue, though her words lacked any real bite and came out more soft spoken than she realized.

’.....Is everyone just gonna keep being a dick to me, even when I’m trying to be nice?’ Loraine thought to herself, facepalming as she felt a wave of disappointment crash over her. These people were hopeless, and there was no point in trying any further.

She had already tried before this, and was denied, so why did she think her awakening would make a difference in their psyche.

She watched as Alice got up and quickly moved away, running down the halls to get as far away from Loraine as possible, the white haired maiden watching her leave as she couldn’t help but feel a bit conflicted with how Alice had appeared.

"Whatever," Loraine shrugged, pushing the doors of the study open as she focused her attention on the task of cleaning this place. Whatever was going on with the maids and the mansion didn’t concern her anymore, all that mattered was growing strong enough to protect those she deemed close to her.

’I won’t let being disliked hinder me from accomplishing my goals.’ Loraine thought to herself, clenching her fist, determination soaring through her being.

’They will all learn to acknowledge her, one way or another.’