Chapter 68: Leaving Home
[Ding! Congratulations On Being Promoted!]
[Your Daily Quest Has Been Updated!]
[All Future Rewards Have Been Updated!]
[Ding! You Have Reached The Highest Level Of Promotion!]
[As The Head Maid There Will Be No Further Rewards Unlocked For Promotions, As You Have Now Reached The Pinnacle Of A Servant’s Role.]
[The drop rates for earning items from the Daily Quest had been increased, as well as the quality of items.]
[Experienced gained from the Daily Quest has been greatly increased.]
[Consequently, failure to complete the daily quest will result in a great loss of experience points. An additional punishment shall be rewarded to the user if the quest’s deadline hasn’t been met for the day.]
[Ding! All Daily Quests Shall Be Paused Until The User Arrives Inside Their New Residence.]
’Oh thank god....’ Loraine heaved a sigh of relief, as she was about to panic about how she was going to get to her new place in less than a day if it was a very long time away. ’Atleast I did get an upgrade to my rewards though, too bad this is the end for how much I can rank up in the maid rankings, I guess I’m an equal to Margret now.’
Loraine glanced at her hand, a smile on her face as she clenched it with a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Kain seeing this leaned back in his chair, nodding approvingly.
"Good, I’m glad to hear that you’ve accepted." He spoke, manifesting forth a large pouch of coins from his [Ring Of Storage] as he placed it on the table, sliding it over to her. It seemed like every noble could get their hands on these, and seeing that someone as Kain had it made Loraine hide her own in her pockets, a nervous sweat breaking on her face.
"You will have to get ready at the earliest, as it will take almost two weeks of travel to reach Larzarus, as the city is quite far away from the Royal Capital. You will have to travel through many towns and book accomodations along the way, there will also be danger at every corner, so you need to remember to watch your back whenever you can."
"After all, you are just a maid." Kain said, the slight condenscending shift in his tone made a vein of anger pop at Loraine’s side, a strained smile blooming at the side of her head as she took some offense to it, but he technically wasn’t wrong though.
’I can defend myself pretty well!’ Loraine said inwardly, as if to get a jab back at him, though she would never speak these words out aloud, not unless she wanted her head to be rolling on the floor. ’Plus he offered to give me money for the trip, even though I’m pretty stacked already.’ She thought to herself with a small smile.
"Thank you so much," Loraine bowed her head in deep gratitude, her eyes meeting his as she lifted her head once more. Her expression turned contemplative in the next instance as she grabbed the pouch, her mind wandering back to the people she cared most about.
Sarah, and Christine, if she were to leave, she would have to abandon them, the thought made her heart clench in her chest and her skin crawl as she didn’t want to imagine a reality without them, as those two have been her only friends in a house as cursed as this mansion, and she didn’t want to risk them getting in danger.
’Is something the matter, her expression’s gotten a lot more...tense.’ Kain thought, analyzing Loraine’s expression as he watched her heave a heavy sigh, looking at him with a newfound conviction in his eyes.
Especially Sarah, not while that bastard Valmont was around, she wouldn’t let it!
"Pardon me, Lord Ashbourne," Loraine spoke up, her tone grateful and sincere. "I understand the role you have given me, and I will be getting ready to depart, however, I wanted to ask if..." Loraine swallowed hard, a heavy lump in her throat as her heart started to race.
She remained silent for a moment, steadying her nerves and trying to find the right words in her mind.
"Would it perhaps be possible for me to take a few people along with me?" Loraine asked, his words causing Kain’s eyes to widen in surprise.
"Are you scared of travelling alone?" Kain asked, raising a brow. "I understand your fears, but with the money I gave you, you should be able to hire adventurers to accompany you if you feel unsafe, just make sure to pick the right ones." He said, Loraine shaking her head in response to his statement.
"It’s not exactly that sir," Loraine said, her mind wandering to the young master of the mansion, her jaw tightening with the wrath and hatred she felt for the being. "But I would like for my friends to accompany me, not only would I feel much more safe, but I would also have some company."
The room went quiet for a moment, Kain leaning back further into his chair as he spun around in it for a moment, his expression deep in contemplation. Loraine seeing this was startled, as she hoped her demand wasn’t too much to be met, otherwise she would be devasted and left in a state of deep panic.
"I-If that’s too much! Then I-!"
"Alright, I’ll allow it."
Loraine blinked in surprise, her heart stopping for a moment, before releasing a sigh of relief. "Thank you, I’m most grateful my Lord." Loraine said with genuine gratitude in her voice.
"Of course, but you may only take a total of 5 other maids if you so need it, any more than that will cause some issues in maintaining the household." Kain said, but Loraine merely chuckled at his words.
"Don’t worry, I won’t be needing five at all."
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Sarah and Christine sat inside the garden of the mansion, the sun shining a warm light through the garden. They both turned at the sounds of footsteps approaching them, Loraine walking up to them with a joyful grin on her face.
Sarah smiled upon seeing her best friend, genuine happiness in her expression. "Oh hey, what’s got you smiling so much? Did something good happen?" Sarah asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah, it’s odd to see you smiling after coming back from the Lord’s office." Christine chimed in, a teasing smirk on her face. "So what’s the news?"
Loraine only chuckled at their playful ministrations, pulling out a chair as she sat among them, an exaggerated sigh escaping her lips as she leaned forward, resting her head on her palm. "Nothing much really, I just became a Head Maid is all, nothing special or anything~" She said in an sarcastic tone, her eyes gleaming with playfulness as she watched their widened as if they had heard the most unbelievable news of their life.
"WHAT!?" Both screamed in unison, Sarah’s and Christine’s eyes briefly meeting each other as if to confirm they had both heard the same thing, Loraine bursting out laughing at the spectacle.
"You became the Head Maid?! How is that possible!?" Sarah questioned, unable to believe this. She thought her best friend was in trouble, not that she had already received another promotion.
"Yeah, does this mean you’re in charge now? Will Margret finally leave us alone?" Christine asked, genuine hope in her eyes as she didn’t want to stay around that old woman any longer, Loraine shaking her head as she spoke up.
"No you morons~" Loraine said, though her tone was light and playful. "If you were paying attention, I said I became A Head Maid, not THE, Head Maid." She said, her explanation only serving to confuse them both even more.
Her expression turned more serious as she leaned forward, resting her arms on the table as she looked at them. "Also, I’m going to be leaving to go somewhere far away, as I will be responsible for attending, and managing a whole household." She said, "I’m going to be the Head Maid of that household, not this one, so unfortunately, Margret is still going to be in-charge here." Loraine said with a sigh.
Sarah’s expression turned sorrowful, genuine sadness reflecting in their depths as she stared at Loraine. "I see...so you’re...really leaving?" Sarah asked, the sadness in her voice breaking Loraine’s heart as she didn’t want to see her make that face.
"Oh man...." Christine muttered with a sigh, facepalming in mild frustration. "Guess Margret’s still going to be on our asses, and you’ll be out there exploring the world or whatever, hmph, lucky~"
"But seriously though, congratulations, you deserve this after all the hard work you’ve put in." Christine said with a playful nudge at Loraine’s shoulder.
"Yeah Loraine," Sarah chimed in, grabbing her hands as she looked up at her best friend. "I’m proud of you, and I want you to do your best out there." Sarah said, though her voice cracked a bit at the last part, it was obvious that she didn’t like the idea of Loraine leaving one bit, and was instead trying to seem strong in front of her not to worry her.
Loraine giggled, her playfulness a jarring shock to them as she gently patted Sarah and Christine’s heads, their face bursting into embarrassment at the sudden gesture.
"Thank you, but who said I’ll be travelling alone?" Loraine asked, her words confusing her as she simply proceeded to smile at them.
"Christine, Sarah, would you both like to accompany me?"