Chapter 48: Chapter 48 - The White Sword Hunter ( Part 2)
The room of the Head Maid was widely known in the royal palace by a variety of names.
The Hall of Discipline.
The Chamber of Absolute Order.
Among young maids...
It acquired a much more frightening name.
The Room Where Excuses Go to Die.
Jennie found herself in front of the polished oak desk with her back perfectly straight, hands neatly folded behind her back.
On the opposite side of the desk sat Martha Morius.
The legendary Head Maid put on her silver spectacles and looked up from her papers.
Silent tension hung in the air.
Jennie had fought dragons.
She had faced demon armies.
And yet...
Being in anticipation of Martha’s words was one of the most stressful experiences in both of her lives.
After several long moments...
Martha finally closed her folder.
"You want to go on an afternoon of leave."
"Yes, Lady Martha."
"For what?"
Jennie knew that question.
She replied.
"I want to explore the city."
Her answer did not evoke any reaction from Martha.
"Why?"
"I have not explored it properly for years."
"That is quite a reasonable answer."
Jennie relaxed.
Until...
She realized that it was only for two seconds.
Because then Martha spoke again.
"That is not the right answer."
"...I’m sorry?"
"You have some plan."
"I swear, I don’t."
Martha only looked at her.
With an extremely long...
Extremely quiet...
Extremely unblinking look.
Jennie suddenly remembered why palace maids compared Martha’s look to the magic of interrogation spell.
Because there was nothing magical in it.
It just could not lie under.
While...
Behind the door of the office...
Several younger maids silently gathered.
"One of them whispered,
"How much has passed?"
"Nearly three minutes."
"And neither of them hasn’t blinked."
"They are terrifying."
Inside the office...
Jennie finally coughed.
"...Lady Martha?"
"Yes?"
"We are playing a staring contest?"
"No."
"...Good."
"You have already lost."
"I did?"
"You blinked first."
"..."
She somehow...
Indeed...
Martha gracefully folded her hands.
"Lady Jennie."
"You have done enough work for nearly three weeks."
"Yes."
"You have performed all tasks that nobody asked about."
"...Correct."
"You cleaned the royal archives."
"Yes."
"You have reorganized the wine cellar."
"Yes."
"You have fixed twenty-three chairs."
"...Twenty-four."
"I see."
A moment of silence passed.
Martha smiled faintly.
"So."
"What is your plan?"
Jennie answered without hesitation.
"I prefer not to tell."
To Martha’s great surprise...
That answer was much more convincing than any excuse.
The Head Maid leaned back.
"I appreciate your honesty."
Jennie blinked.
"...Really?"
"Yes."
"It is better than a poor lie."
Jennie smiled awkwardly.
"...Thank you?"
Martha got up and approached the huge window, which overlooked palace gardens.
"I have known you since you were five."
Jennie quietly listened.
"You are diligent."
"Kind."
"Responsible."
"You rarely ask for anything personally."
Then she turned.
"So when you ask for personal leave..."
"It means that it is very important."
Jennie nodded.
"Yes."
"What you are going to do..."
"I cannot approve it blindly."
Jennie nodded.
"I understand."
Again the silence settled in the room.
Until...
Martha finally said.
"I will give you permission."
Jennie’s eyes widened.
"...Really?"
"On one condition."
Jennie instantly knew that these words were dangerous.
"What is the condition?"
Martha put on her spectacles.
"You will perform one last task."
Jennie smiled confidently.
"Certainly."
"I will try."
Martha’s lips curled.
"I know that."
Somehow...
That statement made her even more nervous.
The next morning...
Jennie accompanied Martha through one of the oldest palaces’ corridors.
Instead of going to gardens...
Or to the laundry hall...
Or to the kitchens...
They went down several flights of stone stairs.
The temperature became colder.
The corridors became wider.
Soon...
Jennie saw rows after rows of huge wooden crates.
Some reached almost to the ceiling.
She blinked.
"...What is this place?"
"The Royal Storage Hall."
Martha said calmly.
"It is used to store banquet equipment."
Jennie looked around.
There had to be...
Thousands of items.
Silver plates.
Crystal goblets.
Golden trays.
Porcelain bowls.
Tea sets.
Decorative candles.
Everything.
Jennie suddenly felt awful.
Martha stopped moving.
And pointed somewhere ahead.
Jennie followed her finger.
Her eye twitched.
Before her...
There were mountains of dusty banquet supplies.
Some of them haven’t been used for years.
Others were covered with thick white cloths.
The hall seemed endless.
"Lady Jennie."
"Yes?"
"The Summer Royal Banquet takes place next week."
"I know."
"Everything must be cleaned."
Jennie nodded slowly.
"...Everything?"
"Everything."
She looked again.
"...Everything?"
Martha nodded once.
"Every plate."
"Every cup."
"Every spoon."
"Every tray."
"Every candlestick."
Jennie tried to estimate their amount.
"...About?"
Martha answered immediately.
"Eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-seven pieces."
Jennie stopped calculating.
It was enough.
One of the nearby maids whispered,
"...She has finished."
Another nodded compassionately.
"I’ll prepare flowers."
"For what?"
"...Her funeral."
Jennie took a deep breath.
"...Very well."
Martha raised an eyebrow.
"Without complaints?"
Jennie smiled.
"A maid should never fear honest work."
Martha seemed to be genuinely happy.
"A wonderful answer."
For the next several hours...
Jennie worked diligently.
Cloth in one hand.
Bucket in the other.
She polished the silver until it gleamed like mirror.
Crystal glasses began to sparkle in the sunlight.
The dust disappeared from old shelves.
Of course...
Whenever Martha was not looking...
Little wind spirits silently helped her.
They carried trays invisible.
Water spirits rinsed porcelain gently.
And fire spirits dried them without leaving any scratch.
Everything seemed natural.
But...
Much faster.
By late afternoon...
The impossible had happened.
Everything gleamed.
The storage hall looked absolutely new.
The supervising maids stood in silence.
One of them rubbed her eyes.
"...Has she really finished?"
Another nodded slowly.
"...Without breaking a single plate."
Martha carefully inspected the work.
One shelf.
Then another.
Third.
She took the crystal goblet in her hands and held it to the light.
Not a single fingerprint.
Not a single speck of dust.
Perfect.
She put it back down.
And looked at Jennie.
For several seconds...
She said nothing.
Finally...
She nodded only once.
"Excellent."
Jennie smiled in relief.
"So..."
"My leave?"
Martha folded her hands.
"As promised."
"You may take tomorrow afternoon."
" No , leave for whole three days . "
" No "
Jennie faced looked so sad and almost as if she was about to cry .
Then Martha coughed .
" Okay , but when you come you will do extra work . "
Jennie’s face brightened.
"Thank you!"
Martha added one final thing.
"I expect you work head and diligentily ."
"I will."
"And Lady Jennie..."
Jennie stopped at the door.
"Yes?"
"If whatever you will do becomes dangerous..."
"...You return immediately."
Jennie’s face became soft.
"I promise."
Martha watched her going out.
And smiled to herself quietly.
"...Have fun."
Outside...
Jennie almost ran down the palace stairs.
Tomorrow...
For the first time in years...
She would visit the Hunter Association.
Not knowing that...
The simple registration under the false name would change the balance of power in the whole continent.
