?[One month prior]
It's dawn in November of 302 Paign Era. The sun barely rose from the eastern horizon. It needs some time to warm up the day.
The Blueriver Palace at this particular time has a lot of activities going on. At least, for the servants.
Despite that, they're all trying to be as silent as possible and avoid making any unwanted noise. Especially, when there's a year and five-month-old child and his parents sleeping.
The weather in the north is much colder than in the south. The cold wind caressed their faces, sending chills down their spines. In this kind of weather, the servants only rely on two layers of clothes as a source of their warmth. Even so, it's not an excuse for laundresses to skip the duty of washing clothes, sheets, and towels. Life is harsh for a lower-rank maid like Dorothy.
"Charmbermaids sure have it easy. My hands have become rough thanks to all the cleaning I've done." Her complaints were followed by a long sigh. "I should take another job instead. This is far below my qualifications."
Dorothy literally means it. This is far more tiring than her training as an agent. She maybe has cleaned up more clothes than she would have in her entire lifetime. Had she known things would turn out like this, she wouldn't be enticed by the bonus and benefits offered. That damn old man sure had a way with his words.
When the Old Man Dunn offered her this mission, Dorothy thought she would be in a fairly high position. He never told her about starting from the bottom.
"That complaint again?!" Rebuked her fellow maid. She had heard the same grumble almost every single day. "Why don't you quit this job if you don't like it?"
Dorothy shook her head, "I can't quit...The pay here is good, though it's not commensurate with my ability. Since this is my first time being a maid, I'll let it slide and hope for a salary increase."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk...What a simple reason you have." Her fellow laundress giggles. "Dorothy, you would stay as a laundress for the rest of your life if you don't have an ambition."
Dorothy frowned. "What do you mean by ambition?"
"You should aim higher, Dorothy. First, be a chambermaid. Then, gain the trust of the princess and be her personal maid. Once you are there, you have to establish a close relationship with the head maids. That way, the odds of you being chosen as Her Highness's personal attendant will increase. Work for a few years before beginning to snatch the seat of the head maid."
Dorothy was impressed by the long-term plan made by her fellow maid. They were from the same intake and yet this innocent-looking girl is scheming from the beginning. Even so, she isn't attracted by the prospect. "Doesn't that make my job harder?"
"Urgh!!" Her fellow maid scratched her head. "You Dumbrothy, that's not the point. The point is to increase your presence. Listen here Dumbrothy, women need to get married to survive in this world. Since we are in the palace, why not aim high? Starting from the position of personal maid, your chance to interact with noblemen has risen by a large margin. Depending on how you utilize your charm, I bet you that at least one man would be interested. Even if you don't become an official wife, a concubine position would do. Once you succeed, your standard of life will increase significantly."
"Ah! So, that's what you're aiming for. You had such a big appetite." Dorothy finally realized her friend's ambition. "But, isn't the timeline a bit unrealistic? How long does it take to get to that position?"
"I don't know...I'm sixteen years old this year. My target is to become a princess's personal maid in four years."
"And how are you going to do that, exactly? The princess already has personal maids serving her."
Her fellow maid simply smiled. Dorothy isn't stupid either. Her friend is clearly planning on doing something bad. "Alright, you don't have to tell me. I don't think I want to know."
Regardless of her complaints, Dorothy finished her task early as usual. An action that doesn't really match her words.
"I'm done. I'll go first," said Dorothy.
"Wha— How do you finish first when we start at the same time? Did you have fewer clothes to wash?"
"Unlike you, my hand keeps working despite engaging in conversation. You really should excel in your work first before dreaming of a higher position." Dorothy swiftly left the scene. There's free time in between before she is assigned to another task.
A perfect time for her to vanish without arousing any suspicion.
The benefit of getting up earlier is that many powerful individuals in the palace are still sleeping. They won't get up until two or three hours later. This gives her some freedom to roam around the palace.
She only needs to avoid the head maid and Sir Harford. These two people were very sensitive to any change in facial reaction.
It's a skill they honed to perfection after years of dealing with people from all walks of life. Encountered them would spell a disaster for her, no, for her kingdom.
Dorothy seems like wandering around aimlessly without any destination but she's actually not. Her feet eventually got closer and closer to the administrative area of the palace.
She finally sees her target. Her mission was not to establish a communication channel with the princess but rather to convey every piece of information she got her hand on. The level of significance determines the amount of bonus she will get.
Unless she received a specific order, she has a wide range of topics to work with. Dorothy decided to focus on any crucial intelligence on the topic that may threaten Ryntum such as the army and navy movement, level of technology and political stuff.
Lucky for her, the kitchen and servant dining hall were located far left on the ground floor. It is not too far from her current position. If the situation goes awry, she would make her way there. That place is full of servants at this time.
Usually, maids would go to the kitchen for breakfast. However, there's no fixed time for the maid to be in the dining hall for breakfast. They basically can come in to grab food and go. A very convenient way to create her alibi.
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