"Okay...This time I got this!" Chartette struggled to keep a pile of plates from dropping yet again. She was hoping that Mariam would give her some pointers but now that she has gone on an excursion with Ney, things had started to fall apart. "W, WHOA!"
*CRASH*
"Oh it's hopeless!" Chartette grabbed her hair in frustration. As suspected, she had dropped the whole pile. "I'll never be able to do this! I'm just not good enough!"
"You know..." Germaine rubbed her head. "Maybe you're just not cut out to be a maid... A soldier or a smith, like your father, maybe but...not a job that requires delicate work like a maid..."
"Oh but it is something I wanted to do!" Chartette protested. "I am tired to breaking stuff every day! For once, I want to actually not break a single thing for an entire day!"
"...Well, you better learn fast because if you don't, we may end up needing a doctor soon..." Allen stared at the pile of porcelain shards on the floor. They're all like knives...
"Well...how am I supposed to learn? I mean, Mariam is currently out with Ney and I tried learning from you Allen...and whenever I'm around the Princess, I get really nervous..."
"Well, maybe you should stop seeing me as a Princess!" Standing at the other side of the hallway was Riliane, dressed in what appears to be a nun's outfit.
"...P, Princess? What on earth are you wearing?" Chartette looked confused.
"Beats me. I'm actually surprised that this thing is in my closet." Riliane fiddled a bit with her outfit. "But anyway! Long ago, I didn't know how to make food by myself...but a dear white-haired friend of mine named Clarith came along and helped me out." Riliane put her hands on her hips. "Now, I am going to do for you what she had done for me...and whip you up into shape!"
"R, Really?" Chartette got excited and even more nervous. "Th, Th, Thank you Princess!"
"Oh no, Chartette. I'm not the Princess here! I'm Mother Superior Rin now! Now come on! Let's move move move!" Riliane ordered as the two of them hurried down the hall.
"..." Germaine stared as the pair disappeared round the corner. "...It may have been a long time...but I don't think a Mother Superior acts like that..."
"What do you expect? That's Riliane we're talking about..." Allen muttered. He then looked down on the floor. Apparently Riliane and Chartette were so caught up in the moment that they completely forgot the mess on the floor. "...Great. Now I have another floor to clean."
"First, let's do the laundry. The goal is to soak a gown, wash it, and hang it up to dry without ripping it up." Riliane brought Chartette outside with a basket of dirty laundry. She then set up the clothesline. "Okay. Let me see how much you know so I know how much I need to teach."
"Y, Yes Princess! ...O, Or Mother Superior...o, or..."
"Riliane will do just fine."
"Yes R, Riliane!" Chartette then picked up a dirty gown carefully.
"CHARTETTE!" screamed a voice.
"EEEP!" Chartette was so surprised that she ripped the gown clean in half. She then turned to Germaine with an annoyed look. "...WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
"...Good luck." Germaine gave Chartette a thumbs-up before leaving.
"...RrrrrrrrRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Chartette roared in frustration.
"Ch, Chartette? Chartette! Calm down! JUST CALM DOWN, WILL YOU?!" Riliane yelled. "No need to unleash the...chimera on her! OKAY! Now...let's breathe deeply...and take another gown..."
As Germaine walked back, Allen was there at the doorway, wearing an unamused expression. "...Germaine. What are you doing?"
"Making distractions." Germaine grinned. "Riliane asked me to do something obnoxious every now and then to help with Chartette's ability to concentrate."
Allen facepalmed. "...This isn't going to work..."
"Okay, nice and slow, Chartette. Nice and slow..." Riliane walked alongside Chartette, who was carrying a pile of dishes once more. "If it is too much for you to handle, then carry less. Don't be ashamed to ask for help and spread out the workload."
"Th, Thank you...Riliane..." Chartette murmured, struggling to keep her concentration. "Y, You know...I think I am getting the hang of this-"
"PPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!" Germaine suddenly sprayed a mouthful of wine onto the floor Chartette was about to step on.
"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!" Chartette slipped and the rest was history.
*CRASH*
Riliane stared, trying to comprehend what just happened. "...GERMAINE! I SAID NORMAL EVERYDAY DISTRACTIONS! WHO DOES THAT?!"
"I dunno. An obnoxious noble maybe?" A really drunk Germaine shrugged as she chugged down more wine straight from the bottle.
"I..." Chartette struggled to get up. She wiped her apron and started walking away. "I...I've had enough! I can't take this anymore!"
"Ch, Chartette!" Riliane chased after her.
Allen was there, shaking his head while he snatched the wine bottle out of Germaine's hands. "...You definitely had enough of this."
Riliane managed to find Chartette on the front porch, all crouched up. She then sat down next to her. "Don't get discouraged, Chartette... Maybe Germaine is...too much of an idiot. I'll have Allen be the distraction next ti-"
"Don't...Don't bother..." Chartette sighed. "If I can't handle Germaine, what makes you think I'll do any better with Allen?"
"W, Well for one thing, Allen is more civil-"
"Just forget it! It's hopeless...!" Chartette moaned. "All the maids had teased me and they had every reason to! I'm definitely the worst maid ever! I'm...I'm definitely a 'chimera'! I'm just a disaster waiting to happen!"
"Chartette, you shouldn't let this get to your head..." When Riliane was about to reach out and pat Chartette's shoulder, she can see that Chartette...was starting to cry. "...E, Eh...? H, Hey, Chartette y...you're crying... H, Hey, it's okay! Don't cry...!"
"Y, You don't understand...! I tried! I really really tried!" Chartette sobbed. "I tried so hard...! But I wasn't good enough! I was never good enough!" She pounded the step on the porch so hard that some of the stone had chipped off. Her hand had started bleeding.
"Ch, Chartette!" Riliane quickly grabbed Chartette's hand and dressed it in a clean handkerchief. "...Chartette, you've hurt yourself... I had no idea you took something menial as this that seriously... You...You really shouldn't put yourself down..."
"I'm not..." Chartette sniffled. "I'm...merely accepting reality..."
Riliane sighed and leaned back. "...If I had accepted reality a long time ago, I would have had your head chopped off for your constant blunder. But instead I kept you despite your clumsiness because you are among my closest friends. You don't need a perfect score to validate your worth. The fact that you are part of my inner circle is enough...in my opinion...to show that you are worth a lot to me."
"R, Really...?" Chartette brushed her tears away.
"Mhm~. The word of the Princess is absolute." Riliane smiled. "...And oh yes, I almost forgot. I know how you feel, Chartette. If I had accepted reality, I would've starved to death in a port town along the coast. Instead, I worked my butt off and ended up becoming Mother Superior of the Held Monastery...and that was without any prior training whatsoever."
"...It must have been hard for you." Chartette muttered.
"Oh it was...but every minute was worth it." Riliane nodded and patted Chartette on the shoulder. "Chartette, you may not be the best maid but you, throughout history, were a hero in your own right...and that is something to be proud of. If you decide not to be a maid anymore, I won't stop you. It won't change the way I feel about you."
"...No." Chartette shook her head. "You made me your lady-in-waiting. I...I don't want to disappoint you now by leaving." She then got up on her feet. "I'm going to work my butt off too!"
The next morning came, the day Chartette was going to do a flawless service to the Princess has finally arrived. Riliane woke up from her sleep and was greeted with a smiling Chartette. "Good morning, Your Highness!"
"G, Good morning Chartette..." Riliane rubbed her eyes.
"Which dress would you like to wear today, Your Highness?" Chartette asked politely.
"Eh? Hmm...the usual yellow one please." Chartette opened Riliane's closet very carefully and pulled out the yellow gown slowly. "Here you are! Would you like me to help you get dressed?"
"...Sure." Riliane nodded. Chartette then started removing Riliane's nightgown, very slowly and carefully. "...Try to relax. You seem...serious today."
"Yes I am~! In fact, I have prepared today's breakfast, along with planning lunch and dinner! The menu is of my own design, would you believe it! I thought you might like to try some exotic Eastern dishes as well! If you don't want any, that's fine! I'll prepare a less elaborate meal-"
"Chartette?" Riliane interrupted before Chartette could ramble on more. "...Surprise me."
"Ah! Yes! Of course, Princess!" Once Riliane is fully dressed, Chartette bowed and started walking towards the door. She almost came close to knocking a vase over and when she realized that, she slowly tiptoed away from the vase...before opening the door and leaving. Riliane giggled and prayed that this day will go well for her.
To everyone's surprise, Chartette had improved. She must've stayed up all night 'working her butt off'. Mariam and Ney had returned from their excursion to help out and both of them were surprised to see Chartette working hard and not breaking or ripping anything...yet. She dusted the vases carefully, she carried the dirty dishes and washed them carefully, she hung the laundry without ripping any clothes, and when she got too tired to prepare dinner she took a hand in directing the kitchen. And to answer the question: 'What about the everyday distractions?', Chartette smacked Germaine silly whenever she was going to do anything funny.
"Everyone, if you please!" Riliane announced, gesturing everyone to raise their glasses filled with wine to Chartette. "To Chartette Langley! She may be called a 'chimera', but that's not because she is a disaster waiting to happen...but because she is an imaginative and one-of-a-kind predator!"
"Hear hear!" Germaine downed her glass in one gulp.
"Well, I gotta hand it to you, Chartette. You managed to not break anything." Allen smiled.
"Yeah, about that... In the end, I've failed." Chartette sighed as she stared at the empty wine bottle in her hand. "It's such a terrible shame because I tried so hard to be perfect and yet...this is the one thing I'll break."
"Hmm? And why is that?" Mariam asked.
*SHATTER!*Chartette swung the bottle down on Germaine's head.
"GUHA!" Germaine let out a funny noise as her head slammed into the table before her entire body fell off the chair.
"OH MY GOD! CHARTETTE WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!" Allen shouted.
Chartette smirked. "THAT...is for the hell she put me through! I've been waiting to do that all day!"
"Yo, Germaine. You alive down there?" Ney peeked under the table.
"...Y, Yeah. I kinda deserved that..." Germaine groaned.
"..." Riliane said nothing at first. "...Hmhmhmhmhm! Hehehehehehehe! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She then started laughing like a maniac. Her laughing was so amusing that everyone else started smiling and laughing too...except for Allen, of course. Germaine just laid there on the ground, dazed and surprised. But even so, she took the time to lick the rest of the wine off her own face.