"A cold? Sakuya?"

"Indeed. Unfortunately, it seems Sakuya is incapable of fulfilling her duties as the Head Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion." Remilia calmly stirs her spoons through her cup before taking another sip of her tea. "As such, I have decided to rearrange the division of labour. You, Meiling, will be my Headmaid for the time being."

Meiling uneasily rubs her lower arm, averting her gaze from Remilia's. "I, well. I understand that you would want a new Headmaid—"

"'Want' is an understatement," Remilia interjected, pointing her iron spoon towards Meiling. "The fairymaids are incapable of fulfilling even a fraction of Sakuya's duties. No. What I need is someone like yourself, Meiling. Someone capable and reliable. As such, you, now, will be my Headmaid. For now, naturally."

Naturally, Meiling felt uncertain about such a temporary promotion. There were too many factors working against it. Her arms crossed, she tilts her head sideways. "Mistress, I really don't want to be rude. But who's going to watch the Gate then? We don't have anyone else capable of doing so."

With a knowing smile, Remilia wags her finger. "Ah, but that's where you are wrong. See, if you look to your left now, out the window, you will see that I have already assigned a new Gatekeeper."

"You have?" Meiling turned to look, but all she could see was some sort of canvas stretched out of Merlin Prismriver beyond the gate. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Shaking her head with narrowed eyes, she slowly turns to look at Remilia again. "What exactly is that?"

"That is a tent. One Sakuya bought when she went to one of the Prismriver concerts. The tent hosts none other than Patchouli."

Again, Meiling turns to the window, staring hard at the Prismriver-themed tent. "Lady Patchouli? In a tent? Outside? Is she alright?"

"Of course. It was my request she'd stand guard in your place. And as such, she obliged under the conditions that she would get access to three meals a day, an in-built bathroom and many, many books… Koakuma has her hands full carrying the books from the library to the tent."

As if on cue, Koakuma comes wobbling out of the mansion, carrying at least a dozen books in her arms. Since her load was too heavy, she was unable to actually fly over the gate. Meiling and Remilia both watch quietly as the little devil shouts for help, yet Patchouli within the tent does not respond.

"... I think Koakuma is stuck behind the gate, Mistress."

"I've noticed…"

Clearing her throat, Remilia continued. "Were these all your concerns?"

"Well, actually, there is one more thing that has been bothering me. What of the Library then? Isn't it unguarded as we speak?"

Remilia sighs, holding her empty tea cup up. "Once again, I prepared in advance. You see, since Patchouli has been relocated to take your old position I have relocated Sakuya's bed to be in the library."

Meiling blinks at Remilia. "I'm sorry. Did you say you put Sakuya's bed in the Library? The-... dustiest, most open space in all of the Mansion?"

Showing one of her fangs, Remilia sways her cup impatiently. "I have, yes. Is there something wrong with that?"

"W-Well… Actually, Mistress, I think that-... Well… Shouldn't Sakuya be in her own room? I mean, when I'm ill, the last thing I'd want to think about would be guarding a bunch of old books in a dusty library."

"Once again, you are wrong. Sakuya has no problem serving me as the Library's guard, even in her ill state. If anything, she was glad to be of service in such a way."

"And if the Witch comes?"

"Then it will be up to you to handle it once Sakuya warns you of her presence."

Meiling suppresses the urge to sigh, the only signs of her frustration being shown by the impatient tapping of her foot. "I suppose that's… fine then?"

"Good. Now. For the last time…" Remilia shows the lack of contents in her teacup to Meiling. "Why have you not refilled my teacup yet, Headmaid Meiling?"

"O-Oh… Wait, I get to do that now?" A glimmer of excitement sparkling in her eye, Meiling pumps a fist as she lets her gaze wander for the tea set. Upon finding none, she turns to Remilia again.

"Yes, yes. You get to pour me some tea. Now, please. Go and brew me a fresh cup of my Sunday brew."

"You got it, Mistress!" Sudden excitement beamed from Meiling as she made her exit. "I'll be sure to find a proper outfit in Sakuya's room and be back within ten!"

A little surprised by this sudden turn in attitude, Remilia's eyes darted across the floor before setting on the door Meiling charged out of. "Hold it! Ten what?"

There is no response. Remilia had to assume it was ten seconds… Upon finding it wasn't, she assumed ten minutes.

Before Remilia, in a cylindrical cup, stood a cup of green tea. Meiling, proud of her achievement, stood beside her, both fists firmly planted on her hips. "As you requested, Mistress! One cup of tea!"

Unsure where to start, Remilia peeks at it from three different angles. "Where's the ear? Does this cup not have one? What kind of teacup wouldn't have an ear to take a hold of?"

"Ears? Ha! Mistress, cups don't have ears. And, in case you were talking about that, this cup doesn't have a handle, no. You hold it in both hands. Don't worry! It shouldn't be too hot!"

Remilia's hands went back and forth between taking a hold of it by the side, from the top and from the underside. After figuring out none of her approaches worked, she uses her napkin to wrap it up and hold it by the sides.

Bringing the cup to her face, she took a small whiff of its scent. "What even is this…?" She quietly uttered before taking an experimental sip from it. Her face scrunched up as she quickly placed the cup back down again.

Before Meiling could've even asked how it was, Remilia leaned towards the cup and spat out what little she drank. "Horrible. Absolutely horrible. What even is this? Where is my usual Cranberry Sunday Cream tea?"

"Cran-... Sun-...? Cream?" Out of confusion, Meiling rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, but, I don't even know what those mean in that order. What makes the cream so Sunday? I just made my regular green tea and thought it would've been fine."

"Fine!?" Remilia repeated with a look of bewilderment. "Meiling, as Headmaid, it is your duty to prepare the finest of teas for my refined pallet. As such, I expect something more than your-... favourite green tea!"

An unsure look on her face, Meiling peers at the cup before redirecting her gaze at Remilia again. "Forgive me, Mistress, but how exactly do you expect me to know what kind of tea you like on my first day?"

"Because I just told you a moment ago! On Sunday, it's Cranberry Sunday Cream tea. Simple as that!"

"I'm not sure that made it any clearer… Could you show me what it looks like? Or perhaps how it is brewn?"

A sudden shock runs over Remilia's spine as she hid her eyes underneath her cap. "O-Of course I don't know how it is made! Sakuya was the one who always prepared it for me!"

A weak, unamused smile forming on her face, Meiling sags her shoulders. "Something tells me this promotion is going to take a while for me to get used to."

"Enough talking! Go and figure it out! Chop chop!"

Clapping her hands demandingly, Remilia set Meiling off on her quest for the perfect Sunday tea.

All Meiling could do was follow said orders and retreat back to the kitchen. Naturally, she made a quick detour to the library to ask Sakuya how exactly this tea was prepared.

"Alright. Cranberry Sunday Cream tea," Meiling said, all out of breath, as she walked back into the room. "Set to a perfect 70°C, in a porcelain cup, topped off with a drizzle of honey and stirred with a silver spoon, but served with an iron spoon."

Tiredly, Meiling set the cup upon Remilia's desk, wiping the sweat off her brow after taking three steps back. "I-I hope it is to your liking, Mistress…"

Remilia eyes the cup before her digits curl around the ear. With a hum, she lets the contents inside swirl before taking a careful hold of the spoon on the saucer it was served on. "Fascinating. Though, a little too slow."

"Too slow?"

"I'm afraid tea-time is over. In other words…" A heavy clank ran through the room as Remilia placed the cup back down on its saucer. "This tea is worthless to me now."

Baffled, Meiling's jaw drops. "A-Ah!? Haaaa!?"

"Take it away!" Remilia dejectedly shoves the cup in Meiling's direction. "And be sure to be on time next time."

Scratching the back of her head, Meiling stares at the cup, unsure what to do with it.

"Meiling. Please. Take it away. Thank you for your efforts, regardless."

"A-As you wish, I suppose."

This was bound to be a long, frustrating process the both of them figured.

Hey everyone. Glad you made it to the end! This small little story is meant for the Anniversary of EoSD. Happy 20th Anniversary!

This was supposed to be a short, one-shot. But the more I thought about it, the more potential I saw in it. As such, I decided to give it an open ending. Maybe someday I'll continue it. Or maybe I won't.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.