Clôture of Yellow: The Daughter Of Evil

CHAPTER 1, SECTION1-THE FOURTEENTH BIRTHDAY; SCENE 2

◆ Allen ~In the Lucifenia Royal Palace, "The Heavenly Yard"~

"Augh, it's already teatime," I muttered without thinking, hearing the sound of a bell ring three times.

There was a large Levin church located in the heart of the Lucifenian Royal Capital. The sound let loose by its enormous bell could be caught no matter where you were in town. It was the same even in this palace, despite it being placed far north from the church. We're able to know the time even without directly taking out a pocket watch through the sound of the bells. The three dull chimes told me it was currently three in the afternoon, and that our progress in the task of cleaning up the gardens, which had started around noon, was substantially delayed.

Aside from me there were around seven other servants earnestly engaged in cleaning up, but that wasn't the usual extent, in any case. Working with this number in and of itself was difficult to do in the first place. I can't put that any other way. I would have liked for us to at least get just a little bit more people helping in this, but the majority of the servants were pressed for time in preparing for the ball that was being held tonight. My wish likely wouldn't be granted. Everyone was just as busy.

Suddenly the girl who was polishing the sculpture next to me let out a cry.

"Aaagh!"

That was Chartette. A servant like me, she spoke to me looking as though she'd had enough.

"I'm tired, yannow! I'm totally exhausted! Hey Allen, can't we just clean and sweep a couple spots over there and be done with it already, yannow?"

Inwardly I felt that I wanted to agree with her, but I didn't voice any of that, replying to her chidingly, "...We can't do that. We've still barely touched the area around the big fountain. Didn't Lady Mariam tell us that we needed to make it sparkle, because today we have royalty from other countries visiting?"

Mariam was the name of the head maid. She was someone who managed the servants that worked here, which made her our direct superior. If she were to learn that we cut corners on our cleaning, then she would most certainly give us a harsh scolding tomorrow.

...Or rather, we would be lucky to get off with just a scolding.

Chartette should have known that well enough, but she just protest against me all the more.

"But she's not gonna notice if it's a little bit dirty, yannow. The party's at night, after all."

"But today is the day we celebrate Princess Riliane's birthday. Lady Mariam is more tense than usual, so if she were to find out-"

"-Sigh-...Yeah I got it..."

Seeming to have finally accepted it, Chartette once more began cleaning.

It wasn't that I didn't understand her frustrations, either. In the first place, we're servants who attend on the princess, so cleaning the gardens isn't our usual role.

Chartette was being put to use here instead of in preparation for the ball because she'd be pretty terrible if she was doing things like food preparation or helping with changing clothes, as she'd break the silverware or rip up the cloth with her characteristic massive strength.

And as for me, this time I was appointed with the task of supervising her, to be safe. You could say that she and I are childhood friends, or at least she was a friend I had known since I was a child, so we were put together like this quite a lot.

Frankly, it didn't seem like Chartette was very suited to being a servant. I really didn't think she'd get the axe, though; when it came to menial labor she could handle more than a man, and more than anything it was very big that her cheerful personality was favored by Princess Riliane.