The morning rays accumulate in the sky.
The frogs croak and the birds fly.
The night-bright moon slowly disappears,
And the giant sun suddenly appears.
Before the sun appeared, Sarina had already been awake. The duties of a maid started before the day began.
She stood in her small room wearing her sleeping garment. It was a long, simple white nightgown that covered her entire body. On her feet, she wore soft leather slippers that looked incredibly ugly.
She walked across the wooden floor that made up the Fang household, reached her closet, and took out her servant outfit. It included a bodice, apron, cap, long skirt, and leather latchet shoes.
Sarina took off her nightgown and put on her undergarments before wearing her maid attire. Sarina placed her nightgown neatly into her closet, then went towards the door and touched its knob to open it. She closed the door behind her and walked in a certain direction. She knocked on a door, and a voice came from inside.
"Yes, I'm awake, Sarina. Wait up a bit."
"All right."
She then turned around and saw a figure wearing the same attire as her. It was Lisa.
In total, the Fang household had three maids corresponding to each of the elders of the house: Teren, Kalser, and Ralliere. Sarina attended to Teren, Kylina attended to Kalser, and Lisa attended to Ralliere.
The Matron overlooked them and their duties, assigning tasks as the most senior maid. She handled the personal affairs of the three masters.
In truth, the three maids had two main responsibilities: household duties and catering to the young masters of the family. The maids did not always have to attend to one master respectively; they were flexible with their assignments. Duties associated with a branch of the Fang family would mostly fall to the maid assigned to that branch.
"Good morning, Lisa," Sarina sighed. "Ready to start the day?"
"Oh, if it isn't Miss Daydreamer," Lisa said with a light chuckle.
In response, Sarina waved her hand in an exaggerated motion with an expression of defeat. "Please, don't remind me."
"Haha, didn't Miss Matron say you wouldn't be a proper maid if you kept it up?" Lisa couldn't contain her laughter.
Behind her, the voice from the closed door started to laugh too.
Before the awakening ceremony, when Sarina returned, she had entered a trance where the Matron had to call her name three times before reprimanding her. Lisa and Kylina, who were at the side, had seen the scene but wouldn't dare laugh in front of the Matron.
Sarina expressed an irritated look and put her index finger to her lips. "Silence. She will hear us. You know how she gets if we make too much noise."
The voice behind the door stopped laughing as she said that, and Lisa quickly covered her mouth with both hands.
The three maids were naturally close with each other. Bonds of friendship grew after being in close proximity for years. It didn't help either that they were similar in age: Lisa being the oldest at twenty years old, Kylina at eighteen, and Sarina the youngest.
The door flung open, and Kylina's figure appeared.
"You finally showed up, eh? Any more time taken and I would've reported you to Miss Matron," Lisa teased.
"Okay, we are all ready to report for our activities."
The three of them walked to a certain door. Lisa, who was in front, knocked lightly. The voice behind the door resonated.
"Come in."
Lisa opened the door, and the two maids followed behind, greeting the Matron in a polite manner.
Inside the room, the Matron sat at a desk writing something.
"Good morning to all of you. We have a shortage of meat. Sarina and Lisa, go to the market and buy ten pounds of meat along with some ingredients. Here is the list."
The Matron got up and handed a sheet of paper to them.
"After making breakfast for our masters, we will start to do laundry, patch up the flowers in the garden, polish furniture…" The Matron gave a list of tasks to complete during the day.
The life of a maid was not one to take lightly. Taking care of the house and catering to their masters left the maids with little time to themselves.
After some light cleaning of the house, Sarina and Lisa set out to the food market. Lisa had in hand the piece of paper the Matron gave her, as well as a pouch containing pieces of mana stones.
Five pounds of meat generally cost one piece of a mana stone, while other miscellaneous ingredients, such as fresh herbs or legumes, cost less per pound.
The food market wasn't far from the house; it was seven blocks away.
On the streets, kids could be seen playing around. They played with a ball on the ground, touching it with their feet. It was a popular sport in the region known as Gogoal, in which a team of eleven competed against another team of eleven to see who could put the ball in the basket the most.
Spring Clan members and mortals could be seen going in and out of the streets, attending to their matters.
Lisa and Sarina walked, the rays of morning brilliance shining on the cobblestone road.
"As per the list, we need to buy some lamb and pork, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and peppers…" Lisa read the list in her hand.
"That's gonna be quite heavy," Sarina said in turn.
Lisa shrugged her arms. "Well, what can we do? If it's too heavy, let this big sister handle it for you."
Sarina smiled. "I'll count on you then."
A while later, they returned to the house with bags in their hands.
They entered the kitchen, located on the first floor, and started to take out the food they had just bought.
"Keep about two pounds of lamb and throw the rest into the cooler," Lisa commanded.
"Got it."
Sarina took out the majority of the meat, placing it into portions of about one pound each, wrapping it in a leaf, and then placing them into the cooler artifact. It was common for people to store meats and other fresh foods in leaves before placing them into a cooler artifact.
Cooler artifacts had two compartments: one for freezing and one for cooling. Their shape was similar to that of a closet, having two doors for each compartment. Artifacts such as coolers functioned based on mana stones or people's mana.
After storing the food, Sarina and Lisa started to cook a lamb stew for breakfast, accompanied by some toast. Kylina arrived shortly to help the two.
The Matron did not show up as she had gone to the upper floor to attend to the Fang patriarch and company.
Their day started earlier than the young masters', as they had to manage affairs in the Fang hotel business.
Before the food was ready to serve, Sarina and Kylina set out to wake up the young masters who slept on the second floor of the house.
Sarina first decided to wake up the young missy, Lily, the youngest daughter of the Fang patriarch.
Sarina opened the door to find a little girl sleeping soundly on her back.
"Good morning, young missy," Sarina said, pinching her cheek lightly.
Lily slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurry at first, but gradually gaining focus on her surroundings.
"Big sister Sarina!" Lily said joyfully, leaping out of bed to hug Sarina's waist.
Sarina patted her head. "Good morning, young missy. You're as cute as ever. Now, let's get you showered."
"Okay! Also, big sister, did you get the flowers I like?" Lily looked up at Sarina with innocent eyes.
"Hmm, we were planning to patch up the garden a bit. Why don't we go to the floral shop later and pick out what you like?"
"Alright, that sounds like a plan."
"Let's wake up the young master, and then I'll prepare you a hot bath."
"Hehe, okay," Lily said, her face contorting into a mischievous smile.
Entering Jinto's room, Sarina and Lily walked in together. Before Sarina could gently wake Jinto, Lily suddenly jumped onto him.
Sarina gasped in surprise.
Jinto, who had been sound asleep, woke abruptly, his closed eyes flying open. Lily's jump into his stomach caused his legs to jerk upward before slamming back down. Recognizing his attacker, Jinto groaned. "Ouch, Lily! That hurt. I'm going to get you for this one!"
Sarina quickly pulled Lily to her side and apologized. "Sorry, young master. I shouldn't have let this happen." She bowed repeatedly.
Jinto waved dismissively. "No, it's fine."
"Would you like me to dress you, young master?" Sarina asked.
"That's too embarrassing. Please, leave it to me."
"But that would undermine my duties as your servant, young master!" Sarina retorted.
Jinto got up from his bed and patted Sarina's shoulder. "I appreciate it, Sarina, truly, but I can handle this on my own."
Sarina let out a sigh. "If that's what the young master wants... Please let me know if you change your mind. With that said, breakfast will be ready in a few hours. I'll serve you some tea in the meantime."
Jinto couldn't help but feel moved by Sarina's dutiful and unyielding loyalty. This was exactly what Sarina wanted to see. Demonstrating reliability and resoluteness in her tasks was part of her plan. She wanted the Fang family to view her as dependable and capable. Her status was too lowly; among her fellow maids, she was the most junior, having worked the least number of years in the household. With a rise in reputation, her position would inevitably improve, providing her with more opportunities.
Jinto nodded in acknowledgment. Sarina excused herself, holding the young missy's hand.
…
The maids had completed most of their morning duties. Sarina and Lily made their way to the floral shop. Sarina had informed the Matron beforehand that she would accompany the young missy to pick flowers for the garden. The Matron approved and gave her two pieces of mana stones.
At the shop, Lily picked tulips, orchids, roses, and lotuses.
As they neared the house, Sarina exclaimed, "Oh, excuse me, young missy, I seem to have forgotten something."
Lily raised her brow. "Big sister, what did you forget?"
"Nothing too important, young missy. It's a surprise."
"Let me accompany you to the house. I'll arrive shortly, young missy."
Sarina's vague response piqued Lily's interest. "Let's see what this big sister is hiding, then." Lily squinted her eyes in suspicion.
The duo arrived at the house, placing the newly bought flowers in the garden as placeholders. Sarina then excused herself and left.
Sarina went to a bookstore five streets away in the inner heart of the Spring estate and bought two books, some ink, and two quills for a total of two mana stones. On her way back, she bought dumplings from a restaurant, spending an additional mana stone.
As a maid, Sarina had very little free time, with only short breaks here and there, including lunch. If she went out without a proper explanation and the Matron found out, she would be reprimanded. Thus, she used the excuse of buying flowers to purchase what she needed.
Arriving back at the house, Sarina placed the books and supplies in her room before giving the dumplings to the young missy.
"Big sister is the best! So, this was what you were trying to hide, huh?"
"Yes," Sarina nodded. "I wanted to surprise you since you're so cute." She smiled and patted Lily's head.
"But big sister, you didn't have to spend your money…"
"No, it's okay. I did it of my own volition. Just see it as my gift. Well, young missy, I'll have to attend to my duties. Please excuse me."
"Oh, by the way, the Matron asked where you were. I said you forgot something and would come back shortly."
"I see. What did she say in response?"
"She just shook her head and excused herself," Lily replied.
"Thank you for covering for this servant."
"Yup, no problem." Lily gave her a thumbs-up and smiled.
After excusing herself, Sarina, alongside the other maids, changed into outfits appropriate for gardening. They removed the wilting flowers, weeds, and undesirable plants from the garden, then replaced them with the newly bought flowers.
…
Night descended.
Sarina went to find Kylina, carrying the two books in hand.
She found her in the servants' hall—a space where the domestic workers of the household ate and spent their leisure time. The maids rarely retreated to their rooms during the day, as it was considered disrespectful. Private quarters were strictly for sleeping, and staying there during work hours was seen as slacking.
This routine worked to Sarina's advantage. She had only returned a day ago, and her memory of the time period was still fuzzy. Conversing with the maids helped her confirm the current date and events. She had already checked the calendar earlier. The current time was March 21st of the year 9,665,966, according to the Heavenly Calendar—created by the first human, Sirius.
The Heavenly Testament has long been debated by scholars. Some believed it to be a legend, while others argued it was historical truth. This debate had spanned millions of years with no conclusion. The Heavenly Testament depicted a world filled with absurd wonders—magic that seemed to speak, fantastical characters, and unfathomable abilities. These elements made it feel more like fiction than reality. Yet, despite its fantastical nature, the Heavenly Testament showcased the wonders of the world, left profound messages, and contained methods that remained undiscovered even after millions of years. Regardless of its authenticity, historians unanimously agreed on its profound significance.
"Hey, Kylina, I got something for you," Sarina said.
"Hm? What is it?" Kylina asked.
Sarina took out a book, a quill, and a glass container of ink.
"A book? What do I need that for?"
"A kind stranger told me that writing one's thoughts throughout the day helps alleviate stress, regulate mood, and improve the process of dealing with difficult emotions. He insisted on buying me these things. He was too kind and persistent, so I ended up with two." Sarina smiled.
"Uhh, hey Sarina, you've already found a lover, haven't you?" Kylina smirked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Sarina blushed. "Hey! It wasn't like that. Anyways, look."
Sarina opened one of the books. Inside, a page detailed her thoughts during the day's menial labor.
"I think he was right. I do feel a little relaxed, and my mood has improved. You should try it. I got these books for free, so it would be a waste not to use them!" Sarina encouraged.
Kylina skimmed the page. "Maybe I should give it a try. If it's working for you, what's the harm in writing?"
"See?" Sarina said, placing the book, quill, and ink in front of Kylina. "They're all yours."
"Look, why don't you write something down?"
"Okay."
Kylina opened the book, removed the lid from the ink container, dipped the quill, and began to write.
After a couple of minutes, she stopped and said, "This is quite enjoyable. Thank you, Sarina, for the materials."
"Don't worry—it was free, after all," Sarina said with a smile.
Sarina smiled coldly in her heart. This was exactly what she wanted to see. Unbeknownst to Kylina, she had already sealed her fate.