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In a possible future, in a world not unlike our own, there exists a single kingdom as the dominant and only power. An ethereal realm with castles and cities made of gemstones and technology so great it was indiscernible from the magic they also used in everyday life. A land where humanity had advanced so far that to live in comfort and excess was the standard, and a life of hard labor was a rarity. This place was known as the Kingdom of Celene.
To be a worker in this kingdom was supposedly seen as a mark of honor. They were the 1% who slaved their lives away so the wealthy 99% could prosper. Alas, to be a “worker” was not a simple choice but a burden granted at birth. Grand worker families spread their branches across the domain. To be born in one meant a life of hard work and labor, no matter your own desires.
However, their best and brightest were chosen for the highest of honors, to act as the personal servants for the eternal royal family that ruled this kingdom. Among the best, one family stood above them all, the Diane family. For generations, the Diane held the grandest honor of being the only ones allowed to attend the Queen and her daughters. However, such an exclusive honor can create odd results in exceptional circumstances. One such abnormality greatly influenced the life of young Serena Diane. Pulled from her simple life as a low noble to directly serving the Queen’s youngest daughter, Serena’s destiny has been taken out of her own hands, and that’s the least of her worries…
Previously on Maid in Fantasy, a simple tour and inspection of the newest Multiversal Power Stationtm by the princesses turned into a hostage situation when the facility was attacked by a group of extremists who seemingly came to capture the princesses and ransom them off for money. However, a traitor from within the station and an invincible metallic monster disguised as a man complicated this situation and revealed a deeper motive.
While Serena and friends successfully defeated the extremists, the traitor and one of the extremists escaped. Worse yet, the attack on the station may have been nothing more than a diversion, as something from the New Celene Palace itself was stolen during the attack. In addition, despite the palace’s (read: Lady Aphros’s) best efforts, photos of the incident were leaked online, much to the shock of the nobility, and the reporter who took the photos because he didn’t even have them anymore.
Now, with potential enemies in every shadow and countless political headaches coming from every direction, what can the high nobles and workers of the palace do now? Why make a TV appearance, of course…
The royal palace of the city of New Celene was rather untranquil today (if it ever was tranquil in the first place). The recent attempt on the princesses’ lives and the following media frenzy when the event was leaked to the press had left everyone on edge. But more importantly, a certain trio of servants was in trouble for defying established regulations and standard orders. Perhaps the greatest affront to good sense the palace had seen all day.
Serena, Orion, and Caenia stood off to the side in the same meeting room Serena had been briefed in before the power station incident. They waited with steady breath for the punishment…that would not be given to them because they actually did their jobs. Instead, Jace, Medy, and Penelo were lined up in a strict formation, and Lady Aré, Aphros, and Ze gave them a major dressing down (at least the former and latter were).
“…Regardless of positive outcomes, you three still acted short-sighted and reckless,” Ze scolded. “You should thank your lucky stars that the situation worked out in your favor, or you’d all be dead or worse.”
“Not just them, the princesses, their fellow workers, everyone who worked at the power station, and even members of the press in the worst-case scenario,” Aré added. “I have no idea what possessed you three to intervene. Tell me, what part of your training urged you to race into a dangerous situation with no information and no backup?”
The three servants in the hot seat held their tongues. Jace looked like he was about to die of embarrassment on the spot. Medy shifted her gaze back and forth, trying to figure out how she could take credit for their success while still blaming someone else for the idea (even though it was hers). Penelo wasn’t even listening and was more enraptured by an oddly shaped dent in the wall.
“Are you three listening to me!” Aré shouted, getting all three’s attention (well, half of Penelo’s at least).
“Aré, Aré,” Lady Aphros stepped in. “I know they technically acted out of line, and things could have gone horribly wrong, but they didn’t, and those three succeeded despite that high chance for failure. I think that’s worthy of praise on its own.”
“Aphros, we do not reward insubordination!” Aré snapped.
“You’re right, we don’t, but we do reward success,” Aphros suggested. “So, I say, both a punishment and reward are in order.” Aré raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but Ze nodded in interest. While it was hard to tell exactly what the latter was thinking behind her helmet, she began to radiate a certain understanding that made her opinion relatively clear.
“I agree with Aphros, it would be a shame to let their talents go to waste,” Ze put her hand on Aré’s shoulder.
“You’re only saying that because you want to train that Penelo girl,” Aré muttered back, causing Ze to briefly flinch.
“Right,” Aphros didn’t miss a beat as she turned to the three workers. “As I was saying, both a punishment and praise are in order, and considering how things had been going recently, I know exactly what to do.”
‘Praise my ass,’ Jace could read between the lines, ‘she’s going to give us some shit job nobody wants, but everyone praises to high hell as if it’s some noble sacrifice. But considering Penelo already cleans the toilets, what could they possibly make us do?’
‘Oh, my goshness, praise and a reward? I bet I’m getting a huge raise,’ Medy fantasized. ‘Maybe I can finally afford those premium snacks, oh, and that sapphire necklace I’ve been eying, and those boots, and that blouse, and that fancy staff with the jewel tip and…’ The maid had quickly forgotten the punishment part of the deal.
‘Did I leave the curling iron on? Wait, I don’t own a curling iron,’ Penelo was lost in her own little world.
“From now on, you three will be assigned to the first, second, and third princesses as their secondary servant,” Aphros revealed. “Jace, you will act as Orion’s subordinate in taking care of Princess Atlanta. Penelo, you’ll be Caenia’s number 2 in protecting the second princess. And lastly, Medy, you’ll be Serena’s understudy in wrangl…I mean caring for Princess Irene. Any questions?”
‘What?’ ‘Damn it!’ ‘Yes, the not annoying one.’ Orion, Serena, and Caenia thought respectively.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ Jace’s mouth was agape. ‘Wait, I get it, it’s a reward because we’re closer to the job we’ve always wanted, but now we’re second bananas to people we hate. Except for Penelo, she just got a reward. Unless taking care of the second princess sucks…and considering the other two…’
‘Perfect, I can steal that raven-haired witch’s job right from under her,’ Medy grinned evilly. ‘And then…Hmm, well I’ll figure that out later.’
“Yay, I get to hang out with Caenia!” Penelo jumped for joy.
‘Punishment, huh?’ Aré shook her head. ‘Whatever, I gave up trying to punish Penelo after she thanked me for the privilege of cleaning my toilet.’
“Lady Aphros, I don’t wish to speak out of turn,” Serena began.
“Go ahead, floor’s open for questions,” Aphros bounced towards Serena.
“I thought you said only Diane workers could attend the royal family?” The raven-haired maid recalled.
“Well, desperate times and all that,” Aphros assured. “But technically, these three will be working for you three, not the princesses. So, no problem.”
‘She forgot that the only workers who can directly serve the royal family are the Diane, didn’t she?’ thought everyone else in the room except for Penelo.
“Why’s everyone looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?” Aphros cocked her head.
“I’ll discuss this loophole with Her Majesty later,” Aré sighed. “For now, this will stand as an acceptable punishment. As for you,” the noble pointed at Serena, “I need to speak to you privately, but not right now.”
‘What’d I do this time?’ Serena was taken aback.
“Wait, what’s happening now?” Ze asked her fellow noble.
“Why, the best part of the job, of course,” Aphros cut in. Aré looked at her like she was insane, which told Serena everything she needed to know. “Serena, you come to, they’ll probably want to see you as well. You’re famous, don’t you know?”
“I’m sorry, what-?” Serena didn’t get a chance to finish her question before being dragged off by the blonde noble.
*Camera pans over a wide shot of the New Celene Palace, followed by a colorful scene transition and cutting to an overhead shot of a large TV studio within the palace set up for an interview. Lady Aphros and Aré are sitting next to each other on a pair of velvet chairs while a green-haired woman with a crown of feathers sits across from them in an ornate wooden chair. Serena stands off to Aré’s side, her head down and her hands joined at her front, trying her best to be invisible. Cheery music plays as a title card rolls across the screen announcing the start of Phantom TV’s “Tomorrow” show with Pezzile Chrysus*
Pezzile: Good morning, New Celene! And welcome to your daily view into Tomorrow! I’m your host, Pezzile Chrysus, and for one day only, we’re coming to you live from the Royal New Celene Palace itself!
*Crowd Cheers Sound Effect*
Pezzile: Joining me again today, you know her, you love her, it’s the First of the High Council, Lady Aphros Juno Bacchus! And for the first time in a long while, our pious Head of Faith, Lady Aré Apollo Vulcan!
*Crowd Cheers Sound Effect*
Pezzile: Thank you again, Ladies, for agreeing to this interview and for graciously allowing us to conduct it in the palace. It’s such a rare honor to get this close to the heart of our kingdom.
Aphros: It’s the least we could offer, Pezzile. The people have a right to know, and who better to tell them than you?
Pezzile: Flattery will get you everywhere. *Pezzile and the crowd laugh* Let’s cut right to the heart of the issue, tell me, Lady Aphros, this recent incident at the Multiversal Power Stationtm has rocked public interest and is the most talked about subject on the streets, TV, and the internet. What do you have to say about it?
Aphros: I assure you, Pezzile, all those directly responsible for the incident have been brought to justice, and any potential remaining accomplices are being tracked down as we speak. We do not tolerate such malevolent and violent actions in our kingdom.
Pezzile: And what about you, Lady Aré, do you have anything to add?
Aré: With those responsible apprehended, my thoughts have turned to the princesses. They have been directly targeted by malicious third parties twice in the past year. I worry about their well-being and the chance that someone else may attempt such an offensive action against them again. And beyond that, I fear for any innocents who are caught in the crossfire of such a scenario.
*Serena tries desperately to maintain a straight face. A struggle Pezzile notices, but does not bring attention to*
Pezzile: That’s all well and good, Ladies, but that doesn’t explain why this incident was only revealed to the public through what was clearly a leak. That photographer who broke the story still insists that he didn’t publish anything, but the story and photos were released under his name and by his organization — The Velvet Chamber, wasn’t it? — Is he perhaps a fall guy, or is he trying to cover for his own mistakes?
Aphros: That has a simple explanation. We had already reached an understanding with the photographer, but it seems his pictures were released early through what was likely a miscommunication[1].
Pezzile: If you say so, but let’s move on to what the people really want to know, those heroes who saved the princesses again! Serena and Orion Diane are already quite well known for preventing Irene’s assassination at the end of last year. Both were involved in saving the Fire Moon Festival when it literally went up in flames a little over a month ago. And Serena even defeated you, Lady Aré, in that hotcake baking competition before that.
*The last statement prompts a fiery glare from Aré, Pezzile coughs and wisely moves onto a different subject*
Pezzile: Um, oh yes, Serena and Orion were also named heroes in that science demonstration gone wrong from earlier in the year. Caenia’s reputation speaks for itself, even if she was on a sabbatical of some sort for half a year. That Penelo girl has been described to me as the rising star of the Gataki, for whatever that’s worth. Jace Regas is the son of the head of the entire Regas family, and, lastly, Medy Regas has apparently been one of their top students for years, and her father was… someone of note, ahem. But anyone with an internet connection knows all that, we want to know them all personally. How about you bring them over, and we can start interviewing them, too?
Aphros: Of course—!
*Aré cuts in front of Aphros*
Aré: Public relations is not exactly in their job description. The fine details of their jobs remain subject to a certain amount of classification, and as royal workers, they have a right to a sizable degree of privacy.
Pezzile: But isn’t that Serena Diane standing right behind you?
Aré: No.
*Aré stands up abruptly, grabs Serena, and drags the confused maid off camera in a huff. Aphros starts signaling to the cameraman to cut to commercial*
After being dragged what felt like halfway across the palace, Serena was finally brought to a stop in some innocuous dressing room. The maid began to wonder how many of these random side rooms the palace actually had, and she figured the answer would probably disappoint and terrify her.
“Lady Aré, if you don’t mind me asking,” Serena dusted herself off.
“I do, but ask away,” Aré shrugged as she began to root through one of the shoe closets. Why this dressing room had multiple shoe closets was beyond Serena, but she assumed it was Aphros’s fault.
“What was that about?” The maid exclaimed.
“I don’t agree with Aphros’s desire to capitalize on your sudden fame,” the dark-red-haired noble explained. “You’re a maid, not some young celebrity on a trashy show. Your job, your duty, is to be there, but unseen. A part of the background that moves. It is your greatest strength, and making a spectacle of you takes that away. I had hoped she would just have you there as a brief appearance to appease the public, not as the center of an interview. Besides, public relations is our job.”
‘I’d make a sarcastic comment about her being elitist, but…’ Serena considered. “Thank you,” the raven-haired girl said genuinely. The simple phrase caused Aré to pause before snapping her attention to the maid, almost as if the small display of gratitude were a world-shattering shock.
“You’re welcome,” Aré said before turning back to the closet.
‘I for one could do without the attention,’ Serena admitted to herself. ‘It’s starting to get a little suffocating having my face all over the news. I haven’t had the courage to even consider leaving the palace, not that I’ve had the chance to. As for the other elephant in the room…’
“Lady Aré, regarding what happened a week and a half ago,” Serena mustered up the courage to say.
“Did something happen?” Aré glanced back. She wasn’t annoyed or even aggressive, but there was an ambiguous glint in her eyes.
“Are we really going to dance around the topic?” The maid asked.
“What topic?” Aré deflected the question.
‘I guess we are,’ Serena sighed. ‘First, she avoids me, now she takes me alone somewhere and doesn’t even get angry when I try to bring that day up. I’m stepping on a conversational landmine — on purpose, no less! — and it’s not going off, what the heck is happening? I yelled in her face and compared her to Aphros of all people, she should be seeking revenge on me, or at least be pissed.’
“Finally found it,” Aré proclaimed as she righted her posture, but had yet to turn around. “With the increased threats to the palace and the royal family, I believe it is time to ramp up my hand in your training. Ze’s occasional lessons will not be enough, from now on, you’ll always be training with these.” The noble turned around to reveal a pair of black high heels fit for a maid. Serena stared for a good half-minute, taking in the scene.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the gimmick?” Serena was left more confused than before.
“These shoes, so elegantly named the ‘heels of doom’ by Aphros, are specially crafted footwear,” Aré explained. “While they look like a normal pair, they actually weigh 10 kilograms each. While wearing these, you will be forced to abandon your more reckless behavior and make every movement with care. In addition, it’ll strengthen your whole body as it is technically weight training.”
“And who came up with this?” Serena pulled back in concern.
“It was a collaboration between Lady Aphros and Lady Ze. They both suggested it to me as an ideal training method for you,” Aré explained. “Once you’ve grown used to wearing these, I’ll move you up to the real ‘heels of doom’ that weigh 20 kilograms each.”
‘Sounds like something those two would come up with if they worked together. Exercise in style and all that,’ Serena groaned, ‘but why me? Why am I the guinea pig? And why is Aré taking Aphros’s advice?’
“Don’t give me that look,” Aré scoffed. “I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t about rivalries or grudges, it’s about your need for improvement. Reducing your recklessness and increasing your grace. I know about your habit of always taking the riskiest option in a fight, that sort of strategy sounds all well and good until it gets you maimed or killed. And I refuse to let that…ahem, I won’t allow you to make that mistake.”
‘Did she just?’ Serena noted Aré’s brief moment of accidental transparency.
“I said don’t look at me like that,” Aré glared, “instead, thank your lucky stars that you don’t have to wear the full ‘maid outfit of doom’ like Caenia. It weighs 120 kilos total.”
“Noted,” Serena replied as she took the pair of heels from the noble. ‘What am I even doing? These things weigh…well, actually, by my new, twisted standards, it’s not that much. Twenty kilos in hand doesn’t feel like that much when you’ve literally carried a princess’s entire closet. But having that weight tied to my ankles all day might change my feelings.’
The maid carefully took off her work shoes and tried on the heels with more than a little trepidation and inexperience. The raven-haired girl had never worn proper high heels before (except that one time when she tried on her mom’s in secret and then fell on her face and promised not to tell another soul…or there was that time in middle school, but the less said about that phase the better), and it didn’t help that this pair literally weighed more than one of her legs. After struggling with the strap (which was also needlessly heavy) for five minutes, Serena finally got the heels on. She couldn’t tell whether they were ill-fitting or if it was just the weight, but they were incredibly uncomfortable. And not just in the “heels are uncomfortable” sense, but also in the “squeezing your foot into a shoe two sizes too small” sense.
“Lady Aré, are you certain these are the right size?” Serena chaffed with these new heavy weights tied to her ankles.
“Of course, Lady Aphros already had your shoe size and had these made a short while ago,” Aré explained. “Then she threw them into this closet and forgot about them until she told me about them this morning.”
‘I wonder if a short while was actually ‘she looked up my shoe size from three years ago’, or she just wrote the numbers down wrong, it could easily be both,’ Serena winced.
“What are you waiting for? If you don’t start walking, you’ll never get used to them,” Aré urged the maid.
“Okay, I’ll try my best,” Serena took a deep breath and tried to take a few careful steps. Unfortunately for the maid, high heels, plus being off-balance, plus discomfort, plus weights around your ankles equals an immediate faceplant. Serena silently wished she had learned to walk in heels before being forced to do it on expert difficulty, but live and learn and hurt yourself (that’s how the saying goes, right?).
“That felt embarrassing just to watch,” Aré shook her head. “What’s your problem? Have you never walked in heels before?”
“Not really, no,” Serena admitted as she struggled to get off the floor, but her center of gravity was so eschewed that it was proving immensely difficult. She felt like a toddler learning to take her first steps. “I’ve worn heels before, but I’ve never successfully walked in them, not once.”
“Fine, if that’s the case, then I’ll just teach you,” Aré held out her hand, “now get up...”
“Yeah, sure, we’ll just…” Serena took the noble’s hand and was pulled to her feet, but still noticed something. ‘Wait, why did she mutter the last bit? I couldn’t hear the rest of what she said.’
“Alright, since we’re starting from zero, we’re going to take this slowly,” Aré explained, “we’ll start with adjusting your posture and move up from there. One foot in front of the other, heel-toe, heel-toe, and all that.”
“Okay, I follow your lead, Lady Aré,” Serena nodded as the noble took a hands-on approach with teaching her. But unlike with someone like Aphros, Serena didn’t feel that uncomfortable. The problem with Aphros was that she didn’t seem to grasp the concept of personal space and the fact that people don’t like you grabbing and groping their everything. Aré, meanwhile, was much more professional, like a dignified teacher or a firm parent. Serena found it nice to finally have someone respect her boundaries, and was immediately horrified that it had become a rarity.
It was a surprisingly tender moment for the two of them. To Serena, it felt less like her boss was instructing her and more like when her mother used to teach her things. The maid had scoffed during the interview earlier, but it seems Lady Aré really did have a softer side. Serena allowed herself to become lost in the moment, and the two shared a brief but genuine connection. And for the first and only time since she came to the palace, the raven-haired girl didn’t feel out of place, annoyed, or terrified. Instead, she felt like she was home again. She felt like she belonged. It was bittersweet.
To be Continued…
>>>~~~~<<<
Public relations is the bedrock of trust, if you can't communicate with the public, you can't get your message out there, defend yourself of explain your problems or successes. Like it or not, few things are as important as public perception.
Author's Note: Well it's certainly been a minute since I uploaded a part of the main story to Maid in Fantasy. Last time was September of last year, or July if you don't count the end of volume epilogue short. I apologize, I've just been real-life busy since summer of last year, things change, work schedules adjust, responsibilities grow, those sorts of things.
As for the story itself, another reason this took so long was me reworking a lot of stuff in the background. What was supposed to be the next volume after this one was pushed back because I felt it was dumping too much story at once, so I decided to spread out some of its elements. This lead to the creation of this volume and the next one (well this volume was always going to exist, but I added to it or rearranged quite a bit).
This chapter has been a stumbling block for me as I rewrote the outline multiple times. It was originally one chapter, then I split it into two paired chapters, then I merged those back into one, cutting out some plot points, and now we're back here with only posting the first half. That plus the number of times I started and stopped writing this thing made the whole process balloon out of control (plus I was working on "Free Will Is Overrated" at the same time).
Hopefully now I'm back in the groove and can post more chapters much more quickly. As for specific details about the story contents that will be saved for when the next part comes out next week. Yes, not in two weeks, next week. So look forward to that, and hopefully another entry in "Free Will Is Overrated" in the upcoming weeks/months.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
