Chapter 5: "A Clueless Maid"
'I'm sorry I fell for you.'
As if falling down a rabbit hole, strange scenes flash before my eyes. Blurry and in a haste, loud whispers followed along with it.
'Nice to meet you.'
'Welcome to the residence of Marquess Trouvaille!'
'You are worthless.'
'weak!'
'Hurry up, you lowlife!'
Wtf?
'Hey! Happy Birthday, little leaf!'
'So pretty!'
Who are these people?
'Another mouth to feed? We cannot afford it!'
'Forgive me… but we have to close down the orphanage.'
Are these memories?
Dia's memories?
A heavy huge ball of light then swallows me whole.
I squeezed my eyes shut before jolting awake. Covered in cold sweat, I grip my chest as I try to catch my breath. Eyes open wide, I caressed the blanket as my hands trembled.
This is probably just another nightmare. I get nightmares all the time.
And this one is probably by far the worst.
After Lumien had calmed down, he took a shower to try and snap himself back to 'reality'. In the end, he sits in front of the wall mirror, staring blankly at his reflection. In deep thought.
Sigh.
"A nightmare I cannot wake up from." he mutters under his breath.
Letting out another exhausted sigh, he massages his face. While doing so, he notices a shiny object from the corner of his eye. On the desk in front of the wall mirror, lies a fancy-looking gold macaron-shaped object. He cautiously picks it up.
Light as a feather, the object is coated with strange designs and delicate carvings.
"A pocket watch?"
Curious, he opens the pocket watch. A pulsing blue light lies in the center, surrounded by overwhelming mechanics and what seems to be multiple clocks.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
It does not look ordinary. This must be the divine item dream Dia was talking about. So this will track my spirit points, huh. I—
"DIA!!!!"
A loud voice accompanied by the slamming of the door cuts Lumien off from his thoughts. He hurriedly hid the pocket watch inside a drawer.
"Di—" the middle-aged lady paused when she saw Dia's clothes. "What are you doing? Why does your uniform look like that?"
There's nothing wrong with my uniform—is what I would like to say. But I know far too well how unkept and messy it currently is. I don't even know if this white bow is supposed to be in the front or back. Did I even knot it correctly? Is this cloth supposed to be an inner or outer garment? And how odd for this uniform to have a laced necklace.
The lady turns to the piece of clothing lying on the desk. Her face paled.
"H-have you gone mad?"
I wouldn't be surprised if I was.
I notice a silver pin on her uniform's collar. This lady must be the assistant headmaid. She gains her composure and hurriedly forces me to stand up.
"No time to waste, Dia. You are late to your duties…!"
What am I supposed to do?
"Pardon me for asking, but what are my duties?"
The assistant head maid looks at me in disbelief, "You…Are you okay?"
No. No I'm not okay. Not even close.
"Come to think of it, the head maid said you seemed out of it yesterday. Do you need more rest?"
I don't need rest, I need answers!
"No, I just want to know what I need to do."
She thinks for a while before speaking, "Your duty every morning is to clean the garden and water the indoor plants." She then continues to untie my bow and remove my necklace.
"Dia, this is not a necklace. This is to be put on the head."
…
"And this, there is a proper way to knot it. Then position it behind." She teaches as she adjusts the uniform.
…
"If it is okay with you, I need to remove your upper garments…"
This made the confused Lumien take a step back, arms in defense of 'her' chest. "I, I can do it myself."
"Well then, that," she points at the piece of clothing on the desk, "that is an inner garment used to protect and cover your chest."
Lumien's eye twitched.
Well, how was I supposed to know that? They don't teach this at school. I've read books about it, but it's easier to read than done.
The lady continues to help me with which garment is for which and even starts rambling about its history. Garments 1 and 2 are inner garments meant to comfort the body, and garments 3 and 4 are meant to protect and cover the comfort garments. Garment 5 is an extra inner garment worn right before the outer garment which is garment 6. Put on the apron and tie the ribbon at the back with a specific knot, not too tight but not too loose either. Lastly, the head garment.
"Why are there so many garments for women?"
I feel stuffed.
"It's not that much different from the men's uniform. Women just have a few extra garments."
"'few'?"
"The world has standards. Unspoken rules people unintentionally, or even forced to follow. Miscalculated assumptions and reasons lead to wrong priorities."
How did we even reach this topic? I did not expect to talk about social issues here.
She adjusts the final wrinkle of the skirt and straightens her back, "finished."
30 minutes. It took us 30 whole minutes.
"Are we not going to be late?" I asked her.
"The head maid knows about your condition. She personally sent me here to check up on you, so she will understand our reasons."
By reason, do you mean me not knowing how to wear the uniform properly?
"Will she believe us though?"
"Her current mood will decide our fate."
I secretly grabbed the pocket watch and kept it inside my pocket.
We exited the room, and she drags me to the garden. We walked past the headmaid on the way, and surprisingly, she turned a blind eye to our tardiness. After giving basic instructions, the lady leaves me on my own with a broomstick and gardening scissors.
Cut. Cut. Cut.
Lumien hears the sound of cutting from a distance. He looks around and notices a boy servant cutting around a bush of flowers.
The boy continues to obliviously cut the healthy stems and remove the obviously nourished leaves. As he cuts, the plants trembled in terror. Each one bent as if screaming for someone to save them. And luckily, the heavens sent a savior.
Lumien approaches the boy and turns his head to the bush of flowers. His face twists in dismay as he murmurs, "I pity the flowers." The boy hears this and upon seeing her face, he stands up and bows to greet her.
"Good morning Ms. Dia!"
"You're destroying the flowers."
I can't think of anything right now, this boy is terrible at pruning. Is he even pruning or just cutting stems? Dragon's breath!
"b-but I did what you told me to do…" The boy shakes and stutters, "I did exactly as you taught me…!"
"I did not. There is no way I would tell you to… do this."
For magic's sake. Dia, what did you teach this boy?!
"You have to cut the stems at a 45 degree angle. And to maintain its proper growth…"
During the lecture, the boy listens attentively and nods repeatedly. He continues noting down in his notebook which came out of nowhere.
"Your turn, kid."
"Y-yes, Ms. Dia!" he replies with an awkward salute and hurriedly picks up his shovel. I glanced down at his name tag curiously.
'Rome'
I pat his head before leaving and heading to a different area.
I grip the broomstick and start sweeping the dead leaves. Deep in thought on where I should start with this life.
I have about 5 or 6 years before Dia meets her fated end. She's an orphan so even if she disappears, no one will look for her. No wait, there was one. A childhood friend. I forgot his name.
I tried to think but the uncomfortable feeling that someone is staring at me is bothersome. I looked around and found a very familiar face. A lady I know. A very… beautiful lady.
Strangely, I was mesmerized yet scared at the same time.
As a pair of ocean-blue eyes stare right back at me. Staring right into my soul. Curiously.
Dia was so focused on the lady that he didn't notice the neon words that appeared next to him.
'Main Event: My beloved goddess'
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