alpindale/light-novels · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 113k
The man turned a silent glare down into the garden, as if he’d known the boy had been there the whole time, despite the shadows.
A shiver ran down the boy’s spine and he smiled reflexively, delighting in the intense aura of threat the man gave off. It was just a warning, it seemed, as the man abruptly turned on his heel and disappeared.
“Aww, we can’t play together either?” The boy hung his head. “I miss you, Brother.”
It had to be the woman. The beauty. She’d made the boy’s life hell since the day she arrived.
His brother had prohibited him from attending balls like this one. That was fine; he’d sooner avoid them altogether. Still, he’d wanted to meet that girl.
“But we’ll meet soon enough, won’t we?” He spoke to himself in a soft voice. “I’ve got plans for you, Sister.”

(2) chapter number given is likely out of range: 0
Chapter: 8

Chapter 3
Chapter 3

“YOU’RE ALL SO USELESS!” Diana the redheaded maid’s voice rang out inside the stone washhouse.
Three days had passed since the afternoon Rishe shook off her guard and came out to the well. Rishe was once again dressed to fit in with the maids. At Diana’s shout, she looked up without pausing in her work.
“Is even laundry beyond your capabilities? I asked you to wash these this morning, and now it’s past noon! Meanwhile, we’ve finished cleaning the entire first floor in a third of the time!”
“I-I’m sorry, Diana.”
The new maids went silent with shame. Among them was Elsie, the girl Rishe stood up for the other day. Rishe pulled her hands out of the soapy water, gently rinsed them, and said, “Let me help. What still needs to be done?”
“You again?” Diana rounded on Rishe. “I don’t know who you serve, but I’m amazed you have the time to do other people’s work. I wish I had so much free time.”
Huffily, she turned from Rishe. “Let’s just ignore these useless fools. Laura, Maya. Come on. If we want to be chosen as Lady Rishe’s maids, we mustn’t waste our time.”
Diana took out a slip of paper from her pocket, smoothing it out. “It looks like the new bedsheets for her palace will arrive today. We should inspect them to make sure everything is perfect!”
“Wait up, Diana!”
The two maids followed Diana out. Rishe waited for the door to close before turning to Elsie and the others. “Let’s keep working. If there’s anything too large and cumbersome, feel free to pass it over to me.”
“Th-thank you so much!” The new maids went weak with gratitude. One of them, a girl on the verge of tears, even fell into a full bow. Rishe muttered encouragement as she scrubbed some bedsheets.
Elsie, who was washing the sheets with her, wore a rueful look. “I’m so sorry for the trouble. We’re just not learning fast enough.”
“You haven’t been working here long, have you? It takes time to learn a new job, no matter who you are,” Rishe said as she kept scrubbing. “And it’s not like you’ve never washed a single thing in your life before, right?”
Elsie nodded nervously.
Rishe had realized over the past few days doing the laundry that not all the newcomers were complete amateurs. They’d obviously done chores at home, or something similar. When set a specific task, they could perform it properly, but Diana’s complaints weren’t unfounded. They did take far too much time with laundry.
But it’s obvious why. “Do you know anything about Diana?” Rishe asked Elsie. “Like, is she from a well-off family?”
Elsie said, “I heard that her father was a business owner. She worked with him.”
“I heard that as well,” added another maid. “But he fell into debt and had to sell off.”
Rishe stopped scrubbing for a moment to consider this.
“Um, is something the matter?” Elsie asked.
Rishe smiled and shook her head. “No, nothing. Let’s just focus on getting these washed for the time being.”

***

That afternoon, thirty maids were assembled in the detached wing of the palace. Ten of them were old hands, long in service to the royal family, while the other twenty were freshly hired. The crown princess was to choose her maids from among these thirty. They wore their nerves plainly on their sleeves.
“Hey, I thought this palace was in a terrible state of neglect,” one maid whispered. “Why is it so sparkling clean?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” said another. “Someone must have sorted it out before we arrived.”
“I wonder what kind of person Lady Rishe is. Ooh, I’m so nervous.”
The girls looked around anxiously.
“Hey, Elsie, that girl who was always helping us isn’t here.”
Elsie blinked. “You’re right.”
“Look, Diana. That impertinent newbie didn’t get picked.”
At her friend’s observation, Diana preened with satisfaction. “No surprise there. You need some manners to attend to Lady Rishe. I bet she got kicked out of the running!” Her eyes sparkled with confidence.
At last, there was a knock at the door.
“Her Royal Highness, Princess Rishe.”
The maids quickly fell into bows. Diana’s chest ached with anticipation as heels clicked on the floor, approaching the line of girls. From the corner of their eyes, the maids saw a wide-skirted court dress. A gentle scent washed over them.
Without even looking at her, they could tell Crown Princess Rishe was a lovely woman. Diana and her friends swelled with pride that she was to become their mistress.
But then Laura whispered to Diana, “Hey, isn’t this scent familiar?”
“Quiet!” Clearly it was some sort of expensive perfume. Or so Diana thought, but then she realized what it was. The words just slipped out. “It’s soap.”
“Huh? Did you just say something?”
“It’s soap. The same kind we always use.” Diana was sure of it.
The princess said, “Please rise.”
Why did her voice sound so familiar? An incredible foreboding gripping her, Diana looked up. She gasped.
“My name is Rishe Irmgard Weitzner.”
Before her stood the beautiful newcomer—the thorn in her side for the past few days. The smile she wore was peaceful and just the slightest bit satisfied.

***

I’m so glad I managed to finish washing the sheets in time!
Standing before the maids with Arnold’s attendant Oliver at her side, Rishe was panicking on the inside. She’d had so much to do this morning that she’d put off the laundry to the last minute. She took deep, controlled breaths, praying no one would notice that she’d raced here at a dead sprint.
Oliver was none the wiser as he spoke to the assembled girls. Rishe took the opportunity to look them over. She locked eyes with Elsie, who was gaping at her. It was a nice change—usually her face was as blank as a rock wall.
I’m sorry for the deception. I figured blending in would give me the best picture of your working conditions.
The new maids wore similarly shocked expressions, while others watched her with delight. Meanwhile, the veterans, including Diana, had all gone pale. They trembled, stunned into silence. One seemed locked in a terrifying trance, while another looked on the verge of tears. All of them had spoken to Rishe with derision. As the ringleader, Diana was covering her mouth with both hands, like she was holding in a scream.
Oliver had finished his introduction. “Your Highness, if you would?”
Rishe stepped forward. “First, I must apologize to you for what has transpired prior to this meeting. My deception, that is. However, it has granted me insight into how each one of you works.”
Oliver’s face creased in confusion. The newcomer maids began to panic, whispering among themselves.
“Doesn’t this mean that she helped us out with the laundry?”
“We’re going to be fired!”
“If I lose my position, my brother will have to quit school!”
Noticing the commotion, Oliver glanced at Rishe. “Your Highness, two-thirds of these maids are newly recruited from the city. Since the majority of the castle maids were elderly, His Highness assumed you would prefer maids closer in age to yourself.”
Rishe was startled. She had found it odd that most of her potential servants were new hires, but she hadn’t expected this to be the reason.
“While the prince has entrusted the selection of your maids to you,” Oliver went on. “Hiring someone with no experience will not do. Despite Prince Arnold’s views, I urge you to reject the newcomers.”
“Oliver.”
“I have a list of their names here. Elsie—”
“Elsie, Nichole, Hilde, Marguerite, Rosa.” Rishe began listing the names of the newly recruited maids. She’d made a point to memorize them in the washhouse. “Elke, Amelia, and—”
Oliver looked at her wildly. “You know them all?! Even though they’ve never served you in the past?”
“Yes, of course I do. Servants are essential to the maintenance of our lifestyle, why wouldn’t I get to know them?” Rishe listed the remaining names for good measure. “All twenty of you, listen to me.”
The new maids stiffened. Diana and the other maids whose names hadn’t been called were getting their wind back, wearing increasingly triumphant looks.
Rishe said, “The twenty names I just called will be my maids.”
Time seemed to stand still a moment, and then Oliver broke in with an astonished, “B-but, my lady! They are all inexperienced—”
“Yes. And my palace will be the perfect place to learn.”
The new recruits were completely speechless, unsure of exactly what was happening.
Rishe smiled at Elsie. “I hope you’ll serve me well, Elsie.”
Elsie was still frozen in place. “Huh? Y-yes, my lady, but—”
A shaking Diana cried out, “But why, my lady?! You’ve seen their work! They’re useless, the lot of them! The rest of us get so much more done in a shorter amount of time!”
“Watch your tongue, girl,” Oliver said sharply.
Diana ignored him. “We’re hard workers! Any job you assign us, we can do it! Please, I beg you, my lady!”
“Step back,” Oliver warned. “Do not take a single step closer to Lady Rishe.”
Diana spoke in a rush, words pouring out of her. “I-I freely admit that I was impolite before, but I didn’t know who she was! I’ll take any punishment, so please, give me the chance to show you how well I can work!”
Rishe said, “Diana, I have a request.”
“Th-thank you, my lady!” Diana heaved a sigh of relief. “You mean you’ll—”
Rishe cut across her. “As of today, you are no longer a maid in this palace.”
“What?” Her face, usually so fixed with determination, paled. “But why? I’m so much better than any of them! I’ll do a perfect job no matter what task you set before me. Please don’t dismiss me, my lady!”
“Listen to me, Diana.” Rishe dropped her lofty tone, speaking as one woman would to another. “You have noticed it, haven’t you? No matter what you claim, these new girls aren’t worthless.”
“I…I don’t understand.”
“Can you remember your first month in service? How difficult it was?”
Diana looked completely bewildered. Her gaze darted around as if looking for help.

The man turned a silent glare down into the garden, as if he’d known the boy had been there the whole time, despite the shadows.

A shiver ran down the boy’s spine and he smiled reflexively, delighting in the intense aura of threat the man gave off. It was just a warning, it seemed, as the man abruptly turned on his heel and disappeared.

“Aww, we can’t play together either?” The boy hung his head. “I miss you, Brother.”

It had to be the woman. The beauty. She’d made the boy’s life hell since the day she arrived.

His brother had prohibited him from attending balls like this one. That was fine; he’d sooner avoid them altogether. Still, he’d wanted to meet that girl.

“But we’ll meet soon enough, won’t we?” He spoke to himself in a soft voice. “I’ve got plans for you, Sister.”

(2) chapter number given is likely out of range: 0

Chapter: 8

Chapter 3

“YOU’RE ALL SO USELESS!” Diana the redheaded maid’s voice rang out inside the stone washhouse.

Three days had passed since the afternoon Rishe shook off her guard and came out to the well. Rishe was once again dressed to fit in with the maids. At Diana’s shout, she looked up without pausing in her work.

“Is even laundry beyond your capabilities? I asked you to wash these this morning, and now it’s past noon! Meanwhile, we’ve finished cleaning the entire first floor in a third of the time!”

“I-I’m sorry, Diana.”

The new maids went silent with shame. Among them was Elsie, the girl Rishe stood up for the other day. Rishe pulled her hands out of the soapy water, gently rinsed them, and said, “Let me help. What still needs to be done?”

“You again?” Diana rounded on Rishe. “I don’t know who you serve, but I’m amazed you have the time to do other people’s work. I wish I had so much free time.”

Huffily, she turned from Rishe. “Let’s just ignore these useless fools. Laura, Maya. Come on. If we want to be chosen as Lady Rishe’s maids, we mustn’t waste our time.”

Diana took out a slip of paper from her pocket, smoothing it out. “It looks like the new bedsheets for her palace will arrive today. We should inspect them to make sure everything is perfect!”

“Wait up, Diana!”

The two maids followed Diana out. Rishe waited for the door to close before turning to Elsie and the others. “Let’s keep working. If there’s anything too large and cumbersome, feel free to pass it over to me.”

“Th-thank you so much!” The new maids went weak with gratitude. One of them, a girl on the verge of tears, even fell into a full bow. Rishe muttered encouragement as she scrubbed some bedsheets.

Elsie, who was washing the sheets with her, wore a rueful look. “I’m so sorry for the trouble. We’re just not learning fast enough.”

“You haven’t been working here long, have you? It takes time to learn a new job, no matter who you are,” Rishe said as she kept scrubbing. “And it’s not like you’ve never washed a single thing in your life before, right?”

Elsie nodded nervously.

Rishe had realized over the past few days doing the laundry that not all the newcomers were complete amateurs. They’d obviously done chores at home, or something similar. When set a specific task, they could perform it properly, but Diana’s complaints weren’t unfounded. They did take far too much time with laundry.

But it’s obvious why. “Do you know anything about Diana?” Rishe asked Elsie. “Like, is she from a well-off family?”

Elsie said, “I heard that her father was a business owner. She worked with him.”

“I heard that as well,” added another maid. “But he fell into debt and had to sell off.”

Rishe stopped scrubbing for a moment to consider this.

“Um, is something the matter?” Elsie asked.

Rishe smiled and shook her head. “No, nothing. Let’s just focus on getting these washed for the time being.”

***

That afternoon, thirty maids were assembled in the detached wing of the palace. Ten of them were old hands, long in service to the royal family, while the other twenty were freshly hired. The crown princess was to choose her maids from among these thirty. They wore their nerves plainly on their sleeves.

“Hey, I thought this palace was in a terrible state of neglect,” one maid whispered. “Why is it so sparkling clean?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” said another. “Someone must have sorted it out before we arrived.”

“I wonder what kind of person Lady Rishe is. Ooh, I’m so nervous.”

The girls looked around anxiously.

“Hey, Elsie, that girl who was always helping us isn’t here.”

Elsie blinked. “You’re right.”

“Look, Diana. That impertinent newbie didn’t get picked.”

At her friend’s observation, Diana preened with satisfaction. “No surprise there. You need some manners to attend to Lady Rishe. I bet she got kicked out of the running!” Her eyes sparkled with confidence.

At last, there was a knock at the door.

“Her Royal Highness, Princess Rishe.”

The maids quickly fell into bows. Diana’s chest ached with anticipation as heels clicked on the floor, approaching the line of girls. From the corner of their eyes, the maids saw a wide-skirted court dress. A gentle scent washed over them.

Without even looking at her, they could tell Crown Princess Rishe was a lovely woman. Diana and her friends swelled with pride that she was to become their mistress.

But then Laura whispered to Diana, “Hey, isn’t this scent familiar?”

“Quiet!” Clearly it was some sort of expensive perfume. Or so Diana thought, but then she realized what it was. The words just slipped out. “It’s soap.”

“Huh? Did you just say something?”

“It’s soap. The same kind we always use.” Diana was sure of it.

The princess said, “Please rise.”

Why did her voice sound so familiar? An incredible foreboding gripping her, Diana looked up. She gasped.

“My name is Rishe Irmgard Weitzner.”

Before her stood the beautiful newcomer—the thorn in her side for the past few days. The smile she wore was peaceful and just the slightest bit satisfied.

***

I’m so glad I managed to finish washing the sheets in time!

Standing before the maids with Arnold’s attendant Oliver at her side, Rishe was panicking on the inside. She’d had so much to do this morning that she’d put off the laundry to the last minute. She took deep, controlled breaths, praying no one would notice that she’d raced here at a dead sprint.

Oliver was none the wiser as he spoke to the assembled girls. Rishe took the opportunity to look them over. She locked eyes with Elsie, who was gaping at her. It was a nice change—usually her face was as blank as a rock wall.

I’m sorry for the deception. I figured blending in would give me the best picture of your working conditions.

The new maids wore similarly shocked expressions, while others watched her with delight. Meanwhile, the veterans, including Diana, had all gone pale. They trembled, stunned into silence. One seemed locked in a terrifying trance, while another looked on the verge of tears. All of them had spoken to Rishe with derision. As the ringleader, Diana was covering her mouth with both hands, like she was holding in a scream.

Oliver had finished his introduction. “Your Highness, if you would?”

Rishe stepped forward. “First, I must apologize to you for what has transpired prior to this meeting. My deception, that is. However, it has granted me insight into how each one of you works.”

Oliver’s face creased in confusion. The newcomer maids began to panic, whispering among themselves.

“Doesn’t this mean that she helped us out with the laundry?”

“We’re going to be fired!”

“If I lose my position, my brother will have to quit school!”

Noticing the commotion, Oliver glanced at Rishe. “Your Highness, two-thirds of these maids are newly recruited from the city. Since the majority of the castle maids were elderly, His Highness assumed you would prefer maids closer in age to yourself.”

Rishe was startled. She had found it odd that most of her potential servants were new hires, but she hadn’t expected this to be the reason.

“While the prince has entrusted the selection of your maids to you,” Oliver went on. “Hiring someone with no experience will not do. Despite Prince Arnold’s views, I urge you to reject the newcomers.”

“Oliver.”

“I have a list of their names here. Elsie—”

“Elsie, Nichole, Hilde, Marguerite, Rosa.” Rishe began listing the names of the newly recruited maids. She’d made a point to memorize them in the washhouse. “Elke, Amelia, and—”

Oliver looked at her wildly. “You know them all?! Even though they’ve never served you in the past?”

“Yes, of course I do. Servants are essential to the maintenance of our lifestyle, why wouldn’t I get to know them?” Rishe listed the remaining names for good measure. “All twenty of you, listen to me.”

The new maids stiffened. Diana and the other maids whose names hadn’t been called were getting their wind back, wearing increasingly triumphant looks.

Rishe said, “The twenty names I just called will be my maids.”

Time seemed to stand still a moment, and then Oliver broke in with an astonished, “B-but, my lady! They are all inexperienced—”

“Yes. And my palace will be the perfect place to learn.”

The new recruits were completely speechless, unsure of exactly what was happening.

Rishe smiled at Elsie. “I hope you’ll serve me well, Elsie.”

Elsie was still frozen in place. “Huh? Y-yes, my lady, but—”

A shaking Diana cried out, “But why, my lady?! You’ve seen their work! They’re useless, the lot of them! The rest of us get so much more done in a shorter amount of time!”

“Watch your tongue, girl,” Oliver said sharply.

Diana ignored him. “We’re hard workers! Any job you assign us, we can do it! Please, I beg you, my lady!”

“Step back,” Oliver warned. “Do not take a single step closer to Lady Rishe.”

Diana spoke in a rush, words pouring out of her. “I-I freely admit that I was impolite before, but I didn’t know who she was! I’ll take any punishment, so please, give me the chance to show you how well I can work!”

Rishe said, “Diana, I have a request.”

“Th-thank you, my lady!” Diana heaved a sigh of relief. “You mean you’ll—”

Rishe cut across her. “As of today, you are no longer a maid in this palace.”

“What?” Her face, usually so fixed with determination, paled. “But why? I’m so much better than any of them! I’ll do a perfect job no matter what task you set before me. Please don’t dismiss me, my lady!”

“Listen to me, Diana.” Rishe dropped her lofty tone, speaking as one woman would to another. “You have noticed it, haven’t you? No matter what you claim, these new girls aren’t worthless.”

“I…I don’t understand.”

“Can you remember your first month in service? How difficult it was?”

Diana looked completely bewildered. Her gaze darted around as if looking for help.