- Bridget -

“I don’t know the first thing about being a maid,” I complained as Priscilla pushed the maid dress into my arms.

“I’ll teach you.”

“But why? Where did this even come from?” Having something like this sprung on me first thing in the morning… evening? Needless to say I was pretty confused.

“Lady Stacy’s decision.”

“Oh,” I remembered the conversation we had last night. I’d kind of laid my heart bare to her. How embarrassing. I told her about how I had trouble finding a job in my previous world. Maybe that was why.

I guess I didn’t have much of a choice. I wish she would have asked me before deciding something like this though. I didn’t want to be a maid. More responsibility equals more opportunity to disappoint. I sighed in resignation and took the maid dress. It looked simpler than the white dress at least.

“I trust you can dress yourself, Bridget?” Priscilla asked.

Hm? Didn’t it seem like Priscilla was treating me a little different from usual? “Uhh… What happened to Lady Bridget?” I asked. Before today she would always prepend my name with “Lady” like she did with Stacy.

Priscilla smiled at me. “You’re not a guest any more, you’re a maid. A new maid. I outrank you now.”

She looked way too happy about that.

After I put on the Maid dress Priscilla showed me my first task. She took me to the guest house kitchen. A few maids were already here working with fire-powered stone ovens, stoves, and cauldrons. Some of the maids had bandages around their necks.

Thankfully Priscilla didn’t expect me to cook. She handed me a plate with a slice of bread and pork and a side of veggies, along with a small glass of wine.

“Deliver this to Lady Leslie’s room. You remember where it is, yes?”

Priscilla followed me as I made my way up the stairs, presumably to make sure I didn’t mess up as she wasn’t carrying anything herself. I had to make sure to keep the plate steady so the wine wouldn’t spill.

I stopped in front of Leslie’s room. Since I was holding the plate with both hands I had no idea how I was supposed to open the door. I glanced at Priscilla, but she only looked back at me, making no move to help.

“Umm…” I said. I was going to ask her for help, but I thought better of it. It was clear she expected me to do this by myself, despite standing only a few inches away from me.

I shifted the plate to try and free one of my hands, and the wine glass tumbled onto the ground, spilling red liquid all over the floor.

Blood drained from my face. I looked at Priscilla. She glared at me, then sighed. “We can refill the wine. You still need to deliver the food.”

I nodded and reached for the doorknob.

Priscilla slapped my hand. “Knock,” she scolded.

I knocked on the door.

“Yes?” cooed a sweet voice from the other side.

I didn’t know what to say. I glanced at Priscilla again, but she still didn’t look like she wanted to help. Was she enjoying my suffering?

“Y-your food is ready,” I spouted awkwardly. I looked back to Priscilla, thankfully she didn’t look angry. I must have said the right thing.

“Come in,” Leslie called. I pushed the door open, half expecting her to be violating another maid on her bed.

To my relief she was alone, sitting up in bed.

Was I supposed to take it to her? Or set it on the table? Maybe I should ask her.

“My!” Leslie exclaimed, bringing her hands together. “You make such a cute maid!”

“Leslie—” I started, but Priscilla interrupted.

“Lady Leslie,” she hissed in my ear. “And bow.”

“Lady Leslie,” I said, bowing my head, “do you want to eat in bed or at the table?”

“Oh,” Leslie licked her lips, “I think I want to eat in bed, but you can leave the food on the table.”

I blinked in confusion as I sat the food on the table, then blushed as I realized what she meant.

Priscilla placed a hand on my shoulder, “This too is part of a maid’s duty. Don’t think you can run away like last time.”

Oh shit. Was she mad at me for ditching her last night? I tried to move away, but she tightened her grip on my shoulder.

Leslie got out of bed and stood in front of me. She was wearing nothing but a sheer pink negligee with a heart-shaped hole cut in the back for her tail to stick through.

“Uhh… My blood belongs to Stacy?” I found myself saying that line Stacy told me to say if anyone gave me trouble.

“Lady Stacy.” Priscilla corrected.

“Yeah, My blood belongs to Lady Stacy.”

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, “I don’t need your blood, just relax and enjoy yourself.” She gently blew on my neck, her hands at my waist.

I shivered at the soft sensation. Wait. What was going on? She wasn’t a vampire. She wasn’t going to drink my blood, so what was she going to do? Come to think of it, she obviously wasn’t a vampire. Was she a succubus? Did she want to have sex with me? Wow, how do I get out of this?

I try to push her away. “Uh, Lady Leslie? I’m really not… comfortable with this.”

“Oh? A shame.” She looked disappointed. “Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” She winked at me, then went to sit at the table.

That certainly went better than expected. Thank goodness Leslie was a decent person.

“Is there no wine today?” Leslie asked.

This time Priscilla actually spoke. “We’ll return with your wine momentarily.” She bowed, and we were excused from the room.

“Are you mad at me?” I asked Priscilla on our way to the kitchen.

“Should I be?” She asked.

“Well, I turned Leslie down. Even though you said I shouldn’t run.”

“And you didn’t run. You expressed your feelings like an adult. You’re a servant, not a slave.”

After returning to the kitchen and refilling the wine glass, Priscilla decided to return to Leslie’s room on her own, leaving me in the care of the other maids.

I was washing dishes along with a young girl with short black hair. She couldn’t have been any older than 16, and she had bandages on her neck like some of the other maids I’d seen. A few of the maids were vampires like Priscilla, but this one was clearly human.

“You must be Bridget,” a man’s voice came from behind me.

I jumped in surprise, accidentally dropping the plate that I was drying. It shattered on the ground. I turned around nervously to see Dante looking at me from the doorway.