"Good morning everyone. My name is Ellyn Clover, and I start my new job in this Booker Manor." A very cheery young voice of a 30-year old woman could be heard by the guards of the front gate of the Booker Manor.

The two guards looked at each other with confusion. They wouldn't have minded this cheerfulness from a woman who was going to work as a maid since being a maid in a Marquis's manor was like being set for life.

But the person in front of them was dressed in armor. Not to mention, the woman had a hardened face as if she was a seasoned war veteran. To see such a person talking in a cute voice and posing like a little girl really caught the guards... well, off-guard.

"Ahem, do you have a letter of recommendation given by anyone from inside the manor?" One of the guards managed to compose himself before asking.

"Right here..." Ellyn fished out a letter from her pocket and handed it to the guard. The reason she was this cheery was because she was invited to join by her senior, the "Bloody Chirp" Rhys from when they were in the Blood Sparrows Squad. It seems that he has recently taken a job as a personal guard of a young lady. However, the Young Lady in question also requires a female guard to protect her since Senior Rhys was a guy and can't be around places where men weren't allowed.

This was great news for her as she was tired of doing random guard jobs after the squad disbanded. The pay was low, the hours were long and most importantly the customers hired her mostly because they had hoped to employ "other" services from her. It seems there was a huge demand for women with muscles.

Although the letter did mention that there were other applicants and all of them will be tested, Ellyn was not worried. As a former soldier who once bathed in the blood of her enemies, she was fairly confident in her strength. If her squad had not been disgraced by their greedy commander, she could have been a viable candidate to guard even the princess of the kingdom.

"This... You are here for Lady Selena's interview...?" The Guard trembled lightly after reading the letter which confused Ellyn.

"Eh? Yes..." She replied.

"I see..." The guard replied as he looked at the other one, and as if on cue, both of them shuddered as if they were remembering a horrible memory.

"The interview is on the training grounds. Go left from here and take a right after you reached the storage room." The Guard returned the letter to her and pointed to the location.

Ellyn nodded and started walking inside but was interrupted by the soothing voice of the other guard.

"Don't be too sad if you don't get the job. It is a pretty harsh interview."

"Eh?" Ellyn was confused. 'Wasn't this a simple guard job for a child of an aristocrat? Why do these two look like I am about to enter hell or something?'

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head and went to the Training grounds.

-Five minutes later-

"This place is freaking huge...!!" Ellyn exclaimed as she was still walking after a couple of minutes and still had not reached her destination.

"He He He... Looks like this family is loaded. No wonder Senior Rhys took such a simple job of protecting a child of a Marquis." Unlike Adult Aristocrats, their children are considered to be under the direct protection of the Royal Family as the children are the future of the world and this was the Royal family's way of planning for the future. Hence, Arsiocrat children were rarely harmed physically making being a guard for them to be a simple job.

"He He... Once I have stored enough money, I will buy a house, wear fancy dresses and marry me a stud who doesn't love me for my body only." Ellyn started dreaming about the future even before she got the job.

"Oh...!! Is that...?" Ellyn snapped out of her thoughts as the training grounds came into view. It was half the size of a soccer field and had a tall wooden fence around it. Inside the lot were many types of training equipment lying around, but there was not a soul in sight.

"Hmm? Where is everyone?" Ellyn looked around only to see an empty field.

"Ugghhhh..." A female voice suddenly sounded out from Ellyn's side. She turned around to see a woman clad in armor walking towards her. She did not have any visible injuries but was walking with a hunched back while caressing it.

"Urm... Excuse me..." Ellyn called out.

"What? Oh..." The woman lifted her weary head to look at Ellyn.

"Are you here for the interview too?" she asked Ellyn.

"Eh? Em... Yes."

"Run away..."

"Eh?" Ellyn was shocked by the woman's sudden warning.

"The Job is not worth it... That... too scary..." the woman seemed to remember something which triggered her PTSD and she ran away as fast as her weakened body would allow her.

"Eh? W-Wait..." Ellyn tried to call the woman but she simply ignored her and kept running. Ellyn stood on the spot for a minute before deciding to walk towards the direction the woman came from.

After walking for a minute she came across another smaller fenced area with many people in it.

There was a tall curtain raised which blocked the view of the other side of it with a slit for a person to enter and exit which were guarded by two men. On the left side of the remaining area were many women, clad in armor which may be the other applicants. On the other side were guards and servants of both genders discussing something intensely.

"What do you think?"

"Think about what...? It's obvious the result is going to be the same."

"Then why don't you bet on it?"

"Is there even a point?"

"I have an idea... Why don't we bet on how long it will take?"

"That's... a good idea. I bet on two minutes."

"I bet four."

"I bet one. The one currently inside seems a bit weak."

Ellyn was confused by the atmosphere. But before she could process the situation, a guard came to her.

"Are you here for the Guard job?" the guard asked. One should be aware that the job was simply described as looking for a strong female guard for the manor and the only reason Ellyn knew of the true purpose of the interview was because of Rhys's letter.

"Yes..."

"Alright, write your name down along with the letter of recommendation if you have any."

"Eh? Look, is that woman here for it too?"

"She looks strong, I am going to bet on 5 minutes when her turn comes."

"Are you sure? That bulking woman who went in earlier came out in two minutes."

"This..." Ellyn now finally understood everything. The people on the right were betting on how long a person will last in the interview, and after seeing the hunched back woman from before, she calculated that the interview was actually... fighting.

"Ellyn Clover, right?" The Guard read her name and continued, "Do you have any letter of recommendation?"

"Yes..." Ellyn took out Rhys's letter again.

The Guard nodded and picked it up. After observing the envelope for a second, he... tore it up.

"Wh-What are you doing...?!" Ellyn burst out in anger.

"It's ordered from above..." The Guard replied nonchalantly, "...to tear up any recommendation letters. They are not interested in who sent you but your capabilities."

"This..." Ellyn was taken aback by the explanation. 'Wasn't this a simple personal guard job?'

"Move aside...!!" A voice came from behind the curtain and two maids brought out a woman on a stretcher. The woman looked disoriented and seemed to suffer from a concussion.

"It's Senior Rhys...!!" Ellyn gulped at the thought. 'He's the one testing the others...!! Who else other than him could knock out so many applicants without a break?'

"Aww... Two minutes."

"Heh... and you thought she would not last a minute."

Ellyn felt tensed for the first time since she came here. It seems passing the test was not going to be easy. Senior Rhys was obviously stronger than her and it didn't seem like he was holding back. She quickly sat down on a random chair and prepared herself mentally.

"Nervous?" A heavy voice sounded from Ellyn's side. She turned to see a huge woman with manly features. If not for the absence of her adam's apple, she would have mistaken her for a man.

"It's okay to be nervous..." the woman kept talking. Ellyn decided to ignore her as it seemed the woman was extremely confident about her chances to get the job.

"Kara Bullhorn...!!" A Guard from the curtain called out.

"That's me..." The huge woman stood up. She turned to look at Ellyn and smirked.

"You can go home now. This job belongs to me." she declared as she walked towards the curtain.

-Five minutes later-

"Monster... Monster...!!!" the incoherent ramblings of Kara could be heard as she was taken away on a stretcher with the help of five servants. She seemed to have a swelling on her forehead and one of her shoulders was dislocated. Many of the applicants started sweating after seeing the condition of the strongest contender and almost all of them left immediately after. It seems the bar was set too high for it to be worth it.

A bare handful of applicants were left behind who considered themselves to be above the huge woman. Ellyn was also among them. Even though Kara was huge, she was not nimble. Ellyn could take her out with a few skilled moves.

-Another 15 minutes later-

"Ellyn Clover...!!" The guard called out.

Ellyn stood up with determination and walked towards the curtain. The surrounding servants and soldiers looked at her with pity in their eyes. It was like watching a maiden sacrificing herself to a dragon for her village's well being.

"Go on in then..." The Guards made way for her to enter.

Ellyn gulped heavily as she parted the curtains and went through.

On the other side of the Curtain was the remainder of the fenced area. In it, a young lady who was not even eighteen yet was sitting on a chair lazily reading a book. She seemed to be not aware of Ellyn's presence. Behind her was the all too familiar senior of hers, Rhys. He was standing with his hands behind his back and seemed to ignore Ellyn 's familiar gaze. But Ellyn did not mind since recommendations were useless anyway and he was simply doing his job.

"Excuse me..." the voice of Maid Gwen was heard by Ellyn when she turned towards her.

"Please sign this before we begin." Maid Gwen handed a paper and a pen to Ellyn.

"This is..." Ellyn read it and looked at the maid with a puzzled gaze.

"This document simply states that you will not discuss or share with anyone outside, of the events that will happen during this interview. Doing so will be considered a breach of contract and you will be charged with offending an Aristocrat." Maid Gwen explained in a sweet voice the horrible outcome of breaching the contract. She held in her hand the Family Seal which Selena had entrusted to her to prove the legibility of the contract.

"I... Okay." Ellyn simply signed it. She was too tired from today's events anyway to care for it.

"Thank you, please, have a seat." the Maid took the contract and guided Ellyn to her seat which was in front of the lady in the blue dress.

It was only then when Selena closed the book and looked at Ellyn straight in her eyes. It made her flinch out of reflex. The Icy Cold eyes of Selena seemed to stare directly into her soul. She felt that if she even tried to lie, she would be exposed immediately.

"Name...?" Selena asked.

"E-Eh? E-Ellyn... Clover."

"Hmm... How old are you...?"

"Eh? I-I am turning twenty-five this ye----"

"Hmm?"

"Th-Thirty...!! I am Thirty years old...!!" The seasoned war veteran Ellyn stuttered as she quickly revealed her age. The pressure Selena was emanating was no joke. It was no wonder the people came out looking distressed.

"Hmm... Have you come here with any intentions against the Booker Manor?" Selena asked casually.

"E-Eh?! Of course not...!!" Ellyn shouted out. She was taken aback by the sudden question. Who would answer yes to such a question? But somehow, the Lady seemed to believe her.

She got up from her chair and handed the book she was holding to another maid who was present and made her way into a clearing.

"Come..." She beckoned Ellyn who nodded in return and stood opposite of her.

"I hope you realized by now that the test is a duel." Selena said.

"Yes..." Ellyn replied as she looked at Rhys with challenging eyes.

"Good..." Selena replied and with a flick of her wrist, materialized a Rapier out of nowhere. She then stood upright with the Rapier pointing to the ground and said.

"Come at me...!!"

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