I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 433

Time passed, and the first day of the festival arrived.

Although there had been a few hiccups along the way, the preparations for the Maid & Butler Café were complete, and its first official day of operation began.

“Welcome, sir. Could you please let me know if you are accompanied by anyone today?”

“…Two people.”

“Understood. In that case, I’ll escort you both to the ‘reception room’ where you can relax.”

“The reception room? Isn’t this just a café...?”

“It is the ‘reception room,’ sir. Tea and refreshments are prepared, so please make yourself comfortable here.”

“Ah, yes...”

Though there were still some minor concerns, the Maid & Butler Café of the Luminor Festival had kicked off smoothly.

The theme of the café was that the guests were being hosted by the maids and butlers in the reception room of a mansion. At first, some guests were confused, not expecting a typical café experience. However, once the staff confidently insisted it was the reception room, most guests began to enjoy the unique concept.

“Yes! Two coffees, correct? I’ll make sure it’s delivered right away!”

• Tap-tap-tap!

“…Wow, who’s that? I didn’t know we had someone like her in the academy.”

“The girl who just took the order? That’s Natalie from the swordsmanship club. She’s pretty well-known in the club for being quite the looker.”

“She doesn’t seem like a noble, does she? Maybe I’ll try my luck with her later.”

“Suit yourself. Personally, I’m more into Saintess Cerista. Doesn’t she seem... a little easygoing? Like she wouldn’t say no to a naughty request or something?”

With the café gathering some of the most attractive and well-known girls from the academy, it wasn’t surprising that a few male customers were discussing the maids in such a way. However, we had a contingency plan for this sort of behavior.

“Honestly, yeah, Saintess Cerista does seem a bit... accommodating. Like, if you begged her, she might reluctantly...”

“…Excuse me, gentlemen. May I have a word?”

“…Huh?”

“……”

“I would appreciate it if you refrained from commenting on the appearances of our estate's servants, gentlemen. While I may not be able to do anything to you, being ‘just a butler,’ I ask that you show some decorum.”

“A-Antonio, the Prince...!”

“…W-We’re sorry!”

The men, who had been whispering among themselves, quickly apologized after exchanging a few words with Prince Antonio and left before their drinks even arrived.

Prince Antonio was adept at subtly threatening others through polite conversation. Though his physical prowess might not rival other men’s, his royal status and right to the throne were enough to intimidate. I had witnessed him calmly reprimanding male students at the Pliana Coast before, and he was performing his role perfectly today as well.

Elsewhere, the café’s team had been distributed efficiently: the hero, skilled in cooking, and Agnes, a fire mage, were managing the kitchen. Thomas, who had some crafting skills, and I were assisting them.

The serving staff included Natalie, Cerista, and Ethan, maintaining a balanced male-to-female ratio.

Antonio, as seen earlier, was patrolling the café, ensuring the overall safety and atmosphere, while Mezzlen, not quite suited for serving, was assigned to the cashier role. After all, no matter how much of a maid café this was, it would be unthinkable to casually command a princess to serve guests.

Seraphine and Luke were busy promoting the café around the festival grounds as part of their student council duties, while Silena, who had struggled the most with the maid role, was...

• Clink, clank.

“….”

“Oh, Silena! We’re running low on coffee cups, so could you please wash some more?”

“…Got it.”

She had been relegated to the endless task of dishwashing.

There was no other option. Silena had been unable to keep up with the maid training, not grasping the concept of interacting with strangers. Until she worked on that part of herself, she couldn’t be trusted to serve or handle the cashier role. Not even as a signboard at the entrance, with that demeanor.

Entrusting cooking to someone like Silena, who had lived in isolation in the World Tree’s Forest, was equally concerning. This role was the only way to make use of her without allowing her to freeload in the group project.

It was a necessary role, after all. While I could have used Clean Magic to speed up the dishwashing, casting Clean Magic for five days straight would have drained my mana by the third day.

‘Maybe by assigning her this tedious task, she’ll develop some initiative.’

Even if she disliked dealing with people, she might prefer something other than just doing dishes all day.

In truth, it was a waste to use someone as valuable as Silena for such a mundane task. She was the only elf in the academy, with her striking and mysterious appearance, so it felt like a missed opportunity not to have her at the forefront.

‘Perhaps by tomorrow, she’ll be asking me to let her try serving.’

Despite the others rotating between serving, cashiering, and kitchen duties, Silena spent the entire day in front of the sink, stubbornly washing dishes.

But her resolve was much stronger than I had anticipated.

? ? ?

Maid & Butler Café, Day Two.

As with most festivals, the busiest days were usually the first and last. This left a bit more breathing room on the intermediate days, where not everyone needed to be fully dedicated to the event.

However, word had spread about the extravagant staff of the Maid & Butler Café, and on the second day, even more customers showed up.

“Ah, hello... Se-Serista... maid...”

“Huh? Oh, here, I’m not a saintess, just a maid, so no need to be formal...”

“Antonio Butler! Please, look over here!”

“Is there something you need?”

“Kyaa~! So handsome!”

While many of the first-day visitors had been curious about what the café was about, by the second day, there were many more ‘regulars,’ coming specifically to see certain people.

It wasn’t often that someone like Antonio or Cerista could be seen dressed as servants, so people were clearly enjoying the novelty.

The titles of “Maid” and “Butler” were nicknames the guests had started using amongst themselves. While the café followed the concept of maids and butlers serving guests, the customers were addressing high-ranking individuals with a playful sense of respect.

Though these titles had initially been reserved for those like Cerista, Antonio, and Ethan, by the afternoon, even commoners like Natalie and Thomas were being addressed as “Maid” and “Butler.”

It was fortunate that everyone was respectful, maintaining the balance without crossing lines. Thanks to Antonio’s efforts the previous day, there had been no incidents of harassment, and the café was running smoothly.

…Even though the café staff, myself included, were now overwhelmed due to the reduced number of people working.

“Agnes! Seven coffees and three teas! As fast as possible, please!”

“…Is that seven with the previous order, or...?”

“It’s an additional order! So in total, it’s ten coffees and five teas!”

“…Sigh.”

“Silena, please wash more coffee cups! I’ll help you!”

“….”

Though we had ten staff members on the first day, we were now down to seven. Natalie, Thomas, and Mezzlen were all taking the day off.

It was the Luminor Festival, after all, so we had planned for everyone to take turns resting and exploring other events. Today just happened to be their turn.

With an ace missing from both the dining hall and kitchen, and Mezzlen absent from the cashier, the workload naturally increased for those remaining.

Agnes was using her fire magic to boil kettles in batches of ten, while Ethan skillfully sliced ingredients with his swordsmanship, all while managing five or six tables’ worth of orders in his head.

I was racing back and forth between the kitchen and the hall, using Clean Magic to handle the dishes, feeling the absence of Natalie and Thomas acutely.

‘It’s the right decision in terms of the story, but...’

If today is this busy, I can only imagine how chaotic the next two days will be.

As I moved the freshly made tea and coffee out of the kitchen, I suddenly heard a sharp scream.

“Kyaaah!”

“…?!”

Startled, I nearly dropped the tray I was holding.

Relieved that the scream hadn’t come from one of the staff, I headed towards the sound. But when I saw who it was, my heart began to race for a different reason.

‘…No way.’

Standing there, with a stain of tea on her dress, was a young woman with a troubled expression, and in front of her, looking equally apologetic, was Ethan.

The stain was something I could easily remove with Clean Magic. The problem was that the one it had spilled on was a character I knew all too well.

‘...Princess Rainey.’

It was my first meeting with Princess Rainey, the royal exchange student from the Kingdom of Dephrin.