[Vol. 7] Chapter 213: The Maid Who’s Been Targeted
“Good girl, you must always behave and listen, okay? Only those who are obedient can receive Princess Carinvega’s love and attention. You understand that, right~?”
Although the [Nightmare]'s control was already strong, the key to strengthening that control and helping the [Dream Seed] grow was to grab hold of the deepest desire in the target’s heart. Forcing things without care would only waste time and effort.
Sure enough, after hearing those words, Noelle, still in her dream state, smiled happily for the first time. Her face became even more relaxed, like she was floating in the clouds, calm and at peace.
“Noelle understands, meow meow... For the Princess... I will be a good girl, meow…”
Nodding with satisfaction, Orluk knew that the words she had just spoken were now deeply engraved in Noelle’s heart, and would be followed completely. This was another kind of power from the [Nightmare], something she had personally tested many times in the past few weeks.
Even if the [Dream Seed] wasn’t currently active, as long as she gave strong enough suggestions during the dream, the person would naturally follow those commands after waking up. The only condition was that the command couldn’t be too strange or completely against the target’s values, or they might start to notice something was wrong.
As long as she stayed within that basic line, if the [Dream Seed]’s influence had gone deep enough, even tricks like making someone believe a person who has already left is still around, or mixing false dreams into real-world senses could be done easily.
That meant she could partly mix the fake dream created by [Nightmare] into the person’s real-world perception. This was a deeper, more advanced use of the [Dream Seed]. At the moment, only Noelle, who had been implanted with the seed the longest and was under the deepest control, could reach that level.
But Orluk wasn’t the type to get carried away by how amazing this power seemed. So far, she had always used it very carefully and kept the effects small, making sure no one would notice. Sainz was not like other places, if anything happened that affected Princess Carinvega, it would ruin everything she had worked for.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, a voice suddenly rang out in her mind. It sounded like her own voice, but slightly different, twisted, with a strange tone. It was like a slight variation of her voice when using her [Nightmare] power.
[Going out now? Is your body really strong enough for that?]
Orluk instinctively curled her lips, she knew that it was [Nightmare], who had already merged with her, speaking to her.
Although this thing had secretly slipped into her body and half-coaxed, half-forced her into working with it, maybe because its way of thinking also came from Orluk herself, the two of them actually got along pretty well. Except for a few important secrets, [Nightmare] usually told her everything and carefully taught her how to use the power of [Nightmare], so in truth, Orluk didn’t really hate this “inner demon” living inside her.
Of course… that didn’t mean she liked it either.
Unlike before, Orluk had now become much better at using mental abilities. She calmly replied in her mind.
“Aren’t you all already getting ready to move? After taking so many benefits, I have to show my appreciation as soon as possible. I’ve already checked things out these past few days, the girl you mentioned has two maids with her, and one of them will be going out alone today. That makes her the perfect target for turning into our eyes.”
“And really, I’m not so sick that I have to stay in bed. I pretended to be sick and asked the Princess to send someone else in my place today, just so I could go out alone.”
[Nightmare] stayed quiet for a moment, seeming a little helpless.
[Alright, alright. It’s rare for you to be so active, I’d be ruining the mood if I said anything more. But still, I need to remind you, the people around that girl are backed by a very powerful force. That means they won’t be easy to deal with either, so you must be extra careful when using the power.]
“I know. After all, we’re talking about that honorary professor, right?”
After giving a short reply, Orluk didn’t waste any more time. She used a disguise spell to change her appearance a little, then left the hotel through the window.
A while later, the catgirl who had been standing there blankly finally opened her eyes. Her dull, confused vertical pupils glanced over to the slightly open window. Bit by bit, the light of awareness returned to her eyes.
“Huh? I just… um, when did the window get opened? Orluk, did you see...oh, she's asleep? Oh well, I guess I’ll just let her rest.”
Mumbling to herself, Noelle tiptoed over to the window and gently closed it. She naturally ignored the now completely empty hospital bed. Then she returned to her desk, took out her magic book, and began reading it in a relaxed mood.
…………………………………
Mia felt like she had been a little too free lately.
Ever since Lady Violet and the two young ladies came to Sainz and became her and Selna’s new masters, Mia who saw serving Lady Violet as her life’s purpose had been full of energy every single day. She always tried to show her very best, offering the most perfect maid service she could to her noble master.
Lady Violet was without a doubt the most amazing master in the world.
She often praised the maids for even the smallest, most ordinary tasks. Even when Mia thought she had done something poorly and took the blame herself, that kind and gentle lady would only smile and say things like, “Oh, you’re being too hard on yourself! Little mistakes are part of being human. Maids aren’t machines or tools, they can’t be ready every second of the day and react instantly to everything. It’s not your fault~”
That only made Mia and Selna feel even more ashamed.
To be honest, Mia believed that a maid was just like a tool in the hands of her master. Miss Yulia often taught them that only maids who could meet any demand without question and respond to orders immediately were truly qualified to be called elite maids. Mistakes and excuses were just signs of weakness.
And Mia agreed with that completely.
Cooking and cleaning were just the most basic parts of being a maid. Over the past few years, she and Selna had studied the “elite maid curriculum” in Sainz, which covered far more than most people would expect. The goal was to become truly “all-purpose” in their service.
To become the hands and feet that their master could fully rely on, a maid needed to be ready for anything. Beyond the basics, they had to learn social manners, conversation skills, how to ensure their master’s survival in dangerous situations, and even how to protect them, go undercover, carry out assassinations, or gather information. In some extreme cases, they were also trained to offer their bodies if that’s what the master needed. All of this was part of elite maid training.
To serve a great master like that, one had to be prepared to go to that level.
But Lady Violet was just too kind. Even though she kept saying Lady Violet could order her and Selna around as much as she liked, so far she had only given them small, easy tasks, things Mia could’ve done even back when she was a regular maid working for humans in the Human United Kingdom.
As a result, after finishing everything at their “normal speed,” she and Selna ended up having nothing to do for most of the day.