Hiring a Maid (This Kitty Will Always Celebrate Children's Day)

For Li Wei, becoming the police's special investigative consultant had brought quite a few hidden benefits, even if he had received no pay.

And those were precisely what Li Wei had his eye on.

Civil servants earned fixed salaries, so why were so many people eager to become one?

Wasn't it because of all those hidden perks?

Take the Telephone, for example. People in modern society who were used to getting SIM cards probably had no idea how difficult it was to have a Telephone installed. It wasn't something you could get just because you wanted one. Even if you were fabulously wealthy, you still had to grovel before the Communications Authority-and even then, whether they processed your application depended on their mood.

There were no complaints or reporting channels in this era. Even a petty clerk at the Communications Authority could jerk a rich man around for an entire year!

Ask why, and they'd tell you that you didn't qualify, hadn't followed the proper procedure, or had filled out the forms incorrectly!

Never underestimate the Empire's bureaucracy.

Li Wei had only gotten the Communications Authority to install his Telephone so quickly by riding the momentum of the Courtesan Killer case, along with instructions from the city council. Otherwise, following the normal procedures could easily have taken six months or a year.

Precisely because a Telephone was so difficult to get installed, all you had to do was hand someone a business card when you met them and say, "This is my private telephone number," and they would instantly see you in a different light. It was an understated yet extravagant way of flaunting your power, influence, and connections. Even the wealthiest merchant would feel inferior in front of you. If the other person had no Telephone, they would be too embarrassed to mention communicating by telegram or post.

Incidentally, the Communications Authority wasn't actually all that busy, but no competent civil servant would volunteer to increase their own workload.

And another thing: since it was an official Telephone, the Police Station reimbursed the communication charges.

Besides that, there was another hidden perk... firearms and ammunition!

Guns were also strictly controlled in this era. Most people were not allowed to carry one without a firearms permit, and anyone caught doing so would be detained. Strictly speaking, Li Wei had therefore been carrying a gun illegally, too. People generally turned a blind eye to such things, though. Otherwise, on the very night he first arrived in this world, he wouldn't have been able to go home-he would have spent it at the station instead.

Now, however, with the special consultant credentials issued by the Police Station, carrying a gun was no longer a problem for Li Wei. He could even submit a requisition at the Police Station to receive ammunition. Fortunately, his revolver used .455 rounds, which were widely used by the Empire's military and police and were easy to obtain.

Moreover, most departments in the Empire were headed by the royal family and the government. Joining the establishment through this job would bring Li Wei plenty of benefits in its own right.

In this world's Empire, capitalists had not gained political power with the arrival of the industrial and information revolutions. In the eyes of the imperial people, only landowning nobles had the motivation to protect their territories and their country; capitalists could not be trusted. If those capitalists wanted preferential treatment and political power, they had only one option: marry into the nobility and inherit noble lands and titles. Only then would they qualify to enter parliament and offer opinions and proposals on national affairs.

Ordinary merchants? They could go make themselves useful somewhere else.

Li Wei quite agreed with that and thought the Empire's reasoning was sound.

Landowning nobles would put their hearts into protecting their own land and the Empire's. Why would capitalists who worshipped whoever fed them and would do anything for money care about any of that?

History had also proven the Empire's choice correct. Rather than crushing those emerging capitalists outright, it gave them a path upward and bound their interests firmly to those of the nobility, forcing them to serve the Empire. Not only that, but the capitalists who were first to marry into noble families and inherit noble status would even turn around and actively help the nobles suppress their former peers to reduce their own competition...

This also kept the Empire's government relatively stable during the industrial revolution, without any major uprisings resulting from it.

The opposite example was the Empire's mortal enemy, the Kingdom of Francis. Having risen to become the continent's leading nation during the Empire's decline, the Kingdom of Francis was immensely proud of its aristocratic system. The Empire cared little about noble bloodlines, but the Kingdom of Francis valued them greatly and would never allow anyone it considered ignoble or beneath its notice into aristocratic circles. Thus, when the industrial revolution brought the rise of a new bourgeoisie, the Kingdom of Francis subjected them to sweeping exploitation and suppression. In the end, these emerging capitalists joined forces with a populace that had long since exhausted its tolerance for tyranny and overthrew that corrupt, decadent dynasty.

The imperial nobles' reaction was... Hmm, excellent. The sight of their heads will go nicely with a couple of cups of tea.

After all, the Empire and the Kingdom of Francis had a long history of tangled grievances and constant conflict, and neither thought much of the other. The restraint and reserve prized by the imperial nobility struck the Kingdom of Francis as stiff and stodgy. Meanwhile, the elaborate, splendid clothing and etiquette the Kingdom of Francis used to proclaim its nobles' power seemed flashy, hollow, and pretentious to the imperial people.

In fact, when the Empire introduced reforms and allowed the emerging bourgeoisie into the nobility, the Kingdom of Francis had mocked it relentlessly for sullying its barely respectable bloodlines, bowing to money, abandoning noble manners and refinement, and degenerating into contemptible commoners.

To that, the Empire's response was: I'm the one sitting here drinking tea, and you're the one going to the guillotine. Who was right and who was wrong is plain enough.

But that was a digression. Back to the matter at hand.

Unlike the all-purpose maids in games and anime, maids in this era worked in highly specialized roles. That wasn't to say they were expected to be exceptionally capable. On the contrary, most young women in this era had little education, so the work they could do was extremely limited.

Anime often featured scenes of maids preparing delicious food for their employers, but that was very rare in this era.

The reason was simple. Low-status maids rarely ate anything good in their own homes, so how could they possibly be excellent cooks? And no matter how wealthy their employer was or how much food they bought, it wasn't there for the maid to practice with.

Likewise, caring for and polishing leather shoes, or washing and drying coats without warping or shrinking them, required particular knowledge. It wasn't a matter of beating them a few times with a laundry bat as people did in the countryside.

As a result, maid duties in this era were divided into extremely specific roles: scullery maids, kitchen maids, laundry maids, nursery maids, stillroom maids, housemaids, maids of all work, ladies' maids, housekeepers... the sheer variety was enough to give anyone a headache.

It wasn't like modern times, when you could hire a maid and leave all the household chores to her.

Li Wei had no intention of looking for someone himself. Instead, he asked Inspector Lestrade to help him find a maid who met his requirements. As an inspector, Lestrade had considerable clout and a broad network of contacts. Sure enough, with Lestrade making the introductions, Li Wei soon got in touch with the headmistress of a Maid School and settled on hiring a maid.

Today was the day she would arrive.

Li Wei took out his pocket watch and checked it.

It was almost time.

At almost that very moment, the Elevator bell rang.

Ding-dong...!

Clutching a heavy travel bag, Erin Roberts watched the rising Elevator uneasily. Her teacher had already told her about her employer. He was a young, handsome, capable man who currently worked as a detective and also served as the Police Station's special investigative consultant. He had even solved the courtesan murder case that had caused such a stir recently.

Of course, her teacher had also warned her that his requirements were rather demanding, but Erin believed she could meet them.

But... as the Elevator continued to rise, that sensation of weightlessness made Erin uneasy.

Could I really do this job well?

What if I get dismissed?

How should I address him when we meet? "Good day, sir"? Should I curtsy?

As Erin fretted, the Elevator shuddered and stopped. Its doors slowly opened, and she instinctively raised her head to look ahead.

Then she involuntarily held her breath.

Before Erin was a round stained-glass window—the clock tower's dial, though it had long since ceased to serve its original purpose. In the dim sunlight, she could make out a large desk in front of the window, with someone sitting behind it, staring at her without a word. Backlit as he was, she couldn't see his features and could barely make out a silhouette.

Still, she hastily and cautiously lowered her head, looking at the floor in front of her.

W-what should I do? What should I say?

At that moment, Erin's mind went completely blank.

Meanwhile, Li Wei sat at ease behind his desk, studying the pretty, brown-haired girl in black who wore a pair of glasses. She was very slender and held an old travel bag covered in layers of patches. The stitching on her shoes had come undone, and her pale face showed signs of malnutrition... Hmm, it looks like she's not doing too well financially.

Erin Roberts. Naturally, Li Wei had read her file. She came from a merchant family; her parents had run a small shop and belonged to Fog City's lower-middle class. Erin had earned excellent marks at the Maid School. Had everything gone according to plan, she would have graduated without trouble and become a maid to high-ranking nobles. Serving high society would have counted as a sort of upward social mobility.

Unfortunately, disaster had struck without warning. While traveling to negotiate a trade deal, Erin's parents had been attacked by pirates. Both were killed, and all their valuables were looted. Worse still, they had taken on substantial debts for that venture. Erin had been forced to drop out of school and sell everything left at home to pay off those debts.

The headmistress regretted seeing Erin's talent go to waste and couldn't bear to watch her sink into ruin. So when Li Wei made inquiries through Inspector Lestrade, she recommended Erin.

After all, failing to graduate was a blemish on Erin's record, and nobles would not accept a servant like that. Li Wei, however, was clearly a different matter...

Of course, that was why the headmistress had recommended her to Li Wei. His decision to choose Erin wasn't merely an act of charity motivated by pity.

He needed a maid who could handle household chores, cook, make tea, and read and write. Put simply, he was essentially going to use his maid as a secretary, which required a high level of education. There was no helping that. If Inspector Lestrade or someone else called on the Telephone to leave a message while Li Wei was out, how else would Erin write it down?

An illiterate person couldn't do this job.

"You're Erin Roberts?"

Li Wei set down the documents in his hand, looked at the girl, and asked.

"Yes, sir..."

She trembled and hastily answered.

"Do you know what you'll be doing?"

"Yes..."

"There isn't all that much you'll need to do. Mainly cleaning the rooms and preparing three meals a day. If anyone calls, write down their name and their commission... will that be a problem?"

"No, not at all."

Erin answered with her head lowered and her eyes on the floor. Her schooling had taught her that looking directly at an employer without permission was extremely impolite. Though this employer seemed very young, who knew whether he might take offense?

"Are you from Fog City?"

"Yes."

"I heard your current situation isn't very good. Do you have somewhere to live?"

"Well..."

Faced with Li Wei's question, Erin didn't know what to say for a moment. Indeed, just as he had said, she had sold her parents' shop and home to repay their debts...

"I'm looking for a room to rent nearby..."

"There's no need for that trouble. There's a single room downstairs. You can stay there."

Li Wei meant the maintenance room below the clock tower. Of course, since the clock tower itself had long since stopped functioning, it was only an empty room now, but it was perfectly livable. It had originally housed the tower's maintenance worker, after all, and came with a bed, bathroom, and everything else. It simply wasn't as comfortable as Li Wei's "penthouse suite."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. Oh, and I have just one requirement."

"What is it?"

"No matter how messy my desk gets, don't touch it. I know where everything is. If you move things, I won't be able to find them."

"Ah... all right. I understand."

"Good."

Li Wei nodded in satisfaction.

"Your pay will be one pound a month, with a three-month trial period. If things work out, we'll sign a long-term contract."

Li Wei had based that on the pay of an upper housemaid. Their duties were much like a secretary's, after all, and they generally earned between twelve and twenty pounds a year.

Although most people in this world were paid weekly, Li Wei was still used to paying wages monthly.

Besides, it made the calculations easier, didn't it?

"Oh? One pound?"

Erin was rather surprised by Li Wei's generosity. After all, she hadn't even graduated. Even with the headmistress's recommendation, she had never imagined she could earn a pound a month...

"That's right."

Having finished speaking, Li Wei picked up the documents beside him again.

"You can go and sort out your room now. The stairs are on the left; just head down. Once you're done, make me a pot of tea. Thank you."

Erin gripped her travel bag tightly and clenched her teeth. She didn't know whether she had made the right decision this time, but at least for now, her new life seemed to be off to a good start.

"Yes, sir!"