Hiring Maids (Please Bookmark and Vote!)

"Mom! Mom!" Kellan dashed through the door.

The woman Claire had met earlier was holding Melly and fixing her hair. Seeing her usually quiet son in such a panic, she asked, "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Kellan panted heavily, enunciating every word as though afraid she might miss one. "Taxes have been reduced! After the lord returned from the royal capital, he exempted most of the taxes!"

"What?" The woman shot to her feet excitedly. "Is that true?"

"It's true!" Kellan was just as excited. "As soon as Allen heard the news in Nafu City, he rushed back to tell us!"

Tears streamed from the woman's eyes. She clasped her hands together and prayed, "Thank the Lord! Thank the Lord for this blessing!"

Luckily, Claire was not there. Otherwise, he would have rolled his eyes. I was the one who reduced your taxes, yet instead of thanking me, you thank the Lord?

The mother and her two children were all thrilled. The woman even forgot to finish combing her daughter's hair and hurriedly stood up. "I need to tell your father this good news."

"Oh, right, there's another announcement."

The woman paused at the door. "What else is there?"

"Lord Viscount is hiring fifteen maids. Food and lodging are provided, and the pay is ten Silver Coins a month."

The woman did not react too strongly, but Melly jumped up. "Brother! Can Melly become a maid? I'm very hardworking! Then I can earn money to buy candy!"

Kellan rubbed her little head. "They want maids over sixteen. You're only six this year, so you still have ten years to go."

Melly's little face immediately fell, but after a moment, she came up with another idea. "Then can Melly apply to be a maid in ten years? Melly can use the money to buy candy for Brother too."

The woman poked her daughter's forehead again and said with a smile, "All you think about is food. When your brother goes into the city in a few days, I'll have him bring you back some candy."

Melly had been rubbing her head miserably, but upon hearing that, her face lit up. She hugged the woman's arm and shook it. "I love Mom the most! I'll go tell Dad the good news with you!"

Then she took the woman's hand and ran out first, leaving the woman to follow after her with a smile.

As the news of the tax reductions spread, joy rapidly swept outward from Nafu City.

The lawn in front of the Baronial Manor was already filled with young women who had come to apply, and more people continued to stream in from outside.

"Line up! One at a time!" Regan shouted from the high steps of the Baronial Manor.

The young women quickly formed a long line that stretched all the way beyond the gate. Those at the back stood on tiptoe, trying to see what was happening ahead.

Claire glanced at the weather. It was noon, and the blazing sun was enough to make one's scalp itch, yet the girls, only fifteen or sixteen years old, endured the heat and remained in line.

"Regan, let them come inside. We'll conduct the hiring in the castle."

"But, Young Master..." Regan clearly did not want these country girls entering the castle.

"There's no need for that. If the floor gets dirty, the maids can clean it." In Claire's eyes, people always mattered more than things.

"As you command! You truly are a benevolent lord!" Regan praised.

Ignoring Regan's occasional flattery, Claire entered the castle first.

A girl near the back asked, "What happened? What's going on up front? Why are we suddenly moving?"

"Lord Viscount is letting us enter the castle for the hiring."

"That's wonderful! Was that young man around our age Lord Viscount? He's so handsome, just like a real noble." The girl spoke shyly.

"Yeah, and Lord Viscount is so kind. Working in his castle must be wonderful."

The girl looked around at the others and sighed. "But so many people came this time. I don't think we have much hope."

"Stop talking. It's our turn to go in."

After entering, the girls were placed by Regan in the main hall to wait. He and Claire went to the meeting room, making it feel somewhat like a corporate recruitment interview from Claire's previous life.

In the main hall, the girls who had come to apply fidgeted anxiously. Though there were luxurious sofas, not one of them dared sit down. Seeing the lavish furnishings and exquisite decorations around them, they could not help feeling inferior, which only made them more nervous.

The recruitment officially began, and the girls outside were called into the meeting room one by one.

Claire merely sat to the side and left the hiring to Regan. After all, Regan had decades of experience in this work. Professional matters were best left to professionals.

Regan asked, "What can you do?"

"I... I'm very hardworking! I can do anything!"

"Be specific. Can you cook? Mop floors? Wash clothes? Can you..."

Regan's string of questions left the girl sitting across from him completely dazed. Before her mind could even process what she had said, she had already found herself outside the meeting room.

"What can you do?"

"I can't do anything, but I can learn!"

Regan's face darkened. He immediately waved her out. He was looking for maids who could work, not students who needed teaching.

Claire, however, smiled happily from the side. He had to admit that the girl had admirable courage. She dared to apply despite knowing nothing.

"What can you do?"

"I'm the eldest daughter in my family. I can cook, wash clothes, feed pigs, and do all that!"

"What food can you make?"

"Roasted meat, bread... meat soup..." The girl propped up her chin and thought with difficulty.

"That's all?"

"That's all my family eats."

"..."

Regan waved his hand. "You may leave."

"Does that mean I've been hired?" The girl's eyes were full of anticipation.

Regan sighed. "Pending."

After the girl left, Regan turned to Claire with a miserable expression. "Young Master, the quality of the maids here is truly too poor. If it comes to it, perhaps we should buy a few from another noble's territory."

"I think they're fine." Claire smiled. "As long as they can keep the castle functioning normally, that's enough. They have time to learn, and they'll eventually learn properly."

"I'm afraid they won't serve you well..."

"I don't need anyone to serve me. As long as they keep the castle in good order, that will do."

"Sigh." Regan sighed again.

"Don't worry. Isn't that why you're here? I believe you can teach them well." Claire patted Regan on the shoulder encouragingly.

The next second, encouraged by his young master, Regan's vigor visibly returned.

"Rest assured! I will not disappoint your trust!"

"Next!"

At that moment, a somewhat frail girl with black hair and brown eyes entered from outside. She timidly sat in the chair across from Claire and Regan, looking extremely uneasy.

Regan's brow immediately furrowed. It was not only because of her nervousness. The other girls applying were at least half a head taller than her and looked capable of hard work. They also had good figures and appearances, enough not to embarrass Lord Viscount. This girl was pretty enough, but black hair was clearly uncommon here, and she did not fit his idea of a suitable maid.

"Greetings, my lords. My name is Yuna..." After her brief introduction, the girl tightly shut her mouth, looking as though she were waiting to be judged.

Regan had intended to wave her away immediately, but Claire stopped him. Although her features were still distinctly Western, her black hair and brown eyes gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness.

"Were you born with that hair color?"

"Yes!" Yuna nodded vigorously. After a moment, however, she felt that her answer had been too brief and might seem disrespectful to Lord Viscount, so she added, "Mom said my black hair is very pretty."

Claire chuckled. "It is indeed."

"So, what can you do?"

"I can sweep, cook, and wash clothes." As she said this, Yuna shrank her neck and hurriedly added, "Even if there's something I can't do, I can learn! I learn very quickly."

Looking at the girl across from him, whose nervous little face had turned red, Claire seemed to find the same amusement he had felt teasing junior schoolgirls in his previous life.

"What advantages do you have over the others? They all seem taller and stronger than you, so they must have more strength. By comparison, anything you can do, they can likely do better. Why should I hire you?"

Yuna's face turned redder. She had never faced such harsh questioning before.

"I... I can ask for less money and work longer hours, but could you please not pay me less than three Silver Coins?" Yuna looked pitifully at Claire with her big eyes.

"Why?"

Yuna tugged at the corner of her clothes and lowered her head. "My mother is sick. I need to save money to buy medicine..."

Claire said softly, "All right, I understand. Go out and wait for now."

Yuna stood and slowly walked to the door. Though timid, she was still unwilling to give up, so she gathered her courage and asked, "Have I been eliminated?"

"Pending."

After leaving the room, Yuna took a deep breath, her little face miserable. Lord Viscount had made things so difficult for her. She definitely would not pass.

"Young Master, are we hiring that maid?" Regan asked. This was the first girl his young master had shown interest in. Although she was lacking in many ways, if the young master liked her, then she naturally had to be hired.

"Hire her. Treat her the same as the other maids; no special treatment. And give her the same ten Silver Coins as well."

"Understood!"

By the end of the morning, the maid recruitment had been completed. Looking at the fifteen maids in maid uniforms standing neatly before him, Claire finally understood what was meant by the sins of the noble class.

After the hiring was finished, Claire returned to his room. Regan, with his wealth of experience, would manage the maids properly.

Still, Regan would probably be much busier in the days ahead. Teaching those maids how to become qualified servants was no simple matter.

But being busy was better than being idle. Once people became idle, they became useless.

Claire was in exactly that state now, lying in a recliner and staring at the ceiling, wondering when next week would arrive so he could make his next trade.