TMES 01

Chapter 01

I can confidently say that I’m a special A-rank maid who never slacks off when given work and always performs diligently.

I’m only being modest when I say this, but honestly, I think I could even qualify as S-rank.

During the nearly three months I’ve worked at the Richmond Count’s estate, I haven’t seen another maid as hardworking and sincere as me.

<Napoli Something World>.

That was the world I transmigrated into.

I forgot the exact title.

It sounded kind of delicious, but since it was my first time hearing it and the name didn’t roll off the tongue at all, I couldn’t remember it properly.

Maybe it was supposed to be a fantasy setting. If that were the case, my status window would’ve shown something like SSSSS-rank Maid.

Anyway, I understand that this is a transmigration world and therefore different from reality.

But this count’s estate was especially strange.

The maids here disappeared all the time.

And not just the maids. The servants did too.

Right. For example, Amy, whom I ran into late one night a few weeks ago!

About three weeks earlier, I’d come out of my room after lights-out because I was starving.

It couldn’t be helped. Do you know how much I work all day? Dinner alone isn’t enough to fill me up.

Anyway, to get back on topic, I headed to the kitchen in search of food.

That was when I ran into Amy in the dark hallway with all the lights out.

Amy had definitely looked perfectly fine that night.

She didn’t seem feverish or suddenly sick or anything.

“Do you need something, Rina? Do you need something, Rina? Do you need something, Rina?”

As usual, she’d even kindly offered to help me while I wandered around looking for something to eat.

But then, while we were heading toward the kitchen together, Amy suddenly disappeared!

And from the very next day onward, no one saw Amy anywhere in the count’s estate.

“Amy is on sick leave.”

When I asked the head maid, that was the answer I got.

Sick leave all of a sudden. Seriously suspicious.

Maybe the problem was that giant earthworm we encountered in the hallway that night.

But I killed that thing myself.

Did seeing a gigantic bug straight out of a nightmare traumatize her mentally or something?

And let me clarify something here—I’m not the kind of petty person who complains just because a coworker takes sick leave.

If someone’s sick, they should be allowed to rest. That’s a legitimate right every worker deserves.

I just wanted to point out that the people in this mansion were constantly taking sick leave.

Meanwhile, I hadn’t taken a single day off.

I woke up at dawn, did all the assigned tasks, and faithfully carried out my duties day after day.

Which meant that I was truly an A-rank maid.

“You win, Rina.”

“…Pardon?”

“You may leave this place now. You’re free.”

…Excuse me, what?

I stared blankly at the man before me.

The angelically handsome man’s name was Lennox Richmond.

The owner of this mansion, and my employer.

“You’re the first child like this I’ve ever seen. In many ways, you’ll probably become the first in Richmond history.”

And at the moment, my employer was speaking complete nonsense.

There’s a saying: once the rabbit hunt is over, the hunting dog gets boiled.

That was exactly my situation right now.

Listen here, my lord. The reason this mansion stayed spotless all this time was because I worked myself to the bone!

What kind of person fires a maid as competent as me?

Do you really think this place can maintain its current standard without me?

The days I’d spent busily handling all the household work alone while everyone else mysteriously went on sick leave flashed through my mind like a panorama.

I felt so betrayed I could cry.

I still hadn’t saved enough money while working for the count’s family.

I didn’t want much—just enough to buy my own little house. Until then, I planned to keep working hard here.

But if they kicked me out now, I’d become a penniless beggar.

“So you may take pride in yourself. Of course, the fact that you worked for Richmond must remain a secret for the rest of your life.”

Fortunately, I was someone who adapted quickly.

The proof was how fast I’d climbed to the position of A-rank maid after transmigrating into this Napoli-whatever world.

Which meant the proper response in a situation like this was…

“No!”

“Rina?”

“Absolutely not! Please don’t fire me!”

…Grabbing onto my employer’s pant leg.

“I don’t want to leave! Why are you trying to kick me out?!”

“Rina, what are you—”

“There’s no maid who works harder than me! I’ve done every single task the head maid and the head butler assigned me without complaint. Ask them yourself! Have I ever slacked off even once?!”

“……”

“Waaah, this is so unfair. How could everyone do this to me?”

I pretended to cry loudly on purpose.

It was so the head maid and head butler standing behind him could hear me.

Other than the count, all the servants stood there silently with expressionless faces.

Like emotionless dolls pretending none of this concerned them.

Wow. Seriously. Drawing the line this hard?

You all know how hard I’ve worked, and you’re just going to stand there?

Then suddenly, someone grabbed my arm.

It was the count.

After removing my hands from his pant leg, he bent down himself and lowered his body to my level.

For some reason, he looked angry.

His violet eyes, now frighteningly close, gleamed strangely.

“You’re free. I’m saying you can leave. I won’t torment you anymore, won’t touch you anymore, and I’ll let you go peacefully. This has never happened even once before. It’s a one-of-a-kind stroke of luck. Do you understand?”

Why was he making “you’re fired” sound so dramatic?

“How is that luck?”

“…What?”

“I just lost my job in an instant. How is that lucky? Sob… I’m basically a beggar now. I even bought a new dress for outings on installment payments because I expected my monthly salary.”

Sniffling, I widened my eyes. I needed to strongly assert my position here.

“I’m not leaving! Don’t kick me out! I want to stay by your side forever, Count!”

Did he think places like the Richmond Count family—where servants were treated well and paid generously—were common?

Absolutely not!

Even though servant work was technically contractual employment, there were countless noble houses in the world that treated maids like unpaid slaves.

Compared to them, the Richmond family was truly gentlemanly.

I’d transmigrated here out of nowhere without understanding anything and with absolutely nothing to my name.

Until I earned enough money to buy a house, I was definitely staying here.

“So please take responsibility for me!”

“You—saying things like that…”

Was it because of the heat?

The count’s face was unusually red today.

A rosy flush spread across his flawless pale skin and quickly reached the tips of his ears.

He looks just like a tomato.

Ah, right. I finally remembered where I’d transmigrated into.

I had transmigrated into <Napolitan Spaghetti>.

A spaghetti world setting… there really is everything in this world.

“…God, Buddha, Jesus.”

A tiny goshiwon room so cramped that stretching my arms would let me touch both walls at once.

Sitting on the rickety chair in front of my desk, I bit my lower lip while glaring at my laptop monitor.

With trembling hands, I moved the mouse, and a page asking for my name and number appeared.

Click click.

Click.

Thump, thump.

…Did I make it?

[ …Despite your outstanding capabilities and qualifications, we regret to inform you that we are unable to include you in this round of new employee recruitment. We sincerely wish you success in your future endeavors… ]

“Aaaagh!”

After reading the phrase that couldn’t possibly be seen without tears, I grabbed my hair.

I was doomed.

That had been my last remaining company where I’d passed the aptitude test.

Twenty-six years old. Orphanage background. College graduate. Endlessly unemployed job seeker.

Those few short words perfectly summarized my specs.

And just moments ago, this hiring season had failed too.

“There’s no way I can keep holding on anymore.”

It had already been three years.

Three years spent wasting time without any meaningful results.

There was no money left in my bank account anymore.

The rent for my goshiwon was going up next month too—where was I supposed to get that money?

Silently staring at the rejection page, I moved my hand.

I couldn’t just sit around starving to death like this, so I planned to search for any remaining job openings.

After clicking around internet cafés and job boards for a long while, one post suddenly caught my eye.

[Could you endure one year for 1 billion won or not?]