How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

Maid Training

One fine afternoon early in fall.

“Now, do it the way I told you,” Serina ordered.

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” Carla replied.

The head maid, Serina, and Carla, who had been assigned to the Maid Corps just the other day, were together in Parnam Castle’s dance studio. While they stood in front of a large mirror on the wall, Serina was beating all of the know-how she would need as a maid into Carla’s head.

However, while Serina wore a maid uniform with the classical long skirt, Carla wore one with a flared skirt that only went down to above her knee and which accentuated her chest, the sort of maid outfit that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a modern Japanese maid cafe. It went without saying that this was the sadistic head maid’s proud handiwork. Carla, who was being forced to wear it for the first time, was bright red with embarrassment.

Right now, she was practicing walking gracefully with five thin books on top of her head. Carla managed to walk along at a brisk pace without the five books randomly stacked on her head moving even a little.

“Hmm... As expected, those with training in the martial arts are on a different level,” Serina said, sounding impressed as she stood there holding a short whip. “It must be because you have a solid core. This is something most people struggle with at first.”

“Heh heh, for a warrior, being able to move your body is the most basic of basic,” Carla said, puffing out her chest with pride, as if to say, How do you like that?

“Don’t get full of yourself.” Serina cracked the whip at Carla’s rump, causing her to jump a little.

“Yowch?!”

The whip Serina used had been specially enchanted. It would leave no mark where it struck, but it would attack the place it hit with a half-and-half mix of pleasure and pain. Apparently, it was a training item that used pleasure to stop the victim from trying to brace themselves against the pain, while the pain stopped them from trying to indulge in the pleasure.

Carla protested with tears in her eyes, “Wh-What was that for, Head Maid?!”

“I believe I’ve taught you this,” Serina said sternly. “What do you say when praised?”

“Ah...! ‘You are too kind.’” Carla hurriedly clasped her hands in front of her and gave a slight bow.

Serina nodded. “Yes. At all times, a maid must remain humble.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

“At this rate, it might be best to have you learn the rest on the job,” Serina said. “Now, shall I show you how to make the beds? Let’s move to another place.”

“Yes, ma’am! Roger that, Head Maid.” Carla said with a salute, earning herself another whack in the butt with Serina’s whip.

“Ow?!”

“Don’t salute. We may swear loyalty to the royal house, but this is not the military.”

“I-I understand,” Carla said with teary eyes, rubbing her sore bottom which kept getting hit.

The two left the dance studio and were walking down the corridor towards a room with a bed.

“Still, it’s a little unexpected.” Serina said all of a sudden.

Carla tilted her head to the side. She had been walking behind her. “Unexpected? What is?”

“When His Majesty ordered me to train you as a maid, I thought you would resist more,” Serina said. “At times, a lady who was formerly of the nobility has been forced to become a maid. In many cases, her pride gets in the way, and she feels a resistance to performing her tasks. While you may have been reduced to a slave, you were once the daughter of one of the three dukes, were you not?”

“...I was.”

“I had thought I would have to first begin by crushing that haughty attitude of yours utterly. But, sadly... I mean, fortunately... I didn’t have to do that.”

She definitely started out saying “sadly” there, didn’t she?! Carla thought.

Carla felt a shiver run down her spine. Haughty girls would be the ideal prey for this total sadist of a head maid. She would break their pride and retrain them as dogs, fit to serve their master anywhere. Carla was deeply relieved that she didn’t fit that profile.

“It seems to me that you’ve accepted your position as a maid, haven’t you?” Serina turned back with just her neck and asked Carla. “You were a noblewoman and a soldier. What do you think of your current situation?”

“It’s not like it hasn’t left me a little out of sorts,” Carla admitted. “There’s a lot of work I’m just not used to being involved in that’s required of a maid, and because I was always out seeking glory on the battlefield, I’ve never really acted like a girl.”

Having decided that she couldn’t keep anything hidden from this head maid, Carla revealed her true feelings.

Serina’s gaze grew harsh. “Then... you are dissatisfied with your situation?”

“No! Not at all!” Carla hurriedly denied it, then laughed wryly and scratched at her cheek. “I’m a little bewildered, but I’m not dissatisfied in the least. If anything, I’m grateful.”

“Grateful... you say?” Serina asked.

“Yes. After I committed a crime out of my own bullheadedness, my best friend and the one she cares for saved me. I’m sure... I must have caused a lot of trouble for them.”

While there had been the intentions of many different people in play, and it was a situation with no simple explanation, the result was still that Carla had participated in a rebellion against King Souma. The ones who had saved Carla were her best friend, Liscia, and the man Liscia loved, King Souma. It had been a given that she would be executed for her crime, but they had instead made her a slave (and, on top of that, treated her as a maid, under the justification that there was no work for slaves in the castle), which must have involved a lot of trouble on their part.

“I may no longer be in the military, but I want to serve those two in whatever capacity I can,” Carla said. “That’s why I want to learn my job as a maid quickly.”

“...A fine aspiration.” Serina’s dangerous tone vanished. She had likely been testing Carla’s determination as a maid. It seemed she was satisfied with the answers she had received.

“Oh, but... Is there anything we can do about this maid dress?” Carla asked, fidgeting in embarrassment. “My thighs feel awfully exposed, and it worries me...”

“Why is that?” Serina demanded. “I think it looks very cute on you.”

“But, when I crouch down, well... I worry people might see...”

“Carla...” Serina said with a dismayed sigh. “You became a maid after becoming a slave. If I were to treat you the same as the other maids, it would set a poor example. In fact, how do you think your coworkers feel, seeing you work in that outfit?”

“I think they pity me,” Carla said.

Whenever they saw her being toyed with... erm, instructed by... Serina, the other maids treated her far more warmly than anyone would have expected to treat a slave. That was because with Carla there, Serina’s sadism wasn’t being directed towards them (or at least her focus was more spread out).

“That means the clothes you wear have a proper meaning behind them,” Serina said.

“Head Maid...” Carla stared into Serina’s eyes. “...No, I’m pretty sure this is just what you’re into, right?”

“Of course,” Serina responded nonchalantly. “I simply can’t get enough of seeing you writhe in humiliation.”

“Don’t you feel even slightly guilty?!”

“Come now, let’s be on our way. I still have many, many tasks for you to learn.”

“Urkh...” Carla mumbled. “Understood...”

Carla’s days of suffering had only just begun.