Chapter 100

Mary is a little, really just a little, bad at waking up.

It’s not that she becomes moody or stays in bed all day. She just feels a bit dazed for a while after waking up, and her movements and reactions become slow.

This level of drowsiness is rather endearing. The maids responsible for waking her up are not troubled by it; instead, they secretly enjoy this unexpected side of Mary, who is usually so composed.

One such morning, Mary was gently shaken awake by the voice, “Miss Mary, please wake up.”

Her consciousness was still mostly in sleep, perhaps only 20% awake.

Her vision was blurry, and she rubbed her eyes against the morning light, mumbling, “Is it morning already?” Her head swayed, causing her vision to wobble, and she caught glimpses of something golden at the edges of her sight.

“Yes!! ... No, yes. It’s time to wake up, Miss.”

“Adie...?”

“Adie is... no, Adie is in her own room today. This is Miss Mary’s room, isn’t it?”

“I see... We slept separately, didn’t we? I remember, today Alicia is coming over in the afternoon, right...”

“Yes, to do embroidery together!! ... I apologize. Yes, Miss Alicia is coming over to do embroidery. Now, Miss Mary, let’s get dressed and fix your hair.”

Prompted by this, Mary slowly got out of bed.

Her thoughts were still floating, and she relied on the maid’s uniform in her blurry vision to guide her. It was the Albert family’s maid uniform. Did it look strangely new? Perhaps it was just her imagination.

She was led to wash her face and tidy herself up. The white shirt was daringly low-cut but tastefully modest due to the lace, and the dark navy long skirt exuded a calm and graceful demeanor. The high-waisted skirt was not as constricting as it looked, and the maid’s comment, “You can eat lots of dumplings in this!” made Mary yawn and respond, “I see.”

She then asked in a drawn-out voice, “Do I even own such clothes?” but received only a maid’s knowing smile in return.

Why was she smiling? Mary wanted to ask, but sleepiness overcame her curiosity. “Oh well,” she dismissed the question and sat down at the dresser.

“Today, let’s do a simple braid. How about a golden ribbon?”

“I see, I’ll leave it to you...”

As Mary nodded drowsily, the maid standing behind her enthusiastically began to braid her hair.

Her touch was gentle, like a caress, and the comfort of it made Mary feel sleepy again.

She slowly opened and closed her eyes, her movements slow and reminiscent of a cat just before falling asleep.

Suddenly, Mary’s eyes, which were half-open due to sleepiness, widened as she noticed something in the mirror in front of her.

On the dresser mirror, a sky-blue scarf was hanging.

Mary’s face was visible in the mirror, but the maid’s face behind her was hidden. Only the maid’s chest and below were visible, with her golden hair gently resting on the uniform.

Mary reached out to take the scarf, but was stopped with, “Oh no, Miss Mary.” Looking at the maid through the mirror, she saw the maid’s face hidden by the scarf, combing Mary’s silver hair smoothly.

“This is the scarf you’ll wear today. I’m hanging it on the mirror to see if it matches your hairstyle and ribbon.”

“I see.”

“Today, you’re doing embroidery with your best friend... no, with Miss Alicia, so you need to wear a beautiful scarf.”

“I don’t quite understand your enthusiasm, but oh well.”

Mary yawned again and continued to sit drowsily at the dresser.

The maid’s hands continued to braid her silver hair, which felt incredibly soothing.

Then, with the words, “There, it’s done,” Mary, who was half-asleep, slowly opened her eyes.

In the mirror, she saw herself with her silver hair neatly braided. Indeed, the white shirt, dark navy skirt, and the silver braid tied with a thin golden ribbon looked good. Adding the sky-blue scarf would enhance the color coordination.

Incidentally, the scarf was still hanging on the top of the mirror, hiding the maid’s face.

“Miss Mary, can you tie the scarf yourself?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you! Today, you’re doing embroidery with your best friend... no, with Miss Alicia, so don’t forget!”

The maid, with an oddly excited tone, turned on her heel and left the room.

She moved so quickly that by the time Mary turned around, the maid was already gone. All she saw was the maid’s golden hair gently swaying as it disappeared behind the door.

“...Who was that?”

Mary tilted her head in confusion and reached for the sky-blue scarf hanging on the mirror.

“The maid with golden hair, you said?”

“Yes. We have a maid with golden hair, but not in my personal care. Besides, her voice sounded strangely familiar.”

“Hmm, that’s...”

“Who was that maid...”

As Mary pondered this while walking, Adie, walking beside her, looked elsewhere and responded, “Who knows?”

It was just before noon. Of course, Mary was already fully awake, with no drowsiness. The morning’s events were all the more mysterious because of this.

The maid whose face she couldn’t see, the occasional excitement and nervousness, the golden hair that swayed, and the familiar voice...

Strangely, there was no maid in the Albert household who matched this description. She had asked a few, but they were all busy with other tasks at that time.

“This outfit is strange too. I don’t own such clothes or scarves.”

“That is strange.”

“Did someone sneak into our house? But what could they gain by pretending to be a maid and waking me up?”

If they had taken valuables, it would make sense, but the mysterious maid only woke Mary up and helped her get ready before quickly leaving. Moreover, the dress and scarf were brought by the mysterious maid, making it more like a gift than a theft.

Who could it be, and for what purpose...?

Mary, with a puzzled expression, pondered this, while Adie, looking elsewhere, muttered, “It’s a strange story,” with no real interest.

As Mary walked, thinking, a cheerful voice called out from behind, “Miss Mary!”

Of course, it was Alicia. In the high-class Albert household, no one else would visit with such a carefree and loud voice.

Without even turning around, Mary shrugged. She would only turn to acknowledge her when Alicia greeted her with a proper, refined manner. ——Recently, being hugged from behind has become a regular occurrence.

“But I thought she would visit early in the morning, yet she came before noon. Even though the time is a bit off, she’s finally learning to be punctual.”

Mary nodded, proud of her own efforts in training Alicia.

However, Adie, standing beside her, still looking elsewhere, responded absentmindedly, “Yes, that’s true.”

“Adie, what’s with your attitude? What are you trying to say?”

“Well, to put it bluntly, Miss, you said earlier about the suspicious maid, ‘What could they gain from it?’”

“Yes, I have no idea. What could their purpose be...”

As Mary frowned, deepening the mystery, Adie sighed heavily and said...

“Not gain, but the purpose is probably to match.”

As he pointed to a spot, Mary, surprised, quickly turned around.

There, running towards her with a big wave, was Alicia.

To be precise, Alicia was wearing a white shirt with a daringly low-cut neckline, a sky-blue high-waist long skirt, a dark navy scarf around her neck, and her golden hair braided with a silver ribbon.

Mary’s eyes widened at Alicia’s outfit.

She looked down at her own attire: a low-cut white shirt, a dark navy skirt, and a sky-blue scarf around her neck...

She had been tricked... Mary quickly untied the scarf around her neck and, as Alicia ran towards her, threw it over Alicia’s face.

From that day on, the mysterious maid would occasionally visit Mary’s room, wake her up, and quickly disappear. Her actions were so flawless that by the time Mary was fully awake, there was no trace left.

Soon, Alicia would visit with a nonchalant expression, wearing matching hairstyles and scarves. ——“I won’t match everything!” was Mary’s desperate cry on the first day. Thanks to this, they no longer matched everything, but Mary still wanted to abolish the matching altogether.

Mary thought it would be faster to improve her morning routine rather than scold Alicia.

If she could wake up properly in the morning and catch the mysterious maid, she could drive them away.

How simple! Mary envisioned a solution...

“Miss Mary, let’s use this hair accessory today! Isn’t it lovely?”

Mary, still half-asleep, nodded drowsily, “I see... I’ll leave it to you...”

That morning, she was once again drowsily guided by the golden-haired maid to get ready.

“Miss, you have a letter from Parfait.”

“It must be an announcement. Open it quickly.”

The letter fluttered and was torn open.

(´；ω；) Miss Mary, Miss Mary...

“Oh, Parfait’s image is appearing!”

“There’s an explanation on the note... It’s called a hologram.”

“It’s like he’s right in front of us. A well-made image.”

(´；ω；) Greetings, everyone! ... Static...

“There’s some static.”

“Maybe it’s because of the distance.”

(´；ω；) The fifth volume of the novel and the first volume of the comic of "The Daughter of the Albert Family Wishes for Decline" are on sale today, March 1st...!

(´；ω；) Static... There are store-specific bonuses, so please check the activity report on March 1st for details.

Beep beep beep beep

“It sounds like an old communication system.”

“It does sound like an old communication system.”

(´；ω；) Static... This message will end... Static...

“Is it going to disappear!?”

“Miss, hide behind me!”

(´；ω；) “I’ll get it!”

“Oh, a real Parfait appeared behind me!”

“The hologram disappeared normally after its task was done.”

(