Bonus Short Stories

A Day in the Bernstein House

A man’s hoarse cry reverberated through the halls. I, Annie, paused in the midst of my cleaning and exchanged glances with Sheila, another maid who was working in the same room as me. The two of us were accustomed to these occurrences.

“I wonder who the unfortunate soul is today,” said Sheila.

The Bernsteins were a marquess house in the Sauslind Kingdom, but despite their status, they didn’t use their money to live in the lap of luxury or show off their wealth. If anything, their estate was rather tranquil compared to other aristocratic houses in the capital. That was probably surprising given their rank and titles, but as I soon learned when I started working for them, there was a very different kind of liveliness at their residence.

To begin with, the marquess had a habit of skipping meals and missing out on sleep once he got hooked on a book. Rather fitting for the head of a family that loved books more than anything else. The man didn’t have a lot of free time, given his position in our government, but he would immerse himself in reading whenever he could find a spare moment. This meant he often neglected to go to bed. In the morning, when a maid would enter his quarters to open the curtains, they would often find him sprawled on the floor, as if he had collapsed there, and would shriek in fear. This was a nearly daily occurrence.

Next was the marquess’s son, Lord Alfred. The young master had his father’s mild manner and often offered praise and reassurance to the servants. However, as with the rest of his book-loving family, he always had his nose stuck in some tome. His special skill was his ability to walk and read at the same time. Although, we often heard screams of surprise from any maid or manservant unlucky enough to bump into him.

Just the other day, a maid was balancing a vase in her arms when he plowed right into her. The water she had freshly changed out splashed all over him. The poor girl turned white as a sheet and shrieked. Lord Alfred, on the other hand, continued walking as if nothing had happened. Incidentally, his book was completely unharmed; he’d swiftly moved it out of the way before it got doused along with him. For as distracted as he always seemed, Lord Alfred had surprisingly sharp reflexes.

On the topic of anomalies, I also occasionally heard groaning from the kitchen, as if whomever was on the other side of the door had seen something life shattering. The most recent conversation I caught wind of went something like this:

“I figured there’d be nothin’ wrong with eatin’ this since it looks like your regular old green veggie, but what in the heck is it?”

“Ah, that’s something the young miss had imported from abroad. It’s a spice. I believe she said it’s called a ‘jalapeno.’”

“Can’t believe she set a trap for me here of all places... She got me good,” he groaned. The way he said this made it sound as if he were some kind of vermin who had been raiding our kitchens, only to be done in by a mousetrap.

The last individual in this house to watch out for was Lady Elianna. At first glance, she looked like an adorable porcelain doll, even more so because her expression lacked any emotion or sign of life. It gave her an eerie air that made many mistake her for a ghost. Despite how long I had spent at her side, even I sometimes squeaked in surprise when she caught me off guard. Lady Elianna in particular seemed to produce the most screams in this house.

I wonder who she’s scared the daylights out of this time. Resigned, I wandered toward the source of the noise. When I peered into the room in question, I sucked in a sharp breath and almost shrieked myself.

The lighting inside was dim, but a face stood out in the darkness. It resembled a human’s, but its features were pushed in and disfigured. Fortunately, it was merely a mask and not a real person’s face.

“Oh, Annie,” called the person wearing it.

For a moment, I thought I had been cursed.

“Wait. Is that you, my lady?”

The person wearing that grotesque thing was none other than Lady Elianna. Apparently she had taken an interest in Lord Alfred’s mask collection.

“You’re impossible,” I said, sighing. “A noblewoman like you shouldn’t be entertaining herself with such things. I implore you, find some other interest to indulge in, please.”

“But aren’t you curious about how different the world looks through these tiny eye holes?”

“Not even remotely.” I could only shake my head. For a noble, she really did have a strange way of looking at the world.

A man was sitting on the floor nearby with his legs spread out beneath him. He must have been the source of all the screaming earlier. No doubt he’d collapsed there out of fear.

He pulled himself to his feet and let out a dry laugh. His uniform was one I had seen before—an ensemble worn by the guards working at the royal palace. Apparently he’d been sent here by the crown prince to escort Lady Elianna.

“Oh my, it’s already that time?” Lady Elianna asked, flustered.

Again, I sighed. No doubt this would stir up even more scandalous rumors about the crown prince’s betrothed.

Yes, you heard me correctly; the lady of this house was engaged to the country’s crown prince. This royal connection surely made the citizenry and other nobility look upon the family with awe, but in reality, the Bernsteins were a profoundly bizarre bunch that had their servants screaming on the daily. As a citizen of Sauslind, I couldn’t help fearing for what impact that would have on the royal family. They were a symbol for our country, but if Lady Elianna was going to start living with them in the future, the palace might soon be filled with screaming every day as well.

Precious Time

Someone important once imparted these words to me: “There’s a special magic in the time you spend with the people you love.”

The events that day started by accident. As usual, I was immersed in books in the royal archives. Intoxicated by the information I’d newly digested, I wandered to the neighboring break room.

“Here you are, Lord Alfred,” said someone curtly. There was a slight tremor to their voice, as if they were trying to hide how nervous they were.

I, Elianna Bernstein, paused just outside the doorway.

“Thank you, Lady Anna.” I recognized the second voice; it belonged to my older brother.

After the Autumn Hunting Festival ended, Lady Anna returned with us to the capital in order to begin her work here. We had been engaging in casual discussion about historical events ever since. That was how I knew she frequented the break room in the archives.

What I heard as I eavesdropped was like a scene out of a play.

My brother was sipping on some tea that Lady Anna had served him. A smile curled his lips.

Lady Anna hastily said, “I’m terrible at these sorts of tasks that other ladies excel in. I already know it must taste terrible. Why don’t I send for a maid to pour something more palatable?”

“What? Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’?” Lady Anna asked, confused.

My brother gently replied, “I quite enjoy the tea you pour for me, and I find the time we spend together to be utterly blissful. Do you not agree?”

“Huh? What?” Lady Anna blurted, completely taken aback. The way she acted like a flustered maiden made her all the more adorable.

After catching a glimpse of the two, I slipped away so as not to disturb them, heading for the prince’s office instead. On the way there, I happened upon the prince’s chamberlain, who was preparing a pot of tea. An idea struck me, and I volunteered to complete the task in his stead. The chamberlain kindly allowed me to take over. This was my chance to have some of that special magic—to enjoy some time with the person most precious to me.

I read in a book that the best way to relieve a person’s fatigue was to pour them strong tea, so I added extra leaves to the pot, enough to make the chamberlain go bug-eyed. It was difficult to measure how many leaves were too many. Reading it in a book was one thing, but actually performing the task yourself was another.

Nonetheless, I made enough for everyone in the prince’s office to enjoy a cup. I was in an even more chipper mood than usual as I carried the pot with me. The chamberlain followed close behind, face pale as a sheet.

The pungent smell of the tea filled my nose as I fantasized about the time the two of us would spend together.