abcnovels
Chapter 1: Dishonorable Dismissal
Chapter 1: Dishonorable Dismissal
Chapter 1: Dishonorable Dismissal
“You thieving cat!” With a dull slap, Lucille’s cheeks started to sore. She was struck as her head processed the situation.
‘Am I the one who’s to be punished…?’
With her hand raised in front of her, the woman stared at her with a red face breathing heavily. Behind the woman was her master, Mr. Nizea, who was the cause of all this, standing with a pale face. While other servants watched them with bated breath.
“Get out!!!” Before she could open her mouth, Miss Nizea raised her voice. Lucille had no intention of pleading or explaining since she thought that it was useless to say anything.
“…Thank you for taking care of me,” Now that this has happened, she does not want to stay in this mansion anymore and plus, she can’t. She bowed down to Mr. and Mrs. Nizea, who she had worked for three years.
Then, Lucille strode straight to the attic to pack up her belongings. The maid who shared the same room as her came in and comforted her with a sad look on her face. However, it did not affect her very much since she heard her gossiping about her and the master with the other maids.
Lucille left the mansion with her luggage only half an hour after the madame had slapped her on the cheek. When she turned and saw her former master looking at her through the window of the mansion, she quickly ran out of the gate to escape from that abhorrent gaze, “Good-bye!” she said.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Thank you.”
Currently unemployed, Lucille hurriedly settled down in a cafe in the city to satisfy her hunger. As it is one of the most prosperous cities in the country, the surroundings are lively and bustling with activity.
“Thank you for the food.” The sandwich was roasted chicken with sesame dressing and crunchy leafy greens. It was a treat for herself right now.
After all, she now no longer has any source of income.
‘I have to find a new job…’
While chewing, she placed the sandwich down and took out an atlas out of her luggage and spread it out on the table. She took a sip of her coffee then sighed.
It would be troublesome to stay in this city after getting fired like that. She doesn’t know when or where the madame will turn the knife on her. It would even be possible for her to actually stab her. For her own safety, it would be wise for her to move to another location.
“Donias…it is a big city, but I heard that it is unsafe… Hmm, Passil is good, but it’s a bit too close here…” Lucille turned over the page while talking to herself, “I want to spend my time peacefully…a place somewhere quiet…”
Lucille is twenty-four years old and already independent. After the troubles she had experienced, her mind and body began to seek a place where she could live more calmly rather than staying in the bustling city.
“The farthest end of this is…” Her eyes naturally turned towards the edge of the map.
The stream of the train hissed while the sound of its wheels echoed. The scenery through the window had been full of fields and farmlands since a while ago. The peaceful scene continued as that alone made her feel that she was far away from the city.
“Let me see your ticket.”
Lucille handed her ticket to the conductor that showed up in the train car.
“Courtdieu… isn’t this the last stop?” The conductor looked at the destination written on the ticket, and his eyes widened, “You’ll spend one night in the car…are you sure you don’t want a private room?”
“Ah, yes…it’s fine.” She gave out a wry smile as she received the ticket back.
The destination she chose was at the end of the railroad tracks out of the city where she used to live. Of course, she didn’t decide to go there just because it’s far away. Therefore, she rushed into a bookstore to check the state of the town. Although it is a small town, it was a lively and livable place surrounded by nature.
It is however impossible to arrive there by the end of the day if she took the train at noon, which is why she would have to spend the night in the train car. The arrival time would be past noon tomorrow. She did think about getting a private room, but she’s unemployed. Due to what happened, she had no severance pay. The words, “saving money” stirred up into her mind, so she gave up.
‘I’m sure there are only a handful of people going to the last stop, and I’ll probably be the only person in this car tonight…no, it will be…’ She was half cursing herself as she was determined to watch the sun go down.
The conductor, perhaps taking pity on her helpless smile, said, “I’ll bring you a blanket later then.” He gave a slight smile.
‘Such a good person…’ Lucille bowed to him. His back looked dependable as he walked towards the next passenger.
At night, the train was darker than she had imagined. Her cursed thought had come true and she was the only one in the car. However, the darkness and eeriness made her feel more uncomfortable being alone. To change her thoughts, she lay down on her seat and wrapped herself in the blanket that the conductor gave her.
‘It’s warm…’
As the train rocked and shook, she looked out onto the window. During the day, the trees that passed by the train window went by so fast, but the stars and the moon in the night sky seemed to be never ending as it stayed. She felt an illusion as if the train had slowed down.
As she dazedly watched the night sky, day gradually arrived.
Lucille lived in that mansion for three years, however it was not a very good place. The salary was good since it was the most distinguished place in the city, but that was all. The maid’s quarters were in the attic. It was small and dusty, and the mice noise bothered her. Her colleagues weren’t cooperative as they pushed their works to each other. But the worst of them all was her employers, the Nizea couple.
Mrs. Nizea always had a bad temper. She would destroy things or hit people when she was in a bad mood. She was always worried and suspicious that her husband was having an affair, while she herself, is a middle-aged woman with an eye for young male aristocrats.
The one who is more problematic for her was Mr. Nizea, not during her early days of employment, but at some point he started to try to entangle with her in a very bizarre way. Every time she’d meet him, he would say, “You’re so cute,” and “Hey, are you free now?”
At that time, she knew by then that Mrs. Nizea had been suspicious of her. She’d be very much in trouble if she has caught her sight since Mrs. Nizea is a jealous woman, so she did her best to quietly stay away from Mr. Nizea. Lucille also had no intention at all of getting close to him.
However, no matter how consistently Lucille refused to get close to Mr. Nizea, saying that she had work to do, her colleagues, who were always looking for something interesting in their work, would make her relationship with Mr. Nizea seem “shady.” It was unclear whether it was because of that or not, but Mr. Nizea approached her more frequently and eventually, he would touch her hand and her waist, which was terribly unpleasant. Since he was her employer, she did not speak up and continued to simply ignore it. It was only when it reached Mrs. Nizea’s ears about it, she became enraged and raised her voice today.
“…I’m the one who wanted to explode…” Lucille closed her eyes to stop her thoughts.
‘Let’s forget about it. There are other more important things to come.’
The fatigue in her body and mind reached a critical point as she leaned her back against the hard seat. There was no sign of people as usual, only the regular sound of the train remained in her ears until she fell asleep.