Rapunzel Is Raised by Her Stepmother

Chapter 21: The Unstoppable Young Lady (1)  

The day before she became Dorothea’s exclusive maid.  

The head maid—meaning Cordelia—said she would inform her about her future duties and soon led her to the storage room where the maids’ supplies were kept.  

“Even the smallest size is loose on you... I’ll have it altered later, so for now, would you mind wearing it like this?”  

“Ah, yes. But why are you giving me these clothes...?”  

As soon as they arrived at the storage room, Cordelia picked out the smallest maid uniform from those neatly arranged by size and helped her change while continuing her explanation.  

“For about a month, you’ll be learning the duties of a maid.”  

“The duties of a maid?”  

Hearing out of nowhere that she would be learning a maid’s duties, she couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion. What happened to the foster sponsorship? And why was she suddenly becoming a maid?  

“You’ll learn the work of a maid for about a month, and if it’s too difficult, you can learn something else. There are more things to learn in this household than you might think.”  

“But I was supposed to become Mother’s daughter.”  

“That...”  

Cordelia parted her lips as if unsure how to respond, then let out a small sigh before calmly explaining, as if soothing a child.  

“It’s not confirmed yet, but your foster sponsorship might be canceled. I suppose you could say the head of the family no longer has a reason to sponsor you.”  

“What? No reason to sponsor me anymore?”  

“Hmm... I heard that you found out where the head’s ‘former wife’ is currently staying. Is that true?”  

Find the former wife? Could she be referring to the ‘Dorothy’ that the mirror located? It was true that she had asked the mirror fairy to find out where she was now...  

For now, she had no choice but to nod.  

“That’s why. The reason the head of the family brought you here was to find his former wife. He thought it would take a long time, so he took you in as a foster child, but...”  

“But because I found his former wife too quickly... he has no reason to continue sponsoring me?”  

When she asked with a dazed expression, Cordelia nodded.  

Wait, wasn’t the reason Rapunzel was locked up here because of her golden hair? And wasn’t the reason for her foster sponsorship to prevent anyone else from taking her hair?  

Cordelia’s explanation was so shocking that she instinctively raised her hands to hold her head.  

Then, a scene from the first chapter’s bad ending in the game suddenly surfaced in her mind.  

Come to think of it, in the game, Rapunzel’s bad ending was...  

She starved to death from lack of attention.  

Her cut hair turned into gold, and not only that, but it replenished once a day—how could she possibly go unnoticed?  

Now that she thought about it, that bad ending felt... contradictory.  

‘So there was another reason Rapunzel was locked in the tower...!’  

The real reason Rapunzel was confined here was to find the head’s former wife, Dorothy. And I had found Dorothy faster than the in-game Rapunzel could starve to death...  

Because of that, her foster sponsorship was now at risk of being canceled.  

The moment she reached that conclusion—  

Her entire body went limp, and she collapsed onto the floor. Not stopping there, she spread her arms out and lay flat on her back.  

No way! My future, where I could have enjoyed life as a noble’s foster daughter, was slipping away!!  

As she lay blankly on the floor, staring at the ceiling, Cordelia and Sophia, who had been standing beside her, panicked and hurried to help her up.  

However, her strengthless body flopped back down like a doll with its strings cut. As she lay there, limp on the floor, Cordelia reassured her and continued speaking.  

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s not confirmed yet.”  

“...Really? Are you sure? I’m not being demoted from noble daughter to maid, right?”  

“W-Well, just in case... That’s why, while the head is away to bring back his former wife, we’re taking this opportunity to teach you the work of a maid. Now, let’s get up, alright?”  

In the end, the mere fact that this training had begun meant the chances of losing her foster sponsorship were high.  

Slowly dragging herself up, she stared blankly at Cordelia.  

...That’s right. From the beginning, her goal was not to starve to death.  

On top of that, she had wished to live like a person in this place.  

“A month... You said?”  

“Yes, or more precisely, until the head of the household returns.”  

“I’ll learn the maid’s duties. But—”  

If her sponsorship truly got canceled, she needed at least one skill to avoid starving to death here.  

But for now, it wasn’t confirmed. They still didn’t know for sure.  

Until then, she should do her best to become Dorothea’s daughter.  

“While I’m learning, I want to serve as Mother’s exclusive maid.”  

...For the sake of her noble foster daughter romantic fantasy childcare life.  

“Is that not possible?”  

Cordelia, who had been stroking her chin in thought at the request, soon smiled and gently patted her head.  

Then, surprisingly easily, she agreed.  

“Alright, let’s do that.”  

“Head Maid?”  

Sophia, who had been silently listening beside them, widened her eyes in shock and called out to Cordelia, as if asking whether she was seriously considering making her Dorothea’s exclusive maid.  

“The lady doesn’t have a personal maid anyway.”  

“Me! Me! I’m technically her exclusive maid right now, you know?!”  

“You stepped down from being the lady’s exclusive maid yourself. You said you wanted to take care of this child.”  

“...Huh?”  

Sophia, looking utterly confused as if wondering Is that how it works?, remained frozen in place. Meanwhile, Cordelia continued speaking.  

“For today, let’s just cover the basics briefly. Starting tomorrow, you’ll work as the lady’s exclusive maid while also learning the duties of a maid.”  

“Sounds good!”  

She nodded enthusiastically with a bright smile, then picked up the dog collar she had taken off while changing and put it back on. Seeing this, Cordelia tilted her head in curiosity and asked,  

“Come to think of it... Why do you keep wearing that dog collar?”  

“Oh, this? It’s Mother’s preference.”  

“...? The lady’s preference?”  

“Yes, I heard that she was the one who ordered me to wear a collar. Right, Sophia?”  

At those words, Cordelia’s eyes widened in shock as she turned to Sophia, as if asking if it was really true.  

Sophia rubbed her face before hurriedly trying to explain, almost as if making excuses for the dog collar.  

“No, that’s not—!”  

What? Did she say something wrong?  

Dorothea had told her to wear the collar, so what was the issue?  

Back to the present—  

She pounded her chest lightly and loudly declared to the still half-asleep Dorothea,  

“Starting today, I’m your exclusive maid for a month!”  

Cordelia had agreed to her request surprisingly easily, and so, until the head of the family returned—about a month—she would stay by Dorothea’s side as her personal maid.  

Of course, she would have to spend most of the day learning the duties of a maid, so they wouldn’t be together for long periods. But still, it was better than being locked up in the tower doing nothing.  

With a triumphant expression, she thumped her chest again and looked at Dorothea.  

As expected, Dorothea’s face showed nothing but pure irritation.  

“...You’re fired. Get out.”  

“I refuse your refusal! Here’s my appointment letter!”  

“Appointment letter?”  

She pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket and handed it to Dorothea.  

Cordelia had written it for her. According to Sophia, it basically said, ‘I did as the lady wanted—whether she roasts me, boils me, or keeps me as her exclusive maid, it’s up to her.’  

After reading the contents, Dorothea ruffled her hair in frustration and let out a long sigh, looking completely drained.  

“...Do you even know how to do maid work?”  

“I learned yesterday!”  

“What did you learn?”  

“Sweeping and mopping?”  

That was literally all she had learned.  

Sweeping up dust with a broom and wiping it away with a rag—that was the entirety of what Cordelia had taught her about a maid’s duties yesterday.  

To prove it, she pulled a rag from her pocket and held it up for Dorothea to see.  

Watching her, Dorothea eventually collapsed back onto the bed, as if overwhelmed by stress.  

Then, she kicked at the blankets in frustration and let out a groan.  

“Why is the nanny doing this to me...?! What use does that kid have for her to make her my exclusive maid...?! Is she just trying to mess with me...?!”  

“I’m very useful, actually.”  

“Oh yeah? And what exactly are you useful for? Eating? Going for walks? Running? Playing fetch with the dogs?”  

“Of course, I’m good at all of those things, but...”  

Dorothea suddenly sat up and started poking her forehead while listing off what she considered to be her skills.  

Crossing her arms, she started thinking about what else she was good at besides the things Dorothea had mentioned.  

“I’m healthy and don’t get tired easily.”  

“Yeah, that’s obvious.”  

“So I can clean diligently, and I can mop the floors with great energy. Also, I’m good at carrying heavy things. I’m stronger than I look. I could even lift you—no, maybe not.”  

“...Shouldn’t you at least lie and say you could?”  

“Not lying is also one of my strengths.”  

Dorothea let out a deep sigh, clearly irritated, then sat up from the bed.  

She perched on the edge, crossing her legs as she looked down at her.  

“You said you’re my exclusive maid starting today.”  

“Yes!”  

“And all you’ve learned so far is sweeping and mopping?”  

“...Yes!”  

“Then...”  

Dorothea stood up from the bed and headed straight for the door.  

Just as she was about to follow, wondering where she was going, Dorothea grabbed the broom from the corner of the room and shoved it into her hands.  

Then, she gave her an order.  

“Clean my library spotless by the end of the day. If I find even a speck of dust, you’re fired.”