Not the Villainess, but the Maid

Chapter 20: Taming the Student Council President (1)

`I was tasked with cleaning Citrine Scarlet’s office as a condition for establishing a free activity club.

…Though, to be honest, it was merely a verbal agreement with no set schedule or frequency.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter when I do it, right?’

In the early dawn, while Ruby was still asleep, I quietly got up and changed clothes to avoid waking her.

It used to be me who was a terrible sleeper, while Ruby was the one who woke early.

But after living together for four years, we had somehow swapped roles.

I gazed silently at her peaceful, sleeping face.

She was always capricious, and at times, I couldn’t fathom what she was thinking—an aristocratic young lady.

She was also a precious benefactor who took me, an orphan, under her wing as a maid.

…But that was only the perspective of Amber, the orphan girl.

To the “me” that included my past life, what exactly was she?

A lifeline to cling to for survival?

A means to achieve my goals?

Whatever she was, there was no denying that she had become someone more meaningful to me.

Now that I was physically capable of standing on my own, there was no compelling reason to continue as Ruby’s maid.

Even if she followed the original story and walked the path to ruin, meeting a tragic end, I could abandon the household and escape—that would be the end of it.

But of course, I had no intention of doing that, nor did I plan to let Ruby meet her downfall.

Because, now, I sincerely wished for her happiness.

‘…I’ll be back, Ruby.’

Looking at her, now more accustomed to being called “Miss,” I quietly closed the door and stepped out of the dormitory.

The crisp dawn air filled my lungs as I exited.

It was still an hour when most students remained asleep in their dormitories.

As I headed to the student council room, I recalled Citrine Scarlet’s appearance from the previous day.

Her crimson hair was tied into twin tails, her sharp yellow eyes heavy with dark circles underneath.

She was about a head shorter than me, yet her voice was disproportionately loud.

And the place where she stayed?

Her office, shrouded in blackout curtains, was so dark and stifling that it felt suffocating.

‘Yesterday, I struggled not to clean it on the spot.’

I had barely restrained the urge to ventilate the room and tidy it up immediately.

Come to think of it, in my past life, I had no connection to cleaning at all.

Maybe it was because my body had changed, but my tastes and personality seemed to shift more and more as time went on.

When I arrived at the student council room, I was greeted by an elegant door.

As befitting the top-tier club space of the academy, the facility bore evidence of meticulous attention to detail.

Pushing the door open, I found a massive table surrounded by numerous chairs.

‘As expected, no one’s here.’

Apparently, even student council officers didn’t start work at this hour.

I passed the table and headed for the small side room inside the student council room.

This side room was my destination: Citrine Scarlet’s private office.

Creak—

When I opened the door and stepped in, the room was predictably pitch dark.

‘Does anyone actually live here…?’

It felt less like a room and more like a dungeon.

The rich aroma of coffee that filled the space was so overwhelming I couldn’t stand it any longer.

Feeling suffocated, I rushed to the window and drew back the blackout curtains with a flourish.

-Swish.

Sunlight flooded the room instantly, illuminating the interior.

‘It’s even worse in the light…’

The desk was crammed with countless mugs.

Each had coffee stains baked into the bottom as if they had been left there for ages.

In addition, the desk was a perfect storm of hardened dust and spilled coffee stains—a dreadful combination.

As someone carrying the title of maid, there was no way I could leave this sight untouched.

I immediately rolled up my sleeves.

First, I cleaned the absurdly piled-up mugs until they gleamed, then wiped down the desk with a damp cloth until it sparkled.

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I looked around and realized there were countless other areas to address.

Books crammed onto the shelves without any rhyme or reason.

Curtains so dusty they seemed twice their normal weight.

Scattered writing tools, and—most notably—a spare chair near the window.

‘What’s with the blanket on the chair…?’

Curious about what might be underneath, I lifted the blanket.

“Ah!”

I screamed and fell backward in shock.

Underneath wasn’t some hidden object but a living, breathing person.

“Excuse me…?”

The person, unmistakably Citrine Scarlet—the student council president—stirred beneath the blanket.

“…Mmm?”

At the sound of my voice, she slowly opened her eyes.

“….”

We locked eyes for three seconds.

Her eyes widened, and she yanked the blanket up, screaming.

“Wh-what… what the heck…!?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you here…!?”

“You promised I could clean here, remember? So, I came.”

“This early in the morning…?”

After a barrage of questions, Citrine finally calmed down.

“You scared me. At least give me a heads-up before barging in…!”

Who was she to talk?

“More importantly, why were you sleeping here?”

With the academy providing dormitories and proper beds for all students, I couldn’t fathom why she would sleep in such discomfort.

“It’s annoying to go back and forth from the dorms. I can eat, sleep, and even wash here in the main building.”

“…Is that seriously your only reason?”

“Does it matter where I sleep? Once you fall asleep, it’s all the same.”

Seeing her like this, I could finally understand why Citrine’s eyes were so burdened with dark circles.

Citrine Scarlet was a heroine who absolutely adored caffeine.

She drank so much coffee that it seemed like she used it as a substitute for water, and in the game, her favorite gift was coffee.

On top of that, today I discovered a new fact: she often napped uncomfortably in a chair like this.

“…Just go back to sleep for now. I’ll take care of the cleaning.”

As I bustled around the room with cleaning tools, Citrine called out to me with a puzzled expression.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you working so hard? It wasn’t even a serious promise.”

“Because I promised.”

“…Whatever, do as you like.”

To be honest, I was genuinely worried about her health.

I started with the blackout curtains, which I had wanted to clean the most.

The weight of the curtains, combined with the dust clinging to them, made it a real challenge to move them.

Still, taking them to the washroom and scrubbing them clean gave me a sense of relief.

‘I can’t believe she’s been living with these.’

As I washed them, dark gunk—whether it was dirt or dust—poured out in clumps.

After hanging the curtains out to dry, I returned to find Citrine rubbing her eyes as she woke up.

Still groggy, she blindly groped around the desk for a mug, probably planning to down some coffee the moment she woke.

“Just sit still. I’ll make you a cup.”

“Huh? Oh… okay.”

The reason Citrine was so obsessed with caffeine was undoubtedly the insane workload of the student council.

Balancing top-tier grades with student council responsibilities would be impossible without cutting back on sleep.

Judging by the sheer pile of documents on her desk, it was clearly more work than one person could handle.

Two people—or at least one assistant—should have been helping her.

Surely she wasn’t doing all this by herself?

…No, that couldn’t be. Yesterday, I had seen her scolding her members harshly enough.

A moment later, I handed her a steaming cup.

“Here, President.”

“…Thanks.”

She took a slow sip and then gave me a curious look.

“How’s the taste?”

“…This isn’t coffee.”

“It’s tea. I thought it might be a good substitute for coffee.”

If I wanted to keep her around for a long time, I figured it was better to start weaning her off caffeine, even if gradually.

“Who asked you to do this? Don’t go around doing things no one asked for.”

Despite her words, Citrine took another sip of the tea with a pout.

“…It’s not bad.”

“Right?”

It was a perfectly brewed tea, made using the golden ratio I’d learned directly from Maid Leader Merilda, so there was no way it wouldn’t taste good.

Since tea also contained some caffeine, I figured she wouldn’t outright hate it.

For now, my short-term goal was to increase the ratio of tea to coffee in her life.

“Enjoy it. I’ll go organize the bookshelf.”

Sorting books was something I often did with Coral in the library, so it wasn’t particularly difficult.

As I pulled out the scattered books and sorted them by category, Citrine eventually came over and stood next to me.

“Finished your drink already? Want more?”

“No. I just thought I’d help a little.”

“…”

I gave her a wide-eyed look, shocked by the gesture.

She raised an eyebrow and snapped at me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, nothing. I just thought it was unexpected.”

“…Enough chatter. Let’s finish before I change my mind.”

“Yes, let’s wrap this up quickly!”

Her pouty expression reminded me so much of a younger Ruby that I couldn’t help but smile.

As the bookshelf organization neared completion, Citrine suddenly asked me a question.

“What was your name again?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t told her my name yet.

“Amber.”

“Amber? That’s such a commoner name.”

“…What does that even mean?”

“Not telling.”

I barely resisted the urge to crush the encyclopedia I was holding.

“…Amber, are you coming back tomorrow?”

“For now, yes.”

“…I see. Got it.”

With that, she helped me organize the rest of the books without a word of complaint.

“We’re done!”

Thanks to her help, the work was finished much faster than I had expected.

“Great job, President.”

“…”

“President!?”

When I realized she had gone silent, I turned to find her slumped against the bookshelf, barely moving.

“I… need caffeine…”

She was already like this after just a short break from coffee.

Only after I filled a mug with black coffee and handed it to her, watching her gulp it down, did she seem to regain her energy.

She was definitely someone who required constant attention.