Not the Villainess, but the Maid

Chapter 21: Taming the Student Council President (2)

It had been three days since I started cleaning Citrine Scarlet’s office.

Yesterday, I was interrogated by Lady Ruby about where I had gone in the morning, but luckily, she didn’t dig too deeply, and I managed to brush it off. I’d have to be more careful next time.

The time I spent meeting Citrine during the day wasn’t as long as I had expected. All I did was clean for about 30 minutes early in the morning.

Even that was nearly unnecessary now, as the room had become so tidy compared to the first day.

‘Well, that’s the cleaning done for today.’

I finished tidying up quickly and sat down on the chair next to Citrine to rest my back.

When I asked her about the sudden addition of an extra chair, she didn’t explain why, but it was clear she had placed it there for me to sit and rest.

I watched her from the side as she sipped her coffee and handled her documents. Something that had been on my mind for a while finally prompted me to speak.

“President, why do you handle all this work by yourself?”

“What?”

At my question, she put her pen down and squinted at me.

She wasn’t glaring—it was just her usual expression.

“It looks like way too much to do alone. Wouldn’t it be faster to divide the work?”

“What kind of nonsense is that? I’m the student council president, so this much work is natural for me.”

No one was paying her to do this, so it seemed strange that she was taking on so much by herself.

Considering that she was cutting into her sleep and relying on caffeine to get through it all, it didn’t seem healthy.

“How about sharing some tasks with the other officers?”

When I suggested this, Citrine looked at me silently before turning her attention back to her papers.

“…That’s not an option.”

“….”

Her expression seemed to say not to ask any more questions, so I didn’t press further.

“Cough, cough…”

As she silently worked her pen, Citrine let out a small cough.

‘She’s coughing again.’

Citrine had been coughing more frequently these days.

Whenever that happened, I’d bring her some hot tea, which seemed to help for a bit, but it was only a temporary fix.

“Why don’t you just rest for today? You seem like you have a cold.”

“A cold? That’s something only pathetic commoners get.”

“I’m not sure what that has to do with anything…”

“Don’t you know? This is why commoners are so…”

Once again, her tirade started, leaving me dizzy from the sheer absurdity.

Even so, she didn’t seem to dislike having me around.

After all, when I finished cleaning in just five minutes, she was the one who suggested I keep her company and chat for a bit.

As we were having a light conversation, loud voices echoed from outside.

“It sounds like the student council members are here.”

“Why are those idiots so early today?”

“Stay seated. I’ll go and offer them some tea.”

“Do whatever you want.”

The door to the office opened, and the student council members began trickling in one by one.

The group entered with a lively atmosphere and greeted me with bright expressions.

“Oh, it’s that cute girl from yesterday! Are you officially working with the student council now?”

“No, I just have some personal business with the president.”

“Is that so? Either way, nice to see you.”

The officers, five noblewomen in total, seemed to maintain a generally pleasant and harmonious demeanor.

I poured black tea into cups I had prepared earlier and spoke.

“Here’s some tea. Please help yourselves.”

“Thank you, miss.”

“Much appreciated.”

As expected from a group of elite nobles, their appearances exuded sophistication and refinement.

Once seated, they naturally began chatting amongst themselves.

…But wasn’t something missing?

“Excuse me, but what about the president…?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t you usually have tea time or something like that with the president?”

“Oh, Citrine?”

At my question, they exchanged glances before responding with smiles.

“Leave her be. She doesn’t like these things anyway. If we call her over, she’ll just get annoyed.”

“…I see.”

Still, I thought they might at least greet her since they were on the same team.

…Was this just part of their group culture?

Though it was time for me to leave, I found myself curious about this student council.

After all, it was said to be composed of the top-performing students in the school.

Given that it was a club of such distinguished individuals, I wondered what they typically did.

“By the way, what does a normal day look like for the student council?”

“A normal day? Hmm…”

One of them paused to think before answering.

“We sit around chatting for a bit, drink some tea, and then work on whatever we need to—personal studies, catching up on assignments, stuff like that.”

“…Sorry, what?”

I thought I must have misheard, so I asked again.

“Is that all?”

“All?”

“Like, actual student council work…”

“Oh, Citrine does all of that for us, so we don’t have to. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

They answered casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“…So the president does all the work alone?”

“Well, she’s a genius, isn’t she? Her grades are always the best, so she can handle it all.”

“No matter how capable she is…”

“Don’t worry about it too much. She knows what she’s doing.”

The other officers were entirely unconcerned, going about their own activities without a second thought.

Apparently, this had been the way things worked ever since Citrine became president in her second year.

“….”

There were so many things I wanted to say, but in the end, I left without saying a word.

I was just an outsider here.

Even if I voiced my opinion, it would likely be ignored or dismissed.

I couldn’t focus on my classes all day.

To think that the student council, which was supposed to serve all the students, was operating like this.

The officers were shirking their responsibilities and leaving all the work to Citrine, while still enjoying all the perks of their positions.

‘That’s so unfair…’

It wasn’t just pity for Citrine.

Even from a rational perspective, it was clearly wrong.

I couldn’t understand why no one had pointed it out.

“Amber, is something wrong?”

Sitting next to me, Diamond spoke softly.

“Huh?”

“You don’t look so good. You haven’t even turned a page of your book.”

“Oh…”

She was right. I had completely forgotten to turn the pages of my textbook.

If I had completed the student council president route in the original game, I might have known what to do in this situation.

But unfortunately, I had never finished it.

I’d given up halfway through, likely because of Citrine’s sharp tongue.

What would Diamond have done in this situation?

The protagonist of the original story always seemed to handle situations differently. I couldn’t help but wonder how she would act if she were in my place.

“…Actually, there’s someone I’ve been a bit concerned about lately.”

When I said that, Diamond looked intrigued and asked.

“Really? Who are they?”

“A very small, foul-tempered person…”

She always acted tough, but from my perspective, she seemed as fragile as a soap bubble that could burst at any moment.

“She looks so exhausted no matter how I see it, but she never shows it. And the people around her treat her struggles like it’s the most natural thing in the world.”

“…Then wouldn’t it be best for Amber to speak to them directly?”

“Me, directly?”

“Yes. Some people won’t realize their mistakes unless you tell them.”

It would be great if things could be resolved just as Diamond suggested, but I knew it wouldn’t be so simple.

“I’m not sure if my words would hold any weight. To them, I’m just a third party…”

“Which is exactly why your words might be seen as more genuine. Unlike them, you can view the situation more objectively.”

Her words gave me a strange sense of confidence in my ability to take action.

“Thank you for the advice. I’ll try to talk to them properly next time.”

I thought that was the end of our conversation, but then Diamond gave me a curious smile and said something unexpected.

“But Amber, you seem quite interested in this woman. What about her has captured your attention?”

“It’s not so much that I like her… It’s more that I can’t just leave her alone. I feel like I have to take care of her.”

“…Oh my.”

Diamond covered her mouth with her hand in a show of surprise, looking amused. I quickly added more context.

“…Just to clarify, it’s purely out of a desire to help her.”

“Hmm? I never said otherwise.”

…Despite being the one who asked first, she was wearing such a sly expression.

Diamond could be just as playful as Amethyst when she wanted to be, though it didn’t show as often.

On any other day, I would have gone straight to the library after classes, but today, I changed my plans.

Perhaps it was because I’d been worried about Citrine, who had been coughing so much these past few days.

Before heading to my club activities, I decided to stop by the student council room for a moment.

‘Should I have brought medicine?’

Lady Ruby always managed everything perfectly on her own, leaving me with little to do, but Citrine had a way of making me instinctively step in to help.

“Hello.”

When I opened the door to the student council room, the officers I had seen earlier in the morning were still laughing and chatting.

“Where’s the president?”

“Citrine? She’s probably in her office, as usual.”

I walked past them and stood in front of Citrine’s office door, knocking gently.

“I’m coming in, President.”

Normally, her sharp voice would have snapped back immediately, but it was strangely quiet inside.

‘Is she focused on something?’

I opened the door and saw the top of her head as she leaned against her desk.

Had she finally collapsed from overworking herself?

I naturally walked closer and gently shook her shoulder, speaking softly.

“President. President?”

“…Hm?”

“Please lie down properly if you’re going to sleep. You’ll get a crooked neck.”

She turned her head toward me slowly, her eyes still hazy.

“Oh, it’s you…”

Citrine staggered to her feet and headed toward the cabinet where her coffee was stored.

“More coffee? You’re not even feeling well.”

She turned to look at me, her expression still dazed from sleep, and replied.

“…You wouldn’t understand… A pathetic commoner… like you…”

She swayed slightly, then suddenly leaned fully against me, burying her face in my shoulder without a word.

“….”

“…President?”

When she didn’t respond, I placed my hand lightly on her shoulder.

‘She’s burning up…?’

Her entire body was radiating heat.

With a sense of foreboding, I placed my hand on her forehead and, unsurprisingly, it was burning hot.

“Citrine, you have a fever…”

She could barely keep her eyes open and was struggling to breathe.

‘This is bad…’

I quickly hoisted her onto my back and carried her out of the office.

As I stepped into the main student council room with Citrine on my back, the officers who had been laughing and chatting fell silent.

One of them, looking slightly startled, asked me.

“What’s going on…? Is she sick?”

I answered her sternly.

“She’s burning up and can’t even open her eyes. Hasn’t anyone checked on her?”

“…W-we didn’t know. She never told us.”

They all looked at me with expressions of genuine surprise, as if they had never considered such a possibility.

“When was the last time anyone saw her?”

“Around nine…?”

“Nine in the morning?”

“She said she felt a bit dizzy in the morning, but she was quiet after that, so we thought she was just napping…”

Half a day.

She had been left alone for half a day since I left that morning.

She had clearly missed all her afternoon classes. As her classmates, they should have noticed her absence.

Yet, as fellow student council members, none of them had paid her the slightest attention during that long stretch of time.

I turned to them with a serious expression and asked.

“…Be honest. You don’t really care about the president, do you?”

At my question, they all looked awkward and avoided my gaze.

“What are you saying? We care about her so much…”

They claimed to care about her, yet they hadn’t spoken a single word to her all day.

“…Do you know how many hours she spends at her desk every day?”

“…Uh, five hours?”

Five hours, they said.

I couldn’t help but frown at the ridiculous answer.

“All day. She works all day, even sleeping here to get things done.”

“….”

They had no response, staring at the floor with uneasy expressions.

Of course, no one had ever offered to help her.

“Please open the door. I’m taking her to the infirmary.”

“O-okay…”

With Citrine on my back, I left the suddenly somber student council room.

As I made my way to the infirmary, the only sound in my ears was the labored breathing of Citrine.