Episode 9 - A Leaky Bucket
There were ten days left until the Duke and Duchess returned. As soon as Martha opened her eyes in the morning, she imprinted that number in her mind. Ten days. Three out of five creditors had been dealt with.
The remaining two locations were to be finished within this week as well. The visit to the estate could proceed next week as planned. The problem was the mansion. If money was being wasted outside, shouldn't money be reduced inside now as well? What condition should the house be in when her parents return? Martha thought, looking up at the ceiling.
The Duke and the Duchess are returning from their trip. They are returning to a house that has been vacant for a long time. The house must be better than before. The household must be in order, the employees must have found their places, and waste must be reduced. Her parents had to see Martha cleaning up the mess Serena had made. Not with words, but with their eyes; she had to get this house under control within ten days. Martha rose from her seat.
As she left the bedroom, she heard footsteps in the hallway. A maid passed by carrying a bucket. Martha watched her. She was going to fill the bathtub with water. It was a daily occurrence. Preparing the Princess's morning bath. Martha stopped just as she was about to enter her room. A moment later, she heard footsteps again. It was another maid. She was carrying a bucket, too. They were heading in the same direction. Martha watched their retreating figures. Two people doing the same work.
She peered into the bathroom. Two maids were filling the bathtub. One had fetched hot water from the kitchen, while the other had drawn cold water from the well. They took turns pouring it into the tub. Martha watched the scene, then looked at the bathtub. It was a large, deep tub. It was big enough for a person to immerse their entire body. To fill it completely, they would have to carry buckets twenty times. Do they do this every morning?
Martha stepped out into the hallway thinking that. She was about to just walk past but stopped. Footsteps came again from the direction of the kitchen; it was the third maid. She was also carrying a bucket. Martha called out to the third maid.
"For a moment."
The maid stopped.
"Yes, Princess."
“Where are you going?”
"I'm going to fill the bathtub."
“You two are doing it?”
The maid blinked.
"Yes?"
"There are two of them in the bathroom right now."
The maid paused and spoke.
"Ah, we usually do it as a trio. We're trying to fill it up quickly."
Martha accepted the remark for a moment. Three people fill the bathtub every morning—one from the kitchen for hot water, one from the well for cold water, and one as an assistant. How long does that take? What happens if those three are doing other work during that time?
Oh dear. Martha rubbed her brow.
In the past, before Martha became Serena, she was twenty-five when she first entered this house as the head maid. She hurriedly filled the position after the previous head maid suddenly collapsed from illness. At twenty-five, when she was the head maid, she was considered too young. Then, on her first day, while touring the mansion, she clutched the back of her neck in shock.
Three kitchen maids were chopping firewood at the same time. It was a task that could have been done by just one person. Two laundry staff members were taking turns handling the same load of laundry. It was a job that could have been done by one person washing and the other rinsing. That evening, Martha gathered the entire staff and reorganized the workflow. This person for this task, that person for that. Combine what overlaps and divide what is lacking.
At first, there was resistance. Some did not want to change the way things were done. Martha persuaded them one by one. If she could not persuade them, she demonstrated the new method.
After a month had passed, the mansion had changed. With the same number of people, the work had doubled. That was thirty years ago, though. Martha opened her eyes. This house felt exactly like that first day. Martha opened the bathroom door. Three maids, who were holding buckets, froze when they saw Martha.
"My Lady, it will be ready soon..."
"For a moment."
Martha stood beside the bathtub and looked at it. It was about half full. The cold and hot water were mixing, and a slight steam was rising. Martha looked down at the bathtub. It was large, deep, and wide. It was big enough for an adult to stretch their legs out with room to spare.
“Do you fill this up every day?”
"Yes."
“What time does it start?”
"From six in the morning."
“How long will it take?”
"It takes about an hour to fill it all up."
Martha looked at the bathtub, then looked at the maids.
"But am I the only one using this?"
The maids looked at each other cautiously.
"Yes..."
"You fill up this huge thing every day just for me?"
There was no answer. Martha looked at the bathtub again. It was a bathtub for one person. The Princess alone. For that one person, three women carried water for an hour each. And when she finished bathing, they emptied all the water. The next day, they refilled it again.
Oh dear, what a waste! Martha looked back at the three maids.
"You guys."
The three of them looked at Martha at the same time.
"How many times a week do you wash?"
The maids exchanged glances. The maid who looked the oldest spoke cautiously.
"We... once a week."
"Why?"
"Clean water is expensive, you know. We can't use it every day."
Martha looked at the bathtub as she listened to those words. Every morning, three people took turns spending an hour filling the bathtub used solely by the Princess. That amount of water was enough for ten maids to wash. One person used it once a day and then emptied it. However, the maids who filled the water could only wash once a week.
"Oh my goodness, what a mess."
Martha called out to Lucy as she came out of the bathroom.
“Lucy.”
"Yes."
"Can you call a plumber?'
Lucy blinked.
"A repairman?"
"Please ask Butler Maxim, who knows a lot about plumbing, to look into it."
“Why the plumbing?”
Martha pointed toward the bathroom.
"I'm trying to get rid of the three of them carrying water for an hour every day because of that bathtub."
Lucy looked toward the bathroom, then looked at Martha.
“Is that possible?”
Martha thought for a moment. It was when she was over sixty. An envoy from a distant country was staying at the Imperial Palace. Martha was in charge of preparing the party's lodgings. While organizing the luggage, she saw an unfamiliar object in the bathroom. It was a pipe. A metal plate with several holes was attached to the end of a pipe protruding from the wall. When she turned the stopper, water poured out of the holes. From top to bottom, flowing evenly like raindrops, Martha stared at it for a long time.
How practical. There was no need to fill the bathtub completely. You could use only as much as needed, and it would stop when the stopper was closed. That memory was etched in Martha's mind.
It was something that didn't exist at this point in time. After all, Martha only saw it for the first time when she was over sixty. It simply hadn't been introduced to this country yet. 'Then we can just make it now,' Martha explained to Lucy.
"Connect a pipe high up on the wall above the bathtub, and attach a metal plate with multiple holes to the end of the pipe so that water pours down evenly from top to bottom like rain. Then, attach a stopper to the pipe so that water comes out when opened and stops when closed."
Lucy stopped writing.
"You mean water is pouring down from above?"
"Yeah. If the water comes down from above, you can wash while standing. You don't need to fill the bathtub and stand up. Just use as much as you need, close the stopper, and you're done."
Lucy's face turned as if she were imagining that picture.
"Can that be washed away?"
"It uses significantly less water and takes less time."
Lucy said while taking notes in her notebook.
"If I explain it to the repairman, he'll take care of the structure, right?"
"Just tell him exactly what I want. That's enough."
Martha paused for a moment and added.
"And ask the repairman one more thing."
“What?”
"Please make the same thing in the area used by the employees as well."
Lucy stopped while taking notes.
"The employees?"
"You know how you sweat and smell while working. But I heard they can only shower once a week because water is expensive. Please set one up over there, too. Separate sections for the men and women."
Lucy stopped and wrote Martha.
"Even the employees'?"
“Why, is it strange?”
"No, that's not it."
Lucy chose her words and spoke.
"Because no one else thought that way.'
Martha said as she walked.
"You have to keep your body clean to do your job well. It's only natural."
Maxim looked displeased after hearing the story about the repairman.
"My Lady, if we renovate your bathroom and the servants' bathroom as well, the construction costs will be quite high."
“How much?”
"It would depend on the design, but if you do it in both places simultaneously."
“Butler Maxime.”
"Yes."
Martha said to Maxime.
"It might seem like a big expense at first, but as days go by and you do your seasonal accounting or look at the yearly chart, it will definitely be a benefit. Trust me."
Martha continued.
"It's the same with the employees' bathroom. Right now, the employees only wash once a week. If they don't wash properly, their health deteriorates, and if their health is poor, their work efficiency drops. If they get sick, they can't work. Even though the construction costs seem high right now, it is actually beneficial in the long run."
Maxim looked at Martha for a long time.
"...So that is what you think."
"That's just how housekeeping is. Sometimes what looks like saving money is actually a waste."
Maxim was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Understood. I will look into finding a repairman."
"The sooner the better."
Maxim and Lucy said "Yes" and hurried after him, taking notes in their notebooks. As she walked down the hallway, Martha thought to herself. The employees need to be able to wash properly. It was only natural. It had been the same for Martha even when she was the head maid. The household only ran properly when the employees were treated well. Some too many masters didn't know this. This house was one of them. Now that she knew, Martha walked to the next section
After settling the bathroom issue, the kitchen caught her eye. Martha peered into it. Helena was preparing breakfast. Two maidservants were assisting. Martha paused as she watched the food being prepared. There were ten plates. Covered dishes, a bread basket, butter, jam, cheese, fruit, soup, juice, tea, and one dish Martha didn't recognize. Martha looked at Helena.
"Miss Helena."
"Yes, Princess."
"How many people are eating this morning?"
Helena paused for a moment.
"It's just the two of you, the Princess and the Young Master."
"Is all of this going to two people?"
Helena looked at the plates.
"I originally prepared it like this for you..."
Martha looked at the plates again. Two people couldn't eat all of this. They wouldn't even be able to eat half. The rest was to be thrown away. 'It's thrown away like this every day,' Martha looked at Helena.
“Helena.”
"Yes."
"Are we going to eat all this food?"
Helena spoke frankly.
"You tend to leave some behind rather than eating it all."
“What’s left?”
“I’ll handle it.”
“You mean throwing it away?”
Helena couldn't speak. Martha stifled a sigh. Oh dear, what a waste.
"Starting today, I will have breakfast like this."
Martha started pointing with her finger.
"One soup, bread, one egg dish, cheese, and fruit—that's all. Since there are two of us, this should be enough."
Helena blinked.
“That’s it?”
"Just that. Instead, please serve each person just enough in their own individual bowl. If you pile it high on a big plate, they are bound to leave some behind."
Helena thought for a moment and nodded.
"All right."
"And use the leftover ingredients for the employees' meals. Don't throw them away."
"Yes."
"Please also pay attention to what the cooks and maids eat. The workers need to eat well to work well."
Helena paused for a moment at those words, then bowed her head deeply.
"Thank you, Princess."
Martha and Edward sat at the breakfast table. Lucy brought the food. A small bowl of soup, two slices of bread, a small plate of eggs, a little cheese, and a little fruit were neatly arranged in individual portions. Edward looked at the table. Then he looked at Martha. And then he looked at the table again.
"... What's this?"
“It’s breakfast.”
“Is this it?”
"Yes."
Edward looked at the small soup bowl. He looked at the small bread. He looked at the small plate of eggs.
"Are we on a mission right now?"
Martha said as she picked up the bread.
"That's just enough to eat. Usually, if we set out ten dishes for just the two of us, we'd have to throw it all away."
Edward saw the soup.
"Why did you make me prepare ten dishes all this time, knowing you were throwing them away?"
"It's not that I ordered it; that's just how it's always been done."
Edward looked at Martha. Martha said while eating her egg dish, 'It's delicious. Try it.' Edward took a bite of the egg. As he chewed, he wore a thoughtful expression for a moment.
“...It’s delicious.”
“Is that so?”
Edward took a spoonful of soup. He ate it.
“This is delicious too.”
"Helena is very skilled."
Edward looked at the dining table again.
"But is this really all?"
“This is it.”
Edward muttered as he picked up the bread.
"Whether it's a temple or here."
Martha picked up the fruit while pretending not to hear.
In the afternoon, she sat in the study with Maxim and spread out all the expense items. Martha went through them one by one.
"This scented candle is fifty gold a month."
"Yes, since we always keep it lit in the Princess's room and the reception room..."
"We only lit it on days when guests come to the drawing room. The room gets ventilated if I open the window."
Maxim wrote it down.
"What is the outsourcing fee for this laundry?"
"The cleaning of the high-end dresses was outsourced to an external company."
Maxim mentioned the name of the company. Martha knew the name. It was a famous laundry business among the imperial court nobles. It was expensive.
“What kind of things are entrusted to you?”
"I looked through the list."
"You can hand-wash this at home. You can have a professional service handle various items, but that company is too expensive. There are places with similar quality that are cheaper."
“Where?”
"There is a place called Lehman Laundry in the commercial district east of the Imperial Palace. The price there is much better for the quality."
Maxim raised his head.
"How do you know that?"
Martha paused for a moment.
“...I heard it.”
“To whom?”
“I just heard it.”
Maxim looked at Martha. There was something in his eyes. Martha averted her gaze and moved on to the next item.
“The cost of purchasing these flowers.”
"This is the cost of placing fresh flowers in each room of the mansion."
"How much is this?"
"Thirty gold a month."
"If Mr. Bruno plants flowers in the garden, you can just pick them from there."
Maxim stopped.
"He said he was going to plant lavender. We just need to plant a few more seasonal flowers there. Tell Bruno."
Maxim muttered as he took notes.
"That saves thirty gold."
"Small things come together to become big."
They kept flipping through the items. Every time Martha pointed to a spot, Maxim took note. For an hour, the two of them organized the items one by one. When they finished, Maxim put down his pencil and spoke quietly.
“Princess.”
"Why."
"If you just pick out the items you can save on today, it amounts to over 100 gold a month."
Martha looked at the list.
“I guess so.”
"That's twelve hundred gold a year."
"That's why I should have done it sooner."
Maxim looked down at the list. He didn't say anything for a moment. Then he spoke quietly.
"This house has been neglected for a long time. I should have taken better care of it, but I didn't manage to."
Martha heard those words. Maxim was blaming himself. Martha paused for a moment before speaking, acknowledging that she was the one who should have taken care of the household affairs but had failed to do so.
"You can't do everything alone."
Maxim looked at Martha.
"We can do it together now."
Maxim said nothing. Martha was already taking out the next document. She saw Maxim lowering his head at the edge of her vision.
That evening, Edward came home from work. He sat at the dining table. Dinner was set, neatly arranged in individual bowls. Edward looked at the table and spoke.
"Are we going to keep going like this from now on?"
"Yes."
“How long will this last?”
"Until waste disappears."
“What if our parents come back?”
"No mercy... No, I guess I should add a few more meat dishes."
Edward said while eating soup.
"A colleague was talking about the Valois family at the Imperial Palace today."
Martha looked at Edward.
“What?”
"Rumors are circulating even in the Imperial Palace that negotiations with creditors are progressing rapidly."
"Did the rumor reach that far?"
"Rumors about bond negotiations involving noble families spread quickly. That industry is small, you know. They aren't bad rumors. It just means the Valois family has started to clean up the mess."
Martha said as she cut the meat.
"I plan to put it back as best I can before my parents arrive."
Edward saw Martha.
“There are ten days left.”
"I know, that's why I'm busy.'
Edward looked at Martha for a moment, then ate the meat.
“What did you do today?”
Martha briefly talked about bathroom plumbing, organizing expense items, and rearranging the movement path. Edward listened and spoke.
"Are you replacing the bathtub plumbing?"
"I'm going to call a repairman to take a look. If we install pipes to bring water down from above, we won't have to have three people carry water for an hour every morning."
Edward thought for a moment and then spoke.
"How do you come up with things like that?"
"Oh my, you know, time flies. Time... Oops. I've seen a book that deals with fascinating things in the world."
"Serena. You know that was a bit strange just now, right?"
Edward ate his bread in silence. It was getting dark outside the window. While eating dinner, Martha organized the list of things to do tomorrow in her head. The remaining two creditors. Checking the repairman's schedule. Talking to Bruno about planting flowers. Finalizing the expense list with Maxim in ten days.
"Oh my god, I'm going to die," she laughed to herself.
[Lucy's Secret Shock Journal - Episode 9]
The house flipped today.
Shock No. 1: The Princess looked at the maids and suddenly asked, "How many times a week do you wash?"
Shock No. 2: She suggested making a device where water pours down like rain from the bathtub. I wonder where she saw that.
Shock No. 3: She asked that the same be made in the area used by the employees. Butler Maxim was speechless.
Shock No. 4: The breakfast table changed. Only enough to eat in individual bowls. The young master asked, "Are we on a training mission?" I wanted to laugh, but I held it back.
Shock No. 5: She changed the entire route of the mansion one by one. She knew of a place called Lehman Laundry, but I don't know how she found out about it, but she just said, "I just heard about it."
Shock No. 6: Butler Maxim was blaming himself, but the Princess said, "We can do it together." His eyes reddened. I clearly saw it.
This is what I thought about the longest today.
The Princess builds a bathroom for the maids who can only wash once a week. The Princess said, "You have to be clean to do your job well. It is only natural."
It's obvious, but nobody thought of it. Including me.
The Princess keeps acting like an adult. She's only nineteen.
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