“Which would you like me to explain first, the reasons or the money?”
“Then... let’s talk about the financial issue first.”
“Yes.”
Mother seemed not to have expected me to come out so confidently. Her eyes trembled violently, and she showed clear signs of fluster, but she quickly composed herself and asked me to start with the money.
“Hmm~ First of all, the initial cost of making the clothes and distributing them to the maids comes to about 9 gold. If we assume the uniforms will last at least five years, the maintenance cost for the uniforms would be around 1 to 2 gold per year. Mother, last year the maintenance expenses related to the maids were about 300 gold, weren’t they?”
“... A little over 270 gold.”
“If you think of it that way, it isn’t such a large expense, is it?”
“Can you tell me how you calculated it? The price of the fabric, labor costs, and so on.”
“One moment.”
I took out the pen and notebook I always carried with me and wrote down, one by one, the figures I had used to calculate the clothing costs.
「
Fabric: cotton 2 silver per meter, silk 10 silver per meter.
Amount of cloth required for one dress: 3 meters.
Aprons and headpieces can be reused, so no change from existing costs.
Each maid will be issued two work uniforms and one reception uniform, for a total of three.
For the head maid and personal maids, the reception maid uniforms will be made of silk.
There are a total of 13 maids in the mansion, including 1 head maid and 3 personal maids.
Therefore, 35 cotton maid uniforms and 4 silk maid uniforms are needed, for a total of 39 uniforms.
The labor cost to produce them is...
... Therefore, the total is expected to be 8 gold and 87 silver.
」
“These are the standards I used for the calculation. Is there anything strange?”
“Hmm...”
When I turned the notebook 180 degrees and gently pushed it toward Mother, she picked it up and stared at the page as if she might bore a hole through it.
Then, as if flicking the beads of an abacus, Mother busily moved her left hand over the dining table. At last, she stopped her hand abruptly, smiled, and carefully set the notebook down.
“There is one part you got wrong.”
“Huh?”
“You have to include the maids who manage the townhouse in the imperial capital, not just this mansion. If we include those girls, I think the amount would increase by about 10%. In that case, the cost would be roughly 10 gold.”
“Ah...”
I had not even considered the townhouse in the imperial capital, so I let out a sigh and lightly bit my lower lip.
For all the confidence I had shown, it was an embarrassing finish, and shame came flooding in.
As I flushed and rubbed the back of my neck, Mother, unexpectedly, smiled with satisfaction and tapped the notebook with her finger.
“Still, you prepared better than I thought. I assumed it was just simple childish whining, but it wasn’t. Since it seems you’ve worked hard to prepare this in your own way, from now on I will evaluate your plan not as your mother, but as the mistress of this house.”
“Please go a little easy on me...”
“Hmph, not a chance.”
Mother snorted lightly, and her gaze sharpened.
“......”
At that ominous look, the kind I only saw when Mother was scolding Father, I unconsciously straightened my back and swallowed.
“First, why do the maids need uniforms? As you said, it isn’t a particularly large expense, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is still an unnecessary one. Why must we spend 10 gold the first year, and 2 gold every year after that?”
“It can increase their sense of belonging and loyalty to the family, and it can make the maids look professional.”
“Professional? Explain that in a little more detail.”
“Clothing plays an important role in forming the image of a group. Creating maid uniforms is the same as establishing a standard for what a maid should be, like soldiers or priests.”
Just as school uniforms make one think of fresh-faced students, and military or police uniforms bring to mind stiff, rigid people.
“And unified clothing can give a clean impression at a glance. It also helps establish order and discipline, and increases their sense of belonging. It makes the maids feel not as though they simply came here to work, but as though they are members of the count’s household. If each of these things builds up, people will start saying, ‘Even the maids of the count’s family have dignity.’”
Of course, that image was premised on raising the maids very well.
If the maids were trained into complete disasters, the maid uniforms would vanish into history.
“How would that image help us?”
“Managing the maids is one of the mistress’s accomplishments, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. Matters within the house are the authority of the mistress.”
“A positive image of the maids will help form the image of Heiseu and the young ladies working in the mansion. After all, the image of ‘a woman who has learned how to properly train and suitably handle servants’ is not something one can obtain easily.”
“Hmm...”
Mother gently closed her eyes as if reflecting on my words, tapping the dining table with her finger.
In the silence, only the steady sound of her finger striking the table rang out.
The moment that silence broke, what words would come from Mother’s mouth...?
I was nervous.
After waiting anxiously for Mother’s answer for a minute, her finger stopped, and she opened her eyes before quietly uttering a single sentence.
“You’re too optimistic.”
“Mm...”
An answer leaning toward the negative.
I bit my lower lip and let out a faint groan.
“It seems you are looking only at the positive aspects, to an excessive degree. I also think you are exaggerating the effect of the image too much.”
“As expected... is that so...”
The words Mother continued with were likewise difficult to find anything positive in.
I had tried inflating the positive factors as much as possible, but as expected, it was difficult to deceive Mother’s eyes.
Of course, since she had lived as a countess for decades, it would have been stranger for her to be fooled by such trivial wordplay...
But I still could not help feeling disappointed.
Regret surged up, telling me I should have slept more and prepared a little better before coming, but it was already too late.
“Tsk...”
As I clicked my tongue and smiled bitterly, Mother gave a soft laugh and added,
“Still, it isn’t an entirely impossible idea. And the notion of visually showing the maids’ professionalism doesn’t seem bad.”
“Yes, nobles do like appearances.”
“Appearances... That isn’t wrong. As for the maids’ uniforms, I will consider them positively for now.”
“Thank you.”
I had gotten a fairly good answer, but that did not mean it was completely decided, so I did not relax and waited for Mother’s next question.
“Next, I am curious why you placed differences in the reception maid uniforms.”
“Generally speaking, the position of head maid or personal maid is a duty entrusted to someone the mistress can trust. If that’s the case, it is necessary to clearly show that they are trusted and relied upon to some extent.”
“As for treatment, we already treat them well enough. Both materially and emotionally.”
“That’s true. But as I said earlier, something that stands out to the eye feels different. And wouldn’t it be all right to invest thirty or forty silver more in a head maid who has worked in the mansion for over ten years, or in a maid who serves at your side?”
“That is also true. It makes sense.”
Mother moved on from this answer without any particular criticism.
“Then why distinguish between reception maid uniforms and work maid uniforms?”
“Because sturdiness and ease of maintenance are important for work maid uniforms, while neatness and a beautiful design are important for reception uniforms. I thought it would be difficult to combine those into a single type of clothing.”
“Then what purpose did you make the clothes Emily is wearing now for?”
“For reception.”
“I see.”
Mother’s head moved lightly up and down, and once again her finger began tapping the dining table.
“Though it is optimistic and there are several problems, the plan itself is not bad.”
“Then...”
Unlike before, this time a positive answer came first.
I waited for Mother’s next words, desperately hoping that what followed would not be a refusal.
“If you can solve the problems I present within the set period, I will personally go to your father and help persuade him.”
“Really?!”
There was a condition attached, but Mother had given her permission.
And if the result was good, she would even help persuade Father.
I wanted to run over right away and hug Mother.
“Yes. My son, who was always so listless, says he is taking on a new challenge in his own way. If I act too strict, you would be disappointed, wouldn’t you?”
“Mother, I really love you.”
“That’s enough. What are you saying, so embarrassingly?”
At my heartfelt expression of affection, Mother waved her hand in disgust.
Even so, the corners of her mouth twitched, and she wore the brightest expression I had seen on her all day.
“And I am only helping you if you solve what I tell you to solve, so don’t be too happy too soon.”
“I’m grateful enough just for the opportunity.”
Then she tried to put on a solemn expression while issuing a warning she did not mean.
It did not have much significance, though.
“First, it would be unfair to make new uniforms only for the maids, so I would like you to make uniforms similar to the maids’ for the butlers as well.”
“Yes.”
This was not a particularly difficult request.
Since she was asking for something similar to the maid uniforms, it would be enough to make one while referring to the formal attire of knights or a tailcoat.
When I smiled and nodded, Mother continued without delay.
“And the clothes Emily is wearing now—I cannot quite tell whether they are meant to be shown to others or are comfortable clothes for working. I would like you to consult with Emily and bring me a revised design.”
“Mm... yes...”
I did not really know what was ambiguous about them, but I answered reluctantly and nodded for the time being.
“And lastly, instead of shutting yourself in your room all day, come out during teatime and have a cup of tea.”
“Haha... yes.”
The last was the nagging Mother always gave me.
I wondered why she would even include something like this as a condition, but when I thought about it carefully, I had been skipping it rather often lately, so I had nothing to say.
“Then... how much time will you give me?”
“One week. Can you do it?”
“I can.”
It was not as though I was certain, but if I failed, nothing would come of any of this, so I nodded with the mindset that I would succeed no matter what.
“Hm-hmm...”
Perhaps she liked the sight of that, because Mother hummed through her nose and picked up the notebook she had set down in front of her, handing it back to me.
“Confidence is truly pleasant to see. I hope you bring me good results.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Good. This mother of yours will go first, so you finish your meal.”
“Yes. I’ll see you at teatime later.”
“Hoho~ Yes.”
With that, Mother rose from her seat and left the dining room with a face full of smiles.
Wanting to return to my room as quickly as possible to fulfill Mother’s demands, I picked up my fork and knife and hurriedly shoved the meat into my mouth.
The slightly cooled meat was a little tough, but to me at that moment, it tasted better than anything else.