From first light on the second day, the service wing was buzzing with almost ceremonial activity. Every movement, from the preparation of trays to the polishing of cutlery, was choreographed with a precision that could only be achieved through years of habit... or an iron will to impress strangers.
And no will was stronger than that of Lisette Blanche, who was already walking from one end of the corridor to the other with a notepad in her hands and an expression that could not be mistaken.
-Chihaya, have the tablecloths in the west lounge been checked?
-Yes, I ironed them twice last night," she replied, punctual as an hourglass.
-Mireille, don't get distracted by the cutlery. Put the knife down, it's not time to play.
-Oh, but it shines so beautifully in this light," replied Mireille with a feline smile.
Sumire Hanabira muttered to herself as she ran her duster along a ledge:
-This room breathes, can't you feel it? It beats, very softly... like a heart hidden behind the marble.
-What if it's something else that's throbbing? -said Hiyori, checking the position of the flowers in the vase for the tenth time. This room has a strange echo. It ruffles my hair.
At this point, none of the five maids in the second group knew yet who they would be serving at breakfast. They had not been informed. They only knew that the first one down would be their responsibility that morning.
And that's when they saw it.
The sound of shuffling footsteps in the hallway announced his arrival before he was even seen. When Takashi walked through the dining room door, all the air seemed to stop. His movements were slow, his expression as sour as grapefruit juice, and his complexion as fragile as a porcelain figure.
-Breakfast. Now," he spat, without even looking at them.
The five maids froze.
Not out of fear, but because of something deeper, more visceral.
-My goodness! -whispered Sumire Hanabira with a slight blush. He's like an angry little teddy bear!
-Not so little... -Mireille murmured with a barely contained smile.
Chihaya had already bowed in respect, hiding an involuntary smile.
-Right away, young sir.
Hiyori tried to remember if the cutlery was arranged with millimetre accuracy. Lisette swallowed, overwhelmed by how much this spoiled child both conformed to all the rules of etiquette and broke them ruthlessly.
At breakfast, the young man hardly ate at all. He merely nibbled here and there, sipped his drink and looked disdainfully at everything around him. Yet his every gesture seemed rehearsed to provoke tenderness. A tenderness that the maids did not know how to resist.
-Did you see how she frowned when the bread had crumbs in it? She was adorable! -Hiyori squealed later, back in the kitchen.
-I wanted to hug him... but I didn't dare," Sumire murmured in a melancholy tone.
-I would dare," laughed Mireille, sharpening her favourite knife with a dangerous glint in her eye.
-Silence," Lisette ordered, although she herself had scribbled "Porcelain Bear" in the margin of her order book.
As evening fell, the five of them decided not to talk about it any more. But it was late. The small, angry and mysterious guest was already in their thoughts. As night fell, the maids of the first group returned from their duties in the north wing.
-What's new? -asked Odette in a distracted tone, carving an invisible stain from her apron.
-We only met the first one to come down for breakfast," Lisette replied in a neutral tone.
-And what was it like? -asked Misaki with a dreamy smile.
Chihaya opened her mouth, but Mireille interrupted her:
-Imagine a teddy bear with a frown. Like this.
The five in the first group looked at each other in silence. Koharu closed his notebook slowly.
-Tomorrow... we'll serve him," she said without looking up.
-Are you sure it's possible? -Iria asked, in a low voice.
-We'll see," replied Sumire Kanzaki, consulting her pocket watch. Six o'clock sharp, then.
-Six o'clock sharp," they repeated in unison.
And so, unbeknownst to them, another round of obsession was about to begin.