Ever since the holidays had passed, things around the mansion were peaceful. Once the family left, it was just the permanent staff, the old man, and her. Only a month has passed, but Vinoria is already not looking forward to next year.  No constant bickering from the adults,  No loud children screaming and running around the house, making a mess of everything. 

As the servant woke up, she did her normal routine to get ready for the day. Maintaining the proper uniform was still necessary, they were employees after all. To her, professionalism is a must, at any point.

As usual, she made her way to the kitchen. The place was still steaming with activity, but now it’s just Adam doing his cooking. No longer were there sounds of clattering pots, and voices yelling for items and chaotic movement. It was just him, cooking small meals. He seemed way more relaxed, and at ease managing the kitchen by himself. Vinoria was able to get to him without the worry of bumping into anyone.

“Hey, V!” The man’s face lit up when he saw the servant walk in. 

“Good morning, Adam. Is Frederick’s breakfast ready?” She asked, as she stood in front of the island awaiting his reply. 

“Almost done.” The chef stated as he assembled the food onto one plate. “What do you think?” He asked after slapping a scoop of ice cream onto the pancakes and placed a generous amount of blueberries, strawberries, and syrup on top. “Too much?” Despite the question, he went ahead and added the sunny side up eggs on the side, and sprinkled some grounded pepper on them.

“That’s what he asked for this morning, isn’t it? He was whining about it all evening.” Vinoria chuckled. She looked down at the big meal. Perhaps for a man the proportion was just right, but to her, she wouldn’t be able to finish half of what’s on the plate.

The servant quickly made her way out of the kitchen as Adam continued to set up the tray that will be brought into Frederick’s room. Meanwhile, with the breakfast almost finished, Vinoria knew she had to finish up her morning routine as fast as possible.

The moment she stepped out of the kitchen and into the hallway, she then spotted Gale, already starting with her chores for the day. Upon seeing Vinoria, she stops to give her a small wave and sets down her supplies. “Good morning, Miss Miao. I assume you are starting your morning routine?” 

“I am,” Vinoria bowed lightly as she responded. “And with the family gone, there isn’t much we’re required to prepare for. I’m sure without the housemaids, you don’t have to worry too much about them being distracted.” The servant couldn’t help but smile at the thought of it. Anytime they were here to help, Gale would be constantly telling them to keep on task. It was amusing to watch.

“Yes,” The housekeeper let out a big sigh of relief, “I am, can’t say I miss the busy moments, but the girls do make the job easier.” Gale smiled a bit before picking back up her supplies. “Anyways, let me not hold you up, Miss Miao, I will see you later today.” 

“Yes, Thank you, Gale.” Vinoria waved her off before stepping out of the mansion and headed straight towards Security and Valet’s booth. 

Quickening her footsteps, she made her way outside. Without the chaos of the family, it would seem like even the nature surrounding the mansion became more lively. So were the staff, too. The security and valet was leaning against the same fence, sharing this morning’s newspaper and exchanging their opinions.

“Gentlemen.” Vinoria greeted them, politely smiling. They quickly stood up straight and said hello to the woman in return. “How’s the world outside the mansion? Any new discoveries?”

“Something about a new species of a large cat or something.” Thomas answered right away, enthusiastic about it. Curtis, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. 

“Ah, why can’t these scholars leave well enough alone?” The guard grumbled, “Things are left in the past for a reason. You dig it up, and it gets mixed with the modern; soon you’ll have new trouble on your hands! Mark my words.” He made it sound like he was scolding both Thomas and Vinoria about it.

“You worry too much, old man.” The valet chuckled back.

As they were still deep in conversation, a car started to drive towards the mansion, and Vinoria knew who it was. “Looks like Miss Tyco is here.” She purred, as she smiled warmly. The three of them watched her approach, and stepped up to greet her.

“Good Morning, Miss Tyco.” Vinoria spoke ahead of the other two, not noticing the smile still on her face. She gave a slight bow.

“Good Morning.” Curtis and Thomas soon followed, as the nurse walked up to them. Seeing the servant’s bow, they did so as well, assuming it was only the right way to be polite. 

“Yes, Good Morning to you three.” Jazmee replied, taking a glance at Vinoria with a smile. “Someone looks to be in a great mood today. It is always nice to see you smile.” She gave a slight chuckle. Now that it was mentioned, Vinoria felt the silly smile on her face and quickly shifted her expression to a more calm one. 

“I’ll make my way inside then, talk to you lot soon.” The nurse then started to walk towards the mansion. 

“And I need to finish my morning routine.” Vinoria also spoke up, mostly mumbling to herself. She looked at the time on the security booth’s wall, noticing how little she had left, with so much that still needed to be done.

“Well, don’t let us get in your way.” the older man chuckled, giving her a wave. The two then turned and retreated back to the fence, continuing their previous conversation.

The servant had to pick up her pace and made a small jog to the side of the mansion. She was pleased to see the groundskeeper tending to her favorite flowers, and slowed down to take a good look at them.

“Hey.” Vinoria softened her voice as she greeted the groundskeeper, not just to him, but the flowers as well. The man turned to the servant and gave her a nod, acknowledging her presence. “How are the flowers?” She asked as she eyed the peony bushes. She took a second to observe their beauty, and her smile sweetened. 

“They’re doing very well.” Robin replied, though it felt more like he was speaking for himself, and not the flowers. “They feel less tense, now that there’s no one here to judge how they look or which way they grow.” The happy man looked up at the servant, giving her a wide, cheerful and stressless smile.

Vinoria’s smile widened a bit more. She was about to comment on how well the flowers were being taken care of, when Jazmee came rushing out the front door, calling for Vinoria. 

“Miss Miao? Vinoria!” The servant was surprised to hear her first name be called by the nurse. It made her heart skip a beat, thinking that perhaps they were close enough to address each other by their first names. The nurse quickly made her way to the servant as soon as she saw her.

“Miss… Tyco?” Vinoria replied, now that she saw Jazmee’s serious face, she felt like something was wrong. A million scenarios popped into the servant’s mind of what could’ve spooked the nurse like this, and she was very much determined to fix it for the woman. 

The nurse lowered her voice and leaned in to whisper to Vinoria. “ Frederick passed away.”