Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Assigned to be Prince Thaddeus Personal Maid Attendant.

An antidote would be placed beside you, so after taking the poison, you can use the antidote, besides the poison is not one that would kill you fast.

Some girls shivered at the thought of taking poison...they couldn’t take the Head maid word for it.

Someone took a deep breath in;

"If I want to stop my training here, can I?"

"Yes, you are free to do so"

Two girls were relived and decided to not continue any further.

Elysia rolled her eyes; some people this days do not have balls.

LIKE, HAVE SOME FUCKING BALLS TO TAKE RISKS.

The brown haired girl who failed the first two steps...decided to come out and ask; can I take their place if they don’t want to do it.

The Head place seemed deep in thoughts for some moments then said;

"Yes, you may, but I have to tell you, you won’t get a high rank maid status, the remaining winners will all get the best spots before you...do you still want to?"

"Yes, she said determined, in her mind, she was thinking, in the palace it’s quite easy to climb through ranks if you are smart enough.

The Head Maid nodded.

She held up a bowl of food and a small cup of wine.

Then turned to the recruits who were now eight in total.

"I will serve you this. You will taste it and determine whether it has been tainted. If you say it is safe and it is poisoned, you fail. If you say it is poisoned and it is safe, you fail. You must be correct."

One of the recruits swallowed hard.

The Head Maid handed the bowl to him first.

He took a tentative bite. His face twisted.

"It’s safe," he said quickly.

The Head Maid nodded.

"Correct."

The second recruit tried next.

She tasted it and frowned.

"It’s poisoned."

The Head Maid’s expression did not change.

"Incorrect."

"Failed."

The third recruit—the dark-haired girl who had taken such offense to Elysia’s composure in the carriage and also friend to the brown haired girl—stepped forward with her chin lifted and her jaw clenched.

She tasted the food. Her eyes shifted nervously.

"Safe," she said.

The Head Maid nodded.

"Correct."

The fourth recruit came forward, shivering.

She sat down and then brought the cheese towards her bite taking a very small bite.

The Head maid frowned..."this is not how it works, take a big chunk"

"I-i-..."

"I do not want to hear any excuses, if you can’t do it, no one is forcing you, you may opt out"

The girl, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and took a big bite, before she could even swallow it down to confirm if it’s poisoned or not.

Out of nervousness, she spit the food out of her mouth and unfortunately for her, The head maid was standing right in front of her, the food from her mouth was all over her body.

"What the —"

The Head maid raised her hand and smacked he face"

"Paaa"

The sound very loud ... the head maid couldn’t control her anger and slapped her two more times.

"What is wrong with you?, I specifically told you, if you can’t do it, you should opt out, but you still decided to...Gosh, the food was not even poisoned...Guards, take her to the dungeon, you are in for some real punishment"

The head maid excused herself to go change.

Elysia watched the girl being dragged out.

Sigh.

Now was not the time to feel sympathy for her, she would find a solution to her problem, cause she couldn’t bear to imagine what she would go through in the dungeon, such a very young girl like her.

After some minutes, the Head maid came back, in a set of new clothes, clearly still upset but then she has a training to conclude.

Now only four recruits remained.

The poison check continued, after the first two recruits, the food was still safe.

Now, the other people watching, were doubting if the food and wine was even poisoned at all or it was just a test.

The brown haired girl turn came, she sat down on the chair and took the wine drinking it all in one gulp and took a big bite of the burger.

After chewing it finish, she looked at the Head maid and said;

"Safe"

"Passed"

She smiled and did a small dance with her shoulders, now she would be admitted inside the castle.

It was not Elysia turn and she sat down on the chair.

The Head Maid pushed the bowl toward her.

"Your turn."

Elysia looked at the head maid and asked;

"Do I have to taste it before answering or I can do it my own style"

The head maid was intruigued by what she meant by that, she had been intruigued by Elysia since she saw her that first day.

"You can decide to examine it in whatever way as long as it deals with the 5 sense we use to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel."

"Alright."

The room grew quiet.

Everyone watched.

She picked up the bowl.

But instead of tasting it, she simply stared at it.

A second passed.

Then another.

The brown-haired girl scoffed.

"What’s she doing?"

Elysia ignored her.

She lowered her gaze to the broth.

The vegetables.

The seasoning.

The steam.

Then she gently placed the bowl back on the table.

The room blinked.

The Head Maid raised an eyebrow.

"Is that all you are going to examine"

Elysia looked up calmly.

"Yes."

A murmur swept through the recruits.

The Head Maid folded her arms.

"Explain."

"The broth contains rosemary, garlic, pepper, and thyme."

She pointed at the bowl.

"The vegetables were cut recently. Less than half an hour ago."

Several recruits exchanged confused glances.

Elysia continued.

"If poison had been added, the aroma would be different."

Her eyes settled on the bowl.

"The scent is weird."

A pause.

"The food is poisoned."

Silence.

The room stared at her.

The Head Maid stared longest.

Then—

A small smile appeared on the woman’s face.

The first smile anyone had seen from her after the incident.

"Correct."

The room erupted into whispers.

"How did she know that?"

"She didn’t even taste it."

"Just how was she able to do that"

Elysia simply stepped back into line.

Calm.

Silent.

As though identifying poison without tasting it was the most normal thing in the world.

Now, 7 recruiters left and the Head maid just plans on taking half of the numbers originally brought which means 6.

Now for the final aspect, the Head maid said aloud.

She set the bowl aside and poured tea into a tray, seven cups arranged in a neat row.

"You will serve this to me," she said. "No spills. No wrong order. No shaking hands. No mistakes. Then you will leave this hall with a place in the palace."

The seven recruits stepped forward.

Elysia decided to go first.

She lifted the tray. Her hands were perfectly steady. The cups did not rattle as she carried them. She walked to the Head Maid, placed the tray on the table, and poured the tea into each cup with exact precision.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

No spills.

No hesitation.

No wasted movement.

The Head Maid took one cup and drank. Then she nodded once.

"Passed."

The six remaining recruits tried. One spilled tea down the tray. The other five passed to an extent.

After all was done, the room fell silent.

The Head Maid looked at Elysia.

"You are the only recruit who has passed all three steps to my satisfaction."

A quiet ripple moved through the room.

The failed recruits turned to stare. Whispers broke out almost immediately.

"Why her?"

"She’s just a maid like the rest of us."

"What makes her special?"

Elysia’s expression remained perfectly calm.

The Head Maid ignored the murmurs.

"Elysia," she said, "you will be the new personal maid attendant for Prince Thaddeus."

The room went still.

That, more than anything, drew the attention of the failed recruits.

The brown-haired girl stared at Elysia as though the assignment itself were an insult.

Elysia bowed with quiet grace, "Thanks for the privilege", then asked;

"May I know what happened to Prince Thaddeus’s other attendant?"