If there was one complaint I had about the time-stopped world Bridgette had pulled me into, it was how damn quiet it was. I couldn’t even hear our own footsteps, and I was half-convinced her wind-magic was doing something to cover up sound on top of everything else.

I had no idea how Bridgette normally dealt with it - especially over long distances, which this thankfully wasn’t. The hearing had actually taken place in the academy itself, and while the grounds were fairly expansive, it didn’t take all that long for Bridgette to reach them, even with me in her arms.

“Here we go, your not-ladyship!” Bridgette declared, “Home sweet-”

“Welcome home, Lady Amelia,” a new voice interjected, drawing my attention to the door. I hadn’t even noticed it opening. Proof that Bridgette had come to a stop, I guess.

“How did you even know we were here!?” Bridgette demanded. “I didn’t make a sound!”

“I always know when my Lady is home,” Clara replied, opening the door further before curtsying towards me. “If my Lady would come inside?”

“Not without me she isn’t!” Bridgette declared, before I could speak. “I’ve been ordered to keep an eye on her.”

“My Lady?” Clara asked, turning towards me.

“I’m not your lady,” I replied. Clara just stared at me with those calm blue eyes of hers, not saying a word. “I mean it. I… Amelia - the real Amelia, that is - summoned a demon. She made a deal with them, and made me take her place.”

“I know.”

“Bwuh?” came from Bridgette. For my part, I merely arched an eyebrow, thanking Amelia for the skilled poker face she’d apparently left behind.

“Forgive me, my Lady, but I did see the summoning circle Lady Amelia drew in the basement. Having also attended your would-be execution, and having listened to your pleas, it wasn’t hard to put together what happened. Again I must ask for forgiveness, for I must admit that it was somewhat relieving to know that my true mistress wasn’t in any danger.”

“Then why are you greeting me like that?” I demanded.

“And how did you get back here before us?” Bridgette demanded. “Before me?”

“A maid must always be prepared to meet her mistress,” Clara replied, curtsying before turning back towards the door. “Now, shall I prepare the guest room for Miss Bridgette, my Lady?”

“I thought we just covered the fact that I’m not your lady!” I protested. “Hell, I’m not even a lady - I’m a-” I froze, a chill running down my spine as Clara’s gaze went cold.

“A man?” she demanded. “In my Lady’s body?” Her fingers twitched, as if she were grasping at something. “What perverted thoughts have you had, looking at her, you-”

“Hey, hey!” Bridgette interjected. “No need to look at her like that! She’s a lady now isn’t she? And it’s not like she asked to be stuck in your Lady’s body.”

“...I suppose that’s true,” Clara said, her expression turning placid once more. “Very well. As long as you continue to comport yourself as a proper lady, I have no room for complaints.”

“Uh… what was that about?” I asked, a little nervous now, as I looked between the two girls.

“It’s nothing,” Clara said. “The thought of a filthy man having perverted thoughts about my Lady’s body simply temporarily put me into a murderous rage. So long as you continue to act as the proper lady, however, I’m sure there will be no problems.”

“That’s… ow! What was that for!?” I glared at Bridgette, who’d kicked me before I could complain.

“Just got the feeling you were about to get yourself in trouble, that’s all,” Bridgette replied. “Also, you still haven’t answered your maid about the whole preparing me a room thing?”

“That’s… she’s not my maid! I’m not Amelia!”

“No,” Clara agreed, “but you are in her body, and it is my job to make sure that body remains in pristine condition, in case its owner ever decides to reclaim it. Unless you’d rather tell me where the real Amelia is?”

“That’s… I don’t know,” I admitted. “The demon wouldn’t say…”

“Then until such time as she returns, I will be in your care, my Lady.”

“You can… uh… call me Amy, if you want?” I suggested. “That’s what I told Bridgette to call me, anyway.”

“I could never, my Lady,” Clara replied, shaking her head. “You may not be Lady Amelia, but so long as you wear her skin I shall be in your service. As such, it is only right that I refer to you properly.”

“But I’m not even a real Lady!” I protested, only to pause when Clara’s eyes started to darken again. “I mean in the noble sense! The duke disowned me.”

“I see…” Clara murmured, calming down. “Then it is all the more important for my Lady to keep up appearances. It is possible she will wish to marry into money after her return, so it’s best we be prepared for that… indeed, whatever path towards power she chooses, I suspect looking good in the public eye can only be of benefit… you will purport yourself as a proper Lady, won’t you?”

I nodded, a little terrified by Clara’s big smile, which failed to reach her chilly blue eyes.

“Good. Now that that is settled - should I prepare a room for Miss Bridgette?”

“Please,” I squeaked out.

“Right away, my Lady.” Clara curtsied again, before rising - and proceeding to stand perfectly still.

“Um…”

“No extra preparations are needed for a girl of commoner origins who purports to be a knight in training but allows her charge to nearly die. The guest room is ready by default, in any case.”

“You… Then why did you make us go through all that!?” Bridgette demanded.

“To see how my Lady would respond, of course.” Clara replied. “One can not serve a mistress she does not know. Therefore it is my duty to learn everything about my Lady - in detail.”

“If nothing needs to be done, can we just go inside?” I interrupted. “My legs feel like cooked noodles after today, and I just wanna collapse on a couch.”

“Of course, my Lady,” Clara responded, curtsying again. “If you’ll follow me this way?”

I shot a glance Bridgette’s way, but only received a shrug in response. After a moment, I gave in with a sigh and nodded. “Yeah, alright.”

Clara didn’t need any more instruction than that. She simply led us into the house, silently guiding us to the sitting room and its couch.

I promptly collapsed upon it - much to Clara’s apparent distaste, as she pursed her lips together.

“At least keep your legs together, my Lady?” she begged, stepping towards me as if to physically remedy the issue.

“Sorry,” I replied, blushing a little as I complied, closing my legs together and contorting my body into something of a “Z” shape upon the wide couch.

“I’ll go get some refreshments, while you decide what to do with the day, my Lady,” Clara declared, before heading off towards the kitchen.

“…Strange maid you got,” Bridgette muttered, watching her go.

“I don’t think she’s usually like this,” I replied. “Or at least I didn’t write her like that…” Then again, I never paid much attention to her writing, either. She was simply Amelia’s loyal maid. Very loyal, apparently. “I wonder if she even realizes I have no way to pay her…”

“Payment isn’t necessary, my Lady,” Clara replied, striding back into the room with a plate of what looked to be freshly made cookies, and two cups of steaming hot tea. “I do what I do because I want to.”

“You want to serve me?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I want to serve Lady Amelia,” Clara replied. “Alas, the only way I can do so for the time being is to keep her body and image in perfect condition… which means serving you.”

“For some definition of serve, anyway,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I get the feeling you’ll be demanding more of me than the other way around…”

“Nonsense,” Clara replied. “So long as you continue to comport yourself as I’ve seen so far, I doubt we’ll run into any problems. I simply wish to make sure you greet each day in the proper attire, and with appropriate makeup.”

“Makeup?” I complained, screwing up my nose. “Isn’t that a bit… girly?”

“As I keep saying, you are a girl now,” Bridgette pointed out. “You might as well present yourself as one.”

“That’s not how it works,” I grumbled. “How you look doesn’t determine who you are. And I’m a man!”

“Maybe, but you really don’t look like one,” Bridgette countered.

“You aren’t acting like one, either,” Clara noted. “In fact, your speech patterns and body language are almost indistinguishable from Lady Amelia’s. Only the content of your speech has changed.”

“Yeah, well, the content’s the important part, isn’t it?” I pointed out. “Just like my content is still… male, or something? I don’t know, the metaphor’s getting away from me a little bit.”

“No, I think I get it,” Bridgette mused. “You’re saying that even if you look and sound like a girl, you’re still you…”

“Exactly!”

“And being a man is part of that?” Clara asked. “Was it really that important to you?”

“Well… I don’t know about important… I just sorta… I mean, I was a born as a man, and it’s not like I disliked it, so…”

“Does that mean you didn’t like it, either?” Bridgete asked.

“I mean, nobody likes being a man - or a woman! You just sorta… are. Aren’t you?”

Now it was Bridgette and Clara’s turn to exchange a look.

“I mean… I guess?” Bridgette said, hesitantly, after a moment. “I never really put much thought into it, but…”

“I for one am grateful to have been born a woman,” Clara stated. “For one thing, I would not have been able to get so close to Lady Amelia had I been born otherwise… but also, the idea of being in the body of a man feels inherently disturbing to me.”

“I mean, I don't know about disturbing, but I gotta admit I wouldn't wanna be stuck like that… guess this must be pretty hard on you, come to think of it, huh?”

“Well, I don't know about hard,” I demurred, hesitantly. “It doesn't feel bad to be seen as a girl, or anything. I just… know I'm not one.”

“Then do you want us to treat you like a guy?” Bridgette asked.

“A guy… in my Lady Amelia's body,” Clara all but whispered, her voice chilling and cold.

“N-no! I mean… I don't think I care much? I think the demon must have done something to my head to make me feel comfortable being treated as a girl… I mean, if anything, the idea of being treated like a guy feels a bit off - just because of how I look, you know?”

“You're the one who said looks don't matter, though!” Bridgette pointed out.

“Yeah, well… I never claimed it was logical, alright?”

“A man. In Lady Amelia's body…” Clara repeated.

“L-let's just forget about that, alright?” I suggested. “I mean, it's probably easier all around for me to pretend I'm - I mean, present myself as a lady. Since it's not like it feels bad or anything. I mean, if anything, it's kinda nice to know anyone and everyone who looks at me will just see a pretty young woman…”

“‘Young’?” Bridgette parroted. “Does that mean you were older before?”

“Well… thirty-four…” I admitted.

“A perverted old man in Lady Amelia's body….”

“I wasn't that old!”

“That's the part you have a problem with?” Bridgette demanded.

“A-and I'm not a pervert either, alright? I didn't ask to be stuck in this body, but now I am, and… and…”

“And she has Amelia’s brain,” a new, annoyingly familiar voice added. “The brain of a cis woman in her twenties. And considering the effects hardware can have upon a person…”

“Are… are you saying that I'm okay being a girl because I literally have the brain of a girl?”

“If that's how you choose to interpret it…” the demon murmured. “But I'd focus more on the fact that you have the brain and hormones of a proper twenty year old.”

“And I'd like to focus on how the hell you're okay with this demon just popping in?” Bridgette interrupted.

“I mean, it's not like I have a way to stop them…” I muttered.

“Should I prepare another bedroom?” Clara asked - her voice having thankfully returned to normal.

“No need… I'm just here for a cookie,” the demon replied, snatching one off the plate. “And to leave this behind.” Saying so, they produced a vial of what looked to be tar. “Another security potion. In case you nearly die again.”

“And you're giving me this, why exactly?”

“Consider it payment for the cookie,” the demon declared, before turning away from me and stepping out of existence. Still, their voice lingered a moment longer. “Delicious…”

Bridgette glared at the place where the demon had been for a moment before eventually turning her stare on Clara. “When the hell did you have time to make cookies, anyway?”

~~~

Author's Notes

I felt inspired to tackle Clara the day I wrote this. To the point where I ended up finishing this chapter in bed, typing on my phone because I had a lizard in my lap and no immediate access to a laptop.

Unfortunately feeling rather Meh at the moment, but I still managed to get out chapter 9 for Patreon! Which means I can finally unveil this chapter and bask in the glorious reactions of my readers as I unleash the yandere maid. Let me know what you think?

Will try to get chapter 8 up tomorrow. Patreon is up to chapter 10.