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Staying in one place for a long time naturally means you’ll hear various stories from that society.

After all, this senior had been rooted in the Count’s House long before I arrived. It wasn’t as if he was just being territorial when I was first assigned to Shione.

He looked at me with a cautious gaze, quite different from his usually bright and energetic impression.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t know much about Herrel when we met before?”

“Well, it’s tied to some pretty unpleasant events concerning the former maid Herrel. It’s only natural to hold back when there are many people around.”

Especially for retainers, who must always keep an eye on their superior’s mood and situation.

Unlike servants, retainers cannot just act however they please, even if they are in a position of employment. But when the employer is a not-so-prominent noble family, especially a Count, they have to possess exceptional abilities to navigate the constant scrutiny they face.

If they want to avoid being ostracized by their peers for incompetence and don’t wish to bear the hatred that comes from above, the only choice is to become competent themselves.

“Furthermore, I’ve heard the nasty words that the maid Herrel supposedly directed at Princess Shione. Yet, at this point, with Princess Shione being supported by the capable Ray for quite some time now, for her to still want someone like that former maid Herrel—”

The maidservant devoted to Siabel, now confirmed to be the next head of the Count’s House.

Bronte must’ve had a considerable influence to win and maintain that position, likely due to his quick judgment of the situation.

“…I have a feeling Princess Shione might wish to uncover the backstory of the forgotten incident.”

Perhaps it was the calm demeanor different from his usual self that was at play here. Or maybe it felt awkward for him to reveal his true feelings when it was just the two of us. Bronte forced a small smile.

However, despite his somewhat clumsy reaction, his words precisely pinpointed the issue. I quietly accepted this knowledge and humbly learned the art of makeup from him.

Silence is said to be another form of affirmation, and Bronte had earned himself a moment to organize his thoughts from my response.

He then clearly shared what he knew about Herrel.

“Currently, the image of the maid Herrel that has spread in the Count’s House depicts her as unsociable and overly rigid, unable to get along with others. But that’s wrong. She was a maid who worked harder than anyone else. It’s true she couldn’t socialize well… but that was to take care of Princess Shione.”

“The rumors started spreading when the disrespectful behavior of other retainers toward Herrel became evident.”

“Later on, Kenen took the lead in slandering Herrel, which caused the trouble.”

Kenen Pallet.

At the mention of Herrel’s name, Bronte subtly reacted, clearly, he had a part in it.

I leaned in to listen more intently as Bronte elaborated.

“When Kenen was insulting Princess Shione, Herrel happened to overhear. It was the first time the usually quiet Herrel became angry. Then, Kenen started to actively ostracize her even more.”

“It was discovered that a retainer insulted a direct descendant of the Count’s House. If that’s true… it puts Kenen in a situation where he should be more cautious.”

“…As Ray knows, is that really easy? The nobles we serve are deeply interested in education and politics, but they don’t really care about the stories among us retainers and servants.”

I nodded quietly at Bronte’s words.

As he pointed out, unless nobles make it obvious they’re struggling, they wouldn’t pay much attention to the scuffles happening under their noses.

Many must have tried to downplay the situation for fear of it escalating. Even though Princess Shione might not seem impressive back then, she was still a direct descendant of the Count’s House. If it came to light that they were just throwing insults at her, there would be serious consequences.

“And Herrel most likely didn’t show any signs of struggle in front of Shione either.”

Given what I’d heard about Herrel’s character, she wouldn’t have made a fuss in front of Shione either.

Her protective attitude towards Shione was evident as well, as she wouldn’t want to burden someone already so wounded. It’s not like it would have helped if Shione had heard the insults directed at her.

“Perhaps the reason she finally lashed out at Shione was significant…”

I couldn’t pinpoint it precisely yet, but that was the general feeling I had.

In the middle of this chaos, I caught onto something in Bronte’s words and decided to dig deeper.

“Then what was the head maid’s response during all this?”

No matter how uninterested the higher-ups might be, the head maid should have acted differently.

It was definitely her job to manage and mediate trouble among the retainers.

Isn’t it strange that she wouldn’t know about the issues involving the retainers?

“The head maid showed no reaction at all. Ignored her completely, treated her as if she didn’t exist.”

“…I find that hard to believe. Even if the head maid stayed quiet, you’re telling me no one at all tried to intervene against this unfairness?”

“There were people who wanted to intervene. But even if they did, they couldn’t step forward.”

A fear that if word got out, they would become the next target.

The pervasive atmosphere was chilling enough to freeze any sense of justice, and for some reason, the head maid consistently ignored everything.

It seemed that everyone at the time wanted to avoid entangling themselves in matters concerning Shione.

“Someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes.”

That much is clear.

Even if it’s like that, things have escalated to this degree.

Most retainers, aside from a few odd ones like me, come from noble backgrounds. There’s no way that those who chant justice every day could turn a blind eye to such blatant injustice.

“And that involves the head maid and her retainers.”

I didn’t know what tricks were at play, but it was clear they were worse than I initially thought.

“What I know about the maid Herrel ends here. She wasn’t a bad person as the rumors suggest, and the head maid at the time thoroughly ignored Herrel. Also… I was just a bystander back then, so you could say I was an accomplice to the harassment against Herrel.”

A self-deprecating tone.

“If you want to dig deeper into this, I did see the head maid meeting with a certain retainer back then. The atmosphere was pretty strange, so if you want to know more, it’s probably good to learn about that person.”

“Can I get a name?”

“Of course. Her name is Piana Trilla. When I think about it… around that time, the power dynamics were slowly shifting from Siabel to Sion.”

And from him, I caught hold of a rather pivotal name.

Piana Trilla, the person who had disrupted Shione when she was shooting arrows. Indeed, she was one of the most prominent retainers who isolated Shione.

There’s bound to be a foul smell arising from this. With things leading this way, if I play my cards right, I could eliminate her—the thorn in Shione’s side—entirely.

Still, I paused for a moment, observing Bronte before asking.

“Bronte, can I know why you told me this in such detail?”

This is quite a sensitive subject.

Revealing the name of a powerful retainer within the Count’s House, no matter if it’s good or bad, and displaying cynicism about the head maid’s silence while harboring self-deprecation—he could have easily brushed this off saying he didn’t know much, but here he is helping me. If I inadvertently mention Bronte’s name when poking around for information, it could really backfire on him.

Retainers should avoid getting tangled up in these kinds of complex interests unless directly commanded by the person they serve. If things escalate, they could find themselves scapegoated, leading to their clean-cut disposal. There could also be further repercussions.

Noticing the intentions behind my question, he subtly replied.

“…Consider it a self-imposed atonement.”

“Atonement, you say?”

“I didn’t help when Herrel was unfairly treated, and later, I also spoke ill of Princess Shione myself.”

When I first met Bronte and Kenen, they were mocking Shione.

“When they were speaking disrespectfully about Shione right outside the dining hall, Shione must have heard every word. Yet, she didn’t scold me at all. She was kind to me.”

“…”

“When I heard Ray’s reproach, I was honestly quite irritated. But later, when I reflected on my prejudiced view, I realized I had committed a grave sin.”

Bronte, who spoke such words, slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.

“Such a past doesn’t matter when I consider Ray, who says we are comrades, and Princess Shione, who has been considerate enough not to view me with disdain. How could I not help?”

As the mood lightened and I nodded slightly, Bronte looked touched and regained a hearty smile, revealing his bright teeth.

If that’s what he wants for atonement, then as comrades who have fought over succubi on the bed, we have no choice but to help out.

“Then let’s do a bit more atonement while we’re at it.”

“Excuse me?”

“The head maid said she’d assign a maid to me. Do you have any idea what this entails?”

Learning makeup was already secondary.

I should extract all the information I can from Bronte.

After chatting for a while longer, we eventually reached the point of…

“…Ray, what about the makeup techniques we agreed to learn?”

“My friend wants to atone, but this is more urgent. Now, let’s continue the atonement.”

Makeup would have to wait now.

*

“Princess Shione, I’m back—”

Having just finished a long conversation with Bronte, I returned to Shione’s room and was greeted by a most unusual sight.

There was Shione, sitting on the bed, gazing quietly at a blanket. And the blanket had transformed into something bizarre while I was conversing with Bronte.

“…A glowing blanket?”

The blanket shimmered white, twinkling and fading in a cycle.

It was as if it thought it was a firefly, and I ended up captivated, just like Shione.

What on earth had been done to that blanket to make it like this?

Shione was intensely focused on the blanket, poised like a cat before a hunt. As I approached and gave her a gentle pat on the head, she finally realized I had returned.

“Shione.”

“Oh, Ray, you’re here!”

“…What in the world is this? The blanket is glowing. Isn’t it about to burst?”

“Burst? A blanket can’t burst! Here, let me show you.”

With that, Shione plunged her hand into the blanket.

As she fidgeted in a cat-like manner, she pulled something out.

For some reason, with her eyes closed, she brightly introduced it.

“It’s a glowing arrow!”

Unlike the painfully naïve Shione with her eyes closed, I was wide awake and alert.

“What is this—”

Lost in memories of Shione’s childhood exploits, my world momentarily turned white.

 

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