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In the midst of everyone’s busy schedule, only Bronte and I were leisurely chatting together.

“Bronte… I thought you were delivering the approval documents to Mother, so why has it taken you so long? Were you playing with Ray?”

“S-Siabel, milady.”

Siabel appeared with dark circles under her eyes and a vacant expression. Being a sword expert knight, her extraordinary stamina allowed her to handle tasks sitting in one spot for extended periods.

The vitality and energy typical of knights had vanished from her completely.

“Contracts with the Kalia Marquis Family, readjustments for the expedition… and the security of the territory. There’s a mountain of paperwork still to go through. No matter how difficult it gets, you can’t just leave me behind while you take a break.”

It seemed Siabel had taken Bronte as her companion, displaying a strong determination.

Bronte, overwhelmed by the gaze of his employer who seemed intent on rolling forward with her plans, shrank his shoulders.

“Ray, may I take Bronte with me?”

“How could I refuse Siabel’s request? Bronte, it was a pleasure to talk today.”

“R-Ray.”

“Oh? You’ve gotten close enough to call each other by name? It’s about time Bronte rolled himself into that level of familiarity!”

“Ah…”

In the moment when Siabel recited the remaining tasks mechanistically and Bronte listened in distress, they both finally disappeared.

I was left alone to enjoy my time in the Count’s House.

Listening to the lamentations of those around me, I idled away the time until someone I had been waiting for finally arrived.

“Nice to meet you, Ray.”

Her long black hair was neatly tied behind her back.

Her monotonous voice seemed to represent her extremely businesslike nature, supported by a demeanor that could even seem cold at a glance.

“I am Aheira Feldart, designated to serve Princess Shione for the time being at the behest of the head maid.”

Aheiro Feldart, a fallen noble from the western frontiers.

After receiving a greeting from a maid who may have critical information regarding the head maid, I said, “Then let’s go see Princess Shione. I’ll introduce you to your responsibilities along the way.”

We walked straight towards Shione.

Since she and I had separate preparations to attend to before meeting the princess, we would need to keep busy despite enjoying our leisurely moments past. It would be prudent not to waste time chatting in a place like this and potentially disrupt today’s schedule.

‘Aheira’s recruitment is something Shione will attempt herself.’

After sharing a few essential details, Shione had resolved to somehow tackle the remaining tasks with Aheira, who would inevitably follow her.

My role would merely be to occasionally support Shione from beside her.

‘Shione is already well-informed about the details regarding this maid.’

Even though Aheira is a fallen noble, her family has a sick individual requiring care.

The treatment costs are prohibitively high; merely preventing deterioration is the extent of what can be afforded. However, this, too, is contingent upon the head maid resolving matters neatly and drawing funds from the purse of her superior.

‘The trust of the head maid is purely a relation based on monetary transactions.’

Aheira had no other source of funds aside from that.

If her contract could be shifted from serving the head maid to a more significant payment from Shione, wouldn’t that shake her allegiance? It seemed there was nothing like sincere friendship that had formed with the head maid.

As I contemplated this while teaching Shione about various matters, we soon arrived at her chamber.

I knocked on her door before introducing the new maid, emphasizing the most crucial point first.

“Aheira, though still temporary, you will serve Princess Shione as if you were her dedicated maid for some time. During this period, you must heed and follow no one’s words more than those of Princess Shione.”

It’s quite peculiar about people. Even such plain truths, when repeated every time they meet and whenever they find an opportunity, become truly adhered to.

“I, too, am quite busy preparing to meet the princess. While I am away, Aheira, I want you to perform my duties in my stead.”

“I will do my best.”

And finally, she was deployed to the frontline.

*

The position of a fallen noble can be deemed more lamentable than any hierarchy.

The ways for a fallen noble to revive are either by innovation to resurrect their territory or finding a strong patron to help them rise again. However, most fallen nobles have lost their power and often their territories aren’t in a good state, making self-recovery a daunting challenge.

Hence, they attend social gatherings as their only lifeline to connect with patrons or other nobles—

But at social gatherings for nobles, they are always looked down upon with disdain and pity; sadder still, only those invited can participate in such derision.

‘Life without being acknowledged as a noble despite being one.’

Aheira was born with blue blood, yet she couldn’t fit into their society.

It was only natural. She could not keep pace with the luxuries they indulged nor was she afforded the excellent educational environment they enjoyed.

She merely led a life slightly better than a commoner’s, and that was all. There was nothing special about it.

‘Even commoners looked down upon her; she couldn’t blend into their world.’

However, that blue blood coursing through her veins prevented her from mingling with the commoners.

A disgraced noble despised by even the commoners. They would scorn and watch her closely, fearing the amount of wealth they would extract from her dwindling resources, wary of her losing the last of her identity.

Even if everything fell apart, the disparity of status made it hard to earn their goodwill.

Especially since Feldart’s Barony had once drastically taxed the local populace in an attempt to become self-sufficient, resulting in ruination. Their concerns were thus nowhere near unfounded.

Nevertheless, she did not view her position as shameful or servile.

“Aheira, although we possess nothing, we are descendants of the once honorable Feldart Barony.”

It was the words whispered into her ear every night by her father before she would sleep.

“It’s good to strive for the glory of our family, but your mother and I simply want you to grow as a noble who understands honor and justice. Can you promise me that?”

Her father, despite their poverty, did not want to pass down a diseased mind and spirit.

Thus, the tales of renowned nobles her father recounted before bed became Aheira’s lullabies, and the heroes from those tales became her friends, filling her life with love.

Though Aheira once dreamed of rebuilding her family and upholding peace and justice,

Those thoughts did not last long.

“Father…! Priest, how is my father’s condition…?”

“…He needs periodic treatment from an exceptional priest. However, such treatment could merely prevent the illness from worsening.”

“Just to prevent it from getting worse… isn’t there a cure, a way to heal him?”

“It will require a substantial amount of money. For ingredients and a pharmacist, and an even superior priest than myself.”

After misfortune compounded upon misfortune, Aheira found herself fortunate enough to be employed at the Count’s House as a maid and assistant to the head maid through the etiquette and administrative tasks she had learned.

The Count’s House, guarding the kingdom from the Demonic Realm, was a pillar in the West. Working here as a maid meant she could earn a rather decent income.

Though she felt lucky, that joy did not last long.

‘Our fallen Feldart family has once looked down upon the Count’s House.’

Typically, the maids were noble children.

Most of them had ample support behind them, and not only that, the Feldart family’s past, where the last head had quarreled time and again with the Count’s House, stood as a bitter history.

It was only natural for discrimination to persist within the Count’s House.

Having watched the events unfold, so far, Aheira had supported the head maid simply by following orders.

In particular, Aheira witnessed from start to finish as Herrel was hunted down and expelled by various figures.

Her resolve to defend and protect Shione to the utmost was nothing less than admirable and as a dedicated maid, it was an honorable task. Yet, Aheira could not bring herself to help.

Realizing that if she became a target of others’ malicious schemes due to her need for money or became a pest, she risked losing the job she had painstakingly secured for herself.

‘Without money, I could lose my father.’

Aheira continued to quietly manage the head maid’s tasks and took the extra payments for her labor, repeating this cycle.

She had come to realize clearly.

The honor and justice cried out by the powerless were nothing but mere words.

Even if she were to take matters into her own hands, there was no chance of aiding Herrel. On the contrary, it was clear that she would only find herself in dire straits, risking the job she had fought for.

Thus, she turned a blind eye to Herrel.

‘I… only need to focus on making money.’

Aheira resolved herself.

For the time being, the maids were in positions that might earn her support from retainers if she presented herself well enough. They had already distanced themselves from her family’s disgrace and past opposition to the Count’s House.

She decided to think only of diligently handling her work to secure more funds for her father, never giving meaning to anything that happened at the Count’s House.

‘That’s how it was─’

But recently, she started experiencing changes — her once rigid heart began to soften little by little.

“This is a tea Ray has never prepared before… it suits my taste well. Aheira, did you prepare this separately?”

“Yes, I asked Ray about the tea Shione enjoys often and tried it once.”

“It’s already hard enough managing my schedule, so thank you.”

From such little things, Shione showered her with praise.

“Thank you for your hard work. Is there any difficulty in attending to Princess Shione?”

“Of course not. It’s my duty, so how could I express it as challenging? Thanks to your ample consideration, I was able to manage it well today.”

“Good. Please take this.”

“This is… candy…?”

“It’s what Lady Diolia said to eat one of whenever she’s tired to restore energy. I bargained with her to get this for you, Aheira… try one whenever you’re feeling fatigued.”

Being special candy that underwent a more complicated process, it was indeed far more costly than the ordinary kind.

Aheira had also heard stories of the cold and heavy-image Lady Diolia groaning and grimacing over it.

Ray was subtly attentive to her, and he surely had a knack for fulfilling her desire for recognition.

“…Is it really okay to be this comfortable?”

After coming to the Count’s House, despite constant discrimination and disregard,

She felt far more at ease than when working beneath the head maid.

It even seemed that becoming a dedicated maid would result in more salary and a greater distance from being utilized as the head maid’s underling.

As her age progressed and her father’s condition worsened, Aheira needed to become Shione’s dedicated maid.

‘They said dedicated maids would receive additional money for reporting on Shione’s movements regularly.’

More money.

If she combined her increased salary as a dedicated maid with the funds from the head maid, it wasn’t merely a matter of halting deterioration but perhaps even restoring her father’s health.

“…But is this really the right thing to do?”

Aheira was acutely aware that the relationship between the head maid and Shione was not in good standing. She had inadvertently picked up some information on their backing.

As a twinge of her already faded sense of justice surfaced, Aheira suppressed her emotions while thinking about her father’s health.

Three days before the princess arrived at the Count’s House, on a warm afternoon,

Shione spoke to Aheira.

“Aheira.”

“Yes, Princess Shione.”

“You always seem busy… but have you been to the Count’s Garden?”

“As for the Count’s Garden, aside from work, I have hardly been there.”

“Hmm. While working hard is commendable, taking a break sometimes is important too. Since today’s schedule is relatively light, why not take a stroll in the garden?”

To suggest going to no other place than the Count’s Garden.

As Shione brought up the garden, she recalled her conversation with Ray last night.

─Ray, it seems Aheira has loosened up a bit since before. If possible, before the princess arrives, I’d like to ensnare Aheira together with the Feldart Barony. How can I slip into her heart?

─The Feldart Barony is a fallen family… until being noticed by the head maid, they likely faced discrimination amongst them as well. Moreover, the barony did once have a confrontation with the Count’s House, right?

─…That’s right. I read that they had a conflicting stance during meetings to discuss managing western territories and the Demonic Realm.

─She must have found it hard to blend in here while working at the Count’s House. It would not be a bad idea to mention her family’s treatment while filling the void of emotions from her loneliness.

─That doesn’t sound bad. But will it work?

Ray held an underlying conviction in her words.

─If our assumptions are correct and Aheira is acting as a spy between Shione and the head maid due to treatment costs… if Shione shows genuine concern for her family’s treatment and provides her with recognition and affection, wouldn’t she be more inclined to follow Shione instead of the head maid?

─……

─Although a rigid hierarchic relationship can be maintained through money, true loyalty comes from a leader who acknowledges and considers them.

While the head maid seems to represent the former, Shione could become the dignified noble that Aheira would genuinely want to follow.

Shione frowned at Ray’s remarks.

A dignified noble. It’s easy to say, but crafting an impression that feels that way is a rather complicated task.

─…I’m not very eloquent. This is already giving me a headache.

─How can you say you have no eloquence?

─Huh?

─You have the Count’s garden and beautiful flower languages. Your sincere words would reach Aheira.

─If you say so, I’ll give it a try.

Thus, Shione set out to go with Aheira to the garden.

“I will prepare for the training.”

At those words, a smile crept onto Shione’s face like a fisherman eyeing a nibbling bait.

“Take your time; it’s just a stroll.”

Leaving behind a flurry of flower definitions to memorize before bed last night,

She could not envision herself losing to the floral matters today.

 

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