Even if only to forget that for a moment, this kind of simple labor was desperately needed right now.
“And the weather is fantastic on top of everything…….”
The sky was indescribably clear, and warm sunlight was pouring down nearby.
Neither hot nor cold—just the perfect weather.
On top of that, the occasional breeze cooled my heated face.
Sizzle—
Here, the heavy iron was heated over fire before use.
So naturally, the heat rose and sweat formed.
‘Still, I’m glad the day is cool today.’
For reference, ironing was, as a rule, done in the back garden near the well because of fire hazards.
Moving the clothes and tools to be ironed was a hassle, but it was better than accidentally burning down an entire room by doing it inside.
‘But…….’
Is there really no smell of something burning?
I sniffed and looked around.
And then, without thinking, I lowered my gaze—
“Huh……!”
The shirt was burning black.
“Ah, nooo—!!”
I hurriedly moved the iron aside and snatched up the shirt.
Belatedly, I blew on the scorched part, but it was useless.
An iron-shaped mark was left on the Grand Duke’s pure white shirt.
“How did this happen…….”
In my original world, I’d been told since I was young that I had deft hands.
So how could I have accidents two days in a row?
I simply couldn’t believe it.
‘No, think calmly. Calmly.’
Looking back, this might not be such a serious matter.
These were clothes that had been buried in a corner because they were rarely worn anyway, and the Grand Duke had just said to properly discard old clothes as I saw fit.
Now that I looked, the shirt itself seemed a bit old.
‘Right, I’m discarding it because it’s old. Because it’s old!’
I quietly opened the sack where discarded clothes were sorted.
And just as I was about to put the shirt in—
“Where is that burning smell—”
……Why is the Grand Duke’s adjutant coming out from here?
At the same time, our eyes met.
“Ah, Miss Lilian.”
The adjutant, wearing a light smile, approached me.
Then he paused.
His gaze traveled from my face down to my hands.
More precisely, to the shirt clutched in my hands.
I hurriedly hid it behind my back, but it was already too late—he had seen the iron-shaped scorch mark.
His expression twisted subtly.
“……”
“……”
In the awkward atmosphere, he asked in a serious voice.
“Are you perhaps intending to keep it?”
As if I would!
* * *
‘Ah, I see.’
Fortunately, the adjutant Dylan was a reasonable person.
He decided to overlook me discarding the shirt I had accidentally burned.
No, rather, he even encouraged my action.
‘Don’t worry. Our Highness is not such a petty person.’
……I’m not sure whether that’s true or not.
Anyway, since this problem seemed resolved, I should get back to ironing.
I picked up the iron I had set upright again.
At that, the adjutant casually perched on a nearby step and struck up a conversation with me.
“Are you busy?”
“I suppose so? It’s the busiest time for work right now.”
“I see.”
Silence fell.
I could feel his gaze fixed on me.
“U-um, aren’t you busy, Adjutant?”
“I happen to be free at the moment. Though not always.”
Silence fell once again.
At this point, it was starting to feel burdensome.
Unable to endure the silence any longer, I reluctantly opened my mouth.
“Um……. How long are you planning to stay there?”
“Who knows.”
He seemed to ponder for a moment, then answered nonchalantly.
“Until Miss Lilian finishes ironing?”
“Pardon? No, why, why?”
I unconsciously stuttered as I asked back.
I couldn’t even guess how he’d arrived at such a conclusion.
At that, he spoke with a rather serious face.
“Because I’m curious.”
“About me?”
“No, about His Highness the Grand Duke.”
……But why ask me about that?
I was so dumbfounded I was speechless.
But the adjutant paid it no mind and continued.
“His Highness fundamentally dislikes keeping anyone by his side. He has little interest in people to begin with.”
“Oh…….”
“I, too, only managed to earn his trust after weathering countless crises together on the battlefield. Of course, I also saved his life several times.”
“You saved His Highness the Grand Duke’s life?”
“Haha, of course not. I meant that His Highness saved my life.”
Hmm, let me just focus on ironing.
I cleanly gave up on trying to understand his conversational style.
Even as I moved the iron, his explanation didn’t stop.
“Whatever else I may lack, my survival instincts are exceptionally sharp. Thanks to that, I survived even the grueling seven-year war.”
“……”
“I still remember it. When I was pushed onto the battlefield in place of my older brothers, the moment I saw the young Grand Duke there, I realized something.”
“……”
“Ah, if I want to live, I need to stick to that person.”
Slip—
The iron went off course.
For a first realization gained on a battlefield, it was a bit bewildering.
Meanwhile, he suddenly rose from his seat and checked on me.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeees…….”
Having confirmed I was fine, he sat back down.
Seeing things like this, he didn’t seem like a bad person.
Like last time, and like now. He was truly a person who was hard to figure out.
“In any case, that’s the Highness I’ve observed. A person who, being stronger and more outstanding than others, is always threatened wherever he goes. So much so that his only life goal is simply not dying.”
“……”
“I’m curious as to why such a person suddenly took on a personal maid, and why it was Miss Lilian.”
After all that circling, it came back to this question.
Perhaps he had come to find me precisely to ask this question.
Though the preamble had been somewhat long and absurd.
‘Is he really curious, or is he testing me?’
I turned my head and stole a glance at the adjutant.
In truth, until now, I hadn’t needed to explain this part differently to anyone.
They just assumed that, unfortunately, I had been singled out by the Grand Duke.
But this person was different. He was the Grand Duke’s adjutant and a comrade who had shared life and death with him.
Whether his curiosity was genuine or not, I must not show him any weakness.
“Um, this is, well—”
I trailed off to choose an appropriate sentence to explain.
Since I didn’t know how much he knew, I couldn’t just say anything.
But at that moment, a small exclamation escaped the adjutant’s mouth.
“Ah, I’ve already heard about Miss Lilian’s situation.”
“Pardon? My situation?”
“That you are currently ardently in unrequited love with His Highness the Grand Duke.”
Ah, you heard that far……?
At his words, I forced a smile and swallowed my indignation inwardly.
As expected of the Grand Duke’s closest aide.
He knew about the unrequited love confession that no one but the parties involved should have known.
‘Well, it would have been stranger if word hadn’t spread by now.’
Is it because the Grand Duke is tight-lipped, or because his closest aides are tight-lipped?
Either way, it worked in my favor. If the Grand Duke’s adjutant knew that much, my answer was rather simple.
“I’m sorry, but asking me about His Highness the Grand Duke’s psychology won’t help.
It’s true that I’m in unrequited love…… with him, but even I’m puzzled as to why he gave me the position of personal maid.”
Just playing dumb consistently.
It was a safe answer with nothing particular to fault.
Besides, it was also my honest feeling. I genuinely didn’t know why the Grand Duke had made me his personal maid.
‘It’s not that I don’t have any guesses—’
In the end, even that was just speculation, so there was no need to bring it up.
It would only invite suspicion.
As I was mulling this over, he opened his mouth.
“Yes, I understand. I merely wanted to converse with Miss Lilian about this unresolved curiosity.”
It was an unexpected answer.
Honestly, I’d thought he would press further a few more times.
Contrary to my expectations, he pushed up his thin-rimmed glasses and added a short remark.
“After all, the core of analysis is observation.”
