There he goes again, again.
“This way, Your Highness.”
At the butler’s guidance, the Grand Duke, who had been scanning the main building’s lobby, slowly moved his feet. Only then did we raise our deeply bowed heads and let out our breath.
“Phew, that startled me!”
“I unconsciously held my breath just now too…….”
“Our Grand Duke only gets more devastatingly beautiful as time goes on.”
“Anyway, why did he look around here?”
The maids, their tension released, each tossed out a remark.
I agreed with all of them. Especially the last one.
‘What is going on?’
Starting exactly two days ago, the Grand Duke had begun appearing all over the estate.
It started with an abrupt stroll through the garden. After that, he looked around the main building and the annexes without distinction, and occasionally received guests.
‘Is he handling some task he’d been putting off until now, or what?’
That was exactly what it looked like.
Thanks to that, the servants had to move about frantically. Of course, it was to my benefit, though.
‘I’ll pad this out appropriately and write it!’
I’d been worrying about what to write in the report anyway.
In any case, attending to guests was the job of senior maids, not newcomers like me. So we just had to work as usual.
“Shall we rest for a bit before we move on?”
“Sounds good!”
“Ugh, my back.”
At the suggestion of Elizabeth, the most experienced among us, we straightened our stiff backs. It was cleaning we did every day, but it was by no means easy.
“Then I’ll go drink some water and come back.”
While the other maids were stretching, I naturally excused myself. I really was thirsty.
Tap, tap.
Fortunately, the kitchen wasn’t far. I quickened my steps. But then—
‘Huh?’
The Grand Duke, who had surely disappeared with the butler, was there with some knights.
‘Judging by the uniforms, they look like our knight order.’
The Grand Duke was conversing with a rather serious face. So were the knights.
Swiish—
I instinctively suppressed my presence and hid behind a pillar. Then I pricked up my ears.
“……So…….”
“……Ah, that’s worrisome…….”
Perhaps because they were so far away, I could barely hear the conversation. It was to the point that even Lilian’s sharp ears couldn’t pick it up, so unless I got closer, it would probably be useless.
‘Should I at least check if they’re knights I’ve seen before?’
I poked my head out from behind the pillar.
Except for those two over there, I don’t really remember—
‘Gasp……!’
The Grand Duke’s gaze brushed past this way. It was truly a fleeting moment.
I quickly pulled my head back behind the pillar.
“Then let’s do it that way.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Fortunately, it seemed I hadn’t been caught.
Well, it would be stranger if he noticed Lilian’s presence from this distance.
‘B-but just in case…….’
I crept away before the two finished their conversation. It seemed best not to drink water after all.
“You’re back? Then let’s start again.”
Yes……
The lobby cleaning went on all morning.
With guests frequently coming and going these days, the head maid was more on edge than ever. Because of this, we had to clean again and again.
‘She’s stricter than most professional cleaning companies!’
I had actually worked briefly at a cleaning company. It was quite a famous one at the time, and even they weren’t this bad.
Where on earth does the head maid find those tiny specks of dust?
“The head maid is coming!”
At that, we all bowed our heads without anyone needing to be first. We probably all shared the same thought.
‘Please, let this be the last inspection!’
Once this was over, a delicious lunch awaited.
I’d vaguely heard that today’s ingredient was chicken. Then, as expected, soup? Or roasted?
Just as I was guessing the lunch menu like that.
“Oh my, Lilian.”
Someone called Lilian’s name in a very elegant pronunciation. It wasn’t the head maid’s, but it was definitely a voice I’d heard before.
My gaze rose without my realizing it.
‘Hm?’
There stood a dazzlingly beautiful woman. She elegantly raised her hand and waved it at me with a gentle swish, saying,
“We meet again?”
It was Madame Brandt.
* * *
Trickle.
Pale reddish tea water dripped cleanly into the teacup. Madame Brandt’s figure, brewing the tea herself, was truly like a painting.
Clink.
Soon, Madame Brandt set down the teapot and held out a teacup to me.
“Try it.”
I awkwardly accepted the teacup.
She was smiling and offering tea—could anyone possibly refuse?
Frankly, even if she’d said the tea was poisoned, most people would probably drink it.
“Then, thank you…….”
Sip.
“……!”
Surprisingly, it was delicious. Even to me, who didn’t know much about tea, this was clearly well-brewed tea.
I kept sipping the tea while stealing glances at her. She was looking at me with a pleased face.
‘I’d like to talk with this child for a moment—would that be all right?’
Having pulled me away from the strict head maid, Madame Brandt headed straight for the reception room. Then, without a word, she served me snacks and tea she had brewed herself.
‘I’m grateful, but…….’
I don’t really understand why she’s doing this.
Did she like Lilian that much?
“Um, Madame.”
I cautiously opened my mouth.
“May I ask why you called for me?”
At that, Madame Brandt sipped her own tea and answered nonchalantly.
“Just because I was bored?”
Uh…….
I was at a loss for words. But Madame Brandt seemed sincere, as she added an explanation.
“Really. Do you have any idea how boring waiting alone is? So play with me for a bit. Hmm?”
She blinked her eyes cutely and pleaded.
In any case, this was something the head maid had permitted, so I had no choice. I just nodded awkwardly.
“Are you here to see His Highness the Grand Duke again today?”
“That’s right. Ah, for reference, it’s not that I came early today—it’s that His Highness is late. He says he has documents he urgently needs to check?”
Making a lady wait, how terrible of him.
She grumbled continuously. I chimed in roughly and subtly threw out a question.
“Seeing how many guests have been coming lately, His Highness the Grand Duke must be busy?”
This was something I’d been curious about anyway. The flow of conversation wasn’t bad either.
Fortunately, she answered without any particular suspicion.
“He’s always been a busy person. Busy enough to make his subordinates walk on eggshells.”
“Why? Does he have that much work?”
“Compared to the rewards he’s received, he bears excessive responsibilities and duties. Some envy and covet that, though.”
“Responsibilities and duties?”
“To them, it must look like power. Even though the person himself never wanted any of it.”
“No, who on earth is doing that?”
Listening to this was rather frustrating.
In the end, the person who made Lilian do this spy work was probably one of those people, wasn’t it? And a fairly powerful one at that.
But why go this far—as a ordinary citizen, I couldn’t quite understand.
As I was huffing to myself like that, she, who had been watching quietly, opened her mouth.
“Lilian, you’re very interested in His Highness.”
Pardon?
I unconsciously retorted with a dumbfounded face. That’s how flustered I was.
“I-it’s not like that!”
I was just curious because of the conversation—
I belatedly composed my expression and rattled off excuses. At that, Madame Brandt let out a small laugh and whispered.
“Hehe, anyone watching would think Lilian likes His Highness the Grand Duke.”
What is that supposed to……!!
I jumped and frantically waved my hands. It was almost a spinal reflex.
Only then did she seem to understand, winking one eye and saying,
“I’m joking.”
After that, light conversation continued, but I could no longer focus on her.
