Beyond his glasses, the adjutant’s green eyes glinted.
Somehow feeling burdened again, I subtly averted my gaze.
‘What a strange person…….’
Whether he knew my feelings or not, the adjutant continued to talk to me after that.
“How did you come to work as a maid?”
“What kind of food does Miss Lilian usually like?”
“I’ve been curious since last time—do you perhaps have a secret trick for dusting blankets so well?”
The adjutant Dylan talked a lot.
Truly excessively so.
Even the spectrum of his questions was wide.
From personal things to the most trivial matters, they continued without pause.
“No, it’s not like that—”
Since I couldn’t openly ignore him, I gave rough answers.
But at some point…….
“Come on, that can’t be! Is something like that really possible?”
“Believe it or not, it is. I couldn’t believe it either.”
“Be honest with me. There’s a bit of exaggeration in this, isn’t there?”
“Goodness, and I can’t even show you the evidence…….”
I got way too immersed in the conversation!
I shouldn’t have laughed at that terrible Grand Duke impression earlier.
The moment I laughed there, the game was over.
‘But it really was subtly similar……!’
In the end, having adapted to his peculiar way of speaking, I revised my assessment of Dylan.
‘Talkative and strange, but funny.’
Before I knew it, he was even telling stories about the seven-year war he had fought alongside the Grand Duke.
Like some kind of storyteller.
Thanks to that, it was a good thing that my background knowledge of this place grew.
‘While I’m at it, should I probe a bit about the Grand Duke too?’
Since he’s the adjutant, he must know a lot.
Maybe I could even find a clue to getting closer to him.
I casually brought it up as if it were nothing.
“Then is His Highness the Grand Duke’s sensitivity also because of the war?”
At that, Dylan tilted his head and asked back.
“Hmm, what part made you think that?”
“He sometimes frowns. Like this.”
I furrowed my brow and raised one eyebrow.
I was imitating the Grand Duke’s expression I had often seen.
At that, Dylan burst into loud laughter.
“Haha! I know that expression. You’ve even got the eyebrow height exactly right.”
Does love make people resemble each other, after all?
Let’s just ignore that last mutter.
Having chuckled to himself for a while, he finally calmed down and spoke.
“Well, the war’s influence can’t be dismissed. The surrounding environment, too.”
As expected.
Dylan continued nonchalantly.
“Whether on the battlefield or here, it’s the same—he can never let his guard down.
Especially when he’s checking documents, he says even my breathing bothers him.”
“Oh dear…….”
“Actually, I was chased out today for the same reason.
Thanks to that, I got to meet Miss Lilian, so wouldn’t you say that’s actually a good thing?”
Dylan, who had been chased out by the Grand Duke, laughed without a care.
I sighed with genuine sympathy while etching what he had said into my mind.
Sensitivity, tension, checking documents.
Then I deliberately changed the subject as if it were nothing.
‘Someday, I’ll find a use for it.’
—I thought vaguely.
However, that opportunity came sooner than I expected.
* * *
“What? First salary?”
On my way to lunch, I blinked and asked Anna again.
At that, Anna shook her head, saying I’d forgotten this too.
‘No, Lilian worked here for over three months. So what does “first salary” mean……!’
Don’t tell me the wages were unpaid?
Was this month’s pay coming out late?
As I was drawing up my own scenario, Anna spoke again.
“You’ve been in your probation period all this time, so you only received two-thirds of your salary.
So this is your first proper salary, that’s what I mean.”
Ah, I see.
Only then did I smile awkwardly.
I’d been startled, thinking wages were unpaid here too.
What a relief.
‘Is this why they tell you to work at a noble house?’
Back when I worked three or four part-time jobs, unpaid wages were commonplace.
There was even a place that delayed six months’ worth of pay.
‘In the end, I teamed up with the other part-timers, reported them, and got it back, though.’
After that, I heard every curse the shop owner would utter in his lifetime.
Ugh, it’s terrifying just thinking about it again.
“Anyway, let’s go! The head maid will be here soon.”
Anna tugged my hand, saying the head maid would distribute the salaries herself.
Today, her steps felt especially fast.
“I’m finally escaping probation too!”
“How is it that every time you get paid, it feels good?”
“It’s my second year now—won’t they give me a raise…….”
“Sigh, my younger sibling caused trouble recently, so I’m sending it straight to my parents.”
As I followed Anna to the front yard of the annex, I heard the maids chattering loudly.
Their situations and positions were all different, but one thing was common: they all had eyes full of anticipation.
“Hmph, making a fuss over something that happens every month.”
Ivy, standing alone under a tree over there, grumbled in a dissatisfied tone.
Yet even she, saying that, had a slightly flushed face compared to usual.
Apparently, payday being the happiest day is a universal truth.
“Huh, it’s the head maid!”
At someone’s shout, the surroundings fell silent for a moment.
Soon, the head maid, walking with neat steps, stood before us and scanned us once.
“Then, come forward in order.”
At her instruction, the senior maids began receiving their salaries one by one.
Anna and Ivy, who had joined before me, received theirs too.
And finally, it was my turn.
‘Whoa……!’
The pouch handed to me was quite heavy.
I’d clearly felt nothing special until just now, but actually receiving the salary felt different.
In a good way.
Soon, after all the maids, including the probationary ones, had received their pay, the head maid spoke.
“As you already know, those of you receiving a proper salary for the first time this month will be excused from afternoon duty.
Whether you go out or rest in your rooms, do as you please.”
We’re excused from afternoon duty?
I tilted my head and asked Anna beside me.
She answered in a small whisper.
“People like me aren’t included.
It’s only for those like you who became official maids this month—they let you go out and spend.
During probation, there weren’t many days off either.”
Judging by how it had always been that way, it seemed like a kind of benefit.
As expected of a noble house—no, a Grand Ducal house.
“Everyone, don’t be late coming back.”
The head maid dismissed us in her blunt voice, reminding us of the curfew.
The maids who had joined around the same time as Lilian went into the annex with especially excited faces.
They must have gone to prepare to go out.
‘Then am I resting too?’
In principle, it seemed so, but my position was a bit ambiguous.
Since I was a personal maid, I felt like I should check in with the Grand Duke.
‘What should I do…….’
As I rolled my eyes this way and that, my gaze suddenly met the head maid’s.
She jerked her chin toward the annex as if asking why I wasn’t leaving.
‘Ah, so I’m included too!’
Suddenly, my afternoon was free.
Come to think of it, I had never properly gone out since possessing this body.
Should I look around outside for a change?
I got paid, too—
‘Ah, that’s right!’
Just then, a good idea came to mind.
The ‘Get Close to the Grand Duke Project’ I’d briefly forgotten, number three.
Winning his favor with a gift.
‘There’s nothing better than a gift for getting close to someone.’
It could be mistaken for a bribe, but that was a matter of choosing a gift that didn’t seem like a bribe.
Something that looked like a small present to anyone.
‘All right, let’s go!’
Having made my decision, I quickly moved my feet.
My heart felt oddly light.
* * *
And so, having boldly set out on my first outing, I fell into deep contemplation before long.
“What on earth should I give him……?”
