“Excuse me, my lord. What is the schedule for today…?”
“I don’t really know either.”
“Then at least the destination…”
“Hahaha.”
“……”
As soon as I heard the awkward laughter, I had a bad feeling.
Today was going to be a hellish day.
The Duke always hinted to me beforehand if there were guests coming or official schedules, so I could be careful not to commit any rudeness.
There was only one other time he abruptly took me out without saying anything, and that was when he took me to a strange date course to seduce me…
Even though it was burdensome and nauseating, I had no way to avoid it.
The Duke simply went out alone, and I, as a maid, was obliged to follow.
So, aside from acting as businesslike and stiffly as possible to completely eliminate any chance of misunderstanding from his side, there was no other countermeasure for me.
“Hold my hand.”
“Yes…”
I took the hand the Duke offered and got into the carriage.
I thought I had gotten used to it by now, but I still felt embarrassed.
When being treated so explicitly like a woman, a wave of self-loathing washed over me.
However, if I made a fuss every time and insisted that I wasn’t a woman, I would be treated like a crazy person, so I had somewhat resigned myself to it.
“I see you’re meeting an important person.”
“Um. Well, maybe yes, maybe no.”
I was slowly starting to get angry.
It seemed he was planning to keep today’s schedule fully hidden, leaving me with no choice but to deduce it on my own.
For starters, today the Duke was dressed quite formally.
At first, I couldn’t really tell, but after seeing his clothes up close several times and managing them, I learned that there were stages of formality in attire.
The clothes he was wearing now were the most formal attire he had never once taken out before.
Moreover, I was currently dressed in a neat and plain outing outfit, not a maid outfit, at the Duke’s request.
If it were just a trip to a nearby restaurant or shop, there would have been no need to change out of maid clothes.
It was clear that we were definitely going to meet someone very important.
But the problem was why he wouldn’t tell me about it…
“Oh, I want to surprise you, so just stay quiet.”
“……”
I tried to look out the window as the curtain was drawn, but I was stopped.
Was it a surprise?
What the heck was he trying to show me…?
I was starting to get scared.
“We have arrived.”
The carriage coming to a smooth stop indicated a well-maintained paved road.
The Duke opened the door and stepped out first, and I slowly got down from the carriage holding onto his hand.
As my eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight and I could see something, I froze with my mouth hanging open.
“Is this your first time in the palace?”
“Yes… It is my first time…”
I looked up at the enormous palace that reached high into the sky, and my neck ached.
Even though I had been here for the first time, I realized it was the palace before I could even hear the Duke’s words.
I had thought the Dragania villa was overwhelming when I saw it for the first time, but compared to the palace, it seemed quite cute.
“Then the business today is…”
“Yes. It’s at the palace.”
“Am I… going in too?”
“Of course. That’s part of a maid’s duties.”
“……”
I was dumbfounded.
He didn’t mention we were coming to the palace in advance. Was he in his right mind?
I hadn’t completely mastered the etiquette for meeting royalty yet.
“Ugh…”
I bit my lip and forcibly suppressed the trembling of my hands and feet.
It was fine to be nervous, but it shouldn’t show on the outside.
The Duke briefly pretended to check his watch and stood still. When I finally gathered my courage and stood closely behind him, he began to take steps forward.
If you look closely, he was remarkably considerate in useless ways.
“Dragania.”
“Yes. Please enter. Welcome, Duke.”
“d*mn it.”
I couldn’t even muster the energy to complain.
Once I entered the palace, I was so tense that there was no time to even open my mouth.
However, when I passed by a mirror, I surprised myself by looking calmer than I expected.
Perhaps I had a talent for keeping a poker face.
“Y-You’re the Duke of Dragania. It’s a pleasure.”
“Yeah. It’s a pleasure.”
“Yes, yes. It’s truly an honor to see you again…”
The attitude of the passing nobility was strange.
Having seen the Duke, they had to greet him, but it seemed they didn’t want to chat for long.
Did they look like they were avoiding the Duke, or perhaps they were showing signs of fear toward him?
It was the kind of gaze that instinctively shivered at the threat of a wild beast.
It was completely different from the nobility who had been eager to exchange a few words with the Duke at the party.
“Oh. Wait a minute.”
Upon further thought, I realized that some nobles at the party also only looked at the Duke from afar.
Did the Duke have many enemies in the institution?
Even if I was ignorant of the politics here, I had to start learning more.
“I request an audience with His Majesty.”
“Are you referring to an audience with His Majesty the Emperor? Please wait a moment. I will be back shortly.”
“……!”
As I was thinking something deeper, an ominous thought had turned into reality.
I hadn’t imagined we were really coming to see the Emperor.
Am I going in with him too?
I would prefer to wait outside.
If we go in together, will I have to greet His Majesty too?
Or as a maid, is it better to just stay still?
This is driving me crazy.
In an instant, my head became complicated and hot.
At that moment, I felt a handkerchief lightly touch my forehead.
“Hahaha. You’re sweating so much. Come here. Let me wipe it off.”
“I… have no idea what to do when meeting His Majesty…”
“You don’t have to worry too much.”
“Why not?”
“Well, it’s not like you’re going to have an audience anyway.”
“Excuse me?”
“Due to the Emperor’s poor health, an audience today seems unlikely.”
“……”
See?
The Duke looked at me with a proud expression, as if to say that.
I felt a bit of tension ease off.
I quickly stood up and followed behind the Duke, who hurriedly made his way somewhere.
“Anyway, I knew I’d be rejected. That guy always gets sick whenever I show up.”
“Then why did you request an audience?”
“It’s a matter of courtesy.”
“Ah…”
There seemed to be some kind of circumstance.
For now, all I could infer was that the Emperor must have deliberately rejected an audience, showing that the relationship with Dragania was poor.
Now I seemed to understand why the Duke hadn’t hinted to me in advance.
It was literally just a schedule to step into the palace and leave, so there was no need for me to know about the etiquette regarding royalty.
I was so relieved, thinking that we were just going home.
Until a little kid spoke to me.
“Schwarz! Stop right there! It’s an order!”
“……?”
At the urgent voice, I turned to see a boy pointing at the Duke.
He must have run here in a hurry, as he was panting heavily.
He was a boy who looked like a mischievous little rascal.
Just as I was about to click my tongue at his childishness, a chilling thought suddenly crossed my mind.
The fact that a boy could be so rude to the Duke meant…
“Greetings, Your Highness the Prince. I will take my leave now.”
“Didn’t I tell you to stop!”
So he was indeed a prince.
My vision went dark for a moment.
Luckily, that rude little brat didn’t seem to care about me at all.
The Duke began to walk ahead, thoroughly ignoring the prince, making his way.
The prince, however, seemed greatly displeased, puffing up as he followed closely beside.
“What happened to our earlier promise?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The promise that you would take me to the northern borders!”
“I have no recollection of making such a promise.”
“Are you mocking me right now?!”
“The border area is dangerous due to the monster infestation. I cannot bring you to such a place.”
“And that’s exactly why I want to go! No matter how many monsters there are, it would be safe next to you! I want to see those dangerous monsters up close!”
“……”
The Duke’s expression was darkening in real-time.
It seemed the prince had quite an admiration for him.
But the Duke found the prince merely bothersome.
I could tell just from the look in his eyes.
The gaze he gave the prince was completely different from the one he reserved for Leopard and me when dealing with other guests.
It was the kind of look that suggested everything in the world was a nuisance.
“Then let’s make a new promise. If you score within the top ten in the exam at St. Sophia, I will do what you wish then.”
“St. Sophia? Isn’t that a complete dump of a school? It should be easy! Hahaha!”
“You seem to be mistaken. Many outsiders take the exam at St. Sophia, but no outsider has ever placed within the top five.”
“Uh…”
The prince’s expression hardened.
I thought I had completely broken his spirit, but the prince picked up something from the servant and trotted back to the Duke.
What the prince displayed to the Duke was a problem set filled with equations.
“No need to take an exam! I can solve all these problems!”
“Yes, indeed. Impressive.”
“Right! I’m amazing! So hurry up and take me to the border-”
“This here is incorrect. You’re missing the minus sign…”
“……”
The Duke abruptly stopped.
Once I regained my senses, I realized I was pointing at the prince’s problem set and correcting the mistakes.
Have I finally gone crazy?
Having relaxed made me blurt out something ridiculous.
The prince’s gaze slowly crept towards me, and all the tension I had felt a moment ago surged back, freezing me in place.
“Oho. You say there’s an error. Do you perhaps know how to do math, girl?”
“Y-Yes? Yes… I can do a little.”
It was embarrassing to even admit I could do math.
After all, it was only at a high school level.
But the prince’s mouth was slowly curling into a smile, which felt suspicious.
“I see. I had promised to give the tutor a break if I answered all the problems correctly. It seems, by chance, that the grading was done incorrectly.”
“Eek?!”
One of the servants behind me trembled in fear.
“Wretched liar is not needed.”
“Y-Your Highness…!”
With a flick of his hand, the guards seized his arms and began to drag him away.
I felt somewhat uncomfortable as if I had casually dismissed him.
“A position for a math tutor has just opened up. Tell me, girl, would you like to be my tutor?”
“M-Me…? Tutor for Your Highness…?”
I was flustered by such an outrageous offer.
Considering I was currently under Dragania, I couldn’t accept it anyways.
I glanced nervously at the Duke.
“I can spare one day a week.”
“My lord?!”
“Very well! Come to my classroom! I need to test your tutoring skills immediately!”
“……”
I felt betrayed.
For a moment, I was so bewildered that I couldn’t say anything.
The Duke leaned in close to me, holding back laughter, and whispered softly into my ear.
“The prince will not spare the tutoring fee, so it will be a good opportunity for you, Julia.”
“Still, when did it get so sudden?”
“Originally, the prince has a rather fickle personality. I will head back first. I’ll have the carriage waiting, so ride it back when you’re done.”
“My lord…!”
The Duke turned without lingering, leaving me with no more choices.
Just when I thought I might finally leave the palace, I was being pulled back inside again.
.
.
.
“Arrgh…”
“I’ve been waiting. Please get in, Miss Julia.”
By the time we were coming out of the palace, it was already evening.
I hadn’t done any hard labor, but having been tense the entire time I was facing the prince, as soon as the pressure released, my entire body ached.
Though physical wounds might heal quickly, the accumulated fatigue in my body seemed to take longer to recover even with restorative abilities.
Dragging my exhausted body, I climbed into the carriage and collapsed into the seat.
“Ah…”
If someone asked what happened at the palace, I would struggle to answer.
Perhaps due to being so tense, I had nearly forgotten everything.
I didn’t even know if I had committed a faux pas or not.
However, one thing was certain: the prince’s reaction had been relatively positive.
I was told I could start next week.
It seemed that merely following the general principles of the teaching methods used by my old tutor had worked out well.
It was a wonderful opportunity to make significant money and build connections, but it was burdensome that the counterpart was, unfortunately, a prince.
I really couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or not…
“Coachman, could you stop for a moment?”
I spotted an ice cream shop that was about to close as we passed by.
Suddenly thinking of Tia, I couldn’t just pass it by.
After a long time, I arrived at the villa with plenty of ice cream. By then, it was already dark.
“Mommy’s back…”
“Welcome home! What’s that?”
“Ice cream that Tia likes.”
“Really? Mmm, hehehe! You’re the best, Mommy!”
As I returned to the accommodation and set down the ice cream, Tia beamed and flew into my arms.
I couldn’t help but smile too.
I felt all my fatigue vanish.
‘I think I now understand my father’s feelings…’
In my childhood, whenever my father came home with fried chicken, I thought he must have had a good day that day.
In reality, it was not that way.
On particularly tough and gloomy days, my father just wanted to see the joyful faces of his children.
Now I felt I somewhat understood my father’s heart.
