“I know. Last year, I fell down the stairs and tore my skin, but not a single drop of blood came out. That’s the rumor.”
“Pfft... Hahaha!”
There was someone here who was worse than someone who wouldn’t bleed even if you pricked him with a needle. When I burst out laughing, he snickered. By his standards, that seemed like a good laugh.
“You almost got in big trouble. How did you fall?”
“Someone pushed me. They couldn’t catch the culprit, but it must have been a maid who had a grudge. She beats anyone she sees.”
“Oh my.”
Looking closely, this palace seemed to have about ten Countesses living in a large and splendid building.
If it were the past, I would have thought that the future would be bleak, but I felt strangely calm.
Maybe this is because I’m an adult.
“Don’t worry about me. Beating me is nothing.”
Then Sir Rond turned around and looked at me. When I saw his genuinely surprised expression, I realized,
“Oh, is the third lion so harsh?”
“Huh! No? That’s not true!”
He must have thought I had been beaten by the Count. I waved my hands in surprise, then realized that I had no excuse.
I couldn’t say that I had been beaten and abused by the Countess, not the Count.
At that moment, I heard a noise from the entrance.
I opened my mouth wide when I saw someone coming toward us. There was only one black head with such leisurely steps.
Oh, surprise!
“What are you doing here?”
I asked Prince Kydel with a glare, and Lord Rond looked at me in surprise at my sudden change in attitude.
“Prince Kydel.”
“Lady Loire. Lord Rond.”
Lord Rond greeted me very politely, and Prince Kydel said to me after receiving my greeting,
“It’s unexpected that I’ve run into you while out for a walk. Lady Loire.”
Wow.
Prince Kaidel’s insincere tone made anyone who heard him say, “Here you are, where else would you be?”
This kid really...
I didn’t want to pretend to know him, so I swallowed hard and looked at Lord Rond's expression.
However, Prince Kydel continued speaking naturally.
“I heard the news. You’ve been appointed as the maid of Her Highness Princess Miliora?”
“I’m still in training.”
When I answered, he tilted his eyebrows slightly.
“Is it okay for you to stay here while you're in training?”
“Today’s training is over.”
“If you have time, give my regards to the Count. He must be worried when he brings his family to the palace. Well, if you like writing letters, a letter would be nice. How about that, Miss Loire?”
I wondered why he wasn’t talking. That damn letter, a letter!
“No way. Not at all.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled as I answered, and Lord Rond looked at me with a puzzled look.
But I wasn’t in a position to care about Lord Rond right now. I had to stop Prince Kydel before he could babble any further.
He must have thought I was a rat in a cage now that I was in the palace, but it was impossible.
I glared at him and thought,
'If you were human, you should give me some mercy. Can't you guess my situation? Or is it that it doesn't matter?'
Then he rolled his eyes and smiled. That smile seemed to say,
'Don't even dream about it.'
Prince Kydel said with a smile.
"We'll see each other often, Miss Loire."
"Ah...That's too bad."
Since I muttered that sincerely, Lord Rond and Prince Kydel looked at me with embarrassment at the same time.
But I just smiled awkwardly. It was the kind of rotten smile that the Countess had told me never to smile like in etiquette lessons.
I didn't have the confidence to hide my true feelings in front of Prince Kydel.
Fortunately, Lord Rond was a heavy-bottomed man. Lord Rond didn’t move as if this corner bench of the sponsorship was his, and Prince Kydel couldn’t speak to me openly while everyone was watching.
“If you need help, just let me know anytime, Miss Loire.”
Prince Kydel said as if he was going to step aside. However, somehow his attitude was colder and more strange than usual, and I felt a little strange.
“Oh, no way! Hohoho.”
When I joked, Lord Rond turned his head and laughed weakly through his nose. Because of his large body, even his breathing caused wind to blow around him.
Prince Kydel said to Lord Rond.
“How are you injured, Lord Rond?”
Prince Kydel’s tone was quite polite and friendly, unlike when he spoke to me, but Lord Rond responded sensitively.
“Would you like to cross swords?”
“Let’s postpone it until next time. Then I’m off.”
Prince Kydel left. It was obvious that the two knew each other. Perhaps it was a bad relationship.
I looked at Lord Rond's face, hardened, and asked,
“Have you been to Tunbar?”
“A few ribs were knocked out by the rocks rolled by the Amata tribe, but I’m fine now.”
There was no way he was fine.
I could understand the reason for his indifference, depression, and leisure, which were inversely proportional to his workload.
He was weak from his injuries, but he wanted to continue working, and the imperial family respected his wishes and sent him home instead of sending him to the most leisurely duty of guarding the imperial family.
However, that was definitely not what he wanted, so it was natural for him to be depressed because of his leisure.
If he had broken his ribs by being crushed by a rock, his spine and other parts couldn’t have been okay. The aftereffects must have been severe, but he seemed to have built up strength to endure them.
“Are you exercising because of your injury?”
“...”
“..."
“Are you being a bit nosy?”
But when the third lion called out that he had brought his daughter, he found an illegitimate child and sent him away.
When I said that I was an illegitimate child, I clearly saw a light go out in His Highness Grayon’s eyes. In fact, I had told him to do so in advance.
If you look closely, my birth was a hundred times, a thousand times more important to others than to myself.
I answered shamelessly.
“That’s right. Who would have thought that something like this would happen if I dared to enter the palace?”
“Of course. Of course.”
The director tried to be hypocritical and diligently stirred the green liquid.
“What’s that?”
“I’m brewing the leaves of the yam.”
“Do you think someone has a rash?”
That’s how our conversation began. The director never stopped talking about work-related matters, and I naturally became his assistant and helped with the work.
“Pfft... Hahaha!”
There was someone here who was worse than someone who wouldn’t bleed even if you pricked him with a needle. When I burst out laughing, he snickered. By his standards, that seemed like a good laugh.
“You almost got in big trouble. How did you fall?”
“Someone pushed me. They couldn’t catch the culprit, but it must have been a maid who had a grudge. She beats anyone she sees.”
“Oh my.”
Looking closely, this palace seemed to have about ten Countesses living in a large and splendid building.
If it were the past, I would have thought that the future would be bleak, but I felt strangely calm.
Maybe this is because I’m an adult.
“Don’t worry about me. Beating me is nothing.”
Then Sir Rond turned around and looked at me. When I saw his genuinely surprised expression, I realized,
“Oh, is the third lion so harsh?”
“Huh! No? That’s not true!”
He must have thought I had been beaten by the Count. I waved my hands in surprise, then realized that I had no excuse.
I couldn’t say that I had been beaten and abused by the Countess, not the Count.
At that moment, I heard a noise from the entrance.
I opened my mouth wide when I saw someone coming toward us. There was only one black head with such leisurely steps.
Oh, surprise!
“What are you doing here?”
I asked Prince Kydel with a glare, and Lord Rond looked at me in surprise at my sudden change in attitude.
“Prince Kydel.”
“Lady Loire. Lord Rond.”
Lord Rond greeted me very politely, and Prince Kydel said to me after receiving my greeting,
“It’s unexpected that I’ve run into you while out for a walk. Lady Loire.”
Wow.
Prince Kaidel’s insincere tone made anyone who heard him say, “Here you are, where else would you be?”
This kid really...
I didn’t want to pretend to know him, so I swallowed hard and looked at Lord Rond's expression.
However, Prince Kydel continued speaking naturally.
“I heard the news. You’ve been appointed as the maid of Her Highness Princess Miliora?”
“I’m still in training.”
When I answered, he tilted his eyebrows slightly.
“Is it okay for you to stay here while you're in training?”
“Today’s training is over.”
“If you have time, give my regards to the Count. He must be worried when he brings his family to the palace. Well, if you like writing letters, a letter would be nice. How about that, Miss Loire?”
I wondered why he wasn’t talking. That damn letter, a letter!
“No way. Not at all.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled as I answered, and Lord Rond looked at me with a puzzled look.
But I wasn’t in a position to care about Lord Rond right now. I had to stop Prince Kydel before he could babble any further.
He must have thought I was a rat in a cage now that I was in the palace, but it was impossible.
I glared at him and thought,
'If you were human, you should give me some mercy. Can't you guess my situation? Or is it that it doesn't matter?'
Then he rolled his eyes and smiled. That smile seemed to say,
'Don't even dream about it.'
Prince Kydel said with a smile.
"We'll see each other often, Miss Loire."
"Ah...That's too bad."
Since I muttered that sincerely, Lord Rond and Prince Kydel looked at me with embarrassment at the same time.
But I just smiled awkwardly. It was the kind of rotten smile that the Countess had told me never to smile like in etiquette lessons.
I didn't have the confidence to hide my true feelings in front of Prince Kydel.
Fortunately, Lord Rond was a heavy-bottomed man. Lord Rond didn’t move as if this corner bench of the sponsorship was his, and Prince Kydel couldn’t speak to me openly while everyone was watching.
“If you need help, just let me know anytime, Miss Loire.”
Prince Kydel said as if he was going to step aside. However, somehow his attitude was colder and more strange than usual, and I felt a little strange.
“Oh, no way! Hohoho.”
When I joked, Lord Rond turned his head and laughed weakly through his nose. Because of his large body, even his breathing caused wind to blow around him.
Prince Kydel said to Lord Rond.
“How are you injured, Lord Rond?”
Prince Kydel’s tone was quite polite and friendly, unlike when he spoke to me, but Lord Rond responded sensitively.
“Would you like to cross swords?”
“Let’s postpone it until next time. Then I’m off.”
Prince Kydel left. It was obvious that the two knew each other. Perhaps it was a bad relationship.
I looked at Lord Rond's face, hardened, and asked,
“Have you been to Tunbar?”
“A few ribs were knocked out by the rocks rolled by the Amata tribe, but I’m fine now.”
There was no way he was fine.
I could understand the reason for his indifference, depression, and leisure, which were inversely proportional to his workload.
He was weak from his injuries, but he wanted to continue working, and the imperial family respected his wishes and sent him home instead of sending him to the most leisurely duty of guarding the imperial family.
However, that was definitely not what he wanted, so it was natural for him to be depressed because of his leisure.
If he had broken his ribs by being crushed by a rock, his spine and other parts couldn’t have been okay. The aftereffects must have been severe, but he seemed to have built up strength to endure them.
“Are you exercising because of your injury?”
“...”
He stared at me blankly as if he didn’t know how I knew that, and then turned away, and I said, feeling embarrassed.
“I know a little about this and that.”
“..."
“Are you being a bit nosy?”
Then he got up from his seat. I thought the wall had moved. I felt bad for him as I watched him leave without saying goodbye, and I got up.
***
“Miss Loba! What’s going on? Are you here to see Prince Kydel? He just came back, what should I do?”
“Yes? Me? Why would you think that...”
I widened my eyes at Director Royman, who was welcoming me, and then calmed myself down. I could understand why the director didn’t know about my enlistment, but I couldn’t understand why he thought I would be hanging out with that person. But I had a bigger problem.
“Director, I... I’m referring to your honorifics.”
“Hmm? Was I rude?”
The director immediately became nervous. As a researcher, he was somewhat eccentric and reserved, but he wasn’t the type of person who enjoyed being rude like some people.
“No, that’s not it. It’s just that if you call me Miss Loba from now on, I’ll be in a lot of trouble. Actually, I’m an illegitimate child, so I have two surnames...”
The director asked with a troubled face.
“I see. Then what should I call you?”
“Just call me Lorisha. Lorisha... Loire.”
“...That Loire?”
I nodded with an awkward laugh, and he tried to smile back, embarrassed.
“I’m currently receiving maid training. I think I’ll be staying at the palace, so I thought I’d say hello to you.”
“I see! I’m grateful that you came to see me first. Isn’t it natural for Miss Lorisha to become the maid of His Highness the Second Prince?”
The director winked at me with one eye as he spoke. Only then did I realize my mistake. The director was under a big misconception because of the last incident. How on earth did I end up tangled with that black hair?
“That’s not it, I entered the palace as a maid to Princess Miliora.”
“What did you say?”
“That’s what happened. Haha. Haha...”
Director Royman frowned as if he couldn’t understand what I was saying, but he couldn’t show it.
“Anyway, don’t worry. I’ve already forgotten about Miss Loba, the apothecary.”
“Thank you.”
“The Princess’s palace?”
The director’s face was filled with sympathy as he asked again, as if confirming. The Princess’s notoriety was already widespread in the palace. He spoke awkwardly as he stirred the thick green liquid boiling on low heat.
“Anyway, it means I can see Miss Lorisha in the palace. That’s a good thing. Yes. Yes.”
I felt increasingly hopeless as I watched Director Royman squeeze out the good points of my situation. Then I consoled myself with the thought that I had never lived with Misha.
“His Highness the Second Prince needs many people. That must be why I unconsciously thought that. Being a maid of the royal family is an honorable position, no matter who you are. Congratulations, Miss Lorisha.”
“I would like you to stop giving me such forced positive evaluations.”
Only then did I realize why His Highness Grayon had called me from the Zebron Hotel. He must have needed someone to help him at the palace after returning from the Battle of Amata. The battlefield and the palace were two completely different places.
But when the third lion called out that he had brought his daughter, he found an illegitimate child and sent him away.
When I said that I was an illegitimate child, I clearly saw a light go out in His Highness Grayon’s eyes. In fact, I had told him to do so in advance.
If you look closely, my birth was a hundred times, a thousand times more important to others than to myself.
I answered shamelessly.
“That’s right. Who would have thought that something like this would happen if I dared to enter the palace?”
“Of course. Of course.”
The director tried to be hypocritical and diligently stirred the green liquid.
“What’s that?”
“I’m brewing the leaves of the yam.”
“Do you think someone has a rash?”
That’s how our conversation began. The director never stopped talking about work-related matters, and I naturally became his assistant and helped with the work.
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