“What, what are you doing, Your Majesty the Empress!”
The Magic Tower Lord also turned his back to the bed and sat down facing Zelda, saying,
“What were you doing, Your Majesty the Empress?”
“Yes?”
“I’m not saying anything about a secret meeting with a servant. No matter how urgent it is, you shouldn’t let a woman crawl under the bed.”
Bellos felt his head spin at Zelda’s misunderstanding.
“It’s not what Your Majesty the Empress thinks...”
“Then you’re saying she went in on her own?”
“...That’s it.”
It was a situation where he couldn’t deny it since there was someone under the bed.
Bellos couldn’t understand Roxana.
Before things got to this point, she should have pressed the amethyst around her neck and disappeared, so why was she still holding out under the bed?
He had a feeling that Roxana would obediently show up out of bed if Zelda gave her the order to come out again.
Bellos’s insides were burning.
“I’m not trying to scold you, so come out first. If it’s better to talk under the bed, you can do it there.”
Bellos couldn’t say anything more to her because of the majestic tone of voice that was worthy of an Empress, and he remained silent in despair.
“Your Majesty, the Empress said so. Why aren’t you coming out quickly?”
This time, Rosie sat down next to Zelda and slapped the floor with her palm to urge Roxana.
Aoshi followed Rosie’s actions, slapping the floor with his forepaws and meowing solemnly as if imitating the two’s tone of voice.
“Meow! (Come out!)”
After about a minute, Roxana, who had been lying on her side, rolled over and got out of bed.
Roxana was startled to see Empress Zelda and the concubine sitting upright.
She got up, smoothed her messy red hair, and naturally knelt down. Since she was wearing a servant’s uniform, she couldn’t sit in the same position.
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen this maid...?”
Rosie narrowed her eyes as she looked closely at Roxana’s pretty face.
There was no way she wouldn’t notice such a beautiful maid. She felt more like a noble lady than a maid. Zelda also looked at Roxana, who had an unfamiliar face, and then turned her gaze to Bellos.
Bellos couldn’t bear to meet Zelda’s eyes and was staring at Aoshi.
He couldn’t even tell what expression he was making right now.
“I apologize for surprising you.”
Roxana said, lowering her eyes.
Her voice was as noble as her appearance.
Her low, calm voice was unusual.
“She doesn’t seem to be a maid to the concubines, but a maid in the kitchen or laundry?”
Zelda asked in a much softer voice.
“...Yes, Your Majesty. I belong in the kitchen.”
At Roxana’s answer, Zelda looked down at the hand that was neatly folded on her thigh.
‘Your hands are prettier than mine?’
Her hands were too delicate for a servant in the kitchen, but she thought it was either well-managed or her natural complexion.
“I see. So, what’s the matter with the Lord of the Tower’s room...?”
Zelda asked, then closed her mouth again.
It was obvious from the fact that she wasn’t sitting on a chair but hiding under the bed.
She thought she had asked a pointless question.
“The Lord of the Tower said he had something to tell me, so I came to see him.”
Roxana said, glancing at the Lord of the Tower.
Bellos’s mind became complicated.
‘This is the most difficult situation I’ve been in in the 250 years since I became an adult.’
He resented Roxana for handing him the cards.
“I guess the Lord of the Tower’s business was on that servant’s back?”
Zelda saw Roxana’s dress zipper open a little while ago when she came out from under the bed with her back to him.
Roxana only then remembered the zipper she had finished putting up.
The situation was becoming funny without her intention.
“I, I didn’t do anything...”
Bellos waved both hands and blushed.
'How stupid.'
Roxana clicked her tongue internally as she watched Bellos stutter.
In all these years of living, she wondered if she had ever been so sly as to be unable to get away with something like this.
"Yes, the Lord of the Tower was just trying to put the zipper up."
Roxana spoke as if speaking for Bellos.
"Oh, so that means you were wearing clothes, not taking them off?"
Before putting the zipper up, not right before it was put down.
In terms of the order, Zelda was right, but what she was imagining was very different from the truth.
Zelda held back her laughter and exchanged glances with Rosie.
In the gap, Roxana was able to get a closer look at her face.
Clear pink eyes, a small face with delicate features.
Soft, voluminous blond hair. Fragile, but strong energy and a confident gaze that could be felt in her body.
Playfulness in her fleeting smile and a voice that felt affectionate yet stubborn.
In a word, she was charming.
However, she didn’t seem so great that she could embrace an incarnation. She was just more like a lovely woman.
“How could so many eyes be watching...”
Rosie glanced at Bellos with a disappointed look and muttered to herself, and Zelda grabbed her arm and shook her head.
“That must be why you called her to your room at night.”
Bellos felt even more annoyed at Zelda for taking his side.
“I apologize for disturbing you. But Lord of the Tower, you asked for the servant’s opinion, right?”
It was a question asking if she had been teasing him for her own pleasure.
“T-That couldn’t be, Your Majesty!”
This was a situation that would be unfair even if he made excuses, and it would be unfair even if he didn’t. Bellos looked at Roxana with an aggrieved expression.
Zelda and Rosie also focused their eyes on her.
Bellos was extremely angry at this situation where his image depended on Roxana’s words.
“I want to go back now.”
What?
Bellos burst into laughter at Roxana’s tired and pitiful tone.
Zelda’s expression sharpened as she glanced at Bellos.
“Yes, then you can go out with us.”
Roxana looked at Bellos, noticing his reaction.
He was cursing Roxana with his eyes.
At that moment, the Incarnation Sword that had been propped up on the wall between the two women fell.
Zelda and Roxana reached out at the same time. Roxana reached out to the Incarnation Sword first.
However, as soon as her hands touched it,
“Ah.”
The vibration she felt from the sword spread from Roxana’s hand to her entire shoulder, so she was startled and took her hands off the sword.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Zelda grabbed Roxana’s hand.
Roxana was more surprised by Zelda holding her hand than by the vibration she had just felt from the Incarnation Sword.
The Empress is holding the servant’s hand so casually and without any hesitation.
As a Princess, she rarely came into contact with other servants besides her own servant, Nancy.
Zelda examined Roxana’s palm and confirmed that she was fine before letting go. The smile Zelda showed as she let go struck a part of Roxana’s heart.
This time, when Zelda brought her hand close to touch the Incarnation Sword, the Incarnation Sword spun around, and the handle hit her fingertips.
Zelda grabbed the handle of the Incarnation Sword as if possessed.
But at that moment, Zelda also let go of the Incarnation Sword, reacting in the same way as Roxana.
“ I felt the vibration. That’s why you let go, right?”
Bellos tried to make excuses with a hollow laugh, but Zelda cut him off.
“I know, you must be lonely.”
“...Yes?”
“I fully understand how you feel after spending all those years alone, but please be mindful of the other person’s feelings as well.”
Bellos stood there blankly, unable to do anything at Zelda’s sharp advice.
“Say something.”
Bellos winked at Roxana, but Roxana ignored his angry gaze and followed Empress Zelda out of the room.
“Haa, you’ve been hit hard in the back of the head.”
Although he had joined hands with the princess for the sake of a great cause, it would be troublesome if he continued to act like this.
“I have to be on guard.”
Bellos was troubled.
“Could it be that the Magic Tower Lord forced...”
I asked her as I led the maid out of the Magic Tower Lord’s room and walked slowly down the hallway.
“That’s not true.”
If that wasn’t the case, then it was true that I and Rosie had interfered.
“Yes, then. What’s your name?”
“Nancy...”
“Nancy, just a moment.”
I finished zipping up her dress, which had been bothering me since earlier.
I didn’t forget to gently pat her back, as if she were embarrassed.
Nancy took a step back, perhaps surprised by my touch.
“Thank you, Your Majesty...”
Her pretty face was bewildered and surprised.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. And I’m saying this out of concern, but please be careful because your actions may be subject to responsibility.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I smiled at her and walked down the hallway again.
“Your Majesty, I’m a little disappointed in the Lord of the Tower.”
Rosie glanced at her as she followed her and whispered to me.
“That’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s something that happens often among nobles.”
Even noble ladies often enjoyed secret meetings with their knights.
Even though he was a bit older...I couldn’t criticize the Lord of the Tower, who was still single, for playing with zippers with a woman he liked.
Of course, if he had tried to force her to be his maid, that wouldn’t have been an issue, but judging from Nancy’s expression, it didn’t seem like that.
“Oh, you said you were a cook?”
I asked Nancy as I turned around to my room.
“...Yes, that’s right.”
She replied with her still nervous face.
“Can you bring me two cups of lemon tea?”
I thought it would relieve my fatigue if I had one cup each with Linel before going to bed.
“Oh, yes. I’ll make them.”
With Nancy’s answer, Bonis, who was staying in the next room, came out.
“Your Majesty, where are you coming from?”
“Rosie and I will go to the Magic Tower Lord's room for a moment.”
I said, briefly holding up the magic potion I was holding.
Bonis nodded and looked at Nancy next to me.
“I’m a cook, and I just happened to meet her in front of the Magic Tower Lord's room and asked her for some lemon tea.”
I didn’t necessarily mention that I met her under the bed in the Magic Tower Lord's room.
“Oh, I just happened to need something, so I was going down to the dining room.”
“If you need anything, shall I bring it to you?”
Bonis shook his head at the servant’s words.
“No, let’s go down together.”
“Yes, that will do. Nancy, please.”
I smiled at Bonis and said to the maid.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Nancy’s voice was quite elegant.
Roxana, who had come down to the first floor where the restaurant was, naturally followed the direction Bonis was going.
Bonis suddenly stopped.
“Where are you going? I think this is the kitchen?”
“Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something else for a moment and was walking...”
Roxana, who had no idea where the kitchen was, quickly opened the door Bonis had pointed out and went in.
Fortunately, it was the kitchen as Bonis had predicted.
Although she had entered the kitchen, Roxana encountered another problem.
The problem was that she didn’t know where the lemons were stored, and the bigger problem was that she didn’t know how to make lemon tea.
Bonis’s voice was heard softly from behind Roxana, who was just looking around the kitchen.
“You’re not the kitchen maid, are you?”
“!”
“Who are you to dare lie to Her Majesty the Empress?”
The Magic Tower Lord also turned his back to the bed and sat down facing Zelda, saying,
“What were you doing, Your Majesty the Empress?”
“Yes?”
“I’m not saying anything about a secret meeting with a servant. No matter how urgent it is, you shouldn’t let a woman crawl under the bed.”
Bellos felt his head spin at Zelda’s misunderstanding.
“It’s not what Your Majesty the Empress thinks...”
“Then you’re saying she went in on her own?”
“...That’s it.”
It was a situation where he couldn’t deny it since there was someone under the bed.
Bellos couldn’t understand Roxana.
Before things got to this point, she should have pressed the amethyst around her neck and disappeared, so why was she still holding out under the bed?
He had a feeling that Roxana would obediently show up out of bed if Zelda gave her the order to come out again.
Bellos’s insides were burning.
“I’m not trying to scold you, so come out first. If it’s better to talk under the bed, you can do it there.”
Bellos couldn’t say anything more to her because of the majestic tone of voice that was worthy of an Empress, and he remained silent in despair.
“Your Majesty, the Empress said so. Why aren’t you coming out quickly?”
This time, Rosie sat down next to Zelda and slapped the floor with her palm to urge Roxana.
Aoshi followed Rosie’s actions, slapping the floor with his forepaws and meowing solemnly as if imitating the two’s tone of voice.
“Meow! (Come out!)”
After about a minute, Roxana, who had been lying on her side, rolled over and got out of bed.
Roxana was startled to see Empress Zelda and the concubine sitting upright.
She got up, smoothed her messy red hair, and naturally knelt down. Since she was wearing a servant’s uniform, she couldn’t sit in the same position.
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen this maid...?”
Rosie narrowed her eyes as she looked closely at Roxana’s pretty face.
There was no way she wouldn’t notice such a beautiful maid. She felt more like a noble lady than a maid. Zelda also looked at Roxana, who had an unfamiliar face, and then turned her gaze to Bellos.
Bellos couldn’t bear to meet Zelda’s eyes and was staring at Aoshi.
He couldn’t even tell what expression he was making right now.
“I apologize for surprising you.”
Roxana said, lowering her eyes.
Her voice was as noble as her appearance.
Her low, calm voice was unusual.
“She doesn’t seem to be a maid to the concubines, but a maid in the kitchen or laundry?”
Zelda asked in a much softer voice.
“...Yes, Your Majesty. I belong in the kitchen.”
At Roxana’s answer, Zelda looked down at the hand that was neatly folded on her thigh.
‘Your hands are prettier than mine?’
Her hands were too delicate for a servant in the kitchen, but she thought it was either well-managed or her natural complexion.
“I see. So, what’s the matter with the Lord of the Tower’s room...?”
Zelda asked, then closed her mouth again.
It was obvious from the fact that she wasn’t sitting on a chair but hiding under the bed.
She thought she had asked a pointless question.
“The Lord of the Tower said he had something to tell me, so I came to see him.”
Roxana said, glancing at the Lord of the Tower.
Bellos’s mind became complicated.
‘This is the most difficult situation I’ve been in in the 250 years since I became an adult.’
He resented Roxana for handing him the cards.
“I guess the Lord of the Tower’s business was on that servant’s back?”
Zelda saw Roxana’s dress zipper open a little while ago when she came out from under the bed with her back to him.
Roxana only then remembered the zipper she had finished putting up.
The situation was becoming funny without her intention.
“I, I didn’t do anything...”
Bellos waved both hands and blushed.
'How stupid.'
Roxana clicked her tongue internally as she watched Bellos stutter.
In all these years of living, she wondered if she had ever been so sly as to be unable to get away with something like this.
"Yes, the Lord of the Tower was just trying to put the zipper up."
Roxana spoke as if speaking for Bellos.
"Oh, so that means you were wearing clothes, not taking them off?"
Before putting the zipper up, not right before it was put down.
In terms of the order, Zelda was right, but what she was imagining was very different from the truth.
Zelda held back her laughter and exchanged glances with Rosie.
In the gap, Roxana was able to get a closer look at her face.
Clear pink eyes, a small face with delicate features.
Soft, voluminous blond hair. Fragile, but strong energy and a confident gaze that could be felt in her body.
Playfulness in her fleeting smile and a voice that felt affectionate yet stubborn.
In a word, she was charming.
However, she didn’t seem so great that she could embrace an incarnation. She was just more like a lovely woman.
“How could so many eyes be watching...”
Rosie glanced at Bellos with a disappointed look and muttered to herself, and Zelda grabbed her arm and shook her head.
“That must be why you called her to your room at night.”
Bellos felt even more annoyed at Zelda for taking his side.
“I apologize for disturbing you. But Lord of the Tower, you asked for the servant’s opinion, right?”
It was a question asking if she had been teasing him for her own pleasure.
“T-That couldn’t be, Your Majesty!”
This was a situation that would be unfair even if he made excuses, and it would be unfair even if he didn’t. Bellos looked at Roxana with an aggrieved expression.
Zelda and Rosie also focused their eyes on her.
Bellos was extremely angry at this situation where his image depended on Roxana’s words.
“I want to go back now.”
What?
Bellos burst into laughter at Roxana’s tired and pitiful tone.
Zelda’s expression sharpened as she glanced at Bellos.
“Yes, then you can go out with us.”
Roxana looked at Bellos, noticing his reaction.
He was cursing Roxana with his eyes.
At that moment, the Incarnation Sword that had been propped up on the wall between the two women fell.
Zelda and Roxana reached out at the same time. Roxana reached out to the Incarnation Sword first.
However, as soon as her hands touched it,
“Ah.”
The vibration she felt from the sword spread from Roxana’s hand to her entire shoulder, so she was startled and took her hands off the sword.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Zelda grabbed Roxana’s hand.
Roxana was more surprised by Zelda holding her hand than by the vibration she had just felt from the Incarnation Sword.
The Empress is holding the servant’s hand so casually and without any hesitation.
As a Princess, she rarely came into contact with other servants besides her own servant, Nancy.
Zelda examined Roxana’s palm and confirmed that she was fine before letting go. The smile Zelda showed as she let go struck a part of Roxana’s heart.
This time, when Zelda brought her hand close to touch the Incarnation Sword, the Incarnation Sword spun around, and the handle hit her fingertips.
Zelda grabbed the handle of the Incarnation Sword as if possessed.
But at that moment, Zelda also let go of the Incarnation Sword, reacting in the same way as Roxana.
“ I felt the vibration. That’s why you let go, right?”
Zelda looked down at her palm, spoke to Bellos, and then asked Roxana. Before Roxana could answer, Bellos interrupted.
“Don’t be surprised. It’s a natural reaction.”
He said as if it was nothing and quickly placed the Incarnation Sword back on the wall.
“Does that sword normally vibrate when you touch it?”
Zelda asked again.
“Yes, it reacts in various ways depending on the energy. One of them is vibration.”
“It’s the first time the sword hilt has rotated on its own.”
Bellos deliberately did not mention the fact that the Incarnation Sword had a special reaction to Zelda.
“Oh, I see.”
Zelda nodded, looking down at her palm. Even though she had the Incarnation in her body, her fire power had not yet fully developed, so it seemed that the Incarnation Sword was also reacting negatively to her. However, Roxana’s gaze was different.
“The sword hilt went to the Empress.”
If Zelda had taken possession of the Incarnation Sword first, Roxana’s plan would have been ruined. Fortunately, however, Bellos seemed to be wary of the Incarnation Sword to Empress Zelda.
Zelda seemed to have something more to ask Bellos about the Incarnation Sword, but she held back her words, perhaps worried about Roxana.
“I guess I should go now.”
As Zelda stood up, Rosie also stood up, holding Aoshi in her arms. Roxana also stood up with them in a daze, and Zelda said to Bellos.
“I will take this maid with me. From now on, even if you are a maid, please refrain from unwanted attention and contact.”
“Your Majesty, there seems to be a misunderstanding, but I just...”
Bellos tried to make excuses with a hollow laugh, but Zelda cut him off.
“I know, you must be lonely.”
“...Yes?”
“I fully understand how you feel after spending all those years alone, but please be mindful of the other person’s feelings as well.”
Bellos stood there blankly, unable to do anything at Zelda’s sharp advice.
“Say something.”
Bellos winked at Roxana, but Roxana ignored his angry gaze and followed Empress Zelda out of the room.
“Haa, you’ve been hit hard in the back of the head.”
Although he had joined hands with the princess for the sake of a great cause, it would be troublesome if he continued to act like this.
“I have to be on guard.”
Bellos was troubled.
***
“Could it be that the Magic Tower Lord forced...”
I asked her as I led the maid out of the Magic Tower Lord’s room and walked slowly down the hallway.
“That’s not true.”
If that wasn’t the case, then it was true that I and Rosie had interfered.
“Yes, then. What’s your name?”
“Nancy...”
“Nancy, just a moment.”
I finished zipping up her dress, which had been bothering me since earlier.
I didn’t forget to gently pat her back, as if she were embarrassed.
Nancy took a step back, perhaps surprised by my touch.
“Thank you, Your Majesty...”
Her pretty face was bewildered and surprised.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. And I’m saying this out of concern, but please be careful because your actions may be subject to responsibility.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I smiled at her and walked down the hallway again.
“Your Majesty, I’m a little disappointed in the Lord of the Tower.”
Rosie glanced at her as she followed her and whispered to me.
“That’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s something that happens often among nobles.”
Even noble ladies often enjoyed secret meetings with their knights.
Even though he was a bit older...I couldn’t criticize the Lord of the Tower, who was still single, for playing with zippers with a woman he liked.
Of course, if he had tried to force her to be his maid, that wouldn’t have been an issue, but judging from Nancy’s expression, it didn’t seem like that.
“Oh, you said you were a cook?”
I asked Nancy as I turned around to my room.
“...Yes, that’s right.”
She replied with her still nervous face.
“Can you bring me two cups of lemon tea?”
I thought it would relieve my fatigue if I had one cup each with Linel before going to bed.
“Oh, yes. I’ll make them.”
With Nancy’s answer, Bonis, who was staying in the next room, came out.
“Your Majesty, where are you coming from?”
“Rosie and I will go to the Magic Tower Lord's room for a moment.”
I said, briefly holding up the magic potion I was holding.
Bonis nodded and looked at Nancy next to me.
“I’m a cook, and I just happened to meet her in front of the Magic Tower Lord's room and asked her for some lemon tea.”
I didn’t necessarily mention that I met her under the bed in the Magic Tower Lord's room.
“Oh, I just happened to need something, so I was going down to the dining room.”
“If you need anything, shall I bring it to you?”
Bonis shook his head at the servant’s words.
“No, let’s go down together.”
“Yes, that will do. Nancy, please.”
I smiled at Bonis and said to the maid.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Nancy’s voice was quite elegant.
***
Roxana, who had come down to the first floor where the restaurant was, naturally followed the direction Bonis was going.
Bonis suddenly stopped.
“Where are you going? I think this is the kitchen?”
“Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something else for a moment and was walking...”
Roxana, who had no idea where the kitchen was, quickly opened the door Bonis had pointed out and went in.
Fortunately, it was the kitchen as Bonis had predicted.
Although she had entered the kitchen, Roxana encountered another problem.
The problem was that she didn’t know where the lemons were stored, and the bigger problem was that she didn’t know how to make lemon tea.
Bonis’s voice was heard softly from behind Roxana, who was just looking around the kitchen.
“You’re not the kitchen maid, are you?”
“!”
“Who are you to dare lie to Her Majesty the Empress?”
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