IWMBS 10

Again. Again.

“Shall we go, Your Highness?”

At the butler’s prompting, the Grand Duke, who had been surveying the main building’s lobby, slowly began to walk away. Only then did we finally lift our deeply bowed heads and let out the breaths we had been holding.

“Phew! That startled me!”

“I didn’t even realize I’d been holding my breath…”

“Our Grand Duke gets more terrifyingly handsome by the day.”

“But why was he looking around here?”

The maids, now that the tension had eased, each offered a comment.

I agreed with every single one of them. Especially the last remark.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Starting exactly two days ago, the Grand Duke had begun appearing all over the residence.

It had started with an unexpected stroll through the garden. After that, he began inspecting both the main building and the annexes, and occasionally even received guests.

‘Is he finally taking care of all the things he’s been putting off until now or something?’

That was exactly what it looked like.

As a result, the servants had been running around frantically. Of course, that worked to my advantage.

‘I should exaggerate this a little in my report!’

I’d been worrying about what to write in it anyway.

Besides, receiving guests was the responsibility of the senior maids, not newcomers like me. So all we had to do was continue working as usual.

“Shall we take a short break before moving on?”

“Sounds good!”

“Ugh, my back…”

At Elizabeth’s suggestion, the most experienced among us, we straightened our stiff backs. Cleaning was part of our daily routine, but that didn’t make it any less exhausting.

“Then I’ll go get some water.”

While the other maids stretched, I casually slipped away. I was genuinely thirsty.

Tap, tap.

Fortunately, the kitchen wasn’t far away. I hurried in that direction. But—

‘Huh?’

The Grand Duke, who had clearly left with the butler earlier, was standing with several knights.

‘Judging by their uniforms, they must be from our order.’

The Grand Duke was engaged in a conversation with a rather serious expression. The knights looked just as solemn.

Rustle…

Instinctively, I suppressed my presence and hid behind a pillar. Then I strained my ears to listen.

“…so…”

“…Ah, there’s no need to worry about that…”

Perhaps they were simply too far away, because I could barely hear anything. Even Lillian’s unusually sharp ears couldn’t make out their conversation. Unless I moved closer, there was probably no point.

‘Should I at least check whether I recognize any of those knights?’

I cautiously peeked out from behind the pillar.

Apart from those two, I couldn’t really remember—

‘Gasp…!’

The Grand Duke’s gaze swept in my direction.

It lasted only a split second.

I quickly pulled my head back behind the pillar.

“Then we’ll do that.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Fortunately, it seemed I hadn’t been noticed.

Well, it would be strange if he could detect Lillian’s presence from this distance.

‘S-still, just in case…’

I quietly slipped away before their conversation ended. It seemed I wasn’t going to get any water after all.

“Are you back? Then let’s get started again.”

Y-yes…

We spent the entire morning cleaning the lobby.

Since guests had been coming and going frequently lately, the head maid had become even more particular than usual. Because of that, we had to redo the cleaning several times.

‘She’s stricter than most professional cleaning services!’

In fact, I’d briefly worked for a cleaning company before. It had been a fairly well-known one, but even they hadn’t been this demanding.

Where on earth did the head maid keep finding those tiny specks of dust?

“The head maid is coming!”

At that, every one of us lowered our heads without waiting for anyone else to do so. I was sure we were all thinking the same thing.

‘Please let this be the final inspection!’

Once this was over, a delicious lunch would be waiting for us.

If I remembered correctly, today’s main ingredient was supposed to be chicken. So would it be soup? Or perhaps roasted chicken?

I was busy guessing what we’d be eating for lunch when—

“Oh, Lillian.”

Someone called Lillian’s name with an exceptionally elegant accent. It wasn’t the head maid’s voice, but it was definitely one I’d heard before.

Without thinking, I raised my gaze.

‘Huh?’

A dazzlingly beautiful woman was standing there. She gracefully raised her hand and gave me a gentle wave.

“Fancy meeting you again!”

It was Madam Brandt.

Trickle, trickle.

Pale reddish tea flowed neatly into the teacup. Madam Brandt, personally brewing the tea, looked like a scene straight out of a painting.

Clink.

After setting down the teapot, Madam Brandt held out a teacup to me.

“Go ahead and try it.”

I awkwardly accepted the cup.

When a woman like her smiled and offered you tea, was there anyone who could possibly refuse?

Honestly, even if she’d put poison in it, I suspected most people would still drink it.

“Then, thank you…”

Sip.

“…!”

To my surprise, it was delicious. Even someone like me, who knew next to nothing about tea, could tell that this had been brewed exceptionally well.

I continued sipping my tea while stealing occasional glances at her. She watched me with a pleased expression.

“Would you mind if I had a little chat with this girl?”

Madam Brandt had rescued me from the strict head maid and taken me straight to the reception room. Without saying much else, she’d served me refreshments and tea she’d brewed herself.

‘I’m grateful, but…’

I couldn’t quite understand why she was doing all this.

Did she really like Lillian that much?

“Um, Madam…”

I cautiously opened my mouth.

“May I ask why you called me here?”

At my question, Madam Brandt took a sip of her own tea and answered casually.

“Just because I was bored?”

Uh…

I was at a loss for words. But Madam Brandt seemed entirely serious, and she added an explanation.

“I’m telling the truth. Do you know how boring it is to wait alone? So keep me company for a little while. Will you?”

She blinked her eyes adorably as she made her request.

Since the head maid had already given her permission, I didn’t really have a choice. All I could do was awkwardly nod.

“Have you come to see His Grace the Grand Duke again today?”

“That’s right. Oh, and for the record, I’m not the one who arrived early today. His Highness is the one who’s late. Apparently, he has some documents he needs to check urgently.”

Making a lady wait like this. How inconsiderate of him.

She continued grumbling. I casually played along, then slipped in a question.

“Judging by how many guests have been coming lately, it seems His Grace has been quite busy?”

I’d been curious about that myself. And the conversation seemed to be going smoothly.

Fortunately, she answered without showing any suspicion.

“He’s always busy. Busy enough to make the people working under him feel sorry for him.”

“Why? Does he have that much work to do?”

“Compared to the rewards he receives, he’s burdened with far too many responsibilities and obligations. Some people envy him for it, though, and even covet what he has.”

“Responsibilities and obligations?”

“I suppose those people see them as power. Even though the person carrying them never wanted any of it in the first place.”

“Who on earth would do something like that?”

The more I listened, the more frustrated I became.

After all, whoever had made Lillian do this spy work must have been one of those people, right? And probably someone with considerable power, too.

But why go so far? As an ordinary person, I couldn’t understand it at all.

I was silently fuming when Madam Brandt, who had been watching me, spoke up.

“Lillian, you seem quite interested in His Highness.”

Pardon?

I replied with a blank expression before I could stop myself. That was how startled I was.

“I-it’s not like that!”

I was just curious because we happened to be talking about him—

I belatedly composed my expression and began making excuses. Madam Brandt let out a soft laugh and whispered,

“Hehe. Anyone watching us might think Lillian has fallen for the Grand Duke.”

What on earth…!!

I practically leaped out of my seat and frantically waved both hands. It was almost a reflexive reaction.

Only then did she give me a knowing wink.

“I was just teasing.”

After that, we resumed our light conversation, but I could no longer concentrate on what she was saying.