Chapter 87

### New Year's Festival

This is one of the largest events of the year in the Kingdom of Carpia.

In the Kingdom of Carpia, a lunisolar calendar is used, so the last day of the year is always a new moon. On that day, the citizens of the Kingdom of Carpia fast and thoroughly clean their homes.

The idea is to purify the body by fasting and clean the home by thorough cleaning, to welcome the new year as cleanly as possible. However, the exact reasoning is not well understood. Since this is a traditional event that has been passed down since before the founding of the kingdom, the citizens accept it as a given and do not question it.

Naturally, most people find it difficult to move their bodies when they are fasting. Therefore, on the last day of the year, few people engage in activities other than cleaning.

However, since there is no explicit prohibition against activities on the last day, a small number of people with special circumstances continue to work.

In one room of the royal palace, two women who are exceptions to this rule sat facing each other, exchanging words.

"It has been a while, Lady Amanda. I apologize for summoning you on such a busy day."

Lucinda Gazier, the eldest daughter of the Gazier Margrave, bowed deeply to the middle-aged woman in maid's attire sitting across from her.

"No, it's not a big deal, Lady Lucinda. Fortunately, the cleaning of the harem is being managed by Ines, the head of the cleaning staff. Today, I actually have more free time than usual."

The middle-aged woman in maid's attire—Lady Amanda, the head maid—smiled, softening her naturally stern gaze.

Indeed, Lady Amanda's words were not false. Lucinda and her sister Nilda had come to the capital about half a month ago. Naturally, Lucinda had requested a meeting with Lady Amanda the day after settling into the capital residence. The meeting was scheduled for today at Lady Amanda's suggestion.

It seems that today was the most convenient day for Lady Amanda to meet.

In principle, harem maids are not allowed to leave the harem until they retire, but a few senior maids in key positions are exceptions. Lady Amanda, as the head maid, is one of these exceptions. Because she has the trust of Queen Aura, she is allowed to meet with outsiders for private reasons within the palace.

"..."

"..."

The two women silently added black sugar to their hot tea. One spoon, two spoons, three spoons...

Usually, they drink their tea without sugar, but today, they both added a large amount of sugar, and when their gazes met, they smiled sheepishly.

"Hehe, I see Lady Lucinda also adds sugar to her tea today."

"Yes, I'm a bit embarrassed."

Lucinda, who usually wears light makeup as a noblewoman, blushed slightly and nodded her head slightly in agreement.

The last day of the year is a day of fasting. However, water and tea are not included in the fast. Therefore, even those who usually drink their tea straight add a large amount of sugar on this day to take in calories.

It seems that Lady Amanda and Lucinda were no exception.

After moistening her throat with the sweet tea, which she usually doesn't drink much of, Lucinda began to speak in a calm tone.

"Lady Amanda, I believe you are already aware of the reason my sister Nilda and I have come to the capital. It's about Nilda's 'list' and the marriage proposal from General Pujol. While the 'list' issue seems to be under control, I must admit I am struggling with how to handle the marriage proposal. To be honest, neither my sister nor I, who have rarely left our territory, know much about the Gijen family, General Pujol's family, beyond rumors.

Therefore, despite the audacity of my request, I have decided to rely on your knowledge, Lady Amanda, who serves in the capital, and have arranged this meeting."

Lucinda bowed her head slightly, and Lady Amanda, the head maid, narrowed her eyes and answered firmly.

"I am in charge of the harem, and the information I can disclose to the outside is extremely limited. Are you aware of this, Lady Lucinda?"

Lucinda, who had anticipated such a stern response to some extent, nodded without changing her expression.

"Yes, of course I understand your position, Lady Amanda. I am not asking for any special secrets of the royal palace or the royal family. I just want to know the general information that is commonly known in the palace."

"Then, is it necessary for it to be me?"

"You are right, but this time, I don't have the time."

In response to Lady Amanda's point, Lucinda smiled wryly and shook her head.

As Lady Amanda said, if she only wanted the level of information that circulates in the palace, there would be no need to pull out the head maid of the harem, who is difficult to contact. With some socializing, she would eventually hear the stories.

However, as Lucinda pointed out, it would take time to sift through the mixed truths and falsehoods in such stories. Rumors often contain unintentional falsehoods for the sake of entertainment. To extract the truth from such rumors, one needs multiple sources and the ability to identify contradictions. Lucinda did not have that time.

Therefore, as an emergency measure, she chose Lady Amanda, a person of both character and ability, as her source of information.

"Understood. Since it's a request from my dear niece, I will do my best, of course, within the limits of my duties."

Lady Amanda, the head maid, relaxed her naturally stern face and smiled as she accepted the request.

"Thank you, Aunt Amanda."

Lucinda also smiled in relief and bowed her head slightly.

Incidentally, to be precise, Lady Amanda, the head maid, and Lucinda are not aunt and niece. Lucinda's father, the Gazier Margrave, and Lady Amanda are cousins, so they are more distant relatives.

Lady Amanda is from a branch of the Gazier Margrave's family. Her family is in charge of managing the capital residence of the Gazier Margrave's family, and due to this relationship, they have connections with the central nobility despite being from a provincial lord's family.

"Then, where shall we start?"

"Yes. Could you tell me about General Pujol's character and how much the capital is talking about this marriage proposal, to the extent that it is not problematic?"

Lucinda focused on gathering information to ensure her half-sister's marriage would be smooth.

Lady Amanda's information, as previously mentioned, was not particularly deep or detailed, but it was sincere and free of falsehoods.

"Thank you for sharing such valuable information, Lady Amanda."

After hearing everything she wanted to know, Lucinda bowed her head slightly to the distant relative sitting across from her.

Her expression showed a slight sense of relief. The information from Lady Amanda had given her a clearer outlook on the future.

"I am deeply grateful for your indulgence in my selfish request on such a busy day. I will make it up to you at a later date."

Lady Amanda, the head maid, sensing that Lucinda was about to leave, tilted her head slightly and asked.

"Is that all you want to know?"

Lucinda, who did not understand the intention behind the question, returned a puzzled look.

"Yes, I think I have heard everything I wanted to know."

To her cousin, who still seemed to be missing something, Lady Amanda repeated her question.

"Lady Lucinda, you have only been asking about the Gijen family and the rumors related to Nilda's marriage. However, the marriage proposal is not just for Nilda. There must be a proposal for you as well, right? Don't you want to know about Zenjiro?"

Finally understanding the point of Lady Amanda's direct question, Lucinda couldn't help but smile wryly.

"That's not possible for two reasons.

First, Zenjiro is your direct master. Given your position, any information about Zenjiro, no matter how trivial, should not be disclosed as part of your duties. It would be indecent of me to try to extract such information.

Second, I have a near-certain guess about my situation. I understand why Zenjiro would show interest in someone he has never met. Given this understanding, I am trying to find a resolution that is not unfavorable to Zenjiro while hoping to secure some favor from the royal family for the Gazier Margrave's family."

"..."

Lucinda's straightforward answer, delivered with a relaxed smile, made Lady Amanda, the head maid, sigh deeply.

Lucinda's consideration for Lady Amanda's position, avoiding questions that might touch on her duties, her intelligence in piecing together secondhand information to accurately understand the background of Zenjiro's interest in her, and her selfless thinking in not prioritizing her own desires even in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a royal concubine—these were all exemplary qualities for a daughter of a provincial lord, but to Lady Amanda, her cousin, they seemed a bit precarious.

"Lady Lucinda, are you sure? I could tell you a little about Zenjiro's character without any problem."

Lucinda pondered Lady Amanda's insistence for a moment.

"Yes, you're right... If I approach him without knowing anything, I might inadvertently offend him and make him uncomfortable.

Lady Amanda, I know it's embarrassing to retract my previous statement, but could you please teach me a little?"

"...Understood."

Lady Amanda, the head maid, sighed deeply again at Lucinda's thoughtful decision to retract her previous statement.

---

### ◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Meanwhile, the year-end cleaning was taking place in the harem.

As the name suggests, the cleaning on this day was a major undertaking. Therefore, the young maids, who are usually assigned to different departments, were all called to help with the cleaning on this day.

Furthermore, Zenjiro was also pitching in, especially in the living room and bedrooms.

Generally, it is not recommended for royalty and high-ranking nobles to get their hands dirty with chores like cooking, laundry, and cleaning. However, the year-end cleaning is an exception. It is a kind of "ritual," so it is not a problem for the nobility to clean themselves.

In Zenjiro's case, he regularly cleans items like electronic devices, which he prefers to maintain himself.

In any case, the year-end cleaning is a familiar custom even for Zenjiro, a modern Japanese person.

Even during his lazy college days, when his room was almost a disaster area, and his busy working days, when he had no time to clean his room, he always did the year-end cleaning.

"Alright, let's get started."

Wearing jeans and a T-shirt, Zenjiro first approached the computer on the desk.

Although Zenjiro, a layman, can't do much in terms of maintenance, it's still a good idea to open the case and clean out the accumulated dust at least once a year.

"Here we go."

With practiced hands, Zenjiro unplugged the various cables from the computer, loosened the screws holding the cover with a screwdriver, and carefully removed the cover.

"Whoa..."

When he looked inside, Zenjiro instinctively frowned. He had been prepared, but seeing the computer's interior clouded with dust was still not a pleasant sight.

In Japan, he used disposable air dusters to clean the inside, but unfortunately, he didn't bring such tools to this world. However, this world has magic.

"Please, Ines."

The person Zenjiro turned to was Ines, the middle-aged maid in a neatly worn maroon uniform, the head of the cleaning staff.

"Yes, I understand. I just need to blow the dust out with wind, right?"

"Yep, thanks. As long as the wind pressure isn't too strong, the components inside shouldn't jump out or get damaged, but please be careful just in case."

Ines, the slender middle-aged maid, smiled and approached the unfamiliar device, the computer.

Standing in front of the computer with the cover removed on the desk, Ines raised her right index finger and recited the spell:

"Let the wind flow from my fingertips and blow through as I command. In exchange, I offer twenty-one units of magic power to the wind spirit."

The spell's effect was immediate. A gentle breeze blew from the tip of Ines's index finger.

Ines held a handkerchief in her free left hand, covering her mouth and nose, and used the wind magic to blow the dust out of the computer. It seemed that the user could adjust the wind force according to their will, and Ines efficiently blew the dust out more effectively than Zenjiro using an air duster.

However, the common drawback of magic, its short duration, was not resolved. The spell lost its effect in less than thirty seconds.

"Let the wind flow from my fingertips..."

Ines immediately recast the same spell to continue cleaning the dust. Watching her proficient hands, Zenjiro said admiringly:

"Wow, that's amazing. Is this magic something I can learn?"

In response to her master's question, the middle-aged maid continued her work with a smile.

"It's not impossible, but it would be quite difficult. This is a very low-magic-output spell."

Generally, those with a lot of magic power tend to be weak at small-scale spells that require less magic power. Zenjiro, who has the minimum level of magic power for a royal, is still considered a high-magic-power holder by the world's standards.

"Ah, right. That's true. So, even if I learned it from Lady Octavia or Queen Aura, I probably couldn't use it. My magic output adjustment isn't very good, either."

Recently, Zenjiro has started learning his second spell, and as he said, he is not particularly skilled at adjusting his magic output. The prospect of being able to use small-scale spells that require a lot of output reduction is low.

However, there was a more fundamental issue with this spell.

"This spell, 'Wind Finger,' is not a very common one. Neither Lady Octavia nor Queen Aura has learned it. I might be the only living person who knows it."

Ines's slightly troubled smile surprised Zenjiro.

"Wow, that's impressive, Ines. You know a rare spell."

"No, it's not that great. It's not a very practical spell. I learned a few unique spells developed by my previous master, who was very interested in magic development. He claimed that developing such spells would advance the study of magic itself, but I think it was more of a hobby."

"Ahaha, sounds like he was an interesting person. Your previous master, I mean."

"Yes. He was known as 'serious' and 'quiet' by the public, but to me, he was easy-going, fun, and a bit troublesome."

The distant look in Ines's eyes and her past tense suggested that the person was deceased. Zenjiro avoided asking for details, as it didn't seem appropriate for casual conversation during cleaning.

Just then, the door to the living room creaked open, and someone entered.

Zenjiro, who had just finished putting the cover back on the computer, turned around to see the familiar beauty, Queen Aura.

"Oh, you're here."

"Aura, are you done with your palace duties?"

"Yes, today, or rather, this year, is over. You're in the middle of cleaning, right? Let me help a bit."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. If you don't mind, could you help Zenjiro clean his personal items?"

Ines, the head of the cleaning staff, quickly assigned a suitable task to the eager Queen.

As a pure royal, Aura hardly ever cleaned except for the annual year-end cleaning. Mixing in with the maids would only get in the way.

Seemingly understanding Ines's unspoken words, Aura smiled wryly and said:

"Alright. Zenjiro, what should I do?"

"Um, let's clean the TV. I'll tidy up the inside of the TV stand, and you can clean the TV itself, okay?"

"Sure, leave it to me."

The royal couple headed to the corner of the room where the TV was placed, working together.

The TV stand was filled with a lot of Zenjiro's personal items related to the TV. Since he had instructed the maids not to touch them, the inside was quite messy.

Zenjiro first pulled everything out of the TV stand and onto the carpet, then squatted down and started cleaning one by one.

The first thing he noticed was two game consoles and several game cartridges.

"Looking at them like this, they're really dusty. The controllers are also covered in fingerprints."

After wiping down the game consoles with a damp cloth and a dry cloth, Zenjiro moved on to the game cartridges.

"Come to think of it, I haven't played games much lately. Oh, this one is still sealed. Alright, I'll play this one next year."

The unopened game cartridge was a sequel to a game he had played in high school and college. He had bought the sequel after becoming an adult, but with no time to play, he had forgotten about it.

As is often the case during year-end cleaning, Zenjiro found himself pausing to look at items he rarely saw. With games, it was still manageable, but with books or comics, it often led to "just one more" and the cleaning would be forgotten in favor of reading.

"I'll set this aside so I don't forget."

Zenjiro set aside the transparent, unopened game cartridge and moved on to cleaning the DVDs.

The DVDs were stored in a fabric case purchased from an electronics store. Opening the zipper, Zenjiro wiped the inside of the case and read the titles written on the DVDs.

"Come to think of it, I