Chapter 15

"Huh?"

Father's expression didn't change at all.

As if he had already known.

The servants standing by the wall were trying hard to suppress their laughter, but they couldn't hide their trembling lips.

Rachel clutched the hem of her dress and then forced a smile.

"By the way, the barracks requested something. Excuse me."

Rachel rushed out as if fleeing.

I looked at Father.

"Does Rachel like Father? (Does Rachel like Father?)"

When I asked again, implying that I wanted to know if he already knew, Father calmly looked at the documents.

"You don't need to worry about it."

"…?"

"Mostly, that's the case."

It was an incredibly shameless statement.

If someone else had said it, they would have been scolded, but it made sense to me.

It was something that was emphasized to the point of being annoying in <Ice.Black.Hand>.

Daimond Astra was handsome.

He was very popular with women.

Occasionally, he even attracted men… Anyway, that was the case.

'Considering that his popularity was one of the reasons for Father's human aversion, it makes sense.'

There was a time when someone tried to feed him cookies made with his hair and fingernails, claiming it was a love potion.

And there was a time when someone jumped in front of him, saying they would make him remember them for life…

'No wonder he developed a hatred.'

I nodded to myself and popped a meatball into my mouth.

Father glanced at me and reached out.

He lightly brushed my mouth with his thumb.

"Definitely, a child would have a hard time eating pasta with such sauce on it."

"…"

"Your manners aren't bad, so you don't need a tutor."

Well, he was popular enough for that.

* * *

After finishing the meal, I left the dining room.

'I need to go to the garden.'

The soldiers had been saying this all the way here.

The night sky seen from the garden of Daimond's domain was so beautiful. No night sky could compare to the one seen from the garden.

They praised it so much that I was very excited.

'Well, the garden…'

I asked the maids passing through the corridor.

"Garden. (Garden.)"

"Garden… Oh, are you looking for the garden? If you go to the east gate─"

The maids pointed to the east gate, then groaned, "Hmm," when they saw me.

"It's dark and might be scary."

"Would you like us to escort you?"

"Y-Yes!"

When I shouted, the maids stood beside me.

I held the hands of the two of them.

"…!"

"…!"

They seemed surprised, so I looked at them alternately.

'Oh, right.'

I always held hands with Hilda and Greta at the main castle, so I forgot. It might be awkward for the people here.

The main castle wasn't a place suitable for children to walk.

The stairs were high, and there were many expensive decorations, making it dangerous for a child to walk alone.

As I was about to let go of their hands, the maids quickly grabbed them again.

"Sh-Should we hold hands and go?"

"Wow, a baby's hand is warm."

The maids walked with me, their faces softening.

"This way is the kitchen, that way is the meeting room, and this way is…"

I remembered well what the maids told me.

'That's Father's office.'

While thinking this, Lady Rachel and other maids walked over from the opposite direction.

"What are you doing?"

Her voice was cold.

The maids flinched.

"Oh, we were trying to show the young lady the garden…"

"Did you forget my order to go to the barracks? With 10,000 more soldiers, it's a chaotic time. How can you loiter around!"

"…"

"You're a child too. At a time when the domain is in chaos, enticing children who have work to do is unacceptable."

Lady Rachel crossed her arms and sighed.

"There's a lot to teach you."

Then, a maid who was nervously watching the situation spoke cautiously.

"Um, the barracks said they don't need more support, so I was on my way back, and the young lady didn't ask us to go with her, we…"

Slap!

The maid's cheek turned.

I was shocked and looked at Lady Rachel.

"Where did you get the nerve to answer back?"

"…"

The maid who was hit by Lady Rachel covered her cheek and bowed her head.

The maids behind her snickered.

It seemed that such incidents were common, as they didn't seem surprised at all.

'This woman.'

I let out a hollow laugh in my heart.

Just now, she wasn't scolding the maid.

Violence can't be a form of scolding, and most importantly, the reason for slapping the maid was different.

'She was venting her frustration.'

She must have thought she was humiliated by Father in the dining room.

She couldn't hit me, so she hit the maid to scare me.

I let go of the maids' hands.

Lady Rachel's lips curled up when she saw me. She must have thought she had scared me as intended.

"Cheeky."

"What?"

"Come here."

"What did you say?"

Lady Rachel bent over and said, "Speak louder."

At that moment.

Slap!

I slapped Lady Rachel's cheek.

I'm young, but I hit her with all my strength, so it must have hurt.

"Y-You, this…!"

Lady Rachel's face stiffened.

The maid who was trying to show me the garden and the maids behind Lady Rachel were all shocked.

"What are you doing!"

"You hit a maid too. (You hit a maid too.)"

I hate violence, but I'm not a pacifist.

If someone attacks me, I retaliate.

Especially, manipulating someone around me to pressure me is the most despicable act I hate.

"You—"

I grabbed the end of Lady Rachel's hair and whispered.

"Be careful. I won't tolerate it."

"…!"

It wasn't something a child should say, and Lady Rachel's eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost.

She turned pale and trembled, and I smiled at her.

'Did you think I would just take it because I'm young?'

I, who have experienced the end of social life, know that if I lose here, I will be treated as an easy target forever.

I held the hands of the maids who were showing me the garden again.

"Let's go now!"

"Wh-What? Oh, yes…"

"Yes, yes!"

I walked past the frozen Lady Rachel and the confused other maids.

* * *

Bang!

Rachel burst into the butler's office and panted heavily.

"Be careful. I won't tolerate it."

'What, all of that?'

It was definitely not something a child should say.

She slapped me, and the eyes that looked at me seemed to have a murderous intent.

'Just because she's Daimond's daughter…!'

Rachel was able to enter the domain thanks to her deceased husband.

Her husband, a knight, died in battle, and Daimond, who was his superior, took her in as a butler.

At first, she was disappointed.

A butler?

She was a young lady of a baron's family, even if it was a minor title.

But since she had squandered her husband's inheritance on luxury, she had no choice but to work.

'Becoming a butler was the right choice.'

Thanks to Daimond not being married, she, as the head butler, managed the domain.

She was the manager of the castle managed by the second son of the Astra Dukedom. And she was the manager of that castle.

Even the snobbish nobles gave her respect.

Naturally, the servants dared not raise their heads.

Rachel was like a queen of this beautiful castle.

Her goal was to marry Daimond and become the true mistress.

Daimond had been pursued by daughters of other duchies, princesses of foreign countries, and even princesses, but he never let anyone close.

But she was the closest to him.

Daimond drank the tea she served, wore the clothes she chose, and lived in a place she touched.

'I know.'

He just can't show it, but he has a liking for her.

He just doesn't know what affection is.

So he doesn't realize that he has a liking for her.

'If not, why would he return so quickly?'

He must have missed her.

So this time, she was determined to become his wife.

'But that girl…!'

At first, she didn't even care about a mere child.

When she heard that Daimond's daughter was coming to the domain, she laughed it off.

Bringing a child with common blood and calling her a daughter.

She thought Daimond was cold on the outside but soft on the inside.

Just a three-year-old girl.

As long as she didn't interfere with her and Daimond, she didn't need to worry.

The fact that she was born from another woman was annoying.

But once she became the true mistress of this domain, she would just send her away.

'I'll make her pay for humiliating me.'

Rachel gripped the edge of the desk tightly.

* * *

I looked at the night sky with a mesmerized face.

'It's really beautiful…'

A sky that seemed to be showering stars.

I had only heard about it, but seeing it in person, it was truly dreamlike.

While I was lost in the sky, I felt a gaze from the side.

'Huh?'

When I turned my head, the maids were looking at me with sparkling eyes.

When I tilted my head, they quickly waved their hands.

"N-No, we didn't mean to disturb your appreciation!"

"Yes! We were just amazed…"

Amazed?

What at?

"It's the first time we've seen Lady Rachel so flustered."

"Is Lady Rachel scary? (Is Lady Rachel scary?)"

When I asked, the maids nodded vigorously.

"She also whips servants she doesn't like. She even frames them and drives them away… She's a terrible person."

"Many servants have fallen for Lady Rachel."

"They were too scared to report it to the higher-ups."

The chattering maids looked at each other.

"Last time, there was 'that incident,' right?"

"Right. A servant reported it, but Lady Rachel's lackeys all said it wasn't them…"

"Yeah, only the person who reported it was driven away."

The maids shivered as if just thinking about it was scary.

'The castle was a mess without Father.'

After all, he had been away for more than five years, not just one or two.

It was enough time for Lady Rachel's world to form.

I stared at the maids.

'They still look young.'

They seemed to be newly adults.

I rummaged through the bag I was carrying and pulled out something.

"What is that, young lady?"

It was the ointment I used for the wounds from the monsters on Hadeks Mountain.

It's very effective, as it's used by the direct descendants of the duchy.

"It's medicine."

"Medicine?"

"Yup!"

I answered and gently applied the medicine to the maid's cheek.

The maids' eyes welled up.

"Young lady…"

"I-I'm happy. I thought all nobles were trash—no, not good people…!"

"Yeah, not trash—scum—but… I thought they were scary, and I might kill one someday."

"But you're different."

"Yeah, different. You slapped Lady Rachel for us…"

She shivered as she spoke.

'Slapping Lady Rachel was for my own good.'

I felt embarrassed and changed the subject.

"What's your name?"

"N-Name…"

"Name…!"

I asked their names to change the mood, but the maids' eyes welled up with tears.

"You're the first to ask for my name in this castle, sniff! I'm Betty."

"Sniff, I'm Heidi…!"

…Why are they crying?

Suddenly, they started to sniffle, and I was a bit taken aback.

"I'm so happy to be able to serve such a kind young lady!"

"I'll be loyal…!"

Just for this?

'They must have suffered a lot.'

The maids surrounded me and sobbed, and I had to endure them with a groan.

And the maids kept their word.

From the next day, an excessive loyalty campaign continued.

* * *

A few days later.

I had breakfast in my room.

Heidi and Betty, the maids, looked around and then dipped a spoon into my soup and took it out.

"There's no poison. It's safe to eat."

"…"

"The bread is also safe."

"…"

I looked at the maids with a dubious expression.

These girls have been checking my meals for days.

They seem to think Lady Rachel might try to poison me.

'How crazy do they think Lady Rachel is?'

Surely, she wouldn't try to poison her master's daughter just because she was humiliated once.

As the head butler, Lady Rachel is responsible for everything that happens in this domain.

If someone else tried to poison me, she would be held responsible.

'Lady Rachel isn't stupid.'

I ate the soup with a cloudy expression.

When my cheeks trembled from chewing, the maids sighed, "Aah."

…It seemed a bit abnormal.

Still, it was helpful.

"Jody in the reception room is completely Lady Rachel's person. There are a few spies in the kitchen too."

"Right. Oh, but the head chef is okay, right?"

"Yup. He's so skilled that he caught the master's eye, so he can't be replaced."

"Kohl, the head gardener, would lick Lady Rachel's shoes."

They knew a lot about the people in the domain.

I remembered well what the maids told me.

After finishing the meal, I went to the courtyard.

It was the day Father was inspecting the domain, and I was there to see him off.

The courtyard was bustling with people. Soldiers and officials were also leaving for the inspection.

"Oh, young lady!"

Soldier Mosco recognized me.

The 3-meter-tall giant who gave me a piggyback ride on Hadeks Mountain was Mosco.

Other soldiers also approached me.

"How do you like it here?"

"Good."

The soldiers nodded.

"Ha-ha, right! It's much better than the duchy. There are too many rules there."

"Man, that's called discipline. You should follow it. You're so energetic that you're called a big fool."

"Being energetic is good. Don't you think so, young lady?"

I answered, "Yup!"

Mosco and the soldiers laughed heartily.

"By the way, you're quite energetic too, young lady. You slapped the head butler as soon as you arrived."

How did the soldiers know that?

While I was thinking this, Lady Rachel's voice came from behind.

"Don't be too harsh. It seems I did something to upset the young lady."

Lady Rachel approached me and smiled.

"I'll try to please the young lady."

"…"

"Still, please don't punish me without reason next time. There are people watching."

I stared at Rachel.

'She's trying to win public opinion.'