The head maid was surprised to find us returning earlier than scheduled.

“Who is it at this hour… oh goodness, you’ve done it after all!”

 

It was time to solidify the maid’s poor trust in me.

That night, after Rue returned to the Eachus mansion, I told the maid everything that happened at the noble council meeting. From our meeting with Count Rosebell, my relationship with Yeager and Volkwin, the upper class factions, my little argument with the swordmaster, the terrorist attack at the Iregiel Villa, down to the encounter with Raphael.

 

The same was true of the duel with Jean.

If I vaguely tried to hide one or two facts here, the moment they’ll come out, I’ll get caught, and the trust that’ll be broken then can never be repaired. She doesn’t trust me that much at the moment to begin with.

 

But there was still one thing I kept to myself.

‘It’s better if I keep the fact that the swordmaster is the client to myself for now.’

 

I wasn’t hiding it because I wanted to – there was just a lack of evidence to show to the maid.

Plus it looked like she was satisfied with the given information.

 

“Miss Daisy, you beat a famous swordswoman like Jean Berkeley Gratten? how?”

“Like this.”

 

The maid became silent when I shook my fist. She seemed somewhat convinced.

“…Mhm. I guess you, who can send a grown man flying with just your fists, can handle one young swordsman easily.”

 

It actually wasn’t that. People who didn’t learn swordplay thought that physical strength was everything – which wasn’t the case, but I left it at that.

 

“There’s been a lot of incidents. I didn’t know there was even a terrorist attack at the Iregiel villa. I’m glad you got home safely, Miss Daisy.”

 

I nodded.

 

“Viscount Weatherwoods visiting Duke Zenail.. Since it’s spilled water, there’s nothing we can do. It seems you and I will have to cover for each other in various ways.” 

 

“Raphae- No, there seems to be no good in getting close to Duke Zenail.”

 

“Duke Zenail is the foremost war hero of the Allied Forces, no matter what anyone says. Now he even serves as the leader of the noble council. His senses are very sharp. It’s not strange if he has any doubts about our family, the Weatherwoods.”

Unexpectedly, the maid didn’t utter a word about my background.

Well, I guess the weight of the matter in front of us was so grave that it was not practical for her to meddle in every little aspect like that.

 

After meeting the swordmaster and Raphael, a question I hadn’t considered before came to mind.

 

‘How long can the Weatherwoods hide the absence of their master?’

 

Officially, the head of the Weatherwoods family was Viscount Gray Weatherwoods. His existence, which the head maid had firmly believed in through the egg upstairs, was revealed to be Dian Cecht’s relic.

 

Therefore, the Weatherwoods family was virtually without an owner.

 

“Head Maid.”

 

The maid who seemed to be in deep thought looked at me.

“Say it.”

“Who’s paying us?”

“Payment? Of course, it comes from the Weatherwoods family.”

“But there is no Viscount Weatherwoods. How are we getting paid when there is no actual employer?”

 

The maid closed her mouth with a look of surprise.

“That.”

 

I discreetly slipped the engraving of our oath in front of her. The maid, tracing the markings with complicated eyes, let out a sigh.

 

“…Ha. I guess now that it’s come to this, I can’t hide it any longer. There’s an old man from the Weatherwoods family that takes care of the family’s affairs.”

 

“The Earl of Rosebell?”

“No, you see, the elder resides in Westwinterre, located in the western region of Midwinterre. It happens to be around the time to pay him a visit. You can go there in my stead.”

Westwinterre?

 

I cheered silently. Wasn’t Westwinterre one of the reasons for my settlement in Midiwinterre?

‘It’s said they have one of Dian Cecht’s relics on display in a private exhibition at a museum there.’

 

I’ll steal it while I’m there.

 

There’s a high possibility the museum stole it from someone else anyway. There’s nothing more righteous than stealing from a thief.

It was time to briefly end the <Weatherwoods family Conference> and return to our respective bedrooms. The maid called me as I climbed the stairs.

 

“…Miss Daisy, may I ask you one question?”

Here it is.

I nodded with a stern look.

 

“Say it.”

The middle of the maid’s forehead has been wrinkled.

 

“Say it? What’s with that tone? Well, never mind… What do you think of Rue?” 

“Rue?”

 “Listening to your story, I’ve begun to have doubts about him. I knew that his magical abilities and wealth are at an astonishing level. But I never imagined he would even own an airship. The grandeur you say he displayed at the Noble council has genuinely been more surprising than I’d imagined.”

 

“…….”

“Why is such a man serving as an employee of the Weatherwoods family?”

 

I’m sorry, but I’ve asked that question myself a hundred times.

“Does Miss Daisy not think Rue is a dangerous person? Do you think he might have infiltrated the mansion to do harm?”

 

The maid was hinting at the possibility of Rue’s betrayal.

‘You must be worried even after taking an oath from him.’

 

Traitors usually had two faces, and mostly a deep, desperate desire that can never be fully hidden. They’re always too busy keeping secrets.

 

However, Rue didn’t belong to any of those categories. It didn’t seem like he had some great purpose or desire in him either.

 

Sure, he was looking for Dian Cecht’s relics, but…

‘I don’t think it’s a very important goal to him.’

 

Also, Rue was never very keen on hiding his secrets. In fact, it was this part of him that intrigued me the most.

 

‘If you’re curious about my identity and purpose, make sure that flower blooms.’

 

Not only does he openly display his magical abilities without hesitation, but he also effortlessly revealed the people who followed him to me on that ship. Didn’t it seem like this stuff wasn’t all that serious for him?

 

“Mr. Rue said that he’s over a 100 years old.”

In fact, he was over 150, but I lowered his age by 50 to protect his privacy.

The maid asked back with surprised eyes.

 

“Did he really say that?”

“Yes. Other than that, I don’t know a lot about him either, but he’s never lied to me about anything. No matter what.”

…has he?

 

“I have trauma from my past, but Mr. Rue has helped me several times, and I’ve overcome it relatively easily with his help. He also helped me reflect on myself.”

 

…but didn’t he also bully me?

 

“In any case, Rue might appear suspicious, but I don’t think he’s dangerous. Duke Zenail and the swordmaster pose a much bigger threat – that’s for certain.”

 

Why was I taking the side of that madman? I lost all of my strength as I talked.

The maid’s eyebrow perked up, puzzled by my sudden mention of the swordmaster, and she asked,

 

“Do you mean Duke Berkeley Gratten when you say the swordmaster? why?”

“I think he’s after Dian Cecht’s relics.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, it’s just a guess.”

 

Therefore, it was completely up to the maid to believe my words or not. At least that was the case until there was more solid evidence. If I just stood here, I would probably dig myself deeper into a problem, so I yawned and pretended to be sleepy, and headed back to my room.

 

I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

 

‘Home is the best. It’s dangerous outside the house.’

A sweet comfort that I couldn’t feel on the airship enveloped me.

However, as always, it took a long time for me to fall asleep to get a good rest.

 

The next day.

I started the day by checking up on my small, still baby-sized plotted plant.

 

The first thing that I did after returning home wasn’t investigate Rogue, meet the assassin butler, or attend the head maid’s daily social etiquette lessons that she forced me to take everyday for 20 minutes.

 

No, it was cleaning.

Cleaning and laundry were the duty of a maid and the significance of her existence.

And…my job!

 

“While Miss Daisy was away, a lot of work piled up. Let’s work hard.”

“Yes.”

 

I worked like a slave after a long time.

 

Dusting off the few remaining paintings in the family. Cleaning the frames. Reinstalling them. Dusting off the handrails of the staircase and cleaning the stairs. Mopping the floors. Washing the bedding in the unused bedroom(s). Endless dusting. Cleaning the window sills. Washing the windows. Dusting the floors. Mopping the floors. Polishing…

 

“Crazy.”

 

This damned house.

It’d been a while since I recalled the fact that I was practically a slave-maid in this house.

I was planning to go to the pub to meet the assassin-butler at midnight after eating the delicious dinner Rue prepared for me, and yet.

 

I just fell asleep.

It’s been a long time since I had such a good night’s sleep at the Weatherwoods mansion.

 

The next day.

20 minutes before lunch starts, after finishing the morning routine a little earlier.

The maid’s social skills and public ethics class began. 

 

The social skills and public ethics class was something developed by the head maid so I would behave as my mind wanted. However, today, I had no intention of paying attention to such boring human lessons.

 

 Before her class began, I quickly raised my hand and posed a different question.

“What’s Rogue?”

“Huh?”

The maid who was staring at me with a serious face nodded after a long time.

 

“Okay, I’ll replace today’s class with a common sense class. I didn’t know that Daisy didn’t know about Rogue. I guess I should have expected it.”

 

Phew. I was glad the maid didn’t question my level of common sense.

 

I guess me being stupid was only natural for her.

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