“I should have just said I’d do it.”

“Huh? Do what?”

It was a short break after lunch. Marie and I were sitting comfortably, enjoying our rest.

Behind the mansion, if you turned off the path leading to the dormitory, there was a large hill with a shady tree that served as our resting spot.

The dormitory, crowded with maids, wasn’t a place where one could rest comfortably.

Rather, the hill where we could enjoy the pleasant afternoon sunlight and gentle breeze was just perfect for relaxing.

I gave a bitter smile to Marie, who asked what I should have agreed to do.

It had already been two weeks since Dietrich made the offer for me to be a lady’s maid.

I had adapted to the maid’s work with surprising speed.

Even tasks that I initially found difficult, I could now handle with ease.

However, if there was a serious drawback to being a maid.

It was my poor stamina.

‘It’s so tiring!’

Apart from very short breaks, there was no time to rest comfortably at all.

If I had readily accepted Dietrich’s offer then, I wouldn’t be struggling like this now.

As the weather was gradually getting hotter, I fanned myself with my palm.

“The weather is starting to get much warmer.”

“Yeah. It’s almost time for the summer hunting competition and festival to be held.”

“Hunting competition and festival?”

Oh, it really is like a romance fantasy novel.

Of course, this was a romance fantasy world, but I sparkled at the mention of a popular topic that never fails to appear in any romance fantasy.

Marie chuckled softly at my suddenly energetic response, different from earlier.

“Are you interested?”

“Yes! A hunting competition and festival. It sounds exciting just hearing about it!”

“That’s right. Of course, we can’t attend the hunting competition.”

“Where is it held?”

Marie spoke in a hushed voice.

“The Imperial Palace.”

“The Imperial Palace?”

“You didn’t know? Traditionally, the hunting competition is held at the Imperial Palace. I’ve never seen it myself, but they say it’s held in a hunting-only forest in the palace grounds.”

“A hunting-only forest…”

If it’s a hunting-only forest, does that mean it’s a forest where animals are raised for hunting?

If that’s really the case, I thought human cruelty knows no bounds.

Marie seemed to share my thoughts as she clicked her tongue briefly.

“It’s a bit creepy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Even if I could go to the hunting competition, I don’t really want to attend.”

“Right. But the summer festival is different. It’s held in the city center for three days, and it’s large-scale with lots to see. On the last day, there’s even a fireworks festival!”

“A fireworks festival?!”

Just hearing about it made me feel a surge of romance.

The finale of a summer festival should indeed be fireworks.

“They sell various foods then, and I save my wages for that day. It’s the best when I go sightseeing with my siblings!”

As expected of Marie, who always remembered her siblings.

“Are you going with your siblings this time too?”

“Yes. My youngest sibling was severely ill recently, and their wish was to go to the summer festival. So I’m planning to grant that wish. Oh, do you want to come along?”

As always, the kind Marie invited me to join them.

But I have enough tact. I’m not lonely enough to intrude on a family outing.

“No, I’ll go separately.”

“Is that so? If you do go, I’ll let you know what’s delicious.”

As we chatted for a while, I could feel my depleted energy gradually replenishing.

At that moment, Marie’s bright smile suddenly froze into a tense expression.

“Marie?”

Following her gaze, I turned my head and my jaw dropped at the sight of a familiar man’s face.

Dietrich was standing not far from the shade where we were sitting.

I soon realized that there was a training ground near this hill.

The vast grounds that spread out behind the mansion had everything from the maid’s dormitory to the training ground.

“Ha, Heidi. Is Dietrich Young Master really looking at us?”

Marie’s small shoulders were trembling with fear.

Is Dietrich really that scary?

I hadn’t directly seen how Dietrich usually treated other servants, so I couldn’t quite grasp it.

Of course, the Dietrich in the original story was a cold-blooded man who couldn’t tolerate even the slightest mistake.

He would sometimes mercilessly cut down those who displeased him or made serious mistakes.

Thinking about that, Marie’s fear wasn’t entirely an overreaction.

“Surely he’s not looking at us?”

I said that, but Dietrich’s gaze was fixed precisely on us.

‘Why is he staring at us?’

The difference in status between Dietrich and me was too great to pretend we were acquainted.

As I turned my head abruptly to ignore him, Marie’s face began to turn deathly pale.

“No, Heidi. He really was looking at us. He’s coming this way.”

By the time I exclaimed ‘What?’, Dietrich was already standing in front of us.

Dressed in a light white shirt and comfortable black pants underneath, he looked more relaxed than usual.

“Ah, hello, Young Master.”

Following Marie, who stood up hastily and greeted him respectfully, I reluctantly got up and bowed my head deeply.

‘Why did he come all the way here anyway.’

There was no response, so I slowly raised my head only to meet a gaze that was staring intently at my face.

What’s this, did I do something wrong?

If there was a reason for him to come all the way here to see me, a maid, could it be that something happened to Harpe?

As I stared blankly up at him, after a long moment, he finally spoke.

“Is it break time?”

“Yes.”

I quickly answered on behalf of Marie, who seemed to have lost her ability to speak out of fear.

“Until when do you rest?”

“We’re done resting now. We need to go back soon.”

He then crossed his arms and nodded slightly.

“Then since it’s time to work again, I have a favor to ask.”

A favor?

I didn’t know what kind of favor he wanted to ask, but Dietrich’s crooked posture was quite irritating.

“I forgot and left the towel I was using.”

“…Pardon?”

“I don’t wipe my sweat unless it’s with that towel.”

There’s no such thing!

I couldn’t help but laugh at his words, which were beyond ridiculous and absurd.

However, Dietrich was quite serious.

“I’d appreciate it if you could bring it to the training ground.”

“Huh.”

“Bring it as quickly as possible.”

That was it.

He turned around and disappeared towards the training ground, leaving me dizzy.

Did he come all the way here just to order this?

If he wasn’t trying to torment me, it was incomprehensible behavior.

“Marie, what Dietrich Young Master just did is really absur… Marie?”

As I was about to speak about Dietrich’s outrageous act, I hesitated at Marie’s blank stare.

Marie, who had been frozen as if shocked by something, asked me.

“Heidi. Did Dietrich Young Master usually use the word ‘favor’?”

“Huh?”

“He just said he had a favor to ask us.”

[I have a favor to ask.]

He did say he was asking a favor. Though it was almost an order.

I nodded and nonchalantly adjusted my clothes.

It was about time to return to the mansion.

“Yeah. He said he had a favor to ask.”

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“…Was he the kind of person who would say such things? Everyone said he was so scary that I couldn’t even make eye contact.”

Dietrich’s personality was indeed prone to misunderstanding.

He was so taciturn, and when he smiled crookedly, he really looked ill-tempered.

But he was definitely not a bad person at heart.

‘I guess I’ve gotten used to Dietrich.’

Seeing as I didn’t find his personality unpleasant anymore.

I decided to clear up Marie’s misunderstanding.

“No, it’s just rumors. I’ve run into him a few times on the way before, and he was quite kind.”

“It seems so. A favor, huh. That’s a word you rarely hear from nobles.”

A new emotion was sparkling in Marie’s eyes.

It looked like surprise at discovering a different side of Dietrich.

“Shall we go do what he asked now? Do you want to take it to him, Marie?”

I thought it would be fine since her misunderstanding about Dietrich had been slightly cleared up, but Marie shook her head vigorously.

“No. I’m still scared to go alone.”

“Then should I go?”

“Will you be okay going alone?”

I gave a thumbs up, meaning of course I’d be fine.

After returning to the mansion and parting ways with Marie, I went straight to Dietrich’s room and found the towel hanging on the chair.

The path to the training ground with the towel in hand was quite far, given how large the property was.

To give you an idea of how vast the Delgado-owned land was, you could ride a horse for quite a while and still be on it.

The training ground, which came into view after walking for about 15 minutes behind the mansion, was also enormous.

In the training ground, knights dressed in uniforms with the Delgado family crest, an eagle emblem, tattooed on their right biceps, stood in formation.

“Wow!”

The knights I had only heard about were overwhelming to see in person.

‘So this is the Hareon Knights.’

The Hareon Knights.

They were one of the first things that came to mind when thinking of the Delgado Duchy.

Befitting the Delgado family’s reputation as masters of swordsmanship, the Hareon Knights boasted powerful forces.

In the original story, it was said that the individual skills of the Hareon Knights were incomparable even to the imperial knights.

Follow the strong, protect the weak.

That was the value the Hareon Knights pursued. However, even in the novel, they weren’t entirely on Dietrich’s side.

After all, they were still knights belonging to the Delgado family, so they followed their master, the head of the family.

As I was thinking about the Hareon Knights, I had already reached the entrance of the training ground.

‘I wonder where Dietrich is.’

The training ground was so large that I could barely make out people’s faces.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder as I was looking around with half-closed eyes.

The moment I turned my head to see who it was.

I couldn’t help but scream at the face I encountered right in front of me.

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