The voice of Sedilroy resounded from the balcony. At the sound of his voice, cold and unyielding as it echoed across the wide hall, the servants scattered, leaving only Joslyn and Meiana.

Turning back to Joslyn, Meiana saw her hand shaking in mid-air. Had it not been for Sedilroy, she would have likely been slapped.

Although she would never have begged Joslyn, the fact that Sedilroy had stopped her was certainly for the best.

Joslyn pointed at Meiana and spoke.

“Your Excellency, this insolent wench should be expelled from the mansion immediately!”

However, Sedilroy’s expression was only icy.

Joslyn, intuitively, realized that something had gone wrong. It was a small gap, like a grain of sand wedged between perfectly meshed gears.

“It can’t be,” thought Joslyn.

Sedilroy looked down at Joslyn and Meiana like a stern, ruthless executor. Joslyn felt uneasy. Anxiety often leads to hasty actions.

“Your Excellency!”

“Why should I, Joslyn?”

Once again, Joslyn pointed vigorously at Meiana, as if trying to impale her.
She took a short breath and exhaled, shaking off her crumpled hem. It seemed like a gesture to either shake off tension or hide irritation. Either way, it wasn’t a suitable action to take in front of her employer, Count Sedilroi.

“I would like the servants around the princess to be replaced with other people.”

“Why?”

“Do you have to ask why even after seeing?”

Mayana gestured towards the messy living room.

“Whether you go out for a while or leave for a year, the place where the master stays should always be kept clean. Of course, there should also be no touching the master’s belongings recklessly. This is not a matter of whether the servants are loyal or not. It’s a matter of common sense.”

Sedilroi too couldn’t have missed that Ariante’s living room was disordered. He just hadn’t paid attention to minor things while thinking of what to say to Mayana.

However, it was clear that Mayana didn’t see it that way. When Ariante was away, others used Ariante’s belongings as they pleased, even dirtying them. To her, that was the biggest problem.

Sedilroi, who had been slowly scanning his surroundings, spoke.

“Are you saying fire all the current servants and hire new ones?”

“That is for you to decide, Your Grace. Whether you hire new ones or switch them with servants from the west wing, that’s not something I should or could interfere with. The important issue isn’t whether to bring in newcomers or just switch.”

“You’re asking me to find someone who will do their best for Ariante.”

Mayana’s eyes blinked quietly.

“Yes, Your Grace. That is exactly the responsibility you should fulfill as the princess’s father. Carefully choosing someone who won’t harm my child.”

Sedilroi looked at Mayana with a contemplative expression for a moment.

According to her, in the end, Sedilroi had made a mistake when hiring Mayana as well. He hadn’t properly looked into who she was when picking her as the closest exclusive maid to be by Ariante’s side.

“By that logic, hiring you was also a mistake, wasn’t it?”

When he pointed that out, Mayana chuckled as if it was amusing. It was a response different from what Sedilroi had expected. He had thought she would defend herself, or claim that her case was different from others.

However, Mayana replied like this.

“Did you just realize that now? I’ve been thinking that the whole way here from El Rautica. What are you trusting to leave your daughter with someone you met for the first time today, for just an hour or two at that? Did you make any special preparations? That’s what I was thinking.”