Sedilroy’s lips twitched as if to curl but soon found their place. He seemed to force himself to maintain a calm demeanor.

I wouldn’t care anyway, Meiana thought.

Whether Sedilroy was angry with her or not was a separate issue from her current needs. And deep down, she also believed he wouldn’t vent his anger unfairly. An instinctive premonition so obscure, even Meiana herself had not realized.

At the end of the silence, finally, Sedilroy spoke.

“Alright, you’re right. Making you Ariante’s personal maid was certainly a rash decision. I admit it.”

Meiana quietly waited for him to finish speaking. She felt no need to emotionally prepare or to apologize for any mistake.

Sedilroy continued.

“But ultimately, that rash decision was the right one.”

The moment his words ended, Meiana’s eyes widened slightly. She hadn’t expected him to vent his anger, nor had she expected him to say this.

Sedilroy watched as Meiana’s expression faintly changed. He also didn’t understand why he couldn’t take his eyes off her face. Suddenly, an image flashed through his mind. It was his past self.

Blonde hair swayed randomly in the wind, shimmering like waves. It was Ririya.

When he couldn’t take his eyes off her face and realized his feelings… Sedilroy was as shocked as if he’d been struck by lightning. And then he felt terrible shame. He never looked directly at her again. He tried not to even think of her. That effort was somewhat successful.

But…

“Meiana Dotson.”

Meiana looked up at Sedilroy.

Defiant eyes. As if the vast gap in social standing, or even the title of the Duke of Balterminster, didn’t matter, those eyes boldly stared back at him once more, making Sedilroy recall his past love.

But Sedilroy quickly shook it off.

“Fine, as you say. I will replace the servants in the east wing. Whether hiring new ones or reassigning existing ones. And you’ll…”

A short sigh escaped from Sedilroy’s lips.

“Have to choose with me.”

This time, Meiana couldn’t hide her surprise. She spoke.

“You know I don’t have the authority for that, Your Grace.”

“So should I leave it to the steward Jocelyn?”

Meiana’s lips closed tightly. That was not an option. Absolutely not. She thought. It was better if Jocelyn had no involvement in choosing people to stay beside Ariante.

“No, Your Grace. I understand what you’re saying. Let’s do it as you say.”

“Good. Then, do you have anyone you’d recommend among the current servants?”

Meiana paused for a moment. In reality, she didn’t know the household staff well. She hadn’t been at the Balterminster Estate for long, and while caring for Ariante, she hadn’t had the leisure to befriend other people.

“Please keep Grete.”

Sedilroy nodded without hesitation. Perhaps he didn’t even know who Grete was. However, Meiana absolutely had to keep Grete beside her. She couldn’t let her out of sight until she stepped on her tail.

“And please move Bainti. She hasn’t been assigned exclusively to either the east or west wings. She’s a veteran servant. But from today, please make her work only on the east side.”

“Alright.”
“Please allocate more time for Mr. Kosha to take care of Princess Ariante. Delegate his minor tasks to someone else.”

Meiana’s tone sounded very polite at first glance. It was also cautious. Sedilroy could never know why she had first chosen Greta and Venti. Even if both had been present, they would not have realized immediately.

Meiana continued.

“It would be best to hire new people. Prioritize those with experience in child care. If it’s okay for them not to reside here, we can find people from the Count’s village. But it wouldn’t hurt to find people who have recently arrived from other regions.”

“Why is that?”

“Because they would be ignorant of the rumors about the Princess and her biological parents. Just like me.”

Sedilroy hesitated for a moment. The topic was undoubtedly difficult to affirm or deny.

“What will you do?”

Meiana gave Sedilroy no time to ponder the past or to hesitate. She showed no mercy to anyone, except for Ariante.

She displayed neither the patience of forbearance nor the kindness of indulgence, even if the person was Count Balterminster.

“Fine. I will do as you say.”

Upon hearing Sedilroy’s consent, Meiana finally relaxed her shoulders with a deep sigh. Then she glanced briefly at the tightly closed bedroom door.

“I’ll go to the Princess now.”

“She might be sleeping.”

Meiana sneered as if to say, is that even a comment?

“If she is sleeping, then I need to check if she’s sleeping well. If her face hasn’t been pressed into the pillow, if she hasn’t kicked off the sheets and feels nauseous, if she’s changed her clothes. Is there anything else you would like to say?”

Her blue eyes briefly looked away. It seemed as if she was avoiding Meiana’s gaze. If not knowing the intention was the problem, then it was a problem.

He wiped his face with the palm of his hand, and suddenly nodded with a look of fatigue.

“No, I’ve said all I need to. Go ahead.”