“I’ve never believed in those rumors. And now, such rumors won’t circulate anymore. I promise! Princess Hwanye.”

“It doesn’t matter. I can’t keep a maid who causes such rumors by my side. People will mock me together with you. Why should I be treated like this because of you?”

“……!”

“But I won’t drive you out of the palace. If I do that, Empress Mother will blame me for giving up the competition. So just stay quiet. You can take as much leave as you want. But don’t appear in front of me until the competition is over.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say the words stuck in my throat. I left that place powerless.

As I left, Princess Hwanye called Eria and ordered her to summon the party members.

I went to the support area with a heavy heart. Rond, the fencing instructor, was swinging a wooden sword there.

‘He really seems to have fully recovered.’
While gazing in admiration at the Gogu castle knight practicing, I suddenly realized that I had failed to keep a promise with him.

A promise to protect Princess Milliora.

I quietly went to the bench and sat down, but Lord Rond, as if he hadn’t seen me, concentrated on his wooden sword.

Watching him, I passionately resented Sage Caidel.

To think that Princess Hwanye would eventually abandon me!

But at the same time, the thought crossed my mind: Do I have the right to resent him?

Did he save my life only twice? Three times? I couldn’t remember well. Saving my life and providing substantial assistance were beyond words.

Since Princess Hwanye would keep me as a maid in the palace until the competition ended, it seemed there would be no problem for me to secure the position of a home teacher.

Although strange rumors about me and Sage Caidel had spread, such things tended to be forgotten when he encountered other women.

After all, scandals were always in the present tense.

In that sense, the actual harm he caused me was emotional disappointment and the unnecessary decline of my honor.

But it left me feeling extremely uneasy.

“Haah…….”

In the end, I knew I couldn’t truly hate him. Perhaps having memories of my coming-of-age birthday played a part.

Unknowingly, I murmured, “Lorisha Loar. How pathetic.”

“What did you say?”

Lord Rond turned to me, dropping sweat from his chin as if he hadn’t noticed me.

“Yes? What did I say?”

“I only asked.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. Please continue your training. I’ll just go and get some fresh air.”

However, he put down his wooden sword on the bench and wiped his face with a towel.

“Tell me, Miss Maid.”

“……”

I rolled my eyes, avoiding eye contact, but I actually needed the conversation.
I rolled my eyes and avoided eye contact, but, in reality, I also needed a conversation.

“Princess Hwanye got angry with me, so she ordered me to reflect on my actions. She said not to show my face until the competition is over.”

“What happened?”

Lord Rond’s voice rose sharply, and I flinched.

“That… There’s no explanation. Except, damn it. ‘Lokard Caidel, you scoundrel!’ is all I can say.”

“That’s probably because, in my opinion, the competition will continue to be unstable. So, Lord Rond, you don’t have to worry about the competition. The problem is not now.”

I looked at him with curiosity. Where could there be something more important than the competition with Princess Hwanye?

“The problem is that she spends time doing tea parties. While it may be a momentary consolation, I wonder if she can keep it up forever.”

“Ah…”

“Since the arrival of the maid, she has changed a bit. How did that happen?”

I was convinced that if I mentioned Sage Caidel, Lord Rond would hate him even more.

But I didn’t want to lie to him, who had treated me well since I came to the palace.

So, I expressed it as tactfully as possible.

“As I am the only female servant in the competition, my conversations with Sage Caidel can be misunderstood in the social circle.”

“Tch. Is that a recent development!”

Lord Rond grumbled as if annoyed, and I looked at him with curiosity.

Then he said, “A few years ago, there was a woman who claimed to be secretly engaged to Sage Caidel, and she went around deceiving people in the social circle. Of course, the Sage only saw her for the first time when he arrested her.”

“Oh, my. Being handsome isn’t always a good thing.”

I tidied up my expression, feeling that I was bothering Lord Rond too much with my affairs, and said, “Now that things have turned out this way, what can we do? I can only ask Lord Rond to talk to Princess Hwanye.”

“What is Her Highness doing right now?”

“Tea party…ing.”

Then Lord Rond’s face crumpled dramatically.

Yes, I am a sinner.

I stared at a distant mountain for no reason and suddenly became curious. It was an appropriate question to change the subject.

“But how did you become close to Princess Hwanye?”