Hello. My name is Reina.

I’m a maid working in the grand mansion of the Julius Marquis family, and for family, I have one grandmother who I love more than anything in the world.

Other than that, as for special characteristics, I have a hobby of scrapbooking newsletters, and a future dream of someday living quietly by the seaside with just my grandmother.

You ask if I don’t have dreams of a husband and children?

Ah, I almost forgot to mention this.

I am married.

It’s a fact I sometimes forget myself.

The fact that 5 years ago, I married a certain knight in place of our precious young lady.

Because of him returning in a few days, the whole mansion is in a state of emergency, so I’ve been reminded of it often lately.

* * *

3 AM. The maid’s attic in the Julius Marquis mansion.

Maid Reina, lying on her stomach on the bunk bed attached to the end of the wall, carefully opened a newsletter, being mindful not to disturb the other sleeping maids.

Rustle…

The dim candlelight attached to the wall flickered over the letters.

[Century’s Victorious General Sir Arthur Enters Ponter Viscounty] [Citizens of Ponter Throwing Flowers at the Entering Victorious Army] [Julius Marquis Territory Just Around the Corner. Reunion with Fiancée Lady Christina, Separated for Five Years, Soon to be Realized?] [Julius Territory in Festive Mood Awaiting Victorious Army] [Julius Marquis. Benefiting from Son-in-law? New Prince-Elector* Power Map – Marquise’s Restrained Appearance] [Special Feature, ‘Century’s Knight Arthur’ – Son-in-law and Heir of Julius Marquis Territory] [Crown Prince Kyle Has Recovered His Health]

Reina rubbed her tired eyes and read through the newly acquired newsletters once more.

Then, with a satisfied smile, she neatly organized them into three scrapbooks in order of preference.

[Crown Prince Kyle Recovers Health] went under the black cover.

[Special Feature, ‘Century’s Knight Arthur’] joined other special features under the blue cover.

The rest of the stories were organized under the gray cover in order of publication date.

But some places had slow news, so some pages needed to be reordered.

From finishing the organization to punching holes with an awl at regular intervals to thread a string, Reina’s hands moved skillfully.

Blowing away paper debris with a ‘phew’ was the final touch.

Having quickly organized the newsletters into three scrapbooks, Reina looked down at them with satisfaction.

In the past, she used to cut out unnecessary content from old newsletters and paste them on paper to organize,

but these days, the newsletters are mostly filled with just the content Reina wants, so there’s no need to cut them out.

As for what content Reina wants, it’s nothing special.

It’s the same news that everyone in this empire wants right now.

The story of Commander-in-Chief Sir Arthur, who is returning after achieving great victory, and the victorious army he’s leading back.

People are so eager for Sir Arthur’s story that the temple’s newsletters have never sold so fast since their publication.

“The Crown Prince’s story is just a small mention in one corner. No illustration either.”

“The Crown Prince? I’m surprised he’s still alive.”

A small whispering sound came from the other side of the dormitory, indicating that there were still maids awake besides Reina.

It seems the maids talking now have also bought this newsletter.

Reina lowered her breathing even more, fearing they might stop talking if they knew she was awake.

Fortunately, Reina’s spot was in the most secluded corner of the maid’s attic where dozens of bunk beds were lined up, making it good for not being noticed at times like this.

“You’ve changed? You used to cry when the Crown Prince left for the battlefield.”

“What era are you talking about? That was five years ago, five years. Who cares about the Crown Prince these days? That young master like a greenhouse flower… I wonder if he would have even survived if it weren’t for Sir Arthur.”

Glancing up slightly in the darkness, two maids were huddled in a corner, peering at a newspaper together and whispering.

They, too, like Reina, were relying on a single dim candle flickering against the wall near the window.

The sound of stifled giggles echoed.

“Hey! But look at this illustration. Doesn’t it seem like there’s too much personal bias in drawing Sir Arthur? He looks like he’s three meters tall.”

Reina barely managed to swallow her own laughter, disguising it as a small coughing sound, ‘Ahem.’ She carefully put her precious scrapbooks into the document storage box and hid it under the bed.

Then, pretending not to notice, she quietly burrowed into her bed, covered herself with the blanket, and listened to their voices.

“Oh my! Look at this. Could this be true?”

“My goodness. It’s about our young lady, but why don’t we know anything about it?”

Reina could clearly imagine which part they were reading and talking about.

She had already read that story more than ten times and had it memorized.

[Shocking! Julius Marquis’s daughter and Sir Arthur already formally married five years ago with imperial approval, but kept secret by the parties involved…] [Numerous noble young masters who had Lady Christina in their hearts express disappointment…] [A certain count’s son is bedridden with shock…]

“Formally married? Does this mean they slept together?”

“Wow… Surely not? If that had happened, wouldn’t we have known? There are so many watchful eyes in this marquis mansion!”

“It says they did it secretly. Let’s ask around tomorrow when everyone wakes up to see if anyone knows about this.”

The excited voices of the maids carried through the suppressed atmosphere.

Reina quietly pulled the bed sheet up over her lips.

There would be no one among them who could tell the story they were curious about.

Except for Reina here…

“…”

Well, it was a simple matter.

Five years ago.

The Julius Marquis, who was desperate to become a prince-elector, sold his daughter to gain the trust of the imperial family.

The partner was the Emperor’s illegitimate child, despised in high society.

It was an unimaginable bolt from the blue for the young lady born and raised in Julius, with her high-held nose.

The noble social circle was a place where reputation and honor were important, and being an illegitimate child was certainly not an honorable origin.

Moreover, at that time, the imperial family was silent about his bloodline, so the fact that imperial blood flowed in him wasn’t even officially recognized.

So in the end, he was just a low-ranking noble nobody who might be rumored to be the Emperor’s illegitimate child, but marriage? Really?

While his bloodline was uncertain, the humiliation that the marquis’s daughter would face due to his terrible reputation was certain.

The marquise also strongly objected to sending her preciously raised only daughter to such a marriage partner.

But the Julius Marquis overruled all opposition in the family and said this:

“Anyway, that man has to leave for the battlefield right away, so let’s have a quiet wedding ceremony for now, and when His Majesty the Emperor acknowledges his bloodline and his reputation in high society is restored, we can announce the marriage fact later!”

“It’s wartime anyway, so all social gatherings are banned. If we just don’t spread it around, no one will know!”

“The imperial family has agreed to accommodate us to that extent.”

Why on earth. Why did the marquis’s daughter have to get married like that?

Marriage isn’t something that ends just by whispering, “Let’s do it, let’s say we’re married,” and nodding heads.

Even if she had been an ordinary noble lady, it would have caused trouble,

but there was no way such a great young lady, who had never even meekly worn shoes she disliked, would agree to marry such a partner.

Of course, she threw a fit saying she wouldn’t get married…

Well, in the end… Reina, who was of similar age among the maids and occasionally even heard comments about being quite pretty, was quietly called…

And that’s how it happened.

Reina quietly blinked her eyes inside the blanket, looking up at the ceiling, or rather, the rotten floorboards of the upper bunk.

“…I wonder what kind of person he is? Sir Arthur…”

The sound of maids whispering curiously came from over there.

It seems they plan to probe and ask all the maids tomorrow, but they probably won’t come to ask Reina.

There are circumstances that make it difficult to easily open up, so Reina is somewhat isolated among the maids.

Well, even if they ask, I wouldn’t be able to answer anyway…

―Bang!

“Maids, assemble!”

The door suddenly opened, and the voice of the head maid, Mrs. Hurst, thundered through the maids’ quarters.

The maids who had fallen asleep in bed, or were whispering among themselves, groaned as they got up.

It wasn’t an unusual occurrence.

It was already a routine repeated almost daily, with the whole mansion in an uproar.

Including Reina, all the maids, though struggling with the late-night call interrupting their drowsy sleep,

shook awake those who hadn’t gotten up yet, and smoothly and efficiently got out of bed to find their maid uniforms.

* * *

“Here, who was in charge of cleaning this?”

The marquise asked, looking down at a barely visible stain on the handrail of the stairs.

From among the lined-up servants, one young maid stepped forward with a pale face and bowed her head as if ashamed.

The marquise, without even glancing at the maid, opened the curtains by the window and asked.

“And here?”

It seemed an unlucky bird had hit the window and died, as there were feathers and a small bloodstain visible.

Another maid silently swallowed before stepping forward and bowing her head.

A few more maids and servants were called out like this.

No one hesitated.

Everyone knew that showing any sign of hesitation would not bode well.

“…”

The marble floor visible in Reina’s lowered gaze was clean enough to reflect faces.

It would have been more strange if it wasn’t clean, given that over two hundred maids had been pushed to do a thorough cleaning for over a month, despite how large the marquis mansion was.

However, such faint stains were created several times a day as servants carried luggage back and forth,

and there was no way to prevent birds from flying into windows.

Nevertheless, everyone did their best to appear as remorseful as possible so as not to upset the madam.

With such submissive attitudes, things usually ended without major bloodshed.

Even the youngest maids, who initially trembled at the madam’s stern orders, had become relatively composed after a month of repeated harassment.

Everyone knew that the problem wasn’t really about the cleanliness.

After all, a sparkling clean mansion wouldn’t suddenly make the in-laws, who had been cold for five years, look favorably upon them.

The maids knew very well that this was just a way for the highly strung marquise to relieve her stress.

It was obvious to anyone that the Julius family had neglected Sir Arthur and the conscripted soldiers over the past five years, so the marquise was having hysterics worrying about his return.

“I don’t pay your wages to see such a sight.”

The marquise passed by in front of Reina.

“…”

Just as there was a moment of slight relief at being out of the marquise’s gaze,

the marquise suddenly turned around and struck the maid standing right next to Reina with the fan in her hand.

“…!”

The struck maid stumbled and bumped into Reina’s shoulder.

Reina held her breath.

“Were you dozing off?”

The maid who couldn’t keep her balance bowed deeply, flustered.

“N-No, madam.”

“No?”

Slap.

The marquise struck the maid’s cheek with her fan once again.

“Then are you saying I saw wrong?”

The fragile fan broke, becoming instantly tattered.

Tension spread among the servants.

Reina stiffened her body.

Was the maid next to her really dozing off?

She wasn’t sure. She didn’t notice.

The only thing clear was that this flow of events was not going to end well.

“Reina Astarine.”

As soon as she steeled herself, her name was called.

“Yes, madam.”

Reina tensed her body as she answered.

However, what followed was an unexpected statement.

“You’re excused from today.”

Reina opened her eyes wide.

“…Pardon?”

The maids next to her were quite surprised too, with a few forgetting to bow their heads and looking at her with shocked eyes.

Ah… Could it be?

Reina had a sudden inkling.

The reason for being called out as ‘excused’ at such timing.

But for now, she pretended not to know and hastily bowed her head, waiting for the next words.

The reason Reina recalled was a secret known only to the marquis’s family and the head maid.

“Olga.”

“Yes, madam.”

The marquise, as if delegating the command, gestured with her chin towards Reina and turned around.

Mrs. Hurst, the head maid, continued speaking in place of the madam.

“Lady Christina has designated you as her personal maid. I’ll tell you what you need to do, so follow me.”

Reina hid her surprised expression and bowed her head politely with her hands clasped.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The maids with dark circles under their eyes soon turned away from Reina with tired faces.

Reina inwardly gave a bitter smile.

…Usually, being a noble lady’s personal maid would be better.

The work they’re doing now is hard labor with barely any sleep, but no one envies Reina who has been excused due to the young lady’s call.

It was indicative of how the young lady was regarded among the maids.

* * *

Following the head maid up to Lady Christina’s room, Reina nervously fidgeted with her fingers buried in her apron.

‘The young lady’s personal maid… It doesn’t seem likely…’

Reina thought, looking at the back of the head maid’s head walking ahead.

‘…It’s about time for him to return, isn’t it?’

Combining the information from the newsletters, Sir Arthur and the victorious army had arrived in the neighboring Ponter territory two days ago.

When the victorious army arrives in a town, they usually stay for five to seven days.

And from Ponter to this Julius marquis territory is about a three-day journey on horseback,

so considering moving with the army, about a week.

In other words, Sir Arthur would likely arrive here in the Julius marquis territory as soon as ten days from now.

Now that he’s coming, Lady Christina will have to step up as the bride, so wouldn’t it be better not to have me lurking around?

Knock knock.

Seeing the head maid lightly knock on Christina’s bedroom door, Reina straightened her posture.

“Young lady. I’ve brought Reina.”

“Come in.”

The head maid opened the door and nodded towards the inside, looking at Reina.

Reina entered the room and bowed deeply.

“Young lady. You called for—”

Thwack!

An ashtray flew and hit her head, then rolled on the floor.

Drip drip. Blood flowed from her head.

—

*Prince-Elector: Seven princes with the right to elect and be elected as emperor. They are the most honorable highest-ranking nobles.