On a fine summer morning, without any warning, the incident burst into my room.
“T-t-t-terribly urgent!”
It was the gatekeeper, Thomas, who was making a commotion. Before I could even ask what was wrong, Thomas had already fallen backward. Mio, who was standing by the door, had tripped and knocked him over.
“…What is it, Thomas? Bursting in without knocking. What if Marie was changing?”
“S-sorry… I’m so sorry…”
“If you do it again, I’ll have your head. Literally.”
“It’s okay, Mio. Thomas, what’s the matter that you’re so flustered?”
As I spoke, Thomas groaned while lying on his back.
“It’s really, really urgent. A-a-amazing people are at the gate…”
…A very bad feeling. As I shuddered, Thomas looked at Mio, who frowned.
“Are they my guests?”
Thomas nodded vigorously.
“Yes, it’s urgent. It’s really urgent! Mio’s real parents have come forward!”
“Huh—!?”
I was the only one who screamed at Thomas’s words. Mio merely raised an eyebrow slightly.
“There’s nothing urgent. Thomas, you can go now. Marie was just about to read.”
“Wh-what!?”
This time, both Thomas and I screamed. Mio, who seemed completely unconcerned, started to clear the tea set. I hurried to stop her.
“My reading can wait. Mio, your family has been found, right? How can this not be urgent?”
However, Mio shook her head, her usual expressionless face.
“It’s quite common for people to pretend to be my relatives.”
“…Pretend?”
Thomas also tilted his head, looking at Mio.
“Yes. As you know, I was picked up by Madame Lulu, a traveling performer, before I could even remember. After that, I lived in the duke’s mansion thanks to the duke’s kindness. I even became a lady-in-waiting and served as the head of the servants at Granado Castle.”
I think it’s more due to Mio’s abilities, but I didn’t say anything. She continued in her usual calm tone.
“This is a well-known fact. It’s even been embellished and widely talked about. An orphan with no name, picked up by a beautiful traveling performer, and rising to serve in a castle—outsiders might see it as a bit of a play. For better or worse.
…So, there are people who try to take advantage of this. They claim to be my parents, say they’ve missed me, and ask for a favor with the duke, the lord, or the master of the Granado Trading Company…”
I see.
Indeed, if your identity is unknown, anyone claiming to be your family or relatives would be believed. Or they might say they lent money to your parents or were engaged to you.
—What a cruel scam!
I was furious. I don’t know how often this happens… or how Mio felt the first time. But Mio has already moved past it. She smiled as if to comfort me, who was shocked, and tried to dismiss Thomas as if it were nothing.
However, Thomas didn’t budge.
“No, this time it’s not a scam. The person who came is a big deal, a really amazing person!”
“I’ve had a couple of minor nobles and bankrupt aristocrats come before.”
“It’s different this time! Please, just come. You’ll see!”
Thomas took Mio’s hand and dragged her away. Mio, who seemed to find it too much trouble to resist, sighed. I was curious and followed them.
Because… even if scams have come many times before, there’s no guarantee that this one is a lie.
If it’s true… maybe Mio will leave this castle…
“It doesn’t matter. Even if they are my real parents.”
Mio, who seemed to see through all my thoughts, said firmly. She spoke gently to me, who was walking beside her.
“I’m not a child who needs protection, and I have no complaints about my current life. I won’t leave this castle or my job until the master tells me to.”
“But… if your real parents want to see you, it would be good to meet them…”
“They might think so, but I don’t feel anything.
—No matter what the circumstances were that led to me being abandoned on the roadside. The one who picked me up and raised me was Madame Lulu. My family is the duke’s family and the people in this castle.”
Her words made me realize… maybe I’ve been misunderstanding all along. Mio’s loyalty… the loyalty of this excellent lady-in-waiting, is not to Cyrus, but to…
“…Maybe I should tell Marie. Why I dedicate myself to the Granado family. And the true role I play in this castle…”
Granado Castle is vast and grand. As we walked to the main gate where the guest was waiting, Mio began to speak calmly.
Her tone was the same as always, but the truth she revealed was completely unexpected and something I had never known… truly a bolt from the blue.
◇◆◇◆◇
—I was picked up by a troupe of traveling performers at an inn along the road, long before I could remember. I was just a baby, barely able to eat anything other than milk.
The troupe, on their way to the capital for a performance, stopped to rest and clean up. With a large group of twenty people of all ages, the small inn was fully booked. Madame Lulu ended up sharing a room with an unknown foreign woman.
The next morning, when Madame Lulu woke up, the woman was gone, leaving only a baby on the bed.
With a note that read, “Her name is Mio. Please take care of her.”
…Madame Lulu negotiated persistently with the troupe leader to take in the child.
“Because it’s pitiful! Did you see the innkeeper’s face? If we leave her, she’ll be sold to human traffickers. Can you imagine what kind of life she would have?”
“But Lulu, she’s too young to train in the arts. It will cost money and effort.”
“I’ll raise her. I’ll earn the money for her food. Is that okay?”
“Well… but can you really balance performing and raising a child? And you’re only fifteen…”
“Then you help too! Look, Mio’s diaper is wet. I’ll change it, so you get the water and new cloth, and cook some porridge.”
“Wh-what!?”
—This scene was often told as a funny story by the troupe leader later.
Two years later, the troupe was invited to a ceremony at the Dilts Royal Palace. Madame Lulu, as the star performer, danced. Duke Alfred Granado, one of the guests, was immediately captivated by her.
He had a wife, but it was a political marriage, and they didn’t love each other. If she would come to his mansion as a concubine, he promised her a life of luxury—
Madame Lulu, however, was also attracted to the handsome Duke Alfred. She neither rejected nor accepted his offer, but kept dodging it. When the duke, frustrated, finally confronted her, she answered.
“I have a child. A little girl who has no one to rely on but me. I can’t just abandon her for a romantic fling.”
The duke was initially surprised, but even more confused when he learned the child was not her own, but an orphan she had picked up.
“There are many adults in the troupe. Someone will take care of her if I leave, and I will provide more than enough support. You could even bring the child with you.”
Even with such an offer, Madame Lulu shook her head.
“Mio’s life is her own. Whether I’m a good mother, or if you become her father… whether she stays with the traveling performers or lives alone in a town. I need to give Mio many choices and teach her about her possibilities until she can make her own decisions.
That’s what it means to raise a child, isn’t it?”
These words made the duke even more infatuated with Madame Lulu.
“I will make both of you happy. And when the child grows up, I will support all her choices. Please trust me.”
The duke, it is said, bowed and pleaded with the young dancer. Despite this, Madame Lulu hesitated… The stubborn negotiation between the two lasted for many days.
Finally, on the day the troupe was to leave the capital… Madame Lulu chose to stay at the duke’s mansion with me.
No one ever told me what words convinced her to make this decision…
“I didn’t sell myself for Mio’s sake.”
She laughed and told me this when I was older. I knew it wasn’t a lie, but I also suspected it wasn’t entirely true.
Seeing the doubt on my face, Madame Lulu ruffled my hair and smiled wryly.
“Mio, you worry too much. Despite being raised by a carefree person like me… Maybe that’s a good thing. I wish you could be more carefree and depend on adults more.”
From then on, I was often told I had a very expressionless face. It was probably a natural trait.
However, I was not without emotion.
Madame Lulu, combing and fixing my messy hair.
“Yes… your hair has finally grown long enough for pigtails. You’re so cute, Mio.”
She shook my head from side to side, making the pigtails swing. Without a mirror, I couldn’t see what the hairstyle looked like or if it suited me.
Still, I remember feeling ticklish and laughing out loud.
The cover of the second volume of the book is out!
Please make a reservation at your local bookstore as soon as possible!