There was not even a slightest change in Fatherâs expression.
As if he already knew.
The employees who were standing by the wall were somehow trying their best to hold back their laughter. However, they couldnât hide their shaking lips.
Rachel grasped the hem of her skirt tightly. Then, she smiled with effort and said,
âCome to think of it, it turns out there was a request from the barracks. Please excuse me.â
When I asked again with the meaning of âDid you already know?â, Father looked at the documents with a calm look.
âThereâs nothing you need to worry about.â
ââŚ?â
âSince most of them are like that.â
It was an awfully shameless remark.
If someone else did it, it was something that would be reproached, but it sure was convincing as hell.
Since it was a plot point that was emphasized to the extent it was tiresome in [IPTVG].
Daymond Astra is handsome.
He is very popular with women.
Sometimes, he even gets courted by men⌠anyway, it was like that.
âSince it was to the extent that it was because of that popularity that Fatherâs misanthropy began.â
There was also a time when someone tried to feed him cookies that were made by adding hair and nails, proclaiming that it was a love potion.
And they said there was also a time when they jumped right in front of his eyes, while saying that they will make him remember them for the rest of his lifeâŚ.
âIf it was like that, then itâs definitely enough for him to get a phobia.â
I nodded inwardly, as I stuffed a meatball into my mouth.
Glancing at me, Father stretched out his hand.
And lightly swept off around my mouth with his thumb.
âCertainly, it must be hard for a young kid to eat noodles that have this kind of sauce on it.â
ââŚ.â
âSince your manners arenât bad, it wonât be to the extent that you need a teacher.â
Uhm, he really deserved to be popular.
***
I finished my meal and came out of the dining hall.
âI have to go to the garden.â
Throughout the time she was coming to this place, the soldiers were like that.
They said that the night sky that was seen from Daymondâs Territory Castle garden was so beautiful. And that no night sky will be as good as the one thatâs seen from the Territoryâs Castle garden.
I was looking forward to it very much because it was praised to the skies.
âUhm, so the gardenâŚ.â
I asked the maids who were passing through the hallway.
âGwarden.â [Garden.]
âGardenâŚ. Ah, are you looking for the garden? If you go to the east gateââ
After the maids pointed to where the east gate was, they looked at me, and groaned, âUhmmm.â
âIt would be scary because itâs pitch-dark, though.â
âShall we take you there?â
âYesh!â [Yes!]
When I shouted, the maids stood beside me.
I held each of the two peopleâs hands.
ââŚ!â
ââŚ!â
Since it seemed that they were surprised, I alternately looked at the two.
âAh, right.â
In the Main Castle, Iâve always walked hand in hand with Hilda and Greta, so I forgot. Surely the people here must be awkward with it.
The Main Castle wasnât a suitable space for a child to walk.
Since the stairs were high and it was also full of expensive decorations. For a child to walk alone through, it was dangerous.
I was going to retract my hand stealthily, but the maids quickly grabbed it again.
âT-Then, shall we go holding hands?â
âWow, turns out a babyâs hands are warm.â
The maids walked together with me with a face that had become incredibly soft.
âIf you go this way youâll find the kitchen, thatâs the meeting room, and this isâŚ.â
I remembered well the things that the maids told me.
âSo thatâs Fatherâs office.â
While I was thinking so, Madam Rachel and the other maids came walking from the opposite side.
âWhat are you doing?â
Her voice was cold.
The maids flinched.
âW-We were going to show the Young Miss the gardenâŚ.â
âDid you forget I told you to go support the barracks? What am I going to do if you are fooling around in a chaotic time where the military has increased by 10,000!â
ââŚ.â
âYoung Miss is also the Young Miss. To think that when the territory is already chaotic, you disturb the children who are working.â
Madam Rachel folded her arms and sighed.
âReally, thereâll be a lot to teach.â
Then the maid, who nervously read the situation, spoke carefully.
âWell, we were on our way back from the barracks because they said itâs okay even if more support doesnât come, and itâs not the Young Miss who asked to go together, but usâŚ.â
Slapâ!
The maidâs cheek turned around.
Surprised, I looked at Madam Rachel.
âFrom where do you learn to talk back.â
ââŚ.â
The maid who was hit by Madam Rachel lowered her head while holding her cheek.
The maids who were behind the Madam, snicker, ridiculed.
I wasnât flustered at all, as if this sort of matter was common.
âThis aunt.â
I let out a snicker inside.
That just now wasnât disciplining the maid.
Violence canât be a discipline, and above all, the reason why she slapped the maid on the cheek was something else.
âSheâs venting her anger on her.â
Itâs certain that she thought she was embarrassed by Father at the dining hall.
However, since she canât hit me, she hit the maid. Telling me to look and be afraid of her..
I let go of the maidsâ hand.
Seeing such me, the corners of Madam Rachelâs mouth curled up. It seemed that she thought she had successfully reached her aim of making me afraid.
âHwey.â [Hey.]
âYes?â
âHwere.â [Come here.]
âWhat did you say?â
Madam Rachel bent over towards me as she said, âPlease talk louder.â
At that moment.
Slap!
I slapped Madam Rachelâs cheek.
Although I am young, I hit her with all my might, so it mustâve hurt quite a bit.
âT-T-ThisâŚ!â
Madam Rachelâs face hardened.
The maid who had tried to take me to the garden, and also the maids who were behind Madam Rachel were all extremely surprised.
âWhat are you doing!â
âAuntie alsho hwit da mwaid, wight?â [Auntie also hit the maid, right?]
I terribly hated violence, but even so, I wasnât a non-violent ideologist.
If my opponent attacked me, Iâd attack them likewise.
Whatâs even more, touching the people around me in order to pressure me was the dirty act which I hated most.
âYouââ
I slightly grabbed the end of Madam Rachelâs hair and whispered.
âBe careful. I wonât hold back.â
ââŚ!â
Madam Rachelâs eyes grew bigger, as if she had seen a ghost, as those werenât words thatâd come out from a young kidâs mouth.
I smiled sweetly to Madam Rachel, who went white trembling.
âYou thought Iâd let myself get beaten up because Iâm young?â
I have experienced the end of social lives.
I knew very well that if Iâm pushed back here, Iâd forever be treated as a pushover.
I grabbed the hands of the maids who were going to the garden together with me, again.
âNow letâsh go!â [Now letâs go!]
âYes? Ah, yessâŚ.â
âYe-Yes!â
Leaving behind Madam Rachel who was frozen and the other maids who didnât know what to do.
***
Bang!
Rachel entered, opening the door of the butlerâs room roughly and breathing heavily.
âBe careful. I wonât hold back.â
âWhat, is there such a thing!?â
It was absolutely not the words a young kid would say.
She slapped her face and in the eyes which were looking at her, it even showed a glimpse of something resembling murderous energy.
âAnd youâre saying that that pathetic thing is also Mister Daymondâs daughterâŚ!â
Rachel was able to enter the Territoryâs Castle thanks to her dead husband.
Her husband, who was a knight, died on the battlefield, and her husbandâs boss, Daymond, let her, who was left alone, in as a butler.
At first, she was disappointed.
To think she would be a butler.
Although it sure was a single-winning noble title, she was still the Lady of a Baron Family.
However, because she wasted all of her husbandâs inheritance with luxury, she had no choice but to work.
âBeing a butler was surely the right choice.â
Since, thanks to Daymond who didnât get married, she, who was the butler, became in charge of the Territory Castleâs housekeeping overall.
A castle owned by the second son of the Duke of Astra Family. And she was that castleâs manager.
Even the snobbish nobles lowered themselves for her.
Of course, the servants couldnât even dare to raise their heads.
Rachel was the same as this beautiful Castleâs queen.
Her goal was to marry Daymond and become the real lady of the house.
Although Daymond was clung to by a Lady of another Duke Family, by the Royalty of a foreign country, and even by the Imperial Princess, he never opened his heart.
However, she was the closest to such a cold him.
Daymond drank the tea which she served, wore the clothes which she had chosen, and lived in the place which was within her reach.
âI know.â
That he also just canât express his feelings, and that he has a thing for her.
Itâs just that he doesnât know what affection is.
Thatâs why he doesnât know that his heart is drawn to her.
âIf itâs not that then why would he return so quickly like this?â
It must be that he has missed her.
Thatâs why she certainly intended to become his wife this time.
âBut that bitchâŚ!â
At first, she didnât even care about such a bitch.
It was to the point that when she heard that Daymondâs daughter was coming to the Territoryâs Castle, she snorted.
To think that he even brought such a worthless thing, who has blood mixed with that of a commoner, proclaiming that sheâs his daughter.
She thought that Mister Daymond only looked cold, and on the inside, he was actually a soft-hearted person.
That mere three year old bitch.
If she didnât get in the way of Mister Daymond and her relationship, Rachel thought that she wouldnât even need to care about it.
The point that sheâs a child who was born from him with another woman sure was annoying.
However, itâs only that if she sent her far away after becoming the real lady of this Territory Castle later.
âYouâll properly pay the price for humiliating me.â
Rachel clasped the edge of the desk.
***
I looked at the night sky with an ecstatic face.
âItâs really prettyâŚ.â
To think thereâs a sky that portrays such a beautiful starry rain.
Iâve only heard of it, but seeing it in person, itâs really pretty like a dream.
âSince at night, the sky looks blurry because of the Dukeâs Castle and the 12th Towerâs barrier.â
I was frantically looking at the sky for quite a while, but I felt the gazes from the side.
âHuh?â
Turning my head, the maids were staring at me with sparkling eyes.
When I tilted my head, they waved their hands hurriedly.
âW-We didnât mean to interrupt your admiration!â
âYes! Weâre just fascinatedâŚ.â
Fascinated?
Of what?
âItâs my first time seeing Madam Rachel being flustered like that, you know.â
âAre you afwaid of Madam Rachel?â [Are you afraid of Madam Rachel?]
When asked, the maids gave a big nod.
âShe whips the servants which she doesnât like. And then kicks them out after framing themâŚ. Anyhow, sheâs a terrible person.â
âThere are also so many servants who have been brought to ruin by Madam Rachel.â
âI couldnât even report it because I was scared.â
The maids who were talking and babbling looked at each other.
âLast time, there was also âsuch matterâ, right?ââ
âYup. A servant reported it above, but because Madam Rachelâs hands and feets matched their words, saying that she was not like thatâŚ.â
âYeah, only the person who reported was kicked out, right.â
The maids shook their shoulders as if they were afraid even only by thinking of it.
âTurns out since Father isnât present, the Castle has become a mess.â
Sure enough as he had emptied his seat for fully more than five years, and not a year or two.
It was enough time for it to become Madam Rachelâs world.
I stared at the maids.
âThey still look young, though.â
It looked like the age where theyâve just become an adult.
I searched through the bag which I was carrying on one side. Then I found something and lightly! I raised it.
âWhat is that, Young Miss?â
It was an ointment that I was applying to the wounds that I got from the monster on Hadix Mountain.
The effect is remarkable as much as the ones that the Duke Castleâs direct descendants use.
âItâs medicine.â
âMedicine?â
âYesh!â [Yes!]
I answered and gently applied the medicine to the maidâs cheek.
The maidsâ eyes were filled with tears.
âYoung MissâŚ.â
âI-Iâm glad. I thought that nobles were all damn trashâ no, that they arenât very good people, butâŚ!â
âYeah, because the buggy bastard is a son of a bitchâ which they are not that⌠but because theyâre scary people, I surely thought that someday I might end up killing a bastard.â
âBut the Young Miss is different.â
âYup, you sure are different. You threw a slap on Madam Rachelâs face for us, andâŚ.â
Saying so, they shook their shoulders.
âAbout slapping Madam Rachel, itâs something I did thatâs all for my own good, though.â
I became embarrassed, I changed the subject.
âWhatch yor name?â [Whatâs your name?]
âN-NameâŚ.â
âNameâŚ!â
I asked their name to change the atmosphere, but the maids teared up.
âSomeone who asks for my name in this Castle, the Young Miss is the first, hicc! Iâm Betty.â
âHuaang, Iâm HeidiâŚ!â
âŚWhy are you crying, though?
And then because they started to snivel all of a sudden, I was a bit flustered.
âIâm happy because Iâm able to serve such a kind Young Miss like this!â
âIâll be loyalâŚ!â
Only because of this?
âIt seems that they had suffered greatly.â
The maids surrounded me and bawled, and I had to endure as I groaned.
And, the maids kept their own words.
From the next day, their excessive loyalty attacks continued.
***
A few days later.
I had breakfast in my room.
After Heidi and Betty, the maids, swoop, swoop, looked around the surroundings, they dipped a spoon in my soup and took it out.
âThereâs no poison. You can eat it.â
ââŚ.â
âThe bread is also safe.â
ââŚ.â
I looked at the maids with a grim expression.
These kids checked my meals for days.
It seemed they thought that Madam Rachel might poison me.
âJust how much did Madam Rachel do for them to see her as a crazy person?â
No matter how she got humiliated once, donât tell me, sheâll try to poison the Masterâs daughter?
Since Madam Rachel was overall the butler, everything that happened in the Territory Castle was her responsibility.
Even if someone else tried to poison me, she was the one in the position who has to hold someone responsible.
âAnd Madam Rachel is not a fool.â
I ate the soup with cloudy eyes.
When my chubby cheeks shook from chewing with my mouth closed, the maids said, âHaaa,â as they let out an ecstatic exclamation.
âŚIt seems that they are a bit not normal.
Even so, there was a helpful point.
âThe drawing roomâs Jodie is totally Madam Rachelâs person. There are a few pawns in the kitchen, too.â
âThatâs right. Ah, even so, the head cook is okay, right?â
âYes. She surely canât do anything because his skills are outstanding whether itâs in the Masterâs eyes.â
âCole, the one in charge of the garden, might lick Madam Rachelâs heels.â
I knew well of the Territory Castle peopleâs affairs.
I remembered well what the maids had said.
After finishing my meal, I came out to the courtyard.
It was to see Father off because it was the day when he had to go out to inspect the territory.
The courtyard was crowded with people. It was because the soldiers and even the officials went off to the inspection together.
âOh, Young Miss!â
Soldier Mosco saw and recognized me.
The three-meter tall man who gave me a ride on his shoulders on Hadix Mountain last time was Mosco.
The other soldiers also approached me.
âHow is this place?â
âI wike ith.â [I like it.]
The soldiers nodded.
âHuahaha, that sure is right! This place surely is much better than the Dukeâs Castle. There are too many things that you shouldnât do there, arenât there?â
âYou punk, itâs called rules. Keep your honor. Since youâre so energetic that youâre called a Stupid Big Build.â
âBeing energetic sure is a good thing. Donât you think so, Young Miss?â
I replied, âYes!â
Mosco and the soldiers, huahaha, laughed.
âAnyway, Iâm surprised that the Young Miss is also pretty energetic. As soon as she came, she slapped the butlerâs cheek.â
How do the soldiers know that?
I was thinking like that, but then I heard Madam Rachelâs voice from behind.
âPlease donât be too mean. It seems Iâve done something that the Young Miss doesnât like.â
Madam Rachel came up to me and grinned.
âI will work hard so as to please the Young Miss.â
ââŚ.â
âEven so, next time, please donât punish me physically without any reason. Thereâs also eyes thatâs seeing.â
I stared at Rachel.
âYouâre saying that youâre coming out for a public debate, huh.â