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Chapter 09
As I was roughly wrapping up my thoughts, a sudden concern flashed through my mind.
“What if they tell the Duke what I said?”
Surely they’d all soon realize that each other had their memories.
No—they probably already caught on without even needing a few days, the moment they heard about Felix’s sudden outburst this morning. They might already be checking who else besides Felix has their memories.
Once that happens—whether now or later—they’ll talk about the situation. And if one of them tattles to the Duke under the guise of reporting…
Just imagining it gave me goosebumps and made my hair stand on end.
But this was also something I had no control over. All I could do was hope that the three of them would keep their mouths shut.
“Ah, what is this…”
I pressed my hand to my throbbing head and closed my eyes.
I already had a feeling this round was going to be far more exhausting than the others.
Still, a hidden route doesn’t come every day—so I need to survive as long as possible.
—
* * *
The head maid received a summons from Duke Kallion and arrived at his office with hurried yet dignified steps.
Her aged lips were stiff, as if frozen.
*’What could he want?’*
At this point, the head maid could only think of one thing.
The commotion that had occurred in Nadiana’s room this morning.
But normally, that was the kind of incident that would be handled at her level—or at most, the butler’s—and be more than resolved. Duke Kallion wasn’t the type to concern himself with such trivial matters.
Wondering if something major had happened among the servants that she hadn’t noticed, the head maid felt anxious. But she hid her unease and lightly knocked on the office door.
The butler had warned her that the master seemed to be in a particularly bad state today, so she needed to be more careful than usual.
“Master, it’s the head maid.”
“Come in.”
Quietly opening the door so as not to irritate Duke Kallion, the head maid entered—and couldn’t help but be startled by what she saw.
Duke Kallion, who always maintained an upright and flawless appearance, was sitting there in complete disarray.
His red hair was tangled and unkempt. His face was pallid and dry. His posture was strangely slumped. He wasn’t even wearing his usual meticulously tailored attire—just a loosely thrown-on shirt.
It was as if she were looking at an entirely different person wearing Duke Kallion’s face.
Moreover, his sharp eyes—the ones that could freeze anyone—were now relaxed with fatigue, and his usual dignified aura was nowhere to be found.
*’What in the world…?’*
Having served her master for over thirty years, the head maid had never seen him like this. She became even more tense than before.
But as a veteran of the Duke’s household, she quickly composed her expression and stood before the desk where Duke Kallion sat. Her posture was immaculate—flawless.
“I heard you called for me,” the head maid said quietly.
His dull eyes turned toward her.
“I heard there was an incident this morning. Fin said it was handled well.”
“Yes, that’s correct. The Viscount Dolenti won’t be bringing this matter up.”
“I see.”
Duke Kallion stopped there and fell silent, furrowing his brow.
It somehow felt like he was hesitating about something, but the head maid immediately dismissed the thought as nonsense.
*’The master hesitating? There’s no word in the world less fitting for him. He’s probably just organizing his thoughts.’*
Wondering what on earth he was trying to say, she waited in silence. After a moment, Duke Kallion spoke.
“……How did Diya seem?”
Diya?
The unfamiliar ring of the name made the head maid pause for a moment, but she quickly realized that Duke Kallion was referring to Nadiana.
*’Why would the master ask about the young lady’s condition?’*
Her mind was filled with questions, but her mouth moved diligently.
“She seemed startled. Having been together for several years, she must have grown attached—she appeared quite saddened by the news of Rain’s departure.”
“I heard she wasn’t a particularly competent maid.”
“Yes. But since the young lady is still young, she seems to have formed an attachment to Rain, who was most frequently by her side.”
“……Is that so. Was there anything different about Diya compared to usual?”
“There was nothing different from how I’ve always seen her.”
“I see.”
The head maid answered Duke Kallion’s questions faithfully, but she couldn’t shake her bewilderment.
She couldn’t figure out the intent behind Duke Kallion’s questions.
The head maid was a perceptive person, and she knew it herself. But in this situation, she couldn’t seem to organize her thoughts clearly.
In all her years working at the Barderia Duchy, it was the first time she’d found it so difficult to grasp how things were moving.
“Perhaps it would be best to take care in selecting the next maid.”
“!”
The head maid was taken aback.
*’Take care? For Lady Nadiana?’*
Not long after Rain had been hired, the head maid had noticed her laziness and judged that Rain was unfit to serve as a maid.
But Gwyneth had dissuaded her from firing Rain.
*〈She’s a sensitive child—wouldn’t changing maids midway be harder on her?〉*
The head maid had caught the meaning hidden within the seemingly considerate words.
*’Let go of Nadiana.’*
In other words—leave her alone.
There wasn’t a single servant in the household who didn’t know that Nadiana was despised by her siblings. Naturally, the head maid was well aware of it as well.
And she also knew that Duke Kallion had never said a word about it, despite knowing everything.
Aside from Duke Kallion, the most influential person in the household was naturally the heir, Gwyneth. The head maid couldn’t simply dismiss it as the words of a child.
She had discussed the matter with the butler. After some deliberation, the butler said he would carefully bring it up to the master while reporting that evening—and left.
The next day, a reply arrived that didn’t deviate an inch from expectations.
*〈There’s no need to report such things one by one.〉*
The Duke’s words were essentially tacit approval of Gwyneth’s neglect of Nadiana.
After that, the head maid washed her hands of anything related to Nadiana.
Even when she saw the servants growing increasingly lax specifically toward Nadiana, she only gave minor warnings.
And now—without any precursor—she was suddenly told to take care of Nadiana. Of course the head maid was taken aback.
But she didn’t stupidly question it.
“……Yes. I’ll make sure to give her special attention.”
When working, set aside emotions.
Follow only what you’re told.
That was the reason the head maid, like the butler, had been able to work at the Duke’s household for so long.
She didn’t know what had happened overnight to change Duke Kallion’s disposition, but she simply did as she was told.
As she always had.
—
* * *
*Knock, knock.*
“Miss, it’s the head maid. May I come in?”
After eating the breakfast brought by my new maid, I was standing quietly by the window to help digestion when I heard the head maid’s voice.
I wondered if she’d already found a new maid, but at that speed, she’d have had to pick someone off the street overnight.
Given the head maid’s personality, that was unlikely—so it wasn’t hard to guess she’d come for another reason.
“Yeah, come in.”
The door opened carefully, and the head maid entered, exuding an air of tolerating not a single speck of dust.
Her crisp, unwrinkled attire—as if brand new—and her immaculately styled hair with not a single strand out of place seemed to express her personality.
“What brings you here?”
“The master has instructed me to take special care in selecting a maid to attend to you, so it may take some time. Would that be alright?”
“Father…… the Duke did?”
At the sudden mention of the Duke, I instinctively tilted my head.
*’Why would the Duke…?’*
Even considering his current high affection, he wasn’t the type to concern himself with such trivial matters.
It would’ve been more believable if Felix had ordered it.
*’This is unsettling……’*
I had no idea what was going on with the Duke.
“Mm—yeah, that’s fine.”
“How are the temporarily assigned maids? If they’re at all inconvenient, I’ll have them replaced immediately.”
“No, they’re fine.”
This wasn’t empty flattery for affection—I genuinely meant it.
My standard was set by Rain. As long as they weren’t worse than Rain, I didn’t care.
And being worse than Rain was no easy feat.
Besides, starting this morning, the maids had been noticeably quicker and twice as polite as yesterday.
*’I wondered why—turns out the head maid, having received the Duke’s hint, must have warned them.’*
