🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 18
“Mother, what does a personal maid do?”
As usual, Clémen had come to visit the Grand Duchess and immediately began asking questions.
Zephyrus had only said those few words before returning to work, so she hadn’t been able to ask anything else—but that was fine.
She had the Grand Duchess.
“Did Zephyrus ask you to become his personal maid?”
“Yes. But I was wondering what’s different between a personal maid and a regular maid.”
“If you are his personal maid, you only need to handle things related to Zephyrus. You don’t have to worry about anything else.”
“Hmmm… Maybe in the future, but does the Grand Duke really need a personal maid right now?”
“If he asked you, then he must need one. I actually think it’s a good thing.”
“Why?”
The Grand Duchess smiled as she gently played with Clémen’s thick curly hair.
“Because you’ll take care of his health. And if something urgent happens, you can deal with it directly.”
“Hmm… really?”
It sounded like there would be far more to think about than simply cleaning.
Should I do it? Or not?
Even between friends, some distance was usually necessary. Wouldn’t a personal maid be too close?
“They also pay more.”
“They pay more?”
“Yes. Probably three times as much.”
Actually, that sounded pretty good.
Too close? Then she would just become that much closer of a friend.
Clémen’s motivation to become a personal maid flared up.
*
A little while after Clémen left.
Rosia entered the Grand Duchess’s room.
“Sigh.”
“How long are you going to keep avoiding her?”
“Avoiding? Who? Me? I’m not avoiding anyone. The timing just hasn’t matched, Aunt. Someone might think that’s actually true.”
She recalled what had happened recently.
After hearing the doctor’s explanation, she had gone out to search for the herb.
But no matter how much she asked around, it was rare to find anyone who even knew the herb’s name.
When Rosia briefly came in to check on the Grand Duchess, her face had been completely pale.
“Lady Rosia! Where did you go?”
At that moment, her only maid greeted her with a bright smile.
“The Grand Duchess has regained her health!”
“What?”
Clémen had brought the herb.
She had grown it with such difficulty that she even collapsed—yet she had simply given it away.
If Gwen hadn’t mentioned it, no one would have known.
As soon as Rosia heard that, she rushed upstairs.
“Aunt!”
“Rosia, why does your face look so worn out?”
It was true.
There was no sickly smell, her complexion looked good, and her voice was healthy.
“I’m so relieved… truly.”
“Thank you. You worked very hard, Rosia.”
In such a happy situation, she couldn’t ruin the atmosphere by crying.
She tried to swallow her tears.
Right then, Clémen walked into the room.
“Oh, Rosia. You’re back—”
“Clémen!”
Rosia suddenly jumped up and glared fiercely at her.
“W-what is it?”
She felt overwhelmed thinking that all of this was thanks to Clémen.
She should have stopped there.
But instead—
“Waaaahhh!”
Why had she suddenly burst into tears?
Even now, the memory made her face heat up with embarrassment.
“I’m absolutely not avoiding her, alright?”
“You’re talking a lot.”
“…Anyway! Aunt, are you feeling alright today?”
“I’m getting better and better. The doctor you brought is quite skilled.”
“I searched really hard for him.”
“Soon we should take a walk together.”
“I’d like that!”
The Grand Duchess gently stroked Rosia’s cheek.
“You really worked very hard.”
“It was nothing. What matters is that you’ve recovered.”
The two smiled at each other.
“Ah, now there’s nothing to worry about!”
“Not quite. Shouldn’t you talk with Clémen? She was worried about you again today.”
“……”
Rosia turned away without answering, and the Grand Duchess chuckled softly.
“Oh, and you should visit Zephyrus too. I don’t know why we didn’t think of putting glass in the door sooner.”
“At that time Zephyrus was more sensitive. If he caught us removing the door, he might have frozen us.”
“Yes… in the end this was all—”
“Thanks to Clémen.”
Rosia wasn’t avoiding Clémen on purpose.
She had tried to find her.
But whenever she saw her face, she suddenly felt hot and embarrassed, and her feet wouldn’t move.
“I’ll go now. Please rest.”
After leaving the room, Rosia bit her lip while wondering if she should go find Clémen.
Just then she heard the doctor’s voice.
“I once heard a rumor. It was circulating among the nobles of the desert.”
“And?”
The other voice was Clémen’s.
Rosia quietly approached so she could hear.
“‘The monster of prophecy has appeared.’”
“‘Strengthen the defenses of the oasis,’ right?”
“That’s correct.”
“They’re funny people. What could a child under ten possibly do to make them react like that?”
“Didn’t you possess the power to burn sand? You were the one who caused the flames in the desert back then, weren’t you?”
The doctor was talking about the South.
Rosia couldn’t clearly see Clémen’s face, but her voice was clear.
Unlike usual, it trembled slightly.
It seemed like a topic she didn’t want to discuss.
In that case—
“Clémen.”
She needed to stop this.
“Rosia?”
“What’s going on? Is there a problem?”
“No, nothing—”
“You came at the right time. This is something Lady Rosia should know too.”
Rosia finally saw Clémen’s expression.
It looked like someone whose hidden shame had been exposed.
She was usually relaxed and straightforward.
If I’m going to hear it…
I’ll hear it directly.
She didn’t want to hear about Clémen from someone else.
Rosia interrupted the doctor.
“I won’t listen. If it’s about Clémen.”
“Excuse me?”
“Clémen. Let’s go.”
Leaving the confused doctor behind, Rosia grabbed Clémen’s hand and pulled her away.
Her hand was hot.
“…Thank you.”
“For what? I didn’t bring you away because I wasn’t curious. I want to ask you directly.”
She couldn’t completely ignore it.
Information about Clémen before she came to the Empire was uncertain. The investigation hadn’t finished yet. There simply hadn’t been enough time.
So whenever an opportunity appeared, she needed to gather at least some information.
The South affecting the North was unlikely—but you never knew.
And above all, if it was about Clémen, Rosia wanted to hear it from her personally.
“Is it difficult to talk about?”
“Not exactly…”
Clémen hesitated in a way that was unlike her.
“You know… when you’re a kid and you cause trouble or do something embarrassing. It’s like that.”
“Oh. For a moment I thought you were some kind of criminal.”
“Well… the trouble I caused was kind of… big. So it’s embarrassing to talk about.”
“How big could it be?”
Clémen glanced at Rosia’s pale face.
Then she squeezed her eyes shut and thought.
Well… since the doctor is here, it’ll be revealed eventually anyway.
Besides, Zephyrus wanted her to stay by his side.
Powerful people always investigated the past of those around them.
No matter how embarrassing it was, she had to say it.
“I… started a few fires.”
“…What?”
“You know I’m kind of hot. And deserts are already hot.”
“But I heard the nights are cold.”
“Compared to the North, that’s nothing.”
Even in the North she was this hot—so what difference would a desert night make?
Of course, when she was younger she might have been slightly less hot than now.
But whether water was about to boil or already boiling, both could burn someone.
Clémen had always been like that.
Even at night it was hot.
During the day it was worse.
Sometimes a jerboa, a desert mouse, wandered in by mistake and literally died from the heat.
“Anyway… everyone really hated me. And when I got angry back at them… fires started.”
“Uh…”
“And the flames the doctor mentioned earlier? That happened when I was trying to grow Rababa. It wasn’t intentional.”
Sometimes she threw heated stones back at people who threw stones at her.
Sometimes she got closer to them just to make them feel hotter.
Occasionally she even dropped mice or insects into water she had heated.
Ah…
Even thinking about it again was embarrassing.
She had truly been immature and young.
“W-wow…”
“It’s really embarrassing.”
The redder Clémen became, the warmer Rosia felt.
Right now we’re in the North so it just feels warm…
But imagine holding fire in the middle of the burning desert.
Wouldn’t that feel like hugging ice in the North?
Ugh. That would be awful.
So yes—
Clémen must have lived her life avoided by people.
Thinking about Clémen’s pain felt far heavier than the suffering of strangers she had never seen.
“What? That’s nothing.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s practically cute. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Someone similar to Zephyrus.
But someone who had overcome that pain.
Rosia linked arms with Clémen.
It felt like tucking a stove under her arm.
“Oh, then what about that ‘monster of prophecy’ thing?”
“That? About a hundred years ago there was a prophecy:
‘A being that will destroy the lifeline of the desert will be born borrowing the body of the desert.’”
“And?”
“They said… that being was me.”
“…What?!”
