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Chapter 21
In truth, even Edwin couldn’t be certain the Emperor would grant his request. But to win Lucy, he was determined to secure tax-exempt territory from the Emperor—by any means necessary.
“On the day you sign the marriage contract, I’ll grant you the tax-exempt territory.”
And so, Edwin finally received permission to marry Lucy.
But as the wedding approached, the situation suddenly began to change.
Joanna Becky.
The only daughter of Marquis Becky had somehow learned of Edwin’s situation and sought him out.
“I’ll make you Emperor. In return, give me the position of Empress!”
Her father, Marquis Becky, was the de facto leader of the Emperor’s faction. With his support, becoming Emperor would not be impossible.
For Edwin, it was a once-in-a-lifetime decision.
If I become Emperor… I could still bring Lucy to me, couldn’t I?
If he were Emperor, what in the world could be beyond his reach? The thought made the choice easy.
He took the hand Joanna extended to him.
Edwin irritably brushed back the fringe of hair that had fallen into his eyes.
“Pathetic fools! You still haven’t found her?”
He was in the middle of hearing a report on Lucy’s whereabouts when he barked out the words.
“We’ve confirmed there were three ships that departed at that exact time that day. I’ll send people to those locations tomorrow.”
“Post notices all over the country and put a bounty on her. And what of Baron Diallo?”
“It’s said that Duke Vallon petitioned His Majesty for his release. He’s expected to be freed soon after paying a fine.”
At that, Edwin could no longer restrain his anger and slammed his fist down on the table.
“Put people on Baron Diallo and Duke Vallon. If they find Lucy’s whereabouts before I do, report to me immediately!”
Baron Diallo was released without incident and returned to his estate, but Lucy’s whereabouts remained unknown.
And even if she were found now, it would be an awkward situation.
The Fourth Prince’s power base was still weak, but he was royalty all the same. A mere baron could hardly afford to ignore a royal.
Nor did it seem likely that Duke Vallon would easily give up on Lucy—after all, it had been Vallon’s influence that secured the baron’s release.
On the very day of his release, the duke had come to the baron and pressured him to bring Lucy back as soon as possible.
After a full day of agonizing deliberation, the baron made up his mind.
“Find out which is the most skilled assassin guild in the Empire!”
He ordered his butler.
And soon after, he sent a request to the assassin guild the butler had named. The note he sent read:
Find and eliminate Lucy Diallo.
The building that Lucy and Anna arrived at with their belongings turned out to be even larger than they’d expected. It seemed as though the entire structure, much like an inn, was made up of rooms serving as accommodations.
They were each assigned their own rooms.
“A single room, my lady! Looks like this is quite a big establishment, so the treatment’s really good, too.”
Contrary to her expectation of sharing a room with several others, Lucy realized the place offered surprisingly good benefits for its employees. Dino’s kindness felt all the more welcome.
It was a good start. If things went well, perhaps she could save money here quickly and settle down.
While unpacking, Lucy checked to make sure Lucas’s brooch was still safe. She thought that, when her situation improved, she would have to meet him again just to return it.
After unpacking, they headed to the small dining hall attached to the lodgings for dinner before reporting for work.
The hall was already bustling with people. Those milling about were all young women.
As soon as Lucy and Anna entered, the women inside began whispering while giving them curious glances. Lucy was used to this; ever since she’d possessed this body, her looks had always drawn attention, so she thought little of it.
“My lady, don’t you think the work is far too easy for the pay?”
Anna asked in puzzlement over their simple meal.
“They said we’d learn other tasks gradually, so I guess the workload will increase over time.”
“That could be true.”
Anna nodded at Lucy’s response.
Just then, someone placed a plate of food down roughly on their table.
“So you’re the new hires?”
It was a young woman with rather pretty features. She dragged over a chair and sat at their table.
“Hello, we look forward to working with you.”
When Lucy and Anna greeted her, she glanced at Lucy, smirked, and tore off a piece of bread to dip into her soup.
“There’s no point in saying that. You and I are on completely different levels, so I doubt we’ll be seeing much of each other. Once you get assigned work like mine, you won’t be able to stick close to your little friend here as much as you do now—so talk plenty while you can.”
She said this to Lucy, then ate a few more bites of bread before tossing the rest onto her plate and standing up.
“Even if you do get promoted to my level, just don’t cause me any trouble. You don’t seem completely clueless, so we should be able to get along.”
Leaving those cryptic words behind, the woman walked away.
That evening, after dinner, a burly man came to them with clothes in his arms.
“From today, you’ll also be serving in the rooms. There are important guests there, so you can’t just wear anything.”
The garments he handed them were neat and modest dresses. They weren’t ornate, but they didn’t exactly seem suited for work either.
Anna tilted her head as she took one.
“My lady, have you ever heard of wearing something like this just to serve food?”
“Well, I’ve heard that in expensive restaurants or shops, staff wear uniforms.”
Once dressed, they were led by the manager to a small room. Inside were various dresses and cosmetics neatly arranged.
“Do you know how to apply makeup? When working in the rooms, you must present yourself more formally. Nobles think they’re being insulted if staff look shabby.”
The manager said this with his usual genial smile.
“Oh, I know how! I’ll help Lucy with hers too.”
“Very well. I’ll be back shortly, then.”
He nodded at Anna’s words and left.
“I guess that’s why they told us to wear these dresses—because we’ll be meeting a lot of nobles. For such a large establishment, they sure are strict.”
Lucy had heard in her previous life that upscale restaurants cared a lot about appearances. Since this was a place serving nobles, she supposed it made sense, and let Anna work on her face.
So this world has high-end restaurants too… Well, people live similarly everywhere. Still, knowing so little about both this life and my past life makes me anxious for no reason.
Shaking off her unease, she let Anna finish her makeup, after which Anna did her own.
“You know, this is my first time putting makeup on my own face!”
Anna said brightly, admiring herself in the mirror.
“You look beautiful, Anna. When we get our first paycheck, let’s go buy some cosmetics.”
Anna beamed at Lucy’s words.
With her naturally cute features enhanced, Anna now looked like a mature beauty. Lucy felt both grateful and a little sorry for the girl who had followed her to this foreign place and endured hardships alongside her.
Just then, the manager knocked and came in.
After confirming they were ready, he led them past the main kitchen they’d used until yesterday, to a smaller one farther in.
It was slightly smaller in size, but the quality of the ingredients and finished dishes was clearly superior.
“When serving in the rooms, you don’t need to use the standard sales lines. But remember this above all—never, ever make a guest unhappy!”
Lucy and Anna both nodded.
Are there that many troublesome nobles?
After a brief bit of instruction, they were immediately put to work. As she’d been told when hired, they were clearly short-staffed, and she had to carry food nonstop.
As she went from room to room, Lucy discreetly glanced at the nobles. Some looked as though they were discussing grave matters.
Whenever she and Anna happened to pass each other in the hall or kitchen, they exchanged smiles and words of encouragement.
“Maybe what that woman at dinner meant was working here.”
“Looks like it. I guess not just anyone can serve in these rooms.”
