Chapter 5

“Honestly, how did they hear the news so quickly and come running over the moment the Master left for work? What shameless people! ”

After Head Maid Maya forcibly dragged the uninvited guests away, the maids with blue badges grumbled under their breath.

While comforting the frightened Hui and Dido, I naturally asked,

“Shameless people? ”

“Ah, well…”

“Could you tell me who they are? If they’re my new family, I’d like to get along with them.”

I looked up at the maids with drooping eyebrows.

When I do this, my already downturned eyes look even more pitiful.

It was one of Mom’s favorite tricks.

She mostly used it on men she wanted to charm, but it worked remarkably well.

The maids who had been trying to keep quiet began confessing things one by one with troubled expressions.

“…That man was the Duke’s younger brother? ”

That was surprising right from the start.

That drunken old man?

The Duke’s actual brother?

I had thought they looked alike, but realizing they were such close relatives was still shocking.

The maids continued chatting as they brushed my hair.

“Yes. The second brother. The Master has two siblings.”

“You probably know the youngest sister too, Miss.”

“Ah, the Queen of Wagner? ”

Of course I knew her.

She was famous enough that even commoners had heard of her.

And so was the fact that it wasn’t unusual for the Ambrose family to produce queens.

However, I had rarely heard anything about Duke Ambrose’s younger brother.

Now I understood why.

Compared to his siblings, there simply wasn’t much worth talking about.

“That’s right. Her Majesty has seven sons and four daughters. Among her fifth son’s two sons and three daughters, the second daughter is the young lady you just met! ”

What?

My head practically rattled.

Which child of which child?

Whatever.

The important point was—

“So she’s a princess of Wagner…”

I had actually met a real princess.

I had only ever seen princesses in storybooks.

I certainly never imagined one would walk up to me and tell me I could call her “older sister.”

I was still feeling dazed as I remembered the pretty girl who looked two or three years older than me.

That was when the maids became increasingly worked up.

“Really, no matter how young and noble she is, Lady Clara is far too spoiled.”

“And Lord Howard being permanently soaked in alcohol and causing trouble isn’t exactly new either…”

“At least the others are related to the Ambrose family. I don’t understand Sir Philip at all.”

“Philip? The man with glasses? ”

If I remembered correctly, he was the one who claimed to be the young master’s aide.

He had looked rather frail, but his eyes behind the lenses had been exceptionally sharp.

There was something almost fanatical about him.

“Sir Philip is the son of Baron Ridley, one of the Ambrose family’s vassals.”

“He followed the young master around since childhood and eventually became his aide.”

“But that position was only temporary. The young master gave it to him because he begged before leaving for war.”

“And he’s still calling himself the young master’s aide? ”

“He’s probably hoping some benefits will come his way. Lady Susan is similar.”

“She only met the young master a few times as a distant cousin, yet she talks as if they were inseparable. How shameless.”

“Honestly, the late Duchess’s family is exhausting…”

I quietly listened to every word.

As the maids became more emotional, they revealed much more than they intended.

As a result, I learned far more than the polished explanations they had originally been giving me.

“…All done. Would you like to take a look? ”

The maids, who had been working with both their hands and mouths the entire time, pointed toward a full-length mirror.

A noble young girl stood reflected in it.

Pale lavender hair.

Crimson eyes.

Elegant clothes.

I awkwardly touched the hem of my outfit.

It was beautiful.

And comfortable.

I had never worn anything like it before.

Even the dresses of noble ladies that I had handled while doing laundry weren’t this soft.

How much does it cost?

I desperately suppressed the question trying to climb out of my throat.

Not only would it make me seem pitiful, but I had a feeling the answer might make me faint.

“So, La-La…”

“You can call me Bebe.”

“Yes, Miss Bebe! It suits you perfectly! Lord Hui and Lord Dido too! ”

The maids, who had grown much friendlier while helping us dress, clapped enthusiastically.

They were right.

The clothes suited my brothers perfectly.

Honestly, they looked like true young nobles.

…Such beautiful children, and all I ever gave them was hardship.

My eyes stung.

But I held the tears back.

For Hui and Dido’s sake, it wasn’t time to cry yet.

“Thank you.”

“For the clothes. And for the stories.”

“It was nothing.”

“And from now on… Please take care of us.”

I smiled warmly at the blue-badged maids.

The yellow-badged maids, who had remained in the background the whole time, suddenly looked as though they had just realized something.

At that moment, Maya returned.

“Oh? What happened to those people from earlier? ”

Did they go home?

They hadn’t seemed like the type to leave so easily.

Maya looked exhausted, as though she had just fought a war.

“I informed them that I would contact the Master. They immediately said they didn’t wish to trouble such a busy man and left.”

In other words, they ran away because they were afraid of Duke Ambrose.

I suppressed the look of contempt that almost appeared on my face and spoke like a good child.

“But they came all the way here early in the morning just to see me… It would have been nice if we could have shared a meal together.”

“My, how kind-hearted. Then shall we send formal dinner invitations later? ”

“Can we do that? ”

“Of course. The lady of the house may do as she pleases.”

The lady of the house.

Right.

Duke Ambrose had neither a wife nor a daughter.

Naturally, I, his granddaughter, would become the mistress of the estate.

I think everyone in the room needed that reality reinforced.

Myself included.

And those naïve maids whose eyes were darting around.

“Then let’s do that.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Maya and the maids bowed simultaneously.

The respectful greeting made my shoulders instinctively shrink.

I consciously straightened them.

It felt unfamiliar.

But I’d have to get used to it.

As I said before—

I was an Ambrose now.

* * *

“…And over there is the kitchen.”

We’re still not done?

I trudged weakly behind Maya.

At that moment, I envied my siblings more than anything.

They had probably already woken up from a pleasant afternoon nap.

My legs hurt…

How could touring one house take this long?

And we’d barely seen half of it.

The sun was already setting outside.

Honestly, if the Ambrose residence in the capital was this large, how enormous was their actual ducal castle?

Unlike me, Maya showed no signs of exhaustion.

She opened a massive wooden door.

Immediately, the delicious smell of food poured out.

So this was where the feast my siblings and I had devoured came from.

The head chef hurried over to greet us.

A red badge was pinned to his collar.

The hierarchy here really is well organized.

It didn’t feel excessive.

After all, this wasn’t a baron’s estate with only a dozen servants running around.

“Now then, shall we briefly visit the rear gate? ”

“Woooow…”

The scale, however, definitely felt excessive.

With my eyes practically losing their light, I followed Maya toward the rear entrance.

Although calling it a rear gate felt misleading.

It was more luxurious than the main gates of most noble estates.

Beyond it lay the winter garden.

The greenery was naturally reduced because of the season, but it wasn’t barren.

The winding paths and towering trees made it feel like the entrance to a secret forest.

Meanwhile, Maya pointed toward an elegant building lightly dusted with snow.

“That is the stable.”

Mm-hmm.

At this point, things like that no longer surprised me.

“We’re planning to build another identical one beside it.”

Actually, that surprised me.

How many expensive horses did they intend to keep?

While I stood there in silent horror, Maya pointed toward another path.

“If you continue down this road, you’ll reach the knights’ quarters and training grounds. You should visit soon and receive their greetings.”

For a moment I thought she was about to drag me there immediately.

Fortunately, Maya showed mercy.

“Now then, let’s inspect the eastern wing of the mansion! ”

Ah.

So she was planning to kill me thoroughly instead.

I had only seen half the estate, yet my eyes were already trembling violently.

That was when—

“Head Maid! Please come look at this for a moment! ”

A servant ran over and called for Maya.

I quickly pushed her toward him.

“Sounds urgent. You should go.”

“But there are still so many places left to show you…”

Please go.

I finally managed to send the reluctant Maya away.

The moment she disappeared, I celebrated silently.

Freedom at last!

At this rate I was going to die touring the mansion before I ever inherited it.

Just as I turned to head back toward the estate, I paused and looked down the distant road.

Hmm.

The knights’ order…

The Ambrose heir had been a knight too, hadn’t he?