STIH 05

“Ugh, how did they hear about it so quickly? The master had barely left for work, and those shameless people were already here again…!”

As Head Maid Maya forcibly dragged the unwelcome visitors out, the maids with blue badges grumbled under their breath.

While soothing Hui and Dido, who had been frightened by the commotion, I naturally asked,

“Shameless people?”

“Ah, well…”

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

I looked up at the maids with drooping brows.

When I did this, my already downturned eyes looked even more pitiful and watery.

Mom used this trick all the time when she was alive.

Mostly when she wanted to charm a man, but it was undeniably effective.

The maids who had been trying to hold their tongues let out groans before finally beginning to confess one by one.

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

That was surprising right from the start.

That drunken man who reeked of alcohol was his actual brother?

I had thought he resembled Duke Ambrose, but learning that they were such close blood relatives was quite shocking.

As they brushed my hair, the maids chattered away.

“Yes. His second younger brother. The master is one of three 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 I had heard of her.

I had also heard that it wasn’t uncommon throughout history for House Ambrose to produce queens.

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

Now that I thought about it, he probably had little worth mentioning compared to his siblings and had simply faded into obscurity.

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

What?

My head nearly rattled.

So she was whose fifth son and whose second daughter?

Anyway, to summarize—

“Then she’s a princess of Wagner…”

I met a real princess?

I’d only ever seen princesses in storybooks.

I never imagined one would walk right up to me and tell me to call her older sister.

I was still dazedly recalling the pretty girl who looked two or three years older than me when the maids suddenly became more animated.

“Honestly, no matter how young and noble she is, Lady Clara is far too self-willed.”

“And Lord Howard getting drunk and causing trouble isn’t exactly a rare occurrence either…”

“At least the others are actually Ambrose blood relatives. I don’t understand Lord Philip at all.”

“Philip? The man with glasses?”

If I remembered correctly, he had introduced himself as Duke Ambrose’s aide.

He had a gentle appearance, but the eyes behind those lenses had been strikingly sharp.

If anything, they had seemed slightly insane.

“Lord Philip is the son of the Ridley Viscount family, one of House Ambrose’s vassals.”

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

“But he only got that position as a temporary appointment after begging before the young master’s campaign. Is he still going around saying things like that?”

“He’s probably hoping to benefit from the association. Lady Susan is the same.”

“She was only a distant cousin who barely met the young master a few times, yet she claims they were close friends. How shameless.”

“Honestly, the mistress’s family is exhausting too…”

I listened attentively to every word exchanged by the excited maids.

As a result, I learned far more raw and unfiltered information than what they had been politely telling me.

“…We’re finished. Would you like to take a look?”

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

Reflected in it was a well-dressed noble girl with light lavender hair and red eyes.

I awkwardly touched the hem of my clothes.

They’re so beautiful… and comfortable.

I’ve never worn clothes like this before.

Even the young lady’s clothes I used to handle while doing laundry weren’t this soft.

How much do they cost?

I desperately swallowed the question rising in my throat.

It felt embarrassingly poor-minded, and besides, I had a feeling I might faint if I heard the actual price.

“S-So, La… Lavi…”

“You can call me Bebe.”

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

The maids, who had grown quite close to us while helping us dress and chatting, applauded enthusiastically.

They really did look amazing.

Not just me—my brothers, dressed in expensive clothes, genuinely looked like young masters from a noble household.

…Such beautiful children, and all I’ve done is make them suffer.

Tears stung my eyes, but I forced them back.

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

“Thank you. For the clothes… and for the stories.”

“It’s nothing.”

“And from now on… please take care of me as well.”

I smiled warmly at the blue-badged maids.

At that, the yellow-badged maids who had remained a step behind suddenly looked as though they’d realized something too late.

Just then, Maya returned.

“Oh, those people from earlier…?”

Did they go home?

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

Maya looked exhausted, as though she’d just fought a battle.

“I told them I would send a message to the master. They said they didn’t want to trouble him while he was busy, so they left.”

So in other words, they were terrified of Duke Ambrose and ran away with their tails between their legs.

Suppressing my look of contempt, I spoke like a good child.

“But they came all this way early in the morning to see me… It would be nice if we could at least share a meal together someday.”

“My, how generous. Then shall we send them a formal dinner invitation later?”

“Can I 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, as his granddaughter, I would become the one overseeing the estate.

Perhaps we all needed to realize that.

Me, and those naïve maids whose eyes were darting about nervously.

“Then let’s do that.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Maya and the maids all bowed at once.

Faced with such respectful greetings, I consciously straightened my shoulders instead of shrinking back.

It was unfamiliar, but I would have to get used to it.

Because as I said—

I was an Ambrose now.

“…And over there is the kitchen.”

It’s still not over?

I trudged weakly behind Maya.

At that moment, I envied my siblings, who had probably enjoyed a nice nap by now.

My legs hurt…

How could touring one house take this long?

We hadn’t even seen half of it yet, and the sun was already setting outside.

No, seriously.

If the mansion in the capital was this large, just how enormous was the main castle in Ambrose territory?

Unlike me, who had long since become exhausted, Maya showed no sign of fatigue as she opened a massive wooden door.

A delicious aroma immediately wafted out.

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

The head chef hurried over to greet us, and I noticed that he too wore a red badge.

Their system is incredibly organized.

Honestly, it didn’t seem excessive.

This wasn’t some tiny baron’s household run haphazardly by a handful of servants.

“Now then, shall we take a brief look at the rear gate?”

“Woooow…”

The scale, however, was definitely excessive.

With lifeless eyes, I followed Maya as she briskly led me toward the back entrance.

Though calling it a back gate was misleading.

It was more luxurious than the main gates of most mansions.

Beyond it stretched the winter garden.

The greenery was less vibrant than usual, but it wasn’t barren either.

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

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

“That is the stable.”

Right.

That alone no longer surprised me.

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

Okay, that surprised me.

Just how many expensive horses were they planning to keep?

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

“If you follow that road, you’ll reach the knights’ quarters and training grounds. You should visit them soon to receive their greetings.”

I tensed, afraid she’d drag me there immediately.

Thankfully, Maya mercifully spared me.

“Now then, let’s continue with the east wing of the mansion!”

Ah.

So she intended to gather her strength and kill me properly later.

We had only seen half the mansion, and my eyes trembled violently.

That was when—

“Head Maid! Could you come look at this for a moment?”

A servant came running over to call for Maya.

I immediately shoved her toward him.

“Sounds urgent. You should go.”

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

Please go.

After much persuasion, I finally managed to send the reluctant Maya away first.

Inside, I silently cheered.

At last, freedom!

At this rate, I was going to become a ghost haunting this mansion before I finished touring it.

Just as I turned back toward the estate, overwhelmed with emotion, I paused and gazed down the distant path.

Hmm. The knight order, huh…

Duke Ambrose was a knight too, wasn’t he?