chapter 08
The next morning, I woke up to unusual commotion outside my room.
Then—
“What is all this?”
A mountain of mysterious boxes came pouring in.
As I stared in shock, the maids carrying them smiled proudly.
“These are gifts for Miss Bebe.”
“Gifts…? Who sent them?”
“Let’s see. This one is from the Chamberlain Ducal House. That one is from the Spencer Marquessate…”
What?
Why would people from places like that send gifts to me—
Ah.
I’m an Ambrose now, aren’t I?
I still wasn’t used to it.
Well, in that case, it made sense that they would send congratulatory gifts after hearing about a family reunion.
Still…
It’s too fast.
There hadn’t even been an official announcement yet.
First, influential people rushed over within a single day of my arrival.
Now, after only one more day, gifts were arriving from some of the most powerful families in the Empire.
“Go on, open them!”
I really didn’t want to.
Despite my reluctance, the maids kept pressuring me until I finally began opening the boxes one by one.
“Oh my, what a beautiful doll!”
“This dress would fit you perfectly, Miss!”
“Look, there’s an accessory that matches your hair color!”
They were right.
Everything was beautiful.
Everything suited me perfectly.
Yet while the maids grew increasingly excited, my mood only darkened.
Was information really spread this quickly among nobles?
Or was it simply because Ambrose was always at the center of attention?
But if I thought about it another way…
Doesn’t this mean their security is terrible?
A family secret had spread throughout society within a day or two.
And these gifts practically advertised how much their senders already knew about me.
“Miss Bebe, would you like to change into one of the outfits you received?”
“No.”
“Huh? Why not? It would look wonderful on you.”
“Well… it feels wasteful.”
Actually, it just felt suspicious.
Maybe I was being overly sensitive.
But I wasn’t comfortable accepting gifts from strangers so easily.
Besides, they hadn’t sent them because of me.
They’d sent them because of Ambrose.
As the disappointed maids began putting everything away, my brothers wandered among the gifts.
Hui poked at the dolls and dresses for a moment before quickly losing interest and leaving.
Dido, however, practically settled down beside them and began observing everything with intense concentration.
Look at those sparkling eyes.
Normally he seemed absentminded.
Only things like this could capture his attention.
Chuckling, I walked over to him.
Even though they’re brothers, they’re completely different.
Hui loved movement.
His own.
Other people’s.
Animals.
Even insects.
If it was alive and moving, he liked it.
Dido, on the other hand, preferred stillness and objects.
Or more accurately…
His standards were simply absurdly high.
Ever since he was a baby, he had been obsessed with beautiful and shiny things.
Even while crying, he would suddenly stop and stare at stars, the moon, glass marbles, a cat’s eyes, or Mom’s face.
Meanwhile, if something didn’t meet his standards, he wouldn’t even glance at it.
Person or animal, it didn’t matter.
Instead of making friends, he preferred wandering around alone searching for pretty flowers or colorful stones.
He’s definitely not ordinary.
Even in my previous life, I worried because he was so different from other children.
More than once, I wondered whether something might be wrong.
After all…
“Dido, is this pretty?”
“Mm.”
“Say it after me. Pretty.”
“Don’t wanna…”
His speech was still delayed.
I sighed where he couldn’t see.
He understood plenty.
But the number of words he could actually say was still small enough to count on my fingers.
Was he naturally slow?
Or had things turned out this way because Mom became ill during the period when he was learning to speak?
My chest ached.
And anxiety crept in.
He was already three years old.
Other children his age were beginning to form complete sentences.
Of course, I already knew I was worrying unnecessarily.
Every child developed at their own pace.
And in my previous life, Dido eventually learned to speak just fine.
His intelligence had never been a problem.
Even though he remained laid-back by nature.
Even so…
…Did I raise him wrong?
As his guardian, I couldn’t stop feeling guilty.
I looked at Dido’s profile as he once again became absorbed in his own little world.
In my previous life, I had been too busy surviving to do much for him.
But now things were different.
I had resources.
I could pay more attention.
Poking his soft cheek repeatedly, I tried to redirect his attention.
“Dido, stop playing. Want to study words with your sister?”
“Don’t wanna.”
Of course.
Nobody had ever taught him that phrase, yet somehow he mastered it perfectly.
As I clenched my fist in annoyance, one of the yellow-badged maids approached eagerly.
“Shall we move these gifts into your room, Miss?”
“Huh? My room… exists?”
“Of course. It’s still being prepared, but you can’t stay in a guest room forever.”
I see.
I really was getting my own room here.
Strangely, that thought made me feel more emotional than the mountain of gifts.
I nodded and glanced sideways at the maid who had spoken.
The young maid with short hair was moving faster than anyone else, making sure everyone noticed.
She’s trying to get on my good side.
If I remembered correctly, she had been one of the coldest toward us when we first arrived.
For someone so young, she was quite calculating.
Still.
I didn’t dislike that.
“Your name was…?”
“T-True!”
“I see. Thank you for your hard work, True.”
At my simple courtesy, the young maid’s face instantly brightened.
Soon all the other yellow-badged maids began working even harder.
Competition, huh?
As long as it didn’t become excessive, it wasn’t necessarily bad.
Meanwhile, the blue-badged maids who had already climbed that ladder simply watched with relaxed smiles.
Oh…?
For the first time, I really understood the purpose of the badge system.
If the path was laid out this clearly, I’d want a blue badge as quickly as possible too.
Which meant standing out among countless coworkers.
At the baron’s estate where I worked, maids practically hid from the master’s sight.
There, job assignments changed according to the master’s mood.
If he was happy:
“You. Come pour tea.”
If he was angry:
“You. Go clean the stables.”
Even if you worked hard, you rarely received praise.
Usually you were just treated badly.
So why would anyone put in effort?
The maids mostly spent their time avoiding work, pushing tasks onto each other, and complaining about the family.
There was no sense of achievement.
No goals.
Nothing.
I watched True efficiently organize the gifts.
Now that I think about it, rain used to leak through the corner of the second floor at that estate.
All the servants knew.
Nobody reported it because they didn’t want extra work.
I wondered when the family finally found out.
As far as I knew, they remained completely unaware until I quit.
If someone had reported it immediately, the repairs would have been simple.
Instead, it was ignored for months and became a much larger problem.
What an incredibly inefficient workplace.
I was shaking my head at the realization when—
“Excuse me, Miss.”
The butler stepped through the open doorway and casually announced:
“A gift has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
“…What?”
“A gift has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
No.
I heard him.
I just…
What?
I blinked stupidly.
The Imperial Palace.
For someone who had spent her entire life as a commoner, it felt even more distant and unreachable than Ambrose.
“You will need to receive it personally, so please come downstairs.”
“R-Right now?”
“Yes. An attendant from the Imperial Palace is waiting.”
What was happening?
Seriously, what was happening?
While I stood there flustered and confused, the butler calmly reassured me.
“Take your time.”
I can?
Someone from the Imperial Palace had arrived with a gift, yet I seemed to be the only person panicking.
Accompanied by the utterly relaxed butler and maids, I descended the stairs on trembling legs.
The lobby was packed with armored figures.
Knights?
The Imperial Knights?
They certainly looked impressive.
Though something felt strangely missing…
As I tilted my head, an attendant standing at the front of the group approached me.
“Are you Lady Ambrose?”
“…Yes.”
I hesitated slightly at the unfamiliar title.
The attendant suddenly held out a small purple velvet box.
“Please accept this. It was sent by Her Majesty the Empress.”
My vision nearly went dark.
The Empress.
The mother of the nation.
Someone I had never even dreamed of seeing in my previous life.
And she had sent me a gift?
Was this a dream or reality?
Swallowing nervously, I accepted the box with both hands.
What was I supposed to do?
Open it immediately?
I vaguely remembered that being proper etiquette.
Judging by everyone’s expressions, they were waiting for my reaction.
After nervously glancing around, I carefully opened the precious gift bestowed by Her Majesty.
Then I blurted out:
“Eh?”
