A few days had pa.s.sed since the disturbance.
We pretty much treated it as if it hadn’t happened. No one ever brought it up in conversation.
As a result, without any big problems since then, everyone was working hard at their respective duties.
I was in the middle of being drilled endlessly on the conduct of the upper cla.s.s.
The contents were the same: general etiquette, language and conversation, how to walk, how to eat, etc.
At the same time, I was getting lectured at a desk in the name of ‘general education’.
Now me, I’d never taken one of these so-called ‘cla.s.ses’ in my life, and it was my greatest hurdle. I could read most words just fine. But I couldn’t write to save my life. Truth is, what I knew how to write in the imperial language was just my name and a few other things; constructing sentences was honestly beyond me. I was the last person who’d laugh at Aira’s situation, believe me.
And so, starting with reading and writing, I’d been kicked into the deep end with the Empire’s general history, its social climate, and common etiquette among the upper cla.s.s — all that good stuff.
Allie handled most of my training, but depending on the circ.u.mstances, one of the other maids sometimes took over. Allie was virtually the perfect superwoman, but she couldn’t focus just on me, after all. According to the woman herself, there was pretty much no choice but to divide and conquer.
For example, one day, I had my lessons under one of the other maids, Toa. It was on societal affairs.
“It should go without saying, but as one of the three great superpowers, and with seven neighboring satellite countries, our empire is the largest nation in the world. Historically speaking, there has never been a single nation to control a domain this extensive. You probably learned this in your history cla.s.s.”
As if to ask ‘Are you following me so far?’, Toa’s words came to a stop. Standing quite tall, she gave off an impression of cleverness even stronger than Allie’s. Her tone, blunt and completely lacking any polite frills, was a frighteningly appropriate fit for her teacherly manner. And then there were those gla.s.ses.
Lessons like these were primarily held in Leon’s office. There wasn’t a place on the estate particularly designed for cla.s.swork, and during the day, Leon was away in attendance at the castle. Besides, the students were Aira and me in any case, and depending on the circ.u.mstances, Palmira sat in too. With a maximum cla.s.s size of three, there weren’t any problems. If I had to make one correction, I guess we did have to get a large blackboard installed. That’s about it.
At first, we had cla.s.s in the dining hall, but due to its proximity to the kitchens, the smell that emerged as noon turned to evening interrupted our ability to concentrate — hence the switch. It was just like us to need a change of venue for such a reason.
Incidentally, I was the only one having lessons right now. As a maid, Aira had no need to learn about societal conditions, I guess. Given the way she was, she had her hands full enough with other things.
Though in that case, what does that make Toa?
“Now then, as for world affairs — fortunately, the world has enjoyed a period of relative peace for the last few decades, in the absence of any major conflicts. If I had to say, I’d describe it as a period of stability. This is not because our empire has been playing the coward out of a desire for peace. Though that is ostensibly so.”
Smiling, Toa pushed up the bridge of her gla.s.ses. Well, I mean, it wasn’t that I felt like she was just skimming over the subject, but… And this was the mansion of said empire’s Third Prince, too.
“Then, why is that!? Chris, you should try to answer.”
Suddenly, and don’t ask me where she pulled it out from, she jabbed something like a conductor’s baton at me. Eh, how do I put this — it’s fun watching every bit of her theatrics.
“Yes, uh, because of the treaty with the other two powers?”
I mean, I feel like I’ve heard something along those lines before, maybe?
In short, I wasn’t really sure.
“Hm… that does touch on a good point, but you’re only half right. As you know, we certainly did sign a treaty with the other two superpowers, the Federation and the Kingdom. However, this treaty is a pact regarding combat — in other words, its primary focus is deciding the rules of engagement, rather than specifically prohibiting acts of war. For instance, its subject matter touches upon things such as this: the treatment of opponents who have lost their ability to fight, yet still hold to their allegiances, as prisoners of war. Prisoners of war cannot be killed or otherwise mistreated — indeed, a modern idea.”
She puffed a laugh through her nose.
Her att.i.tude was just right. It was a shame that she was dressed like a maid, wasn’t she?
Wouldn’t a military uniform really suit her?
“Now then, what is the real reason? It’s because in the current climate, there is no benefit to waging war. To put it bluntly, it’s unprofitable. It will only result in losses. At present, the three global superpowers form a three-way balance. If, for example, our Empire were to engage in all-out war with our sworn enemy, the Federation, what do you think would happen?”
“Well… I guess we’d be attacked by the Kingdom. Probably.”
“Exactly right! That’s as clear as day. Among the three strongest nations, our Empire boasts the greatest might, but we would be inevitably be in for an uphill battle if both of the others were to attack. We would be forced to shoulder the burden of fighting on two fronts. The result goes without saying. This is true for the other two nations as well. Therefore, the three superpowers do not engage in direct conflict with each other in the present day.”
“Then in the future, as long as there are three superpowers, will we avoid large-scale war?”
“No, that’s not the case either,”
said Toa, crossing her arms. The action conspicuously pushed up her very generous bust. ‘She’s got an unexpectedly risque figure,’ I thought for some reason, rather indiscreetly.
No, leave it. Leave it.
Where’d I go wrong in what I said just now? I thought that was the direction the conversation was going.
“There’s the desire to attack, but not the capability. In that case, it’s naturally a good idea to weaken the opponent. In other words, inducing a kind of domestic conflict. What I want to say, in simple terms, is that because of the times, we must strengthen our foundations in order to prevent such internal unrest. For that purpose, of course, the imperial bloodline must be properly maintained! In other words!”
As Toa got worked up, I developed an unpleasant premonition.
“Christine Rouelle Felmiran! Your marriage to Lord Leon will further strengthen the Empire! Do you understand your own importance?”
Is that relevant here…?
Or rather, I thought she was about to call me out, but did common sense hold her back?1
No, but, even if you say we’re getting married, well… It seemed like the maids weren’t in on the act either.
That aside, though.
“…I get that bloodline is important and all, but if there’s some weirdness in the family tree, won’t it still lead to a kind of domestic conflict?”
For example, the question of the heir.
Because it was just way too common a story, it was a cause for concern. At least the Third Prince was much more pleasant compared to the Second Prince, but an upheaval in succession seemed unlikely, I thought.2
“…Well, that does tend to happen too. But not having children out of fear of civil war would also pose a problem. Even if it’s just in case, it would be a far more serious issue if the bloodline were to die out. Therefore — ”
Anyway, if I were to summarize Toa’s talk, it ultimately boiled down to ‘please have children’.
Uh, that’s too big a jump… We’re not even married to begin with.
Did I really have to study all this stuff? It was pretty exhausting.
More importantly, when I thought about things coming to a head, the only thing I was concerned about was how Leon intended to get away without following through in the end.3
I felt uneasy.
–
–
At the end of Toa’s cla.s.s, exhausted, I walked down the pa.s.sageway to the courtyard. I was sure that I had etiquette next. That was a pain too. My feet grew heavy of their own accord.
My ears picked up the dry sound of wood against wood. Turning my eyes toward the source, I saw Palmira and Lacreaux the maid in the middle of sparring in the courtyard.
The day after our talk, Palmira had gotten her sword back from Leon, as well as permission to wield it. Of course, even Palmira was awkwardly meek at first, but with the consideration shown by the maids, she slowly returned to her old self.
What’s more, perhaps because Palmira had had a breakthrough in her own fashion, she’d even come to smile every once in a while — there was that positive sign too.
Recently, I’d frequently catch sight of her holding mock battles with Lacreaux, as she was right now.
“Let’s go, Palmira!”
“…Got it.”
Lacreaux took up a stance. Her two hands gripped a wooden stick carved in the shape of a knife.
Though not to the same extent as Palmira, of course, Lacreaux was quite small compared to the other maids, and her combat style closely resembled Palmira’s too.
Her personality, however, was the polar opposite. With a liveliness that matched her appearance, Lacreaux was a chatterbox. Conversely, it was for that very reason that there was a chance the two of them would get along well. Lacreaux seemed like the type to pull others along.
“Haaaah!”
As Lacreaux charged forward with a boisterous yell, Palmira stepped up to meet her. She blocked the wooden knife with her small sword.
It was a good match.
Originally, I wondered why in the world maids would take part in combat, but it seemed that Allie, given her duty as a bodyguard in critical situations, subscribed to the philosophy that those who could fight, would.
Though as far as I could tell, the only ones who were combat-capable are Allie and Lacreaux. Leaving aside the fact that the militaristic Toa couldn’t fight, I knew about Lacreaux’s abilities because she frequently sparred with Palmira. But as for the other maids, Allie herself was strong as well, it seemed. But of course. Limits didn’t apply to her anymore.
When I was holding the knife that night, she clearly didn’t have the air of an amateur.
“Oof–!”
While I was occupied with my thoughts, Palmira and Lacreaux continued their exchange. This time, Palmira caught Lacreaux in a moment with a ramming attack. Lacreaux hit the ground in a tumble, deciding the match.
“Owowowww, you rammed me, huh. I wasn’t expecting that.”
Palmira casually extended her hand to Lacreaux, who was in the middle of rising to her feet as she brushed off her backside.
The latter matter-of-factly took Palmira’s hand and got up.
“One more time! I’m not gonna lose the next one!”
“In your dreams.”
Suddenly, Palmira grinned.
It was good to see.
–
–
Leaving the pa.s.sageway before the courtyard, I opened the door to the drawing room.
When I did, I found the maid Karen sitting inside by herself.
“Huh? Karen? Where’s Allie?”
Whenever it was time for etiquette lessons, Allie would take on the job of teaching me. Since she wasn’t here and Karen was, I guess that made Karen my teacher today.
“The head maid left earlier to attend to business at the castle. Therefore Lady Chris’s instruction has been left in my care today.”
“That so… Okay then, please treat me well.”
“Yes, I look forward to working with you.”
My tone a little different from before, I curtsied slightly to Karen. Since it was a cla.s.s on etiquette, as a rule, it also meant practicing speaking in the right tone. When I opened the door to the drawing room, that rule would come into effect, so Allie had already scolded me twice for breaking it.
Allie had gone to the castle on business. ‘Even though she’s head maid,’ I thought, but it seemed that if the matter had to do with the castle, Allie would have to go personally. In those cases, she’d find me a subst.i.tute lecturer like this. So Karen was generally a pinch-hitter.
If I were to describe Karen in a word, it would be ‘elegant’.
Gentle in all respects, her words were also consistently polite. The eldest at forty-five, she had the lessons of age to back her up. As I heard it, she was the only one among the maids to be a married woman — and to be a widow, as well. She had no children.
As for why Allie was the head maid, in spite of Karen’s status as the eldest, it was purely a matter of personality. Karen was fundamentally reserved, her face never slipping. Although maids should’ve been Karen’s type in the first place, my guess was that Leon had made the decisions in that department, so he most likely had his own reasons for choosing Allie as head maid.
Even so, it was no surprise that she had the wisdom of experience. Even Allie deferred to her authority at times. By virtue of that alone, Karen possessed a low-key awesomeness. Although she was always smiling gently, she never showed a single weakness.
“Then, Lady Chris, let us begin with reviewing the correct way to walk today as well.”
“Awww… again…?”
I unintentionally let my discontent slip out.
Walking practice.
I was already doing that every day. It consisted of just one thing.
Walk straight. And what’s more, until I was exhausted.
It was a little different under Karen than it was with Allie, but only in that it wasn’t quite as spartan. Fundamentally, nothing had changed.
I walked. I did nothing but walk.
But it was more painful that I expected. I say ‘walk’, but it was a world apart from the marching I was familiar with. I was correcting my walking posture.
Generally, everybody has experience with the act of walking from before they develop an awareness of their surroundings. And that’s why, when I say ‘walking posture’, I’m talking about years and years of ingrained mucle memory.
Since I was working on fixing it, it must’ve been a pretty big deal. Of course, I didn’t take it seriously at first, but I understood for the first time once I tried it. It was genuine agony. By the end, I was completely worn out.
I was a man at heart to begin with, and that just made it so much worse. Until I started learning, I never noticed that I had a tendency to walk rather bowlegged. I was never explicitly aware of the differences between the ways men and women walk, so you might say it was justified.
“Walking is fundamental, and so it is crucial to repeat it many times in order to make your body remember. You have finally mastered it, so we shall repeat the exercise rigorously, like so, in order to prevent you from returning to the way you were before.”
…No, if I don’t go back to the way I was before, I’m gonna be in trouble…
Though I shuddered slightly when she said something so terrifying — and without an ounce of malice, I stood at the end of the line drawn on the floor as she told me to.
Taking a step straight ahead, I placed the tips of my toes on top of the line. Without straining too much, I crossed my hands before my chest. I elongated my spine, slightly drawing back my chin. My eyes looked straight in front of me.
Like so, I stepped forward with my left foot. Feel it from my toes to the ground in front of them. Careful not to let my body sway… Like that. One, two, one, two.
“Wonderful. Let us ensure that you will not forget the way you are walking right now. Now then, turn around there and go one more time.”
There isn’t a guy out there who wouldn’t be happy about being praised.
My feelings were rather mixed, but there was no denying that I certainly made progress.
I felt like I was gradually losing sight of what was good and what wasn’t.
For now, let’s not think about it.
Coming to that decision, I obediently turned around and set my toes on the line once more.
–
–
It was just before noon when Karen finally set me free. Dead tired, I made my way to the dining hall. To tell you the truth, I was starving. I was eating properly in the mornings, of course, but when you’re hungry, you’re hungry. It was just that draining, I guess.
When I peeked inside, the table hadn’t yet been set. Still, there was a lovely aroma wafting out of the kitchen, so it should be any moment now.
Even so, I really was hungry, so I entered the dining hall on instinct, then cut across peek into the kitchen.
What’s for lunch today? Ooh, I smell meat roasting — that’s my feeling.
“Aira, plate please — !”
“Right away!”
Inside were two maids dressed in ap.r.o.ns and triangular headkerchiefs, hurrying back and forth.
To be more precise, one of them was Aira. The other, Miche. A dark-skinned, southern-born girl. The white ap.r.o.n looked pretty on her.
Based on her looks, she gave the impression of being just as boisterous as Lacreaux, but she was unexpectedly delicate and finicky. That’s why she was almost always managing the kitchen single-handedly, to the point that before we came, it seemed that no one else ever set foot inside.
I heard that after Aira came, one thing or another happened, and she reluctantly allowed Aira in. But to my genuine surprise, Miche said that Aira apparently had a natural talent for it, and now the two of them prepared meals together.
Though I was thinking, it’s Aira, so won’t she break plates in her constant state of ditziness?
When I said that to Aira herself, she got seriously angry, so since then I’d been amending my way of thinking.
In the kitchen, Aira set out the plates according to Miche’s direction, and Miche carefully placed roast meat on them one by one with the spatula. She was marvelously skilled.
“Okay–! Aira, when you sprinkle on the parsley, hold it like that!”
“Yes — ”
Aira brought over a bowl, and taking a generous handful of chopped parsley from inside, she sprinkled it over the plates. Her expression was uncharacteristically serious.
‘She’s working hard, huh.’ Unconsciously, I admired her.
Ah, but in the beginning, it was a common occurrence to hear a scolding voice echoing from the kitchen. Still, even if it was parsley, it looked like Miche was trusting her with something. Great! Do your best.
Completely free of any personal responsibility, I cheered her on from the background.
“I’m taking them out! — Big Sister!?”
And while I was at it, I was easily spotted. Well, of course I was.
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to get in your way.”
“Princess. There is a little bit left to prepare, so might I ask you to wait in the dining hall?”
Implying that I was an annoyance, Miche… Just kidding. She seemed a little embarra.s.sed, and spoke to me shyly.
Don’t ask me why, but Miche seriously disliked it when other people watched her cook. Apparently it was embarra.s.sing, as she put it. I didn’t know why it would be, but according to Aira, she said [For a southerner like me to be cooking…]. Miche herself might have some kind of conflict with it. Like a complex or something like that.
To be honest, it seemed like that was the real reason Miche wouldn’t let anyone into the kitchen, and her pickiness was a secondary consideration.
“Mn, sorry. I got it.”
Worried that I’d done something truly awful to Miche, whose face burned bright red, I waved my hand as I retreated into the dining hall. When I sat myself down on a chair, Aira caught up to me from behind, nimbly managing four plates, one of which she set before me.
“For goodness’ sake, Big Sister. Even though I told you not to peek into the kitchen.”
“Uhn, sorry. I was hungry.”
While offering a woefully inadequate excuse, I lowered my eyes.
In the center of the large, white plate, was a piece of roast meat. A vivid green sauce was drizzled around it. On top of the meat, the parsley Aira sprinkled on earlier added a colorful accent. It was a gorgeous plate: I honestly had to admire it.
“You still can’t eat yet, alright? –Everyone~! Lunch is served~!”
Aira gave me a warning before heading back to the kitchen, simultaneously announcing lunch in the mansion’s style.
For a moment, I wondered if that was what Aira was here for. Given her circ.u.mstances, I couldn’t picture Miche in that role.
Having heard the call, the maids and Palmira gathered in the dining hall in succession and began to take their seats. Grace went as usual. Recently, I hadn’t been resisting it very much.
Fork and knife in hand, I started with the meat that made up the main course. To tell you the truth, I should’ve started with the soup, but Allie wasn’t here, and I didn’t give a d.a.m.n myself. Anyway, I was starving.
I put a piece in my mouth. Delicious. ‘That’s Miche for you,’ I thought.
“Lady Chris, your table manners have become seemly.”
“Mm?”
I looked over at Karen as I chewed. I was just thinking that I was in the clear since Allie wasn’t around at the moment, and hearing something so unexpected, a strange mood came over me.
“Really?”
After swallowing, I addressed the always-smiling Karen.
At which point Toa gave me an emphatic nod and added,
“That’s right. In the beginning, I couldn’t stand to watch, you know. I had to ask myself, ‘Where did this savage come from?"”
She laughed.
…Was it that bad? It came as a bit of a shock to me. I didn’t remember the banquet at the fortress, but how did they actually see me?
“Now, you give off the feeling of a princess!”
“I rather think so too. An elegant impression.”
Lacreaux and Miche each chimed in with their own praise.
A mood I couldn’t quite describe descending upon me, I looked at Aira and Palmira, but they quickly averted their eyes. From the shaking of their shoulders, it looked like they were cracking up. It’s because they know the truth that they can’t take it, I guess. You guys will regret this, wait and see.
–
–
Even so.
I thought, as I lightly wipe dab at my mouth with the napkin, the meal over.
It was peaceful.
When I thought about it, it was like I’d been living under some kind of tension all this time.
Not once did I spend a day like this, peacefully, without thinking about anything in particular.
When I first came to this city, even though it should’ve rubbed me the wrong way, even though I should’ve gotten irritated, I’d now grown accustomed to it.
I was tired from being so busy, but it wasn’t like I was really putting my life on the line.
Am I happy like this?
Suddenly I felt uneasy, but at the same time, a part of me thought that this wasn’t so bad either.
Still, a little unease remained within me.
Tugging at me, like I was forgetting something.
What that ‘something’ was, I was reminded of all too soon.
Author’s Notes
I was thinking of delving into the maid-sans, when I thought of all those scenes, it became about 1.6x as long as usual.
Footnotes
1. というか、貴様とか言われるのかと思ったら流石にそこは自重したか ↵
2. 少なくとも第二王子に対して第三王子はあまり良い感じとは言えそうになかったと思ったが ↵
3. レオンはどうやって最後に無かったことに持って行くつもりなんだろうと ↵
Alternate t.i.tle: Training Montage /cue the Rocky music