The Maid and the Noble Young Lady
"Those damn poacher bastards!!"
On the way to the chapel, I spilled everything to Marie about Duri.
"Not content with kidnapping a baby unicorn... they even used the child to capture her parents too...! How can such evil scum exist!? I can't forgive them!!!"
Marie listened intently, getting furious at intervals.
"To think there was such a poor unicorn at our monastery... Waaahhh..."
Then... she burst into tears.
"You believe me?"
"Of course! There's no way Theresa would lie to me!"
I had a feeling she'd lied to me sometimes... no, pretty often, but that wasn't important right now... so I let it slide.
"So Theresa wants to find Duri's dad?"
"Yeah."
Marie hardened her expression, clasped her hands together, and fell deep into thought.
A moment later, she lifted her head as if she'd made up her mind and looked straight into my eyes.
"Alright! Theresa, you go ahead first. I'll catch up after I prepare."
"Prepare?"
I eyed her suspiciously, but there was a strange resolve in her gaze.
"You have some plan?"
"Leave this to me. Just trust me!"
With that, Marie dashed off down the opposite corridor.
She didn't return until well after the service had started. After boldly excusing herself to the supervising nun by claiming she had business, she slipped into the chapel and sat naturally beside me. Pretending to pray with her eyes closed, she whispered,
"(I'm sneaking out tonight.)"
"(Sneaking out?)"
"(Yeah, so get ready.)"
... .. .
After finishing practice... I returned to the room and pulled out the clothes Vivian had bought me for the first time in ages.
I changed and headed to the meeting spot, where Marie was already waiting, having finished her lessons early and changed into casual clothes.
"Did I keep you waiting?"
"Nah, I just got here."
Marie looked a bit different from her usual modest monastery attire. A demure yet elegant skirt exuding refined grace, a top with subtle embellishments and sophisticated tailoring, and a neatly draped luxurious blouse that made her stand out even more... It was the kind of outfit a noble young lady might wear for an outing.
"Marie, that suits you perfectly."
"...R-Really? It does?"
Her face flushed pink in an instant.
Her reaction was so cute that I teasingly piled on the praise for fun.
"Yeah. I'm worried all the city boys we pass on the way out might fall for you. Haha."
"..."
"...Marie?"
But contrary to my expectations, her response was icy. She turned her head away sharply, as if hiding her embarrassment but somehow coldly, and muttered under her breath.
"(She goes around enchanting everyone regardless of gender with that goddess-like beauty, and now she's good with words too... Who's really worried about that happening!)"
"Huh? What'd you say, Marie? Your voice was too quiet... I didn't catch it."
"Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself."
Of course... even I thought it was a lame joke, but I hadn't expected her to get this upset.
'Did I... touch a nerve somehow?'
As I hesitated whether to apologize, Marie started walking first.
"Let's hurry. We can't be too late."
"Oh, yeah..."
We headed to the childcare office, where Sister Ena happened to be on duty today as well.
"Marie and... Theresa. What brings you here at this hour? And all dressed up in casual clothes?"
"We'd like to apply for outing permission."
"At this time?"
Ena scanned the application Marie handed her slowly.
"Family business...?"
Family?
"And Theresa's coming along too?"
"Yes."
Ena's suspicious gaze flicked between us, and just as clear refusal seemed imminent...
Someone knocked on the door.
"Pardon the intrusion."
The door opened, and a woman in a prim, antique maid uniform entered the room. Her calm yet sharp gaze immediately met Marie's.
"It's been a while, Miss Marie."
"Yeah, it has, Ellison."
"Have you been well?"
"Yeah..."
There was an air of dignity about her brief exchange with Marie that I'd never sensed before.
'Hmm...'
Sister Ena soon directed her question at the woman.
"And who might you be?"
"I am the maid from the Howard family, here to escort Miss Marie."
The nun's eyes wavered briefly.
She nodded soon after, muttering to herself with a small sigh.
"If the Howard family sent someone personally... it mustn't be a trivial matter."
"Indeed. It's important business."
Her gaze wavered again, but this time she didn't probe further. She nodded and stamped the permission.
"Very well. Outing permitted."
"Thank you."
With permission granted... as we turned to leave the childcare office, Marie paused and looked back.
"Oh, right, Sister Ena."
"What else do you need?"
The nun's puzzled gaze turned to her.
"Before we go... could you bestow Restia's Blessing on us?"
"A blessing?"
Sister Ena raised her eyebrows in brief surprise, then smiled softly and nodded.
"Of course, that's no trouble at all. Come closer."
Marie approached cautiously and bowed her head. The nun's hand gently rested on her head.
A low prayer flowed out, filling the air with a serene resonance.
Once Marie stepped back, it was my turn. I took a deep breath and approached. As I bowed carefully, her clear prayer voice rang out, and a strange sensation washed over me—like pure warmth seeping deep into my body.
Restia's Blessing applied.
Restia's Blessing (Ena)
Category: Blessing
Effect: Rejects all unclean forces. (Duration: 4 hours)
Detailed Description: A blessing granted by Ena through prayer to the Goddess of Light. Its effect manifests at a moderate level based on the caster's ability, significantly weakening unclean energies.
The ritual ended, and Sister Ena smiled as she bid us farewell.
"Well then, have a safe trip. Don't stay out too late."
As we left the room, Marie introduced her to me.
"This is my old wet nurse who took care of me back then."
Wet nurse?
"And this is my friend I told you about, Theresa."
"I've heard the stories. We're in your debt, miss. I am Ellison, maid of the Howard family serving the young lady."
She bowed gracefully with perfect etiquette.
"...Theresa."
I awkwardly bowed in kind.
"Please follow me. I've prepared a carriage for the two of you."
Honestly... I still couldn't wrap my head around the situation. It felt like my brain had taken a big hit... I was just dazed.
And as she said, a carriage was waiting at the monastery entrance. Under the coachman's polite greeting and guidance as he rushed to Marie, we boarded.
It wasn't until some time after the carriage set off that my mind started working again.
'Miss... maid... family... f-family...?'
Only then did I grasp what was happening, and I shouted loudly.
"Marie... you're a noble young lady!?"
Marie gave me a look like you're asking that now?, then sighed in exasperation.
"Young lady, my foot..."
Meanwhile, Ellison answered proudly in her stead.
"She is no ordinary noble. The Howard family is one of the four great prestigious houses renowned even in the Tarssen Kingdom, and among them..."
Some long boast about the family followed, but all I could process was...
'An amazing family.'
"Wow... so Marie's actually someone important..."
"No. It's got nothing to do with me anymore anyway."
"Nothing to do with you?"
I tilted my head.
"Yeah... I'm a bastard child, and right after my father died, the family kicked me out."
"That's not true. Miss... your name is still properly on the family register. You mustn't forget that."
She seemed to have her own complicated circumstances too.
A silence fell...
Then, as if to lighten the mood, Ellison spoke first.
"Regarding what you requested, miss..."
"Yeah, did you find out anything?"
Ellison pulled out a prepared document and handed it to Marie.
"No info on the unicorn, but we confirmed that a few days ago, the adventurer guild took down a poaching ring."
"Poaching ring? Maybe that's the bastards who kidnapped the unicorn?"
As she said, the document included a newspaper column about the adventurer guild recently wiping out a poaching organization.
"If what you said is true, miss, it's highly likely."
"Any way to confirm if they're the unicorn kidnappers?"
"The fastest is to go straight to the adventurer guild that took them down and ask."