The Winning Move
The maid's actions were nothing more than a simple mistake.
She had lost her balance and dropped the teacup, but thankfully she hadn't spilled the tea on Adelia.
If I had spilled it directly on Adelia, I would have been done for.
Once the situation was assessed, I first checked Adelia's information.
“Did Her Highness always behave this way?”
The maid's face darkened.
“No.”
“Then when did it start?”
“Since Her Highness's mother passed away... it has gradually worsened.”
“Mother?”
The maid nodded.
“Her Highness is an illegitimate child. She was not properly treated as a royal in the imperial palace either.”
Her voice became softer.
“Ultimately, she was sent to this villa.”
The maid's words tangled in my mind.
Well, it seems I've been screwed over.
The only saving grace was that there were a few maids who sincerely followed the princess.
In the game, the starting conditions for making the princess the Empress were the worst possible.
But there was still hope.
Without that, there was no way.
The last remaining variable was me, the butler.
In the game, even the butler's character of the player changed randomly every round.
And the only butler who could save the current situation was just one.
Looking at the mirror hanging in the villa corridor, relief washed over me.
I survived!
The ears were too pointed to be considered human ears, and the appearance was so outstanding that passersby would turn to look.
There was only one butler with these features.
Kalael, the Sword Saint of the Elf Kingdom.
Even though the kingdom became a colony of the empire.
Summarizing this guy's features was simple.
[Kalael]
Stamina - A+
Intelligence - C
Charm - A+
Sensibility - A+
All stats except Intelligence were A+, a versatile character.
Especially when teaching swordsmanship to the princess, there was an additional bonus stat.
This is worth trying.
Adelia Ebrund's Stats Have Changed
Stress: 92% → 93%
...No?
The source of the sound was inside Adelia's private room.
“Your Highness. May I enter for a moment?”
I knocked twice quickly and opened the closed door.
“……”
Inside the room, Adelia was lying face down on the floor.
We exchanged awkward glances for a moment.
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“W-what? What did I do?!”
It seemed she was very embarrassed about falling.
“T-the floor was too slippery, so I was just checking the cleanliness status for a moment! How dare you ask if I'm fine? I'm in a bad mood, so get out right now!”
With an excuse that didn't make sense, Adelia's face flushed red.
Seeing the books scattered on the floor, it looked like she had fallen while trying to reach a book from a high shelf.
Still, it seemed her desire to read books remained.
It was fortunate that she wasn't completely hopeless.
“I'll put the books down next time.”
“N-no, it's not that. Just get out quickly!”
I lowered my head and quietly closed the door as per Adelia's words, then left the room.
Adelia Ebrund's Stats Have Changed
Stress: 93% → 95%
Because I saw the embarrassing scene, the stress increased again.
If I left it like this, I would see a bad ending on the first day of transmigration.
I recalled the only stress relief method available in the current situation and immediately ran towards the kitchen.
A few maids who saw me were startled, but I didn't have time to worry about their eyes.
“Master, what's the matter here...”
“What ingredients are available that I can use right now?”
As I asked urgently, the maid was startled and listed the ingredients one after another.
Hearing the maid's list of ingredients, a suitable dish came to mind.
A sandwich would be perfect!
I carefully sliced the bread, added various vegetables and finely chopped ham slices, and completed a simple sandwich.
I put the carefully made sandwich on a serving cart with wheels and pulled it in front of Adelia's room.
Knock knock
“Enter.”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I knocked twice and opened the door, revealing Adelia reading a magic book.
Adelia Ebrund's Stats Have Changed
Intelligence: 40 → 45
Adelia, who hadn't even glanced at me, saw the serving cart and spoke to me curiously.
“What have you brought?”
“I made it myself.”
“This body isn't particularly hungry.”
Gurgle.
Unsurprisingly, Adelia's stomach growled.
Adelia's face reddened at the sound from her stomach.
Adelia Ebrund's Stats Have Changed
Stress: 95% → 96%
Please just eat!
I had to force the sandwich into Adelia's mouth without upsetting her.
“Your Highness, eating a wonderful meal is also part of the lessons to become emperor.”
“...Hmph, if that's the case, then it can't be helped.”
While saying it seemed unavoidable on the surface, Adelia took a bite of the sandwich as if expecting it.
“……”
It seemed the sandwich was tastier than expected, and Adelia started sipping it silently.
Taking that opportunity, I cleaned the messy room while watching Adelia's reaction.
“Delicious, no, it's edible.”
When Adelia told me to get out, I pulled the cart and left the room.
Adelia Ebrund's Stats Have Changed
Stress: 96% → 80%
“That's fortunate.”
If the butler had low cooking stats, it would have been game over.
After sighing, I returned to the room and pondered how to handle Adelia.
In the game, the butler determined all schedules to raise the princess.
From the moment the stress exceeded 90%, the player ignored commands and couldn't control her until now.
“First, raise stamina...? No, with her wild personality, raising stamina would cause trouble, so I should raise sensibility?”
While groaning while looking at Adelia's status window, I noticed the trait window.
「(가) Ferocity」 「(가) Reckless」
These were the things that had bothered me from the beginning after transmigration.
“What exactly is (가)?”
While pondering the meaning of (가), a plausible hypothesis came to mind.
Just before hitting the maid's cheek, Adelia had clearly hesitated.
Rather, after hitting, the stress inexplicably increased.
In the game, Adelia with such personality threw a much more severe tantrum.
“Conversation itself didn't work.”
If the personality was the same wild type, conversation shouldn't work now.
But in reality, conversation happened, and she ate the dish I made well.
“The sticking point is...”
But there was one sticking point.
Knock knock.
“Enter.”
The one who cut off my ongoing thoughts was the maid who had been hit on the cheek by Adelia.
“Master, big trouble! Prince Leonhardt is doing a surprise attack on the door...”
An uninvited guest had come.
“I will personally go receive him.”
Hurrying to the villa entrance, I saw the prince with the escort knights.
Neatly trimmed short blond hair, blue eyes.
A youthful face full of mischief, with a mocking smile at the corners of his mouth.
[Leonhardt Ebrund]
Stamina - D
Intelligence - D
Charm - D
Sensibility - D
All D rank?
Honestly, no need to be tense.
I was just going to deal with him nicely, but...
“This is the empire's shame, the place where the exiled princess is!”
The guy shouted loudly enough to echo throughout the villa interior.
My heart changed.
This bastard, look at his attitude?
Like a convenience store part-timer, the smell of a true lord's arrogance wafted.
“Your Highness is currently unwell. If you have something to say, I will convey it on your behalf.”
Just as I was trying to send the prince away with courtesy.
“It hurts, doesn't it?”
The prince looked behind me and asked me.
I slowly turned around, and there was Adelia.
“……”
With a pale face and slightly trembling hands clutching her dress.
Adelia looked at the prince but couldn't say anything.
“What? Move aside.”
I blocked the path of the prince who was trying to approach Adelia.
Adelia Ebrund's Stats Have Changed
Stress: 80% → 85%
Even though I lowered the stress, a bastard came and raised it again.
If this continues, I won't be able to schedule anything.
I had to quickly get rid of the sharp-tongued guy.
In the game, if the gap was large, you could suppress the opponent with momentum.
Since I was a character in the world-class tier, it should be possible.
“W-what are you...!”
The prince's face twisted and he stepped back.
Seeing his reaction, the knights behind him raised their sword hilts.
But I didn't back down.
Kalael from the colony is neglected in the imperial palace.
So what?
Excluding the emperor at this point, there was no one in the imperial palace who could oppose me in skill.
“What business do you have coming to see Her Highness?”
As I relaxed my momentum, the prince, thinking he had the upper hand, boasted again.
“If there is no opponent for the Imperial Swordsmanship Competition, I came to ask if you would like to have a duel with me.”
It was a swordsmanship competition only for royalty.
Adelia would definitely lose to him.
With my training method, I can raise her to at least D rank or higher.
It was a large event held once a year.
If I prepared from now on, there was enough chance of winning.
I wanted to accept immediately, but the opinion of the party involved, Adelia, was more important.
“I...”
Because everyone's eyes were on her, Adelia accepted the challenge that was obviously a loss.
“Good, good. I will accept the challenge.”
Adelia accepted the challenge with an arrogant voice.
“Never take back those words! What an excellent choice! Hahaha!”
The guy who seemed to have won the jackpot was happy and left as is.
The prince who was still talking was annoying.
“Hmph. Why are you looking at me like that? This body will win.”
His words were still arrogant, but Adelia's hands were still trembling.
If this continued, not only the future training, but even surviving a day would be difficult.
“Your Highness has something urgent to say.”
I grabbed Adelia's trembling hand and took her to my room.
This was a life-or-death winning move.