Chapter 29: The Youthful Maid's Uneasy Morning
Emma, the young maid serving the young lord in the manor house, knocked on the door of her master's chamber with the clear morning sunlight streaming in.
Knock knock!
"Lord, may I enter?"
The day had just broken, so she had come to the room to clean and make the bed, yet she could not help but feel a deep unease.
Of course, she was now familiar with the new lord's temperament. She probably could overlook even a minor breach of etiquette with a gentle pat on the back. But...
'...... What if Lady Charlotte is there.'
If that were the case, things would surely be different. Charlotte Havertz, now a young lady who had become the duke's daughter rather than his sister overnight.
Within this manor, she was known as "Lady" or "Master" and was, in a sense, a figure of terror even in symbolic terms.
Every servant in the manor, including Emma, would never forget the day the Crimson Mountains rose—the upheaval that had reshaped their world.
"...Hmm."
Waiting for a response beyond the door, Emma wore a subtle, awkward expression.
As a maid, she meant no disrespect, but the reason servants avoided Charlotte was not merely that.
The core lay in her inherently fierce nature.
She looked like a noble, beautiful cat of the aristocracy, yet the irony was that one wrong touch would see her sink her fangs in immediately.
As one of the servants who had stayed close to the previous lords of the manor, Emma was no exception.
Because of that, whenever she entered Isaac's bedroom, she always had to be extremely cautious.
Although she still had half a year until her majority, Emma knew everything.
She knew exactly what kind of relationship her master and his sister shared.
In the end, from the servants' perspective who managed the inner workings of the manor, it was impossible not to know.
Sometimes, the rumpled sheets, the damp blankets with clear bite marks on the pillow...
She simply kept that to herself in front of her superiors. Excluding the very young maids, those were already well-known secrets.
So... imagine walking in and seeing two naked figures clinging to each other.
Emma had been a girl once. She was not completely lacking in curiosity, but her life was a hundred times more precious than that.
"S-Sir Duke...? May I enter...?"
Trapped by the awkward situation, she was at a loss. After knocking, she had waited for Isaac's reply for a long time with no answer.
This was unprecedented. Isaac always opened the door himself before she could reach it and headed straight to the study.
'Could he have forgotten to close the door? Or... is he still asleep...?'
Emma's thoughts raced. She hesitated briefly, then brought her ear close to the door.
In theory, whether he had forgotten or not, she should have heard nothing, yet...
'......This... is...!'
'......N-No, stay quiet, stay quiet.'
"Huh?"
Unexpectedly, she heard voices. Faint but clear, words were being exchanged.
Those voices—Isaac's and Charlotte's.
'They're... together...'
Emma's face flushed against her will. In her mind, she imagined an unbearably intimate scene from the night before.
Shiver, shiver.
A pleasant ripple spread across her lower back.
A dry lump traveled down her throat, and as she tried to focus her hearing even more—
"My neck... let me hang on to you, Onii-chan. I don't want to live anymore..."
"I'm sorry, Lottie. Huh? I mean, don't say that. From now on, I won't do it. Yeah, I promise."
"...Huh."
The conversation had suddenly shifted to a direction that carried a strange, interesting meaning.
Emma's flushed face instantly cooled, replaced by sharp, alert eyes.
'What kind of nonsense is this?'
She doesn't want to live anymore.
She won't do it anymore?
A woman deeply shocked and a man begging for forgiveness while clinging to her...
'......Did the duke do something, and Lady Charlotte is heartbroken because of it?'
Emma felt her heart pounding.
'Is it... infidelity...!'
The possibility was rising fast. She straightened her head like a detective on the verge of solving a case.
If that were true, besides the two of them, was there another woman in the room right now? Had the scene been discovered?
"What should I do, what should I do."
She clasped her hands tightly, then stood up abruptly and covered her mouth with her palm.
It was too hasty to judge from just a few fragmented words, but what did that matter?
With her youthful mind, she had already drawn a premature conclusion and dashed out into the corridor.
'The duke is an idiot...!'
Though she still feared Charlotte, Emma had not been ignorant of Isaac's true feelings.
As a girl who supported a woman's love, she had decided to lower her opinion of Isaac by one step.
Only a few minutes after she left the room, the door burst open.
Bang!
The tightly closed door swung wide, and sweaty, disheveled Isaac emerged with Charlotte beside him.
"Feeling better now, Lottie?"
"......"
He gently patted his sister's back and asked cautiously. Charlotte answered with dead, hollow eyes.
"Never touch my pajamas or panties again, Onii-chan. Especially if they're wet."
"Okay, okay."
Isaac answered with a tired tone.
It was an attempt to clean the mess she had made, yet somehow it made her embarrassed. He had intended to let her handle it herself from now on.
"......"
Was Isaac's reaction somehow unsatisfactory? Charlotte shot him a cold glance, then—
"......Still, when we undress, you can touch me, right?"
She added one more line.
"?"
The listener could only raise an eyebrow. Isaac blinked in bewilderment.
"No, what kind of... rhythm are you talking about...?"
"I trust you'll catch on, Onii-chan."
"......"
"Can't you?"
"......"
"Okay!"
'Smack!' Charlotte puffed out her tiny fists. Isaac's face twisted in irritation as he grumbled.
"If you're going to do that, why did you masturbate right next to someone sleeping in the first place?"
"......"
Charlotte's eyes instantly turned pitch black. Without a word, she punched Isaac's waist, then—
Boom!
"Ugh!?"
She followed with a devastating hook. Isaac's legs went limp, and he doubled over, groaning.
"The right thing to say always brings a beating, Onii-chan."
"......What."
Charlotte puffed out her cheeks and strode ahead. Isaac watched her retreating back with the most unjust feeling in the world.
"Truly, a tyrant is a tyrant..."
He thought that, yet the worst part was that he could not feel more than that—pure exasperation.
...How deeply had he fallen?
Sighing to himself, Isaac rose and followed Charlotte.
"We should go together, Lottie."
"Okay."
It was a happy-go-lucky mishap, but today was an important day.
After breakfast, business handover, and rough traffic arrangements, they would depart in the afternoon.
Today was the day they left for the academy.
"......"
Isaac glanced out the window at the Crimson Mountains. Though the situation had diverged from the original plan, it had dragged him into the main stage of the world...
'I hope it's okay.'
Just looking at the Havertz family alone, some who should have died were still alive and some who should have lived had died.
He had already changed many things with his own hands. Perhaps even back when he had decided the confrontation with Douglas.
It would be idiotic to hesitate now, weighing every variable.
His and Charlotte's entrance into the academy would send ripples across the entire empire, but that was beside the point.
'First priority is protecting Lottie and the duchy.'
Under that premise, he would restrain the Emperor's meddling, slowly approach the secrets of the Sephirot, and finally kill Kether.
That was all.
If he had to add one more thing...
"......"
Isaac turned to Charlotte, who had already stepped close and taken his hand, and made the same vow.
'I don't know how long I can hide it.'
But until I can, until I am able, I will protect her from the Sephirot.
Had she noticed his gaze? Charlotte looked at him oddly. Isaac shook his head with a faint smile.
The gap between generations. Thoughts always changed direction over time.
Once, the boy who obsessively pursued only survival had become a young man, and his life's purpose had shifted...
Now, the name of that purpose was Charlotte.
*****
The brightly burning crimson hair whipped in the wind.
In the cold winter, at the gates of the manor, Elena stood with the happiest expression imaginable, clutching her collar.
"I look forward to working with you, Master. And Lady Charlotte."
"......"
"Come on, get in the carriage quickly. I'll drive the horses..."
I had to rub my forehead slightly. Maybe a headache was starting.
Where had my usual gray robes gone? Elena smiled cheerfully, her maid outfit revealing her thighs, legs, and chest.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Charlotte—usually the one who liked Elena—stare at the flesh with dead eyes.
Then she reached out, palm hovering beneath Emma's chest, trying to compare them...
"......Kyu."
The attempt was pointless. Noticing the result, Charlotte bit her lips in humiliation. I reflexively had to suppress a laugh.
Her lips had twitched for a moment, yet Charlotte had caught it and glared.
"Onii-chan was laughing."
"No. I didn't."
"......No, you did. I can clearly see the difference between my chest and Elena's chest, so you were holding back a laugh."
"......"
I felt a chill. Sweating profusely, I turned my head and spoke to Cain.
"So... why is she doing this?"
I was referring to Elena, who kept circling herself and posing in various stances. Had the maid outfit pleased her that much?
The real problem was that the person originally assigned to accompany us to the academy was not her.
Only one noble servant was allowed to follow to the academy.
So Cain and I could bring two people... but...
I had been about to bring Cain and a guard instead, thinking ordinary maids and valets would not help much.
But suddenly she was here?
I signaled with my eyes. Cain, unusually flustered, bowed his head.
"I apologize, Your Highness. I tried to stop her, but she was extremely stubborn..."
"......Hmm."
I gave an uneasy expression.
In this duchy, I truly trusted only three people, but one of them was currently away.
That left Cain and Elena. I had planned to bring Elena because we would need more people to guard the duchy while I was at the academy.
"Why the tantrum again, Elena."
I formed a mana whip and spoke. At the indirect warning, Elena shrank back for a moment...
"I-I have a good reason!"
She tried to raise her voice. I crossed my arms to play the role of onlooker. Elena hesitated, then continued.
"I know I'm not as good as you yet, Master. You praise me too much... It's true. I know I still fall short compared to that person."
"......"
She was talking about Cain, standing a short distance away. Cain blinked with a dazed expression.
"When something happens—like the Emperor attacking or Duke Tiamat moving—I won't be able to do much. I'm still only 6th Circle..."
"......"
Elena spoke in a subdued voice, and her words were reasonable.
The Emperor's advance, given the academy's location, I might sense in advance. But if the Sword Saint moved?
That was exactly why we had allocated personnel, and Elena was indeed still lacking.
On the other hand, Cain would handle it more skillfully. After all, he stood on the verge of becoming a Sword Master.
I stared at Elena in fresh surprise. What was this?
"What do you think, Cain?"
I asked Cain's opinion first.
He scratched his cheek.
"On that matter, yes, I agree. Elena is undoubtedly excellent, but... Your Highness knows she is still growing, right?"
"......True."
"So if protecting the duchy is the goal, it makes sense for me to take that role."
After a brief pause, Cain added carefully.
"Just... um..."
"Just?"
"......Forgive me for saying this, but there must be another reason Elena is so stubbornly explaining her case."
"Ah."
I nodded without hesitation.
"I agree. I think so too."
"Yeah..."
Cain gave a bitter smile, then turned to Elena with a resigned expression and muttered.
"Speak your true feelings, Elena."
"......"
At those words, Elena clamped her mouth shut. She glared at me with eyes burning as red as her fiery hair.
Whoosh!
She instantly used spatial movement magic and clung to my left leg.
"Please, Master! Take me too! If I don't go, I'll dry up in three days...!"
"Who are you, some kind of plant?"
I asked in disbelief, but Elena paid no attention and rubbed her cheek against my calf.
"Nooo! I want to go too! I want to go to the academy! No way! Even if I get a hundred lashes, I won't give in!?"
"That girl is..."
"Hit me as much as you want! Where do you want? Thigh? Calf? Or your usual belly fat?!"
Even though I raised the whip to threaten her, it had the opposite effect. Her eyes were spinning.
She panted, cheeks flushed, as if about to lift her skirt at any moment.
I was about to relent under the pressure when, from behind, a cool voice rang out.
"Wouldn't it be fine to go together?"
Cain and Elena froze instantly.
I glanced at Lottie in surprise. She toyed with her hair and spoke calmly.
"Why not take her, Onii-chan? If there's no need to leave Elena behind, it's fine, right?"
"......"
"I'm sorry to Cain, but I also want Elena around... anyway."
The reaction had been unexpected. While I exchanged glances with Cain, Charlotte approached Elena.
"Lady...!"
Elena, moved to tears, opened her arms as if to hug me.
Smack!
Charlotte gently gripped her shoulder and gave her a wink.
It was a smile I could only understand instinctively now.
"......Eh."
Elena stiffened, head turning rigidly toward Charlotte's hand on my shoulder.
"Elena."
Charlotte called her name.
"Y-Yes?"
Elena answered reflexively, and Charlotte continued calmly.
"As I said before, I don't hate you... Since you've already received my favor once, you can call me 'sister,' right?"
"......Eh, um, um."
"But."
She first delivered warm, pleasant words, then delivered the real reason hidden behind them.
Gulp!
Using the technique that made listeners swallow dryly, Charlotte stroked Elena's cheek gently.
"Bravely clinging to someone else's man's leg right in front of me... that troublesome habit will need some education."
"......Lady. I-I mean..."
"Call me sister."
Even though Elena was slightly taller.
Charlotte ruffled her forehead, which had shrunk in awareness, then lowered her voice a little.
"...I don't like those milk jugs."
Smack!
"Huh?!?"
She slapped Elena's chest with the flat of her palm.
Elena let out a short cry, her face blank. Charlotte pouted.
"Anyway, let's get along well, Elena. I'll say it again—I don't hate you."
"Ah, e, y-yes...!"
"I just don't like that lewd body of yours."
"Y-Yeah... e?"
She answered reflexively, then turned to me desperately as if seeking help. I turned away slightly.
'...Is this combination okay?'
I had to think seriously. Nothing bad would happen, right?