Too Much Money to Call It That
"We're here."
So we had nearly reached the Blake estate. Not being able to see had never weighed on me quite like this. I hated to admit it, but the Blake mansion was a truly magnificent place, and I had no way of knowing how much it might have changed. If I described it as I remembered—
A black fence, ironclad in its resolve. Buildings for every purpose and roads kept in perfect order, as if a whole city had been shrunk and set down inside the grounds. At the center, a majestic mansion of white, tempered and harmonized with black. Between them, the household servants hurrying about their work. A splendid garden, impeccably tended, flaunting every bright color, and set proudly at its heart the black cat statue that was the emblem of House Blake. A small wood and meadow where little creatures frolicked. The knights' ringing shouts rolling off the training grounds.
It was the place where a boy up from the countryside could feel, beyond any doubt, that he had become the Hero. A beginning that still held that old thrill in it. Now it was the house of my enemy, a place that drove home, with brutal clarity, just how thoroughly I had been betrayed.
I was lost in the memory when Elouis spoke.
"First, I will tell you the terms of the contract in advance."
"The terms?"
With a slave brand on me, he could order anything he liked. What terms could he possibly need?
"Your duties will be as Elaine's personal maid and bodyguard. You will have four days off each month, on days of your choosing. You will have nowhere else to go, so room and board will be in the servants' quarters. The work is guard duty, so there is hazard pay; a special allowance for serving as a dedicated maid; an imperial support stipend, as you are blind; and, with no one to relieve you, overtime and night pay. Your monthly wage comes to seven million bel in all."
"I— I'm sorry?!"
What had I just heard?
"Too little? You are still on probation, and you have no experience. Most of the household, besides, are practically nobility themselves. Give too much from the start to someone who came up as a slave, and there may well be backlash."
"N-no, that isn't— You paid a hundred million bel for a slave, and now you're talking about days off and a salary? And that much of one?"
"As I said, I have no intention of treating you as a slave. I did not need a slave. I needed only the restraining power of the slave brand. And should Elaine ever say she has no further need of you, I mean to remove the brand when the contract ends."
"Eh...?"
"The term is five years at minimum. After that, you may resign. The brand will be lifted then as well. Your wage will be renegotiated every year. If you have complaints, or terms you wish to add, say so when we draw up the contract."
An understanding boss. Work-life balance. A high salary.
I pledge you my loyalty!!!
W-wait. No. What was this? Had he sensed my killing intent? Or was he pretending not to know, trying to win me over? He had already realized from the master's crest that I was the Hero, and he meant to lower my guard before—!
While I was still reeling, unable to keep my head in front of the dream job laid out before me, the rocking of the carriage stopped.
"We will discuss the rest later."
"Seven million... seven million..."
As the Hero I had taken ample support from the nations, but that had never been my own money. Receiving a sum like this as personal income was a first. Chopping firewood as a child, a million bel a month had been considered good pay. And now seven million bel...!
Re— I was supposed to be taking revenge...?
I was sitting there in a daze when Elouis scooped me up, set me down from the carriage, and seemed to step down after me.
"Welcome home, my lord."
"Welcome home, my lord."
An old man's voice, courteous and exact, and behind it the greetings of many others. I might not have known the rest, but that old voice was familiar. Melton, head butler of House Blake. Hearing him, he was still as hale as ever.
"Head butler... I have told you time and again there is no need for so many to come out."
"You are the head of this nation's only ducal house. Do any less than this, and the other families will talk."
"How many times must I say that I am only acting in the role?"
"In any case, you are the head of the house now, are you not? It is time you accepted it."
"Haa..."
"Then I shall take that as agreement. However..."
A few footsteps, and the head butler leaned in to murmur.
"Who is this child?"
"I am late in introducing her. She will serve as Elaine's personal attendant."
"Ah... so you really did buy one."
"In the end, I could think of no other way."
The air turned slightly awkward. But moments like this were precisely when one had to be proactive about making an impression.
"My name is Ruanes. I look forward to serving you!"
With the greeting I guessed where the head butler stood, laid a hand over my chest, and inclined my head. It had been a long time since I had offered a noble's greeting, so I wasn't sure I had done it properly, but it ought to pass.
"Oh? A noble's child, perhaps? Your manners are remarkably fine for one so young. And you are beautiful enough that I can hardly believe you are a boy."
Ah. I was a girl now. I had forgotten.
"She has no family name, so she is no noble. Nor is she a boy. She must have picked up a man's style of greeting by watching."
"My, my... It seems you spent quite a sum for the young master's birthday. A child this pretty, and this quick of eye, would have fetched eight hundred million bel at the very least."
"No. I got her for less than I expected. This child is blind."
"Blind? Now that you mention it... her eyes do not move. But how do you mean to employ, as an attendant, a child who cannot see?"
He asked it as if he truly could not understand. Fair enough. I would have wondered too.
"Head butler. Do you remember the technique that traitor used—the one called Ki Sense?"
"Yes, of course. Thanks to it, a surprise party once came to nothing."
So that was why. There had been an awkward air hanging over a party, long ago. I was only learning the reason now.
"She is still unskilled, but this child can use that technique. Taught to her by the Divine Archer, I am told."
"This child...? If that is true, then even a billion bel would not be too much for her."
"I was fortunate. Head butler, secure a room in the servants' quarters for now. Have her change clothes, then bring her to me. Elaine's birthday is not far off, so we will begin her training today."
"Understood. You must be tired. Please rest well."
"Yes. I leave her to you."
After the parting words the conversation broke, and footsteps followed.
"Well then, Ruanes. Let us be on our way."
"Yes."
I opened my Ki Sense and followed the head butler along the well-swept path.
"So you truly can use Ki Sense."
"Yes. But the range is still narrow."
"Even so, being able to use it at all is something."
"I'm grateful for that much myself."
The Divine Archer's eccentric streak had put me through plenty, but because of it I could see the world even while blind. I could hardly be anything but grateful.
Step. Step.
"Still... would you tell me how you came to be a slave?"
The head butler asked it hesitantly.
"Well..."
What was I supposed to say? That I had been kidnapped while sleeping on the street? That wouldn't do. Better the truth.
"I was betrayed by people who were like family to me."
"Tsk, tsk... Truly wretched people. To do such a thing to a child this young... But do not worry! From today, the Blake ducal house will protect you."
As if to reassure me, he laid a hand on my shoulder.
But the one who betrayed me is House Blake...
"Haha... thank you."
Whether I ought to be grateful, or not.
We walked on, trading this and that, until the straight path forked left and right.
"The attendants' quarters are to the left, and the maids' quarters to the right. Do not forget, now."
So this was where the quarters were, tucked deep enough not to catch the eye. Perhaps because my Ki Sense did not reach far, memorizing the whole route at once was going to be difficult. Retracing the way we had come as best I could, I started toward the left.
"Child?"
"Yes?"
He caught my arms and lifted them one at a time.
"This side is left, and that side is right."
"Yes...? I know that."
Why was he doing this? I started walking again.
"Hm. An attendant is a male servant, and a maid is a female servant."
"I know that too..."
Why was he— Ah! I kept getting it mixed up. Honestly, I had lived twenty-four years as a man. Wouldn't it be stranger to adapt completely in two days? Like being stabbed, all in a single day, by a comrade of many years.
"Ah— ah! I had the directions backward."
I mumbled my way through it and kept walking until we reached the entrance of the maids' quarters.
"Um... may I go in...?"
"Do not worry. There will be no one here at this hour, so it is quite all right even if I go in."
I had meant whether I was allowed to go in. It wasn't what I had intended, but stepping into a women's space felt criminal all the same.
My hesitation made no difference. The head butler went inside and, at something like a reception desk in the center, began leafing through what seemed to be a book.
"According to the register, the single rooms are full. Two doubles remain, and quite a few rooms for four. Which would you like?"
Of course the singles would be the ones that were full. That figured. But sharing a room with a woman... Even if my body was a girl's, my mind was a man's. Wouldn't that be improper? Turn it around: if I were still a man, and someone who had been a woman were staying in a man's body in the same room... Uncomfortable either way. Was there no other option?
"Um, is there really no single room left?"
"I'm afraid not. The singles are fiercely contested."
"Then even if it isn't a dormitory room—some spare room, maybe..."
"A spare room... There is one that was set aside to serve as a parlor. A room that has been left abandoned. But..."
He seemed to be deliberating. Then—!
I lowered my eyes and fidgeted with my hands.
"I... places with lots of people scare me..."
One thing I had learned in my life as the Hero was that pity was a very frightening weapon. You could trust me on that. I had been fooled this way many times by demons wearing a child's face. And it wasn't even a lie. Places full of women felt as if I would be doing something wrong, and that frightened me.
"Oh dear..."
It had worked. Grandfathers, by long tradition, were weak to their granddaughters. Pity plain on his face, the head butler clasped both of my hands tight.
"Do not be afraid! I shall see that a room is prepared for you, one way or another!"
"Truly... thank you..."
I rubbed at the corner of my eye and squeezed the hands holding mine. At that, the head butler gently stroked my hair.
I might actually have quite a talent for acting. Not a fact I had particularly wanted to learn.