This Girl's Chest Is Far Too Big, Desuwa!
"Lady Katerina."
Eliza fell silent for a moment, then spoke again in a remarkably earnest tone.
"I have served you for quite a long time now, my lady, but I have never once seen you look after your subordinates with such care as this."
A knowing smile spread across her lips.
"Before, you never showed the slightest interest in what the people around you were doing, or how they were getting on. You simply lived at your leisure, whiling away the hours — sneaking out of the castle for a bit of amusement whenever boredom struck, and the like."
"Th-that was..."
"But you are different now. You worry about the plight of a maid, and you agonize over how to solve her problems."
Eliza's gaze grew warmer still.
"Since your injury, I truly believe Lady Katerina has grown a great deal. You are becoming the true heir of the Grand Duchy."
This was a sincere compliment from Eliza — something that had never once existed in Katerina's memories, a first in her entire life.
At first, of course, hearing praise naturally put me in a somewhat better mood. But then, out of nowhere, a smug little feeling came swelling up from somewhere deep in my chest, blooming bigger by the second.
'W-wait, that's not — that wasn't because you did anything!'
By now I knew perfectly well who was enjoying this so much: the original owner of this body, Katerina herself.
It seemed that this foolish noble daughter, whose soul had apparently blended with mine through our shared body, was preening as if the hard-won compliment I had sweated and schemed to earn from Eliza had been granted for her own merits.
'Oh, for heaven's sake...'
What irritated me was that precisely because she and I had become part of each other, I was the one getting puffed up about it too.
Suddenly I remembered reading web novels back in my modern life.
'Unlike regression or reincarnation, a possessor steals another person's body by driving out their soul, so I used to wonder whether such a person might be something like an evil spirit. I've taken control of this body, but my soul merged with Katerina's — so I'm not quite an evil spirit, I suppose...'
"Eliza."
Now was not the time for idle musings. I gave my head one sharp shake to dispel the urge to start bragging, then looked at her.
"How might I make sure Bielka is not ostracized, I wonder?"
At my words, Eliza gave a faint smile.
"I am truly proud of you, my lady, for pondering such a thoughtful, kindhearted concern. To consider mediation before intimidation, of all things. However..."
"However?"
"The solution, as it happens, may be surprisingly simple. You need only show Bielka your favor."
"Keep her at my side, you mean? That girl?"
"Yes. This is the household of a Grand Duke, the highest of the high nobility. Every servant strives to secure their own position and yearns to climb higher. Now, if some maid were to receive the personal favor of the Grand Duke's own daughter..."
Eliza let her words trail off deliberately.
"Hmm..."
Turning Eliza's advice over in my mind, I gradually understood. The Grand Duchy of Eisenmark — no, this entire world — was a premodern society.
And of all places, this northern frontier duchy was one where the phrase 'might makes right' fit better than anywhere else.
The solutions I had been racking my brain over — the whole matter of bullying among the servants — were the kinds of measures you could only use where you had no real power to wield.
'Come to think of it, that's obvious, isn't it...'
Even in the modern world, outside of a tiny handful of advanced nations, few countries have the rule of law fully entrenched. In most places, the will of the powerful still trumps the law.
So what about here? A premodern society, on the northern frontier, in a duchy that worshipped strength above all.
Besides, Katerina — I — was the Grand Duke's daughter and the future ruler of this land. With the sure-fire solution of power sitting right there, there had been no need to give myself a headache over it in the first place.
'Wielding power, huh. There's merit in that.'
Even in modern society, being in your boss's good graces was often the fastest road to success — so what must it be like in the premodern era?
I could see the answer without looking. It would be far, far worse. This was not a society where you could rise on sheer professional competence alone.
Here, 'pleasing those above you' was itself one of the supreme abilities. The moment a servant won their master's favor, it became not mere affection but tangible power.
'Of course, they'd need other merits to back it up. Anyone who climbs on a patron's favor alone will plummet the instant that favor runs out.'
Simply keeping Bielka at my side would solve the problem. The other maids wouldn't dream of tormenting her — if anything, they'd be terrified of her.
No one would dare mistreat the Grand Duke's confidante, not knowing what retribution might come of it.
Naturally, some would envy her sudden rise in status. But that would be a temporary phenomenon; in time, everyone would accept reality.
'Eliza's counsel really is superb.'
I looked at Eliza, and she was still wearing her gentle smile.
"Eliza, would you please call Bielka for me?"
I had decided to take her advice. Bringing Bielka into my circle was the fastest, surest, and least headache-inducing solution. And though it went without saying, that last reason was the most important one.
"At once, my lady. One moment, please."
Not long after Eliza stepped out of the study, I heard cautious footsteps approaching. For an instant, I felt a flicker of anticipation. Until now I had only ever observed Bielka from a distance; this would be the first time we came face to face.
"Pardon my intrusion..."
Bielka entered with a deep bow, pale-pink hair — not an unusual color in this world, as it happened — spilling forward over her face. The bright smile I had always seen during my secret observations was nowhere to be found; her gentle face was etched with pure tension.
"...You may raise your head."
At my words, Bielka slowly lifted her face — and for a moment, I lost my powers of speech entirely.
'...Good lord. K-cup at the bare minimum? With a waist that impossibly narrow?'
Up close, her figure was even more overwhelming. That absurd abundance visible even beneath her maid's uniform — those tremendous breasts were practically a blessing from God Himself. No doubt this was exactly the female form the men of the north idealized.
'Now I get why the male servants and soldiers can't keep their heads on straight around her. Those breasts are simply... demonic.'
And yet... staring at Bielka from mere steps away, a strange feeling stirred in a corner of my heart. The moment I recognized it as envy, irritation flared up hot and sudden.
'This is all Katerina's fault. She keeps making me notice weird things.'
Meanwhile, whether the annoyance had shown on my face or not, Bielka looked considerably troubled. She stole a glance at my furrowed brow, and her shoulders hunched slightly inward.
'...I really need to work on my poker face.'
Bielka was (whatever her demonic figure might suggest) an innocent country girl — and a maid being ostracized despite working herself to the bone since coming to the capital.
Seeing a girl like her shrink into herself left a bad taste in my mouth. If an audience had been watching, they might well have started booing: 'Boooo! You monster!'
But for some inexplicable reason, I found it difficult to treat her gently. No matter how I tried not to, my gaze kept drifting back to that lavish silhouette of hers.
"Bielka."
"Y-yes, my lady!"
The poor maid answered with a start. Had my tone been too sharp? I tried to soften my words as I continued, but a strangely brusque delivery came out instead.
"Is the maid's work not hard for you?"
"No, my lady! Not hard at all!"
Bielka hastened to reply. Naturally, there was no chance that was true. When someone far above you suddenly summons you and asks whether your work is difficult, who in their right mind answers honestly?
But for reasons I couldn't quite explain, I found myself in the mood to tease a little. So I pressed her, like a superior conducting an inspection.
"Truly? Be honest with me. If you don't tell me, I shall call in the other maids one by one and ask about you, you know."
Ask about Bielka what, exactly? I had no idea, obviously. Yet even at this offhand remark of mine, her face twisted into an agony of anxious fidgeting.
"Th-that is... I have no friends, so I'm a little lonely. But the work truly isn't hard!"
"Lonely, and that makes it hard?"
At Bielka's confession, my heart softened — just the tiniest degree — though my tone remained unchanged. Frankly, I was beginning to wonder about myself.
"Then I shall propose a solution to your problem, Bielka."
At my words, Bielka raised her head. But the wariness still lingered plainly on her face. Was I truly so frightening? I was trying to help her, you know.
"From now on, you will assist Eliza and attend to my personal care. That should leave you with no time to be lonely, shouldn't it?"
"Y-Y-YOOOUUUR ATTENDANCE!?!?"
Bielka's eyes went round as saucers. Her mouth opened, closed, and opened again — a fish gasping out of water.
"A-attending to Lady Katerina herself...?"
"Is that displeasing to you?"
"N-no! Not at all! It's only... I don't know if someone like me is worthy of..."
Bielka clutched the hem of her apron and stammered. She was so genuinely flustered that, at this point, it was almost cute.