Enrollment Procedures (1)
"So you start work next week? Wonderful. It seems the Prince has taken quite a liking to you."
"Yesss......"
Everything had turned out well in the end.
All well and good — except one thing still didn't sit right with me.
I set my teacup down in front of the Marquis and opened my mouth.
"My lord. There is something I'm curious about."
"And what would that be?"
"Yesterday. You had no real business at the Imperial Palace, did you?"
Pfft—
The Marquis sprayed tea across the desk in a sudden burst of laughter.
Whipping out the handkerchief I'd prepared in advance, I dabbed at the desk, at his hands, and at his mouth.
The Marquis looked up at me with an awkward smile.
"So you noticed."
"Well, of course I noticed......"
Anyone who wasn't a fool would have.
The Marquis had requested an audience with the Emperor knowing full well he'd be refused, and the moment he was turned away, he'd left the palace without a backward glance.
There was no way he'd dressed up so elaborately and gone to the trouble of summoning a carriage just to sit in a waiting room for ten-odd minutes. The Marquis was certainly an eccentric man, but he was no man who did inefficient things.
There had to be another reason.
When he'd left me behind and departed the palace alone, he hadn't headed straight back to the villa — he must have stopped somewhere along the way.
Someplace he needed to visit without my knowing.
Another woman's house, for instance.
Given the Marquis's tastes, perhaps a widow with a child in tow.
"So what was the actual business?"
"I suppose I have no choice. I'll confess."
The Marquis heaved a deep sigh.
He was a man with no particular secrets and a refreshingly straightforward personality. It seemed that now that I'd seen through almost everything, he had no intention of sullenly denying it or making excuses.
Just who was this widow he'd gone to see behind my back?
"The truth is, I visited for your sake, Miss Yulia."
"What?"
I'm sorry, what?
"I haven't had much occasion to put people to work, but the moment I laid eyes on Miss Yulia, I thought: here is talent too fine to waste as a mere maid. I would love to introduce you to a good connection, but my own position is so isolated within noble society that that is rather difficult. So, on the off chance, I brought you along to the palace with me. I thought that if fortune smiled, perhaps you might find a connection with someone. I confess I never imagined for a moment it would be the Prince."
"I— no. W-wait, you mean it? Really?"
"Yes. I really do."
"......"
My face burned.
So I was the only one who'd had those filthy thoughts.
Overcome with embarrassment, I couldn't bring myself to meet the Marquis's eyes and turned my head away.
To think it was all for my sake......
"Then why didn't you discuss it with me beforehand......"
"I told you, didn't I? I wanted to surprise you."
"......"
When exactly had he said that? I racked my memory for a moment.
It had been, of all things, yesterday.
He'd said it yesterday, but because he'd delivered it like he'd said it just now, I'd gotten confused.
Did this man have a different sense of time from ordinary people?
"Besides, if I had told you in advance, would you have agreed?"
"No......"
If he'd suggested going to the palace with no real business at all, just to scout out connections of mine that might or might not materialize, I'd have refused on the spot.
Living comfortably now with no great hardships, I'd have seen no reason to stir up trouble. My current disposition leaned heavily toward the philosophy of peace and quiet, after all......
I didn't think I used to be like this. Ever since Tia came into my life, even my personality seemed to have changed.
"You see? It turned out well in the end, so all's well that ends well."
"......"
It was true that things had gone well — I had landed the post of the Prince's mathematics tutor, after all.
And yet, and yet......
Somehow, I couldn't completely suppress the pang of disappointment. I knew he'd acted with good intentions, and the results were good, but the fact that he had set all this in motion without a single word to me kept nagging at me......
"Are you all right?"
"I'm f-fine. May I be excused for a moment?"
"Yes, of course."
Pretending I needed the restroom, I gave a short bow and slipped quickly out of the office.
What was wrong with me?
I couldn't even understand myself.
He's always been that kind of man. Why get worked up about it now?
The Marquis was a man who could never rest until he'd had his way in everything. A man who raped women without hesitation and did whatever he pleased, heedless of whether he drew the Emperor's ire.
I'd known that from the start. I'd never once expected him to change.
So then what on earth was this feeling?
"Damn it."
I was irritated.
My fists clenched tight.
"Off to school, off to school! Starting today! Mwehehehe!"
"You don't actually start today...... We're going to handle your enrollment paperwork. So calm down."
Word had come from Saint Sophia Academy.
There were things to settle before enrollment, it said, so Tia was to come with her guardian.
"What do I wear? What should I wear? Leopard said that if I don't wanna get looked down on from day one, I gotta wear super duper strong-looking clothes!"
"You should probably take what she says with a grain of salt......"
Which was why Tia had been bouncing off the walls since early that morning.
She spent an eternity choosing her outfit, another eternity choosing her hairpin, and then deliberated over her shoes for yet a good long while.
It was honestly fascinating how someone could agonize that long over so few options.
"I'm in my guardian capacity today, so I should wear plain clothes......"
It was the first time in ages I'd be wearing regular clothes instead of my maid uniform.
I stood there in front of the open wardrobe, quietly deliberating for a while.
The wardrobe was packed with clothes Leopard had dragged me out to buy and foisted on me as "gifts" whenever boredom struck her.
I narrowed the field down to modest, neat attire, then cut out anything in loud colors or with a hem too short, so as not to look too young......
"Yaaawn...... Mommy, are you almost done?"
"Hm? Done with what?"
"You've been picking clothes for an hour already."
"Ha! As if."
What a strange joke the child was making.
I laughed in disbelief and glanced at the clock — and froze solid.
Laying outfit after outfit on the bed and pacing back and forth in front of the wardrobe, I had racked up a full hour and ten minutes.
I'd only been wearing maid uniforms lately, no deliberation required, so it had just been a brief moment of aimless wandering, my first in ages.
Yes. That was clearly it.
Flushing with embarrassment, I hurried my decision to an end and shut the wardrobe door.
"All right, all right! Shall we head out, then?"
"One moment."
"Huh?"
The instant I finished getting ready and flung the door open, a large hand suddenly thrust itself in front of my face and gave me a fright.
Eyes squeezed shut, I felt something settle around my neck. When I slowly opened them, I discovered a pearl necklace hanging there.
The Marquis was smiling at me — a pleased smile, or rather, a revolting one.
"What's this?"
"A pearl necklace."
"I can see that......"
"I'm lending it to you. I'm not particularly fond of luxury myself, but I do understand that a moderate display of wealth helps in society."
"......"
A man who "isn't particularly fond of luxury" built villas all over the country at his every whim.
The thought flitted through my mind briefly — though considering the Marquis's wealth, perhaps it really didn't count as luxury.
For that matter, I'd assumed he didn't much care how others saw him, but apparently that wasn't quite true either.
"Thank you......"
"What was that? I didn't quite hear you."
"I SAID THANK YOU!!!"
"Marquis, Uncle!"
Something shot past beside me with a whoosh, kicking up a gust of wind.
When I came back to my senses, Tia was wrapped around the Marquis's waist.
For one instant, the last thread of my reason nearly snapped with an audible crack.
She only held on a moment — Tia let go quickly enough.
But I'd very nearly exploded.
Gripping Tia's shoulders, I backed away a good two steps.
"Don't go hugging just anybody......"
"Mweh, why?"
"I told you. All men are wolves."
"Even Marquis Uncle?"
"Of course......"
Was there a wolf on this earth more vile than that bastard?
The moment I shot him a glare, the Marquis smiled sheepishly.
"Then what about holding hands with Marquis Uncle?"
"Well, that much is fine."
"Then I can hold Mommy's hand AND Marquis Uncle's hand and walk to school together? Mhehehe!"
"No. The Marquis isn't coming with us."
"He certainly is coming."
"......?"
Only then did I look over the Marquis's attire.
Come to think of it, it wasn't the loungewear he normally wore indoors. He was dressed in crisp, proper traveling clothes.
"Why on earth are you coming along, my lord......"
"Can I do otherwise, as Tia's guardian?"
"Her guardian?"
"Naturally. A student as exceptional as Tia should have a guardian of standing behind her. Even without any material support, the mere presence of a powerful guardian can be a great source of strength, you know."
"......"
It was a plausible enough argument that I found myself with nothing to say.
Certainly, with a guardian of the Marquis Dragonia's standing behind her, no one would dare lay a finger on Tia.
Not unless they were carrying a death wish.
"Convinced? May I come along, then?"
"It's not like you'd stay home if I said no."
"Ahaha. True enough. Well then, shall we depart? Oh, right. I nearly forgot this. Tucking in one more accessory like this lends one a certain noble elegance — quite becoming."
The Marquis drew something from his pocket and took hold of my left hand.
Then, suddenly dropping to one knee, he slowly slid a ring onto my finger.
A necklace, and now a ring, on loan besides......
For the briefest moment, I actually felt grateful.
The ring looked rather thick, so when I examined it closely, I found the crest of House Dragonia set into it.
With a sinking no, he didn't, I seized the Marquis's left hand and lifted it up to show me his ring finger.
"Ah. You caught me."
"My lord......"
That lunatic.
It was an exact replica of the ring he was wearing himself.
He'd been waiting for me to let my guard down so he could slip a matching pair onto me.
Anyone pitying themselves over a fleeting moment of gratitude was me. What a fool.
It looked like today, too, was going to be a long, long day.