Published: August 15, 2025
This is the second update of the day.
“――In other words, you want us to take her in until the day of the state funeral?”
At Lord Cyrus’s question, the marquis nodded.
His expression was solemn, even somewhat melancholic. With his long eyelashes half lowered, he glanced back at Nanny Ella.
“…Yes. As you already know, this Ella is your sister’s lady-in-waiting and also my wife Sophia’s attendant. And as you also know, she’s rather clumsy…”
“...Eep…”
Ella let out a weak groan, neither quite a scream nor a protest.
The dishes were cleared away and replaced with tea on the table. A cup was set for Ella as well, but she didn’t touch it—indeed, she didn’t even sit down. She shrank quietly behind the marquis, her gaze fixed downward.
“She is by no means incompetent, but combined with her plain appearance, it seems to grate on my wife’s nerves. Every single day, my wife insults Ella as gloomy, sullen, and a Cinderella... It has become close to outright bullying.”
“I have witnessed that myself.”
Sitting beside me, Lord Cyrus’s voice carried a trace of pity. It was clear that the marquis’s story was true. Honestly, I could imagine the situation.
As the marquis said, Ella was a woman who seemed to lack spirit. Quiet and expressionless, startled easily by even the slightest movement, restless. Her plain looks would hardly appeal to the tastes of nobles who preferred elegance. The marquis sighed softly.
“I do pity her, but as the complaints are somewhat justified, I can’t fully defend her either. I was thinking about whether we could somehow raise Ella into a lady more to my wife’s liking.”
“…I see. So why Granado Castle?”
At Lord Cyrus’s question, the marquis smiled slyly.
“It’s well known that the attendants at Granado Castle live almost as equals with the counts, without distinctions of status.”
“…Yeah, I suppose so.”
Lord Cyrus nodded with a complicated expression.
“It’s true that many commoners and foreigners work here. But it’s not as if we employ just anyone. The chief chamberlain carefully evaluates whether they have high ability and sound thinking—”
“Yes, that chief chamberlain!”
The marquis suddenly raised his voice, causing Ella to tremble slightly.
“Her name was Mio, if I recall correctly? She is your lady’s maid as well. I have seen her serving the count and duke couples several times. I would say their relationship is unusually close—almost unseemly for a master-servant relationship. In any case, the distance between them felt strange.”
“I won’t deny it; I suppose it does look that way.”
“I saw that and thought she must be a noble lady. I asked my wife Sophia about it, and her answer was the exact opposite of what I imagined. Mio is an orphan with no known parentage, someone who normally wouldn’t even be allowed to speak to the count. And yet she is the count’s maid and the chief chamberlain at Granado Castle—working openly, freely, and brightly! It’s an extremely abnormal relationship!”
…Hmm. Somehow, this left me feeling uneasy.
No, what Marquis Dario says is correct. Indeed, the master-servant relationships at Granado Castle are quite unusual. Normally, nobles pay no mind to ordinary employees—housemaids or footmen. Even in the impoverished Shadelan Family, the gardener was not allowed inside the mansion. That’s how standard it is.
But Lord Cyrus is different. Not only does he treat his butlers and maids kindly, but even the gatekeepers and stable hands. It’s a truly rare sight, I think.
But that’s separate from the reason Mio was appointed chief chamberlain. Lord Cyrus’s voice, answering Marquis Dario, carried a hint of irritation.
“Mio and I were raised like siblings. She became a lady’s maid because she is the most trustworthy person I know, and I appointed her as chief chamberlain because I can count on her skills. There is nothing abnormal about this.”
“No, normally someone would be more intimidated. But she is so confident… if anything, she seems more arrogant and insolent than her master.”