Published: July 29, 2025
The two lying on the floor shouted.
“What do you think you’re doing?! That hurt!”
“Who do you think we are? Just mere maids!”
Mio neither got angry nor laughed.
She simply spoke quietly, in her usual calm tone.
“You are maids too. And I am also the chief chamberlain.”
“Huh? That’s completely different. I served the Third Prince in the royal palace. Then I was recruited by the Granado Family, the future duke and the richest family in this country.”
“...And so, I am the chief chamberlain you’re talking about.”
“Ha! You’re just an old-timer, aren’t you? We were scouted. We serve the master of this castle as maids, while you were rejected and sent to the poor baron’s daughter!”
“...I was the one who made that decision this morning.”
“Oh ho ho, Hanna, it can’t be helped. You know, the duchess is a barbarian, a roadside prostitute who turned her child with a client into a maid.”
“Oh dear, wasn’t she an orphan abandoned by the roadside?”
“Well, how was it? I’ve forgotten. But it’s the same thing. Without a family name, being a maid at the Count’s Castle is just out of one’s social status from the start.”
“That’s right. The nobility like us have a different preciousness of life.”
They sat on the floor, looked up to the sky, opened their mouths wide, and laughed loudly.
Mio stood straight with her feet together, motionless. She only slightly lifted the corner of her mouth.
“...I see. You really are fools.”
“W-What did you say!?”
Ilza let out a high-pitched scream and raised her hand to strike Mio.
Ah, watch out, it’s you! — But there was no time to stop her, and Ilza spun in the air once and crashed onto the floor with a splat.
“—Ugh.”
She let out a frog-like croak and then went silent.
Hanna stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed, dumbfounded.
“Well then, you too.”
Mio lifted her and threw her down the hallway.
And with that, the room that had been packed with people fell very quiet.
Mio bowed her head lower than anyone else there and apologized to me.
She said it was her poor supervision that caused me so much trouble.
She said all these belongings would be disposed of by the castle staff, and any necessary items would be provided as new immediately. She even said she would wake the master up right away.
Thomas and Toppo, understanding the situation, tried to comfort me. Toppo said he would make sweets again, and Thomas played an energizing song from his homeland.
But I was smiling.
“It’s alright. I’m fine.”
This was no longer a forced smile of endurance like before.
“—Mio, you don’t have to apologize. Actually, I have a favor to ask.”
“...Yes. What is it... Anything.”
“I want to borrow scissors, needles, and thread. I’ve just thought of something good.”
Everyone looked puzzled.
Their expressions were so funny that I laughed out loud.
In the morning, Johan watered the flowers in the garden, in the evening, he went around pulling weeds. And during the day, he took care of the vegetable garden. That seemed to be Johan’s daily routine as the gardener.
Of course, he wasn’t doing it all alone, but managing and maintaining such a vast garden was really hard work. I truly admired Johan’s diligence.
He hunched over his round, stout back even more, examining the new shoots. I quietly approached him.
“Johan.”
When I called him, he turned around and widened his eyes at the sight of me.
“Oh, madam...! Why are you here?”
“You said you’d show me your vegetable garden, right? I really wanted to see it.”
Yes... last night, I realized for the first time what I truly liked.
Growing and eating delicious vegetables.
I thought it was just for the household budget, that I had no choice — that’s how it was when I was with the Shadelan Family. But that wasn’t true.
I actually liked it. I liked both eating and growing things with my own hands, and getting my hands dirty in the soil.
Saying it’s just because they sell well is an excuse. I wasn’t very good at it, learning on my own, and it certainly wasn’t efficient. But I kept doing it because it was actually... really fun.