Published: January 4, 2026
The next morning, I woke up in the morning sunlight.
As I opened my eyes and got out of bed, the bedroom door was knocked almost simultaneously.
“Master, may I come in?”
“Yeah.”
Still half-asleep with my eyelids barely open, I answered without opening them fully.
Then the door opened, and I sensed several people entering the room.
At the front was probably Mary—the one who knocked and asked for permission.
The others were likely her servants, but—
‘――’
I felt Leviathan’s presence slightly stir.
So that’s the girl who openly shows hostility towards me.
Leviathan’s unwavering loyalty made me smile involuntarily.
“Excuse me. Your feet.”
“Yeah.”
I got off the bed and stood upright on my own two feet.
Keeping my eyelids closed, I relaxed my whole body.
Then Mary, with practiced hands, began to undress my pajamas.
I was undressed completely naturally and ended up naked.
Mary, who had served in the prince’s residence for many years, showed no reaction to her master’s nudity and proceeded with the morning preparations.
But the other servants were different.
I could tell from their presence that they were all simultaneously unsettled when I became fully naked.
“My apologies, Master—but you all have stopped moving.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Sorry!!”
Mary scolded them after asking me for permission.
That triggered the servants to get moving again.
Basically, Mary took charge.
She undressed me, put on new clothes, brushed my hair, and washed my face.
She carefully softened and cleaned inside my ears with a steamed towel.
This was something I had learned around the time I met Audrey.
Audrey believed that the places you normally don’t see or notice should be kept especially clean.
That concept also connected to governance, and I accepted it sincerely.
Since then, the servants at the prince’s residence have always cleaned around my ears every morning.
Mary did it just like when she was at the prince’s residence.
By the time my ears were clean, my sleepiness had completely vanished.
“Good job.”
“Thank you very much, Master. Now then—”
“Ah, wait a moment. Mary, and that girl, stay behind.”
I singled out the girl whose presence I had sensed.
She was surprised and grew even more cautious of me.
“Understood. The rest of you, go back first.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Without question, the other servants left the room following Mary’s order.
Only Mary and the girl remained in front of me.
“What’s your name?”
“Eh?”
The girl was confused.
“It’s an honor to be asked directly by Master. Answer honestly what you are asked.”
“Y-Yes. My name is Ivy.”
The girl—Ivy—answered nervously.
Although she was wary and hostile toward me, conversing directly with “her master’s master” seemed to make her tense.
I chuckled softly.
“No need to be so nervous. Mary, you’ve found a good girl.”
“Yes. Among the children here, she’s the smartest.”
“I figured. You aren’t used to taking care of me, but you supported me quite well. It’s rare to find someone who can be so quick, proactive, and finely tuned like that.”
“As expected of Master, your insight is impressive. I only became able to do that about a year after being taken in by Master.”
“You yourself have above-average ability to learn.”
“Don’t say that about me—”
“I’m not flattering you. I let John go outside because I believed you could be the brake and support when things really mattered.”
“...”
Mary was surprised and lost for words.
“John is seven, you are eight. Together, that’s 1.5—meaning I expected one and a half times the capability of a normal servant by sending him outside.”
“――! Thank you!! I have no words to express my gratitude for Master praising me so much.”
Mary truly began to cry tears of gratitude.
“Don’t cry. I’m praising you.”
“Y-Yes. Thank you very much!”
“Don’t tell John what I just said. You handle John well. With you, John can build achievements smoothly. When the time is right, I will call John back to the core and have him work even harder.”