TPNSIA-12

Chapter 12. Maid Catherine (2)

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“Why are you still sitting there?”

At my words, the maid immediately sprang to her feet.

“Um, you’re the new nanny, right?”

She clasped her hands together, her face flushed as she kept stealing glances at me.

“If you already know, why ask?”

“Th-Thank you for helping me!”

“I didn’t help you.”

“What? But…”

“All I did was warn those women not to run their mouths about me.”

I hated gossip to begin with, and what those maids had been saying had seriously grated on my nerves, so I had simply taught them a lesson.

It absolutely had nothing to do with taking out my frustration with the head maid on them.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“But you still saved me, Nanny!”

“Think whatever you like.”

“Wait!”

Just as I was about to leave, the maid called after me once more.

“Do you still have something to say?”

Anyone else might have been offended by my consistently cold tone, but instead, the maid’s eyes lit up.

“My name is Catherine Vale. I work in the annex.”

Why was she introducing herself when I hadn’t even asked?

Instead of answering, I simply stared at her.

Still looking excited, she continued.

“Thank you for helping me. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, please tell me. I’ll help anytime.”

I told you, I didn’t help you.

I was about to walk away with an indifferent expression when I suddenly turned back.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“Can you cook?”

Catherine blinked in confusion.

“C-Cook?”

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“It’s delicious!”

Edwin and Emilia.

The imperial siblings stared over at us with astonished eyes.

“What is this? I’ve never eaten anything this good except at a banquet!”

“Me too! It’s sooo delicious!”

Apparently, the delayed mealtime had made the two of them even hungrier than usual.

“I-It’s only an ordinary fish stew. You flatter me, Your Highness.”

For Edwin, who was such a picky eater, to be devouring his food with that much enthusiasm…

Instead of Edwin, I directed my praise toward the woman standing beside me.

“Making an ordinary dish taste delicious is a talent in itself.”

“But it really isn’t anything special. Thank you for the compliment, Nanny.”

The tall woman standing there with a shy blush was none other than the maid, Catherine Vale.

The woman I had unintentionally rescued from the other maids’ harassment.

She had told me to ask if I ever needed help.

And since I happened to need help, I saw no reason to refuse her offer.

“Are you sure this is all right?”

“Pardon?”

Catherine tilted her head at my question.

“I heard the head maid specifically ordered everyone not to help me.”

Once I explained, Catherine winked and gave a lighthearted smile.

“But I didn’t help you, Nanny.”

“Pardon?”

“I simply brought a meal because I was worried that His Highness the Prince and Her Highness the Princess, the masters of this palace, might go hungry.”

I rather liked that shamelessly clever answer.

She shrugged and continued.

“Besides, the maids from the main palace eat separately. They don’t pay any attention to this side.”

“The maids eat separately from one another?”

“Yes. Most of the main palace maids are from old noble families.”

Catherine smiled bitterly.

“But annex maids like me either come from families that purchased their titles or from commoner families. We don’t exactly get along.”

So that explained why the maid who claimed to be a count’s daughter had caused such a scene earlier.

“So no one will care where the leftover food goes. The head maid won’t know either.”

“I see.”

Just then, Edwin put down his spoon and stood.

The food must really have been to his liking, because he had emptied his bowl in no time.

Edwin grabbed the doorknob and called out to me.

“I’m going for a walk with Emilia.”

“Go ahead.”

I answered without thinking, only to feel an intense stare boring into me.

“What is it?”

Edwin’s eyes were practically sparkling now.

“I want to go outside.”

Apparently, the boy had interpreted what I had told the head maid in whatever way suited him best.

He seemed to think that as long as I was with him, he could leave the palace whenever he pleased.

“Lia wants to go outside too!”

To make matters worse, Emilia grabbed her brother’s hand and joined in.

Did we really have to go outside?

I hesitated out of sheer laziness when Catherine gave me a gentle push from behind.

“Then hurry and go. I’ll clean up the dishes.”

“No. I’ll take care of them.”

“They’re dishes from the annex anyway. Go with them.”

Catherine swiftly gathered the empty dishes onto a tray.

She even followed us outside to see us off.

“Have a safe walk.”

“Let’s go!”

The prince tightly gripped his little sister’s hand and hurried ahead.

In the end, I could only sigh and follow after them.

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“Lia, that over there is the Imperial Library.”

Once outside the palace, Edwin held his sister’s hand and pointed out various places.

“The palace next to it is where First Brother lives. Remember what I told you before?”

“Yup! Lia knows everything!”

“Really? Then could you find your way around by yourself?”

“Yup! Lia is smart, so Lia never gets lost!”

“Is that so? Just who did our little princess inherit all that intelligence from?”

“From you, Brother!”

Edwin beamed brightly at his little sister’s admirable answer.

They certainly get along well.

I had thought this before, but when it came to his little sister, Edwin was practically an angel.

Quite the brotherly devotion. Or should I call it sibling devotion?

I followed the chick-like pair like a shadow.

This might have been the Imperial Palace, but aside from the Third Prince’s Palace, most of these places were already familiar to me.

There had once been a time when I came and went from here as casually as if it were my own home.

Then Edwin suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Hmm? It’s Daddy.”

At Emilia’s words, I understood why Edwin had abruptly frozen.

Before us stretched the vast central garden.

Someone was strolling slowly between the flowerbeds, accompanied by rows of attendants.

It was Emperor Cavelius III.

And beside the Emperor stood a man.

Even I, who knew the personal details of the Empire’s distinguished figures inside and out, had never seen him before.

Who is he?

Pitch-black hair and equally black armor.

His golden eyes shone brilliantly, as though they had absorbed every trace of light in the world, making them noticeable even from this distance.

Standing beside the Emperor in full armor…

Out of habit, I began analyzing the man.

His disciplined gait.

His courteous manner that remained respectful without ever becoming subservient.

A knight? No, if that were the case…

The man walked alongside the Emperor with an expressionless face.

There was no possibility that a mere knight would be permitted to walk shoulder to shoulder with the Emperor of the Empire.

He must hold considerable status. A newly appointed ruler of some territory, perhaps?

Just then—

The man suddenly turned his head in our direction.

Before I could react, our eyes met.

Normally, I would have casually looked away.

But this time, I couldn’t.

Did he just… smile?

It had lasted only an instant, but I was certain.

The moment our eyes met, there had been the faintest hint of a smile on the man’s lips.

I wondered whether I had imagined it.

Yet when he turned back toward the Emperor, his face was once again completely expressionless.

Why?

I was bewildered.

A man I had never seen before had just smiled at me.

Why did he smile at me?

Surely he couldn’t know who I was.

And there was even less chance that he had been flirting with me.

Ah. Could he know the real Rachel?

Though, judging by appearances, the difference in status between Rachel and that man seemed enormous.

Well, you never know what kinds of relationships people might have.

While I was busy considering one possibility after another, the hem of my dress was suddenly tugged downward.

The culprit was Edwin.

He was clutching my skirt while staring toward the Emperor’s party.

He didn’t show it openly, but there was something frightened about his expression.

“Ant, where are you going?”

Emilia, on the other hand, seemed remarkably uninterested in her father despite having just pointed him out.

The little princess was crouching beside her brother, watching an ant crawl across the ground.

At this rate, we would be standing here until the Emperor disappeared into the distance.

“Your Highness, shall we go back?”

Edwin looked up at me in surprise.

“…Don’t I have to greet Father?”

“Why are you asking me? If Your Highness wants to greet him, then do so. If you don’t, then don’t.”

Edwin stared at me with his mouth slightly open before lowering his head.

“What would you like to do?”

He thought about it for quite a while before answering hesitantly.

“…I want to go back.”

“Very well.”

I turned around without the slightest hesitation, but Edwin suddenly grabbed me.

“J-Just so you know!”

He shouted as though desperately trying to defend himself.

“It’s not because I don’t want to greet Father! He just looks busy! Got it?”

No one had asked.

Children really were difficult to understand.

“Yes. I understand.”

When I gave him a short, indifferent answer, Edwin stared at me.

“What is it?”

He pressed his lips tightly together and glared at me for a long moment before abruptly turning his head away.

“You’re really strange.”

“Pardon?”

“If it were Emma, she would’ve told me to greet him no matter what.”

“Then shall we go greet him now—”

“No! Forget it!”

Edwin rapidly shook his head from side to side.

“Then let’s go.”

“…Okay.”

I hoisted Emilia up from where she was sitting on the ground and turned away without hesitation.

And because of that, I failed to notice one thing.

Edwin was still following closely behind me—

his small hand tightly clutching the hem of my dress.