Come to think of it, she said she’d come today, didn’t she? I dropped my previously serious expression and smiled brightly.

“Welcome, Lopi. Today’s your first day, right?”

“Yes, my lady!”

Back then, she had looked half-dead at Duke Yekert’s estate. But now her answer was spirited, and her face was bright.

‘How nice to see. That kind heart of hers, which worried about me, seems like it will fit well with the people of the Ferhaem Duchy. I’m glad I brought her here.’

“While the Ferhaem Duchy and Duke Yekert’s estate may differ in the details of their operations, Ember will explain everything to you. Normally, I’d leave everything to Ember, but I wanted to see you in person, so I asked you to come.”

At that, Lopi’s pupils widened, and she covered her mouth with both hands.

“That my lady wished to see my insignificant face is such an honor! My lady is as beautiful and gracious as the goddess of beauty I’ve heard about. To even remember my lowly name—how utterly different you are from the Duchess of Yekert, truly an angel! I’m deeply moved.”

Hmm…? It felt like I’d just received an extremely long compliment. But if she meant it that much, then fine.

“I see. I’m glad to hear you say that.”

Kids her age have very clear likes and dislikes. How cute. Yes, how very cute.

“Yes! I thought I’d surely be slapped for being so presumptuous. How terribly rude of me to think that way! You, who pulled me out from the pit of hell, are an angel. At that moment, I saw a halo behind you—so bright, like the sun, it nearly blinded me.”

“U-uh… I see.”

I hadn’t realized back then. She talks a lot and has such exaggerated reactions. But it seemed this wasn’t over yet, as Lopi began another round of praise toward me.

“Ah… My lady is my savior and my light. Truly! I want you to know that I’d stake my very life for you.”

Life? That part made me uncomfortable—I wanted to refuse. I carefully observed Lopi standing before me.

Her breath came fast from speaking quickly, her eyes sparkled as they held my gaze, and her cheeks were flushed. She looked a bit like a fan meeting their ultimate idol.

‘Did I recruit a strange child…?’

But it was too late to regret now. Still, she has a good heart. Maybe it’ll be alright… Or will it?

“Your life isn’t necessary, so I’ll decline that. Rather, you came to the duchy faster than I expected. I thought the Duchess of Yekert wouldn’t let you come to me.”

Lopi, catching her breath, answered my question as if she’d been waiting for it.

“Yes! Normally, she doesn’t care whether a maid leaves or not, but when I said it was the Ferhaem Duchy, she tried to cheaply stop me from going! So I used my specialty.”

I wondered what on earth she could mean, seeing her shyly smile.

“Specialty?”

“Well… it’s a bit embarrassing, but my specialties are slander, sabotage, and scheming. So when I told her I’d be doing spy work, she happily sent me off!”

Did I hear that right? Did she just say slander, sabotage, and scheming are her specialties?

I brought her here because I saw her kind heart worrying about me.

“Of course, I only said that because I’m completely loyal to my lady, the one who saved me from hell, so I told a bold-faced lie.”

“Lopi, tell me—what happens if the Duchess of Yekert finds out you lied to her?”

“Wouldn’t I lose my life?”

How could someone say such a thing so cheerfully? The steward’s gaze, which had been quietly observing, turned toward me—almost as if asking, Where on earth did you bring this rare specimen from?

‘I don’t know either. I brought her because I saw her kind heart worrying about me.’

“But please don’t worry! I can protect myself well enough.”

How could someone so thin and underfed possibly protect herself? A sigh escaped me.

“Why did you go to such lengths to come to me? Even if the Duchess of Yekert disliked me and didn’t want to send you, she would’ve eventually let you come here.”

“I’m sorry, my lady. I just wanted to meet you as soon as possible!”

I wondered if that was really all there was to it. All I’d done was offer her a job transfer. For all she knew, this place might not even be better. Yet she came here, even lying to get here.

Suspicious, I scrutinized Lopi carefully—and then I noticed something hidden by her exaggerated gestures. Her legs were trembling slightly, and her body swayed unsteadily.

Her face was flushed as if shy, yet cold sweat glistened on her skin. I quickly stood and grabbed Lopi’s body.

“That my lady would touch my lowly body—how could such an honor even exist…!”

Seeing her still speak like this, I could now understand how she had survived at Duke Yekert’s estate.

“Don’t react like that and try to hide it. I thought it odd today—you seemed unusually restless, unlike your calm demeanor when I first met you. You’re injured, aren’t you? Did the Duchess of Yekert punish you?”

Her eyes darted around nervously, clearly gauging my reaction. Lopi cautiously opened her mouth.

“You found out…? The Duchess of Yekert treats tormenting maids as a kind of hobby.”

So that was it. I had thought too simply. I’d heard countless warnings from the ducal household about her treatment of the maids. How could I have assumed the Duchess wouldn’t care about a single maid I wanted to take?

To her, maids were no different from tiny ants. The Duchess must have been annoyed by my actions during teatime when I left. Unable to act against me directly, she punished this child instead.

“Steward. Call Ember. This girl isn’t in good condition.”

“Yes, my lady.”

As the steward left, Lopi awkwardly smiled and apologized.

“I’m sorry… causing trouble right after arriving. But I do know quite detailed information about the Duchess of Yekert. I’m certain it will be useful to my lady. I don’t think you brought me here just for my pure nature.”

I wasn’t sure what she thought I saw her as, explaining her usefulness like that.

“I didn’t hire you for that reason. There are plenty of maids working at the marquess’s estate—any of them could’ve given me information without the trouble of bringing you here.”

“Then… why did you bring me here…?”

Her suspicious gaze resembled a wary cat. After only seeing friendly people from the ducal household, this child felt different.

“I already told you. Your character—willing to endure punishment just to worry about a stranger—is exactly the kind of person who belongs in the ducal family. I liked that, so I brought you here.”

“…I think I’ve truly fallen for my lady now. Whenever you need my specialty, just say the word.”

Even injured, this girl could talk so much. Not long after, Ember arrived with the steward. I asked her to treat Lopi.

As she left, still fawning over me, I gave an awkward smile.

After they disappeared, I fell into brief thought.

Indeed, I truly disliked the Duchess of Yekert. I’d never had a good impression of her, but now, knowing she torments the weak, I disliked her even more.

Could it be because, at Count Orbetian’s estate, I often trained with knights in swordplay? I’d heard one phrase so often it had become ingrained:

One who points a sword at a kind, powerless weakling is unworthy of being called a knight. I never dreamed of becoming a knight, but that saying had stayed with me for a long time.

‘What fault could that small child possibly have to deserve punishment? She couldn’t possibly defy her master’s orders, and the Duchess knew that well.’

Seeing how exhausted she looked, it was obvious she’d been beaten.

I remained calm in my thoughts. I could tolerate the Duchess of Yekert spreading rumors about me. But if she took her frustration out on this small child, I couldn’t just stand by. That child was now a servant of the ducal household.

This was no different than mocking the ducal family itself.

“I’ll make sure the Duchess of Yekert knows this: words can be tools to torment others, but in the end, they always return to the one who spoke them.”

Yezar Ferhaem was watching Julietta Orbetian with concern. Normally, the moment she picked up a wooden sword, her aura changed completely. But today, her eyes were half-closed.

The night he’d shown such an undignified sight to the utterly pure lady involuntarily came to mind. Was that incident troubling her again? Or was there something else bothering her? He couldn’t help but worry.

“Has the lady seemed more tired than usual lately?”

At his question, the expressions of the nearby knights微妙ly shifted. After all, beside her lay several wooden dolls, shattered into pitiful pieces.

“Could this be your lordship’s misperception?”

“Indeed. If the lady were truly tired, she wouldn’t have broken those things so thoroughly.”

But Yezar didn’t hear their voices. He had already approached Julietta closely and called her.

“Milady?”

Julietta startled and quickly replied.

“Yes, Yezar? Why did you call me?”

“You seemed tired. You yawned, and you kept your eyes closed as if fatigued.”

No matter how others saw it, to Yezar, Julietta had been acting strangely lately. As if she were secretly plotting something.