It felt like something snapped. Was it Jane’s patience?

“…Do you really have to do this here, Dame Greta?”

“Well, I don’t have anything else to do, do I?”

“Dame Greta, you’re supposed to be on guard duty right now.”

Jane’s tone showed her distaste, but Greta continued her push-ups without a care, responding diligently as she did.

“No one’s going to attack us inside the mansion, so what’s the harm? If I stay idle, I’ll lose muscle mass. Even the Duchess hasn’t said anything. Go on, do your work.”

…Greta, you’re slipping into mercenary talk again. I sighed inwardly and said aloud.

“Greta stop and go wash up. I’m almost done, too.”

I was currently writing invitations. I had planned to finish them earlier and be out of the house by now, but some urgent matters came up in the morning, delaying me. So Greta, having nothing else to do while waiting, had started exercising to pass the time.

“Where’s the bathroom…? You mean wash up here?”

“Yes.”

Greta opened the bathroom door and Greta turned back to me with a bewildered expression.

“This is a bathroom? There’s a fireplace in here!”

“Indeed. Jane, could you heat up some water for her?”

Without a word, Jane swiftly entered the bathroom and used the long pipe that Ian had gifted us to light the fireplace with magic. Greta gaped as she watched the flames ignite.

“What is this? Wow, this place has everything. It’s like another world.”

Her amazement made me smile. As I finished up the last of the invitations, sorted the ones where the ink had dried, and sealed them with wax, I suddenly heard a scream from the bathroom.

“Ack! What are you doing?!”

“I’m trying to help you!”

“No! Why—Ack—Huh?”

Curious about the commotion, I peeked into the bathroom and saw Greta curled up tightly in the bathtub. Understanding the situation, I chuckled and called out.

“Jane, leave her be. It looks like Greta prefers to wash alone.”

“Dame Greta was about to wash her hair with laundry soap.”

“Oh…”

Greta protested.

“What kind of laundry soap smells like roses?!”

Jane, clearly flustered, calmly explained the proper use of the toiletries and then returned to the bedroom. I had worried that Jane might be unwelcoming toward Greta, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

To someone unfamiliar with her, Jane’s reserved demeanor might seem like snobbery, but in truth, she simply doesn’t speak to people she dislikes. To me, it seemed that Jane was quite friendly toward Greta.

“You like her, don’t you?”

Jane squinted as she replied.

“Whether I like her or not doesn’t matter. What’s important is that Dame Greta protected you in my absence.”

“I hope you come to like her. She’s a dear friend of mine.”

Jane sighed softly.

“I do like her. As long as she doesn’t sweat all over the carpet, I might even embroider her a handkerchief.”

“Oh my.”

A handkerchief wishing her success in battle? I couldn’t help but giggle, imagining how Greta would react to receiving such a gift. As Jane and I finished sealing the last invitations, Greta emerged from the bathroom. Her speed surprised me, so I asked.

“Did you rinse off properly?”

“Yes.”

“Your hair’s still dripping! Come over here.”

Jane grabbed Greta and pulled her toward the sofa, but when she tried to towel-dry Greta’s hair, Greta jumped up in surprise.

“Ah, I’ll do it! I’ll dry my hair!”

Greta snatched the towel and roughly rubbed her hair. I glanced at Jane, who stood awkwardly, and then quietly asked Greta.

“How’s life in the knight order?”

She seemed a bit on edge.

“What? I’m doing fine.”

“Nothing’s bothering you?”

“The problem is there’s nothing bothering me.”

Hearing no reply from me, Greta put the towel down and sighed.

“I mean it. They’re all too considerate of me. They let me bathe first and even go easy on me during sparring sessions.”

I heard the sound of her grinding her teeth. Greta, realizing she was frowning, glanced at me and added sheepishly.

“I’m really doing fine.”

“They’re giving you special treatment, huh? Anything else?”

“Anything else?”

I tried to phrase it carefully.

“No one’s ignoring you or… bullying you?”

“No, everyone’s kind.”

Thank goodness. I sighed with relief. Greta laughed, as if my concern was ridiculous.

“There’s a rumor going around that I’m friends with the Duchess. Who would dare mess with me? Even the Duke can’t treat me poorly. Haha, I’ve got the most powerful ally in this mansion!”

Greta raised her thumb confidently, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at her audacity.

“Still, I’m glad. I was worried that since you’re the only woman, the knights might openly express their displeasure.”

“As long as they don’t express it openly, it’s fine, right?”

It’s all tangled. It seems she’s having a hard time adjusting. I said with a serious expression, as I had expected this.

“You have to handle it,”

Greta, surprised by my response, widened her eyes. Meanwhile, Jane silently brought a new towel and placed it on Greta’s head.

“Why are you surprised? I was worried from the start that you’d find it tough, but you were the one who said you were fine and asked for a chance. Didn’t you prepare for this?”

“…Yeah, you’re right. Honestly, I’ve been through a lot of blatant discrimination. But here, everyone is so kind on the surface, so I can’t even complain.”

Now she’s finally being honest. Greta sighed and continued speaking, not even noticing that Jane was drying her hair.

“Even when it comes to bathing, we were supposed to take turns in groups, but they told me to take over the whole big bathroom and bathe first, all alone…”

“What’s wrong with bathing alone? Isn’t that normal?”

It seemed natural to me, but apparently, not for Greta. She sighed in frustration.

“In the mercenary group, there was no distinction between men and women. On the battlefield, who cares? If there’s water, you wash. But if it makes them uncomfortable, fine. That’s not the issue. The problem is, they make me bathe first, regardless of rank. Even knights like Sir Leonard have to gather and wait for me to finish.”

“Who decided that?”

“They all agreed it was best. They said it would prevent any… complications.”

Complications? What kind of complications are they talking about? Even if they all agreed, there were probably those who didn’t voice their dissatisfaction. If this keeps up, she might get mocked for “ladies first.” I did think Greta bathed unusually fast, maybe it’s an old habit from her days at the knight’s quarters.

“That’s one thing, but the most annoying part is that no one will spar with me. They all make excuses, saying they can’t, but they still greet and talk to me like there’s no problem. Yet no one will spar. I once grabbed the youngest one and asked, and he said he couldn’t spar with me because he didn’t have the skills to subdue me without injury… Ugh.”

Greta was about to pull at her hair, but then startled when she realized she was holding Jane’s hand.

“What’s this? Since when…?”

“Could you let go, please?”

Greta let go of Jane’s hand and sniffed her own hair.

“There’s a smell…?”

“I applied some scented oil. I thought you’d like the rose scent.”

Jane smiled sweetly. Greta looked at Jane in disbelief, scanning her from head to toe.

“How did I not notice…?”

That’s Jane for you, she’s a master at doing her job so discreetly that you forget she’s even there. Sometimes I forget she’s in the same room with me. Plus, she has this strange talent for walking silently, even on marble floors. If she weren’t a maid, she’d make a great assassin.

“Oh, by the way, may I make a suggestion?”

Greta, still confused, stared at Jane. I was also curious about what Jane had to say.

“How about letting out a scream after you finish bathing?”

“…What? A scream?”

“Yes, a scream. Then observe what happens. I think the ‘complications’ the knight order is worried about might be related to concerns about someone doing something improper to you.”

“Oh…”

Greta’s expression hardened.

“No way. I’m not someone who would just let that happen. If I scream in the bathroom, everyone outside would hear it.”

“What if it’s just someone sneaking a peek? It’d be hard for you to catch someone who quickly sneaks away, especially when you’re undressed.”

“…I guess that’s true. But if they wanted to see my body, they could just bathe with me. Why sneak around?”

Jane shook her head as if she couldn’t believe what Greta was saying. Hearing Jane’s explanation, I started to understand. The knight order is filled with young men brimming with energy.

On top of that, many aspiring knights are so focused on training that they rarely socialize, especially with women. So it wouldn’t be surprising if the higher-ups in the knight order were worried, as Jane said.

“Greta, just so you know, most knights probably think they have to marry a woman if they see her n*ked.”

“…What?”

Given the different views on sexuality between commoners and the upper class, it made sense that Greta was confused. She still looked shocked as she asked,

“Wait, so just because they see a little skin, they have to get married?”

Exactly.

“Greta, in high society, if an unmarried woman is caught alone with a man without a chaperone, it doesn’t matter if she’s clothed or not, they have to get married. If the man refuses, it ruins the woman’s reputation. Even being alone together is enough to start rumors, and if someone sees your body… I doubt even a convent would accept you after that.”

“Is it really that serious?”

Greta’s expression became grim.

“So that’s the reason…”

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