Since she was a newcomer, Vivianne had to handle all the difficult and troublesome tasks, but she didn’t hold back. She would step into large tubs to wash blankets with her feet, and especially, wringing out the finished laundry and hanging it on the clothesline was mostly Vivianne’s responsibility. While it required some skill, it was mostly manual labor.

Perhaps because she had never done hard work before, her whole body ached as if she had been beaten, but fortunately, she had confidence in her physical strength since her mermaid days. Vivianne gritted her teeth and endured.

No matter how hard she worked, there was no end to the tasks.

At lunchtime, the laundry maids were more interested in sprawling out on the mat than biting into their rye bread.

Vivianne thought about stretching her back for a moment, but…

“Hey, Vivi.”

Such luxury wasn’t afforded to the newest member.

“Yes?”

“Take that basket of towels to the training grounds.”

“…Yes!”

Without even getting a chance to sit down, Vivianne hugged the basket of towels and headed to the training grounds.

The Larson knights were training at the grounds. She was told that no matter how many towels they washed, there were never enough and they needed to be replenished frequently. It was especially true now that the weather was starting to get warmer.

Tedious and troublesome work. That was the newest member’s job.

Though the mountain of towels in the large basket made it hard to see ahead, Vivianne hurried her steps. If she didn’t return quickly, lunch break would be over.

Perhaps because she had loaded too many at once, the towels stacked in the basket wobbled precariously.

“…!”

Just as the towels were about to spill onto the ground, someone supported the basket with firm strength and took it from her.

“Th-thank you.”

The clean towels had almost fallen onto the dirt ground.

Since it would have been a real disaster if no one had caught it, Vivianne reflexively expressed her gratitude. The man smiled good-naturedly as if it was nothing.

“Allen. Take this.”

“Yes, Captain. Oops.”

As the two men passed the basket between them, Vivianne’s face, which had been hidden behind the basket, was revealed. When the two men discovered her, their pupils dilated and…

Crash—

They ended up spilling the basket of towels after all.

Oh dear, goodness. The clean towels were now scattered on the dirt ground.

“Oh no…!”

Vivianne quickly crouched down to pick up the towels that had fallen on the ground.

The two men, who had been staring blankly at Vivianne for a moment, soon bent down hurriedly to help pick up the towels.

“I-I’m sorry. My hands slipped and…”

“No, it’s my fault for carrying too many at once. You were just trying to help. I’ll go back and see if I can find new ones to bring.”

When Allen apologized with a pale face, Vivianne shook her head.

“Hey, Allen.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“They’re just towels for wiping sweat while rolling in the dirt anyway. Do they really need to be clean?”

“What?”

What’s this about? Allen doubted his ears when the captain, who was always a stickler for principles, said something so unlike himself.

“You’d better answer properly. It was your fault, after all.”

“Oh, right! It doesn’t matter. They’ll end up covered in dirt and sweat anyway!”

“If you understand, just gather them up roughly and take them. Explain it well.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“If the guys make a fuss, tell them the captain spilled them and if they have something to say about that, talk to him directly.”

“Yes sir!”

Allen quickly gathered the towels, picked up the basket, and disappeared.

Was it resolved without any problems?

Though she had offered to bring new ones, she had been prepared to be scolded by her supervising maid. Vivianne was just dazed, unsure if she could really feel relieved about this.

Still, she definitely owed them something.

“Th-thank you.”

“Um, might I ask your name…?”

The captain casually asked for her name. His tanned, masculine face was somehow quite flushed.

“It’s Vivianne.”

“Ah, so it is you.”

“Pardon?”

“Hello. You know the head maid… right?”

“The head maid?”

“I mean, if I say Matilda, would you know?”

“Yes, Matilda!”

When the familiar name came up, Vivianne’s face brightened considerably.

“She’s my mother.”

Matilda’s son? I’d only heard about her daughter.

When Vivianne opened her eyes wide in surprise, he smiled with gentle eyes.

“It seems mother hasn’t told you about me yet. I’m Theodore. You can call me Theo.”

Theodore suddenly extended his right hand. It was meant for a handshake, but Vivianne, who didn’t know what a handshake was, just stared blankly at the outstretched hand.

“Ah, I suppose I’m just too used to being around men all the time. Suddenly offering a handshake was a bit strange, wasn’t it?”

“…A handshake?”

“Ah, no, just forget about it.”

He waved his hand dismissively and smiled awkwardly.

“Well, I’m the captain of the Larson Knights. Not the sailing kind. More like, well, protecting Larson and its people, that sort of role.”

“Ah…”

So Matilda’s son is Theodore. Captain of the Larson Knights.

Theo.

Vivianne nodded slowly while mapping out the relationships in her head.

“How’s the maid work going?”

“I’m still clumsy. I’m studying hard.”

“I see. Are you feeling alright? Mother was worried about you until she left.”

“I’m fine except for some body aches.”

“You’re aching? Where?”

She had just mentioned it without thinking. His face immediately became concerned. Vivianne felt a bit flustered, wondering if she shouldn’t have said anything.

“Just a moment.”

Theodore rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a small glass bottle.

“Take this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s an herbal ointment the knights use when they get muscle aches. It helps if you rub it where it hurts.”

Vivianne took the glass bottle somewhat bewilderedly and stared at Theodore.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

He smiled shyly, seeming a bit embarrassed even after showing such kindness.

“If you ever have any difficulties. Or if someone’s bothering you, come find me anytime. I’m always at the training grounds during the day, and at night I’m in the knights’ quarters… ah, no, don’t come at night. It’s full of rough men there.”

“Thank you so much for your consideration.”

Is it because he’s Matilda’s son? Theodore is such a kind person too.

Actually, after Matilda, Theodore was the first person to be this kind to her.

For a moment, she recalled Kian’s words about how there’s no kindness without reason, but she didn’t want to think about it that way.

“They’ll probably be looking for me, so I should go now.”

It was almost the end of lunch break. Vivianne gave Theodore a deep bow and left the training grounds.

* * *

“Captain.”

While watching the woman’s retreating figure as she hurried away, someone called out to Theodore. It was Allen, the knight who had taken the towel basket earlier.

“What.”

“Isn’t she that famous woman? The one they said was found collapsed on the beach?”

Theodore’s brow furrowed in irritation, wondering why he had to bring that up.

“She might have had unavoidable circumstances. What’s wrong with someone being found collapsed? Don’t talk carelessly about it.”

“Well, that’s true. I was being thoughtless.”

“Good that you understand.”

Even as Theodore responded irritably, he couldn’t take his eyes off her retreating figure.

“But Captain.”

“What.”

“I’ve never seen such a beautiful woman in my life. Don’t you agree?”

“Wake up, you fool.”

“Hey, who’s dreaming? Can’t I even say something pretty is pretty? You’re being too harsh.”

Allen complained after receiving repeated criticism.

“…She is pretty.”

Yes. Anyone would find her pretty. No, her being too pretty was the problem. He had heard she was beautiful, but seeing her in person had left him momentarily stunned.

Moreover, being the subject of such provocative rumors, and with Larson being full of rough men like the one beside him, he could understand why Matilda worried about her like a child left by the water’s edge.

“Why did the master make such a beautiful lady a maid?”

“What do you mean?”

“Wouldn’t it be more natural to make her a mistress?”

Theodore only took his eyes off her when Vivianne’s figure was no longer visible.

A mistress? With that fastidious personality of his?

He knew better than anyone that his master wouldn’t easily let anyone near him, let alone a woman.

Theodore looked up at Kian’s bedroom on the fourth floor of the main building.

As usual, the bedroom terrace was wide open, but Kian wasn’t visible there.

Letting out a faint sigh, he glared at Allen with a stern face.

“Allen. Watch your mouth.”

* * *

Perhaps because Kian’s bedroom faced southeast, the morning sunlight stretched particularly long each morning. With this layout, it was impossible to sleep in even if he wanted to.

Waking up at the same time and finishing a quick shower, Kian, wearing a robe, lounged in a single armchair and opened the newspaper.

Drip-drip—

Along with the modest sound of water from the teapot, the scent of black tea spread through the air. The maid serving tea moved quietly but efficiently, as if she were there but not there.

As usual, milk, sugar, and lemon were prepared to add to the black tea, but Kian, as always, added nothing.

Until the third page of the newspaper. Around the time he had skimmed through the main articles and only trivial gossip remained, he put down his teacup with about a quarter left.

Usually, clearing this away would be the end of it.

Clink— At the sound of the tea set clinking, the attending maid looked at the teacup. For some reason, today it was completely empty.

Today was a bit different from other days.

“What’s your name?”

As the maid was about to clear away the tea set, Kian addressed her.

“It’s Eliza, sir.”

“I see. Eliza. You’ve worked hard all this time.”

“Pardon? Have I done something wrong?”

“No.”

He firmly cut off the maid who was asking if she had made a mistake.

“Starting tomorrow, send Vivi instead of you.”