It was quite irritating how the Emperor spoke of her as if she were his possession, despite this fact.

Claude suppressed his desire to abandon formality and say what was really on his mind.

Max Yehemd Lezentra.

He was a mere youth who had ascended to the throne solely because he was the only legitimate heir to the imperial family, despite being unfit to be Emperor. Crowned at the young age of 15, he remained unchanged even now at 24.

An incompetent Emperor who was capricious and unable to make proper judgments.

Claude quickly managed his expression in response to the Emperor’s obvious sentiments.

“She’s not someone worthy of Your Majesty’s attention. Isn’t her low status beneath Your Majesty’s dignity?”

“Yes, that’s true… Still, her skills are incomparable to other knights. Ah, you must have seen it too, Duke Heinst.”

The Emperor asked, believing Flora was living among the family knights. It was a comment made in ignorance of her being made a maid.

Not feeling any need to correct this directly, Claude maintained his usual inscrutable face with a faint smile.

The Emperor, whose eyes suggested he wanted to rush to the Heinst mansion right away, suddenly blurted out whatever thought had occurred to him.

“That’s right, Duke. Bring Flora to my upcoming birthday celebration.”

Claude’s eyes narrowed sharply as he listened silently. While the Emperor had often asked questions about her, this was the first time he had ordered her to be brought to the imperial palace.

Unaware of his reaction, the Emperor kept muttering “Yes, that would be good” to himself, satisfied with his decision.

“If I could see Flora’s swordsmanship at the celebration, it might ease this stifling feeling in my chest.”

Feeling somewhat reluctant, Claude added another word.

“However, Your Majesty, if I bring that woman… wouldn’t it give others unnecessary reasons to find fault?”

The upcoming celebration was called the Emperor’s birthday, but more importantly, a crucial nationwide conference was scheduled beforehand. Specifically, to sign peace treaties with envoys from various nations in preparation for the approaching first anniversary of the war’s end.

Therefore, it was quite risky to display an undisposed soldier at such an official occasion due to the Emperor’s insistence.

“What does it matter, Duke? It’s a celebration of my birthday. Who would dare question my decision, as the Emperor of the Lezentra Empire, on such an occasion?”

The Emperor smiled arrogantly, his grin stretching wide.

The Emperor, not withdrawing his order, emphasized again.

“So bring her. My Flora.”

It was an explicit imperial command that couldn’t be defied.

Claude’s artificial smile naturally faded.

* * *

The mansion at noon, with its master away, was quieter than usual. Though security had become quite strict after the recent incident, the maids’ daily routines remained unchanged.

Fresh air flowed through the wide-open windows, swirling around the room. Mary, who had been staring blankly out the window, turned to look at Flora, who was silently focused on cleaning the reception room.

“Flora, take it easy.”

Flora, diligent as always, smiled once before continuing her work. While most took it easy when the master was away, Flora remained consistently conscientious.

“I feel better getting it done quickly.”

“You’re just too good, Flora. This is when we’re supposed to take it easy while the master’s away.”

Mary sat down and rested her chin on her hand on the sofa. She even put her feet up as she muttered.

Then Mary asked rather cautiously.

“Hey… Flora. Is what people are saying true?”

“What do you mean?”

Mary seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing.

“Well, everyone’s saying that it wasn’t the master who dealt with those bad guys but you, Flora… I mean, it’s ridiculous, how could they say such nonsense about delicate Flora…”

“Yes, that’s right. I found and subdued them.”

Flora answered casually, brushing it off as if it were nothing special.

“…Really?”

Mary’s eyes shook.

A maid who faced assassins alone. That fact alone made everyone in the mansion look at her differently.

The employees offered thanks and food whenever they saw her, treating her like a hero who had saved their lives.

“So you really were a soldier in the western unit, not a maid?”

Flora nodded lightly.

Having crossed swords with the family knight in front of several people, it was no longer something that could be called a secret. If anything, it was rather surprising that Mary was only asking about it now.

“I… thought it was obviously a lie.”

Mary muttered to herself with a shocked expression.

Since there had been malicious rumors about Flora before, Mary had dismissed the stories she heard a few days ago as nonsense.

But when not just one, but several people kept talking about it, she felt something was odd and decided to ask.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier. The situation wasn’t right.”

“I understand. It must not have been easy to talk about.”

Mary waved both hands, smiling and saying it was fine now that she knew.

Afterward, though Mary seemed to have more questions, she changed the subject.

“Oh right. His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday is coming up soon. They say there’ll be a big festival in the square. Want to go shopping together for dresses and accessories to wear then?”

“I’m not interested.”

“Why…? It would be nice to try on pretty dresses.”

Mary pouted at Flora, who was brushing under a vase while expressing disinterest.

Sometimes Mary felt sorry for Flora.

‘She’s so pretty though.’

Flora was truly a beautiful woman. Though she lacked some femininity, her clear skin and elegant eyelids could make even other women blush, forgetting they were the same gender.

Now knowing her background as a soldier, her lack of interest in adornment was somewhat understandable, yet also more regrettable.

“Then how about trying some makeup? I’m actually quite skilled at it. I did Yulvi’s makeup last time.”

Flora smiled faintly, remembering the maid who had gone out all dressed up for a date recently. She had also been secretly impressed by how dramatically different she looked.

“So let’s try it. Hm? I’m begging you here.”

Perhaps thinking Flora wasn’t completely uninterested, Mary urged again with a pleading voice.

Mary was always enthusiastic. Not just about work, but she had quite broad interests. One of them was fashion and makeup, which was why she would occasionally bring up the same topic when she thought enough time had passed.

But Flora had no interest in maintaining her appearance. She had never tried it, nor did she feel the desire to show herself to anyone.

“You need to look pretty to catch men’s eyes. Who knows? A handsome noble might fall for you.”

Mary grinned broadly, saying it was like a dream just thinking about it.

Then suddenly, as if remembering something, she shook her head.

“No, never mind. Who knows what terrible things might happen if a maid gets involved with a noble. To them, we’re probably not even considered human…”

Flora suddenly stopped as she was removing withered flowers from a vase to replace them with freshly cut roses.

She remembered the Duke’s face when he found himself in the same bed with her days ago. That expression of extreme displeasure at having spent the night with a maid.

“…Is that so?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? Even our master is like that. He’s just more fair compared to other nobles who find fault with trivial things, but strictly speaking, we’re probably invisible to him.”

Mary energetically replied while vigorously patting the cushions on the sofa one by one.

“He even ruthlessly dismissed the head maid who was his nanny. It means he has no need for employees who cross the line.”

Though he was generally an approachable master within the mansion, his position as the head of the empire’s only ducal family made him second only to the Emperor.

Flora unconsciously lowered her gaze. Though he was her first man, she realized that to him it might not even be significant enough to merit such consideration — just another common occurrence.

“For us, it’s best to meet nice men of similar status and live ordinary lives.”

Mary, who had often heard about the fate of maids who got involved with nobles, gave a stern warning.

“Be careful, Flora. Even if some noble comes looking for you and asks you to be his mistress, you must never give in.”

“…That would never happen anyway.”

“You never know about these things. Even in my hometown, there were countless such rumors, even if they were kept quiet. So it’s better not to have any expectations from the start.”

Mary changed the subject, saying it would only lead to hardship later if one dared to dream such dreams.

Flora adjusted her grip on the brush handle and swept the mantelpiece clean. The Duke’s face in the portrait hanging right above seemed to be looking down at her.

* * *