The Maid With a Child - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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25. The Master’s Room
“Then… Master. That person we saw earlier, Maeltina… is that right?”
“Maeltina? What about her?”
“His Majesty wants you to marry her, doesn’t he?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, if you don’t dislike it, Master, why not win over Maeltina’s heart and marry her?”
That way, House Sigeliorn would gain a Mistress of the House and become even more solid, you’d have less to worry about regarding succession, and the Crown Prince could be raised in a more stable environment.
And as a bonus, her own freedom as well.
“That would be nice.”
Rackalt chuckled at Adlen’s transparent suggestion and played along with it.
If it were Maeltina, she was an ideal match. There was nothing that would harm House Sigeliorn. Everything about her was positive. Done well, it was even possible she could elevate the family all the way to a duchy in one stroke.
But raising the family’s standing through marriage, through the other’s ability and status, was not his preference. So he hadn’t felt inclined to make any active moves. Until now.
But now… His Majesty was pushing for it, and his greatest ally, Adlen, was throwing her weight behind it too. So perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to try something.
Despite Rackalt’s light agreement, Adlen’s eyes sparkled.
“Exactly, right?! Then why not write her a love letter right away?”
“… Write what?”
“A love letter! You always said feelings need to be expressed to be conveyed!”
However indifferent Rackalt was to matters of the heart, he knew that wasn’t the way.
At such a naïve approach—one even a ten-year-old wouldn’t attempt nowadays—Rackalt found himself speechless.
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“Really?! I trust you completely, Master! If it’s alright with you, I’m happy to discuss anything with you!”
She was an entirely unreliable confidant.
Should a need for consultation ever arise, he made a firm resolution never to mention it to Adlen.
* * *
Where there was hope, people could survive even the most desperate of circumstances.
In Adlen’s case, it was the Master’s marriage.
Having glimpsed the light of hope in Maeltina, Adlen shook off the withering despair that had been consuming her and began to face the tasks before her.
“What do we need to prepare for the party?”
The moment they returned to Sigeliorn Mansion, Adlen set about attending to the King’s wishes.
The King’s birthday party still had nearly three months before it, but there was much to prepare in advance.
First, she would need to teach the Crown Prince birthday greetings, and next… well.
She had no idea.
So she asked.
Not knowing what a Royal Palace party even looked like, how could she know what to prepare?
Had Adlen already been a senior maid with enough seniority to have directly served the masters of the mansions where she’d worked, perhaps she would know. But she hadn’t reached that rank yet—she’d seen the masters’ faces only a handful of times.
“As for party preparation…”
Rackalt opened his mouth to answer Adlen’s question naturally, then fell silent.
“Master?”
“… Call the Head Butler.”
Rackalt himself had never actually organized a party before, so he didn’t know.
Moreover, his experience attending parties at all was limited. He’d spent far more time on battlefields than at party venues—only natural.
The royal parties he’d been obliged to attend hadn’t placed much emphasis on protocol.
Usually, he wore fine clothes, and sometimes he even came in armor. That was special treatment afforded him as a general and the King’s sword.
Because there was no social purpose behind it, such things were possible.
This time was different from then, when he’d merely shown his face and left.
The purpose now wasn’t to show himself to the King, but to present the Crown Prince to society. Naturally, they would have to prepare in accordance with the refined, unspoken rules of high society.
The problem was that no one here knew what those refined, unspoken rules were.
“I’ve prepared for war far more than for parties, I’m afraid…”
The summoned Head Butler answered hesitantly.
It was a moment that wounded the Head Butler’s pride deeply.
To be Head Butler and fail to properly assist the Master with party preparations! But there was nothing to be done.
The most that any member of House Sigeliorn had ‘ever’ actively participated in parties was in the previous generation.
A loyal subject and fierce general of the previous King, the humble knight family had steadily risen through the ranks to an earldom. But a newly risen power always drew both envy and admiration wherever it went.
The previous Earl had wanted to establish House Sigeliorn as a noble family. So he left no stone unturned in doing all that a nobleman could do.
It was the former Head Butler who had managed all of that. The current Head Butler had been the youngest butler then—working on tasks like chopping firewood, sweeping yards, and washing windows. He’d had no part in party preparations.
“I should have learned all of this myself beforehand. But there are records left by the former Head Butler, so I’ll search those!”
The Head Butler nearly wept as he rushed from the room.
“Is… is party preparation really that complicated and difficult?”
“I’m not exactly certain either, but when I attended my first party, there seemed to be certain things that had to be observed, dress codes and such.”
He had some vague memory of it, but not enough to speak with confidence.
What good would it do for ignorant people to huddle together and put their heads together?
“To get proper help, I need to ask someone who actually knows…….”
As Adlen murmured this half-consciously, a figure drifted through her mind.
“Oh! That person from back then! Maeltina!”
The woman who had seemed the very embodiment of perfection to Adlen, the one His Majesty had tried so hard to match with her master.
At this welcome thought, Adlen’s mind began to race.
“Could I not ask her for help?”
“……Maeltina?”
“Yes! Of all the noblewomen I’ve ever met, she was the most flawless. And the way she carried herself so confidently even before His Majesty! She must be so assured of her etiquette that she could manage it, don’t you think?”
“She can manage it because she’s the King’s relative.”
“……What?”
“Maeltina is the young lady of the Norwan Duchy. The Norwan Duchy is a cadet branch of the royal house.”
Adlen’s eyes widened.
Good heavens—perfect looks, perfect bearing, perfect manner, perfect voice, perfect speech, and perfect bloodline besides. Surely she was born precisely to be matched with our master.
Learning this fact, Adlen formed a new resolve.
“It has to be her. Please do send her an invitation!”
Not only for the sake of herself and the Crown Prince, but for our master as well!
Such an excellent match could not be allowed to slip away to anyone else.
“……I’ll send an invitation, then.”
Though Rackalt could plainly see through Adlen’s scheming this time too, he acquiesced readily enough.
By any reckoning, it was not a bad proposal.
If Maeltina became the Mistress of House Sigeliorn, there would be nothing but gain—no loss whatsoever. As the House Head, he ought to pursue it actively.
“When will you send it?”
“I’ll handle it later.”
Perhaps because Adlen was pushing so aggressively, he felt a contrary resistance; his inclination to act diminished instead.
“And, um……Master…….”
Having glimpsed the end of her life at the Royal Palace, Adlen continued to pour out demands without pause.
Everything she had suppressed until now came pouring out at once.
She had endured it by telling herself to hold on just a little longer, that it would only be days. But if this were to last a lifetime? She couldn’t bear it.
“From what I heard earlier, it sounds like there might not be any more attacks…….”
“That said——”
“So……could I perhaps return to my own quarters soon?”
What was this now.
Rackalt’s brow furrowed sharply.
With so much still to see to, he had no patience for requests to change arrangements that had been working well.
“Why.”
“Well, until now there was the danger of attacks, and……you kept me in my room because you didn’t trust me, didn’t you?”
“That said——”
“But now His Majesty knows who I am, and……there won’t be any more attacks, and……so there’s no real reason for me to stay in your room anymore, I……thought…….”
Her desire to escape her quarters was written all over her face.
Rackalt rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingertips.
“Did Morn promise never to attack again?”
“No…….”
“Then did General Kias sign some contract saying he wouldn’t come anymore?”
“No…….”
“Then why are you so at ease? The fate of Teplan and House Sigeliorn hangs in the balance—are you truly so carefree about it?”
“That’s not it…….”
Under his sharp questioning, Adlen’s lips merely trembled.
He had often noticed her pouting or biting her lips before, but today it seemed especially pronounced.
It was the rouge she had borrowed from another maid to complete her dressed appearance—a touch added to round out the look.
The vivid crimson of her lips grated against Rackalt’s nerves once more.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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