I ring a bell set next to a heavy door, and not long after, a young maid peeks out from behind it. She sees I’m carrying Sieglinde on my back, and quickly opens the door and brings us inside.
The brightly lit entrance is furnished with a sofa that seems higher class than the one in the reception room of the ministry of magic, and that’s where I put Sieglinde. The maid then walks over to her with a worried look on her face.
“Don’t worry, she just passed out from drinking too much.”
“Thank goodness… Thank you for bringing her. Hum… Mister Weiss, correct?”
She asks while looking at me with a curious look on her face. I get the feeling that there’s a sort of strangely pleasant look in her eyes, but I’m probably just imagining that.
“…I don’t remember saying my name.”
And it’s hard to picture Sieglinde talking about me to other people. And since only the two of us and Miss Esmeralda know about Ririi being a high elf, I don’t think she would talk about me and needlessly draw attention to her.
I can’t find a reason why this young maid of the Floyd family knows my name, and I feel a strange chill running down my spine. And why is this maid looking at me with that big smile on her face?
She keeps that friendly smile while she suddenly approaches me. She has big eyes like a cat, and her head passes by mine before she whispers in my ear.
“…Hum, I hope you take good care of Lady Sieglinde.”
“…?”
She pulls back, and keeps looking at me with that smile pasted on her face. I feel like I’m being monitored. Just what does she know…
“Hey…”
“Well then! I have to carry Lady Sieglinde!”
The maid carries Sieglinde on her back and is about to start walking, almost like she’s getting a head start on me. I rush over to her and grab her back.
“She’s too heavy. I’ll take her.”
“What!? You can’t call Lady Sieglinde heavy, Mister Weiss.”
She says, even though she’s handing Sieglinde over to me anyway. So she really is too heavy, uh?
She’s talking like we’re friends, and I lose the will to retort. The maid from before was a proper serious maid, so how come there’s such a huge difference in their attitudes? The Floyd mansion might be more lax than I thought.
“This is Lady Sieglinde’s room.”
After being led down a very long hallway, we finally reach her room. I enter the room while thinking that this place is too big, and in the back of this luxurious room that’s bigger than my living room, I see a bed with a canopy.
…She sleeps on a bed fit for a princess like this? It goes completely against my image of her.
“Hn… Munya…”
I lay Sieglinde on her bed, and she makes noises like she’s sleeping comfortably. I guess reaching her own bed put her into a real sleep mode.
“Thank you very much, Mister Weiss. I will take it from here.”
“Yes, thanks.”
I leave the room, and for some reason, the maid follows me. I wish I could tell her I don’t need her to escort me to the exit, but I honestly don’t know if I can reach the front door without her. And so, I resign myself to following her.
“Oh, I have a question.”
“Oh dear, what is it?”
“Is she… Okay like that? She stayed in my place the other day, but…”
“Ah…”
The maid awkwardly responds with mumbling. That’s sort of an answer in itself, but I wait for actual words.
“…Actually, it might not be very good… Mistress Floyd is lenient about this sort of thing, but Master Floyd still thinks very dearly of his daughter… The other day, when Lady Sieglinde returned home in the morning, they had an argument, which is a rare sight.”
“…Did they…”
It must be tough for her, still having people dictate how she acts at that age. I guess that’s the fate of someone born into a prestigious family.
“We should probably not do this anymore then.”
It’s not like drinking with Sieglinde isn’t fun, but we can’t have the head of the Floyd family get mad. Not to mention that I’m troubling the maids, and it’s probably bad for Sieglinde’s position.
At least that’s what I think, but the maid turns around, faces me directly, and denies it.
“No, please feel free to take Lady Sieglinde out with you.”
There’s no hint of the warm mood from before in her serious expression. There’s no doubt that she means what she says.
But I don’t get it. She’s a servant, going against her master’s will.
“Are you sure? Won’t her father get mad?”
“Don’t worry about it. Mistress Floyd agrees. Furthermore… All the maids have decided to back Lady Sieglinde.”
“…I feel like there’s something more complicated going on.”
It’s like there are two sides here. The mother’s side that feels Sieglinde is an adult and she should do what she wants, and the father’s side that says that no matter how old she gets, she’s still his daughter. What’s surprising is that the maids picked neither, and are instead on Sieglinde’s side.
I see Sieglinde as someone who’s hard on everyone, including herself, but is she that respected?
“That is all. I hope you continue to take good care of Lady Sieglinde.
She says as she sees me off with a smile, and I leave the Floyd mansion.
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