She had brown hair and hazel eyes, and wore a familiar rouge-colored maid gown. She had come out of the food storage with a jute bag on her handcart.
It was Clarisse.
“......”
She curtseyed expressionlessly. It never ceased to amaze Regis how silent and stone-faced she was when other people were around.
Gösta stood up straight with the box in his hands.
“Aah!? C-C-Clarisse! P-Pleasure! Good morning!”
“...Good morning.”
“W-What lovely weather we’re having today!”
Upon hearing that, Regis and Elin quizzically looked up.
The sky was just beginning to light up from the east, but was almost entirely clouded over.
“Certainly,” was all Clarisse replied. It seemed she didn’t have anything else to say.
“...Isn’t Gösta acting a little strange?” Regis whispered to Elin.
“...Oh, yes, it seems my brother has quite a thing for Clarisse.”
“...Huh?”
While Clarisse was a maid all the same, she was essentially the retainer of the imperial princess, giving her a sense of refinement absent from the servants in these outskirts. She was pretty enough, and it wasn’t strange that someone might find her fair hair and skin alluring. To add to that, her figure was shapely enough to make out over her apron.
And yet, when it came to Gösta, her expression was as unchanging as that of a doll. Her entire vocabulary seemed to consist of “yes,” “certainly,” and “really.”
This was a time where beautiful yet unsociable women carried a low reputation—just as one tended to keep distance from a fast but temperamental horse.
Elin leaked a sigh.
“...My brother’s tastes aren’t quite conventional. He’s a bit of a weirdo. It really is a bother.”
“...Yes, well, I’m of the mind that it’s best to respect his preferences.”
“Personally, if I were to marry someone, he’d have to be intellectual and kind, with a stable occupation that doesn’t risk them dying on the battlefield.”
“Hmm, I see... Having a stable job that doesn’t kill you is always a plus.” Regis nodded.
Elin gazed intently at him. There was a heated curiosity in her eyes.
What’s gotten into her? Regis wondered.
Clarisse politely lowered her head.
“I have work to attend to. I must take my leave.”
“Y-Yes, of course! I apologize for keeping you!”
“......”
Unfortunately for Gösta, the chances of Clarisse returning his affection seemed hopelessly slim.
She had only just cut off the conversation when she turned to Regis with a dazzling smile across her face. She was like a completely different person. He had to wonder if a forest spirit had possessed her.
“Good morning, Mr. Regis.”
“Eh? Yeah, morning.”
“Are you going somewhere?”
“No... just seeing them off. There are still documents I need to draft up.”
“Is that so? Would you care for some coffee from the dining hall?”
“Coffee? Why, I was just about to ask for some...”
Regis was bewildered by Clarisse, who was acting kinder than she had ever been to him before.
“Ufufu, then that works out perfectly. We had a fresh order of coffee beans arrive this morning. Please, allow me to brew a delicious cup for you at once.”
She pointed toward the jute bag on her cart.
While he was thankful for the coffee... Gösta’s stare pricked him all over. Even Elin was now pouting, a scary expression brazenly spread across her face.
Regis dropped his brow, asking Clarisse in a lowered voice:
“...Hey, Miss, are you plotting something?”
“My, my, what ever could you be referring to?”
Clarisse’s glimmering smile remained so unchanged, he wondered if she was wearing a mask.
Gösta grit his teeth almost audibly. His arms carrying the documents trembled, the wooden crate letting off quiet grating sounds.
He was displeased, by all accounts.
Regis broke into a cold sweat.
“...Clarisse, could you please refrain from worsening my work conditions?”
“Oh? I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’re definitely doing this on purpose.”
“Ufufufu...”
In the end, Gösta left with a resentful, “Don’t think you’ve won!” and raced into the carriage. Elin was smiling as she gave her goodbyes, but her eyes shone with a conflicting intensity.
The carriage left through the south gate. Regis saw it off as he had promised, however—
“Hah... Clarisse. Please quit it with the jokes. I won’t make any further progress with the paperwork without their cooperation.”
“Have you taken a liking to Ms. Elin?”
“Mn? What are you talking about? It’s Gösta who... Err, well, that’s not my business to speak on.”
“...She looked all too eager to work her wiles on you.”
“Hah?”
“No, it’s nothing. Mr. Regis, coffee alone isn’t enough to fill your stomach, is it? We received ham and cheese as well—would you care for some breakfast?”
“Oh, that sounds like a plan.”
“So you want to eat, yes?”
“Yeah.”
“That will require three round trips from the storehouse to the kitchen~♪”
“...Can’t say I didn’t see that coming... Good grief.”
✧ ✧ ✧
And so Regis helped Clarisse transport an army’s worth of food.
At a noble’s mansion, a team of maids would carry out all the housework. They would make breakfast before the sun rose, then spend their time cleaning and doing laundry before preparing to make dinner in the evenings.
However, the fort’s chores were done by soldiers on rotation, and the number of actual maids was low enough to count on two hands.
Among them, Clarisse, as the princess’s maid, seemed able to act with relative freedom.
While the other servants prepared breakfast for the senior officers, she cut and lined up ham and cheese for Regis alone.
Regis feasted on an early breakfast in a corner of the officers’ dining hall.
“...Am I causing you any trouble?”
“Why do you ask, Mr. Regis?”
“Normally, the officers’ dining hall should only be used by senior officers... I’m far from anything of the sort.”
“It’s a bit late for such concerns. How many times have you used this hall so far? Neither the princess nor the margrave have raised any complaints over your presence. In short, no one cares. Eat where you want.”
“I suppose... Even if that’s true, Ms. Clarisse, don’t you have your own job to do?”
To take time out of her busy morning to prepare breakfast for him—he didn’t know whether he should feel thankful or apologetic.
“My only real job is to look after the princess. I’m just helping out with everything else.”