As the imperial princess’s exclusive maid, her position was closer to an attendant than a housekeeper. Regis felt some sympathy.
He cut a cross in front of his chest before reaching for his first piece of cheese.
“...Sounds like you have it hard.”
“That’s a surprise. Aren’t you supposed to think, ‘Now that’s status for you, that bitch. To think she actually gets paid for this,’ as you spit at me?”
“I would never even think of doing something so terrible! But, well... there are quite a few people who think that way. That’s why I think it’s hard for those who earn such seemingly advantaged positions. Envy and jealousy are some of the most terrifying things imaginable.”
“......”
Clarisse looked at him skeptically.
I’m getting a lot of looks today. Do I have ink on my face? Regis inspected himself for anything that could have caught her interest. He abruptly looked down at the item in his hand.
“Mn? Did you want some cheese?”
“Gladly.”
Clarisse nimbly pinched the cheese straight from his hand and stuffed it into her mouth.
There had been plenty of pieces still on the plate.
Quit messing with me, thought Regis as he picked up another.
Both ham and cheese were processed in order to be stored, but regardless, they certainly tasted their best fresh.
The coffee was also better than he’d expected.
“Mr. Regis, have you considered it yet?” Clarisse asked.
“Hmm? Con-Considered what...?”
Altina immediately came to mind. What could he do to help her become empress? When he hadn’t the confidence to work as her tactician, she had told him, “I’ll put as much trust in you as you refuse to put in yourself.”
Those words weren’t the only reason he had accepted the role, but... was there nothing he could do for her? He had weighed this question over in his mind too many times to count.
“Yes, but consideration alone is meaningless. I know that, and yet...”
“So you plan to take action?”
“That... That’s... I refuse to accept it as little more than a fairy tale.”
“I know you don’t have much confidence in yourself, but to think you’d compare the very idea to a fairy tale...”
“It’s simply too big a change for me to fathom. We stand at the very crossroads of history.”
“It’s that important?”
“I have no doubt about it. Foreign powers will feel the impact—an event that will go down in ten thousand books.”
“So it’s going to be amazing.”
“Yeah, at least, I think it’s going to be that significant.”
“Your wedding...”
“Right, my— What!?”
Regis inadvertently sprung from his seat. Clarisse’s eyes narrowed.
“All I asked was, ‘Have you considered it yet?’ What were you talking about?”
“Erk... Damn...”
He had let his guard down, thinking of her as Altina’s trusted retainer. He would have to be more cautious not to say anything unnecessary.
“You don’t plan on getting married, Mr. Regis?”
“...Why, marriage... There’s no way that’ll ever happen.”
“You’re an adult at fifteen. Don’t most people get engaged before twenty?”
“Certainly, my older sister married at nineteen. ...Oh, I guess I’m going to be that old soon... You got me there.”
“You have an older sister?”
“Yeah, she married three years ago and settled in Rouenne. She’s already got two kids, apparently.”
“Apparently?”
“I haven’t seen them yet. She got pregnant right after she married, and it’d be too dangerous for her to travel such a great distance with a young child. I should have made the journey myself, but I’d just been employed as a staff officer in a noble’s army. There was no way I could take an extended holiday as an apprentice.”
“But nobles often travel with their armies. With your position, I thought perhaps you would’ve had a chance to meet. Rouenne isn’t far from the capital, after all.”
“Ah, you see... Marquis Thénezay was getting on in years, so he refrained from making any unnecessary excursions.”
“I see.”
“We still exchange letters, though. Ah, come to think of it, I promised to send her one when I arrived at the fort... This isn’t good.”
“You still haven’t sent one? It’s been nearly a month since you got here...”
“H-Haaalf a month, at best... I’ll send one today.”
“That’s probably a good idea. What sort of person is she, your elder sister?”
Hm. Regis spent a second reminiscing. His sister was a woman who gave off a composed, mature air whenever she sat and stayed quiet. The problem was that she only ever stayed quiet when she was fast asleep. At least, that was the impression he got as her brother.
“Well... I’d say she’s the type to take the initiative. Three years ago, my sister and I were living in the suburbs of the capital...”
“Back when you were a student, correct?”
“Yeah. My sister was working as a maid, commuting to an aristocrat’s estate. One day, a blacksmith from Rouenne came to the local marketplace to sell his pots and knives, so she went and married him.”
“A maid in the capital, and a blacksmith from Rouenne... I fail to see the connection.”
Clarisse seemed deeply intrigued. For perhaps the first time, she was speaking genuinely, without a trace of mockery.
“The madam sent my sister to buy a replacement for her sewing scissors that had worn down. That’s when she met him.”
“Even then, that just makes them customer and seller. Isn’t that usually where such relationships end?”
“Normally, yes... but my sister proposed on the spot.”
Clarisse’s eyes shot wide open. That was simply how extraordinary the action had been.
“That caught me off guard. And I’m sure the blacksmith must have been surprised as well... It’s only good sense for the man to be the one to suggest marriage, and even then, only after the two have become adequately acquainted.”
“Haha... He really was surprised.”
“But he didn’t turn her down, right?”
“At first, he suspected it was a joke or a scam...”
“I can’t blame him.”
“So, in order to prove her sincerity, she brought the blacksmith right back with her to the manor. The madam was terribly surprised as well.”
She was sent to buy sewing scissors, only to return with a blacksmith and groom.