The imperial capital of Thundergard was known by many names—the city where the sun never set, the thousand-year city, the glorious capital... It was a city with a long history, so naturally, the closer one got to the center, the less land there was available.
Nina and the others, therefore, couldn’t believe their eyes.
The estate they arrived at was enormous. The grounds, which were so vast that it was hard to believe that just outside lay the tightly packed houses of the capital, were thickly wooded. There was even a large pond. The Dark Frost Mercenaries’ estate had been large as well, but this was on a whole different scale—and right in the middle of the city. That towering building in the distance could only be the residence of Marquess Donquis.
The four of them had been so stunned by his proposal to Nina that before they could muster any counterarguments, they’d found themselves herded into the carriage and escorted here.
“Come, Nina. From today, this shall be your home.”
As the apparently besotted marquess approached, they finally came back to their senses. Astrid reached out from behind Nina and scooped her up in her arms while Emily planted herself between them.
“Wh-Where do you get off on shocking people like that?!” she said. “And what even is this place?!”
“It’s...my house?”
“Yeah, no duh! The point is, we’re not giving you Nina, you lolicon creep!”
“Loli...what? I haven’t any idea what you mean. All I want is Nina.”
“Chi will not let you have her,” Tien said, stepping forward to stand beside Emily.
“Why not? You do know I’m a marquess, right? A noble? Marrying into a noble family is the best thing that could happen to a commoner girl like her.”
“Nina is traveling with us, my lord,” Astrid said. “We’re not even staying in the city very long.”
“You can go off traveling again once she’s a noble. It’ll be safer, and you can get into places ordinary commoners can’t.”
Donquis had a comeback for everything Emily and the others threw at him. He was well aware of the privileges afforded to him by his class, and believed himself far superior to any commoner.
“If you please, my lord...” Nina said hesitantly. “I’m truly sorry, but it’s just as Emily and the others said. I’m not at all fit to become the wife of a noble.”
“What makes you think that? I’ll arrange the whole thing. All you need to bring is yourself.”
“Well, seeing as you asked, my lord, the reason is simply this: I’m a maid.”
This didn’t follow at all, but to Emily, Astrid, and Tien, it made perfect sense.
“Um. Okay...?” Donquis looked confused. He considered things for a moment. “In that case, I wish to hire you to work for my household. That’s what maids do, isn’t it? Not travel.”
“Erm, yes, I suppose...”
“Right! That settles it, then! You shall join my household as a ma—”
“Master! What is all this?!”
A crowd of around thirty people emerged from the mansion and hurried toward them. They were all maids, yet their clothes were made from exceptionally fine fabrics, without a trace of dirt or a frayed hem in sight.
Leading the pack was a girl with long blonde hair tied in a single braid, and pulled back to reveal her large forehead.
✦ ✦ ✦
Her fierce, golden eyes were fixed on Marquess Donquis.
The butler went over to her and leaned close to her ear. “The master of the house wishes to add that maid to our household.”
The blonde girl’s eyes went wide. “Master... There are some things that even you ought not to involve yourself in. I, Ciara Lorsted, am your housekeeper, and the hiring of maids is my domain! It was in your contract with the Lorsted maids!”
Nina was dumbstruck.
This young girl was the housekeeper? And not only that, she’d said Lorsted maids!
“Th-The famed Lorsted maids...? The very best in all of maid-dom? I never imagined I might meet one of them here!”
Maid-dom? Did Nina really just say ‘maid-dom’? Emily wanted to tease her about it, but Nina’s expression was so deathly serious that she caught herself.
Donquis looked very pleased with himself. “Ah, you know of them? That’ll make this easy. You are exactly right! In my household, I employ a maid of the Lorsted family. The name of Lorsted is bestowed only upon those who have studied directly under and received the approval of the maid that all nobles dream of one day employing...Winoa Lorsted! They call themselves the Lorsted maids! What do you say now, Nina? Will you come and work for me?”
It was nice of him to give a full explanation, even though the Lorsted maid in question had just told him off.
“I’m afraid I must decline,” Nina said.
“Eh?! Why?!”
“My mistress gave me firm instructions to never associate with the maids of the Lorsted family.”
“Why would she say that? The Lorsted maids are the best in the world, aren’t they?”
“EEEEYAAAAHHHH!!!”
All of a sudden, Ciara Lorsted let out a deafening shriek.
Heads turned. The girl coughed, steadying herself.
“My apologies for that most un-maid-like interjection,” she said, “but master, there is something I need to tell you. See the way she carries herself, how she wears her uniform. Even after a single meeting, I would never forget a maid of such ability, and yet I have no memory of her. At the same time, however, I had the strangest sense of having seen her somewhere before. This maid’s mistress is Vasiliace!”
Everyone, Ciara’s fellow maids included, looked blank.
Except for Nina, that is.
“You know my mistress, then?” she said.
Yes, Vasiliace was the name of the maid who’d trained her.
Ciara turned back to the marquess. “My lord Donquis,” she said imploringly. “If she is indeed one of Vasiliace’s girls, that is all the more reason not to allow her to join your household!”
“Excuse me? I don’t have to listen to this from a maid.” The marquess scowled, but Ciara didn’t back down.
“If you recall, our initial contract stipulated that all matters of employment were to be entrusted to me. If you cannot satisfy all the terms, it will impede me in the flawless execution of my duties.”
“My lord...” the butler said. “On this point, I believe Ciara is correct. The hiring of maids has always been the province of the lady of the house and the housekeeper...”
“Oh, shut up! Just shut up! Fine, I’ll make her my third wife instead! Then I can let her do as much maid-ing as she likes!”
“That is a specious argument that flouts our contract,” Ciara said.
“My lord, employing a Lorsted maid is essential to maintaining your standing. I trust you will use your best judgment.”
“Gah...!”
This exchange between the marquess, the butler, and Ciara struck Nina as rather odd. The way it usually worked was that the master of the house was at the top, and the maids and manservants obeyed his orders. They might offer suggestions when the master’s decision was obviously wrong, but the way that the butler had all but ordered the marquess to consider a maid’s opinion was unthinkable. Yet the butler and Ciara asserted themselves as though it were perfectly natural.
“Look, I just don’t see what the big deal is about Nina being a maid!” the marquess whined. “Who’s Vasi-what’s-her-face anyway?”
“Vasiliace is infamous in maid-dom for being a psychopathic drunk. Not to mention her hostility toward the Lorsteds.”
“Uh...” Emily looked at Nina. “That’s who you learned to be a maid from?”
Nina laughed sheepishly. “More or less...”
Apparently, it was a pretty accurate portrait.
“What do I care if she’s hostile?!” the marquess said. “That wasn’t in our contract!”
Ciara sighed as though she were trying to reason with a toddler having a tantrum.
“Then this is what I propose,” she said. “While I cannot begin to fathom your fascination with this so-called Nina who herself admits to being a disciple of Vasiliace, perhaps a demonstration of how her capabilities pale in comparison to those of a Lorsted maid will convince you to give up this ridiculous notion of employing her.”
“A demonstration?”
“Yes, my lord. I propose a maid duel.”
“Uh...?”
The marquess stared at her, speechless. He wasn’t surprised so much as baffled by the concept of a “maid duel.” In fact, everyone there knew exactly how he felt.
“You shall duel me.”
Ciara looked hatefully at Nina, who looked just as confused as the others. She didn’t seem taken by the idea.
“What are you looking like that for?” Ciara demanded. “Ahh, I see how it is. You’re scared of losing, aren’t you?”
“Hey, um... I don’t know what this maid duel thing is, but we just want to get out of here. I know I’m not keen to work at this estate,” Emily said. “Can we just say you won, and you let us leave?”
“Be silent, you washed-up excuse for a mage.”
“H-Hey! I’m the real deal, I’ll have you know!”
“What any of you want is no longer relevant. As a Lorsted maid, I’m obligated to show Vasiliace’s disciple the difference in our abilities, aren’t I?”
“What are you asking me for?!”
“And more to the point, do you think a failed, commoner mage can deny the wishes of His Lordship, the Marquess Donquis?”