The moment we returned to the manor, I was made to take a bath and get changed into a dress. Given the status of my parents, it was important for me to meet them in the correct attire.
Our family was a lot more relaxed about etiquette when we were alone, but it seemed likely that the higher the rank of a noble family, the more distant its members were from one another. It was the wet nurses and ladies-in-waiting who looked after the children, and depending on the season, we sometimes only saw our parents once a month. Even now, Chris’s valet had been the one to come to my room and pass the message on to Brad, who then passed it on to me while I was drinking my tea.
“The meeting with His Lordship the Margrave shall be this evening. He must attend a soiree tonight, so it will only be for a short time, but Lord Chris has said he wishes to talk to your parents as soon as possible.”
I almost wanted to complain that he could’ve just told me that directly, but this pomp and circumstance was what made nobles nobles, I supposed.
Besides, wasn’t it kind of cool? Brad had stood straight beside me in his black uniform and then carefully leaned his upper body down to tell me the message. I felt just like a noble lady. I was starting to understand why there had been butler cafés in Japan.
“I understand. The message has been received,” I said as I held out my empty cup. Rex swooped in with a tray and took it away. He left nothing to be desired in his performance.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up this noble lady mode for very long. The moment Chris’s valet had received my answer from Brad and the door had shut behind him, I immediately pulled my feet up onto my chair and leaned lazily on the armrest.
“Lady Deirdre, may we have a moment of your time?”
“What is it?” I remained in my relaxed position, moving only my eyes to look at Rex. He had sent the ladies-in-waiting away, so it was only us three now.
“There was something Lord Chris wished for me to inform you of before you speak with your family.”
“Is this gonna take a while? You can have some tea if you’d like.”
While I was rearranging the cushions behind me to make the chair more comfortable, Brad and Rex prepared their own tea before seating themselves on the other side of the table from me.
I was surrounded by so many beautiful people that I appreciated Brad’s appearance being a little more on the normal side. I didn’t mean that he was ugly, by the way. He was tall, fit, and attractive. He just didn’t fit into the “beautiful” category.
Handsome men are creatures to be observed from afar—they’re too blindingly bright for me. My brothers were still children, so as someone who was really an older woman inside, they were too young for their prettiness to mean much to me, but I still got nervous when meeting my father. That was why having Brad around relaxed me, even if he looked a little scary.
A frightening man who looked more like a gang member than a civilian becoming a valet—there were definitely ladies out there who would have loved that.
And me? I was one of them.
Rex was still only twelve. By Japanese standards, he looked old enough to be in his last year of middle school. He was a bright young boy with his brown hair tightly gelled back. He wasn’t the beautiful type either, but he wouldn’t have looked out of place dancing in an idol group. It was really hard trying to imagine him in any clothes other than his valet uniform by this point, though.
These two were my dedicated valets, and I was very thankful for that. Had I managed to build up enough good karma in my previous life? Maybe there’s some otaku or doujin god out there...
As I was observing the two of them, they glanced at each other and then straightened up and turned back to look at me.
“Then allow me to deliver the message from Lord Chris.”
“Go ahead.”
“‘Alan and I are far from acting like normal children ourselves, so our parents are used to it. We’d rather you prioritize ease of communication, so don’t force yourself to speak like a child.’”
What?
WHAAAAAAAAT?!
Where had this come from?! Had my isekai-ness already been clocked?! In just four years?!
No, calm down. I know what this is. He’s speaking under the assumption that I’m a prodigy like he is. He thinks I’m a genius. That has to be what this is all about.
“Lady Deirdre? Is everything all right?” Rex asked.
“When it’s just the two of us here, we’d rather you didn’t force yourself either,” Brad chimed in.
“Um... Do you both feel the same way?”
“Yes,” Rex answered at once.
“You’ve never really come across as a child.”
“Wait... Seriously?”
Brad nodded with a smile, while Rex was looking at me like I was insane. I really try, you know? I tried to speak like a little kid as much as possible, even though it was wearing me down inside.
“You’ve been moving magic tools by yourself pretty much since you were born, and you’ve always been able to put together words. That isn’t normal for a child,” Rex explained.
That was where I’d gone wrong! I’d messed up from the moment I was born! But, come on, I was bored! I wanted to learn the language!
“I was surprised to hear the tales Rex had to tell of you, Lady Deirdre.”
“Do you find me creepy?”
“No, quite the opposite. It makes things much easier on me being able to talk to you as if you’re an adult.”
He hadn’t even tried to hide that sentiment. Why’d he pick up this job if he doesn’t like kids? Rex hadn’t had much of a choice, given that his whole family worked for us, but surely Brad had other jobs he could’ve chosen.
“Now that I think about it, were you and Chris not rather snippy with each other out in the training field? And yet you still spoke to each other after.”
“Oh, so a four-year-old describes us as being ‘snippy,’ does she?” Brad sounded amused.
“This young lady knows even more difficult words than I do.”
“You’re making me not want to talk like this. Please stop, or I’ll go back to normal.” I narrowed my eyes at Rex.
“No, please keep speaking as you are,” Brad requested.
“Didn’t you already talk like—”
“Rex.”
Why was he suddenly acting so familiar? What had happened to him treating me carefully like I was some fragile doll? Is it the running? Or maybe the vomiting?
“Lord Chris appears to have been wary of me because I am both an ex-adventurer and a commoner.”
“You were an adventurer?! Why are you suddenly a valet now?”
“Around half a year ago, one of my friends was gravely injured in a monster hunt and couldn’t continue their work. Right after that, my wife told me that she was with child, and it made me realize that I had to find a different way of life. My party talked it out, and we decided to disband.”
“Oh god, you’re going to have a kid?”
“All right there, four-year-old...”
“Shut up, Rex.”
“Yes, Lady Deirdre.”
Stop looking so happy. Stop smiling.
“So anyway, you went with valet instead of bodyguard?”
“I’m an assassin.”
“I see.”
In other words, he was here to protect me in a different way from the knights. Valets did have the unique advantage of being the only ones allowed to stay with me on some occasions.
“On the training field a moment ago, I was wondering if perhaps my child, should she be a daughter, would allow me to spoil her in the same way.”
Ahhh, so that was why he felt a bit off, then—off enough for even Chris to be suspicious. Curse you, normies.
“Does your wife live within the castle grounds as well?”
“Yes. There is thankfully a doctor here too, so I can relax while working.”
“I see. I’d love to meet your child when they’re born.”