I, Myria, began working as a maid at the Arvale household when I turned twelve. I was born the second daughter of a lower-ranked noble family. Blessings required a hefty donation, which my family naturally couldn’t afford, so I was left with two choices: Marry into a noble family of equal lower rank or work as a maid for a higher-ranking noble family.
I chose the latter, but landing a position with the Arvale family, which was expanding its march like wildfire, was a lucky break.
Those days at the Arvale estate were rough on someone who, like me, had no experience as a maid.
Then, one fateful day, I faced the biggest dilemma of my whole life.
Lady Isabella, Lord Luke’s mother, treasured a specific plate. One day, I was putting it away when it suddenly slipped from my hands and fell to the floor, breaking cleanly in half.
“I’ve really done it now...” I said, agonizing over what to do.
Even if I hid what I did, she’d find out eventually—but I highly doubted I’d be forgiven if I came clean and apologized. Lady Isabella was a very strict woman, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she fired me over the offense.
As I stood there, still wondering what to do, Lady Isabella unfortunately happened to walk by.
“Oh, Myria! There you are. What are you doing just standing here?”
“Eep!”
Then she noticed the broken plate, and the expression on her face completely changed.
“Myria! Isn’t that my favorite plate?!”
“I-I’m—” I began.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” a cute voice interjected.
“Huh?”
I whirled around and saw Lord Luke, who’d only just turned three. He was the oldest son, and Lady Isabella absolutely adored him. I’d only seen him from afar and had never spoken to him.
“I told the maid I wanted to see it,” he said, “and I broke it...”
“L-Lord Luke?” I stammered.
I was completely baffled. Why would he lie on my behalf?
“I know you loved that plate, Mother. I’m very sorry...”
As Lord Luke bowed his head and apologized, Lady Isabella’s angry expression slowly began to soften. “It’s okay, Luke. More importantly, are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Myria, you must be more careful. Luke’s still so little,” she chided.
“Y-Yes, my lady!”
And with that, Lady Isabella left, leaving me standing there dumbfounded.
Lord Luke looked up at me with a big, innocent smile. “I’m happy for you, Miss Maid! I thought Mother wouldn’t get mad if I told her I did it, and I was right!”
“Ah...”
And that was the moment when a little lord of just three years old captured my heart. I was a lowly maid, but he had lied to cover up my offense. He was such a clever, kind little boy—and incredibly adorable to boot.
After that, I was lucky enough to have Lord Luke choose me as one of his personal maids, and I made a vow that no matter what happened in the future, I would serve Lord Luke for the rest of my life.
See? My devotion to him wasn’t just because he was so adorable; I had a good reason to attend to him with such loyalty! I swear it!