Ch.218218. Stupid Senior? (8)

It had been 30 minutes since Renias hastily locked her door, fleeing from the strange fantasies that had surfaced in her mind.

The silver rabbit made her decision and carefully grabbed the doorknob to open it.

“Miss…”

“I’m, fi-ne. Mari-a! Ah, ha-ha-ha! I, just had some, concerns come up!”

“…”

Miss has malfunctioned. Maria briefly closed her eyes and thought.

‘How does one manage to stutter not just by word but by syllable? No musical score would ever have staccato notes arranged like that. If any musician heard this, wouldn’t they look at you with utter bewilderment, Miss?’

That’s what she wanted to say. No matter how much the Miss pretended not to be awkward, her awkwardness was completely obvious…!

And to think this was her reaction after Maria had merely dropped a few hints to spark her imagination.

She understood that the Miss liked this man named Junon, but if she was this flustered just from a single suggestion, it was impossible to gauge how deeply infatuated she was.

It was already impressive that she’d managed to come out pretending to be fine.

Still… Maria decided to ask.

“What concerns did you have?”

“Huh?! Oh, that! You know how I said people at the academy were… staring?! I needed to organize how I should respond and how to speak without causing misunderstandings and also…!”

…Miss. Do you even know what you’re saying right now?

Maria’s eyes narrowed, filled with various emotions.

“Everyone, please return to your positions. It’s nothing serious.”

—Yes, Lady Maria.

The servants dispersed one by one at the words of Maria, who had temporarily risen to the position of head maid. Now only Renias and Maria remained.

“W-well then, I should head to the academy too… Eek?!”

“Not you, Miss.”

“Eh? Maria?”

Catching Renias’s hand as she tried to escape, Maria led her mistress back to the room where she had been holed up for 30 minutes.

“Ugh… why my room?”

Renias, who had been stuttering like a wooden puppet just moments ago, had somehow recovered and was now innocently drawing question marks with her silly hair.

Maria sighed in response. It seemed the time had come for plainness, honesty, and straightforwardness.

“Miss. Don’t you think you should learn to speak honestly?”

After all, when it comes to love, receiving advice is often much better than agonizing alone.

***

Maria dismissed all the servants and caught me as I was about to leave for school, bringing me back to my room.

Then… after seating me on the bed, she placed her hands on her hips and spoke as if giving a lecture.

“Miss. Don’t you think you should learn to speak honestly?”

“H-honestly about whaaat?”

Come on, there’s no way Maria could have figured anything out, right? If I play dumb, she won’t know.

Maria isn’t that perceptive. Because, well… I’ve done quite a few things behind her back!

Like when she told me not to touch the cooking, but I went to the kitchen in the evening when everyone had gone home and baked cookies that were somewhat edible(?).

Or when I had a novel that was too interesting to put down, but it got late, so I pretended to be asleep in front of Maria, took the book back to my room, and read until the end all night.

And other things like walking on railings or sliding down stairs—things that would terrify Maria—I’ve done them all without getting caught.

…So Maria shouldn’t… she shouldn’t know…

“Why you wanted to wear that outfit. What you were thinking about just now in here. Should I tell you directly?”

Maria’s gaze feels uncomfortably piercing as it turns toward me.

It’s not just her gaze.

Her words have sharp thorns that prick the balloon of excuses I’ve been inflating.

“I know about how you secretly cooked and burned your hand. I know about you reading books all night. I know about the bruises you got from bumping into the railing while walking on it. Do you know how worried I was?”

Gasp.

She knows… all of that?

If she knew everything and didn’t scold me, it was because…

“Even when I thought you wouldn’t notice, I turned a blind eye. I was hoping someday you would honestly confide in me.”

Because Miss always lies. Because you always pretend to be fine in front of people with that ill-suited expression.

Maria added, embracing me tightly.

“…”

I should say something in response, but knowing that she knows everything makes it hard to speak.

Right. It would be stranger if she didn’t know.

Considering the time we’ve spent together, Maria, who has been with me since I was in the double digits, wouldn’t miss such trivial things unless she deliberately chose to ignore them.

She had casually asked why I maintained my hair at a certain length.

She had probed about why I avoided certain clothes or accessories but always used others. Like… the purple shawl I often wore.

When I was gloomy after returning without being able to help an injured friend.

That day when Ophie almost got hurt because of my mistake.

When I named Lonellion and Arcave Party, choosing Posterior and Prior as middle names.

Maria always seemed to drop hints and move on.

“I don’t know everything either. There are things I can only know if you tell me. So… Miss.”

-Please tell me. Honestly.

Maria’s voice whispering behind my back… trembled a little.

I’ve never actually seen Maria’s initial appearance when she confidently entered our service, promising to do her best as a maid. I only heard about it because it was mentioned somewhere in the lenses my parents left behind.

It was probably when I was still in my mother’s womb.

I’m 18 now. Maria started working for the Lantana ducal family 20 years ago. So I’ve known Maria for all 18 years of my life.

Yet this was the first time she spoke with such a sad tone, as if desperately pleading.

I realized that Maria must have suffered a lot because of someone like me.

Stretching out my arms to hug her tightly, I opened up.

“I don’t know what this feeling is, but… I wanted someone to react to that outfit.”

“Miss…?”

“I-I can’t explain it better than that. And… waking up in a good mood yesterday was all because of that person too.”

Maria’s embrace loosens.

She looks quite surprised, her eyes wide open. I bowed my head in embarrassment.

“A-anyway, that’s what it is! I’ll be going now!”

“W-wait, Miss!”

And inevitably, my arm was caught again. How does she always know when I’m trying to escape…! Her perceptiveness is so uncanny that I’m grateful she’s pretended not to notice until now!

I glanced at Maria’s reaction, trying to hide my flushed face.

“W-what now…”

“A little more. Can we talk just a little more?”

“What more… is there to talk about?”

“About your dreams, Miss. The dreams you’ve been suffering from, talking about those two people. You said you didn’t have them today, right?”

“Y-yeah. I didn’t have them today…”

So it was about the dreams, not about the senior. The focus was completely different, and the heat drained from my face.

Then Maria met my eyes and said with a gentle smile.

“This person called Senior Junon. Tell me a bit more about him too.”

“Hueeeeeh?!”

How on earth did she know?!

***

Miss Renias, whom she had watched for 20 years.

Natural, clumsy, big eater—all these traits culminated in describing her as a rabbit.

For Maria, who knew all of the Miss’s characteristics, this reaction was unprecedented.

‘Wow… this is definitely…’

The reaction of a young girl who has just discovered romance.

She never expected Renias’s emotions, hidden behind walls of compulsion and pressure, to reveal themselves this way.

If she handled this budding femininity too aggressively, she might never see it again.

She needed to be as indirect as possible. To prevent the Miss’s feminine heart from scurrying into a mousehole! Maria had to choose her words carefully, softening and rephrasing everything.

‘First, the Miss is extremely embarrassed…!’

With her face bright red and practically steaming, the immediate priority was to lower her embarrassment level.

What was needed in this process was a suitable excuse! As always, she needed to carefully probe the Miss, who was completely oblivious in this area.

“A-ahem! Well… he’s someone who helped you. So I was just a bit curious… that’s all.”

“Just… curious?”

“Think about it, Miss. How could I not be curious when he brought you down while you were drunk?”

“Ah, y-yes! That’s right! Exactly! During the Faction Battle, Senior was—”

Seeing an opportunity to change the subject, Renias slowly began explaining what happened then, dodging the main issue. She seemed completely unaware that she had been given an assist.

‘Good. We’ve avoided the crisis of specifically mentioning Senior Junon.’

In the middle of her detailed explanation, another crisis emerged.

“So… as I was coming down the stairs and my eyes met with Maria’s…”

“Ah, yes, yes! That, that! Oh my. The carriage wheel came off, so I needed some time, you know? Ho ho ho.”

A bead of cold sweat ran down her back. Still… Renias didn’t seem to notice!

“R-really…?”

“Yes~ Of course. Anyway, so that’s what happened during the Faction Battle. Then what about the good thing that happened yesterday?”

This was the main point.

What had happened with that person yesterday that made Renias return with a bright smile and even dispel her nightmares?

As Maria listened to the story, she began to understand why our Miss could fall for him.

‘My goodness.’

Even when she heard about the Faction Battle, there had been something suspicious.

A person named Demian. The criminal who had taken hostages at Duve Hall.

So on the evening of the first day of the Faction Battle, Junon had saved Renias.

The recent Imperial Subjugation? Yes. That man was certainly known as the greatest contributor. She had seen it in the newspapers and clearly heard the servants talking about it.

Ardelion the Grand Duke had even left him a medal of honor before departing for the Empire by ship, so what more needed to be said?

He was an impressive figure. And as the next star of the principality.

That alone would have been enough reason for Renias to fall for him, but…

“Senior is that kind of person. He does everything himself but never boasts about it.”

“I see… what an interesting person.”

“Right? That’s why I spread the word about everything he did.”

She had certainly heard words like “good” and “righteous,” but Maria’s perspective was a bit different.

‘That person… he’s just like Miss, isn’t he?’

Wearing a mask and hiding all inner feelings—it sounded exactly like she was hearing about Renias.