Ch.22. Sione Sianella (2)

After cleaning the room and spending time refilling her snacks several times, dinner time had arrived.

And now, I’m waiting for Sione in front of the mansion’s dining hall.

The reason was simple.

The Sianella bloodline always gathered together for dinner.

They would share conversation and meals in the dining hall, and my hopeless master Sione was no exception.

After all, Sione was still a noble who inherited the blood of the County of Sianella.

Of course, given Sione’s usual behavior, I wasn’t sure if she could even swallow her food while being so self-conscious, but that was the formality.

Inside the dining hall, servants assigned to that area helped with small tasks like handling dishes, while personal servants like me waited at the entrance for our masters.

Of course, since this was my first time waiting for my superior in front of the dining hall, I couldn’t easily join the conversation of the other servants.

Indeed, this gender-reversed world.

The first reason I couldn’t casually join their topics was because those men were chattering away too much.

“Did you hear how our Lady Siabel put Lord Diolia in his place this time?”

“You think Lady Siabel was the only one? Our Lord Sion also…”

The second reason was that they were all boasting about their masters’ greatness.

Despite following her around all day, it was obvious that I had nothing to brag about regarding Sione, neither now nor in the future.

What could I possibly contribute to their conversation?

‘Our Lady Sione spent the entire day in bed eating snacks, except for the brief moment she came out. Impressive patience, don’t you think?’

‘It’s truly a heaven-blessed body that can eat lying down for hours without choking.’

‘She must have been terribly restless… yet her patience in not crawling out of bed is truly sage-like, isn’t it?’

Even if I tried to dress it up, these were the only kinds of things I could say.

Better to keep my mouth shut than force myself into their conversation.

They say a servant’s pride is in their master’s glory.

Now I finally understand what that feels like.

While others are busy boasting about their masters,

I can only sigh when I think about my master, Sione.

As I quietly kept to myself, the servants who had been chattering among themselves began to take notice of me.

“Excuse me… are you the one who recently became Lady Sione’s servant?”

The one who spoke to me first was the personal servant of Siabel, the eldest daughter of Ainel Sianella.

With his sturdy build, strong features, and elegant mustache, he approached me with a nasal tone.

Even in a gender-reversed world, this doesn’t seem right…

I instinctively stepped back, returning the distance between us to where it started.

He looked at me strangely, but I couldn’t help it.

My body instinctively rejected his approach.

It was beyond my control.

“Haha… you seem a bit uncomfortable. That’s understandable.”

“Yes, I apologize. I’m rather shy around strangers…”

When I apologized with an awkward smile, he seemed to let it go.

After the awkward greeting between Siabel’s servant and me, the personal servant of Sion, the third child and only son of Ainel, joined in.

“Nice to meet you. We don’t seem to have met before… you haven’t been here long, have you?”

“Yes, that’s right. I recently arrived and became Lady Sione’s personal servant.”

Unlike Siabel’s servant, he didn’t speak with a nasal tone or force a smile at the corners of his mouth.

I found him much easier to deal with than Siabel’s servant.

“I thought you looked unfamiliar… so I was right.”

He said this while briefly raising the corner of his mouth.

Then he erased the comfortable atmosphere and created a secretive one, reflected in both his face and words.

“…So this must be your first time working as a servant. Becoming the servant of Lady Sione rather than Lady Siabel or Lord Sion… you must have it quite difficult.”

Instantly, a quiet and dark atmosphere formed among the three men.

It was understandable.

After all, they were insulting a noble.

They couldn’t openly disparage her in a bright atmosphere.

Having experienced it myself, I could somewhat agree, but I had no intention of joining their gossip.

Their sympathy for me getting a hopeless master, and the sense of superiority they felt comparing themselves to me.

I could accept their sympathy since even I felt sorry for myself, but their deeply ingrained superiority was extremely uncomfortable.

Siabel’s servant joined in on this atmosphere.

“I also worked as Lady Sione’s servant before… I can still vividly remember how difficult it was.”

This one was setting the stage for gossip by bringing up his own experiences.

Even for servants, they seemed unusually eager to badmouth a noble.

What on earth had Sione done to make these men so desperate to share their stories?

Although it seemed they brought this up for my benefit as I was standing alone quietly.

[A quest has been formed.]

“Proof of Loyalty”

“Your one and only master is about to be insulted by other servants. They want you to join them in disrespecting your master, but this goes against the virtue of loyalty that a personal servant should uphold. Escape their clutches as a true servant.”

“Reward: Increased affection from Sione Sianella toward you”

“Failure: Decreased affection from Sione Sianella toward you”

“……”

I had no intention of joining their conversation.

The sudden status window mentioning increased affection?

Sure, if I could gain more of Sione’s favor, I might occasionally get a cookie.

That’s certainly not bad.

But a cookie’s worth of affection isn’t a decisive reason.

The real reason lies with the Sianellas in the dining hall.

The physical abilities of people with Mana are beyond imagination.

Their bodily senses become sharper, and their capabilities are far greater than those without.

This applies to hearing as well.

Insulting nobles from this short distance is no different from insulting them directly.

The family head approaching Sword Master status and the eldest daughter Siabel with equally impressive skills.

If they wanted to listen, they could easily hear the insignificant words of servants and attendants no matter how quietly we whispered.

Insulting a Sianella in such a place, even if it’s Sione, is like asking to be killed.

Of course, judging by the fact that they’re still breathing despite having done this before, it seems the family tacitly permits it.

But it’s best not to create trouble from the start.

“So, even though today is your first day serving her, it’s still Lady Sione… has she perhaps already made things difficult for you?”

I grinned at his words.

Seeing my smile, he seemed to think he’d caught me, erasing his cautious expression and finally showing an expectant look.

Siabel’s servant wore a similar expression.

But unfortunately, my answer was different from what they expected.

“Haha, what kind of joke is that? How could there be anything like that?”

“I knew it… Wait, what?”

“What impure intentions do you have for asking me such things? Are you trying to drive a wedge between Lady Sione and me?”

“No, what do you mean by driving a wedge—”

“Otherwise, I can’t imagine why a servant would dare to speak ill of a noble.”

I gave them a disapproving look.

When my eyes met Siabel’s servant’s, I added:

“Don’t you agree?”

“Haha… I suppose you’re right. We momentarily lost our judgment and misspoke. Could you forget about it?”

“I understand. But you should be more careful in the future. Someone might be hiding somewhere, listening to such secretive conversations.”

“…Of course.”

The corners of Sion’s servant’s mouth were smiling, but his eyes made no attempt to hide his displeasure.

Like master, like servant—that impression came strongly to mind.

It was sad to be treated the same way as Sione, but his gaze seemed no different from how I looked at Sione.

…Still, this was a bit hurtful.

In response to his irritated look, I took small revenge by giving him a sly smile.

Even if my status was that of a slave, my current position was as Sione Sianella’s personal servant.

Even if I was disliked, I wasn’t in a position where they could kill me.

“At least the Lady Sione I’ve seen with my own eyes wasn’t the kind of noble you complained about.”

What are you going to do with that glare?

If you’re upset, take off what’s below and fight me like a woman.

Or go tell your master.

He probably wouldn’t dare speak freely since he was caught trying to insult a Sianella.

This small act of defiance helped relieve some of my built-up stress.

As I waited for the quest completion while receiving the burning gazes of the two men, my master, who had almost become the subject of gossip, slowly walked out of the dining hall.

In front of them, I deliberately bowed my head to Sione.

“Would you like to return to your room?”

There was a brief silence between her and me.

Sione met my eyes instead of answering.

Earlier when I told her it was time for dinner, she had looked at me with furrowed brows as if annoyed.

Seeing her face properly relaxed for the first time as she looked at me, I suspected she might have heard what I just said.

“…Yes, let’s go back to the room.”

Sione answered briefly and walked past me.

Unlike before, her words lacked their usual unpleasantness.

Well, even Sione wouldn’t spit in the face of someone who had just defended her.

Thankfully, she still had some conscience left.

As her servant, I naturally followed her, and only then was the quest completed.

[You have completed the quest.]

[Sione Sianella’s affection toward you has increased.]

The corner of my mouth turned up.

Perfect timing.