Chapter 6: Ah! Madam!

A week had passed since Rodrick led the duke’s knight order to the Barca Republic. During that time, the maids who had been bringing food to the shed Urien was living in were the two maids that were gossiping about ‘Lady Siana’ the other day.

Though he only saw a glimpse of their faces, he recognized them well. After hearing their voices when they told him, “We will be collecting the dishes in the evening,” he only became more certain that it was them. And as expected as the pair who gossipped such a topic, the unfriendly glares they threw his way were genuine.

Thanks to Rodrick’s military achievements and his younger brother’s brilliant effort, things in the duke’s estate were running smoothly without a hitch. With an estate this size, naturally, there were more than plenty of servants that were working here. Among them, the head maid had seemingly handpicked some of the servants to serve Urien.

‘That maid, Ella, was it? She’s working in the main building, no? I wonder if I’d hear her scolding the other maids again if I were to go there?’

Urien thought. But to his surprise, his reunion with her came sooner than expected.

“Good morning, Madam. I’ll be changing your sheets today.”

“Ah!”

That day, the weather had been clear since early in the morning.

Urien was feeding Marx after eating his own breakfast when Ella suddenly visited the shed.

Surprised, he exclaimed out loud, but Ella only tilted her head in confusion and stared at him with her big round eyes. At this, he just told her, “I’ll be in your care,” and smiled at her.

“Yes! Please make yourself comfortable!”

“Mm. Thank you.”

With a bright smile on her face, she swiftly went upstairs.

He had thought that she was young when he first saw her, but now that he had a closer look, he guessed that they were probably the same age—18. Due to that, he felt this strange sense of camaraderie with her.

‘Still, what is the head maid trying to pull here? Why would she send this girl here?’

Ella was different from the others. At the very least, she was the first servant who had smiled at him ever since he came to this estate. As he let his mind wander, thinking about the young maid, he suddenly heard a commotion from the second floor.

“Gyaaa!!”

To be exact, he heard such a scream.

“?”

He immediately got up and went up the stairs to see what was going on. Then, he found Ella standing at the edge of the room with a pale face.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing, Madam! P-Please don’t mind me!!”

She was practically shouting. Though she told him to not mind him, the tone of her voice made it sound like she was pleading for his help.

Ella shook her head and cast her frightened gaze down the bed. Urien tilted his head in confusion and walked there without hesitation.

“A-Ah, Madam! L-Lord Urien!”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You can’t! It’s there! That thing is there!”

‘That thing?’

When he tilted his head to the side, it appeared.

From under the bed, a majestic figure holding two sharp blades in the air came out and made their presence known.

“Oh, it’s a giant mantis.”

“Ah, Madam! It’s dangerous!”

Ella covered her right eye with her right end while extending her left arm as if trying to stop him.

“Madam! I will take care of it, there’s no need for you to worry about such matters!”

“Even if you say so…”

‘You look too scared to do anything, you know?’

It was clear that Ella was really scared of insects. Of course, Urien didn’t mind that, that was just how it was sometimes. Although this revelation made her look pitiable, especially considering that there were plenty of those critters in this shed—something that she surely wouldn’t enjoy while working here. Regardless, Urien quickly scooped up the mantis and placed it on his shoulder.

“Kyaaa! Lord Urien!”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a mantis. Could you see its blades? Pretty cool, aren’t they?”

“Kyaaaa!”

Ella shook her head vigorously, making her shoulder-lengthed black hair dance around in the air. She looked so frightened by the critter to the point that Urien felt bad for her and quickly went downstairs to release it outside.

After watching the mantis hopped away, as if saying its goodbyes, he went back inside just to in time to see Ella coming downstairs with trembling legs,

“Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry that you have to witness such a pathetic display… But, you were amazing back there, Lord Urien!”

“Huh? Ahaha…”

Her eyes sparkled as she said that, as if she was looking at a hero, a dependable and reliable person that people could rely on. Such a thought made him laugh.

His laugh made her expression turn brighter as well—her pale face from before disappeared and colors had returned to her cheeks.

“Apologies for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Ella.”

“Mm, I’ll be in your care, Ella.”

“Yes! …Um, Lord Urien? This shed…seems to have a lot of bugs in it. Do you want me to clean it up…?”

“No need. That mantis just now just happened to hide inside, there shouldn’t be any more of them.”

“Is that so…?”

Ella furrowed her brows, but immediately, she took a deep breath to calm herself down and spoke in a clear voice.

“Is there anything that inconveniences you? Starting from today, I’ll be assigned as one of the maids that’s attending to you.”

“Huh? You?”

Ella nodded innocently with a “Yes.” This news surprised Urien, but he just shook his head, thinking that “I see, I’ll be in your care then,” would suffice as an answer.

At that, Ella let out a bright smile.

“Likewise, I’ll be in your care! Alright then, I’ll go and change the sheets.”

She said before walking up the stairs. Watching her back, Urien returned to the table by the window and closed the lid of the box where Marx was sleeping.

‘Will she be afraid of Marx too?’ He thought worriedly, but his heart did feel a little lighter.

From now on, Ella would be one of the maids attending to him.

Someone who’d make eye contact and smile at him.

Ella’s footsteps echoed from upstairs. The weather had been clear since earlier in the morning. A fresh summer breeze flowed in through the window, gently caressing his chestnut-colored hair.

Not only did his heart feel lighter, it also felt warmer.

Back at Baron Martritz’ estate, no one ever bothered to make eye contact with him, let alone speak to him.

He thought that things would be no different here in the duke’s estate, but surprisingly, the number of humans’ voices that reached him were growing.

“Lord Urien, by any chance, have you acquaintanced yourself with the gardener, Benno, yet?”

That was the question Ella asked when she brought him dinner.

It had been a week since he’d known her. Incidentally, it had been two weeks since Rodrick had left for the Barca Republic.