The office was only the sound of white paper slings. Cassian, who was reviewing the stacked documents, suddenly smiled. It was because of Arne's face that suddenly came to mind over the black letters he was reading.
~"Actually..."
It's embarrassing to say it with my own mouth, but my head is bowed down, and my shoulders are slender. and a tiny hand that barely grabbed the hem of my clothes, trembling. Were she stressed out by the unfamiliar environment, or did someone secretly bully her? The one word that made all the thoughts in Cassian's head disappear.
~"I'm scared of the first night."
The first night was scary. Reflecting on that word again, Cassian laughed again. Even if I think about it again, it was ridiculous for a futile reason.
'She didn't seem like a person who was afraid of that.....'
Cassian's sharp judgment made the right decision, but Casian himself did not know. Arne's fear was that 'she afraid that she will kill her husband on their first night'. Tt was bizarre. Long, sleek fingertips brushed against the paper. at the same time, Cassian's eyes darkened. It was very rare for Cassian to be so interested in someone. Because there have always been only three kinds of human beings to him. A useful human being. A useless person. and disturbing human beings. for Cassian, there were no likes or dislikes. It was so easy to win people's favor and even easier to use them. Before he liked it or didn't like it, there wasn't a special person for him. But...
~"But is great."
Arne was different. A calm smile permeated Cassian's lips. Arne, who is relieved by Cassian's words that he will not lift a finger if she doesn't want to. As he thought of Arne, who was shining her eyes, saying it was great. Cassian finally laughed out loud.
"•••••?!"
When Cassian laughed, Alan, who was still concentrating on his work, looked at Cassian with surprised eyes.
'What's wrong with him all of a sudden? Are you crazy?'
I wonder if it's all because he has more than twice as many documents that need to be digested within a day today. Cassian, who suddenly bursts out laughing in the middle of dealing with serious documents, was something that had never happened in Alan's life, and he had never been hurt by it. Alan got scared.
"Hey•••••Your Highness?"
Only then the smile disappears from his lips as Alan calls Casian carefully.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing. it's nothing•••••."
Soon as if what had just happened was like a mirage, Alan scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he faced Cassian, who immediately became cold. Then he turned his gaze back to the document••••• and Cassian laughed again next him.
'What is it? Did he really go crazy? Or am I crazy?'
Cassian's expression hardened for a moment while Alan was confused and deeply troubled by himself. Come to think of it, there was one thing that hasn't been solved yet.
"Alan."
"Yes. Yes?! I never thought that Your Highness was crazy."
Allan, who was stared, confessed the truth, but Casian was not interested in what Alan thought. After reading Cassian's expression, Alan spoke quickly.
"Is there anything you want me to do?"
Cassian nodded his head. With a fishy smile, Cassian ordered.
"It seems that some rat is hiding in the castle. Find it and kill it."
Cassian blue eyes, resembling winter, shone coolly.
***
it's a peaceful day at Terneuzen Castle, and Arne is smiling and sipping tea poured by her nanny Eva.
"No, how could this happen!"
"Who did this?!"
The peaceful Ternyuzen Castle soon turned into a noisy. Today, he was supposed to have a good time with Arne's mother, Duchess Brillheat, but the magic tool was found broken.
"Why the hell is this messed up like this?!"
"That's weird. isn't there an enchantment on top of that? it can't be broken by any human strength..."
"Who the hell is managing this?! come out, who's in charge!"
'Ah, it's feels good'
When no one i saw around, Arne gave strength between her finger and smashed the magic ball, and it's made Arne feel good. I've been suffering from this simple break for no reason. Nanny Eva's gaze quietly turned to Arne, while the maids and head maids, nature, searched the one who managed the magic ball that day.
"No way•••••"
"••••••••"
Arne didn't say anything and just laughed. At that time, the surroundings suddenly became noisy. It seemed that the one who was in charge of the magic ball was Erica. They surrounding Erica, the maid, and the head maids were interrogating.
"Do you know how much this is? Are you out of your mind?!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sure it was fine when I took care of it, but what should I do? This kind of thing happened••••."
"Even if you work in this castle for 10 years, you can't buy this magic ball! I can't believe you broke something so precious••••••."
There is something off about the atmosphere. Arne gestured to Eva.
"That maid, what's going on now?"
"What's going to happen. She broke something precious, so she would be chased out like that. Of course, she has to pay off the debt. Since she made such a serious mistake, and other families won't accept her. In other words, her maids job life is over."
"••••••."
"It's not an amount that can be equaled by one or two pennies by doing anything, so she won't be able to pay it back until she dies. Then, in the worst case, she might be sold to the Mage Tower. If that happens•••."
"•••••."
Arne looked up at the sky for a moment. She wanted to pretend she didn't know about it and pretend it had nothing to do with her, but••••••no matter what, she couldn't stand it, and watch someone innocent get seriously harmed by her own work. She couldn't help it and stood up from his seat.
"What's going on?"
All the maids were nervous at the appearance of the Grand Duchess. Especially the head maid Marthe.
"It's not something that Your Highness would care about. This is me••••."
"It's happening in my castle, but it's not something to care about, i'm sad."
When Arne smiled brightly, Marthe's expression darkened. The Lady's speech training she had received over the past three months was paying off. Eva, who was watching Arne from behind, couldn't help but feel her heart sink.
'I must tell the Duchess what happened today.....! must!'
I don't know what kind of plot the nanny is preparing behind the scenes, and Arne looks at the head maid and the maids calmly. She knew how to handle this kind of situation. She didn't want to fight with the maids for no reason. From the beginning, Arne preferred physical fighting to arguing. But she couldn't understand why they were fighting with words when they had bodies.
"I already know that the magic ball is broken. Even if I don't want to know, I find out because it's so noisy. I don't know why you're making a fuss about that. It's not a big deal, so don't make a fuss and get it all done here."
People's reactions to Arne's words were completely different.
'Are we really done here?'
Receiving a surprised look, Arne tilted her head. Erica, who had been crying, was moved and looked at Arne with trembling eyes. Her conscience was stabbed again by those eyes, but Arne tried hard to pretend to be calm. The other maids looked at Arne with surprised eyes, then returned their attention to the head maid, Marthe, the head maid, was uncommonly flustered. This was rare even for her, too. Even a spoon is a precious asset of the Duke family. It was rare for superiors to show their mercy when something as much as the magic ball was destroyed.
"No, hardly, right?'
It was a big trouble for Marthe the head maid too, because even her could not avoid taking responsibility for it. But Arne covered up such a big thing casually.
'•••••• you're different.'
Marthe's eyes flashed with surprise. When it was first announced that the Grand Duchess would come from abroad, the people of Duke's family did not welcome her very much. Originally, the Western Empire and the Northern Empire did not get along well. The Western Empire considered the Northern Empire to be inferior and ignorant of dignity, and the Northern Empire regarded the Western Empire as a hollow power that only put on a facade. Therefore, people despaired that a prickly, extravagant, and harsh princess would come as their grand duchess.
~"I don't understand what your highness means."
~"Why on earth are you traveling all the way to the West to find a position of Grand Duchess?"
~"You are the Grand Duke. You must be able to welcome any young lady of the Northern Empire as the Grand Duchess•••••."
But when Arne arrived, contrary to concerns, everyone liked her. Arne was neither picky nor extravagant nor irritable. Plus, she was pretty, rarely made a scene, and never bothered the maids. She's s the best owner ever. They had no choice but to serve her because it was the Grand Duke's will and those people in the castle who had no special affection for the Grand Duchess. Suddenly, I had a good feeling for Arne.
'No. because royalty is fickle, right?'
"Are you sure you're okay with covering it like this?"
Marte came to his senses and asked to check. While the nervous Marte was sweating on her hands, Arne was discolored when she saw Marte trying to get over.
"Well, it's a serious matter. But It's okay, people can make mistakes sometimes. i'll just have to buy another magic ball, right?"
The maids glanced at each other and giggled at Arne's cool attitude, not to mention the fact that the magic ball cost is more expensive than most mansions. Erica even clasped her hands together and looked at Arne in worship. Who can resist when the hostess of Terneuzen Castle says so? everyone backed off, wondering if this was really a good idea. Arne smiled with relief when her job was done without incident.
'I'm glad. Nothing much happened.'
"Now, it's over, right? Everybody can go and work."
Ordering them to disperse, Arne returned to the garden to enjoy her tea time. no, I tried to go back.
"Your Highness!"
"Huh?"
Erica ran and stood in front of Arne. She had been crying, so Erica, quickly wiping her reddened eyes with her sleeve, approached and suddenly knelt in front of Arne.
"Please accept my loyalty!"
"•••••••?!"
Arne was embarrassed.
"What's wrong with you? Calm down..."
"No, you're the one who saved me. to cover my faults like this, I am not a human being without repaying this favor. please accept my loyalty."
"No••••••."
Receiving loyalty itself was not unfamiliar or difficult, but the opponent was the problem.
'I'm the one who broke that magic ball!'
I couldn't tell the truth, and I felt like I was going to die of frustration. Arne first tried to have a calm conversation.
"It's okay, just calm down."
"Is it because I'm not good enough?" Are you saying that you don't need a loyalty of a low-level maid like me?!?"
"Why does that make sense again? No, it's okay••••."
"I'll do my best! I'll risk my life too! Please accept it!"
Arne was just wanted to die. Eva grinned as she watched Arne, who was suffering as she wrapped her forehead.
"That's a cute pledge of loyalty. Take it, Your Highness."
"Eva••••••."
When Arne saw Eva with a dry gaze, Eva laughed. And say.
"Miss Erica. There's nothing to worry about at all."
Eva suddenly went somewhere and appeared in front of Arne with a new magic ball.
"That's too bad."
-[Hoho. I thought this would happen once, so I sent enough of my magic ball. Oh ho ho ho.]
The mother in the magic sphere laughed leisurely. Arne and Erica's reactions were divided at once.
"Wow!"
"••••••."
What the meaning i have been doing all this time? Arne silently screamed to herself.
'This is hell••••.'
***
"Did something like that happen?"
"Yes, she said so."
Gray, the butler, smiled pleasedly as he delivered what the head maid Marthe had reported. cassian stroked his chin.
"I thought you weren't interested in this kind of thing...."
Cassian thought Arne was the kind of person who wouldn't blink an eye if a war broke out next door, but he was wrong. A smile rose at the corners of Cassian's lips. He suddenly missed Arne.
"Where are you going?"
When Cassian suddenly stood up, Alan, who was working next to him, asked. Cassian grinned at Alan's gaze.
"To see my wife."
"Yes••••••?"
Cassian left the office. Alan blinked his eyes and stared at Cassian's back. I guess••••••.
"••••••Your Highness is acting" weird ""
***
The magic ball incident ended peacefully, and Arne was currently running away. Erica pounced on Arne, who had just spent an hour with the Duchess, writing it as a private conversation and reading it as hell.
"Please accept my loyalty!"
When she ran away to avoid being caught by the pursuing Erica, Arne ended up hiding in an unfamiliar corner of the castle.
'Why am I always in this situation?'
i feel like I've been living like this since I came to the Northern Empire. it's a mood thing, right? When the maids saw Arne running, she couldn't go out easily because all of them chased her, saying that running would hurt her feet. Longing for the old tree she had always run away from, Arne wondered how she could she get back to her cozy bed without being seen by the maids.
'Shall i ride the outskirts of the castle, then go around the walls to the Grand Duchess's chambers?'
Arne seriously thought about climbing the rugged castle wall, casually thinking that others would be surprised if they heard it. Just as Arner was about to execute her plan through the window, someone called Arne.
"Your Highness."
"Ahh!"
The presence I thought was far away was felt close by. She had been ignoring it because she was familiar with it•••••• Arne's expression hardened as she turned her head.
"You••••. What the hell. What does that look like•••."
A magnificent man stood in front of Arne dressed as a maid. Crave, who hid the red hair with a brown wig, looked down at his clothes and replied casually.
"Disguised?"
"As a maid?"
"Yes."
"Didn't anyone catch you?"
"Of course, disguise and infiltration are my specialties!"
Arne, who was at a loss for words, looked at Crave with eyes of disbelief. No, this was enough to give away his identity. Who doesn't know that? It was hard for Arne to accept that the proud Golden Dragon of the Western Empire was like this. Crave was a man who should have succeeded Arne as the head of the Golden Dragon and the first sword of Emperor Syclion IV.
"What about the knights, what are they doing here?"
"I wrote my resignation!"
"••••••what? why?"
"Because my place is next to the captain!"
"••••••."
Crave said proudly.
"I had no choice but to take an oath of allegiance to His Majesty under the obligation of the nobility. but the only one I follow is You Captain. Did you forget the Battle of Saranol? You saved my life. My oath is heavier than death."
After listening to the determined Crave words, Arne's reaction was simple.
"So you're going to chase me to death, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Get lost."
"No, I do not want!"
Crave grabbed Arne's arm.
"What kind of marriage are you getting in the first place! that's crazy! Looking at you, you seem to be pretending to be weak. Isn't this the duchess' conspiracy?! Bring back my cool captain!"
Arne found the whole thing annoying.
'Please turn it off••••••.'
"Where did you put Evermore and Nevermore! Captain, why are you treating your sword like that!"
"Why would the person who knows best looking for them when they're embedded in subspace?"
"If the leader doesn't summon them often, it's whining. It's strange to choose the owner not by talent but by looking for beauty, but it's the leader's sword anyway!"
"It's okay, it's noisy and go back. Uncle Sarno is going home soon, so you can go back together."
"No! I'm not going to take a single step by the captain's side!"
"Whenever you laugh at•••••."
"I thought you were joking."
Crave believed that Arne would die without being unmarried for the rest of her life. clinging tightly to Arne's side as she pushed anyway, Crave begged.
"Please let me stay as a maid. I'm good at that job."
"You're talking nonsense."
It was when Arne thought of hitting the back of Crave's neck and made him pass out and throwing him to her uncle, the Duke of Sarno. Suddenly, Crave whispered.
"Shhh! Captain, somebody's coming!"
someone's coming. arne frowned.
"What are you doing here?"
Arne's body stiffened reflexively at the sound of Cassian's voice behind her.