"I guess I should give you a new name. You can't keep using that one forever."
A1687.
Typically, his name was like a label given to livestock for easy management.
In the game, the female protagonist gave this man the name 'Ruin.'
It meant 'Loyal Knight' in an ancient language.
Along with that name, she gifted him a treasured sword and wished him well for his future.
'Ruin is a good name, but...'
Would she be sad if this boy betrayed her?
No, she already knew he would betray her, so it didn't matter even if she knew he was using her.
'I'm only using you for a normal ending, too.'
Satina and he were only going to be together until the summer national founding festival this year.
Once that day passed, Satina would leave for the free city, and whatever life the boy chose after that had nothing to do with her.
So, she wished for him to be able to go somewhere far away, freely and without burden.
"Let's go with 'Katan.'"
For the first time, a spark appeared in his dark eyes.
"It means 'wing' in an ancient language. Do you like it?"
A fierce desire flashed in his pitch-black eyes, but soon he closed them, hiding the emotion that had surfaced.
Instead, he whispered to Satina in a fervent voice.
"I like it. Anything you give me, Master, I could never dislike. But this name..."
His usually indifferent voice trembled slightly.
"It's truly beautiful."
[The quest has been completed.]
[A1687's affinity has increased by 5.]
[The character 'A1687' has been renamed 'Katan.']
***
After finishing her late meal, Satina had a maid call for Katan and the rat beastman they had brought along.
"What's your name?"
"I'm, I'm Wazzle!"
She only asked his name, but he was trembling so much that Satina worried he might faint again.
Satina slowly looked over Wazzle's appearance.
With large, round ears and a long, thin tail—characteristics of a mouse beastman—the child looked smaller and frailer than most human children his age.
'I heard he was captured by slavers not too long ago.'
Wazzle bowed his head deeply to Satina, pleading.
"I-I'm sorry! I did something wrong! My brother must be looking for me! Please let me go back!"
"Your brother?"
"My brother told me to stay where I was, but I got lost... Hic."
Wazzle's tears began to fall as he spoke.
It seemed like the child hadn't been bought from his parents but rather kidnapped after getting lost.
'Of course it's illegal under the empire's law, but Wazzle is a beastman.'
According to the temple's teachings, the god loved humans the most out of all the creatures he created.
Because of this, the empire strictly discriminated against non-human races like the beastmen.
Even if Wazzle reported his abduction, the authorities wouldn't even pretend to search for him.
"Is your brother also a mouse beastman like you?"
"Y-Yes!"
'Good, he's the one I thought.'
Satina smiled kindly and answered.
"Do you remember where your home is? Should I take you back?"
"Sniff... It's dark... It was pitch black, so... I don't know."
Since rat beastmen often used their small stature to travel through narrow alleys where humans couldn't see them, it made sense that young Wazzle might have had trouble remembering the way.
"I'm really stupid. My brother told me to stay put, but I didn't listen to him... Sniff."
Wazzle burst into tears again.
Satina wiped his cheeks with a handkerchief and comforted him until his sobs subsided.
Once his crying stopped, Wazzle sniffled and looked up at Satina with a much calmer face.
"It wouldn't be difficult to send you home, but do you have anywhere to go if you leave here?"
"N-No... but..."
"Then, if it's okay with you, would you stay in the mansion and help me with some tasks? I'll pay you a wage, of course."
"W-Wage? You're saying you'll give me money?"
Wazzle's eyes sparkled.
"Yes, it won't be much, but I'll give you fair pay for the work you do."
"T-Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Wazzle bowed his head repeatedly in gratitude.
After he left the room, Cheney approached, her eyes shining.
"What's up? Do you have something to say?"
Cheney shook her head quickly.
"No, nothing at all."
"Really? If you're having a hard time with anything at work, don't hesitate to tell me."
"Yes!"
'She seems a little more motivated than usual.'
While Satina tilted her head in curiosity, Cheney asked.
"By the way, what kind of work should we give that boy?"
"Anything. His hands seem nimble enough, so cleaning might be a good task."
"C-Cleaning?"
"Why?"
"However, that child is a rat beastman, right? I heard all rat beastmans like dirty things. Can we really trust them with cleaning?"
"He's still a person. There's no way he likes dirty things. Let's have him try it, and if he's really no good at it, we can give him another task."
"Understood."
"And here, take this."
Satina handed Chaney a beautifully packaged macaron.
"I noticed last time that you seem to like the macarons from this shop. You'll probably get hungry while working, so have it as a snack."
***
Chaney held the macarons close to her chest.
'How can my lady be so kind and gentle? I'm so glad I didn't quit.'
When Chaney first heard that the young duke had ordered her to become Lady Satina's maid, she was so shocked that she collapsed on the spot.
But now, whenever Lady Satina smiled and spoke kindly to her, Chaney couldn't understand why someone so wonderful was surrounded by such bad rumors.
Then, a rumor she overheard helped clear up her misunderstanding.
"Remember Marie, the maid who was dismissed while serving Lady Satina? Turns out she poisoned Lady Satina's food."
"What? Poison? Are you serious?"
"Yes. I had a feeling something was off about her, but I never imagined it was to that extent."
'So the reason the previous maid was kicked out was because of that.'
'And here I was, doubting my kind Lady.'
Even when Satina bought a young beastman slave, Chaney was initially shocked but later impressed when Satina promised to return the child to their family and even provide them with wages.
'As expected of my lady! She brought the child here to care for them before they could be sold to some awful place!'
Furthermore, Lady Satina didn't seem to care at all that the child was a dirty, smelly rat beastman.
'My lady isn't just a candidate for sainthood—she's the real thing.'
With renewed determination, Chaney clenched her fists as she watched the child.
'Alright, just as my lady wishes, I'll take good care of this child and become an excellent maid!'
***
Satina rested her chin on her hand, watching Wazzle clean the room.
When she first brought him, he was gaunt and had dark circles under his eyes, but after a few days of proper food and rest, his skin had started to glow.
He was so enthusiastic that he even cleaned areas that Chaney hadn't noticed.
Thanks to him, Satina's room was now the cleanest in the entire duke's mansion.
After scrubbing the window crevices for a while, Wazzle looked proudly at the now-black rag and scampered over to Satina.
"I'm done cleaning!"
"Good job. It's spotless. You have such skillful hands, Wazzle."
Wazzle's face lit up, and he blushed, clearly overjoyed by the compliment he had been yearning for.
"You did great too, Chaney. You taught him well."
"It's the task you entrusted to me, my lady. Of course, I gave it my all."
'It would be wonderful if things could stay this peaceful every day.'
But if she allowed herself to be lulled into this peace, death awaited her.
Satina sipped her tea and thought.
'Alright, maybe it's time to go out and receive some guests.'
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