*****
It wasn't because I was young that Ferze. proposed a contract marriage to Visenna.
It was to repay that debt, since his life was saved thanks to me.
Since this was a problem that couldn't be solved with money alone, he proposed a deal to Visenna and offered my status as an adopted daughter.
The Karnen mine that Ferze had offered as a condition of the deal was something that even the emperor coveted.
The magic stones and metals from the mine accounted for 30% of the Grand Duchy of Yekart's annual income.
Ferze couldn't have been a very kind person, and he certainly wasn't a magpie who repaid favors.
It was a huge loss for the Grand Duke, so he went ahead with the contract marriage.
The reason was simple, to clear up the scandal of his broken engagement to the Saintess and to prevent the emperor from using a political marriage to weaken the power of the Yekartes family.
Anyway, the problem now is who said he was trash.
And why did you add a useless, refreshing greetings 'Hello!'?
"Ciel, wasn't it you who did it?"
"I just asked you to buy me some shwilin cookies."
"The handwriting is the same."
"......"
Who the hell is that? Those words sent shivers down to my spine.
'Oh my goodness. The handwriting is the same?'
I was so shocked that I couldn't speak properly.
Maybe because I was young, I had trouble holding the quill pen that I used to be good at.
Even though I tried to write neatly, my handwriting was crooked like a sharp stone.
It was originally written in worm form, but due to my innately bad handwriting and the quill pen not being able to write as I pleased, it looked like a picture rather than letters.
Still, I didn't ask the maid to write it for me.
Even though it was awkward, I wanted to write it myself.
I thought it was polite to the Grand Duke.
I have wondered if Ferze interpreted it well.
At one point, I wondered if he was just reporting his survival because he couldn't interpret my writing.
'But the handwriting is the same.....'
Someone copied my handwriting, right? What kind of idiot did that prank?
Ferze was more surprised than me.
I patted Ferze's shoulder, who was so shocked that he couldn't continue speaking.
"Your Highness, you got fooled, hehe."
While I understood his feelings, I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that the thoroughgoing Grand Duke had fallen for such a wicked prank.
"Ciel, I wish it wasn't you."
It was a little unpleasant, but it seemed that our age was one thing to get caught by imperial law anyway, so we were just passing by.
"He must be one of those guys who has nothing to do."
Somehow, I feel like the clueless suspect X is someone I know well, but let's pretend not to know him.....
After that, an awkward silence flowed between us.
I thought it would be a good idea to go somewhere safer and find something to talk about, so I grabbed hold of Ferze's hem and spoke.
"Let's go to our garden!"
"Why the garden?"
"I also want to see the flowers."
"...... Suddenly? Well, okay."
Actually, I didn't really want to go flower viewing.
I was also concerned about the knights who kept wriggling around Ferze and me, and I was worried that if things continued like this, my father would find out.
I was going to guide them, but Ferze took the first step.
I hurriedly grabbed the hem of the Grand Duke's clothes, intending to go to the garden where flowers were in full bloom.
If you go there, you'll get caught right away!
"Your Highness, let s go to the maze garden!"
"Why there?"
"You said you'd go flower viewing with me, right?"
"Flowers? There will only be bones of those who wandered the streets and died from poisonous weeds."
I couldn't find the words to respond to Ferze's words.
Again silence fell between us.
"Well, I still like the maze garden!"
"Okay. Then I'll guide you."
"Oh, I'm just asking, in case, do you know the way?"
"I've infiltrated enough to take the knights into the garden, so I have no choice but to know."
The Knights of the White Night have infiltrated the Maze Garden.
Can you tell that to Visenna's youngest daughter...?
I followed Perse with a somewhat disturbed expression on my face.
"I knew you'd like a labyrinth garden. Your tastes are similar to those of Duke Eustia...."
He was just trying to say that I look alike again.
Eustia, I liked my new dad, but it felt strange to be told I resembled him.
I've been living a good life like this.
"Yes?"
"Oh, it's nothing."
When I asked him, pretending not to know, Ferze shook his head as if it was nothing.
So we headed towards the maze garden, maintaining an awkward relationship.
As we entered the entrance, a wall of greenery taller than me greeted us.
It would be enough to just enter the entrance, but there was a risk of getting lost while looking for the exit.
Unlike me, who was worried that we might be lost, Ferze took the lead in going through the maze.
Ferze, who was walking briskly, stopped for a moment and put the black robe he was wearing on me.
"Why?"
"It's poisonous, so it's dangerous if you touch it."
"What about your Highness?"
"I'm immune, so I'm fine."
"I have immunity too."
"......."
Ferze, now speechless, looked at me with a sullen gaze.
It was a look that said, 'Can't you just accept it?'
"...... Euh, um. Even if I have immunity, it sometimes disappears."
"You're talking nonsense again."
Ferze scolded me, telling me to speak senselessly, but I pretended not to notice and muttered, pulling his robe back tightly.
"Wow.... Robe, thank you so much!"
This was the maid's inner strength.
If you ask me what my inner strength was, there wasn't much to it.
It was just a kind of social life.
Fortunately, Ferze was two or three spans taller than me, so the robe reached down to my toes.
At first, Ferze was about to fold the robe that was dragging on the garden floor, but then he remembered something and left it as it was.
"Why are you wearing a one-piece dress.... Be careful, the poison will sting if it touches your bare skin."
"Yes."
After that, silence continued again.
Ferze never opened his mouth unless it was absolutely necessary to say something.
The Grand Duke used to treat me without hesitation, but after he became younger, he started to hesitate strangely.
'Could it be because of the side effects of the poison the doctor mentioned? I'm not sure if it's the same drug I'm taking, though.'
He was still coughing unnecessarily, as if he was trying to say something.
Only after a long time did Ferze open his mouth.
"How was your time in Visenna?"
Did you take so long to ask that?
Looking at the Grand Duke, which is still in angry mode, I said frozen.
"Yes! Dad is good to me, and my brother is good to me too."
"......"
It was Perse who asked first, but he remained silent even after hearing my answer.
I was embarrassed and started to mumble.
"Sharky oppa is a bit of a bully, but I'm working on taming him. Oh, and I've become a little closer to Shurei oppa too. He doesn't seem to think so, though."
"....... Dad? And oppa?"
Ferze made a face of incomprehension.
He looked a little surprised.
When I see him ask in a low voice when 'Duke Eustia' became dad.
"It's been quite a while....."
"Is that a survival strategy? Visenna's people must have threatened you."
"It's not a threat."
Rather, it was the opposite.
He gave me a lot of shwilin cookies and also gold bars.
It wasn't just about giving me material benefits.
Whenever I tied my father's hair, I received all praise for doing a good job, and when I couldn't sleep, my brother Sharkis would read me a storybook –of course, the content was quite cruel for children.
So, Duke Eustia became the father, and Sharkis also became older brother.
Just like Visenna another son, Shurei became Shurei's brother.
"Did they torture you or brainwash you....?"
Ferze asked, his hand clenched tightly.
If they did something wrong, he was going to hit my dad who wasn't here.
"It's a bit scary, but he plays well with me?"
I answered, tapping my toes.
Why do people see my dad as a heartless devil?
There are more bad parts, but there are also some good parts sometimes.
"Did he use brainwashing magic?"
"He gave me a lot of cookies."
Why, why are you looking at me like that?
Ferze looked at me with a somewhat betrayed expression.
If you lived a healthy life without dying, then you even need to have a funeral....
The road to meet me must have been incredibly difficult, right?
I don't know the details because my dad and brothers are keeping it a secret.
"Then me?"
When Ferze asked, I stared at him with a face that said, 'What are you talking about?'
"Grand Duke."
"Just the Grand Duke?"
Ferze asked back in a somewhat weak voice.
I felt sorry for Ferze and felt embarrassed, so I scratched my cheek and said.
"Your Highness, you are the Grand Duke. I was a maid."
Not anymore.
"But...."
Ferze scolded me, asking how long I would be stuck in such a boring notion.
In fact, it seemed like he was trying to persuade me rather than scold me.
From Ferze's perspective, it would be 'good', but from my perspective, I was being bullied by the royal family without knowing the reason or the circumstances.
Like a poor new employee who gets ripped off by his manager for no reason.
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