“Good morning, Eliane. I shall help you change your clothes.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Morning.

Abby brought me the clothes I was going to wear today.

I had her doll me up.

I kept refusing her service, however—

“—No, this is my duty. Please do not worry.” Was her answer every time.

Abby was persistent. Recently, I just let her do what she wanted.

Even so, sometimes I changed my clothes before Abby arrived. Each time, she made an ambiguous expression. “It can’t be helped, it seems.”

We may be of the same sex, but I felt bad having her help me change clothes.

“Haa…”

“What’s wrong, Eliane?”

Abby tilted her head.

I can’t, I can’t…

I seemed to have let out a sigh.

“…Abby, do you have someone you like?”

“M, me?”

Abby’s tone went up a little.

Seeing Abby get worked up was a bit rare. It was a little cute.

“There isn’t. Occasionally, my parents will introduce me to a man. However, none of them struck my fancy. Not to mention, everyone says terrible things!”

“…Terrible things?”

“Yes, they keep telling me to stop working as a maid once we’re engaged. I don’t like that.”

No… I think that’s only normal…

I had never heard of someone continuing to work as a maid after getting married.

By the way, Abby was actually the daughter of a baron.

To begin with, the maids of the royal palace often had noble backgrounds.

Working as a maid was part of their bride training. If they were lucky, they might even be able to get closer with the royal family.

“Why would you remain as a maid? Don’t you want to settle down soon?”

“What are you talking about! If I quit being a maid, there’d be no one to take care of Nigel and you!”

Abby stopped what she was doing and vigorously exclaimed.

“I want to take care of you two forever! I won’t quit even if I’m told to quit!”

“I’m not telling you to quit…”

However, the fact that Abby was so adamant about being a maid also meant that she cared a lot about Nigel—

—…or, me?

It would be nice if I was included in that, too.

“Eliane, why did you suddenly ask me such a question?”

Abby asked back.

“There’s no reason, I’m just a little concerned…”

“…Fufu.”

Did she think I was behaving oddly?

Abby grinned.

“Did something happen between you and Nigel?”

…!!

“T-that’s…”

“What are you embarrassed about? It’s not strange to argue with your fiancé. Overcoming hardships is the key to becoming a true couple.”

Even if I tried to deny it, I couldn’t utter a single word because Abby was too on-point.

I had already told Abby that I was engaged to Nigel.

Although only a few people knew of that fact, it was within Nigel’s and my judgment that Abby should know.

It seemed that Abby had been taking care of Nigel ever since he was small. He didn’t want to hide such a thing from her.

“Ah, that’s right.”

After changing my clothes, Abby clapped her hands.

“I’m going to head to Nigel’s place after this. Come with me, Eliane. Won’t you talk to your fiancé?”

“N, no, I will only get in the way…”

“It’s alright!”

Even when I refused, Abby forcibly pulled my hand.

E, eh!?

Because of yesterday, I still felt awkward!

Despite that, Abby still pulled me to Nigel’s place.

***

We went to Nigel’s room.

I wondered about what to talk about. Fortunately, I didn’t encounter any problems.

“A lord is coming?”

I instinctively listened to focused on his words.

“Indeed. I really want Eliane to meet him.”

“It’s okay, but it’s also too sudden…”

“Oh, I haven’t mentioned him before?”

“You haven’t!!”

“I see.”

Nigel laughed happily.

When I entered in his room with Abby, he remarked. “What good timing!”

Probably—no, precisely because of that, I didn’t need to talk about the main subject. I was relieved.

I though that he was about to bring up something important.

“Who is this person?”

“His name is Vincent. He is a duke. In terms of location, a new dungeon has recently manifested, hasn’t it? He lives around that area.”

A new dungeon in the territory of Lynchgiham. There were many undead. It was a place adventurers would raid.

“Why so suddenly?”

“He wants to thank you for producing the holy water. Thanks to Eliane’s creation, the dungeon capture has been proceeding smoothly. There are also many other things, but I won’t list them. If I do, we’ll run out of time.”

“I see…”

Duke Vincent, was it…?

It wasn’t uncommon for a lord to visit the royal palace. That kind of thing had occurred several times before.

But why would Nigel try to get me to meet Vincent at a time like this?

“Duke Vincent has been Nigel’s classmate since their school days.”

Abby chimed in, perhaps picking up on my confusion.

“He’s a good person. There’s no need for you to be anxious.”

“Since Nigel’s school days? So, he is basically the same age as Nigel?”

“That’s right.”

I asked a question,

“He’s already a lord even though he’s so young?”

To which Nigel replied,

“Yes. Vincent lost his father when he was young. Of course, he has the assistance of ministers and aides, but he has a very good territory. He is a competent man.”

“I’m really looking forward to meeting him. So, when will I be meeting Vincent?”

“Today.”

“—Today!?”

“Yes. Any problem?”

“It’s too sudden!”

When I stared at Nigel’s face, he chuckled.

Did he purposefully want to surprise me?

Your Highness Nigel, you should cease your mischief!

…back to the present.

“I’m at loss for what to say. I have to act proper.”

“I think it’s alright. You don’t need to go out of your way. Vincent is a man who doesn’t care about etiquette. I think Eliane should just behave like she usually does.”

That’s not the case, though…

I was still anxious.

However, he was a very kind person? When I heard that, I felt like I needn’t worry so much.

But I had seen it.

Abby had an uneasy face.

“What’s wrong, Abby? Are you worried about something?”

“No, I don’t think you should be concerned. But it’s important to remember…”

“…What is it?”

“Vincent is a very good person, indeed. I have met him and I’m sure of that. But…”

When I heard Abby’s story, a chill went down my spine.

---

***T/N: I feel it… another ikemen is coming!!!

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