***
Liselotte’s room.
Marsha poured strong tea into the teacup placed on the desk.
Unlike ordinary tea, the color was close to almost pitch-black.
When Liselotte, who had been looking over the list, lifted the teacup, her eyes quivered slightly.
After taking a sip, Liselotte glanced at the cup and replied,
“Wow, it’s strong. I like it.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. I’ve often thought tea felt a bit like water, but this is just right.”
At the offhand comment, Marsha covered her mouth.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard that. Everyone always told me I was bad at brewing tea.”
“Really?”
Why though?
When working, strong tea was essential. If it had caffeine, even better.
Unlike Marsha, who looked deeply moved for some reason, Ail, standing in front of the desk, seemed uncharacteristically cautious.
“Are you truly all right with this?”
It seemed he was conflicted as he set the list down with his own hand.
Liselotte shrugged nonchalantly.
“It’s fine. I’ve looked through the list carefully too, and as expected, you have a good eye, Ail.”
“…There are quite a few people from the East mixed in.”
Though he did not add anything further, it was little different from indirectly asking whether she would be uncomfortable.
As it seemed things would actually go according to his intentions, Ail’s expression kept changing moment by moment, as if filled with complex feelings.
It was understandable, since this was the first time they had brought in so many outsiders.
Moreover, as the decision had been made while most were out on the subjugation, it was only natural to worry about the backlash when they returned.
Liselotte slammed the Grand Duchess’s signet, stamped with the crest of House Keilos, down with a thud and smiled brightly.
“This is originally within my authority, isn’t it? It’s fine.”
“Well, that’s true.”
He cast a stiff-eyed glance over the employment permit stamped with the seal, then nodded as if steadying his resolve.
‘Rather than letting them come in one by one, it’s better to bring in several at once.’
The list Ail had handed over consisted solely of people without a single flaw to be found.
Liselotte casually asked Marsha, who was waiting behind her,
“What about you, Marsha? Would you feel uncomfortable if people from other regions came?”
“No! My best friend is from the South!”
Liselotte deliberately broke into a grin and shot Ail a look.
It meant that many people would share that opinion, so there was no need to worry.
As she pressed the seal onto the final employment contract, she replied,
“From today, let them enter the North. I trust you will place them in the right positions, Ail.”
“Your Highness…”
At Liselotte’s words, Ail felt a swell of emotion.
Up until now, everyone had only told him no.
As nothing more than the Commander of the Personal Guard, he had no authority over personnel matters.
To ask Eren directly for the seal would be like throwing prey to the collateral branches.
Ail could not bring shame upon his Lord with his own hands.
But Liselotte was different.
Whether others looked down on her or not, she was from the Imperial Family and from the Capital.
She was the person least affected by the North.
That was why he desperately wanted to seize this opportunity.
Ail clenched the sealed documents tightly in his grip.
“I will prove myself. I will make sure that the choice you made does not become something you regret.”
Rather than the expression he usually showed, Ail was smiling sincerely.
***
A few days later, as scheduled, new people began arriving at the estate.
Marsha also looked overwhelmed, busy with handing tasks over to the newcomers.
While everyone bustled about, Liselotte calmly inhaled the scent of tea.
She was waiting.
‘It should be about time.’
Click. She set the teacup down gracefully, but her movements were oddly combative and resolute.
Soon, the sound of measured footsteps came from outside the door.
A moment later, a composed knock sounded.
“Your Highness, it’s Ail.”
“Come in.”
Liselotte deliberately picked up her teacup again, pretending to be at ease.
When the door opened, Ail entered with a somewhat troubled expression.
“A letter arrived from House Gloria this morning.”
In his hand was a letter bearing the seal of House Gloria.
Not from Duke Gloria himself, who would be swamped by the aftermath of the subjugation.
“It is a letter from Hedmilton Rovans, Chief Aide of Duke Gloria.”
He was the aide who had been unable to attend the negotiation meeting because he had to leave his post.
‘Of course. I knew he’d contact us after seeing the agreement signed belatedly.’
Receiving the letter, Liselotte broke the seal.
Inside was a long message, neatly written.
[Greetings.
This is Hedmilton Rovans, Chief Aide of House Gloria.
I apologize for being unable to attend the recent joint negotiations regarding the subjugation.
I wish to convey the Eastern side’s position regarding recovery from the damage in the border regions following the subjugation.
After reviewing it, I would appreciate your reply.]
Below that was a proposal written at a level that did not cause significant losses for House Keilos either.
[It seems you have reinforced the sentries within the border region on the Northern side; however, the nearby area is one where Eastern monsters occasionally appear.
As a result, when combined with the Eastern sentries, personnel appear to be overly concentrated. We would like to ask whether it might be possible for you to take responsibility starting from a slightly lower point along the border.]
“Surprisingly reasonable?”
Liselotte scanned even the back pages of the letter, checking whether there might be any hidden schemes.
It was not a one-sided notice, and it even left room at the end for refusal.
‘When they asked for as much as ten thousand gold, I thought it was on Hedmilton’s orders. Maybe not?’
In the original story, Hedmilton was hopelessly in love with Diana.
That was why he was known for skillfully scraping together large sums of money from various places to cover the immense costs of treating her illness.
Well, as was often the fate of retainers, it ended as nothing more than unrequited love.
‘I figured the negotiations must have concluded so easily because Hedmilton was absent, and that they’d cling to us at least over the recovery efforts to make up for their losses.’
When a sane person emerges from House Gloria, which had made unreasonable demands before, it almost felt strange.
This letter was exactly that.
Ail must have been thinking the same thing, because he could not hold back and blurted out a question.
“Is there perhaps anything you would like to request separately regarding the recovery efforts?”
“Hm… The contents aren’t bad. If we adjust just the minor details, we could proceed as is.”
“True. The Hedmilton I have encountered was not someone who pushed things through unreasonably.”
Only then did Ail let out a sigh of relief.
As expected, those known for their competence really were different.
After all, no matter how stubborn either side became, there was not a single grain of benefit to be had for either party in this matter.
Liselotte, who had been tensing her shoulders in readiness for battle, drafted her reply with a much more relaxed state of mind.
[Greetings.
This is Liselotte Keilos.
I have reviewed the contents you sent.
After further discussion with the Grand Duke, I will share detailed plans regarding sentry deployment.]
At Liselotte’s reply, Hedmilton immediately wrote back with his thanks, and the exchange came to an end.
***
It had already been a full week since Eren left for the subjugation.
By now, Liselotte had become completely accustomed to the Keilos mansion.
In the meantime, those newly hired had finished their brief handover period and been fully assigned to their duties.
On her table, various desserts were lined up in a neat row, as if awaiting inspection.
When Liselotte took a bite of a cookie, the sound of someone nervously swallowing echoed from somewhere nearby.
“This cookie tastes different from before.”
At her remark, the maids lined up along the wall went pale.
They were maids hired this time from other regions.
Some were gripping their hands so tightly, trembling nonstop, that it was worrying whether they might faint at any moment.
Leaving the trembling ones aside, Marsha pointed at the desserts and explained proudly.
“This time we hired a patissier from the East. Desserts are their specialty, and since they used to work for the Imperial Palace, Sir Ail said it would suit your taste too, Princess Liselotte!”
“No wonder. It felt familiar, so my hand kept reaching for it. Please tell them I’ll be counting on them during tea time as well.”
“Yes, understood!”
“Oh, and the corridor was sparkling. Who was in charge of that?”
No sooner had the question ended than one maid creaked forward a step out of the group.
Keeping her head bowed, she squeezed her eyes shut and answered.
“I, I did.”
“I was surprised at how clean it was. The polish is good, but are your arms all right?”
Startled, the maid quickly lifted her head.
“Th-they’re fine!”
Even though she said that, her awkward posture and the small wounds on her hands could not be hidden.
Perhaps because it had not been long since she entered House Keilos, she was extremely tense.
Liselotte soothed her even more gently.
“It’s fine as long as it’s clean. For partial maintenance, check it three times a week and use polish, and take care of only basic cleaning for the rest. It’ll be hard, but please do that.”
“N-no, it is fine. Your Highness, the Grand Duchess!”
At the words “Grand Duchess,” all the maids glanced at her at once.
The maid who had been answering quickly corrected herself, looking as though she had made a mistake.
“No, Princess Liselotte!”
‘Ah, right.’
Originally, Liselotte disliked being called Grand Duchess.
Well, the people of the older generation also didn’t like addressing her as such, so perhaps it was more accurate to say they disliked each other.
Because of that, she had often been addressed as “Princess” and rarely been called “Your Highness” or “Grand Duchess.”
Since it had been that way ever since she came to House Keilos, it seemed the newly hired maids had been warned in advance as well.
Cutting a piece of cake with her fork, Liselotte replied kindly.
“You can just call me whatever is comfortable, so don’t worry too much about titles.”
At that, Marsha’s eyes widened.
