Chapter 41
“Your Highness, are you awake?”
A bright voice answered the cautious knock.
“Yes, you may come in.”
The one who opened the door and stepped inside was Odette, the head maid of Linea Hall.
She folded her hands neatly in front of her and bowed to Princess Celestina, who was sitting on the bed.
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
“Shh, could you lower your voice a little?”
A soft smile lingered in the princess's eyes as she brought an index finger lightly to her lips.
Odette's gaze shifted toward the princess's side.
The bed wasn't occupied by the princess alone.
She'd brought an outsider—no, an outsider woman—into the room and spent a scandalous(?) night.
“Miss Lunaris was here after all.”
Odette unconsciously touched her forehead and let out a light sigh.
Seeing her fast asleep without even changing out of her maid uniform made her head ache.
“I had a feeling when you still hadn't returned last night...”
She hadn't expected her to be brazenly occupying a royal bed.
Of course, it was Odette who had arranged this.
Sending Lunaris to this room late yesterday afternoon had also been partly intentional.
Surely they would have finished tidying the princess's slightly more special room by late afternoon.
Even if work had gone awry and the schedule had slipped, there was no way they'd let some rookie temporary intern, sent over for a short disciplinary stint, clean this room.
Sending Lunaris to an already perfectly cleaned room was, to put it simply, a maid's tiny bit of overprotective meddling.
There was absolutely no political motive, like trying to curry favor with the princess's faction.
She simply couldn't ignore a Linea Hall student silently suffering alone over friendship problems.
Because they kept missing each other, she had wanted them to at least meet face-to-face and exchange greetings once...
'I didn't expect you to end up this close after just one day.'
Princess Celestina let out a little laugh at Odette's strange expression.
“Don't be so hard on the head maid. I was the one who made her stay for just one night.”
“I wasn't planning to scold you, Your Highness. It's just...”
Odette's gaze went to the maid uniform, wrinkled and rumpled in every direction.
“If you were going to sleep anyway, you should've changed first and slept comfortably. I don't even know what to call this state. I really should warn you about it.”
“Right? She must've been really tired. You know? The moment she put her head on the bed, she was asleep.”
“Miss Lunaris does fall asleep instantly whenever she lies down on a bed, no matter when or where.”
“Ahaha. That's so Lunaris.”
The princess carefully brushed back Lunaris's ash-gray hair as she slept soundly.
“I wanted to have a little chat before sleep, but that's a shame.”
She prodded Lunaris's cheek with a finger, a hint of disappointment in the motion, but Lunaris didn't stir at all.
“Well, there's nothing wrong with just watching her sleep either.”
Watching her, Odette murmured in a low voice, almost in admiration.
“Miss Lunaris really is impressive. Even I tense up in front of Your Highness, and yet she can occupy a royal bed and sleep that soundly...”
Saying she seemed not to know what tension was, the iron-blooded head maid rarely showed emotion.
Princess Celestina tilted her head slightly, looking surprised.
“My, I didn't know even the head maid got nervous.”
“I'm human, after all...”
“I'm a student before I'm royalty, too.”
She went on, looking out at the morning sunlight beyond the window.
“Even after this semester, I'll still have seven more semesters to rely on you, so don't be so stiff—could you treat me a little more casually?”
There was a light ease and dignity to her voice.
It was markedly different from before.
Odette watched her quietly for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“You've become much brighter in just one day, Your Highness.”
“Is that so?”
Princess Celestina's gaze returned to Lunaris.
“Maybe it's because someone took a little too much of the burden off my shoulders, so my heart feels lighter.”
*
My eyes flew open.
It wasn't the maid coming to wake me, nor Dean Raymond blasting me with magic.
I had simply woken up naturally.
Usually I can't even be bothered to lift my eyelids, and rolling around on the bed in a daze is basically part of my daily routine.
Today, though, my mind was strangely clear.
I slowly sat up and blinked blankly.
I rubbed the cuffs of my oversized sleeves and rolled my shoulders and waist around.
The persistent stiffness that always lingered no matter how much I slept was completely gone today.
If anything, I felt so light I could fly away.
I felt so refreshed I didn't even need to stretch.
If there was any discomfort, it would be that the clothes I was wearing were uncomfortable.
The rough fabric kept poking at the back of my neck, but strangely enough it hadn't bothered me while I was asleep.
Even that unpleasantness had been wrapped up perfectly by the bed.
It really was a perfect night's sleep.
Come to think of it, the clothes I'm wearing are a maid uniform.
As I woke up, yesterday's memories gradually came back to me.
Ah... right. I was under punishment.
My head snapped toward the window.
It was far too bright outside.
...What time is it?
The people who were supposed to come wake me in the middle of the night(?)—why are they this late today...
Then a small laugh came from beside me.
“You're awake, Lunaris?”
I slowly turned toward the voice.
A girl sitting at a small table, gracefully drinking tea, came into view.
The gentle midday sunlight shattered into sparkles over her golden hair.
It was none other than Princess Celestina.
“Good morning.”
The princess looked at me and smiled with her eyes.
The fragile girl who had soaked my clothes with tears last night was nowhere to be seen.
In her place was a soft, gentle princess.
The ideal 'senior princess' I remembered was standing right in front of me.
“Th... good morning, Your Highness.”
My expression right now was probably the dumbest in the world.
“Last night was good, wasn't it?”
“Yeah, I guess. It was good. The bed was amazing.”
It was like I closed and opened my eyes, and suddenly the sun had appeared in the sky as if by magic.
It was soft, yet subtly self-assertive, as if it kept my body from sinking all the way in and held me in the perfect position...
“Mm-hm, and then?”
“The slight drawback was that I fell asleep right away and didn't have time to savor how good it felt, but I suppose that means I slept that well...”
If only I'd had my favorite pillow, it really would have been amazing.
No, if I'd even just changed into pajamas instead of this uncomfortable outfit, it would've been perfect.
“If I had to rate it, I'd say 95 out of 10.”
“Out of 100, not out of 10?”
“The point is that I took off one zero. It's a bed that far exceeds my standards.”
The princess burst out laughing at my muttered monologue.
“By the way, does that mean nothing other than the bed was good?”
“Something else?”
“Was there anything else besides the bed that could've been good?”
“Like an aroma, or an optimal mana-density setting, or something else I don't know about?”
As I tilted my head blankly, the princess's eyes widened.
“Oh my, don't tell me you can't remember a single thing?”
“Didn't we just sleep?”
“That's too cruel, Lunaris. After shaking up my heart like that yesterday... you were playing me for a fool. Sob, sob.”
Wow, every line is amazingly destructive.
Anyone hearing that would think I had taken the princess by force or something.
“Hehe. I'm joking, joking. Nothing happened. We really just slept holding hands.”
“P-please don't say things that will cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”
The princess smiled brightly, set down her teacup, and stood up.
“Now that you're awake, shall we go somewhere together?”
“Where to?”
The princess stepped one step closer to me, bent slightly, and met my eye level.
My reflection filled those mysterious violet eyes.
“I told you. I'd take care of easing things for you with the maid work.”
*
“Lunaris, I'll make you my personal maid.”
Princess Celestina took me over to stand before Head Maid Odette.
“I don't quite understand what you're talking about all of a sudden, but...”
The perfectly polite reply was clearly aimed at the princess, but the sharp gaze was directed at me.
I could tell just from her eyes what she was trying to say.
She was probably asking how I managed to win the princess over.
But I didn't do anything.
I knew nothing and had nothing to feel guilty about, so all I did was yawn lazily.
“Exactly as I said, Head Maid. Isn't there a regulation in the academy rules that says students of imperial or royal lineage may have one of the dormitory maids assigned to them to maintain dignity?”
“Of course, such a regulation does exist. That's why I told you on the day you first came to Linea Hall that I'd assign someone to you, but...”
“You said you didn't need one. But now you do.”
A troubled expression appeared on Ms. Odette's face.
“Because it's a regulation for maintaining dignity, the rule is to assign a senior maid or someone above that rank.”
She shot me a sidelong glance and went on.
“I'm not talking about making some other student—someone who isn't even an apprentice, just a student temporarily wearing a maid uniform for a two-week punishment—serve you.”
“As far as I know, the regulation only says 'maid.'”
“...”
“Am I wrong?”
I have to say it again: today's princess is incredibly strong.
“If someone who hasn't even learned the basics of being a maid were made to handle it, it might actually lower the princess's dignity. That's what I'm worried about.”
“I suppose that's something I'd have to take responsibility for too.”
In the end, Ms. Odette lowered her head as if she had no choice.
“Understood, Your Highness. However.”
Ms. Odette's sharp gaze jabbed at me again.
“I can't let her trail behind the princess looking like that. Could you give us some time to get her ready?”
“Of course.”
The princess nodded with a bright smile.
She looked relaxed, as if she already knew it would go exactly as she wanted.
“While we wait, let's have another cup of tea.”
“Wouldn't you rather have a meal than tea? It will take quite a while.”
The princess shook her head at Odette's suggestion.
“It's fine. I want to have my meal with Lunaris.”