A Friend's Dad, Dad's Friend, and...?

It took nearly three months just to make one full circuit around the edge of the mountain range.

The routine during that time wasn't anything special.

While traveling, I either zoned out or slept in the carriage, and when we stopped to rest, all I did was eat and take walks with Derek.

After we reached a domain, I read the reports prepared in advance, tossed out various proposals for running the territory, or helped organize the accounts. That was it.

It wasn't work that some ordinary kindergarten teacher could reasonably handle, but unfortunately, even someone like me was a top-tier talent around here.

In the sparsely populated North, especially in domains at the foot of the mountains notorious for their harsh conditions, anyone who could write halfway decently and handle basic arithmetic was an excellent candidate for an administrator.

When I got my certified kindergarten-teacher license, I even took that godforsaken NCS exam, so even if my major was a little different, I could handle the basic work.

More than anything, since I'd been handling the administrative work the heir to the Grand Duchy was supposed to do, I also had access to crucial data known only to the central government.

This time I was going out in the field myself, but I'd often handled Derek's administrative work even before this.

A personal maid usually carried at least basic means of defense to protect her master.

Even if they couldn't wield a sword, they'd carry a dagger, learn at least one kind of concealed weapon, or, if all else failed, use poison.

That was pointless for me.

Regardless of how useless I was, if Derek ever got into a situation where he couldn't protect himself, that meant the circumstances were impossible for anyone to overcome.

So what other way did I have to support my master beyond my maid duties, if not by using my brain?

The Grand Duke and Duchess knew that perfectly well, so whenever they got the chance, they put me to work like crazy.

That was separate from the fact that they usually doted on me as their friend's daughter.

“Hmm, Yuria? I need some elaboration on this part.”

“Yes, Your Grace. This winter, monster activity has been especially intense, so the supply of hides has increased across all the domains. The price of hides will inevitably fall, but demand won't immediately rise in response. Once you factor in the domains' defense budgets and the cost of maintaining their monster-hunting equipment, the frontier domains' budgets will temporarily go into the red.”

“So we take on the increased supply ourselves?”

“Yes, Your Grace. Given the budgets of frontier domains, where people live hand to mouth, even a deficit of this size could put them at risk of bankruptcy. Surely you wouldn't want that.”

As soon as we returned, I was dragged straight to the office, where I had to present my findings from the field investigation in front of the Grand Duke and his retainers.

To my chagrin, Derek didn't come to my rescue. He quietly slipped away to work out with the knights.

He gave his report on monster activity with the Knight Commander first, then slipped away when it was my turn.

What was I thinking? What was so great about that guy that I spent three whole months sewing his clothes, serving him meals, and taking care of all the little chores for him……

It was the result of years of friendship combined with an unwavering sense of duty, but what I got in return was a certified heartbreaker.

I never cared about the kindergarten teachers' union, but suddenly I felt like joining the maids' union.

Maybe I'll go on strike today. Hmph.

My report finally ended after I'd talked so much my mouth had gone dry and I could feel my inner Red Flavor kicking in.

“……Compile the related information and report it to the capital. All right, we're dismissed. Oh, Yuria, you stay.”

After giving his retainers various instructions based on my report, the Grand Duke sent everyone off to work, leaving only me behind.

This happened all the time. Whenever I attended in Derek's place for administrative matters, the Grand Duke would keep me behind afterward to have a private conversation.

“Well, Yuria, you worked hard. Did anything happen while you were away?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Ahem. Now, what do you call me in private?”

“……Uncle Deston.”

On the surface, he was my employer and liege, but he was also my friend's dad and my dad's friend.

He was my unofficial godfather, too.

“Nothing particularly noteworthy. I wasn't involved in the monster extermination side of things, so I don't know much about that, either……”

Strictly speaking, I did meet a dragon who seemed to have completely lost its mind, but I didn't need to mention something I hadn't even told Derek.

“We already talked about all that in the official meeting with everyone earlier. I mean, personally.”

Meanwhile, the Grand Duke seemed dissatisfied with something.

“Personally? Uh…… my shoulder's been doing pretty well, thankfully. It hurts less than usual.”

“That's good news. More importantly, um, don't you have any interesting anecdotes? Like…… something that happened with Derek.”

Derek, huh.

Honestly, I cried like a pathetic mess, but…… no, that wasn't appropriate.

The Duchess seemed to take it in stride, but the Grand Duke asked about things that happened with Derek far more often.

Maybe he was worried because he'd put his friend's daughter to work as his son's maid.

“Well, nothing's really different from when we're home. I just kept taking care of little things for him like always. The only difference was that I couldn't ride a horse or walk for hours like the knights, so I was by myself during the march except at mealtimes.”

“Is that…… so? That idiot Derek just……”

I had no idea what part of what I'd just said had displeased him, but the Grand Duke clicked his tongue.

Since the Grand Duke usually took my side over his own son's, he was probably unhappy that Derek had made me wait on him even while we were away.

“Whose son is he, anyway? He's so clueless. I practically spoon-fed him a chance to do well, and he spat it right back out. He's incredibly dense.”

“Huh? I couldn't hear what you just said. You were mumbling.”

“No, I was talking to myself, Yuria.”

Judging by the way he was muttering to himself, he seemed pretty displeased.

I wasn't sure what had set him off, but unlike usual, I wasn't going to cover for Derek today.

You spoiled brat of a boss. I'm not calling off today's strike yet.

“In any case, I'm sorry, Yuria.”

Meanwhile, it was obvious he was trying to change the subject in case I pressed him about what he'd said.

He always did that whenever he talked about Derek.

Although Derek was more suited to physical work than brainwork, I thought he had pretty decent qualities for a nobleman's son. The Grand Duke, though, seemed to think differently because Derek was his own child.

At least, that's how he came across in front of me.

Still, what could I do? I had to play along.

“I don't know what you're apologizing for, but there's no need to apologize to me.”

“No, I really did try to stop it. This whole trip to the capital to make the rounds of high society and find Derek a bride was entirely my wife's doing. I tried to stop her, but I couldn't.”

Well, I didn't mind going to the capital with my master.

I just hated having to go on another work trip right after working my way around that freezing place.

And if I were to add one more thing, romance and marriage were both suffocating subjects, and I hated that the whole point was to find Derek a marriage partner.

Of course, no matter how close we were in private, he was still above me, so I couldn't say that out loud.

“Ah. I-it's okay. I can't exactly leave Derek to go alone. Honestly, it's a little hard, but I have to endure it. I'll be fine.”

At least my shoulder really wasn't in bad shape.

Thanks to that, even with my rather delicate body, I'd managed to keep up through the long march, and I figured I could make it to the capital, too.

When I met Lumiere, Lumiere said the pain and impairment in my shoulder were caused by the lack of synchronization between Yuria's body and my soul.

Given the context, I could interpret that as meaning my body and soul weren't synchronizing because, despite having a woman's body, I had no intention of loving someone as a woman.

But I acted and thought exactly the same way I had before.

Even so, the fact that my shoulder was doing pretty well meant Lumiere had left something unexplained somewhere, all for the sake of what Lumiere wanted.

I needed to find an opportunity to pry some information out of Lumiere.

The problem was figuring out how to create that opportunity……

To make Lumiere appear in front of me like last time, I had to fulfill some condition, and that condition would be my…… femininity.

Ugh, even if it was just an act, I hated it.

“I'm sorry again, Yuria.”

I'd had my head bowed while I thought things over, and I had no idea how the Grand Duke had interpreted my expression, but he apologized to me again.

“Though it may be very difficult, if you endure it and quietly fulfill your role beside my son, you'll find happiness someday. I support you, you know.”

……Those were good words. They really were.

But the timing was a little out of nowhere, wasn't it?

It's true that the schedule was rigged against me, and physically exhausting.

But what was that last part about?

Was there some job I didn't know about that was going to run me ragged?

All the more reason to refuse to work and throw a fit in front of Derek today. I had a perfectly good excuse to go on strike.

Whatever it was, I could make him pay for putting me through such a grueling schedule with him. You said this trip would be really hard on me, didn't you?

As for my plan to summon Lumiere and get information about my condition…… I'd think about that a little more.

I'd managed to get by with a minor disability until now. It would hurt my pride to throw away my dignity so quickly.