28
Chapter 28
I watched him closely.
“What are the October festivals for?”
“It’s to celebrate the King who founded this country defeating the Demon beasts and bringing peace to the continent.”
He answered Leo’s question naturally.
Her freckled face wasn’t unfamiliar.
Unlike the other maids who sent Leo strange jealous glances and showered me with flattery and praise, she was always kind to Leo.
I raised my hand to stop the maids from fussing over me and subtly pointed to the maid talking to Leo.
“You there, what’s your name?”
“It’s Mary.”
“Come here and finish my hair.”
A brief stir rippled through the maids.
My words were like rearranging the hierarchy among the maids.
It meant I valued Mary more than the others.
Mary stood behind me, drawing everyone’s attention. Then, she cautiously opened her mouth.
“Um, Lady Belinda. Would it be alright if I trimmed the ends a little and changed the decoration?”
The maids around her stared at Mary as if she were crazy.
I nodded without hesitation.
“Go ahead.”
Soon, Mary lightly trimmed the ends of my hair, braided it, and tied a ribbon.
I didn’t think it was anything special.
Not until I realized that the decoration on Leo’s beret and my hair accessory were a matching set.
Oh my, look at Mary. She has a good sense.
“You have a good hand.”
“Thank you.”
I happened to need a maid I could use.
She was kind to Leo and quick-witted.
I should watch her for a while to see if she’s suitable to be my right-hand woman.
* * *
“Mary, you’ve completely switched sides, haven’t you?”
A side path connecting the annex to the main building.
The gazes of the maids, who were returning to the main building in groups of three or five, instantly turned to Mary.
Mary simply smiled leisurely at the sudden attention from her colleagues.
“Who knows? If my efforts to assist her are commendable, I might even receive some old jewelry.”
The day the late Marquess’s will was revealed.
Belinda’s one comment caused a stir among the employees who were chanting ‘Anti-Belinda.’
Especially among the maids, there was even a sense of tension.
If they could catch Belinda’s eye, they could follow her as her personal maid when she got married later.
A maid brought from the main family by the mistress of a household would enjoy a different kind of luxury than ordinary maids, using the master’s trust as power.
They had been attending to Belinda with unprecedented devotion to get close to her, but Mary, who had always taken a step back and flirted with the boy who was Belinda’s attendant, was the one who was chosen.
“Did you see the clothes of Belinda’s servant? I thought he was some young nobleman.”
“Right? If I had known I could enjoy such luxury, I would have volunteered.”
“Hey. Have you already forgotten what happened to the kids who took care of the Lady before?”
“That’s right. Don’t be fooled, everyone. It’s clear that she’s not cherishing the servant, but keeping him by her side as if she’s playing with a doll. You saw it earlier, didn’t you? How cold the Lady’s gaze was when she stared at him.”
“Even the name she gave him. What’s an Acorn mouse?”
Mary walked a step away from the group of maids who were whispering even after arriving at the main building.
Then, as she approached the dining hall, she casually spoke to one of the group.
“I’m not feeling well today, so I should rest in my room.”
“Really? Should I tell Mac to bring you some rice porridge?”
“It’s okay.”
Mary left her colleagues and headed to the office on the second floor, using the stairs used by the employees instead of heading to the dormitory.
After looking around the hallway to see if anyone had seen her, she knocked on the office door exactly four times and carefully opened the door and entered.
She looked at Schwebel, who didn’t take his eyes off the documents even at her visit, and then said with a deep bow.
“Lady Belinda has gone to enjoy the festival held in the plaza.”
The pen that was busily moving across the paper stopped moving.
Only then did Schwebel raise his head and look at Mary.
“She went to a festival for commoners, not a party for nobles?”
“Yes, she even took her personal servant with her, so it’s certain.”
Unlike her. Schwebel muttered quietly and rubbed his chin.
“How are the new ones?”
“There was nothing special about them. The head maid is very young, and it’s hard to see her face because she doesn’t come out of her room at all. The butler is just an assistant seamstress who used to work in a clothing store.”
“Where did she get such riffraff?”
Mary spoke politely to Schwebel, who was muttering irritably.
“And I brought what you asked for.”
Soon, a bundle of hair tied with thread came out of Mary’s pocket.
A look of delight flashed in Schwebel’s eyes as he saw the hair, which was as red as blood.
“You did well. It must have been difficult because she’s a child who treats people badly. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. As you advised, I was kind to the Lady’s personal servant, and she seemed to want to keep me by her side without suspicion.”
“Good, please take good care of my sister in the future.”
With those words, Schwebel handed a heavy money bag to the aide.
A mean smile formed on Mary’s face for the first time.
She bowed her head and received the information fee from the aide, then quietly left the office as she had come.
Only after the sound of her footsteps had completely disappeared did the aide, who had been guarding Schwebel’s side, open his mouth.
“The Northern knight is staying longer than expected. I will secretly send someone to the North to find out the situation.”
“No, there’s no need to do that. Belinda isn’t trying to Betrothal with the Valuashten family, as you think. No matter how much she covets the position of Grand Duchess, she wouldn’t want to rot in such a barren and desolate land.”
Schwebel was sure. Belinda, who was accustomed to the luxury culture of the royal capital, would hate the barren North.
However, it was necessary to confirm why the Northern knight was guarding Belinda and what kind of deal had been made between them.
“First, we need to find out his skills. Whether he’s really a sword capable of protecting Belinda. Bring it.”
The aide closed the curtains on the window, darkening the room, and then brought a cage covered in black cloth.
“I haven’t given it a drop of water for three days since it hatched, so it will eat anything.”
Schwebel boldly removed the blackout from the cage.
Inside, a baby raven that couldn’t even open its eyes properly was huddled up as if dead, panting heavily.
Schwebel threw Belinda’s hair into the cage through the bars.
Then, the raven raised its head sharply, sniffed, and began to devour the hair that had fallen in front of it.
Finally, the raven, which had eaten all the hair, opened its eyes.
Red eyes, emitting a strange light, looked around and began to hit its body against the cage, unable to control its temper.
“It seems like it wants to eat the owner of this hair quickly.”
Demon beasts cannot be tamed by human hands, but if their habits are used, they can perform their duties well.
Like a Shadow Raven.
They had the habit of eating their parents as soon as they opened their eyes.
Some assassins used this habit to feed a newborn chick a part of the target’s body, making it recognize them as its parents and chase after them.
The raven opened and closed its beak greedily, making a sharp noise.
Schwebel whispered softly, as if handling a beloved pet.
“I’ll send you to your parents tonight. Eat their flesh, chew their bones, and grow up.”
* * *
Zenos, a country of luxury and pleasure.
The Kingdom of Zenos was a famous tourist destination, with people coming from other countries to enjoy the largest casino on the continent, located in the prime area of Monteo, the royal capital.
Among them, the season with the most tourists was autumn, because a festival was held in various parts of the royal capital for the entire month of October, with large and small competitions and events held every day without a break.
It was all to commemorate the victory of the Demon Sealing Festival, which brought peace to the continent 700 years ago.
To be more precise, it was a festival to commemorate the first King of the Kingdom of Zenos, who led the Demon Sealing War to the victory of mankind.
He was a legendary hero who always stood at the forefront of the war between mankind and Demon beasts and spread a huge barrier across the continent, driving the Demon beasts to the end of the continent.
Although he suffered from mental illness in his later years and committed tyranny, executing half of the kingdom’s people, the people’s pride and respect for the King did not lose its light.
And it was expressed every October at the Demon Sealing Festival.
Leo walked between Belinda and Lord Penadel, looking around the streets that were welcoming the festival in a daze.
