Emma’s mornings begin early.
It’s also her duty to wake their mistress, Lovisa.
Normally, a lesser servant could handle this, but there’s no helping it when Lovisa herself says, “I don’t want anyone but Emma to see me sleeping.”
For Emma’s part, she didn’t dislike her mistress making unreasonable demands.
Especially since Lovisa rarely asked for anything out of the ordinary.
“My lady Lovisa, please wake up.”
She gently shakes Lovisa’s shoulder.
Lovisa, who isn’t a heavy sleeper, wakes up with this minimal effort.
She opens her eyes quickly today as well.
“Good morning, Emma.”
She says this with a gentle smile.
The fact that Emma can see this face, which the noble daughters whisper about as “doll-like,” is a privilege.
Emma believes Lovisa would get at least ten more suitors if she smiled more, but she knows it would only be a nuisance to her mistress, so she keeps silent.
Helka and her mother often told them, “A princess thrives on being loved,” which often made the mistress and maid share wry smiles.
“Good morning, my lady Lovisa. Your morning lemon tea is ready.”
“Mmm…”
Lovisa gets out of bed, still exuding a somewhat pampered aura.
Her negligee is made of slightly thicker fabric, so it doesn’t show through or reveal her body’s lines.
She’s the kind of princess who dislikes such revealing garments, calling them “vulgar.”
However, Emma thinks it’s no longer the time for such considerations.
The area around Marius has become quite lively.
Even with Emma’s bias, only Barra has looks that can rival Lovisa. However, Marius’s preferences in women are unclear.
Initially, Emma thought Lovisa was his type, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.
(Did he get distracted? That’s men for you…)
Emma, displaying a purity of indignant anger, quickly prepares clothes and tea.
Lovisa first goes to wash her face.
When she’s alone with Emma, Lovisa can be surprisingly lax, wanting to eat breakfast in her negligee. But as her personal maid, Emma cannot allow such habits to form.
A maid who has a negative influence on her mistress could face the death penalty.
Of course, if the mistress herself is problematic, like the disgraced Ashtons, there’s nothing that can be done.
Fortunately, outside the royal palace, Lovisa is more mindful of her conduct, making things easier.
Emma helps her mistress change after washing her face and subtly observes her physical condition for the day.
Emma can do everything that would require several lower-ranking maids by herself.
She often handles everything alone due to unexplained circumstances, but in reality, Emma should just be giving orders to subordinates.
That’s precisely why she observes everything carefully and can perform all tasks with speed.
“Mmm. Delicious.”
“My lady Lovisa, you forgot your greeting.”
“Ah.”
Well, one reason is that Lovisa does make occasional mistakes.
Lovisa hastily offers her greetings and resumes her meal, while Emma stands by and watches.
Bathed in the gaze of such a loyal maid, the princess happily sips her lemon tea.
“It’s as delicious as ever.”
If that were all, Emma would have just thanked her. But for some reason, Lovisa added an unnecessary remark today.
“You’re ready to be married anytime.”
Her mistress meant no malice.
Emma could tell from her voice alone, even without seeing her happy expression.
So, she decided to offer a little playful retaliation.
“It depends on you, my lady. Please don’t let me become an old maid.”
For any woman, “old maid” is a forbidden phrase, regardless of the continent or era.
Therefore, Lovisa, hearing it as self-deprecation, panicked.
“I-I’m sorry, Emma. Anyone would be lining up for you.”
“As one gets older, the lines disappear.”
“Oh dear, she’s surprisingly holding a grudge,” Lovisa thought with dread.
She had no idea why.
Indeed, Emma was nineteen, past the typical marrying age for a noblewoman.
However, for someone who became a royal attendant, passing twenty should not be an issue.
Incidentally, for those who simply worked in the palace or served nobles, their status changed upon turning twenty.
This “difference in status” had an impact even in such matters.
Emma’s father was a former intelligence chief, her family produced generals, and she herself was the personal attendant to Princess Lovisa.
Even after turning twenty, there would surely be many noble parents offering a bride price for her.
Unable to figure it out, Lovisa gave up and decided to ask directly.
“What are you angry about? Please tell me.”
Emma sighed.
“It’s not that I’m thinking about you not looking at yourself before worrying about others, or how you’re worried but not acting on it, or what you’re thinking…”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Emma usually speaks little, but when she’s angry, she becomes eloquent.
Knowing this, Lovisa could only apologize repeatedly.
The relationship between Lovisa and Emma was unconventional, both within the kingdom and the continent.
It was common sense that a master only needed to apologize once, no matter how wrong they were.
Even Bernhardt III, who should have reprimanded them, was pleased that his daughter had found a “close female friend” and tacitly approved of Emma.
Lovisa, who had been lectured extensively, was dejected and regretted her actions.
(It seems marriage is a sensitive topic for her…)
She lacked the courage to ask Emma if she was feeling pressured.
She probably wasn’t in the right state of mind to take it as a joke.
So, she decided to change the subject.
“Is Marius up yet?”
“He was up earlier than you, my lady Lovisa.”
Emma had been looking after Marius when he first arrived at the palace, so she knew his wake-up time.
“Perhaps Remika won’t have time to take care of him…”
“That’s not funny.”
Emma sharply cut off her mistress’s joke.
This had a double meaning: that it was unthinkable for a maid not to take care of her master, and that it might actually happen.
Marius wakes up early, and his lifestyle habits are classified as diligent.
He certainly wasn’t accustomed to being served and cared for by others.
“I suspect Remika will be fine, though…”
Even if Marius wanted her to, it would be normal to refuse if her abilities were insufficient.
The fact that she was readily accepted meant Remika was trusted.
Unless something completely unexpected happens, Emma stated, and Lovisa agreed, she should be fine.
Remika was indeed facing an unexpected situation.
(Aaaagh…)
She commended herself for not vocalizing her distress.
When she entered the room, Marius was intertwined with three naked beauties.
She vaguely recalled hearing sounds of a rush when she had called out and knocked, a thought that drifted in and out of her mind as if it concerned someone else.
The awkwardness of encountering such a scene was the same for men, women, and maids alike.
Marius froze for a few seconds, then, with a somewhat resigned air, introduced the beauties to Remika.
“I don’t think I’ve introduced them, so let me. These are the familiars, Zofi, Al, and El.”
“H-Nice to meet you.”
Remika greeted them with a blushing face.
Reminiscence struck her: Marius had been attacked by three succubi and, after defeating them, had turned them into familiars.
He had mentioned it before, but she had completely forgotten.
Far from being ashamed, the succubi were unapologetic, and they eyed Remika as if appraising her.
A woman’s intuition told her they were looking at her like a rival in love.
Remika’s honest thought was that she wished she could be like them.
Given her status and position, confessing to Marius was impossible.
Moreover, she couldn’t even imagine a scenario where she would precede Lovisa.
This was the result of her extensive education as a noble’s daughter and a palace maid.
“E-Excuse me.”
Remika, realizing after a moment that she should leave the room, hastily fled.
(I-I was so surprised.)
She closed the door and let out a large breath.
The scene was far too stimulating for a maiden.
“It’s a situation that could easily happen, now that I think about it.”
Marius, trying to dispel the awkward atmosphere, scratched his cheek.
He hadn’t encountered this before, so he had forgotten, but when the succubi were clinging to him like this morning, it was natural for a maid coming to wake him to witness it.
Perhaps the fact that it hadn’t happened until now was because Emma had been subtly taking precautions?
Such a thought suddenly occurred to him.
(Speaking of which, Ms. Emma, I felt like there was quite a gap between her knock and when she entered…)
He had always assumed it was because she was preparing tea.
But at this very moment, he realized she had been creating time for the succubi to disappear.
Perhaps, though, she simply didn’t want to see it.
“Now, what should I say…”
It was, after all, his first experience being witnessed by another woman immediately after engaging in intimacy with multiple women.
There were several ways to handle it.
First, erase her memory.
(Yeah, that’s the worst.)
Second, push her down and silence her.
(Yeah, that’s the worst.)
Third, explain that he was strengthening the succubi.
(That’s not very convincing, is it?)
It was a flimsy excuse.
As Marius muttered to himself, Zofi appeared and made a suggestion.
“Why not push her down and make her your lover?”
“Your advice isn’t very reliable…”
Marius knew that this familiar tended to have a rather bold way of thinking.
However, Zofi didn’t back down.
“But Master, won’t you have to learn how to handle the noblewomen of this country eventually?”
She used the expression “how to handle” rather than “how to hold” out of consideration for her master.
She also ignored the mental protests from her subordinates who were sending thoughts of “aiding the enemy.”
Naturally, the master took precedence over the subordinates.
“Hmm. That is true, though.”
Marius was exceptionally cautious about aspects he lacked experience in, such as noblewomen and polygamy.
“Master, aren’t you interested in polygamy? Then it’s only natural to take one or two maids as well, isn’t it?”
“That’s why your advice can’t be relied upon.”
Marius understood that Zofi’s senses and values were purely those of a succubus.
However, it was also true that her words resonated with him on some level.
In his previous world, in works classified as “harem stories,” this was indeed a common development.
The question was how much reference could be drawn from fictional works of another world.
“Alas, Master, if you appear hesitant around women, it may lead to them looking down on you.”
Zofi warned that if others perceived him as unable to be forceful with women, schemes would be devised to take advantage of it.
“By the way, are you really a female succubus…?”
Her way of thinking was excessively masculine.
In response to Marius’s question, Zofi looked genuinely puzzled.
Her unspoken reply was: Didn’t her master shower her with passionate affection from last night to this morning?
In the end, he spent an awkward morning with Remika.
