The fact that Sena himself had a title was kept confidential. In this world, nobody knew except Cruyff.
The reason for keeping it hidden was purely because he didn’t like it.
‘Marquis Sena Birkender’.
The title didn’t sit well with him. It felt somewhat uncomfortable and awkward.
So Sena went on a hunger strike because he didn’t want to inherit the title.
“Are you finally going to become a priest?” Cruyff said, which led Sena to binge eat right away, resulting in failure.
‘Well, he’s just noble in name.’
The Birkender territory remained tucked away in a very remote countryside.
Nobility had its standards. Even if you were a viscount, if you had money and land, you’d be respected, but if you lacked substance, you’d be looked down upon, and that’s exactly what happened to Birkender.
Birkender was the latter. In the first place, he beat up all the noble family members and became a priest, which was a natural result.
But even rotten, he was useful at times.
-See? I told you someday it’d come in handy.
… In the end, it seemed like Cruyff’s words had come true, which annoyed Sena.
“Thank you for choosing me…”
“I-I’ll do my best…!”
Seeing the two people happy, Sena didn’t feel too bad about it.
Sena thought with pride in his heart.
‘When it’s time to leave, let’s send them to the old man.’
The old man mentioned here was Cruyff’s father.
He was the former head of the family managing the Birkender Marquisate.
“If anyone bothers you, tell me. Whether it’s a servant or anyone else.”
“Yes, yes…!”
“Oh, your name was Luna, right?”
A timid-looking maid. When her name was called, she opened her eyes wide like a squirrel.
“You said you know how to read, right?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Good timing then.”
Sena took out a notebook and briefly wrote down the items needed.
“Could you buy these items for me? You can get the money from Betty.”
“Okay…!”
Luna nodded eagerly and hurried off.
“Leave the cleaning to me!”
Serilda said confidently.
“You can just stay still, master. Cleaning is my specialty.”
“But my room isn’t that easy to clean.”
“It’s okay! Please focus on Her Highness’s treatment! That’s my job, you know?”
“I feel really sorry…”
“…It’s the first time I’ve seen someone apologize to a maid, I don’t know what to say. But is it really that dirty…?”
Sena started to ponder.
‘Since I’ve hired her anyway, why not give her a chance?’
During his time at the academy, Sena never entrusted cleaning to anyone.
But the palace room was just too big.
Frankly, cleaning it alone was burdensome.
With determination, Sena said to Serilda.
“Alright. It’s time for cleaning, would you like to try?”
“Leave it to me!”
Serilda said energetically. She even rolled up her maid’s sleeves in front of Sena’s closed door.
When the door opened, Sena’s room came into view.
“Oh.”
Thinking she might have come to the wrong place, Serilda looked at Sena.
It was cleanliness she had never seen before in her life.
Everything inside was perfectly organized and tidy.
“It’s too clean, isn’t it…?”
“It may seem so at first glance. But bacteria multiply quickly. It would be troublesome if not cleaned properly.”
‘Bacteria… multiply…? What’s that.’
Serilda blinked several times. She didn’t understand Sena’s words at all.
‘As expected, my master is smart. Is this what doctors are like?’
Sena smiled broadly.
“Shall we start?”
**
“Oh, fold that and put it in the corner.”
“Sure. You also need to clean under the bed. Pay extra attention to the cups under the tea table. They touch the lips, so be thorough.”
“This is a tool called a ruler. Use it to neatly arrange the cups at equal intervals.”
From initial excitement and anticipation to now, Serilda was like a dried squid, limp and lifeless.
The intensity of work exceeded her imagination! Sena’s cleaning obsession, due to his OCD, was beyond anyone’s expectations.
“…I have to work hard. They chose someone like me.”
Fortunately, Serilda was full of determination. She began cleaning with all her might.
Two hours later.
“Hmm, hmm. Is this, is this good enough?”
Sena was asked by Serilda, her face turning pale.
Sena walked over, carrying a feather duster, and swept the shelf with his hand.
Pointing at the dust, he said.
“Dust.”
“Aaaah!”
Serilda hurriedly approached and wiped the dust so vigorously that her hand disappeared.
‘Still not bad for a first time.’
Sena looked around the tidy room and nodded satisfactorily.
It wasn’t a lie when they said cleaning was his specialty.
‘It’s convenient to have a maid around.’
He used to spend five hours a day cleaning, but with more people, two hours seemed enough.
It felt like extending his lifespan!
That alone satisfied Sena enough.
“Okay, then let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah?”
They blinked at each other.
“I mean it’s time to go home.”
“Ho-home?”
“Yeah.”
Sena nodded as if it were obvious.
“Uh, Sena?”
“What?”
“Forgive me for asking, but…”
With a sudden motion, Serilda grabbed the hem of her skirt.
“Did I, did I make a mistake?”
“Huh?”
‘Why did it end up like this?’
Sena raised both hands.
“No, no. I liked it.”
“T-then why are you telling me to leave so soon?”
The girl who had seemed so cheerful just a moment ago now sounded choked up, and Sena was also taken aback.
“Well, what should I say. I actually prefer being alone.”
“Then, I’ll wait outside the room.”
“You don’t have to…”
She choked up.
Tears welled up in Serilda’s eyes.
They seemed like they would spill any moment, so Sena hastily spoke.
“Okay, okay, don’t cry.”
“Really…?”
Sniffing, Serilda wiped her eyes.
“Yeah, if you want, you can wait outside.”
‘It’s awkward if she’s crying.’
There seemed to be no way other than hiding it well.
It’s not like he did it all the time, so it should be okay.
“Thank you!”
“But, won’t you be bored? Being my maid is just about running errands.”
“Sena.”
Serilda said with a rich face.
“It’s a huge happiness for a maid to serve her master.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Medieval people have such a unique mindset. Even the knights are like that.
…He says that as a person from the medieval era too.
“But, Serilda.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you want to be my maid? Others usually avoid being maids.”
It was a question raised out of simple curiosity.
But Serilda flinched as if she’d been stung by something.
“Th-that’s…”
“Oh, it’s okay. You can tell me.”
‘Did she want to make a name for herself?’
Sena roughly guessed the reason and chuckled.
He didn’t think there was some touching reason behind it.
“…I have a younger brother. He’s ten years old.”
What was initially a joke suddenly turned into a heavy story, leaving Sena bewildered.
“Oh, really? That must be tough. What about your parents?”
“They passed away when I was young.”
‘Is there a time rewind function?’
He tried to avoid it, but he stepped on a mine.
“S-Sorry.”
Covering her mouth, Serilda chuckled.
“You’re really kind, Sena. Such a reaction over a mere maid’s story.”
She finished her story with a quiet smile.
“Unlike me, he has talent.”
“So, I need a lot of money.”
Sena understood why she wanted to be his maid.
But he felt a slight discomfort.
‘But don’t other maids think I’m going to die soon anyway?’
Then isn’t it pointless?
I don’t know well, but isn’t there some drawback to losing the master you served?
‘Could it be another scheme…’
Ah, no way.
This girl who looks so kind. No way. Sena quickly dismissed the thought.
“Are you… disappointed?”
And seeing Sena like that, perhaps misunderstanding something, Serilda asked with a gloomy expression.
“You’re just trying to make a living to feed your brother. Why would I be disappointed?”
“…!”
Serilda’s expression momentarily froze.
“Uh, anyway, would you mind waiting outside? I need to prepare for Her Majesty’s examination.”
“Oh, yes. Understood.”
As Serilda stepped back, Sena sighed and stood up.
“We have to go see the royal doctor.”
Just thinking about calming down Astria’s ticking condition and undergoing rehabilitation therapy made him sigh.
But rehabilitation therapy had to be done regularly for it to be effective.
“Oh right.”
As he packed his things, a sudden realization struck him.
“…Since you became a maid, I have to pay you a salary, don’t I?”
Having lived through being kidnapped and then working, he had forgotten the logical sequence of working for money and giving money when work was done.
He almost ended up exploiting people for free.
Can’t have that.
Sena searched through the drawer. It was to prepare the salary in advance.
“…Huh?”
Sena searched the drawer in confusion.
“It’s not here…?”
There was no money. He was sure he had neatly stored it here as soon as he got it.
He couldn’t have forgotten such a place he never touched…
-Huh? You don’t need to clean the drawer.
-But I have to be thorough!
“Serilda.”
He remembered Serilda opening the drawer and cleaning it.
He called out her name. But there was no response. With a sense of doubt, he opened the door…
But there was no one there.
“…Wow, this is just too much.”
This is what being a scapegoat is.
Sena shuddered at the harsh reality.
**
Steady, steady.
Sena lay on the bed, giving Astria a gentle massage, lost in contemplation.
This was tricky.
He didn’t aspire to become wealthy, but that was his entire fortune.
To live out the rest of his life in peaceful leisure, he needed a certain amount of money.
There’s a certain sadness in retiring and continuing to work.
“Earlier, my leg moved a little as I wanted. I haven’t walked without using mana in a long time.”
Incidentally, Astria seemed happier than usual.
‘…There’s only one way to do this.’
“Your Majesty.”
Astria turned her head to look at Sena.
With a heavy heart, Sena spoke.
“Um, could you advance my salary a bit?”
