“Welcome~ Young Lady Niezi’s friend~”
After Niezi had kept a firm grip on my hand the entire time, two rows of maids suddenly appeared at the entrance of her family’s enormous estate and called out a welcome to me in unison.
It was the first time I had ever encountered something like this, and while I stood there stunned for a moment, Niezi pulled me inside.
“Come on, Shihua. Let me show you just how impressive this young lady of the Cassi family really is!”
It was as if she felt her earlier performance in front of me had been unsatisfactory, so she was now dragging me onto her own territory to make me feel defeated.
All right.
If I ran off unnaturally now, she would definitely become suspicious later, so I had no choice but to follow Niezi inside for the time being and take the opportunity to investigate the Cassi family while I was at it.
Accompanied by the maids, who all had attractive figures and appearances, I followed Niezi down a rather long walkway before we finally arrived in front of a luxurious residence.
I really wanted to complain about why they had put such a long distance between the gate of the estate and the actual house, but perhaps this was one of those aristocratic customs I simply did not understand.
Compared to observing the patrolling guards we passed along the way, however, the maids following us were far too eye-catching.
Everyone has had that kind of experience, right?
Back when I was still in the army, while boasting with the young soldiers, we would start talking about some important person we had once met, only for everyone’s attention to unexpectedly shift to the maids following behind that important person.
Then everyone would say that if a cute girl like that called them “Master,” they could die without regrets.
Later that guy found out about it and kept chasing after me shouting “Master,” which made the whole group of youngsters laugh at how pathetic I looked.
All right, youngsters.
Although it is not actually mine, I am currently surrounded by maids.
The kind of experience you could never have, I will experience it for you!
I flashed a victory sign in my heart, then kept a cold expression on my face as I entered the residence together with the maids.
“Hey, wait a minute, Shihua! It’s this way! Not toward the maids!”
Niezi was waving and shouting at me from not far away.
Tsk.
Not cute at all.
All right, back to the main topic.
I should continue with my mission for now.
After entering the residence, we came into a spacious hall that could not be seen from the outside.
Almost every decoration in sight was doing its best to display the wealth of its owner, but to someone as practical as me, these decorations were little more than a waste of money and served almost no purpose.
To Young Lady Niezi, who had grown up in this environment since childhood, it was only natural, and she pulled me along to start touring the place.
The hall, the corridors, the living room, and even a kitchen that looked quite large and was currently busy.
It seemed that being responsible for the meals of so many people would be quite a headache even for a large kitchen that originally only had to serve a single noble family.
“How about it? This is the strength of my Cassi family!”
“Even if you say that, besides looking richer than an ordinary household, I don’t see anything that would surprise me.”
After we had roughly walked around and returned to the living room, I shook my head in response to Niezi, who seemed to be showing off and puffing out her small chest with pride.
After all, my only goal was to investigate what the Cassi lord had excavated from the ancient battlefield ruins.
Besides, I did not particularly yearn for a living environment that pursued luxury to the extreme.
In my eyes, such a huge yet empty residence was far inferior to Siguote’s little workshop.
“What?! There’s actually someone who can stay this calm after seeing my home?!”
“It can’t be helped.
The difference in our experiences is much greater than you imagine.”
I pretended to be bored while looking at the paintings hanging on the wall, mapping out the layout of this residence in my mind and judging from the areas I had just passed through and observed which places might be hiding something.
There were quite a few spots that looked like they might have hidden areas, but none of them were large.
At most they could only be considered secret rooms.
If that was all, then the excessive number of guards outside seemed far too redundant.
Thinking about it that way, it was probably only the underground space.
I lightly tapped the floor with my toe.
Although the sound that came back indicated it was solid, I still believed there was something hidden beneath this residence.
On the other side, Niezi puffed out her cheeks, looking dissatisfied with my reaction.
At that moment, as if they had timed it perfectly, several maids pushed in tea and desserts and other food into the living room, and my stomach started to feel hungry.
“Come, Shihua.
Try the desserts and black tea from this young lady’s home!
These are all extremely valuable outside.
You’ve definitely never experienced them before!”
It was true that I had never experienced them.
After all, I used to be a warrior active on the battlefield.
How could I have gone back to enjoy this kind of luxury?
Besides, they did not look very filling.
“It… tastes pretty good.”
Under Niezi’s gaze, I sat down beside her and began tasting things that were completely out of place with the former me.
Is it because I turned into a woman that even my tastes have changed?
I actually found it rather nice.
“See?
The things in this young lady’s home are pretty good, right?”
“They are indeed good.
But if you think that alone is enough to make me admire your Cassi family, that’s a bit too arrogant…”
“Damn it.
You’re just an ordinary commoner!”
Although she said that, Niezi did not seem to show any real dissatisfaction.
Compared to the arrogant, contemptuous attitude she had shown toward those two men earlier, she now looked more like a child showing off her family to a friend…
…Friend?
“Come on, next I’ll show you the place I use for training!”
“Eh, uh, all right.”
I hurriedly finished the desserts and was immediately pulled by the hand by Niezi toward another place.
At the same time, except for two maids who stayed behind to clear the dishes, the remaining several maids followed along, wearing smiles that seemed both surprised and pleased by their young lady’s behavior.
Do they really think of me as a friend Niezi has made?
We only met today.
“Look!
This is the place I use for training!”
We arrived at a nearby room.
When the door opened, I discovered it was filled with equipment and weapons for physical training and combat.
It felt completely at odds with the style of the young lady standing in front of me with her hands on her hips.
But it suited me quite well.
Before I petrified myself, I had trained my body almost every day.
But could this current body still be trained?
“Amazing.
Did you train the techniques you used in that fight just now here?”
“Of course.
Our Cassi family has been warriors of knight origin since long ago.
Father and Grandfather maintained their rule over the Cassi Region through their powerful combat strength, so I have also learned quite a few combat skills.”
“I see.”
I stepped forward, lifted Niezi’s arm, and felt the muscles on it.
“Eh, w-wait a minute.
Suddenly getting so close…?!”
Niezi’s face turned red as she hurriedly pulled her arm back.
Even though the time was short, I had already understood enough.
I already knew she had trained, but now that I looked closely and touched, I discovered that beneath that soft skin were solid, well-trained muscles.
Even I had almost been fooled.
Moreover, even while being a noble, she had not neglected training her martial skills.
That point alone gave me a favorable impression of the Cassi lord’s family.
Of course, that was one thing and this was another.
I still had to investigate clearly what the Cassi family had excavated, and whether it was related to them trying to win over Siguote.
But now Niezi looked satisfied with my attitude toward the training room, and I really could not bear to tell her that I suspected her elders and see what kind of expression she would make.
After leaving the training room, Niezi’s movements became strange.
The maids seemed to notice something, left one of them by my side, and the rest took her elsewhere.
“My apologies, Miss Shihua.
Please wait a moment for the young lady.
She will return immediately after she has finished ‘picking flowers.’”
The maid who stayed with me explained, but I did not quite understand.
For someone who was neither a noble nor originally a woman, this was still quite difficult to grasp.
“I’m sorry.
Please forgive my rudeness on this matter.
I don’t really understand what ‘picking flowers’ means?”
“…Using the toilet.”
“I see.
Please excuse my thoughtless words.”
Indeed, this kind of thing was hard to say directly even as a child, let alone when the other party held the status of a young lady.
I shrugged to show I understood.
“Please do not blame yourself.
As a guest who is a friend of Young Lady Niezi, we hope you can spend a perfect time here.”
“A friend…?”
I felt a little confused.
Should I clarify here that I had only just met her today?
But the maid seemed to understand my puzzled thoughts.
“It is true that we attendants of the young lady also know that Miss Shihua only met the young lady today.
However, the young lady rarely shows such friendliness toward outsiders, because…”
“That attitude of hers, right?
Arrogant, looking down on people, pretentious.
That’s not a good attitude for making friends.”
“You are certainly very direct, Miss Shihua.
As servants, we cannot offer any evaluation regarding that aspect of her upbringing…”
The maid also showed a somewhat awkward smile.
“…The young lady has a very high sense of pride, and because of her attitude, almost no one of the same age approaches her.
The young lady has also grown accustomed to being treated that way.
But today we were surprised to discover that the young lady would set aside that excessive pride and interact with Miss Shihua, whom she had only just met.
We are very curious how you managed it.”
“Nothing much.
Maybe I just helped her a little?”
I had no intention of talking about what had just happened.
If it was going to be said, it should be Niezi herself who said it.
“I see.
Then it may feel abrupt and unnatural to you, but please continue to be friends with the young lady.”
“Even though I’m just an ordinary commoner?”
“For a young lady who lives in such a privileged environment, that can also be considered a good stimulus.”
“It looks like you all hold the Cassi family in high regard.”
“We are just doing our jobs for wages.
After working here for a long time, some feelings naturally develop.
We also like the young lady very much, so we want her to be a little happier.”
I chatted casually with the maid for a few more sentences while also probing sideways about the reason for the excessive number of guards outside and the recent movements of the Cassi family.
Unfortunately, this maid did not seem to know.
After all, their scope of work was only cleaning and maintaining the operation of the house, as well as taking care of their employers.
They had no particular interest in other matters.
The only thing confirmed was that this residence did indeed have a basement, and it was quite large.
The entrance was in the office of their employer, that is, the Cassi lord.
“Sorry for making you wait!”
Niezi quickly ran back and then jumped up to deliver a flying kick at me.
I slightly turned my body to dodge it, then grabbed the clothes of the girl who had kicked past and used her momentum to spin her around and stop her beside me.
“Young lady!
Even toward your guest, please do not make such rude movements!”
The maids following behind her shouted in surprise, but the culprit Niezi looked very happy.
“As expected of Shihua.
You could even dodge that.”
“I really didn’t know that young ladies these days were this wild.”
Or was this a unique greeting method of warrior families?
No matter how you looked at it, this was not something you should show to someone you had only known for one day.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young lady this innocent and lively.
Today is truly a good day.”
An older-looking head maid could not help but shed tears.
Ah, so this kind of behavior is considered innocent and romantic?
Even I had never imagined that a warrior family would have this kind of perception.
“Y-Young lady, the lord and the lady have returned.”
At that moment, a maid who was walking hurriedly appeared from another direction and informed everyone present that their employers had returned.
In an instant the surrounding atmosphere became serious, and the maids successively returned to their posts.
“Ah, sorry, Shihua.
Now…”
“I know.
It’s time to go back.
Then goodbye.
No need to see me off.”
“But…!”
Just as I was about to quietly leave, new figures appeared in the direction of the main hall.
Even without introductions, just from the aura between them I immediately realized they were the masters of this place.
“Oh, a guest?”
The man raised an eyebrow, but it did not seem to be because of my existence.
Rather, he looked slightly surprised at the close distance between me and Niezi.
While I was thinking about how to deal with the current situation, the man walked forward and introduced himself first.
“Hello, young miss.
I am Viscount Cassi, the administrator of this Cassi Region, and also the father of the girl currently clinging to your arm.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.