Chapter 10
‘What? Do you get embarrassed too? That’s kind of cute.’
“By the way, I heard a strange rumor among the servants.”
“A rumor? What kind of rumor?”
“That the Duke of Lois’ family abused you… Is it true?”
“Oh, that?”
Anette put on a confident expression. She had been expecting this conversation.
She had already talked about it multiple times today with the other servants.
Anette naturally pointed to her swollen cheek.
“See this? Here? It’s still red, right?”
There was still a bruise on her cheek.
She had checked in the mirror this morning, so she was sure of it.
“……”
Lucas looked at her swollen cheek with a more serious expression than she expected.
“This is from when I got hit while being kicked out.”
“How could they…?”
“It must hurt, right? It hurts.”
In reality, it didn’t hurt much. But Anette complained to everyone she met, saying it was painful.
She acted as if she was proudly showing off a battle scar from a war.
“That bastard. Did Berndt Lois hit you?”
“This one was from the Duke of Lois himself, but…”
“You should never go back to that house.”
Anette felt a tiny bit guilty.
“Yes, well, anyway, you understand now why I can’t get fired, right? Like you said, I can’t go back there. You get it now?”
“…Yeah.”
Lucas found her attitude strange.
Even though she was showing off her bruises from abuse, she was smiling.
She was always bright and confident.
Despite being a noble princess of a fallen kingdom, she worked as a maid without hesitation.
She didn’t mind getting dust on her beautiful hands.
Lucas kept finding her more and more intriguing. Even though she was covered in dust, she somehow seemed to shine.
“What are you still doing here?”
“…I was just about to leave.”
Anette shooed him out of the room.
She had no idea what Lucas was thinking.
In his mind, Anette was like a strong-willed, cheerful heroine who never gave up, no matter what.
If she knew, she’d be horrified.
Anette was nothing like that.
She wasn’t some brave and kindhearted girl.
She was more hardworking and obsessed with money.
Anette had to spend a long time cleaning the office of Lucas, the captain of the First Knights.
Unlike Charles’s office, Lucas’s was messy and disorganized.
Most of the room was clean, but his desk was covered in scattered papers.
Still, that made it fun to clean.
Anette organized the papers and wiped away the dust.
After sweeping the floor, the office looked completely different.
“Ah, that feels nice.”
Standing by the large window, Anette enjoyed the cool breeze.
This was her favorite moment—finishing her work and feeling the fresh air.
She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked outside.
As expected of the First Knight Captain’s office, the view was incredible.
Incredible.
“Wow, this is amazing…”
Beyond the beautiful garden below, there was a huge open training ground.
And in that training ground, young knights were training.
Some of them had taken off their shirts and were covered in sweat.
The view was spectacular.
“They’re all supposed to be pure, aren’t they?”
Anette swallowed hard.
The knights and priests in this temple had all taken vows of purity.
A very good rule, in her opinion.
“Wonderful.”
Watching the handsome, muscular knights, Anette grinned.
If she could get close to even one of them, she wanted to try dating.
After finishing her little sightseeing session, she closed the window and packed up her cleaning supplies.
When she entered the maid’s break room, Lucy welcomed her.
“Oh, Anette! I heard the news. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. Look at this bruise.”
As usual, she proudly showed off her wounded cheek.
It was like a badge of honor.
“How could they do this to you…?”
“Well, it hurts, but it’ll heal soon.”
Anette put on a pitiful expression and held Lucy’s hand.
Lucy treated her as if she were a fragile patient.
Arm in arm, they headed to the dining hall together.
Anette asked something she had been curious about.
“Oh, right. Lucy, have you ever met the captain of the Second Knights?”
“Huh? Captain Avenne? Um…”
Lucy’s expression became awkward.
Anette could guess why.
“He’s crazy, isn’t he?”
“Well… The maids don’t like him.”
“Of course not.”
“He’s kind, but… how should I put it? He’s just too… much.”
“You don’t have to sugarcoat it. Lucy, he’s a lunatic.”
Lucy sighed as if she finally felt relieved.
As they ate, Lucy explained more about Charles’s family.
It turned out they were more prestigious than Anette had expected.
It made sense why he was so arrogant.
His family, the Avenne Dukes, had the highest chance of becoming the royal successors since the current royal family had no heir.
And Charles was the second son of that family.
He joined the temple knights to swear his loyalty to the goddess Hella, but Anette saw it differently.
He had joined to make himself look noble and righteous.
What a phony.
“Oh, what about the captain of the First Knights?”
“…”
Lucy’s face immediately soured.
That’s bad, huh?
“H-he’s cold. You should stay away from him. But… Anette, I heard you’re in charge of cleaning his office now. What are you going to do?”
“So he’s rude to everyone?”
“Yes. Even the priests don’t like him much. He’s just too stiff and unfriendly.”
“The priests? They stay in the main temple?”
Anette’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
Now that she thought about it, this temple was full of both knights and priests.
The building she worked in housed the knights’ quarters, but the main temple was where the priests lived and prayed.
Pure, devoted priests…
Just thinking about them made her excited.
They were probably very handsome.
“Yes. Honestly, many of the maids prefer working in the main temple. The priests are much quieter than the knights.”
“That makes sense. I want to go see it.”
“They need extra help for a big cleaning tomorrow. Do you want to come?”
“Tomorrow? Of course!”
She had to go!
Anette was so eager that she tapped her feet impatiently.
She couldn’t wait to see the main temple.
After finishing her meal with Lucy, Anette went back to cleaning the third-floor hallway.
But something felt… strange.
“…What is this?”
She had the eerie feeling that someone was watching her.
Yet, when she looked around, the hallway was empty.
“Ugh, this is creepy…”
Anette wasn’t particularly brave.
To calm herself, she hummed and spoke out loud while finishing her cleaning.
And somewhere…
At the end of the hallway, a pair of glowing eyes quietly watched her.
That night, when the temple was silent, Anette took advantage of the empty bath and returned to her room.
She hated public baths.
It was embarrassing to see others naked, and she didn’t like exposing herself either.
In the orphanage, she had seen too many scars on other children’s bodies.
She had also been forced to show her own.
It still affects her to this day.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Anette was excited to meet the priests.
Her job was secure now, so all that was left was romance.
Her ideal type was simple but strict:
- He must be pure.
- He must be tall and handsome.
- He must have a good personality.
The knights met the first two conditions.
But the third?
Highly doubtful.
She had already seen the captains.
There was no hope here.
Her last hope was in the main temple.
“A handsome priest…”
Anette imagined a tall, kind man in an elegant priest’s robe.
She grinned in anticipation.
Work was tiring, but having dreams like this made life fun.
In her past life, she never got to experience things like this.
Maybe this time, she would find love, go on dates, hold hands, buy gifts…
The future seemed so bright.
Anette fell asleep smiling.
But the next day, all her hopes were utterly crushed.
