“Well, at least we’ve gotten that over with.” I laughed as soon as we were out of earshot.

Emma sighed, looking exhausted. “That was nerve wracking, young master. I do not know why the head maid seems to dislike me so much.”

“Neither do I, but don’t worry. I won’t let her make things difficult for you.”

She nodded, somewhat calmer now.

Afterwards, I mentioned that I was thinking of getting Christine a gift since she always seemed to be mad at me these days. Emma didn’t know why that was the case either unfortunately, but she did approve of my idea. She furrowed her brows a little while thinking.

“A gift for the young miss… perhaps you might be able to find something in the town of Cassador.”

Ooooh, a town?

Excitement welled up inside me. Ever since reincarnating, I’ve been cooped up in this (admittedly massive and comfortable) estate, a private, fortified sanctuary away from the bustle of medieval urban life. I’ve never gone beyond the walls surrounding our home, and it was high time for me to explore the world outside. If there was a nearby town, then that was the perfect place to start.

“That’s a great idea. Let’s go the next time we’re free.”

“Yes!”

Truthfully, I even wanted to go there right away. But since I was supposed to be injured, that was out of the question. The trip would have to wait until my leg had fully ‘recovered’.

Then I noticed that Emma was stifling a yawn.

“...You’re tired, aren’t you? Why don’t you rest for a while?”

“Ah, I’m fine young master! You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’m not going to be doing much today anyway. I’ll just call for you if I need something, so go ahead and take a break.”

“Well, if you insist. I suppose I could use a quick nap. Thank you very much.”

And with that, the two of us went our separate ways. This would turn out to be a bad idea for two reasons.

First, it made the rest of my day pretty unproductive. I spent the next few hours trying to make a good impression on the people in the mansion by casually chatting them up or offering to help with whatever they were doing. Without Emma to calm them down, it all went… rather poorly.

Basically whenever I offered to help out, they turned pale with fright as if I had just told them you suck so much at this job that I, a limping young nobleman, must show you how to do it. What do you have to say for yourself? It led to a lot of frantic apologizing until I reassured them that I was just bored and trying to find something to do.

In hindsight, there was no one in the mansion who would ever let me help out with chores, even if I wasn’t going around with a crutch.

Then when I tried to talk to them about stuff like their hobbies, interests, or past, they’d stick to safe answers or tell me things like “I wouldn’t dare bore the young master with such trivial nonsense.” Instead of a conversation, it almost felt like I was an interrogator waiting for them to slip up. The guards were the worst about it. Those guys would only ever answer with one or two words. I appreciated their professionalism, but god damn it, talking is free! I’m genuinely interested in what you all have to say.

Well, my day wasn’t a total wipe.

“Oho? Young master, it is good to see you. How is your leg?” An old man with neatly combed white hair greeted me. He was dressed in a butler’s outfit, and had an immaculate moustache that covered most of his upper lip.

Yeah, I finally met Mr. Hudson the head butler, who thankfully turned out to be much more sociable than the other staff. After bringing me to his office for tea, the old man regaled me with stories about his family in the countryside, and especially enjoyed bragging about his three cute grandchildren. I told him that I would love to meet them someday. That made the man beam with delight and he began rambling on about how much ‘trouble’ they were to look after, and that one of them was a musical prodigy.

“You should see the way little Joshua plays the violin! You’d swear the heavens themselves were accompanying him,” he boasted shamelessly.

I planned to just listen politely then find an excuse to run away or change the topic, but before I knew it, the sun was about to set. I can confidently say that I now knew more about Mr. Hudson’s family than my own. Good grief.

As for the second reason splitting up was a bad idea, well, I’d only find out much later.

__________________________________________________________

Within the servant’s quarters...

“You’ve become his WHAT!?”

Emma desperately gestured for Loraine to hush. “Please, not so loud!”

The pigtailed girl shook her head. “Sorry, but say it again! There’s no way I can stay calm!” All of the other maids around them nodded enthusiastically.

“Well… I’ve become the young master’s personal attendant.” Emma said, blushing.

“...”

Everyone just stared at her in disbelief.

It was an unavoidable conversation. They noticed that Emma left the quarters earlier than normal this morning, yet no one had seen her at any of her usual duties. And since the head maid would soon redistribute her share of the work, it’s not like she could keep it secret for long. So she confessed and told them about her new role. Of course, she didn’t mention anything about Alexander’s lost memories or that she was helping him make up for his past behavior.

Loraine was the one to break the silence. “Our innocent lamb has been taken by a big bad wolf!” She cried out while wrapping her arms around Emma in a tight hug. “I knew this was gonna happen!”

Most of the other maids were on the verge of tears too, or were outright panicking.

“Poor Emmaaa!”

“How can he do this to her!? Is she really his type? Well, she’s the closest one to his age, but...”

“Wait, more importantly! I doubt the young master is being ‘responsible’, we need to get her contra-”

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAAAT!”

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, things somehow calmed down enough for Emma to make herself heard.

“All I’ve done is comb his hair and help him get dressed!” She insisted strongly. “That’s it! He’s actually really nice to me! I know it’s hard to believe, but the Alexander now is a complete gentleman!”

“...”

That was still plenty intimate, you know?

The more experienced maids held strange expressions. It would not be a big deal for just about any other noble, but this was Alexander they were talking about. The man was notoriously fussy about his appearance and hated being touched by anyone other than Lady Francesca, yet that vain little twerp trusted her enough to let her do his hair? And he was acting like a gentleman? Before today, none of them would have believed it.

Therefore, they could only come to one conclusion.

He’s totally fallen for her!

And judging by the way Emma was fiercely defending him, the feeling was mutual. With that, the matter became a lot more complicated.

There was a world of difference in this society between ‘being used by a noble as a plaything’, and ‘being loved and cherished by a noble’. The former was relatively commonplace. The latter was a scandal that could get your head chopped off if things got ugly. Or rather, when things got ugly.

Not even the most tolerant of noblewomen would be willing to share her husband’s love with a common girl. And Lady Francesca Ettrick was as far from tolerant as you could get. They shuddered to think what would happen if that spiteful bitch learned about this ‘disgrace’.

“So you mean he hasn’t lain a hand on you?” Loraine demanded.

“Of course n-!” Emma was about to deny it furiously, but stopped when she remembered the way he held her during that moonlit dance. His hand resting on her lower back, it was impossible to pass that off as just a casual touch...

Her face turned bright red at the memory. That, plus her hesitation, was all the answer the other maids needed.

“Wait, wait! No! It’s not what you think! We didn’t…!”

“Shhh. It’s fine, Emma.” One of the maids said reassuringly. “We’re not going to pry. It seems like he’s not treating you badly, and that’s all we care about.”

In their minds, Emma’s position had already been upgraded from ‘unwilling bed warmer’ to ‘secret mistress’. Again, it was hard to say which one was worse, considering the dangers of an engaged nobleman’s affections. But if this was what Emma wanted, they would all support her. Everyone here was as close as sisters and their loyalty to each other was unquestionable.

They’d just have to hide the true nature of their relationship from the young master’s family, his fiancée, Ophelia and her backstabbing sycophants, the entirety of Lancaster Kingdom’s upper class… easy enough.

“We’re going to be cheering for your happiness, okay? Just be careful, that’s a thorny path you’re going to walk.”

“Hah?”

“Oooh, if you two ever want to elope, we can help! We’ll smuggle you out in a vegetable cart, then you could catch a ship at the port and get off at-”

“A ship!? No no no Loraine, if it’s eloping, it’s gotta be on a white horse!”

“Be practical, damn it! They’ll be chased by knights at every step! While the young master will valiantly defend her, there needs to be a limit or else it’ll be a tragic ending...”

“I would like to remind everyone again about ‘responsibility’! If that happens, there’s no way they can keep it hidden for more than a few months.”

Their big sister Ruth was not a unique case. All of these Halesworth maids were afflicted with the strange disease known as ‘romance novel poisoning’, and they had already dreamt up a star-crossed love story between the young master and his servant. A few of the girls were actually blushing, and some held a slight bit of envy in their eyes as their imaginations ran wild.

Even if Alexander was trash, wasn’t this kind of passionate forbidden love the dream of every maiden? Despite the obstacles and risks involved, they admired Emma who was living life to the fullest.

“You all have the wrong ideaaa! Please stop before someone hears, I beg you!”

The poor girl’s desperate cries finally put an end to the chaos after much difficulty. Emma sighed with relief when everyone quieted down.

Unfortunately, she foolishly began another uproar with her next sentence.

“Umm, by the way. Hilda, Grace, Amy? I’ve got something for you three… these are gifts from the young master.”