“What do you mean by that?”
“I do not understand what you are implying, sir.”
“I believe you must be mistaken about something.”
The maids assigned to Reinhard, Elsa, and Beena replied with perfect composure, but—
“W-w-w-w-what are you t-t-t-talking about!?”
There was one girl who was incredibly easy to read.
“……”
Naturally, the girl who was now the recipient of lukewarm stares from everyone present was the one assigned to Jin.
“Hah?!”
She finally realized her mistake and tried to feign calm, but it was already too late.
“Lyla, you…”
“Ugh,”
It seemed Jin’s attendant was named Lyla. She looked down, her shoulders trembling. And then—
“Waaaaaaahhhhhhh!”
She burst into tears.
“H-hey, wait now.”
“I’m sowwwwwwyyyyyy!”
As Lyla wailed without regard for her surroundings, Jin and the others almost began to feel like they were the ones in the wrong.
Unable to stand by, Elsa put an arm around Lyla’s shoulders.
“You don’t have to cry. We’re not saying we’re going to do anything to you.”
Lyla continued to sniffle for a while longer, but she eventually stopped crying.
“S-sniff… Iz dat r-reawwy t-twue…?”
“Y-yeah, it’s true.”
Faced with a face smeared with tears and snot, Reinhard replied while pulling back slightly—no, quite a lot.
＊ ＊ ＊
“To begin with, no maids like you were assigned to us the last time I stayed here.”
Now that Lyla had calmed down, Reinhard began to explain the basis for his deduction.
“And since it is no exaggeration to say that nobles from across the kingdom are gathered here this time, anyone could imagine that security would be tight.”
He then glanced at one of his own attendants, a sharp-looking maid who appeared to be in her late teens.
“For a maid, your movements were far too efficient. Those are the movements of someone trained in martial arts—likely combat techniques involving daggers.”
He concluded his explanation.
After a moment of silence, the sound of clapping rang out. The one applauding was Reinhard’s other maid, a glamorous beauty in her twenties.
“Impressive, Master Reinhard. It is true that we are members of the Royal Secret Maids.”
Whether or not Jin thought that name sounded like a terminal case of eighth-grader syndrome is a matter of speculation.
＊ ＊ ＊
“The Royal Secret Maids are, as the name suggests, a secret unit that takes the form of maids. I am Anne, that is Kate. Over there is Mary, the crying one is Lyla, and over there is Leeza. We are the Royal Secret Maids Unit 2.”
Now that their true identities were exposed, the unit leader of the Royal Secret Maids Unit 2, the glamorous Anne, began to speak.
“Our mission is the maintenance of public order within the royal castle—to eliminate anyone even slightly suspicious and preserve the order of the palace.”
She shook her head.
“But since we have been seen through by Master Reinhard, we have failed in our duty.”
She made a move to stand up.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
“Well, since we failed our mission, we must withdraw.”
Anne replied with slumped shoulders. However, Reinhard spoke up.
“Don’t be foolish. You haven’t failed entirely, have you?”
“Pardon?”
Anne let out a bewildered voice, unable to understand what Reinhard meant.
“Your duties can still be performed even if your identities are known, can’t they?”
“……”
“It would be a help to have people who know this castle well around us, and wouldn't it save you from being reprimanded by your superiors?”
“Well, that is true, but…”
“Then it’s settled,” Reinhard said, clapping his hands together.
“I’m not trying to criticize you for monitoring us. It’s your job, after all. I just didn't like being watched surreptitiously from the shadows.”
While Jin was impressed by Reinhard’s magnanimity, he also felt a slight sense of incongruity.
Someone tugged on Jin’s sleeve. When he turned, he saw Elsa. She whispered to him in a low voice.
“Rai-nii has always had a soft spot for women with large breasts.”
She informed Jin of this fact as if it were the most natural explanation in the world.
＊ ＊ ＊
“……”
Jin had now returned to his room. Lyla was standing before him.
For some reason, Jin was reminded of a young girl who used to be at the orphanage. That girl had been unexpectedly elected as a class representative in her second year of middle school, and she had worn herself out every day in a role she wasn't suited for.
“Hey, Lyla.”
“Y-yes! What is it, shir?!”
She’s way too tense, Jin thought, exasperated. More than that, he felt she really wasn't suited for this job. So, he tried asking.
“Why are you in the Royal Secret Maids anyway?”
Lyla looked down for a moment before glancing up at him tentatively.
“Uuu… do you think I’m not suited for it after all?”
An ordinary man might have felt something at that gesture, but Jin was a hardened block of wood, dense and romantically tone-deaf.
“Yeah, I do.”
When he answered honestly, Lyla’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“I thought so… I wonder why Big Sister gave me this assignment…”
＊ ＊ ＊
Elsa, having nothing to hide, acted as she always did even in front of her assigned Royal Secret Maid, Kate.
Bathing, eating, changing clothes—as Elsa moved about as if Kate weren't even there, Kate let out a sigh, inwardly feeling that she was no match for her.
＊ ＊ ＊
Reinhard was silently writing in his diary. As a diplomat, he needed to submit a report upon his return home, and he was using this as reference material.
Beside him, Anne and Mary stood there with nothing to do.
Waiting for Reinhard to finish writing, Anne spoke up.
“Um, Master Reinhard…”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Why did you protect us?”
When Anne asked, Reinhard replied with a smile.
“Hmm, even if you ask me why… I dislike being monitored. But I suppose I also dislike the idea of a woman like you being scolded.”
“What is that? Are you trying to woo me?”
Anne laughed, placing a hand over her mouth and swaying her hips. It was quite coquettish, but Reinhard remained unfazed.
“Heh, I’ve been a diplomat for six years now, including my time as an apprentice. I’ve experienced plenty of honey traps.”
“Oh, how spiteful.”
Anne said, straightening her posture once more.
“Surveillance is unpleasant when it’s done secretly and stealthily, but it’s surprisingly acceptable when done openly.”
“Oh? That doesn't quite answer the question, does it?”
“Look, if I had sent you away, someone even more skilled would have been sent to watch us, and this time in a way we couldn't detect. I’m saying I’d dislike that even more.”
Reinhard said with a refreshing smile.