Morning. I awoke bathed in the dawn light.
Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains—a masterpiece meticulously crafted by artisans to let through just the right amount of light, gently prodding one awake with optimal brightness.
To feel this meant... In my lingering daze, I slowly opened my eyes.
Just as I thought.
A familiar ceiling—the ceiling of Empress Audrey's bedroom.
The Empress's chambers existed solely to receive the Emperor.
The room was appointed with only the finest furnishings, starting with those very curtains.
Once I realized where I was, I let out a soft sigh through my slightly parted lips.
"Good morning, Your Majesty."
Then, from a short distance away, Audrey's smooth, gentle voice drifted over.
As I sat up, Audrey turned toward me, accompanied by several maids.
Not just Audrey, but every single one of them looked in my direction all at once.
They must have been preparing right up until that moment; the maids held half-ready grooming and dressing tools in their hands.
"Good morning. Up early, as usual."
"A woman takes time with her toilette, after all," Audrey said playfully.
I refrained from pointing out the obvious.
I didn't utter something so utterly tactless as noting that, on top of her own routine, she was having them prepare for mine as well.
As I slowly got to my feet, Audrey took a cloth from one of the maids.
Wringing the damp cloth out with her own hands, she walked over to me, holding it out.
"Here you are."
"Thanks."
Nodding, I accepted the cloth Audrey offered.
Wiping my face with it, I found it wrung out to absolute perfection.
Both the temperature and moisture were ideal, and the faint, refreshing scent was pleasant on my skin.
Compared to Audrey's thoughtful attentiveness, the fact that it was made of the highest-grade silk was trivial.
"Thank you. Attentive as always."
"It is all thanks to you, Your Majesty."
"To me?"
I tilted my head slightly.
Was there any room for me to take credit for Audrey's level of care? I wondered.
After turning it over in my mind, I concluded there wasn't, yet Audrey's expression didn't look like mere flattery.
"What do you mean?"
"It is thanks to Your Majesty always praising me like that. From Your Majesty's reactions, I am able to adjust to your preferences bit by bit."
"..."
I see, I thought.
She had continuously deciphered my exact preferences from the subtlest shifts in my reactions.
As expected—
She truly is attentive, I thought with sincere conviction.
"Thank you very much."
"By the way... Are those maids trustworthy? Knowing you, I'm not particularly worried, but still."
I cast a glance at the maids behind Audrey and asked.
Officially, I was in the middle of a personal campaign right now.
In other words, my presence here was the highest of top secrets—strictly classified.
Was it all right for these maids to know about it? That was what I was asking.
"I merely followed Your Majesty's example."
"My example?"
"Yes. I have placed all these girls in my debt. Not metaphorically—I am the lifesaver of every single one."
"Mm."
"So, please rest assured."
Even as Audrey spoke, the maids showed no reaction, quietly continuing the preliminary preparations for my dressing.
They showed neither agreement nor the slightest flicker of a response to Audrey's words.
It wasn't hard to imagine that, on top of putting them in her debt, she had trained them exceptionally well.
"Impressive. Then allow me to offer just one piece of advice."
"What would that be?"
"If you go that far, put their families in your debt as well. There are plenty of people who feel greater gratitude toward someone who saves their beloved family than someone who saves their own life."
"How marvelous, Your Majesty. I shall do so from now on."
"Good."
I nodded and stretched.
Audrey assisted with my morning dressing.
Throughout the process, Audrey, the maids, and I remained silent.
Within the serene bedroom of the Empress, the Emperor's dressing was solemnly carried out.
When the preparations were about ninety percent complete, I spoke up once more.
"Right, there was one thing I needed to mention."
"What might that be?"
"You know Gigi, correct?"
"Yes, the maid from the days when Your Majesty was biding your time, correct?"
Chuckling softly at the archaic phrasing Audrey used, I nodded in response.
"Indeed. I will be taking Gigi into my direct service."
"She was originally—yes, of course."
Audrey swallowed the words she was originally Your Majesty's anyway and nodded with a straight face.
The inner palace belonged to the Empress, and the maids residing in the inner palace likewise belonged to the Empress.
Naturally, the Emperor stood above that, and no one could complain if I took a single maid without a word; nor would anyone dare try.
Even so, I showed Audrey deference.
I deferred to Audrey in accordance with the concept I always emphasized—that she was the mistress of the inner palace.
Audrey understood immediately and formally "transferred" Gigi to me.
"And yet truly, you did not need to go out of your way to mention it."
"The Empress's authority is established by internal house law. Though it can hardly be called formal statutory law, so few people actually uphold it."
"Even so, you uphold it. You truly are wonderful, Your Majesty."
I gave a light chuckle.
It's just an old habit—telling her that would be tasteless as well, so I kept it to myself.
☆
After finishing my dressing, I summoned Gigi to the archives.
As I picked up a few half-read books and flipped through them, hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
Immediately following the frantic footsteps, the door flew open just as hastily, revealing an out-of-breath Gigi.
"S-Sorry to have kept you wa—whoa!"
Rushing into the room in a panic, Gigi tripped over her own skirt and took a massive spill.
"Are you all right?"
"Ow-ow-ow... I-I'm okay!"
Gigi scrambled back to her feet in a fluster.
The uniform supplied to court maids was not flimsy enough to tear from a spill of this level, but having slammed down so hard, she had clearly bruised something; she stood awkwardly, favoring the painful spot.
"Heal it with a potion later."
"Huh?! Th-That's... S-Such an expensive thing—"
"From now on, keep yourself in top condition. At all times."
"Eh? Y-Yes... Um..."
Gigi wore an expression that asked Why?
"Last night, you said you remember the location of every book I've ever read."
"Y-Yes! Um, as long as I know when you read it!"
"What about the one I read on Audrey's birthday?"
"Please wait just a moment!"
Scampering frantically, Gigi slipped past me and dashed toward the back of the archives.
Normally, crossing in front of the Emperor was an act of gross disrespect, and a short-tempered monarch might have ordered an execution for that alone.
Naturally, I let it slide.
Gigi returned from the depths of the room carrying three books.
"Here they are."
"Mm... Ah, indeed, I definitely read this."
One of the three books recorded the history regarding the Rite of Name Removal following the marriage of imperial women.
I remembered suddenly becoming curious about that on Audrey's birthday and reading up on it.
"What about the day Jessica arrived, and the day I most recently returned from Almeria?"
"Right away!"
With that, Gigi went darting off again, returning immediately with more books.
I glanced over the volumes.
Since I was in a rush, I had named days tied to my own memories and had her pull the books based on that.
So far, every single one was correct.
It seemed that remembering every book I had read was neither a lie nor an exaggeration.
"What is next? Ma—Your Majesty."
"That's enough, the test is over."
"Oh..."
"How much is your stipend? Per year."
"Eh? Yes... Um, I receive 50 Rien, but..."
"Mm."
Fifty, huh? I gave a small nod.
Around the time I was born, an adult man was said to earn about 10 Rien a year, but now, decades later, that had risen to about 20.
Gigi received 50.
It was far more than an ordinary man made, but considering she was a long-serving maid attending to the Emperor's personal needs, it was a fair amount.
"Starting tomorrow, I'm increasing it to 500 a year."
"............Eh?"
Gigi's jaw dropped.
Then, a beat later, sheer panic overtook her.
"Wh-Wh-What do you mean? F-F-F-Five hundred?!"
"First Prime Minister Don receives around 1,000, so that's about half of his."
"Since we're at it: do you have siblings back home? Pick one, and I'll give that person 500 as well."
"Even my family?! I-I couldn't possibly accept that much!"
"Take it. In exchange, going forward, you will manage the documents I sign and store within the palace. You are to ensure they can be retrieved at any time. Understood?"
"U-Understood. But even so, for that much—"
"It is the highest of top secrets. Because you will be involved with this, I'm sorry to say I cannot let you go out into the provinces like Evelyn or Zoe. You will have to give up on various things."
"Ah..."
"I'm sorry, but I am claiming your life. Dedicate it to my service."
"...I understand. If it is for Your Majesty's sake."
So Gigi said, gazing at me with a face full of resolve.