by Dojyomaru
The path she would walk was sure to be fraught with difficulties. Even knowing that, Komain had decided to walk down it. With her and Poncho supporting one another.
To make light of that determination... was something Serina could not do.
Serina closed her eyes and took a step backwards.
That was proof of her recognizing Komain as suitable for Poncho.
Poncho avoided giving Komain an immediate answer, due to the nature of these sorts of meetings, but he promised to provide a favorable response. They would likely be engaged to marry in short order.
“This is awkward to say, but this is a load off my shoulders, yes,” Poncho added.
“Hee hee,” Komain giggled. “You went through a lot of these marriage meetings, after all. You’ve lost weight, haven’t you?”
“Have I? I don’t think my waistline has changed much.”
“You wouldn’t be Poncho if you weren’t paunchy, after all.”
Watching the two of them talk, smiling, from up close, Serina felt like she had been left all alone by the flow of time.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Whew...”
Some days had passed since then. In a room in Parnam Castle, Serina let out her umpteenth sigh of the day.
Carla could simply watch no longer, and hesitantly spoke to her.
“...Um, Head Maid? Did something happen? It seems to me that you’ve been sighing a lot today.”
“Pardon me. I was a little lost in thought.” Following her meek apology, Serina resumed cleaning the room as a maid, but her expression remained as sullen as before.
Honestly... what is it...? Serina wondered.
Ever since she’d heard Komain’s confession, there was a maelstrom of conflicted feelings whirling inside her chest.
Poncho was a good colleague of hers, and Komain was a pleasant girl. She ought to have been happy they’d gotten engaged, so why couldn’t she bring herself to bless the two of them?
Do I think I’ll feel lonely once they’re married...? That’s absurd. I’m no child. I shouldn’t feel left out. So why...?
Though Serina’s hands hadn’t stopped working, her thoughts were looping, and they eventually poured out in another sigh.
Normally, Serina’s default persona was the cool and serious type whose emotions were hard to read, which made Carla all the more alarmed to see her look so gloomy.
“Um, could it be you’re feeling unwell somewhere? If you’re under the weather, maybe you should leave this to me, and take the rest of the day off?”
“That’s not it, really... Was my work sloppy in some way?”
“No, you were doing well,” Carla said hastily. “In fact, the way you looked so sad but your hands were still moving properly made it more creepy... Whoa, excuse me!”
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Carla hurriedly saluted and apologized.
Seeing Carla so flustered, Serina let out a sigh of exasperation. “There are times when I’m not at my best, too.”
“Um... are you really sure you won’t consider resting?” Carla suggested.
Serina shook her head. “It would be nice if I could, but... in this case, it wouldn’t let my mind rest.”
“Your mind? It’s not your body?”
“Yes. How should I put this...? I don’t like leaving things I could be doing to other people. It’s the job of a maid to look after others, so it feels to me like having others look after me is contrary to my role.”
“I see...” Carla said. “Well, I have to say, you aren’t the head maid for nothing. You’re like the ideal maid.”
The ideal maid. That was what Carla called her, but Serina cocked her head to the side and wondered if she truly was.
She felt like the desire not to have others worry about her came not from her thoughts as a maid, but her thoughts as an individual. Serina hated having to rely on others. She desired not to have others look down on her just because they had lent her their strength.
In the end... I suppose I’m clumsy.
If she could be honest with herself and accept help from other people, life would be much easier.
In fact, the king of this country, Souma, always honestly recognized when he could not do something himself, hired someone he could delegate the task to, and kept the country running smoothly by trusting them.
However, because Serina had the misfortune of being talented enough to do anything, she had come all this way not relying on others. She couldn’t just change the way she had lived after so long.
If my personality let me rely on others better... I’m sure I could have asked someone about these conflicted feelings... Serina reflected.
“Oh! But Head Maid, you’ve let Sir Poncho cook for you before, right? I hear he’s done it for you a number of times as thanks for being his assistant.” Carla suddenly brought that up.
“Yes,” Serina said. “What about it?”
“No, um, if you hate letting other people do things for you, maybe you actually dislike it when Sir Poncho cooks for you... is what I was thinking.”
The words Carla spoke off-handedly set off a rustling in Serina’s chest.
“That’s not true,” Serina said. “Sir Poncho’s dishes are all unique, nothing I could come up with. That’s not something I could do myself, you see?”
“Oh, no, maybe that was true the first time, but you’re a better cook than most, right? The dishes that Sir Poncho and the master make use a lot of unusual ingredients, but making the dishes themselves is incredibly simple. If you’d asked him to write down the recipe, there would be no need to trouble Sir Poncho. You could make the dishes yourself, couldn’t you?”
“Huh?!” When Carla pointed that out, Serina’s eyes went wide.
Now that she mentions it, that’s true.
Poncho’s dishes were novel, but all of them were made with affordable ingredients, and if he had just told her the recipe, of course, Serina could make them, too.
Despite that, Serina had never tried to make them herself. She would just smack her lips and eat what Poncho made for her with an enraptured look on her face.
Though she claimed that she hated letting others do for her what she could do for herself, Serina had been letting Poncho cook for her.
Serina was certainly looking after Poncho, but Poncho had been looking after her, too.
And not once had that felt unpleasant to her.
Now that she had been made to realize that, Serina stood there with a rare look of amazement on her face.
I... was relying on Sir Poncho, wasn’t I? And the reason I didn’t notice, was that it came so naturally...
This was the first time she realized how special Poncho was.
“The weather’s just awful, isn’t it?” Serina griped.
It was that afternoon. The sky was heavy with clouds.
According to Naden’s Weekly Weather Forecast, which she, as the head maid, dutifully checked every week, sleet was expected today, turning into snow at night.
Under a sky that weighed her down just looking at it, Serina left through the gates of Parnam Castle and headed out to town.
She had work as Poncho’s aide today, so she was on her way to his residence.
Being an aide to Poncho was a respectable job, so normally she was able to receive permission to take a carriage... but today she was in a walking kind of mood.
She walked through the chilly streets wearing a coat over her classical maid uniform.
When a beauty like Serina walked through the city, she naturally drew the eyes of men passing by. If those men had women accompanying them, the jealous women would sometimes pull their ears or slap them for it.
From a man’s perspective, she was quite the sinful woman.
While looking at the scenery of the town, Serina let out a sigh. Normally, she wouldn’t think anything of this scenery, but today it felt awfully lonely to her.
I’m sure Sir Poncho will be replying to Komain soon. Those two will be engaged, then eventually
become husband and wife. There’s no place for me there...
Serina remembered something that Ginger’s secretary and maid, Sandria, had said. “Then, how would you feel if Lord Ginger were a woman? If it were a woman that Lord Poncho was having such a good time talking to right now, would you still not feel the least bit anxious about it?”
What did I respond back then...?
If she recalled, it was something about how, if Poncho only made food for that woman, and she couldn’t eat with him anymore, she wouldn’t like it... or something like that.
If things continued as they were, the one eating with Poncho would be Komain.
Was it all right for her to hate that?
Did Serina have the right to?
It’s like a scene I’m looking at through glass...
Staring at the glass window of a carriage that had just stopped in front of her, that was what Serina thought.
She could see the people within clearly, but they were in a separate space, and as envious as she might be of what she saw, she could never have it for herself.
Looking at her face reflected in the window, Serina looked like a child about to burst into tears.
Sleet began to fall from the sky.
“It’s started coming down, huh?” Serina murmured.
It was soggy snow that turned to water the second it touched her skin or clothes.
Serina had been staring vacantly up into the sky for a while, but at this rate, she was going to catch a cold.
She had meant to arrive at Poncho’s mansion before it started coming down in earnest, so she had made no preparations for rain at all. Fortunately, it wasn’t far.
Serina walked quickly through the sleet until she arrived at Poncho’s mansion.
When she knocked to inform them of her arrival, Komain came to answer the door and her eyes widened.
“Whoa! What happened, Serina?! You’re soaked!”
“I got caught out in the sleet for a little while.”
“This took more than a little while... Why didn’t you come by carriage?”
As Komain fussed over and welcomed the soaking wet Serina, heavy footsteps sounded from deep inside the mansion.
Of course, it was the master of the house, Poncho. He had a large bath towel in his hands.
As he rushed to Serina’s side, he threw the towel over her head quickly. “I... I heard Madam Komain’s voice, so I brought a towel. If you don’t wipe yourself quickly, you’ll catch a cold! Madam Komain, please boil some water and bring it here, yes.”
“U-Understood!”
Watching Komain hurry off, Poncho started wiping Serina’s hair with the towel. His hands weren’t gentle at all, and Serina was at his mercy. Hanging her head, her eyes closed, Serina was thinking.
No... I really don’t dislike this at all...
Her wet hair was being touched and scrubbed. She was letting someone else take care of her. Despite that, she didn’t feel any displeasure from it at all.
No... I can’t hide it anymore. This person is special to me.
Serina finally acknowledged her own love.
She placed her right hand on top of Poncho’s left hand, which was on the other side of the towel, and brought it down to rest on her cheek. His big hand was warm and reassuring.
“M-Madam Serina?! Wh-What is it, yes?!”
Serina’s sudden action made Poncho’s usually narrow eyes go wide.
“Nothing really... Only what I want to do.” When she looked up, Serina wore her usual dauntless and serious face. However, the corners of her lips were turned up just a little. “Sir Poncho, your right hand is slacking. You were going to wipe my hair for me, weren’t you?”
“Y-Yes... Um, but, it’s difficult to do with only my right hand...”
“Bear with that much, at least. Because you are a special person who is allowed to take care of me.”
“I... I don’t know what you’re talking about. Wait, Madam Serina, why are you touching my cheek now?!”
This time Serina’s left hand was on Poncho’s cheek. That ultimately put them in a position where they were holding one another’s cheeks.
Poncho’s eyes darted around as he tried to process the situation. “Wh-What is this?! Is this a joke?! Are you teasing me, yes?!”
“Yes. I am teasing you. But this is no joke. In my own way, I’m showing my love for you here.”
“Y-Your l-love...?! Wait, whaaa?!”
Serina took one step back from the surprised Poncho, then lifted up the hem of her long skirt and bowed her head, like she was asking him if they might share the next dance at a social event.
“Sir Poncho. You are special to me. That is why I cannot abide you pushing me aside to share your table with someone else. Even if that is a family member. If you say you can only let family sit at your table, then let me be a part of that family.”
“Huh...? What do you mean by...”
“It’s simple. If you are to take Komain as your wife, please take me, too.”
Poncho was left speechless, his mouth just opening and closing silently like he was a goldfish.
When a beauty like Serina, whom he had assumed was far out of his reach, suddenly confessed her love to him, even if she did it in a weird and roundabout way, his mind went blank.
That was just when Komain came back with a basin of hot water. “Um... Did something happen while I was bringing the water to a boil?”
“I was just expressing my desire for Sir Poncho to make me his wife.” Serina said nonchalantly.
Komain’s eyes went wide. “Well, then! You’ve realized your own feelings, Madam Serina?”
“Yes. It did take some time to look at them, however.”
“Ahaha... Too long,” Komain said, laying the basin down with a laugh. “But I’m glad. If you’ll be coming, I don’t need to be adopted into a noble family. I’m fine with being the second wife.”
“Komain... are you sure about that?”
“I said I would do my best if the need arose, but I think it really would be hard for me to act like a nobleman’s wife, after all. If you’ll take care of things outside the home as the first wife, I’ll focus on inside the house.”
Seeing the peaceful smile on Komain’s face as she said that, Serina smiled a little, too.
She was sure she could get along fine with her.
“Wait, Poncho?!” Serina shouted. “Your eyes have rolled into the back of your head! Are you okay?!”
Komain shook Poncho and tried to call him back to reality.
As she watched her, Serina suddenly remembered something Komain had said before. “By the way, what was the ‘place you want to be’ that you were talking about that time?”
On the day that she had most likely resolved herself to have the marriage meeting with Poncho, Komain had said it was to reach the place she wanted to be.
Komain responded, “That’s obvious,” and grinned. “The table that Poncho, you, and I can sit around as a family.”
◇ ◇ ◇
Later, Poncho’s engagement to Serina and Komain would be widely publicized, and the gold digger women would be greatly disappointed.
Conversely, Souma and the other elites of the kingdom who had been worried about Poncho were relieved.
“It feels like everything worked out the way it should in the end,” Souma said with satisfaction.
“Yes,” Hakuya agreed. “If Madam Serina and Madam Komain are with him, we can be sure they will protect the gentle but timid Sir Poncho from those who might try to take advantage of him.”
Souma gave a big nod in agreement. “He’s someone we need to continue doing good work for us in the future. For the development of the kingdom, and for my own personal reasons, I want to see Poncho build a happy, stable family.”
May the three of them be happy together, Souma wished silently.
Chapter 8: Before the Ceremony
“Dawoo.”
“Aayee.”
Cute voices from tiny little mout
hs.
“Ohh... They’re so cuuuute!” I exclaimed.
“They certainly are,” agreed Carla.
We smiled as we watched the babies moving around in their crib.
Cian and Kazuha were both about four months old, with their necks firmly set in place, and they could play while on their tummies now, too.
Maybe because they were twins, it was hard to tell their faces apart, but in terms of personality, they were becoming quite different people.
Cian tended to stare off into space and didn’t cry often.
He was a quiet boy who didn’t cause trouble, but he froze up a lot when introduced to a new situation. That was apparently a sign of shyness, and when an unfamiliar face came near him, his face would stiffen and he would look away. Even if they tried to circle around in front of him, he would turn his head and avert his gaze again.
When his eyes had first opened, he’d refused to look at either Aisha or me for a while.
That wasn’t the case anymore, but the only ones he’d smiled for from the beginning were Liscia, Lady Elisha, and maybe Carla. It made me feel a little lonely, as a parent.
Meanwhile, Kazuha was a bundle of energy, always smiling, and always crying.
She didn’t object when someone held her, and she would keep on crying regardless of who sang her a lullaby. From the moment she was laid down, she would swing her arms and legs energetically. She never calmed down.
Because she moved so much, she would accidentally slap Cian, who was beside her, so we’d considered separating the two a little so he could get some rest, but when we’d tried to move her to another bed, she had thrown a fit.
Maybe because they were twins, Kazuha felt most at ease when her other half, Cian, was close by.
Even though she still slapped Cian from time to time.
Hang in there, Big Brother.
While looking at those adorable twins, I whispered, “Honestly... Why are my children so cute?”
“Master, you’re too much of a doting father. You’re repeating yourself.” Carla sounded exasperated, but cute was cute, so what could I do?
Oh! Kazuha was clapping her little hands and smiling again.
Cian was looking at Kazuha, and maybe he lost his balance, because he fell over.