Volume 1 - Chapter 38: Maid's Covert Operation - Part 1

Now, let's go a little back in time.

[Anne, give me your hand.]

Mia said to Anne after changing her dress and finishing the preparations to go to the party.

She puts some gold coins from the Duchy of Belluga in Anne's hands.

[Use it at your own discretion.]

Mia said.

The current Mia is a frugal person. After all, wasteful spending could lead to guillotine very fast. And when she thinks that whatever she buys might be taken by the Revolutionary Army, she loses the will to do so.

A unique exception to this was the money given to her beloved Anne.

She wanted to give back as much as possible to her loyal retainer who left her family to come with her, not to mention what happened in the previous timeline.

[You have time off while I'm at the party. You can stay in the dormitory or go into town.]

It has been only three days since they arrived here, but even so, Anne was probably tired because of the new environment. Even now, she was dressing Mia at a fast pace.

I hope you can rest and recouple yourself, even if it is only for a little while, is what Mia said. Or rather, that is what she was trying to say.

[I understand, Mia-sama. I will make sure to live up to your expectations.]

Expectations...? Mia tilted her head at Anne's reply, which was full of spirit.

Since becoming an exclusive maid, Anne's life had changed drastically.

Even though she sends most of the money she gets to her parents at home, she is no longer in financial trouble. Not to mention, her younger sister, Elise, who became a writer employed by the Imperial Princess. So her family is relatively well-off.

That's why Anne didn't consider the gold coins given by Mia as "pocket money".

(Mia-sama granted me free reign to move. I have to live up to her expectations!)

Anne thought she had been entrusted with gold coins, time... and a mission to "do something".

(Well now. How can I be of use to Mia-sama?)

What were her expectations?.... After considering the possibilities carefully, Anne came to a conclusion. Oddly enough, what she needed to do was no different from what Mia was trying to do.

Yes, make connections.

Of course, there was no way for Anne to make connections with the noble children who attended the school. However, if we are talking about commoners like the gardeners, chefs or janitors who worked at the school, that is a different story.

Anne had learned something while working at the castle.

There were many servants who supported the daily life of the place.

Their power is by no means small.

(In order to support Mia-sama's love life, and to make her school life more comfortable, I have to make as many connections as I can...)

Grabbing the gold coins, Anne went out into the city.

For the chefs who seem to have rough hands, she arranged high quality horse oil¹. And got nutritious food for the gardeners and other workers.

Unlike nobles, who could have anything they wanted at hand, commoners would be happy with even a small gift. There was no way not to take advantage of this.

Once everything was done, she had about half of the gold coins left.

[This looks about right....]

As Anne walked through the city, she stopped in front of a clothing store.

[Wow, beautiful...]

There was a dress on display. The dress was light blue and was designed to look like a flower blooming in a spring field, a combination of cuteness and innocence.

[It is a beautiful dress, but I think it might be a little big for Mia-sama.]

The price was the exact amount she had at hand, which made her feel a little uneasy, but in the end, she walked past the store.

When she returned to the school, Anne let out a small breath.

[It will take about two more hours until the party is over.]

She thought about going to her room and rest for a while, but when she looked at the courtyard.

[Huh?]

She saw a girl.

Looking at her, the girl had a tearful face. She had silver hair that stretches to her waist and healthy tan skin.

These were the characteristics of the Lulu tribe, a minority on Tearmoon Empire.

But more than that, Anne recognized the girl.

[You are.., if I remember correctly, Tiona-sama's?]

Tiona, daughter of the Rudolvon family from the remote region of Hendo². It was her maid.

They were the ones being bullied by the noble girls on the day Mia and Anne arrived at St. Noel Academy.

[What is the problem?]

When Anne spoke to her, the girl shook her head with a troubled look....

[Please, Tiona-sama, trouble. Help, please.]

She said with broken language.

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Translator Notes:

1. This is an actual thing. I had never heard of it, so I had to look it up to see if I wasn't misreading the kanji or something of the sort.

2. This series has a lot of names. I'm trying my best to make them consistent across all chapters as well as with the official English LN, but if the English name is too different from the Japanese one, or the names contain characters which can be read in multiple ways, I might confuse them every now and them. Feel free to point those out if you see them.

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