# 36
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“Anyway, your cleaning...”
At that time, a maid angrily stuck her finger into the crack of the window that I had just finished cleaning and stopped talking.
It seemed like she was trying to find fault with it, but there was no dust on her fingers.
It's been a few years since I cleaned up at the orphanage, and that's about it.
The women, who could not find any faults, looked at each other in confusion and said.
“I have a lot of laundry piled up in my dorm, so I guess I can do that too.”
"Yes."
This time too, I nodded without making a sound and turned around.
* * *
“Leah? Huh...Are you talking about the girl serving that lady?”
The maid, who had been so kind to me a moment ago, stopped laughing and asked.
Jack nodded, feeling strange.
“Why are you looking for this child?”
“...Should I tell you why?”
“No, no need.”
The maid smiled awkwardly at Jack's harsh answer.
“This baby should be in the laundry room right now.”
“In the sink...”
“Can I guide you?”
“No, it's okay.”
Without hesitation, Jack turned around.
For some reason, the way they were looking at me made me feel uncomfortable.
Jack, who had recently arrived in the capital, noticed strange eyes beginning to follow him from the moment he entered the capital's palace dressed as an apprentice knight.
In fact, Jack didn't know it, but Lord Sidian, who had been personally appointed by the Duke of Elad and knighted, was a more famous person than he thought.
So much so that Master Valery, who had already taken the elite course and had been promoted to deputy leader, was wary.
Jack was an apprentice knight whom Tice personally took on as his apprentice.
In fact, there is no better way for an ordinary person to obtain a title and rise to a higher social status than to become a knight.
However, since Jack had been chosen to join the Rexion Knights, his future was almost guaranteed.
Moreover, thanks to the good food and training after entering the duchy, Jack grew day by day and became so strong that he looked three or four years older than his original age.
It was natural that the maids, who guessed Jack's age, could not hide their happiness at his handsome appearance.
When Jack appeared in the laundry area where the maids were coming and going, all eyes immediately gathered and a commotion began.
Leia, reading the strange atmosphere, turned her head.
“Oh, Jack?”
“Leah.”
“What's going on here?”
Leah, who was jumping for joy, stopped.
The maids at the laundry looked surprised when they saw the two people.
Like Leia, no one knew the details of how Jack got into the Ellard Duchy, so they were curious about the relationship between the two, who seemed friendly.
“What's going on here... Is that all you have to tell me?”
“Huh?”
“It's been a few days since I arrived in the capital, didn't you hear that I came?”
Leah smiled awkwardly at Jack's slightly sad tone.
Of course I knew he was there. But I never thought of meeting separately.
I thought Jack wouldn't care at all because of his personality, but I didn't expect him to come to me so upset.
“Sorry, I was a bit busy.”
“It seems so, Mr. Allen also said that he hasn’t seen you recently.”
Originally, Diana and Allen often ate together, but when Allen came to the capital, it became difficult to see each other because he was busy studying and participating in various social activities, including sword training.
Leah nodded and looked at her surroundings.
The maids who envied the Rexion Knights, the pride of Duke Elad, were still looking in this direction.
Among them was a maid who showed interest in Jack.
Knowing how much commotion Jack had caused among the maids a few days after arriving at the Capital Palace, Leia lowered her voice.
“Anyway, nice to meet you, Jack, but I'm a bit busy right now...”
Jack narrowed his eyes, wishing he could come back.
For a while, she looked at the laundry that Leah was wringing out.
Jack frowned at the pile of laundry that was larger than Leah's size.
"Are you doing all this yourf? Weren't you serving the princess?"
“Ah...I'm doing it because I have time to spare, I'm not staying here with her all the time.”
“Do you want me to help you?”
“No, it's okay, there's no need for that.”
“But I still...”
Jack was about to say he would help again in response to the firm reply.
“Leah, it's meal time, she's looking for you, go quickly!”
The maid who came to look for Leah in the main building shouted.
Leah looked embarrassed and looked back and forth between Jack and the unfinished laundry.
“It's okay Leah...I'll finish this, so go.”
At that time, a maid approached with a timid voice.
“We should help each other, I will be waiting for you, come on.”
At the maid’s request, Leah said embarrassedly: “Yes, thank you.”
Then he said goodbye to Jack.
“Okay Jack, see you later!”
Jack stared blankly at Leah as she left without looking back.
At that time, the maid who was going to take care of Leah's laundry spoke to Jack.
“Oh, knight?”
“...I'm not an official knight yet.”
“An apprentice knight is also a knight.”
“...Please speak up.”
“It's just, if you're not busy, I was wondering if you could help me move the laundry, I think it's too heavy to lift alone.”
The maid looked at Jack with a weak, fake face.
Jack said coldly as he looked at the laundry piled up with the maid.
“Didn’t you say that even though Leia is younger, she can do it on her own? You can do it.”
* * *
As I ran towards the main building, leaving Jack behind, I suddenly guessed the age of the maid who was supposed to take care of my laundry.
'Maybe around fifteen?'
The maids clearly don't know Jack's age.
Well, even I, who grew up together, am amazed every time I see Jack grow like a bean sprout, so of course I assumed he was my age. How surprised you would be if you later found out that you were the same age as Alan.
“Anyway, it's already very popular.”
Since he was a handsome boy with a secure future, it was natural for the teenage girls' hearts to flutter.
This is not surprising, considering that it later became popular not only among maids but also among misses and noble ladies.
The only thing I think is great.
'Jack, you must be absolutely pure!'
I burst out laughing out of embarrassment, clenched my fists and covered my mouth.
In fact, the VIPs who paid the Information Guild's most generous commission fees were noble ladies.
Requests for evidence of a marital affair or identification of a brother-in-law were often less risky missions than others and easier to escape from, so there were few requests to investigate Jack.
“Of course, even though we were not close, I was reluctant to do background research on someone I knew, so I never encountered Jack.”
However, I knew he was always considered one of the best husbands.
It also has a very good reputation.
Unlike Allen, who enjoyed dating noble ladies from time to time, Jack had never had any woman get close to him, let alone scandal.
'Till he swore his knightly oath to Diana. '
Only once in a lifetime.
It is said that a knight's oath to protect you with his life was originally an oath of loyalty to his lord, but is now a confession of love for a lover or wife.
Then one day, Jack suddenly presented his knightly oath to Diana like a bombshell, shocking many of the women who were targeting him.
Well, if you have eyes, it's impossible to have feelings for other women because of beautiful Diana.
“Mmm, well, it's desirable, and it also has quite a romantic side.”
"from?"
Hehe!
I stopped breathing because of the sudden sound.
In a completely different sense than before, I covered my mouth with my hand and turned my head to see Allen standing crookedly.
“You here, young master?”
“Who is a romantic?”
“Oh...nothing, I just said that after hearing what the other maids said.”
Allen raised his eyebrows because I was confused and gave an indifferent answer.
She quickly changed the subject and asked.
“But sir, why did training end so early? Dinner already, ah! Do you want to eat it with Miss?”
Coincidentally, the place I met him was in front of the dining room.
But Allen was taken aback by what wasn't even a big question and turned his head.
“Okay! I finished it quickly so I could eat with Diana, I never meant to see you!”
“That's not real! That's because Diana is so busy studying these days that I don't have time to see her! Don't be mistaken!”
Why would you say something so obvious like that?
I looked at Allen, who was running terrified, and said:
“I'm not wrong, by the way, let's go in quickly. Would you like Miss to wait?”
“Well, something like that, either way anyway.”
Allen pouted his lips.
When I saw him look to the side, he looked annoyed.
I don't know why they do that.
“Noona!”
As soon as I opened the door and entered, Diana saw me and immediately got down from the chair and hugged me.
“My pronunciation is much better these days.”
As I held the baby girl who was growing so fast, I felt as if something warm and fuzzy was filling my empty chest.
“Miss, it is not etiquette to get up and move suddenly while eating.”
At that time, the head maid standing on one side spoke harshly.
Allen immediately frowned.
“She hasn't started eating yet, what do you think?”
Allen, you are the best!
I sat with Diana, unable to vote from the outside but clapping loudly from the inside.
“Miss, what did you learn today?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Diana returned from the chair she was sitting on.
“I learned how to say hello! Look, look!”
"Yes."
“Hello, I am Diana Elade, daughter of Duke Elade!”
The little girl lifted the hem of her dress and bent down on her knees.
That was when I covered my mouth because I felt like I was going to scream because I saw a cute face, she was so cute that it hurt my heart.
'Ah, our Diana. …I can't believe it's already this big.'
Allen, who was sitting in front of me, cried.
Not that I didn't understand what he was saying, but I was very lucky not to make a sound.
In fact, it looked pretty pathetic.
“And what else, what else have you learned?”
“Letters! I learned letters and drew pictures!”
"image?"
“Hah!”