# 69
I couldn't sleep thinking about the terrible training that awaited me the next day.
Dearyn spent the night with her eyes almost open.
However, she couldn't ignore what she had to do.
As soon as she woke up, Sirius sat down and immediately began the lesson.
The night before, all she could think about was sex education, but she realized that Sirius was completely ignorant of society's ways of talking.
“Dyarin must be very religious. Her life revolves around the ruler only. As for us, we have a lot of worrying things, so it is difficult for us to become religious priests. What are we going to do?”
These were the words of a priestess who was from a noble family.
At the time, I thought they were just words of glorification for religion.
It was a time for me to be a little religious, so I gave a long speech about how to strengthen faith.
"Oh, really? If that were possible, that would be great."
The priestess responded with a smile to those words.
But I felt something strange when I thought about it, because what the priestess said in the end meant: “You are from a poor and unimportant family, so you have to live your life attached to the temple, while we have a lot and do not want to mix with you.”
When I realized this, my blood pressure skyrocketed.
But later, I noticed that the daughters of rich families talked to each other in the same way.
There was even a strange rule that getting angry and shaking meant losing.
At that time, Diaren realized how terrifying high society was.
The temple was a gathering place for members of well-known families, so it may have been less intense.
But here, in the Imperial Palace, it was completely different, where the best individuals from the finest families gathered.
The higher the number, the more intense the competition.
“Sirius, what happens if you lose in a sword fight on the battlefield?”
“You die.”
"But in high society, swords are not used. They fight with words."
"Yes."
“Losing in a verbal battle almost means death in high society.”
Dearyn nodded gravely at Sirius's impassioned explanation.
No one knew the rigors of battle better than Sirius.
“How can I win?”
“You should know everything.”
Sirius nodded vigorously again.
In battle, information is the shield.
The more information, the more ways to fight.
“So, there should be nothing in other people’s speech that you don’t understand.”
Last night, Sirius couldn't fully comprehend a single sentence.
If you think of it as a conversation happening before his eyes, it was terrifying.
Even the high-society manner of speaking made it easy for him to become the subject of ridicule if he missed a single word.
“Do you still hear other people's voices?”
“I don't hear.”
"…What?"
This shouldn't have happened.
Deyarin's carefully crafted education plan was shaken.
She originally intended to let him listen to people's conversations one by one and interpret each sentence.
“So, what do you hear then?”
“Snoring sound.”
“...They're still asleep. What else?”
“That's a soft voice.”
"…once again?"
“Bubble sound.”
“…”
They were both early risers.
Temple life and army life had a commonality in that they rose early.
Although they had relaxed a little since coming to the palace, this was considered an early wakeup compared to the nobles who partyed all night and only slept after sunrise.
“…We should start soon.”
“I hear footsteps approaching.”
"What?"
At that moment, Sirius became aware of a new voice.
“A hired killer?”
Is there anyone visiting us this early in the morning?
It was too early for Robin or Charlotte to visit.
All he had in mind was the idea of a killer.
Perhaps due to her lack of sleep, even though her temperature had dropped, the wound still hurt.
"no."
“Do you hear another sound?”
“A sound like a cart being pulled.”
"Yes."
She appears to be a maid.
Dearyn released her tension and looked towards the door.
But she waited for a long time without hearing a knock on the door.
“…?”
This room is the last room in the corridor.
If the steps are heading towards here, then this room is undoubtedly the target.
Even if she started from the palace entrance, she should have already arrived.
"Why aren't they coming in? Are you hearing anything?"
“They talk.”
They talk in front of the door?
“What are they saying?”
“They laugh together.”
“What else?”
“They say: ‘The first time I saw a normal person while working in the palace.’”
Hema: Normal means that it is not noble
“...what?”
Sparks of anger in Deyarin's eyes.
Although Sirius was considered ordinary, Dearyn was not.
Although she renounced all her titles when she became a priestess, her origins were from noble families.
But this is not what we should focus on.
“They make fun of us because we don't look like we have a lot of money, and we don't look important.”
"This is correct."
“Even if it's true, they shouldn't look down on us!”
"Yes."
Only when Sirius heard Dearyn's angry scream did she realize her mistake.
In battle, the moment you are insulted becomes the end.
Victory or defeat does not depend only on skill.
The psychological battle was also important.
If you lose confidence, you will not be able to show your true abilities.
Money or appearance were not important on the battlefield, but those seemed to be the criteria of power here.
“What else do they say?”
“They say: 'The man seems to be a fool. He didn't come out of the room, and when he came, he was carried.'”
“These…”
Deyarin almost exploded with anger, but she held her breath with difficulty.
She decided to listen until the end.
“‘Doesn’t he seem afraid to leave the room? He looks like a total idiot. What family is he from?’”
“‘I don’t know. If it was such a famous family, word would have already spread.’”
“‘I don’t know how they managed to get into the palace.’”
“‘So, perhaps someone powerful has summoned a servant?’”
“‘What about the girl who was with him?’”
“‘She will be a maid!’”
“‘But she looked stiff for a maid.’”
“‘A maid from a noble family knows that she belongs to a noble family as well. If the man is a fool, he will have to rely a lot on the girl. She will think that she is important.’”
“‘However, she was wearing clean clothes.’”
“‘It is said he hired her.’”
“‘Really?’”
Hema: These are the words of the maids that Sirius heard
Dearyn was the only one who saw the faces as the maids passed by.
Although they seemed indifferent, they assessed the situation differently in their absence.
However, the name of the priestess had the effect of making poverty seem like asceticism.
Because they did not know that Deyarin was a priestess, their evaluations were harsh.
“Ha-ha-ha.”
Although their laughter was on their lips, her fist was shaking.
Sirius looked at that fist intently.
That was anger.
But instead of going out and breaking down the door to hit the maids, Deyarin closed her eyes and calmed her breathing.
Thus, at least her “calm” appearance returned to the forefront.
Knocking on the door.
Moments later, the maids entered.
The expressions on the maids' faces were serious, devoid of any trace of the light conversation taking place outside the door.
“We made breakfast.”
“Thank you. Let me see...”
Dearyn greeted the maid with a calm disposition, as if she had not heard anything.
She was even smiling.
Sirius did not understand her motives, so he preferred to watch her silently.
"Hm? What is this?"
“Soup made with beans, bread, eggs, and salad.”
It was a normal breakfast.
Nobles usually didn't wake up in the morning, so breakfast was rarely prepared.
Because of Robin's emphasis yesterday on the importance of eating meals, Dearyn had decided to prepare breakfast specifically.
But since they were not usually well prepared for breakfast, the breakfast was prepared normally and similar to what they usually had.
Since they had eaten everything they were offered yesterday, they expected breakfast to be the same.
“They didn't ask us what breakfast we wanted?”
“Breakfast is usually prepared in general, as not many people ask for special things.”
The maid replied with no change in her facial expression.
“Ah, I see. But we can't eat that kind of food.”
“People usually eat breakfast this way.”
“This seems to be for ordinary people.”
Deyarin smiled as she interrupted her speech smartly.
"Because our master has a lot of sore spots. He's not sick to the point of 'fool', but he needs to eat well."
The maid's shoulders shook slightly.
“I see. Then, I will prepare special food for the patients...”
“No, doesn’t only our master have the right to eat? I am a friend of this master. I insisted on staying with him because it is difficult for him to get along with others. We came to the palace together, and yet, it seems that what we are eating is this. It is disappointing.”
“Ah, ah, well...”
Swallow.
The maids swallowed their saliva this time.
Did they hear? Are they saying that on purpose?
The doors in the imperial palace are thick.
So, you have to be very careful about what leaks out, as every building and every room in the palace is meticulously sound-proofed.
How did they hear that?
Or there may be someone who relayed their words.
This often happens in palaces.
What was talked about at the door is actually a conversation carried out by every maid she encounters.
Rumors are spreading like this within the Imperial Palace.
If what they heard was being transmitted to them, they really needed to be careful.
If they had actually succeeded in recruiting an arrogant maid from the palace, then things were not simple.
The maid's spine felt tense.
“We were forced to enter because the Third Prince and Lady Charlotte offered us delicious food. If the reception is like this, it is unacceptable.”
“I apologize. What should I prepare for you...?”
“Aren't you supposed to tell me that?”
They seem to have lived to see such behavior.
They had only learned how to behave inappropriately, so it was easy for them.
Diyarin turned out to be an excellent model of inappropriate behaviour, learning from the situations she witnessed and experienced.
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