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“Anastasia-sama, you look tired.”
“…Well.”
I was drinking the tea that Nina had brewed for me in my room before I left for my territory tomorrow. I think I’m in the mood for milk tea today, so I told Nina of my intentions, and she quickly served me a cup of milk tea. That’s what I expected from a good maidservant. With this in mind, I enjoyed the milk tea that Nina has made for me.
“I’m supposed to be tired. I was bored out of my mind when I was in bed, but now I’m dealing with nobles all the time.”
I sighed. Only people close to the royal family know that Anastasia was poisoned and wandered between life and death. However, it was well-known among the nobles that Anastasia was not in good health. Therefore, when they heard that Anastasia had recovered, they immediately came to greet her. It was fine for them to celebrate since I was sick, but I wish they would spread out more. As I thought of this, in truth, the nobles were only thinking of getting closer to Anastasia, the crown prince, and the queen. In other words, they were trying to make me remember them by greeting me first. Well, I forgot everyone who wasn’t interested in me, and I don’t care about the order.
“Oh, by the way, there is a gift for you from the saint. I’ll hand it to you later.”
“Yes, please.”
That’s all I said to Nina, who told me about this as if she just remembered. I wish the aristocrats would just give me gifts like the saint. Or, maybe they could just write a letter. In the first place, I wonder how selfish it was to try and take advantage of a sick person?
“…I’m depressed about what I’m going to do tomorrow, and you’re making me feel depressed.”
Huh. As I sighed, I pinched the financier pastry that Nina gave me. It was as delicious as ever. While thinking so, I then quenched my throat with milk tea. This chapter was taken from novelping dot com without permission.
“I heard that it was Anastasia-sama’s wish to run the estate…?”
“Yes, I have no doubts about that. I’ve asked my brother and Max-san, and I’ve gotten permission… The problem is my husband will be accompanying me.”
“…Is that so?”
Nina placed some candy in front of me as if she felt sorry for me while hearing my complaints. I was grateful for that and picked up some more candy. This one seemed less sweet, but it was delicious in its own way.
“But, didn’t Anastasia-sama like William-sama…?”
“…Yes, I did, originally though.”
Nina’s words made me feel anxious for a moment. I was sure that Anastasia harbored a certain fondness for William-sama, but now, how could I cover that up?
“…No, I thought a lot about it. After that, I wondered if it was best that he didn’t come to visit me after all. I guess that was the closest I could get before I lost interest.”
Nina made a subtle expression when she heard my words, but she still seemed to be convinced. Nina was angry that William-sama hadn’t come to visit me. At that time, I had calmly appeased Nina, but Nina must have misunderstood that. I think she misunderstood… that I was trying to put on a brave face.
“And, it was all out of the blue. I’m not sure if I’m ready for this. I’m so depressed about tomorrow.”
It would have been great if William-sama didn’t come with us. Besides, I was planning on leaving him in the end, so I didn’t want to get attached to him. Or else, it would be difficult to get rid of him… There’s no way that this was William-sama’s purpose, right? No, no. I’m not sure if I just said this for myself, but I don’t think this is the case.
“Speaking of which, I heard that one of the sorcerers is going with you. I heard that he was one of Max-san’s former subordinates. It’s rumored that she’s an incredibly beautiful woman!”
“…She’s a woman?”
“Yes, rumor has it that she’s a very talented and beautiful woman.”
When I heard that, I was honestly surprised. It wasn’t only the knight’s world but also the sorcerer’s world that was quite male-dominated. It’s a difficult world for women to be active in. Or rather, that’s the way this whole country was structured. The only women who can play an active role were the maidservants, maids of honor, and the saints.
“…A talented woman might get buried?”
I wanted to make this country a place where women could play a more active role. Such feelings were growing in my chest… But, I didn’t want to stand out as much as possible. I’d like to be in a world where people who didn’t want to stand out don’t need to stand out.
(Was it selfish of me to think so?)
A world where only those, who were talented and wanted to stand out, could stand out, while those, who were talented but didn’t want to stand out, didn’t have to stand out. In other words, the right person in the right place… Let’s seriously think about saying that next time. With that in mind, I drank the milk tea Nina had brewed.