The restaurant where I work part-time.

　While the restaurant was getting ready, I was talking to Noel.

'You don't want me to mention Marie?'

Yeah. My sister. You know, it's complicated.

　I didn't think that Noel had heard the exchange between me and Marie and thought they were brother and sister - I was being careless.

　You were too distracted because you were in a foreign country.

　Noel looked down.

Yeah, well, it's a long story.

Uh-huh. But it's not a dark story!

　I can't get anyone to believe me when I tell them I was brother and sister in a previous life.

　If anyone believes me, I'd rather keep my distance.

'Okay. I'll keep my mouth shut.

Nice to meet you.

　This way, Noel won't let the matter of Marie slip out of his mind.

　As I'm relieved, Jean approaches me.

''Ha--Rion-san, and then Noel-san, the manager told me to take a short break after we're done getting ready.

　We were all alone in the store.

Who's the manager?

He's going to go home and check on your daughter.

Not again.

　As soon as I have a little time to spare, I'll go see my daughter.

　I don't know if I'm a parental idiot or what--.

'Noel-san, I'm actually here,'

　Jean was talking to Noel about his work.

'Yes, what?'

　Noel's face was close to mine and their shoulders were touching.　

　Watching the two of them, I let out a small breath.

　Those two people, they are quite close.

　Maybe the two of them are aware of each other because of the dog's name.

''Let's take a break while we're at it.

　It's going to be another busy day.

◇

　When I finished, I dropped Noel off at Marier's mansion.

　When I come to the mansion, I open the door from a distance and see Marie looking at me.

'What?'

I hate you. Ani--Rion. Those two guys are putting so much pressure on me. I don't feel alive, like I'm eating or anything.

You deserve it.

　Considering what Marie had done to Angier and Libya, it was inexcusable.

　Libya wouldn't think of it as anything in particular that had been done to her.

　However, Marie took everything that Libya originally had in her hands.

　Apparently, Marier is owed a debt of gratitude.

　There was no way the three of them could be living together and not have any problems.

''Do something about it!

Talk to the embassy. Or set up a compound for the both of you.

Absolutely not!

　It is impossible to prepare another mansion for Marie.

　Since Julius and the others are making a lot of noise, we can't just kick Marie out.

　As I was arguing with Marier, Noel was looking at us.

　Marie becomes a whisper.

''Hey, why are you looking at me a little sad?　Could it be that I'm being pitied?

'Where's the room for sympathy for you? Actually, you asked me about being a brother and sister in a previous life, and I made up an excuse.

　Marie was giggling.

　I know I'm surprised.

　This guy is unguarded, too.

'What are we going to do!　I wouldn't want Angelica and the others to find out!

　Not only would I not believe the stories about my past life, but I would also assume that there was something between me and Marie.

　There's no way I'm ever going to get along with this guy.

　We're both in trouble, and Noel says to us.

'Oh, um!　--because I don't talk to anyone. You both have a lot going on, really, don't you?

　Me and Marie both glanced at each other.

Yeah, I know. It's a lot of work-- a lot of things.
Yeah, I know. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work!

　Just as we were both thinking we'd fooled ourselves, Cleare rolled down the stairs and appeared in front of us.

'What are you doing here, man?'

　When I bent down to listen, Clairvoyant sounded like only I could hear--'

'Master, be careful. The two of you will be here soon. I mean, please don't talk about troublesome things in the mansion. It's hard to distract everyone.''

　--This guy seems to be working hard without me looking.

　When I signaled Marie with my eyes, she guessed and closed her mouth.

　When Noel nodded his head --.

'Where's Cleare!'

'Arle, what's going on here!

Come out of there, you round thing!

　Led by Angier, Livia - followed by even the head maid - came out.

　Cleare floated in the air and hid behind me.

''Master, help me!''

'What?　What the hell are you talking about--

　Angier came down the stairs, his face red.

　The same goes for Libya.

　She's teary-eyed.

'What's going on, you two!

　I hurriedly asked him what was going on, and Angier held out a piece of paper clutched in his hand. I can't look at it because I'm clutching it.

'What, do I have to look at this?'

No, no!　Don't look at Leon.

Hmm?

　I looked at Livia to see what she was angry about, and she seemed to be concerned about her skirt.

'Arle-chan--Arle-chan!

　If you turn around and look at Clairvoyant.

"Tahee, I've been made aware.

　What the hell did this guy do?

　The chief maidservant stepped in front of me, pushing up and correcting her position with trembling fingers on her glasses.

''Master Rion, is this--is this an order from Master Rion?''

What?

　The paper that the head maidservant held out to me had a color print on it.

　However, the content was terrible.

　It was a picture of the maids from a very low angle.

　It was at a very close angle.

'Dude, what's this all about?'

'I'm sorry. I was preparing a picture for the Master and he found me.'

　Wanna-wannabe and trembling, Angier looks at me.

'Leon, this man you are!

No, no!　I didn't ask for these pictures!

　He tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but he could immediately see that Angier's face was red and excited.

''Then you're going to tell me that this guy prepared it on his own?　Wow, if it's me and Libya, what kind of a mess you're making of me and the people I care for!

　This is a complete misunderstanding.

'It's not!　I didn't give these orders!

　But here's what Clairé says.

'But you have the pictures I sent you before, which you keep very carefully.

'What are you saying--ah!'

　What I remembered was a picture of the two of them in my purse.

　It contains a picture of them in their underwear.

　The head maid makes a quick move, grabs my wallet.

Please excuse me. --Mr. Angelica, we've seen the photo!

　The picture, which was soggy because it was in my purse, was now in their hands.

　Livia shuddered as she gave me the

Miss Leon, meh!

　--I was pissed.

'It's not. This is something Clairele did on her own.

　Angier looked at me with his arms crossed as my shoulders slumped.

'Is that your only excuse?　You know, you're such a--

　So.

"What?　I never once said it was a master's order.'

What?

What?

　Ange and Livia look at Claire.

'Because we were supposed to be apart for a year. The master will miss you, and you should at least have some pictures to comfort yourself. If you accumulate a lot of things without knowing what to do, you might actually end up with a local girl. Don't you know what you are doing there?

　The head maid slumps over.

''Yes, I understand that, but--Tha, it's true that Rion-sama is a man too.

　He's glancing at me, but am I really that untrustworthy of a man with a lower body?

　I was about to open my mouth to complain to Creare.

'The Master was so excited when he received the picture of you two. It was so simple and cute.

　Livia turns over and blushes.

'Well, when you say that - it's hard to say. Leon-san, could it be that you missed us?''

　Creare looked at me.

　The one blue eye on that lens guessed what he was trying to say.

　-- You, you created this situation for me!

'Yes!　Since you two aren't here, I wanted to at least have a picture of you!

　Let's just show that I missed them both furiously here.

　Unlike earlier, Angier looked embarrassed.

'I can't blame you for that. But if you want a picture, go ahead and tell me. I wanted to get you a better picture over here.

　Apparently, you can't wear your underwear.

Ha, I'm sorry.

　Only, this is where the head maid notices.

'Please wait. Then what do you mean by our picture?　I could understand if it was just the two of you, but there was a picture of us, wasn't there?

"Oh, that's incidental. I thought the master would like it. You see, men like uniforms and such, so I thought they would be excited by a maid's outfit.

　Claire's excuses were terrible.

　Marie is giving me the cold shoulder.

"You're disgusting. Well, wait. Speaking of which, he's been rolling around on a daily basis!　Maybe I should--

'You're not in your master's strike zone. I'm sorry, but you're not eligible.

　Marie pulled her cheeks together and said something like, "This guy pisses me off.

　I don't need a picture of Marie, either.

　As for Noel, he looked at the colored pictures and said something like, "The kingdom is progressing, isn't it?

　Then, when it was all settled, Angel grabbed Clairee with one hand.

'Well, we'll talk about the photo in the future, but we should have a slow talk with you--nay, Claire.

　Livia is also angry in a way that's like pummeling.

'Arle-chan, I won't forgive you for calling it a day,'

What?　What?

　I can't cover for him either. This is too much. No, of course not, you can't sneak a peek.

He had it coming.

'You two should talk to the master more often!　I have a job to do, too!'

　When the head maid received the creare from Angel, she grabbed it firmly in both hands to keep it from escaping.

'Let's go over this thoroughly to see if there are any additional charges.

"Master, help me!

Creare, I will never forget your sacrifice.

Terrible. I'm gonna get my revenge one day, you son of a b*tc*!

Oh, you're a rebel. All three of you, tighten up the squeeze, okay?

　As I gave her a thumbs up and looked away, the head maid turned back to me.

'Rion-sama will talk to you later, too. That's already done, exactly.

Yes.

　Apparently, he's still going to be pissed off.

　The three of them leave with Clairvoyant.

　Clairele got it together for good.

　As I wiped the cold sweat off my forehead, Noel looked at me a little sadly.

'You're good with both of them, aren't you?

Well, you're my fiancé.

　For the second time in my life, I consider myself lucky to have met both of you.

I see.

　Noelle said, and then she gave me a smile.

　Marie looked like she wanted to say something, then turned her head away from me and didn't say anything.

◇

　A place in the Republic.

　There was the figure of Ideal there.

　In the small interrogation room, in addition to Ideal, there are several soldiers and - a woman.

　The woman was a former nobleman of the kingdom - an official of the kingdom.

''Isn't that a terrible story?　That man took away our position and property to get to where he is today. What on earth have we done to deserve this!

　The woman was a former member of the "Ladies' Forest", a middle-aged woman in her forties.

　Her clothes were tattered and she was once overweight, but now she looked somewhat thinner.

　In fact, she looks healthier now.

''I see, what a terrible story that is.''

　Ideal listened to the woman's story with one eye moving as she nodded.

'He really is an outsider, no - like an outsider himself. Because of that hateful Leon, our family was kicked out of our home and escaped to the Republic. We have been abandoned by our full-time servants, and our family has had a hard life. How can we allow this to happen!

　She used to be a woman who lived a luxurious life in a luxurious mansion.

　She escaped to the Republic and sold off various things to make ends meet.

'I understand your feelings. We will pay you more for the information you give us about Leon. If there are other people in the same situation, I would like you to introduce them to us. I would love to hear about the situation in the kingdom.''

'Of course!　There is something wrong with the current royal palace. It's insane to take up a man like that and kick us out. Oh, by the way--

　The soldiers listening to the woman's story had some subtle expressions on their faces.

　But not Ideal.

''It's great information.''

　You may be praising it in words, but inwardly - you're not.

(That's too personal and subjective. But it will be enough of a resource to convince the master. (Leon Fow Baldfalt--I'll let you be the outsider.

'I'm listening to you!　I need money for at least one full-time servant. And a place to live. I can't rest well in my present stable-like home. Make it ready at once!

'Ha, yes. Let's think about it.

　With the woman's momentum, Ideal decided that she couldn't let the master see her.