Chapter 11
“Flowers…?”
Maybel blinked her red eyes wide in surprise, and Lundwell calmly explained.
“Yes. These are crocuses. I happened to see them while walking in the garden today, and they reminded me of you, Milady, so I brought them.”
The softly blooming purple crocuses indeed resembled the shy Maybel perfectly.
But… why this?
Not understanding Lundwell’s intention, Maybel just blinked.
Then Ella, crouching beside her, whispered softly.
“I think it’s for you, Milady~”
Hearing that, Maybel’s eyes went even wider.
Seeing her reaction, Ella’s mouth curved into a delighted smile—it looked like she was watching a startled little rabbit.
Maybel looked back and forth between the flower and Lundwell, then asked cautiously.
“C-could I really accept this…?”
“Yes. It’s not prettier than you, but I would be happy if you accepted it.”
Lundwell offered a gentle smile, giving Maybel the gift.
‘Flowers… a gift…’
Maybel stared blankly at the purple crocus.
It was her first time ever receiving a flower.
A flower, something unnecessary for survival or daily life, just a little thing to lift one’s spirits.
And now, she was receiving it as a gift.
It made her feel the reality of leaving the Ashilonia mansion, and a fragile sense of hope rose within her.
Perhaps she could live like an ordinary person now, she thought, feeling a faint sense of anticipation.
Trembling, Maybel reached out and took the flower.
The moist, soft stem felt fresh and alive.
“Th-thank you…!”
As she smiled brightly and thanked him, tears glimmered in the corners of her eyes.
Meanwhile, in the dining hall…
“Ah, hurry and serve the food.”
“No. Milady hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Maybel will be here soon. What does it matter whether I get my meal or not?”
“It matters! You cannot watch our Milady eat alone, Jacques van Merger.”
Sigmund and Jacques were genuinely arguing.
“When have I ever let the children eat alone?”
“Many times. Running to the lab with some ‘great idea,’ ignoring whether the other young masters eat or not… Do you think Jacques van Merger hasn’t seen this happen more than once?”
Jacques narrowed his eyes, and Sigmund had nothing to say in reply.
“Ugh, really…”
Resigned, Sigmund leaned back in his chair and waited for Maybel.
A short while later.
“Hello!”
Finally, Maybel appeared.
In one hand she held Ella’s, and in the other, a purple crocus that looked just like her.
“What’s that flower?”
Before Sigmund could ask, Jacques flailed in excitement.
“No! Impossible! The person Jacques van Merger has been waiting for is certainly our Milady Maybel, but a flower fairy shows up in the dining hall?!”
“Eh?”
A flower fairy?!
“What are you talking about! It’s me, it’s me!”
“No?! Could it be… our Milady is actually the flower fairy…?! Your Highness, were you aware of this?!”
The sudden question made Sigmund flinch.
But he quickly chuckled and played along.
“No, I only found out today that Maybel is a flower fairy.”
“Even the young master…?!”
Maybel, who had been slightly pale, immediately flushed red.
She found Sigmund’s quiet chuckle irritating.
“Ah, really…! This flower is simply a gift from Head Steward Lundwell!”
Maybel released Ella’s hand as if to stop the fuss and walked briskly to the table.
But unlike Sigmund, Jacques didn’t stop.
“Ah, a purple crocus! How perfect that the flower fairy came to visit our Milady Maybel!”
He sounded like an actor delivering a dramatic monologue on stage.
Maybel, her face red to the neck, tried to ignore Jacques’s words.
“Do you know, flower fairy? The purple crocus that looks exactly like our Milady symbolizes a new beginning.”
“A new beginning…?”
But Jacques continued, and the words were too interesting for her not to listen.
Laughing softly as if he had caught her, Jacques pulled out a chair and explained.
“Yes. Crocuses are strong enough to bloom even in the snow. That’s why they’re commonly seen as a flower of new beginnings and rebirth.”
“New beginnings and rebirth…”
Maybel softly repeated as she sat down, and Jacques pushed the chair in.
“It suits our Milady perfectly—who will have only happy and joyful days from now on.”
She deliberately swallowed the phrase “in this Archduke’s castle”.
Sigmund gave her a subtle glance, as if to say, not yet.
Clearing his throat, Jacques elegantly extended a hand toward Maybel.
“Now then, flower fairy? Please leave the precious flower to Jacques van Merger and return to being our Milady Maybel. You must hold your spoon and fork, after all.”
“Yes, I want to see the Maybel who eats properly, not the flower fairy.”
Even Sigmund, who had been silent, joined in.
“Ah, really!”
Eventually, Maybel couldn’t help but laugh.
Seeing her smile, Sigmund chuckled again.
Even Jacques, placing the flower in a vase brought by Ella, smiled.
It was an awkward but genuinely pleasant start to the morning.
“Now then.”
They had moved to Sigmund’s study.
Maybel sat across from him, her expression slightly tense.
“I’ll read it to you, so listen carefully.”
“Yes, yes!”
Maybel nodded, and Sigmund began.
“Employment contract. Sigmund Esclide, hereinafter referred to as ‘Employer.’ Maybel Ashilonia, hereinafter referred to as ‘Employee.’ The two parties hereby enter into an employment contract.”
Maybel’s eyes spun at the complicated words, but she forced herself to focus.
“The term ‘Employer’ will be replaced with ‘Professor,’ and ‘Employee’ will be replaced with ‘Assistant.’”
Dain quickly added an explanation beside her.
“After hearing the explanation, you can sign here. Don’t worry, Milady—you won’t have to write carelessly if you can’t read yet.”
“Oh, yes.”
“If there is even one clause unfavorable to you, we added a clause stating that the Archduke’s house will be handed over to you.”
“What? Hand over the Archduke’s house?”
Maybel blinked in shock and looked at Dain.
Adjusting his glasses, Dain smiled reassuringly.
“Yes. So you can trust it and sign. Even if there’s an unfavorable clause, what does it matter? You’ll become the head of the Archduke’s house anyway.”
Wait… was that truly a reassuring smile? Or a con-artist smile?
Maybel looked skeptically at Dain, then back at Sigmund.
“Really? Even so… handing over the Archduke’s house is a bit much…”
“It shows my determination: nothing will harm you.”
Of course, there was more behind it.
Sigmund genuinely wanted Maybel to become his heir.
He had considered including a truly disadvantageous clause, but decided building trust came first.
“Alright… if you say so, I’ll trust you.”
Maybel nodded, and Sigmund continued reading the employment contract.
It was a standard contract widely used in the Greenhurst Empire.
The only difference was that the amount paid to Maybel each month was quite substantial—though she did not yet know that.
“Then I’ll sign…!”
“Here you go.”
Dain quickly handed her the pen.
Holding it in her hand, Maybel felt a little nervous.
‘If I sign here, I’ll really become the Professor’s assistant.’
This might be one of the biggest choices she had in her life.
But it also meant she was one step closer to ensuring the protagonists’ happy ending and preventing the Archduke’s house from falling.
That thought alone made her willing to sign.
“…Hm.”
“…Oh.”
Though Maybel, still unable to read, simply scribbled a picture-like signature.
“Hehe…”
Seeing her embarrassed smile, Sigmund collected the contract and said,
“Now that alchemy is settled, let’s start with learning letters.”
“Yes!”
