CH 302.4

Extra Chapter – Birds of a Feather [Part 4]

Carne Lombard.

A twenty-three-year-old who graduated from the academy with outstanding grades this spring. He wasn’t the successor to the Lombard household, but he was an elite who obtained a post at the Royal Castle with high barriers to entry.

He was known as an excellent man with a good reputation among the nobility, but he had a completely opposite reputation among the servants and maids who did domestic duties.

This being, who hid himself well on the surface, kept up appearances before servants who cleaned all the rooms in the Royal Castle and nobles. Still, everything about him was exposed to the maids, who had many chances to see his true colors when he was off-duty.

“Asking me to come a little earlier… Rose-sama is quite a difficult person too.”

Every time the king’s messenger brought a letter from the king, the maids would write the replies however they saw fit while pretending to be Rose.

Just to be safe, they had adjusted it well so Rose and the messenger wouldn’t see each other. And, of course, behind closed doors, they would say it was Rose’s words to the other party.

“We deeply apologize. Rose-sama is currently away from home. We have told her that the children of House Stuart will come to play shortly, but still… We are also troubled.”

Even though Rose was currently on the hill right behind the mansion, the maids all lied through their teeth.

“The children of House Stuart”

Carne reacted to these words.

“House Stuart? If I remember correctly, the eldest son is 15, and the other two are 11 and 9, isn’t it?”

As to why he even knew the age of the children of a Count household that completely had no relation to him… the senior maids, who were well aware of the rumors about this man standing before them, chose to ignore it and stayed silent.

“Mwehehehe.” Carne didn’t bother hiding his vulgar laugh that he would never show in front of other nobles and told the maids cheerfully, “I will look after the youngest two. Bring them over when they arrive.”

♠♠♠

When Meg was laying down the mats on the hill, she saw George walking towards her.

‘Is George-sama visiting alone today? Wait, we’re still in the middle of preparation, so he shouldn’t have come here now, right?’ Meg wondered.

While Meg was grumbling inside about what on earth were her seniors doing in the mansion, a strong wind blew.

*whoosh* The mats were lifted up by the wind messing up the formation, and Meg stumbled from the impact but was propped up by George firmly.

“Are you alright?”

Meg’s heart involuntarily thumped because of the strength in those arms, which seemed unthinkable for a 15-year-old boy to have.

“Thank you! Pardon, may I ask why George-sama is here?”

“The maids asked me to help out here because you have little manpower. Emma and William are waiting at the mansion. Of course, I keep this whole picnic plan a secret. I sincerely thank you for thinking up various elaborate activities for us.”

George bowed his head to Meg, which made her think, ‘As always, these Stuart children never act like nobles.’

“Oh my! George-kun is already here?!”

“It’s Geowge-shama!”

Rose and Jadwiga had also noticed George’s arrival.

“Rose-sama, thank you for always inviting us. Emma and William will be waiting at the mansion, but please do not hesitate to leave the manual work to me. …Speaking of which, there is a carriage with a crest I do not recognize in front of the mansion. Do you have other guests coming today?”

“…I am not aware there will be any other visitors coming, but it will probably be alright. Some stay behind in the mansion, so they will surely call me if there’s any need for me to intervene. After all, I’m this close to the mansion.”

“More importantly than that, help me with these…” Rose beckoned to George. Despite Meg’s worries, Rose and Jadwiga continued preparing their picnic peacefully, unaware that an incident was in the midst of happening in the mansion.