I
quickened my steps. Turning into a dimly lit alley, I saw my maid in front of a shady-looking establishment, her wrist gripped tightly by a man.
"I didn't come here to drink alcohol! You clearly said we'd have tea!"
"One drink won't even get you drunk. You've never had a drink before, have you, kid?"
"I'm not a kid! But this still doesn't feel right!"
My maid didn't fall for his taunts, but no matter how firmly she refused, the older man just laughed dismissively, clearly seeing her protests as childish.
"Don't be ridiculous. Just have a sip and then decide. I'll walk you right back to where you were standing earlier. Now, go on!"
"No, I—ahh!"
Just as the man started dragging her inside, I sprinted forward and slammed my foot against the door that was about to close.
BANG!
Inside the bar, a few drunk patrons turned their heads in surprise at the loud noise. I strode in with my head held high, looking directly at my maid.
"Sally! Where do you think you're wandering off to, leaving me behind? And to a bar in broad daylight, no less!"
Of course, my maid's name wasn't Sally. No need to give these scumbags any useful information.
"Hurry up and get out here! Did I not whip you enough yesterday?"
"M-my lady…? I—I've committed a terrible sin!"
Thankfully, my maid caught on quickly, shaking off the man's grip as she played along. I stepped back toward the door, holding it open.
"Call for a carriage and be back in five minutes. For every minute you're late, I'll dock a day's wages!"
"Anything but that, please!"
Perhaps inspired by the opera earlier, our lines sounded oddly theatrical. Honestly, it was kind of fun.
But as we turned to leave, the man grabbed her wrist again and growled, "Hey, noble lady. You're just going to walk away like that?"
"Is there a problem?"
"This woman said she'd have a drink with me, so I poured one at my usual bar. I think you owe me for that."
"My lady, I didn't! I never said—ah, ouch!"
The man tightened his grip, lifting her wrist to eye level. Her face flushed red as she instinctively started to nod, but then, with teary eyes, she shook her head at me. The man's grip only grew stronger.
Oh, this b*stard.
"I'll pay. How much is it?"
"Now you're being reasonable! Let's see… two dark beers, a bowl of peanuts, and roasted chicken. That'll be 2 gold and 12 silver."
As a noble (and a former Korean), I had no immediate sense of how much that was. While I tried to mentally convert the amount, my maid's face turned pale.
"What a scam… That's more than my monthly food budget!"
"Then save up by starving. Poor maid, must be tough working for such a clueless lady."
The man smirked at me, clearly mocking. My reply was simple.
"If anyone's making my life difficult right now, it's you, not my maid. Perhaps you should knock on your own head a few times before calling others foolish?"
"…What did you say?"
"It's easy to blame the weak while ignoring the true culprit. Unfortunately for you, I can't, in good conscience, side with someone who casually tells others to starve."
I hate people who scam with food prices. And I hate b*stards like you even more.
The man's face flushed with anger.
"I tried being nice since you're a lady, but there's a limit to how ignorant you can be…!"
Cracking his knuckles, he raised both fists, clearly intending to intimidate. The stereotypical thug move.
But before he could act, someone else threw the first punch.
THWACK!
The sharp sound echoed as the man's jaw slid to the side. His large frame crumpled to the floor with a heavy thud.
"Eek!"
The bartender, who had been watching from behind the counter, yelped and quickly locked the door. Probably in cahoots with the thug.
Rick lightly kicked the unconscious man's face. The blow had landed cleanly on his jaw, knocking him out cold. He didn't make a sound.
Rick then turned to me, raising his voice in exasperation.
"Lady—no, Dory! What were you *thinking* just now? Are you tired of life? Want to ruin that pretty face of yours?"
"I calculated the odds of getting hit were low."
"Oh, really? And what's that calculation based on?"
"This man isn't just some reckless thug. He's a professional con artist. He even demanded an amount that wouldn't be too much for a noble to pay, just enough to make me think it's easier to pay and leave."
I'd finally finished converting the price. Two gold was about the cost of a meal at a fancy restaurant for nobles. In Korean terms, roughly 100,000 won.
"But attacking a noble would escalate things beyond his control. Plus, this bar is clearly his base. If he messed up here, his whole operation—including his partners—could be exposed."
"…"
"The basis for my reasoning is about that much. Of course, there's no guarantee everything will go according to my assumptions, so I probably should've kept quiet."
Fair enough.
I turned to Rick and my still-shaken maid.
"That must've been scary. I'm sorry—I got a bit carried away too."
"My lady… I'm so sorry, truly sorry…"
"You don't need to apologize. The ones who should be sorry are those who exploited your trust."
Rick clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You're really something else. One moment, you're spouting naive nonsense, and the next, you're scheming like a tactician."
"Naive nonsense? I did?"
"You've been doing it all day. Wishing for people to be happier when they're honest with their feelings, saying the real culprits deserve punishment… Do you think people don't already know these things but just can't act on them?"
Rick's rant was unusually long. Normally, he was much more polite during face-to-face interactions compared to when he hid behind his skull mask.
Then it hit me. The reason his tongue had been running so freely.
Maria, Rick's self-appointed etiquette enforcer, was nowhere to be seen!
"Wait a second! Where's Maria?"
She had been following us earlier, but now she was gone. Rick's jaw dropped, his green eyes darting around in panic.
"M-Maria? Maria!"
"Rick! Did you really not notice her disappearance?"
"You've been standing beside me this whole time, haven't you? Why are you asking me that?"
Because watching over Maria is practically your specialty! What were you even paying attention to?
Thankfully, we heard a familiar voice calling out from beyond the alley.
"Dory! Rick! Are you okay?"
"Everyone, fear not! This ruffian has been taken care of by none other than the righteous officer, myself!"
Maria and the officer were running toward us.
Honestly, I thought the situation would turn against us. The thug was unconscious with a broken jaw, the bar was closed, and explaining the details would likely lead to someone blaming the maid for her "foolish" decision to follow him.
But thanks to Maria's kindness and beauty, as well as the magical phrase "daughter of Count Redfield" that Rick kept throwing around, we managed to get the authorities to promise punishment for the thug and escaped unscathed.
Later, sipping black tea after escaping the hassle was divine. In celebration of saving the 2 gold we almost lost to the thug, I decided to cover the tea house bill.
My maid, however, couldn't stop apologizing.
"I'm so sorry! I swear I'll starve if I have to, but I'll repay this debt—"
"If you really want to repay me, just talk about the opera we saw today."
"Huh?"
"Tell me which parts were fun or disappointing. If you can, compare them to this script."
I handed her the script from the charity concert—a notebook where we'd added context to the lyrics we'd received, formatting it like a proper play. Maria's eyes sparkled as she joined the conversation.
"I always thought opera was intimidating, but it was so relatable and easy to enjoy!"
"Some lyrics were hard to understand! They even mixed in foreign languages, right? I could only follow the mood because the music was so lively."
Meanwhile, Rick silently sipped his tea, only speaking up once I had a general idea of the plot and felt some relief.
"This charity concert," he said, "must you take it all upon yourself?"
"It's a sense of duty, both as an adult and as the future princess. I'm doing what I can."
"From what I've seen, you haven't gained much as a future princess. Not wealth, not power."
Rick sneered. "Why burden yourself with obligations when you haven't even married yet—?"
His words trailed off as Maria likely kicked him under the table.
Still, I couldn't let his remark go unanswered. Smiling gracefully, I replied, "It's a fate already decided. I'm simply fulfilling my role, so that neither my future husband nor I have any reason to feel ashamed."
Maria nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! Prince Tristan has been trying to become a worthy fiancé for Dory too. Remember how he hunted that magical beast for you during the tournament and has been eagerly awaiting your gifts ever since?"
Ah, yes. The hunting tournament. That certainly improved Tristan's public image.
But Maria doesn't know what nonsense he spouted when we were alone.
"…Yes, he's a good man," I said, forcing a smile.
Maria, trusting as ever, believed me instantly. The maid, meanwhile, nodded mechanically but was clearly more interested in the cake's cream.
Only Rick—
"…"
—looked at me with eyes that seemed to pierce through my facade, shaking his head ever so slightly.
What does it matter?
If my engagement turns out miserable, won't you just enjoy the show?