“R~i~n~a!”

It was early in the morning, just a couple of minutes after the Dragonherz family's usual breakfast time. Rina was currently in the courtyard of the manor, hanging the freshly hand-washed dresses of her beloved mistress up to dry, when she was interrupted by a clear, bell-like voice calling her name from behind. Of course, she knew who the voice belonged to. After all, it was the voice of her crush. She would recognise it at any time of the day. But before she could turn around to greet the newcomer, who had probably just finished breakfast, Rina was tackled and hugged from behind.

“What are you doing?” asked the person responsible.

“Clara... I've already told you multiple times... Your esteemed parents, especially Madam Lauren will get angry with you if they see you behaving like this.”

“I don't care! Cuddling with you is more important!” As if to prove these words with her actions, Clara rubbed her face against Rina's red, shoulder-length hair.

“...”

Of course, this made Rina blush. Even though it was not the first time that Clara did something like this, no matter how often Rina experienced it, she couldn't get used to it. For some reason, after Clara had discovered that Rina had been taking extra classes to train in her Dark magic a year ago, the blonde's behaviour had suddenly changed by one hundred and eighty degrees.

Before that, they had had a fairly normal master-servant relationship with clear boundaries. True, they had teased each other on a few occasions before, but it had still been within normal limits for that kind of relationship.

Afterwards, however, Clara became extremely physical, imitating their teacher Fran when it came to skin-ship with Rina, hugging her or sitting close to her whenever the situation allowed. Unfortunately for Rina, her crush's hugs always caused her heart to race. This time was no exception, so she couldn't concentrate on her current task of hanging up clothes anymore.

Seeing how her maid reddened with embarrassment, Clara smiled in delight. After all, this implied that her tactic worked. So, taking advantage, she grabbed Rina's hand and pulled the girl along with her.

Only then, Rina realised what was currently happening and spoke up. “Clara? Where are we going? I still need to hang up your clothes to dry.”

“Eh? Oh, I'm sorry, Rina... I got a little excited.” Now it was Clara's turn to blush as she let go of her maid's hand.

“Heehee... No problem, Clara. Please wait for me. I'll be done in five minutes.” Seeing her mistress's facial expression, Rina couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Afterwards, she turned back to continue her current work, as she had declared. But that didn't stop her from making small talk to distract her mistress from the boredom of waiting. “By the way, Clara, why were you so excited?”

“Ah, the dress for my birthday and social debut party just arrived half an hour ago.”

“Oh! That is good news! Then your reaction means that it is as you have imagined?”

“Yes! I especially like its colour!”

“Well, then congratulations! But why were you so intent on keeping its design a secret, Clara?”

“To surprise you, of course!”

At this response, Rina stopped her work for a few seconds and turned to Clara. “To surprise me!? Why?”

“Fufufu... you will see~”

“Hmm?” Rina eyed her mistress suspiciously. “Don't tell me... you also want to hand it down to me in the future?”

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“Eh? Well, yes, that too...”

“'Too'? What do you mean by 'too'?”

“... Now, now, hurry up and finish your work, so I can show you the dress.”

Even though Rina really wanted to interrogate Clara about those words, she still followed the order and continued hanging up the laundry. When she was finished a few minutes later, they both went to Clara's room.

As soon as they reached it, Clara turned to her maid. “Wait here for a moment, I will try it on, so I can show you.”

“Have you already worn the dress in front of Lord Eric and Madam Lauren?”

In Yggildos, regardless of country or culture, one was considered an adult as soon as they reached the age of twelve. Therefore, everyone celebrated their twelfth birthday as a coming-of-age ceremony. In aristocratic circles, these ceremonies were called Social Debut Parties. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for every aristocrat, on par with the wedding or childbirth. Therefore, the attire that the children wore on that day would be as important as a wedding dress. So, a child would usually show his or her appearance in these clothes first to those closest to them, such as their parents.

That was why Clara's next words were so surprising. “No, I want you to be the first to see me in it.”

Of course, Rina knew about the norms of this world, as they had been taught to her at the beginning of her stay in the Dragonherz Mansion. But because she also had the common sense of her previous world, she didn't really mind her mistress's declaration further and just acknowledged it. “If you really wish for it, it's fine by me.”

“...” That response, however, was very much to Clara's dismay. In the past, whenever she had hinted in any way or another that Rina was very dear to her, the red-haired girl had never failed to get red and squirm in embarrassment. Clara very much enjoyed seeing her maid in that state. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be this time.

“Clara, can you put the dress on by yourself? Do you want me to help you?”

“NO! Absolutely not!” With a flushed face, Clara rejected Rina's offer instantly and vehemently.

“Do you want me to get another maid to help you then?”

“Didn't I already say I wanted to show it to you first?... Just wait here.” With that Clara went into her room, leaving Rina to wait in the corridor.

***

Approximately ten minutes later, Clara's voice rang from inside. “Rina, you can go in now.”

At this prompt, Rina opened the door and entered her mistress's room. Only when she had closed the door behind her again, she turned towards Clara. Naturally, she instantly became speechless upon perceiving her mistress's appearance in the dress.

In the beginning, Rina didn't think much of the whole Social Debut business.

First, there was nothing like that on Earth. Second, Rina was not a noble herself. Even if she could theoretically celebrate her coming of age when she became twelve, she would never have to concern herself with a Social Debut. And lastly, Rina had never liked celebrations in general in the first place, because they always reminded her that there was no one else in the world to share the festivities with.

Now, however, seeing her beautiful crush in front of her, wearing a custom-made dress, Rina couldn't help but change her entire opinion of these celebrations. After all, it was thanks to them, that she could enjoy the sight in front of her. It just showed Rina once again how much she liked the blonde.

Clara would turn twelve in a few days. In Yggildos it meant that she would officially reach adulthood and could legally get married. In fact, in noble society, it was not uncommon for girls to marry before the age of fifteen. In a world full of danger, especially where demons existed, it was important to have an heir as early as possible to ensure the survival of the bloodline. That was why the dress that Clara was wearing, had, in Rina's eyes, a little too much emphasis on sex appeal, as the shoulders were wide open. It certainly didn't help that Clara was physically very mature and had a very large chest for her age. To make matters worse (?), the dress was fitted very tightly, accentuating Clara's figure even more. So, even without intending to, Rina stood there and stared at her mistress, enjoying the view.

On the other hand, Clara was delighted upon seeing her maid's reaction. Even she could perceive, that Rina's eyes were literally drawn to her. But that was her goal. It was certainly worth it, sacrificing hours of sleep to practise putting on a difficult dress herself. So, with her self-confidence at an all-time high, Clara decided to even put on a little show, grabbing the hem of the skirt and twirling around

When Rina saw her mistress's actions, she felt even more mesmerised. Once again, it showed her how hard she fell for her mistress. So, even though she had decided to not pursue love, dark emotions still built up inside her when she thought about Clara's Social Debut. After all, it would mean that the blonde would be looking for a husband in the future. Would Rina still have a place beside Clara when the time came?

Rina shook her head frantically to get the depressing thoughts out of her head. Then, she looked at her mistress again. This time, however, without any hint of shyness or the like from before. There were currently more pressing matters at hand, after all. So, Rina took a deep breath. There were some comments about the dress she wanted to give since she first entered the room a few minutes ago.

“Clara?”

“Yes?”

“If I remember correctly, it is very important to wear suitable clothes for noble parties.”

“Yes, that's right.”

“And that goes double for important parties like your Social Debut.”

“That's also correct.”

“And the norm for those dresses is that if you have an escort partner, then the colour of your dress has to match with your partner's hair or eye colour.”

“Exactly.”

“But for your Social Debut and birthday party next week, you don't have an escort partner... so your dress should usually have your hair or eye colour. In your case that would be yellow or blue.”

“Yes.”

“Then... I really have to ask...”

“Hmm?”

“Why is your dress red?”