'H-h-h-h-have I just destroyed their training puppet?''

When Rina saw the wooden puppet lying on the ground, cut into several pieces, she couldn't help but start internally panicking. But now, upon seeing its condition, she could finally understand why she hadn't felt any resistance when she had slashed it. After all, the sword had sliced through it like butter.

'Wow, this sword is amazing. The man must be a very skilled blacksmith to forge a sword that is strong enough for me to achieve this feat.'

A little afraid of how the couple might react to her destroying their training equipment, Rina timidly and slowly glanced at them. What she saw, was not quite what she had expected. She had prepared herself to be yelled at like her former parents on Earth did, regardless of whether she was actually in the wrong or not, but the owners of this shop didn't. Both husband and wife just stared at her with their mouths wide open. If Rina wanted to, she could even put an entire apple in each of their mouths.

So, unsure of what to do, the red-haired girl raised her voice nervously. “U-um, I'm sorry for destroying your training puppet. O-of course, I will pay for the damage done.” To underline her words with her actions, she pulled out her purse.

Since she started working for the Dragonherz family she had never bought anything for herself with the money she had earned. After all, it was like a dream come true for Rina to be able to stay by Clara's side and even help the blonde in her everyday life. Therefore Rina felt bad receiving money on top of that. For that reason, aside from buying little gifts for her beloved mistress every now and then, like the brooch earlier, she had never spent her money. So, she was confident that her savings would be enough to compensate for the destroyed training dummy.

However, Rina couldn't have been more mistaken in her assumption that the couple would be angry, as the blacksmith's next words showed.

“Y-you... what did you just do?”

“Eh? I s-slashed the dummy. B-but I'm sorry, I didn't think that y-your sword was that sharp, s-so I ended up hitting it with everything I had.”

“... I see, so you accidentally cut the dummy into pieces, huh? HAHAHAHA, Rina was your name, you said?”

Confused by the man's reaction, a weak nod was all the maid could muster in response to his question.

“Very well, Rina. It's your win. Forget about the damage!” The smith approached the girl and bowed his deeply. “I'm sorry for insulting your benefactors! I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Seeing that the smith was serious, Rina managed to calm down almost instantly from her inner confusion a few seconds ago. “Okay, Mister, I forgive you.”

The fact, that she had managed to regain the honour of the Dragonherz family, especially of her loved one, made Rina unbearably happy. For the first time in her life, no, in both of her lives, she felt that she was not useless, that her existence might actually have some meaning. Even though Rina knew that what she was doing was almost irrelevant and that the Dragonherz family would never learn about it, she still felt a little satisfaction in her achievement. Therefore, a bright, natural smile appeared on the girl's face.

“Then, I'll take my leave! Thank you very much for your high-quality weapons!” With those words, Rina gave the couple a short bow, picked up the dagger from the ground, and exited the courtyard.

***

After Rina left the couple, they stood there, still dazed by the girl's mesmerising smile. It took them both more than five minutes to come to again.

“Honey.” The man was the first to speak up.

“What is it, Dear?”

“You said that girl, Rina, came here with the Dragonherz's daughter three weeks ago to order the weapons, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what her current situation is?”

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“Hmm...” The woman raised her right hand to her chin and looked up, trying to remember what she had managed to overhear when Clara and Rina had visited for the first time. “I'm pretty sure that she's the Dragonherz's first daughter's personal, live-in maid.”

“Does that mean that she is an orphan?”

“I think so, or at least she was abandoned by her parents.”

“... H-hey, what do you think about adop-”

“Don't think about it.” Before the smith could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by his wife, who had already guessed his next words.

“...”

“Just leave her alone. It's unfortunate for her, but strong and beautiful girls like her will likely end up dead on a battlefield, or as a trophy wife and sex toy for some stuck-up nobleman.”

As the clerk finished her sentence, an unfamiliar male voice suddenly sounded from behind the couple. “Ohh~? I think I've just overheard something interesting. What are you talking about?”

When they heard this, the smith and his wife turned around in surprise. In front of them stood a round, bald man in gaudy clothes, who was nearly 160 centimetres tall. Behind him were two men in knight uniforms, guarding the round man.

Looking closer, the couple saw an emblem sewn onto the man's jacket. It depicted an angel-like woman with a yellow, round halo above her head and white wings sprouting from her back. This was the reason why the couple immediately crouched down in front of the newcomer.

“G-good Day, Young Master Lumiére, it's an honour to have you visit our humble blacksmith. But why are you here? Forgive me for my rudeness, but this courtyard is a private space.” It was the smith who spoke up after identifying the emblem. Commoner or not, there was no one in the entire Valkyria Kingdom, who couldn't recognise the symbol that belonged to the Ducal Lumiére family. After all, it was said that they only lost to the royal family, when it came to power.

“Umu, lowly commoners like you should cower in fear in the dirt before me.”

At those words, the smith and his wife lowered their heads further, until their forehead touched the ground. “It is as you say.”

“Very well, because of your behaviour, I might be gracious enough to overlook your rudeness and answer your question... I entered your shop to buy this to help me train my lovely toys.” The round man took out the black whip Rina had been staring at earlier. “But there was nobody at the counter, so I came here to look for you.”

“I'm very sorry for that. In return, please take the whip in your hand free of charge.”

“Ahahaha! Fine, I'll accept it. So, back to my question. I've heard something about a strong and beautiful girl who might end up as a sex toy. Now, I really hope that someone like that would end up as MY sex toy. So? Who were you talking about?”

At the round man's question, the smith could only grit his teeth in frustration. After all, before him stood the first-born son of the esteemed Lumiére family. But since the current head of that house was still alive, the man was still only the heir, despite already being in his forties.

Nonetheless, the smith knew that the heir of the Lumiéres could be gruesome, so he had to answer that question while being as ambiguous as possible to protect Rina's future from becoming even worse. “We were talking about a customer who had just bought my weapons.”

“Name, address, and occupation?”

“I don't know.”

“Are you kidding me!? Then at least tell me what she was wearing and what she looked like.”

Thinking that dodging the questions any further might endanger his family, the smith answered the man truthfully, hoping that even then the fat man couldn't do anything with the information. “She wore a maid uniform. My apologies, but I don't know from which noble house she was.”

Unfortunately, it was then, that a guard stepped forward. “Young Master, I think he's talking about the red-haired maid carrying a sword and a dagger, that we saw earlier.”

“Haaaah? I remember seeing that one because she was indeed beautiful, but I'm not interested in little children.”

Hearing this, both the smith and the clerk breathed out a sigh of relief inwardly, only to pale again at the knight's next words.

“But didn't they say that she was strong? Won't she then be an interesting recruit for the Lord?”

“Hmm, yes, you're right. Were you able to see for which house she works?”

“Yes, I distinctly remember seeing a yellow dragon sewn on her uniform.”

“Dragonherz, huh? Wait... didn't Father say that he'd be attending their eldest daughter's Social Debut next week?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Ahahaha, I see. Then I'll have to bring him the good news, won't I?” Having said this, the bald man turned back to the couple who were still cowering on the ground and threw them a sack of money. “Take it, for I am in a good mood at the moment. Well then, I'll take my leave, ahahaha.” With that, the man and his two guards exited the courtyard and the store, leaving the couple behind.

A few moments later, both stood up and returned to their work with the man heading to the forge and the woman to the counter in the store. Despite the silence, both husband and wife were unified in their thoughts. They were praying inwardly for the girl, whose future they might have just destroyed.

***

Leaving the blacksmith behind, Rina skipped along the road to the Dragonherz manor. After all, she was in a pretty good mood right now, having successfully defended Clara's honour and, much more importantly, having bought a present for her birthday next week.

The image of her crush wearing a brooch that had their trademark colours, yellow, blue, and red mixed together, naturally brought a smile to Rina's face.

But just when she thought she couldn't be happier at the moment, she was pleasantly surprised as soon as she entered the Dragonherz mansion.

“Welcome home, Rina!”

After all, upon stepping in, she saw her beloved waiting for her. So she was wrong. Her happiness could increase as the smile on the red-haired girl's face grew even brighter.

“I'm home, Clara.”