It was several minutes after Eric had chewed out his daughter Clara for naively thinking that Duke Lumiére would attend her Social Debut out of kindness. Of course, it was obvious to him that it wasn't actually his intelligent daughter who had originally come up with the silly thought. Clara had simply expressed an idea that she had heard before. Naturally, Eric already had an inkling who might have put the idea in his daughter's head.

That was why, after his daughter had left his office, he had gathered his friend Arland, his wife Lauren, and his daughter's magic instructor Fran in his room to talk about that certain someone. Fortunately, the elf and his guard captain had been there already, so all he had to do was to wait for his wife to arrive.

Luckily, the present people and he didn't have to wait for too long, for a *Knock* *Knock* sound came from the door soon after he had sent a servant to call for Lauren.

“Lauren? Come in.”

At his prompt, the door opened and his beautiful and lovely wife entered.

After Lauren had taken her place next to Eric on the couch across from Arland and Fran, she spoke up, “I was wondering what you wanted to talk about, dear. But looking at this line-up, it's probably about our lovely daughter and her maid, isn't it?”

“That's correct. With Clara's Social Debut coming up, I want to decide what to do with that girl Rina.”

“I see, that's why you also wanted me to be present, Lord Eric?”

“Yes, Lady Fran. So, having taught Rina for two years, what do you think of her powers? What exactly are her abilities?”

“Dear, haven't we already talked about this? Didn't we agree to wait until Rina opened up to us herself?” It was Lauren who interrupted her husband as he questioned Fran about Rina's powers.

“Ah, Lord Eric, Lady Lauren, I don't think that Rina would tell you of her own accord.”

“W-why? I know, we have almost no interaction with her, but we have never treated her badly!” Eric jumped up slightly in panic upon hearing Fran's statement. He knew that his daughter was very fond of Rina. That was why he never intended to let the red-haired girl go.

The test he had announced was just a pretext to gauge Rina's and his daughter's determinations. He planned to let them pass, no matter what. In fact, he was quite certain that Clara and Rina would be able to clear what he had in mind easily. Luckily, the elf's next words calmed him down again, sort of.

“No, Lord Eric, it's not what you think. From what I've seen after observing her for the past two years, I can say that the problem lies within Rina, why she hasn't opened up to anyone except Clara and me yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm... Forgive me, but I think that saying more would invade her privacy. That girl has much going on in her mind. I suggest that you try to have a conversation with her from time to time and get an idea of her personality for yourself.”

“... Fine, I'll leave it at that, and follow your advice.”

Fran nodded in satisfaction at Eric's response. “And as for her magic, I won't give you the details. What I can say is, that she is a genius. She will be a force to be reckoned with in the impending invasion.” Then, the elf glared at Eric sharply. “Never let the Lumiéres learn about her until she has made a name for herself. If she falls into their hands... well, just don't let it happen.”

This time, Eric nodded in acknowledgement of the former High Priestess's words. “For you to say that much... I understand... But still, this girl is insane.”

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“What do you mean?”

At Fran's question, Eric turned to his friend and guard captain. ”Arland, tell her yourself.”

“Haaah!” Arland saluted at Eric's order and turned to Fran to answer her question. “At Eric's behest, I'm in charge of training Rina when it comes to weapon handling.”

“The guard captain himself is training a little maid?” Naturally, Fran was visibly confused by Arland's words. After all, a man who was both guard captain and assistant to the head of a noble family had better things to do.

“Well, yes. Because of that girl's circumstances, I can't let anyone else train her. The fewer people who know about her, the better. Arland, please continue.”

“Yes... To be precise, I teach her how to fight with a dagger and a sword. And well... how should I put it... Rina learns incredibly fast, in fact, a little too fast for my taste. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say she's stronger than most of my men”

“Stronger? I can't be.” Fran was somewhat sceptical about Arland's statement. “I cuddle he-... *cough* touch-... *cough* *cough* examine her body daily. She doesn't seem to have a lot of muscles.”

“””...””” At the former High Priestess's words, all three, Eric, Lauren, and Arland, just stared at her with exasperated expressions.

The for Fran uncomfortable silence was only interrupted by Eric after what felt like an eternity. “... Lady Fran, I don't question your tastes, or actions, or whatsoever. Each to their own, after all... But please, don't commit any crimes while you're in my mansion.”

“Ahahaha, what are you talking about, Lord Eric? It was all to help her with her magic training! I promis-... Ahem! Please go, Sir Guard.”

“””...””” Again, the three of them gave Fran a doubtful look, this time for her blatant attempt to change the subject.

However, to keep the conversation going, Arland continued. “Of course, I didn't mean physically stronger. In fact, that girl is really weak physically. Her blows are light, too light that I even question whether she would be able to pierce someone with her dagger in an emergency.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“It's her flexibility, speed, endurance, and most importantly, her skill with weapons. In a one-on-one duel, I think she can win against most of my men... No, let's be honest, I suspect she might even win against me.”

Naturally, Eric was not amused to hear this. “Arland, I can understand you wanting to brag about your student, but I can have my guard captain belittle himself.”

“Nononono, that's not what I meant. I'm serious. I once had a mock battle against her to test her growth.”

“And?”

“Well, I managed to win, barely.”

“... Not what I wanted to hear, I assumed worse with the way you started your sentence.”

“No, this is bad, Eric. The mock battle was over half a year ago.”

“...”

“I never challenged her again because, as I said, I only barely managed to win. I fear that it won't happen again as she has grown since then.”

“... Arland, you never told me about this. I only know that you said that she can keep up with you.”

At the words of his employer and friend, all Arland could do was scratch the back of his head awkwardly. “Y-yeah well, s-sorry.” Of course, he couldn't admit that he was too embarrassed to say that he, a seasoned knight, was weaker than a nine-year-old girl.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't take a genius to guess what he was thinking, as everyone else in the room had already seen through him.

So, to protect his friend's pride, Eric continued. “There you have it. That girl is talented in both magic and combat, is intelligent, has good manners, does her work perfectly, and is observant of her surroundings. If that's not insane, I don't know what is.”

“Okay, dear, I understand that Rina is special. I doubt you called us together just to say that, right?”

“W-well yes. If it's just that, I would have been really glad, to have someone like Rina stay permanently as Clara's assistant.”

“Fufu, I think so too, dear, her loyalty to our Clara seems to know no bounds.”

“But I think that Rina's feelings for Clara go beyond loyalty.” After saying this, Eric turned to Fran. “That's also why you're here, Lady Fran. What do you think of my daughter's relationship with her maid? I hope that Clara won't be corrupted by Rina.”

”...”

“Lady Fran?” Confused by the silence, Eric pressed the elf for an answer.

But instead of replying, Fran looked at Lauren. “Is he serious?”

“Ahaha, I have no excuses, he was never good at understanding his own daughter's feelings.”

“Err, what are you talking about? Lady Fran? Lauren?”

Fran faced Eric again. “Then, Lord Eric, what do you mean by hoping that Clara won't be corrupted by Rina?”

“I don't see Rina very often, but when I do, I notice that the way she looks at Clara is a little... dangerous. No, dangerous is the wrong word. But I suspect that she might have feelings for my daughter, that she definitely shouldn't have.”

“... I'm sorry to burst the bubble, but your daughter is much more 'dangerous' in that regard.”