It was the day before Clara's birthday and Social Debut celebration. Rina was currently walking through every part of the mansion where the guests would be allowed to go, checking that everything was presentable.

It was said that the Social Debut was one of the most if not the most important event in a noble's life. It was, after all, their first official introduction to the noble society, and in such a society, first impressions had a huge impact on a person's future. It would not be an exaggeration to say that if the debut failed, one would be shunned by their peers for the rest of their lives. It was not impossible, but a comeback from such a state was hard to achieve.

Luckily, the aristocrats knew that very well. Therefore, the organisers and their staff would do everything in their power to make the Social Debut of their son or daughter a success. As a result, there was hardly anyone who had ended their debut in a failure.

That was the reason why Rina made sure that every nook and cranny of the guest area, including the dining and dancing hall, the toilets, and the reception and waiting area were spotless. After all, nothing was more important to her than ensuring that her beloved mistress could look forward to a healthy and happy future.

Of all the staff working for the Dragonherz family, Rina was probably the one who had worked the hardest over the past week.

But as she checked the dance hall for a second time, she felt a presence behind her.

“Hello, little maid.”

Hearing the voice, Rina tensed up instantly, swiftly turned around, and bowed. “G-greetings, Lord Eric. D-do you need me for anything?”

Even though two years had already passed since she had moved into the Dragonherz mansion, Rina had hardly any interaction with Clara's parents. While she was able to converse normally with Lauren, she still found it difficult to talk to Eric.

There were three main reasons why Rina was still nervous in front of Clara's father.

The first, of course, was his appearance. Eric was a tall man with a well-built body who radiated a great deal of self-confidence and authority, as his position as a noble required. But this was a problem for Rina, as these points made Eric resemble her father in her previous life too much. She was simply not good at dealing with such men.

The second reason, however, was much more prominent as to why Rina was not comfortable with him. He was her beloved one's father. Rina was well aware that her feelings for Clara were something that should not be. That was why, she had buried them deep in the depths of her heart.

But still, buried or not, she couldn't help but unconsciously stare at her mistress's enchanting appearance from time to time. So, even though she had no intention of approaching her mistress for a relationship, the man in front of her couldn't possibly know that. Therefore, when he was present, Rina had to be especially careful not to reveal her feelings. After all, if he were to know her feelings, she would probably be thrown out of the mansion at once, even if Clara were to protest.

The last main reason was that she had never heard him call her by her name before, except on the day when they first met. Naturally, this gave Rina the feeling that he didn't approve of her, maybe even despised or hated her. But luckily (?), being hated was nothing new to her.

Well, never, not even in her wildest dreams, could Rina have imagined that the reason he never called her by her name, was because Eric was simply bad at dealing with little girls other than his daughter and because even he was mesmerised by Rina's graceful manners.

Still, even with those three reasons, Rina was usually able to conduct a normal conversation with him. But now, when he had suddenly called out to her, she couldn't avoid being a bit shaken. That was why, she had only managed to stutter out her response.

Eric, on the other hand, felt the red-haired girl tense up and thus, felt a little sorry for her, but continued anyway. "What are you doing right now?"

“I a-am double-checking that all the rooms the guests have access to are c-clean for Lady Clara Social Debut tomorrow.”

“I see, you are working hard for my Clara as always. Thank you.”

“N-no, it's nothing you need to thank me for, Lord Eric. I just like doing it.” At the thought of her mistress, a small, unforced smile unconsciously appeared on her face, which naturally didn't go unnoticed by Eric.

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“... You... I see, Lauren and Lady Fran were right.”

“...?” Of course, Rina wasn't able to understand what he meant, so she tilted her head in confusion. But since she had correctly guessed that his words were not directed at her either way, she didn't ask any further and just waited for him to continue. And luckily, she didn't have to wait for long.

“I have a question for you.”

At these words, Rina straightened her back. “Y-yes, I will answer it as best as I can.”

“Are you-... No, your answer to this question is obvious... Why are you so loyal, even devoted to my daughter?”

Hearing this, Rina couldn't help but twitch nervously. Had he found out about her feelings for her mistress after all? Had she been too obvious? Would she be dismissed now? Such questions popped into her head.

Fortunately, her fears were unwarranted, as Eric's next words proved when he saw the state she was in. “No need to get nervous. I'm just wondering, where your devotion comes from. True, Clara did save you from a terrible fate, but in my opinion that doesn't explain why you work so hard for her. I'm sorry, but I've taken the liberty of having some of my servants observe you for the past two years. What they have reported to me, is that every action you have taken, has always seemed to have the well-being of my daughter in mind... so why?”

Unfortunately, Rina couldn't just truthfully answer his question. After all, how could she reply to him, that she had simply fallen in love with the first beautiful and kind girl she had met? And how could she tell him that she was only loyal or devoted to Clara because of her impure feelings like love? Rina knew very well, that it was neither devotion, nor loyalty, or whatever Eric had called it. It was just her selfish desire to stay by the side of her crush, even if the love would never become true. So how was she supposed to answer that question?

Meanwhile, Eric observed the girl closely as she tried to come up with an answer for him. Unfortunately, or fortunately (?) for her, he was notably accurate when it came to reading people's thoughts. So he could already more or less guess from Rina's gesture and facial expression what was going through the girl's mind. And exactly because he could see through the girl before him, he was now certain that his daughter would be safe and happy with Rina by her side.

So, for the first time in his life, he bowed his head to a commoner, a little girl at that. “Please be good to my dear daughter. I leave her in your hands.”

Unlike Eric, however, Rina was not good at reading people at all. No, this was putting it too mildly. Rina was terrible at guessing other people's thoughts, especially when it came to people she had almost no interaction with. That was why Eric's actions only confused her more and even caused her to panic. “L-Lord Eric!? What's the matter? H-have I done something wrong? If so, please forgive me.”

Despite the growing fear in the girl's eyes, Eric couldn't help but laugh at himself inwardly. The reason for this was that he had considered selling Rina to the Lumiéres, firstly, to get her away from his daughter and secondly, to get a connection to them. But now he was glad that he hadn't gone through with it.

In fact, he regretted that he hadn't interacted with this girl more often, because he would have then been able to see who Rina really was much sooner. He would have understood much earlier that having this girl at Clara's side would only make his daughter happier. So, for the first time since he had hired her, he naturally called her by her name. “Rina, I've heard that Clara wants you to accompany her into the party venue.”

However, with Rina being Rina and unable to see through people, the change within Eric went unnoticed by her. She didn't realise that Eric had accepted her to be at his daughter's. So, she only nodded to confirm his statement.

“Have you accepted?” he asked further.

“Isn't that role only for permanent servants? I'm not one yet, so I can't, but Cla-... Lady Clara is too insistent, and won't accept my refusal.”

Eric chuckled slightly at this answer. “I see, then I ask you as well. Please accept my Clara's proposal and accompany her to the party venue tomorrow.”

Rina might be socially awkward and slow when it came to reading people, but she was not stupid. Well, maybe she was stupid, but not stupid enough to misunderstand Eric's words this time, especially when that much had already been said. Still, Rina wanted to be sure, so she asked for confirmation. “Lord Eric, does that mean...?”

He nodded and bowed his head once again. “Yes, as I already asked earlier, please take care of my daughter from now on and forever.” When he looked up again, he was met with wide, red eyes and an astonished expression.

“W-what about the test?”

When he heard that question, he was unable to keep a clear conscience. After all, the said 'test' was never meant for Rina but for Clara. It was just an excuse so he could buy time and have his servants observe Rina until the time for the 'test' came. That was important for whether he would employ Rina as his daughter's permanent assistant or not. After all, back then he hadn't known whether to pass this girl to the Lumiéres or not. The outcome of the 'test' didn't matter.

But when he saw the anxiety of the girl in front of him, he actually felt bad. After all, Rina could have never been sure of her future because of this, and that had probably been bothering her all along. He couldn't possibly imagine the impact it had on the mind of such a young girl. Still, his mistakes had been made and it was impossible to undo them. He could only hope, that the girl would be able to rest her mind from the uneasiness from now on.

For that reason, he smiled softly as he answered her question. “You don't need to worry about the test anymore. I'm sorry that you have to feel anxious until now. Regardless of the test's outcome, I would like you to stay by my daughter's side forever, or at least for as long as you want to... Come to my study after Clara's Social Debut tomorrow. We can sign the contract then.”

“As you wish, Lord Eric.”

“Mhm, well, I've distracted you from your work long enough, so I'll leave for now. Ah, and remember to rest well tonight. We need you to be at your best to support Clara after all.” With these words, Eric turned away and left the ballroom.

Only when he was out of Rina's sight, she returned to her work again.

But for some reason, she felt that her motivation was at its peak at the moment.

For some reason, she found it hard to resist the urge to skip instead of walking normally.

For some reason, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

For some reason, she couldn't wipe out the wide grin off her face.

And for some reason,...

'I get the feeling I'll have a nice dream tonight.'