“Rina, you were my first and you will be my last.”

Marianne's words sounded so absurd, that Rina didn't even have time to be embarrassed by such a confession. Instead, she looked at the brunette with her red eyes wide open, as if she was looking at a ghost. “Do you even know what you're saying?”

“Of course.”

“... No I don't think so.”

What had surprised Rina the most since her rebirth in Yggildos was not that magic existed, that demons roamed the world, or that she had been reborn in the first place. No, Rina was most shocked by the rate at which children grew up.

At first, Rina suspected that Clara, the first daughter of a noble, was simply someone who happened to be much more intelligent than others. But after coming to the Dragonherz mansion, Rina learned more about Yggildos' common sense. It included the fact that children would enter adulthood at the age of twelve and that ten-year-old children often were more mature than much older teens on Earth.

But now, with Marianne in front of her, Rina wondered if what she had learned about children's maturity was true. After all, the brunette didn't seem to understand the gravity of her own words. That was why Rina suspected that Marianne was still a child on the inside.

Naturally, as always, Rina's thoughts were written on her face for everyone present to see, including Marianne. Unfortunately, Rina couldn't have been more wrong in her suspicion, as the brunette could easily read the younger girl's thoughts. So Marianne spoke up to correct Rina's misunderstanding before it could get a foothold in Rina's mind. “I know exactly, what I'm talking about.”

“N-no, I mean, w-w-we're both girls. So your first k-kiss with me doesn't count.”

“It does count. After all, I can only fall in love with girls.”

“!?” This immediately caught Rina's attention. But because she wanted Marianne to continue, she remained silent and waited.

“I saw that woman being f*cked by countless men. Seeing their c*cks only sent shivers down my spine. I'd rather die than have something like that inside me.”

“...” Rina's misconception from earlier was scattered and she was now convinced, that teens here were indeed much more mature than on Earth. At least, the one in front of her was. “Um... Marianne, please don't use such v-vulgar words. Especially not in front of my mistress, Lady Clara.”

“Why not in front of her?”

“Because Lady Clara doesn't do well with such things and is pure... *mumbles* After all, Clara always blushes so much and refuses my suggestions to help her bathe and get dressed *mumbles*.” Rina muttered her last sentence so quietly that Marianne wasn't able to hear it.

“Well, it was just a slip of the tongue. I won't say those words again.”

“Thank you.” Rina smiled.

“Mistress, you mentioned me being in front of Young Lady Dragonherz... What are your plans for me?”

“If you don't want to go to your home, I can ask Lord Eric, the head of this household, to employ you as a maid.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Alright, I will speak to Lord Eric tomorrow. Do you have any preferences as to where you want to work? Like in the kitchen and stuff.”

“I'd like to serve the Young Lady together with you... if that's okay with you.”

“Yes! Of course, it's okay. Let's serve Lady Clara together in the future!”

“Haaaah!?” Marianne was at first hesitant to state her wish, fearing that she might displease Rina by becoming a third wheel in their time together. But instead, she was met with a happy face from the redhead, who blossomed like a flower, so that she couldn't contain her surprise. “Are you sure? Won't I be a hindrance to your quality time?”

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“Hmm? What quality time? Of course, you won't be a hindrance. In fact, I'm looking forward to it! I'm sure Lady Clara will also like it. She loves hugging people, so I'm sure she'll enjoy having a second person to hug.”

Hearing Rina's words, the brunette felt her head start aching. 'Is this girl for real?'

But before Marianne could comment on anything, Rina enthusiastically grabbed her hand. “For now, let's go to my room.”

With these words, Rina pulled Marianne out of the room and into the empty corridor. A few minutes of walking and several right and left turns later, they entered Rina's room, which was next to Clara's.

Inside, Rina let go of the older girl's hand and spoke up. “This is my room. Feel free to rest on my bed over there.” Rina pointed to her clean, made bed.

Marianne did as she was told and sat on the bed, whereas Rina pulled out a wooden chair and sat down.

Then, Rina spoke up. “For today, please sleep here. After I've spoken to Lord Eric tomorrow, you'll get your own room. Though you may have to introduce yourself to him first before he hires you.”

“I see... thank you.”

“Is there anything I can do for you now?”

Marianne tilted her head, not understanding the essence of Rina's question. “Do you have the time to entertain me? Isn't your mistress's Social Debut ongoing? I'm sure you have a lot to do as her personal maid today.”

Rina scratched her cheek awkwardly. “Well, she told me to hide in her room and lay low for the rest of the day.” Rina pointed to the door, that led directly to Clara's bedroom. “The festivities will go on until sunset, so I'm free.” In fact, it might be the first time since coming to this mansion, that she had nothing to do. After all, her days had always consisted of lessons, training, or being at Clara's side. Naturally, she didn't mind it, especially the latter.

“Then, there's still something I'm curious about.”

“Just ask, I'll answer as best I can.”

“Okay, I won't hold back... When you negotiated with the Duke earlier, you agreed to all of his terms unconditionally. Why? They are not the kind of terms one would accept!”

“You mean about his so-called missions and me accompanying his men to slay the demon lord as soon as his location is known?”

“Yes!” Marianne's voice became agitated, which was unusual for her. “I mean the Duke can run you ragged with that condition, can't you understand that? Those terms are akin to a death sentence for you!” Now, even her normally expressionless face showed anger. “You can't be so stupid, that you don't understand the gravity of those terms, can you??”

Despite the brunette's increasingly loud voice, Rina smiled softly and shook her head. “I do understand, that I've practically sold my future to him. So?”

Not expecting that as an answer, Marianne regained some of her composure and instead looked exasperated and surprised. “'So?' you ask? You...”

“I've simply decided that the pros outweigh the cons. And don't forget that he threatened me. I wouldn't have got out of that room unscathed, had I declined.”

“But you could've asked for more.”

Again, Rina shook her head. “For what? He offered me everything that I wanted, so I accepted. It's that simple.”

“You...” Marianne was silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “You've got a few screws loose.”

“Ahaha...” Rina scratched the back of her head to brush off the comment. “Well, let's leave this topic aside for now. Are you hungry? How about I prepare something for us to eat? Afterwards, we can still talk to pass the time until the festivities are over.”

Not seeing any downside to the red-haired girl's suggestion, Marianne nodded.

“Alright, wait for me a bit!” With that, Rina left the room.

Half an hour later, she returned with a cart full of food. They spent their time eating, occasionally talking, and sometimes keeping silent when there was nothing to discuss until the sun went down.

Only then, Rina got up from her seat. “It's about time the party ends. I'm going to Lady Clara's room next door to wait for her, as she asked me to do. Afterwards, I'm going to help clean up the party venue, so I probably won't be back until after midnight. So just sleep on my bed if you're tired. Ah, this room is my personal space. Nobody will enter this room, so you don't have to fear that anyone may disturb you.”

Rina was about to reach the door leading to Clara's room when Marianne stopped her. “Please, wait, Mistress... Where will you sleep if I use your bed?”

“Remember, you're still here unannounced, so it'll be suspicious if I suddenly sleep somewhere else tonight. I know you might feel uncomfortable, but let's sleep together on my bed tonight. Luckily (?), I'm quite small, so we should both fit on the bed without it getting too tight for us.” Although Rina started her last sentence with 'luckily', deep down she wasn't happy about her body height or size at all.

Marianne, however, had a problem with Rina's suggestion. “Wha-? You want us to sleep together on this small bed?”

“Yes, is that bad?” Rina tilted her head in confusion and tried to understand Marianne's question. She didn't take long to figure out, what the brunette meant, and thus, turned red and waved her hands in front of her in panic. “W-w-wrong! You've got me all wrong! I'm not going to do anything strange to you, so please, rest assured!”

“Haaaaah!?” Marianne couldn't believe what she had just heard. “Your assumptions are waaaay off! I didn't mean It like that... Look, I told you, that I'm attracted to girls, didn't I?”

“Well... yes.”

“And I confessed to you.”

“You did something like that, but I don't believe you... But what of it?”

“Do I have to say it out loud to you? I'm already twelve. I'm an adult! Don't you think I might attack you?”

“Why would you attack me? It's not like I want to harm you.” Rina tilted her head, unable to make any sense out of Marianne's words. However, fearing that Clara might come at any moment, she broke off the conversation. “We can talk about this tomorrow. But rest assured, I won't do anything strange to you while you sleep... Good night!” With that, Rina waved her hands and left through the door leading to Clara's room.

After the door was closed, Marianne sat motionless on the bed and blinked with her eyes a dozen times. Half a minute later, she muttered, though no one was around, as if she had to get 'it', whatever 'it' was, out of her system.

“Is this chick for real?”