—12 years later—

In the time Maria has been in service, Alfonse's room has changed beyond recognition. The once dusty shelves now gleamed with cleanliness, and stacks of worn-out furniture were replaced with new ones. Unlike Schmidt, Maria was able to stand up to the accountant and get the money her master deserved. Instead of the musty bedding, the bed was adorned with a not-so-cheap dark blue bedspread.

All the lamps and candles were replaced with glasses of fairy dust that emitted a bluish light at night. This is a very rare commodity that can only be obtained in the area of the Frelian Tower, belonging to the family of ice sorceresses. Each of the brothers received it as a gift when Allney got engaged to the sorceress's daughter. However, he is not the only one who found a fiancée; almost all of Alfonse's brothers, except for him and Heinry, either found someone or got assigned by their father.

Maria finished making the bed and looked around the room to make sure it was clean. Except for the mess around the table, which her master constantly made and she couldn't keep up with, everything was tidy.

Alfonse sits behind a table overflowing with papers. Next to him is a plate with dessert, which he eats in small bites while reading the newspaper, oblivious to the piles of documents scattered all over the table and the surroundings.

In the twelve years since their first meeting, he hasn't changed that much. His short black hair still sticks out in all directions, even though Maria combed it a few hours ago. Due to his constant raking, her efforts to make her master look somewhat like a nobleman are entirely futile. Previously pale skin, resembling a corpse, gained a more lively color thanks to walks and better food, which she has been forcing him to eat for a while. The only thing she hasn't been able to improve even a little is his fashion sense. Despite all her efforts to make him dress in attire befitting a nobleman, he still prefers a more rustic style. Instead of a clean white shirt and expensive black trousers that she bought for him, he wears a dirty, rather gray T-shirt and brown pants with a torn hem. Then he wonders why nobody in the estate takes him particularly seriously.

With a sigh, he rolls up the newspaper he just read and throws it into the bin next to the table. He opens the top drawer and takes out a vial, pouring its contents onto the bottom of one of the papers. He pierces the spread blue wax with a wooden seal bearing his family's crest, reaches for the dark box at the edge of the table, and spills light blue powder onto the wax. The powder instantly cools and freezes the seal. "This is so boring... I don't understand why my father wants me to go through these stupid papers. Most of them are completely ridiculous requests, and only about two out of a hundred are worth considering..." He sighs in frustration and slouches on the chair.

Maria takes the scroll with the seal from his table and carefully rolls it up, placing it in the wooden box. "That's all for today, Mr. Alfonse," she assures him, but instead, he turns to her with a displeased expression.

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"How many times do I have to tell you to skip the 'Mr.'?"

"Mr. Alfonse, have told you a thousand times that I won't skip this title until your death."

"Aah! Fine!" He utters defeatedly. "It's just uncomfortable... Even Schmidtz used to call me Al in private."

"Mr. Schmidtz has not been with us for at least ten years, sir."

"I know..." His angry expression turns slightly sad when he realizes that the man who was almost like a father to him, the father he never had, is long gone. Maria, who is tidying up the papers, noticed his expression, but she ignores it and focuses more on her work.

Suddenly, Alfonse shifts away from the table, catching Maria's gaze.

"When you finish tidying up, call the chef for me."

"Is there something wrong with the food?" She asks.

"Just call the chef." He repeats, now with a rather gruff tone.

"The chef fell ill, so someone else prepared the meal for you instead-"

"I don't care, call the one who made it then."

"As you wish, sir." She bows lightly and then leaves the room.

*************************

She stops in front of the kitchen door, takes the handle, sighs lightly before turning it, and steps inside. As soon as she takes a step into the room, a massive bang echoes. Maria turns towards the source of the noise and sees smoke coming from the back of the kitchen.

She runs to see what happened. Standing over the pot from which smoke is billowing, with her back to her, is a woman with medium-length red hair tied in a ponytail. Judging by the brown skirt with a white apron, she is the cook.

Maria quickly opens a window and tries to waft the smoke out using one of the towels on the table. The woman who caused this havoc tried to cough out the inhaled smoke.

"Excuse me," the redhead apologized, and when she finally caught her breath, she looked up at Maria, giving her a full view of the woman before her. Pink colored eyes with a purple crown around the pupil, long fangs, and skin as pale as death. Long fox-like ears and big fluffy tail wagging furiously, not helping to get the dust out of the room. Considering she doesn't wear any necklace, she's probably a foreigner.

"Are you the one who prepared today's breakfast?" Maria asks with a cold tone, ignoring her apology.

"Y-Yes," the redhead stammers and shamefully lowers her face to the ground.

"My master requests that I bring you to him."

The woman widens her eyes at Maria and starts slowly retreating.

"I-I just r-realized I h-have to g-go somewhere..." Before she could attempt an escape, Maria grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.

"Surely, you meant to say that you're coming with me."

She slowly turns to Maria and nods with a feigned smile. "Y-yes, that's what I meant."