“By the way, I have a question I want to ask you, Lady Elle.”
I thought we have talked about everything there is, but does she still have some questions?
When I tilted my head to the side, Giselle grabbed both my shoulders with bloodshot eyes.
“That man called Jed, just how is he?”
“Eh? Ahh, Jed is…”
“Why is he together with you? Since when have you been together?”
“H, hey, calm down…”
“He’s not your lover, is he?”
You said you wanted to ask only a question…
The questions about Jed kept coming. She did not give me any time to answer and her imagination ran amok.
“Y, you are not dating already, right… you did not offer him his body or something…”
“I am still a maiden, okay! Don’t be having strange delusions now!”
There was no way I could not raise my voice after being told this much. When I shouted back at her, Giselle finally calmed down.
What a sorrowful morning, why did it have to start by me shouting about still being innocent?
“I’m relieved.”
Contrary to my depressed state, Giselle gave me a nice smile.
I am not the kind of person who can devote myself to someone who is not my fiancé or my spouse. I was educated about bedroom matters in the Ansanse Kingdom, so I have that kind of knowledge, but I won’t have the chance to use it for a while.
“Then, who is this Jed?”
“He said he was a traveler, but I don’t know the details.”
All I know about him is his age and his country of origin.
He told me a bit about his family, but he didn’t give me any details.
When I mentioned this, Giselle pressed me again.
“Why are you traveling with someone you barely know?”
“He followed me on his own…”
“What do you mean by that!”
When I told her the story of my encounter with Jed up to the present, Giselle gave me a look of disbelief.
“Isn’t he too suspicious?”
“He’s a bit weird, but he’s not a bad person.”
“Lady Elle! You musn’t be deceived!”
“He is just tagging along of his own accord, he did not do anything bad.”
I’ve never felt threatened when I’ve been with Jed.
In fact, I feel like he’s protecting me.
I’m curious about the anxious expressions he occasionally makes, but I’m not sure if it’s because he’s worried about me traveling alone.
“I’m a good judge of character. He’s not a dangerous person.”
I had been confronted with filthy adults since I was a child.
I’m good at telling if a person is a friend or foe. Jed is quite a weirdo, but he’s not a bad person or a dangerous person.
“D, do you perhaps like him?”
“How did it turn out like this again…”
“Lady Elle, it’s because you are letting your guard down around him!”
I did not have any intentions of letting my guard down, but it seems that way to Giselle.
We’ve been spending a lot of time together, so maybe there’s a part of me that’s letting him in without even realizing it.
“Even if I let my guard down, I won’t come to love him.”
“Are you saying the truth?”
“I was betrayed by my first love. I don’t think I want to fall in love again.”
Giselle’s eyes widened at my words, and then she gave me an apologetic look.
“That’s why I will never come to love Jed.”
“I, is that so…”
I understand her concern. But she is no longer my maid. She doesn’t need to worry about me like that.
“You are not my maid anymore. You don’t need to concern yours—….”
There, I stopped my words.
Giselle showed a tearful face out of nowhere.
“Giselle?”
“I am your maid no matter what happens, Lady Elle! I swore to dedicate my whole life to you!”
That’s a story of about ten years ago.
(I will serve you for my entire life, Young lady!)
Giselle said so.
It’s not like I have forgotten. However, I turned her world upside down. I am no longer eligible for her sworn allegiance.
“Giselle, I’m not a daughter of a Duke anymore. I’m a sinner who caused you to get kicked out.”
“So what! Even if you are no longer a noble, my life belongs to you!”
“Your life is yours only.”
It’s not good for me to bind her life to mine.
When I pushed her aside, Giselle’s expression crumbled.
“I have already entrusted you with my life…”
“Giselle…”
“I beg you, let me stay by your side.”
Giselle collapsed on the spot as she clutched my hand as if to say she would never let go.
The only thing I can do for the crying girl is…
“Giselle, I am not qualified to be your master.”
“Lady Elle!”
“But, if you can forgive me for what I did, then…”
I don’t know if this is something I am allowed to desire, and perhaps this is something Giselle even doesn’t want.
But even so, it’s a much better choice than being treated as a master.
I kneel down and make eye contact with her.
“Giselle, please be my friend.”
It was a line I had said many times since we first met. But Giselle, who was very loyal to me, did not nod even once.
Her eyes opened wide.
“Lady Elle…”
“I want you to be by my side as a friend.”
“I…”
“If you don’t want to be friends with me, then I will leave you soon.”
Giselle knows me very well. She must have realized that I was serious about my idea.
She laughed at what sounded like a threat.
“Let’s just say we are friends for now.”
“For now, you say…”
“I plan on returning to being your maid one day, Lady Elle.”
Giselle smiled mischievously at me.
Knowing her well, I can tell that she means it.
“I will do my best to make sure you don’t get to go back to being a maid, Giselle”
“You cannot do that, Miss Elle.”
She giggled.