Althea: The Legendary Saintess [Shoujo]

It has been one year since I came to the orphanage.

Director Miles assigned tasks according to the children's ages, such as cleaning and preparing meals. On sunny days, we were allowed to play outside, and he also taught us studies. Thanks to him, I can now read and write in the language of this country.

According to the director, I seem to be "very talented." Jean, who is the same age as me, is also talented and seems to be a candidate to become the steward of Sir Thomas's son. Although Sir Thomas's son seems to be only five years old.

Sir Thomas also has another daughter, and it seems that her maid candidate has not yet been decided.

Being Sir Thomas's child, she must be beautiful. After all, every time Sir Thomas comes to the facility, he calls her "my angel," and just once, his son, Regalus, who was brought to the facility, was also a very beautiful boy.

While thinking about such things, I worked hard at both my job and studies, dreaming of one day doing a job that would be useful to Sir Thomas.

Then one day, the director called out to me.

"Laila, you're now seven years old, right? You can only stay in this facility until you're twelve. I wanted to ask you what kind of work you would like to do when you turn twelve. Until now, we've been teaching basic reading, writing, and simple arithmetic, but from now on, depending on the desired job, we're thinking of changing what we teach... So, what kind of work do you want to do?"

"I... might be presumptuous, but... I want to work at Sir Thomas's mansion."

I felt like the director smiled at my words.

"I see... You wish to work at the Monclair House."

After thinking for a moment, the director continued.

"Laila, to work at the Monclair House, first, there must be vacancies for work. Furthermore, even if there are vacancies, you must be capable of protecting yourself to some extent, as it's impossible otherwise."

"Vacancies... Are there any openings?"

"Well, those who work at the Monclair House tend not to quit easily. Sir Thomas is as you know, and his wife, son, and daughter are all beautiful and kind people... Ah, come to think of it, there's only one opening available now."

"What kind of job is it?"

"It's for 'Lady Althea's Exclusive Maid.' However..."

"However?"

"It's 'exclusive,' which means you'll have a master to serve, and you must not only protect yourself but also your master. In other words, you must acquire combat skills sufficient to protect others. Monclair family may have the strongest military in the entire kingdom but absolute loyalthy is different question. It's quite challenging to meet up their standards... Nevertheless, do you still want to work at the Monclair House?"

The director's question implied that to work at the Monclair House, one must at least learn how to fight and, if chosen, protect not Sir Thomas but Lady Althea. If it's for Sir Thomas's sake, there's only one answer.

"Yes."

With determination in my answer, the director urged me to follow him.

Following the director, I was led to his office.

The director's office was his private room, a room I had never entered before.

As soon as we entered the room, the director asked me again.

"Once you proceed from here, there's no turning back... Let me ask you again. Can you fight for the Monclair Archdukedom, or rather, for Lady Althea? 'Fighting' means that no matter how much you train, it's useless without real combat experience. Practical experience will be the final exam... Do you understand what 'practical experience' means?"

"..."

"It means 'killing people.'"

"!"

I was shocked and frozen. To me, the director said,

"This is a lifeline of a great nation—this place guards the border. It inevitably becomes more dangerous compared to the capital. Sir Thomas, who rules this land, of course, Lady, and even Master Regalus have combat skills. Lady Althea will also learn the art of combat someday. Therefore, we cannot afford to have servants who are only protected by their masters. Even if the master falters in battle, you must be able to fight for the master's sake. Such is the case, especially for those who have 'masters' of their own."

The director then turned to me again and asked,

"... Laila, even after hearing this, do you still want to work at the Monclair House? As I mentioned earlier, if you wish to work at the Monclair House, you will undergo training as Lady Althea's exclusive maid. You won't be an ordinary maid. In that case, the one you will dedicate your life to protecting won't be Sir Thomas but Lady Althea, do you understand?"

"Lady Althea..."

Even though I've never met the young lady, will I be able to dedicate my life to her... no matter how much of Sir Thomas's child she is...

Perhaps sensing my anxiety, Director Miles sighed and made a suggestion.

"How about meeting Lady Althea once?"

"...Meeting her?"

"Of course, not face to face... But it seems that soon Lady Althea will go shopping in town with Madam and Master Regalus. You can see her from afar first and then reconsider. ...The formal answer will come after that."

A few days later, the director asked me to go on an "errand." Strangely enough, Jean accompanied me.

Since Jean knew about the errand, I was supposed to assist with shopping once we arrived.

As we followed Jean, we heard shouting from an alleyway. It sounded like children arguing. Jean seemed to have noticed too and, after exchanging glances, we slowly made our way towards the alley where the voices were coming from. At that moment, a young girl with beautiful silver hair ran past us into the alley.

"Althea!! Wait!"

Shouting after her was a familiar handsome boy.

Is that... Master Regalus?

I thought, but Jean had already dashed towards the alley.

I hurriedly followed Jean.

What we saw at the entrance of the alley was a young boy crouching, holding a kitten, and a girl with silver hair standing protectively in front of him. Another boy, around the same age as them, was trying to grab the girl's collar.

Dangerous!

I thought, and at that moment, Master Regalus grabbed the boy's arm trying to grab the girl's collar and twisted it. The girl, albeit trembling slightly, kept her gaze straight ahead, looking directly at the boy who would have bullied the boy and the cat.

With the boy's arm still twisted, Master Regalus turned to the girl.

"Althea, why did you run off alone? It's dangerous, you know. You're still only three years old, Althea ."

"...Because... I heard a voice. 'Help'... I heard it..."

"Hmm... I didn't hear it, but Althea did, huh."

"Yeah."

During their conversation, the boy whose arm was twisted kept whining about the pain.

"You're annoying."

Master Regalus kicked the boy in the stomach while still holding his arm twisted. The boy doubled over, holding his arm and stomach.

Ignoring the scene, Master Regalus smiled kindly at the girl.

"...Althea, it's not wrong to help someone who's asking for help. But, Althea, you still can't protect yourself, so going alone to help someone is reckless and dangerous. That's why..."

He gently touched the girl's head and continued.

"At least take me with you next time. ...I said I'd protect you, didn't I?"

"Big brother..."

"If you wants to protect something, then I'll protect it with you, alright?"

"...Yes. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you're a good girl."

Straightening up, Master Regalus looked down at the boy who had been kicked with a cold gaze.

"Now then... What should I do with this guy? No matter what the reason, trying to grab my cute Althea's collar..."

The boy who was being looked down upon was completely terrified by the cold gaze.

By then, Jean, who had somehow caught the boys trying to flee, called out, and the boys were handed over to the border patrol.

Meanwhile, the young girl, who had been watching the scene from a distance, was speaking to the boy and the cat.

"Are you okay? Were you hit or kicked? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, but... this one..."

"Oh, your leg's injured!... Wait a moment."

The girl ran to the square's water fountain, moistened her handkerchief, returned, and wiped the cat's injured leg clean. After cleaning the wound, she untied the ribbon from her hair, wound it around the cat's leg to secure the handkerchief so it wouldn't come off. It was quite a clumsy way of doing it, but she managed.

"Here, this should be okay now... but if possible, could you take it to the vet?"

She smiled brightly.

Watching the whole exchange from a distance, my body froze... or rather, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe... and my heart wouldn't stop pounding.

Perhaps that silver-haired girl is Lady Althea.

If I have to make a "commitment," then she will be the one I protect by my side.

The purple-blue eyes that stared straight ahead, unflinching even when protecting a boy of the same age and on the verge of being hurt.

And the smile after treating the wound... I never imagined I would be so taken by a younger girl...

Thus, I experienced my first "love at first sight", not in romantic sense of course, and I immediately after returning from the errand, I informed the director that I had made my "commitment."