Althea: The Legendary Saintess [Shoujo]

During that time, at the frontier archduke's mansion...

After Thomas and Althea headed to the royal castle, excluding Thomas, the key figures within the territory gathered for a discussion.

These key figures included Lady Clara, the head of the house guards, Hanny, te butler Jude, the head maid Ann, and the director of the orphanage within the territory, Miles.

Ideally, Thomas, the head of the household, should have been included in the discussion with the six of them. However, they needed to prepare before Althea's return and were discussing matters regarding the future.

Due to the report to the capital this time, it was understood that Althea would undergo "magic suppression". Children subjected to magic suppression were prone to being targeted by people with malicious intents, so it was necessary to keep the suppression a secret. Of course, this also required imposing a strict silence on those working in the Monclair mansion.

Over a hundred years ago, a child within the Monclair territory underwent "magic suppression." The news of this suppression spread not only within the territory but also reached the neighboring country of Potassio. At that time, Potassio was in a state of disorder shortly after its founding, and amidst the chaos, nobles dissatisfied with Potassio's establishment sought to capture a child with powerful magic subjected to "magic suppression." They intended to abduct, brainwash, and use the child as their own weapon.

Fortunately, the abducted child was rescued early on, preventing any serious harm. However, the noble who had orchestrated the abduction faced retaliation from Monclair and eventually fell from grace.

As Potassio grappled with internal turmoil and rebel nobles, Monclair faced no interference or retribution from other countries, according to the historical records of that time.

Despite the vast expanses of land owned by the Monclair family, theirs lacked richness in resources and agricultural spots compared to other lands held by nobles. It was only the extensive acreage, equivalent to the size of a small kingdom, and the formidable military prowess comprising one-thirds of the entire kingdom's might that allowed the family to assert their archducal prestige. Some noble factions harbored resentment towards the family due to these reasons. Only in matters of politics and the economy did the Monclair family lag behind, on par with those prosperous marquesses. Consequently, most members of noble society perceived them as nothing more than a militaristic, impoverished archduke.

Eventually, consensus emerged that it simply wasn't worth conquering the Monclair territories.

Due to such incidents occurring frequently in other territories, during the reign of King Adrian's father, it was decided that children undergoing "magic suppression" would be safeguarded in the royal castle.

However, Thomas stated, "I'll bring her back."

Of course, everyone in the mansion hoped that someone would bring Althea back... but whether she could be brought back and how to eliminate the dangers that Althea might face were topics under discussion. They were especially considering the appointment of an exclusive lady-in-waiting who could always accompany Althea in any situation.

Everyone working in the Monclair mansion could fight, including the maids. Naturally, the minimum requirement for becoming Althea's exclusive lady-in-waiting was the ability to fight. In reality, there was already a candidate for Althea's exclusive lady-in-waiting being raised in the orphanage within the territory.

The girl, named Laila, was four years older than Althea. Her situation was widely known among the six key figures, including Thomas, and she was supposed to become Althea's exclusive lady-in-waiting when Althea turned seven.

However, due to the current events, they had to appoint an exclusive lady-in-waiting two years earlier than planned. They were now confirming whether it was safe to keep Laila as Althea's exclusive lady-in-waiting and discussing this matter.

Fortunately, Laila had been undergoing combat training for two years. Miles assured them that there would likely be no issues with her serving as a guard. However, she lacked actual combat experience. They urgently needed to conduct the "final test," an actual combat scenario, but time was limited until Thomas and the others returned.

While the adults were contemplating whether they could make it in time, Laila quickly completed the final test, moved to the Monclair mansion, and eagerly awaited the return of Thomas and Althea.

After Laila moved to the Monclair mansion and began lady-in-waiting training, Thomas and Althea returned.

During the carriage ride back, Althea was informed about the reasons for not leaving the territory until the age of ten and the appointment of an exclusive lady-in-waiting in the future. Although she had been freely running around by herself until now, she couldn't help but worry about losing her freedom with an "exclusive" lady-in-waiting. What if the exclusive lady-in-waiting was strict? These concerns occupied her mind as they reached home.

When Althea got off the carriage, Clara and Regalus rushed over and embraced her.

"I'm so glad you returned safely. If you had become a 'royal ward,' we might have only seen you a few times a year. Even though your father assured us, it was still worrisome until we saw you, right?"

"I'm home, Mother, Brother."

"Althea, are you hurt anywhere? Did you get injured?"

"No, Brother, I'm fine."

Led by the head butler Jude and the head maid Ann, all the mansion's staff welcomed Althea with smiles.

Among them, Althea noticed a slightly older red-haired girl whom she hadn't met before and asked, "Could you be my 'maid'?"

Standing next to Laila, Thomas said, "Yes, she is Laila. From today, she will take care of you as your exclusive lady-in-waiting. Now, Laila, she is my angel, Althea. Please take good care of her."

Laila, looking up at Thomas with a happy expression, then bowed solemnly to Althea.

"Nice to meet you, Lady Althea. My name is Laila."

Approaching Laila as she bowed, Althea peeked into her face from below. Startled, Laila instinctively stepped back. Seeing this, Althea couldn't contain her laughter.

"Hehe, that's a relief. You seem like a gentle person. Um, Laila? Nice to meet you too. Please take care of me."

Bowing her head, Althea apologized.

She's cute...

Laila, who had been trying to maintain a poker face, was momentarily knocked out by the innocent and straightforward smile Althea showed that day. Her face turned crimson, and she couldn't stop blushing.

"But, I don't just want to be protected. So, I'll fight too. Hey, Laila, can you fight? If so, can you teach me how to fight too?"

Responding unexpectedly to Laila, who was trying desperately to calm her heart and face, Laila was left frozen.

"...Sorry, Laila. My angel may be an angel, but she's also a tomboy and competitive. I hope you can protect her without getting frustrated. If possible, it would be helpful if you could teach her self-defense techniques."

With a wry smile, Thomas said, and as Laila returned to her senses, she smiled in response.

"Yes, I will do my best to meet Mr. Thomas's expectations. Lady Althea, I'm honored to serve you."

And so, Laila became a member of the Monclair mansion, serving as Althea's exclusive lady-in-waiting, guard, and self-defense instructor.