Several days had passed since Amelia had successfully passed the interview for a post as a harem maid in the Reberk Barony and been taken into service in the Harem.
Common-born and with no experience as a maid, Amelia was now living communally as a sixth-rank apprentice harem maid in a place inside the Harem known as the "Little Village," alongside the other low-ranking maids, fellow commoners like herself.
Yet for all that it was called the "Little Village," there was nothing little about it.
Fine houses with sturdy roofs stood in neat rows. Fields were being cultivated, livestock raised in number, and even a forge had been set up there.
The sight of it all brought back the shock she had felt the first time she stepped inside.
This place really is another world...
She could hardly be blamed for thinking so.
Even the meals had been one surprise after another.
This morning's breakfast had been white bread, scrambled eggs, and sausage, but to Amelia it had been the most lavish breakfast of her life.
Fluffy white bread, eggs seasoned with perfect restraint, and a rich red tomato sauce—
every last bit of it was something she never would have even seen in the village where she had grown up.
"Makes you feel spoiled..." she muttered as she cleared away her plate, then left the village for the day's work.
Today, she had been told, she was to help tend the garden of one of the detached palaces.
Getting there, however, was not easy.
The Little Village was cut off by canals from both the main buildings of the Harem and the detached palace where Lieselotte and the others lived, making it impossible to reach on foot.
The only way across was by small boat, and even that took time.
For a place called a "harem," it carried a strangely un-harem-like air.
In the Little Village and the vast orchards beside it, the families of the women who worked in the Harem—meaning men—lived there openly enough.
That impression only grew stronger when she saw even ordinary townsfolk trudging up and down hundreds of steps to help with the work.
Standing at the landing and gazing absently out over the canal, Amelia let out a deep sigh.
...Was there really any point in disguising myself as a woman just to sneak in here?
True, boarding one of the boats required one to qualify as "a woman who works in the Harem."
And thanks to the used magic device Gideon had given her for disguising herself as a woman, Amelia really had managed to work here.
But—
every time she remembered the unpleasantly natural way that magic device clung to her skin, and the fact that it had been Gideon's hand-me-down, a wave of nameless disgust welled up inside her.
Amelia had been telling herself that it was "necessary if I want to work in the Harem," but then her eyes drifted to the wall encircling the detached palace in the distance.
Couldn't I just swim across and climb over the wall...?
The canal was certainly wide, but not so wide that it mattered to Amelia, who had undergone special training since childhood.
If that's the case, then couldn't I have gotten in without wearing this damn thing...!?
Remembering the awful feel of the magic device, she clenched her fist.
Even so, she hardly had the nerve to go back to Gideon now and say, "Turns out I didn't need to infiltrate the place after all."
Whatever. I'll just have to believe this had a point after all...
If I don't, I'm gonna lose it!
Clutching her gardening tools, Amelia stepped into the boat.
As it began to glide quietly along the canal, she repeated that to herself over and over in her heart.
With each practiced pull of the boatman's oars, the water rippled softly, and Amelia felt the faintest breeze from ahead brush her cheek.
A little after leaving the village pier, the hunting grounds came into view on her left, enclosed by a high stone wall.
Apparently they had once been reserved for the lord's private use, but now construction was underway there to build a second village.
On her right rose the wall surrounding the detached palace she had only seen from afar a short while before.
Even taking a good look at it now, it did not seem all that high.
Maybe I should try climbing it next time...
Getting in might be possible, but getting back out with Lieselotte would be the harder part.
As she was turning that problem over in her mind, they passed the hunting grounds and the detached palace, turned right at a crossroads, and the landing beside the covered corridor at the entrance to the Harem came into view.
Amelia got out of the boat and headed toward the detached palace where Lieselotte lived—Fuga Palace.
Come to think of it, this detached palace is strange too...
When she had been shown it after her interview, it had looked like a worn-out ruin.
Now, however, it had been restored so magnificently that it caught her breath.
The sweeping golden roof tiles glittered beneath the gentle sunlight, and below them stood rows of red pillars, proud and stately.
Each pillar had been carved with exquisite detail, the workmanship so intricate it stole her eyes away.
At her feet, paving stones had been laid in perfect order, while the trees in the garden around them swayed in the breeze.
At the center of the garden lay a pond with a surface as clear as glass, reflecting both the sky and the detached palace like a mirror.
The thought that there were four other detached palaces like this one only drove home once more just how vast the Harem was.
Huh? Was the garden this beautiful too?
It should've been overrun with weeds before...
Do they even need me to work on it?
Lowering her gaze to the gardening tools in her hands, Amelia felt a strange sort of hollowness.
Then she heard the voices of the senior maids walking behind her.
"Hey, hey, did you hear?"
"What?"
"They say Lord Husband repaired this whole detached palace in a single night."
"What? Seriously? That Lord Husband really can do anything, can't he...?"
Repaired in a single night? Amelia's steps stopped before she knew it.
What do you mean, he can do anything...?
No, wait—does magic like that even exist?
"But apparently no one actually saw it happen."
"Well, of course not. We low-ranking maids aren't allowed to stay here after nightfall, so there's no way we could have seen it."
"That's true... but how in the world do you repair a place like this overnight?"
"Maybe Lord Husband used magic to turn back time? He is a noble, after all."
"What? Nobles can do that too?"
"How should I know? Nobles are terrifying. I don't go anywhere near them..."
"And yet you work here just fine."
"This place is different! Lady Celine, Lady Lieselotte, and Lady Ophelia... they're all so kind!"
"Exactly. The food's delicious, the place we live is comfortable... I'd love to keep working here forever. I wonder if Lord Husband might take me into his bed."
"Hey now, if that happens, I should be first. I'm your senior, aren't I?"
Leaving their joking voices behind her, Amelia felt a chill creep down her spine.
Magic that controls time... does something like that really exist?
Thinking about it normally, it shouldn't.
But Lord Husband was supposed to be in the March of Ishurias,
and then he suddenly shows up here...
Her head spun with one question after another, but Amelia tightened her grip on the gardening tools and let out a small breath.
If that's true... then this is bad.
Wasn't Lord Husband supposed to be that pathetic noble who only had the Merchant Gift...?
Trying to suppress the urge to curse that bastard Gideon, Amelia kept walking—until voices reached her again.
"Good morning, Lady Lieselotte. Lady Fiona."
"Oh, good morning. Have you come to clean?"
"Yes! I'll get your rooms sparkling."
"Thank you. I'll leave it in your hands."
When she looked toward the voices, Amelia saw one of the senior maids speaking with Lieselotte.
The soft smiles on both their faces left her a little overwhelmed.
Once the greetings were over and Lieselotte started walking again, Fiona suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, right. I'm a maid too, so you don't have to call me 'Lady,' okay?"
"Wh-what? No... Lady Fiona, you're a noble and a senior maid..."
Though clearly flustered, the senior maid did not drop her formal tone.
As Amelia listened in from the side, Lieselotte halted and came to stand right in front of her.
"Lady Lieselotte. Good morning!"
Hurriedly setting her gardening tools at her feet, Amelia bowed her head deeply.
"Good morning, Amelia.
Oh my, are those tools for tending the garden?"
"Yes. But... it doesn't look like they'll be needed anymore..."
Amelia answered with a wry smile, glancing around at the immaculate grounds.
"Yes, that does seem to be the case."
Lieselotte nodded with a faint smile of her own.
"In that case, would you bring those tools and come with me?"
"Y-yes!"
At Amelia's brisk reply, Fiona hurried over with a grin.
"Looks like you got caught too, Amelia.
Hehe. Well, it might be a little rough, but let's do our best together!"
"Huh?"
Thrown by Fiona's words, Amelia could only tilt her head in confusion.
Fiona cheerfully went on ahead, and Amelia adjusted her grip on the gardening tools before following after Lieselotte.