43. Then, I Have No Choice but to Move.
“Why are you coming out, Your Grace? I could’ve gone in instead.”
As I stepped outside through the door, Betty, who was waiting outside, looked at me with a puzzled expression.
Of course, the lounge would’ve been a better place to talk.
“There’s someone inside. I didn’t know and asked them to call you, so I was waiting a bit.”
“Oh, really? Then we should find another room.”
At my words, Betty nodded and opened the door to the next room.
Fortunately, no one was there this time, so we went inside.
After closing the door and confirming once more that the room was empty, I took a seat as far from the wall as possible.
“There’s someone next door, so be careful.”
“Of course, Your Grace. Shall we communicate in writing if needed?”
Betty smiled teasingly.
But there was no need for that, so I chuckled and waved it off.
“No need. Even if someone overhears, they won’t understand the content anyway.”
“There’s no harm in being careful. You can’t rule out the chance that someone might pick up enough to guess something, right?”
Betty said, echoing what Hailey once told me—the most basic rule of information gathering.
No matter what someone says, you should always try to infer what kind of information it holds.
I nodded, recalling Hailey, who used to teach me about merchant business.
“You’re not wrong. But this one’s simple. You can come a little closer.”
What I needed to say was straightforward.
Standing in the middle of the room, far from all the walls, I beckoned to Betty.
She came close, and I whispered quietly.
“Tell Hailey to have the staff in Enerheim meet Daymar as soon as they arrive. And send everything we’ve gathered so far immediately.”
“Right now? Weren’t we supposed to wait for the people coming from the East?”
Betty widened her eyes and whispered.
We had just heard that we made contact with the people headed east, and it would still take time for them to arrive—so she was wondering why we were acting already.
She wasn’t wrong.
We had agreed to wait for the eastern update.
But that was when I had no idea what was going on.
Now I understood exactly what was happening in the East—and why Enerheim had staged such an over-the-top performance to take control of our people and supplies.
So I had no choice but to act.
“I just think we should. And tell them to be cautious about water once they get near the East—especially drinking water.”
“Drinking water?”
“Yeah. Tell them to boil it as much as possible. The East is scarce on water, and even if they find some, it’s likely not clean.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Betty looked slightly confused by my string of instructions.
Probably because she didn’t understand why I was saying all this.
I understood her feelings—but this wasn’t something that could be explained in a conventional way.
So in times like this, the best option was to brush things off lightly.
“I know what you’re thinking, but could you just follow through for now? I honestly don’t know how to explain it.”
“Hmm, alright. Got it.”
Betty nodded quietly.
Then she added with a serious look.
“And you don’t need to explain everything to me, Your Grace. I’m just a maid, after all. If you tell me to do something, I’ll do it.”
With a sigh, she gave me a look that said, Don’t make me repeat the obvious.
“I appreciate Your Grace’s kindness in trying to include me, but I know my place.”
“There’s no such thing, Betty. Don’t say things that make me sad.”
Most nobles don’t bother explaining things to their servants. Servants are expected to obey orders without question, never demanding explanations from their masters.
That’s the usual social standard.
But I shook my head firmly at her.
“Betty, you’re my aide. Not just a maid—so why are you saying that?”
Betty was different.
She learned a lot from my mother and from Hailey. We sometimes even studied together.
She’s someone who understands me better than anyone and walks with me toward the same goals.
Someone like her couldn’t be treated as merely “ordinary.”
When I said this with a serious expression, Betty looked a little awkward.
“There you go again, making things complicated. I just meant that you don’t have to go out of your way to explain everything to me. You deal with more things that can’t be explained than things that can.”
With a small shrug, she added:
“You have a knack for making the obvious sound surprising.”
“And I know better than anyone that I’m not just a simple maid.”
“That alone makes you extraordinary, Betty.”
I tilted my head at her.
“But regardless, I am Your Grace’s maid. Whether I like it or not, maintaining that appearance is the best way to put others off guard.”
“So you’re telling me you said something to make me feel bad on purpose?”
“Think of it more like reminding Your Grace how important I am to you. That sounds better, right?”
Betty said with a playful smile.
I didn’t say more—just nodded with a smile.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Don’t worry, Your Grace. I’ll pass the message to Lady Hailey and head straight back to the servants’ quarters. You should go find His Highness right away.”
I caught a glimpse of him earlier—he looked like he was looking for you.
With that, Betty left the lounge.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t even told Leofric I was stepping out.
So I went to open the door to go find him—when it happened.
“…You were here, Amelia?”
Leofric stood at the door, just about to knock.
I hadn’t sensed anything at all before I opened the door.
As I stood there stunned, I saw Betty quietly bow and leave behind me.
“Oh—Your Highness. I’m sorry. I stepped out without saying anything…”
“It’s alright. More importantly, are you feeling unwell? Should we head back?”
Leofric lowered the hand he’d been holding up and asked with concern.
I shook my head lightly.
“No, I’m fine. I just had something to tell Betty.”
“If you feel even a little uncomfortable or want to go back, just say the word. We’ve already fulfilled our duties by showing up.”
But Leofric still looked worried.
To be fair, it was unusual to retreat to the lounge not long after arriving at a party.
He probably thought I was sick—or avoiding someone.
I shook my head more firmly this time and insisted I was okay.
“I had some sudden thoughts and needed to pass on some instructions to Betty. Really, I’m fine.”
“If you say so. That’s a relief, but…”
“And after all—it’s Marquis Ferze’s party, Your Highness.”
This wasn’t just any party.
Like most people here, I had my own agenda. I couldn’t just leave.
“He may be moderate in stance, but the Marquis holds considerable influence among the nobles. It’d be wise to build a bridge to bring him over to the Emperor’s side.”
“But Amelia, he’s someone with firm convictions about neutrality. Even the Marquess of Vermerian, a longtime friend, couldn’t sway him. How do you expect to?”
And do we really need to grow our faction here?
Leofric whispered with a puzzled expression.
Balancing the power between noble factions is always important, and sometimes earning trust is more valuable than increasing numbers.
I understood what he meant.
“But Marquis Ferze is friendly with everyone, regardless of factions. That kind of person is always worth recruiting, no matter their stance.”
“But that’ll take time. Isn’t now the time to look after the people close to us instead, Amelia?”
Leofric added that he understood me.
He knew what I meant—but wasn’t something else more important right now?
Once again, he said:
“Your health is more important to me. Are you really okay not going back?”
“I appreciate Your Highness’s concern—but that’s not what matters right now.”
I firmly stated not to suggest leaving early again.
For a brief moment, his face showed dissatisfaction—but only briefly.
Leofric quickly regained composure and offered his arm like an escort.
“I understand.”
I extended my hand in return, and he gently placed it on his arm.
“But to me, protecting you matters more than gaining more support.”
What’s the point of power if I can’t protect the person right beside me?
He whispered—like a vow to himself.
I looked up at him, about to say something in response to that firm tone.
“Your Highness…?”
But his gaze wasn’t on me.
Following his suddenly stiff expression, I turned my head—
Standing there, at the door of the lounge, was Lloyd, who had apparently come out at some point and was now staring at us.
