Prince Ernest, overjoyed, went into the back with Lotte, and Jin let out a breath and started to clean up the mess in the workshop.

"Ah, let me help you.

With that, the Royal Secret Maids, Laila, began to help. ......

"Oh, no!"

She scattered the leftover material on the floor,

"No!"

She trips over a tool and overturns a shelf,

"I'm sorry!"

He accidentally kicked away the materials that Jin had put together.

He kicked the materials that Jin had put together by accident and made a mess. Seeing this, Jin said to her, "Please stay still,

"Please stay still,......."

Reiko said and called Reiko. <

"Ugh, am I useless ......?"

Laila says to the depressed Reiko,

"Well, people are good at what they do and not good at what they do not do.

Jin could only say, "Well, people are good at what they do and not good at what they do.

* * * *

"......Bina is avoiding me."

Count Kuzma complained to Reinhardt when he visited his room.

"I heard you proposed to her last night."

"Mm-hmm. He hasn't shown me his face since.

Saying this, he grabbed a bottle of wine that was in front of him, put his mouth directly on it and drank it straight from the bottle.

"Hey, hey, don't be reckless!"

Reinhardt chided him, but the Count did not listen to him and opened the second bottle.

"...... is a serious matter."

Sighing, Reinhardt shook his head in resignation,

"I'm going out for a while."

He shook his head in resignation and left Count Kuzma's room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

......

"I guess we're finally halfway through."

The hall where the golem garden party was held was a mess of rubble and broken golems.

Cleaning up the mess were the attendants, servants, and members of the Magic Knights. A few of the Royal Secret Maids also seem to be helping out.

The reason for the participation of the Magic Knights is to secure still-usable magic crystals (magi crystals) from the broken golem.

So it is the male servants who clean up the debris, the maidservants who clean up afterwards, and the Magic Knights who pick up usable and valuable items from the debris.

"Oh, this looks useful.

One of the magic knights picked up a red magic crystal.

"Here's another one!"

This time, a green Magi Crystal is found.

The work is so uninteresting that they can't do it unless it's like a treasure hunt.

Then..,

"Ah, this is a piece of crystal golem, isn't it?

A magi-crystal embedded in a transparent crystal. It was indeed a piece of .

"Oh, you found it."

What?"

I looked up at the voice, and there standing there was Stearina.

"I couldn't give up, so I came looking for the piece of <>, but I'm glad you found the most important part, the heart.

She then lifts <>'s chest with both hands,

"I'll take it.

With these words, he left.

_ *BR>_ "It took less time than I thought," he said.

"It was subdued in a shorter time than I thought.

It seems that the golem was more powerful than expected.

But did you achieve your goal?

Yes. The amplification limit of the eladolite. It's about 100,000 times stronger. There is not enough magic power to supply more than that. Also, the final amplification of Elradorite will break down due to overload.

"Hm, two in series, 400 times is appropriate."

I agree.

And number two?

Yes. I have detailed information on one of the finest golems in the Kingdom of Egelea and its allies, no doubt. We're analyzing it now.

So we're one step closer to our long-cherished dream.

"Yes, sir. Not just one step, but two or three.

That's very good.

I'll leave it to you. And one more interesting piece of information.

What's that?

A magician named Jin... a magecraftsman... is said to be quite good.

Well, that's interesting. Where does he belong?

He's a Magi Craftsman from the Shoro Kingdom. He's with Reinhard Randall.

Reinhardt. He's a guy I'd like to get my hands on. Good. Keep gathering information.

Yes, sir.

Acknowledged.

............

Bina was sitting alone by the window, looking out. It was already dark, and with all the trees planted, it was almost impossible to see anything.

"...... wind."

And a sigh. After a while, Bina suddenly turns around,

"Hey, Lisa."

She called out to Lisa, the Royal Secret Maid, who was standing behind her.

"Yes, can I help you?

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a while, or rather, if you could give me some advice.

After much deliberation, Bina seemed to have decided to ask her for advice, as she was close to her age.

"Consult?　If it's all right with me..."

"Thank you. ...... what do you think about the marriage between a commoner and a count?

"What?"

Bina honestly told him that Count Kuzma had asked her to marry him and that she was not sure whether she would accept or not.

"Well, if it were me, I would gladly accept.

"You would?

"Yes. A countess is a very prestigious position, isn't it? It's a position you can't get even if you wanted it!

It seems that Lisa has that kind of personality.

"...... compared to a magecraftsman?"

"You can't compare them. I'm not saying that magecraftsmen are bad, but their status is totally different. A count is an aristocrat, an aristocrat!

"...... I see."

Bina, realizing that she must have been asking the wrong person, turned her eyes once again to the darkness outside the window.

* * * * * *

"Miss, I'm so glad to see that you are safe and sound this time."

Meane, the nanny, was changing Elsa and speaking to her sincerely.

"That's why I told you before that there are many dangers when traveling.

But Erza shakes her head at Meane's words,

"No. There are some dangerous things, but there are also much more fun things."

"Miss ......"

"Hey, Meine, what does 'marriage' mean?"

"Yes?"

Meane is at a loss for words, unsure of the meaning of the question.

"Beena, Count Kuzma has asked you to marry him.

But Meine understood what Elsa said,

"Well, in my opinion, it's not ...... a good idea."

"Really?"

Erza turns around in surprise at the unexpected answer. Meane finishes putting on Erza's nightgown and walks around to the front of the room,

"...... yes. I mean, men can't ...... be trusted. You shouldn't."

"What?"

Erza is even more surprised by Meine's bombshell statement.

"You are almost seventeen years old, and in the eyes of the world, you are of marriageable age, but you don't know much about men yet, do you? Would you like me to tell you a few things?"

"...... yeah."

Elsa nodded,

"Men think of women as tools to bear children. Otherwise, they are an outlet for their desires."

The words came out of nowhere, and Elsa simply listened in silence.

"When I was ......15 years old, I served as a lady-in-waiting in the house of a certain nobleman. My family was a wealthy merchant, and it was customary to serve for a few years as a chambermaid in order to learn the ropes.

Then, after a pause,

"...... there was a guest in the nobleman's house. He was a foreign nobleman and a soldier.

"Someone like your father."

Erza mutters, her father is a viscount and one of the commanders of the Shawlo Imperial garrison abroad.

Meine frowned slightly when she heard this, but immediately continued on as if nothing had happened.

"...... The young man, who is a battalion commander in the national army, is to be taken care of by myself and another older lady-in-waiting. He stayed with us for about three months. During that time, he and I became man and wife.

"A man-woman relationship?"

Elsa, unable to swallow the euphemism, parroted it back. Meane smiled,

"It means that we are not married, but we are still living together as husband and wife."

Whether she understood or not, Elsa continued on anyway.

"The man told me that he had a wife in his country. She also told me that he already has two children, two boys. Knowing that, I had a relationship with him."

Elsa listens in silence. This is the first time Meane talks about her past.

"You didn't marry her?"

It is not unusual for a nobleman to have a second wife or a concubine. Count Galana had said something like that to Elsa.

"I guess I wasn't even good enough to be his concubine. She never once said that to me."

He let out a sigh and then continued.

"Eventually, her period of stay passed, and she returned to her country. But by then, I had a new life inside me.

"You mean a baby ......?"

Elsa asks, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Yes. When the time came I gave birth to her. It was a beautiful little girl."

"A girl ......."

"I was going to raise her alone. My family was reasonably comfortable. But how did the nobleman know that? He wanted to take the child. The nobleman's wife was frail and could not bear any more children. And a girl can be a tool for a nobleman to marry another nobleman.

"......"

"I refused. But the common people were no match for the nobility, and in the end the girl was taken away from me."

"......" "That's terrible."

"Yes, it's terrible. But now that I'm serving you like this, I'm not so unhappy.

What happened to the girl?

He looked worried.

"From what I've heard, he was not discriminated against and was raised with the children your wife gave birth to.

"I'm glad ......."

Yes, that's the only thing that saves my heart.

"Aren't you lonely?"

Meane smiled kindly at the question,

"I'm with you now, miss."

She gently takes his hand. Erza gently takes her hand and returns it.