"Congratulations, Ingrid."

"Thank you, Miss Elsa."

"Take care of my brother Moritz."

"Yes, that's all..."

"......, by the way."

Yes?

How did you meet my brother Moritz?

Erza, a little drunk, asks a question she would not normally ask.

"Oh, I'd like to know that, too.

And then the Grand Emperor Hilde joined in.

"Your Majesty?

"............"

Seeing Erza and Hilde, Jin shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"Jin, what's wrong?"

"Reinhardt. Look at that ......."

Reinhardt, at Jin's suggestion, spotted Erza and Emperor Hilde tangling with Ingrid.

"Ahhh."

"See?　That's how you'd react, right?"

Erza is not much of an alcoholic. Tonight was a celebration, so she only had a couple of glasses of sweet white wine, which was supposed to be easy to drink .......

Emperor Taisho (Hilde) looks a bit tipsy. Perhaps he is just amused.

Flora, his companion, was with him but did not say anything.

"Go ahead, talk," she says.

"Uh, uh, ......"

At the insistence of the Grand Emperor Hilde, Ingrid began to speak in halting tones. .......

* * * *

Ingrid began her apprenticeship to the Randall family at the age of 13.

This was in the year 3455, one year before Jin was summoned to this world.

When she was 10 years old, her parents died one after another of epidemics, and she was staying with her uncle and his wife. When she became old enough to serve, she was looking for a job, and the Randall family offered her a position as a maid of honor.

Ingrid was trained by her seniors for a year as a so-called , and in 3456, she was officially appointed as a lady-in-waiting.

By the way, in the Shoro Kingdom, the maidservants...... are <> and belong to the <>.

Their social status is not high. At least, they are often regarded as lower than the owners of private stores.

Naturally, since neither labor laws nor labor unions existed in this world, the treatment of workers varied from employer to employer.

While some workers were treated like family members, others worked in conditions that were almost as bad as slavery.

The Randall family at that time was headed by Georg Randall von Amber, Elsa's father.

He was influenced by the radicals ...... of the , who were called , the ...... at that time, and also suffered from the aftereffects of a mild stroke. He had become violent in character due to the aftereffects of a mild stroke.

His second son, Fritz Randall von Grosch, had also changed his character due to of a conspiracy by a secret society, the .

It was at this time that Ingrid began to work for the Randall family.

Naturally, he had a hard time.

The salary, vacations, room assignments, etc. were fair, but the treatment from Georg and Fritz was the worst.

If you made the slightest mistake, you were punished.

But it was not only Ingrid, but all the other maidservants as well.

Still, the pay was not bad, and few quit.

The eldest son Moritz Randall von Umber and his mother Marlene, Viscountess Randall, were kind to her.

In 3455, when Ingrid began her service, Moritz had lost his wife Helena Randall von Citrine, and she was a little attracted to him in his heartbreak.

There is a saying, "A woman who is blind and a man who catches a cold.

It means that a woman who has an eye disease looks s*xy because her eyes are moist, and a man who has a cold looks s*xy because he has a little shadow.

There are various theories as to why they look s*xy.

Anyway, Ingrid liked Moritz because she saw him in his grief over the loss of his wife and was touched by his kindness.

(Young Master ...... seems to be in low spirits these days. You leave your meals and ...... I'm worried about you.)

Since then, Ingrid has been working with her feelings for Moritz in her heart.

One day she said,

"Young man, it's a beautiful day. Why don't you take a walk in the garden?

He encouraged her to move her body.

And again,

"Young master, I got some roses that bloomed in the garden. I will put them on your desk.

He never forgot to put seasonal flowers on his desk in his study.

Then came the big turning point.

Georg was blamed for his eccentricities, and the Randall family was demolished.

At this time, all the other maidens had found other jobs and left. In spite of this, Ingrid was the only one who stayed on voluntarily.

Marlene said to Ingrid, who had offered to stay.

We are not nobles anymore, you know.　I don't even know if I can pay your salary.

No ma'am, I started working here and became a man here. I am what I am today because of you. Let me repay you in some small way."

"Well, Ingrid, you can do that at ......."

Marlene says that Ingrid's concern brought tears to her eyes.

Then came another turning point.

In 3457, when Elsa married In, she gave the title of baronet to her brother Moritz.

Once again, the Randalls (a branch of the Randall family) became nobles with titles.

At the same time, he recruited a few maidservants.

At this time, at the age of 15, she was appointed as the .

This was Moritz's way of thanking Ingrid for not abandoning them in their time of need.

Later, some of the former chambermaids returned, but they did not change Ingrid's position as the chief chamberlain.

The returning maidservants also acknowledged this, and Ingrid has remained the head of the Randall family ever since.

Although I must add that she was still inexperienced at the beginning and her name did not live up to her title.

However, thanks to his devoted care for Moritz, who was heartbroken after his house was demolished, the distance between them quickly grew closer.

Ingrid, who became a kind of personal secretary to Moritz, studied hard.

She managed to master the basics of managing a territory.

Thank you, Ingrid.

No, this is my job.

It was a pleasure for Ingrid to know that Moritz could count on her.

Then, an unidentified flying object flew into the Shoro Kingdom and dropped something on Lake Tosmo, disabling magic and magical tools.

Not only on the east side of Lake Tosmo, but also on the west side of the lake, the same damage occurred, causing panic among some people.

In the Randall household, the magic tools suddenly stopped working, and the people in the house were filled with anxiety, not knowing what the hell was going on.

But..,

"Calm down, everyone. No human beings have been harmed, that's for sure. Keep your minds calm and take appropriate actions. If you get hurt in your haste, that would be a big problem.

Moritz's voice called out to him.

These words were nothing special, but they strangely helped me to get rid of the impatience in my heart.

The phenomenon subsided after half a day or so, and everyone in the house realized once again that Moritz was (apparently) dependable.

And Ingrid, of course.

When Moritz gently soothed her impatience at not being able to use the magic tools she was used to, she realized that Moritz had become an irreplaceable presence in her life.

And Moritz also hated the maid of honor who had worked for him for many years. .......

It was not long afterwards that the two began to have a s*xual relationship.