The Truth About The Young Master

Serve me the same bread again tomorrow.

Those few words from the Young Master made me freeze completely.

After all, the three-flavor bread I had served today was the culmination of everything I had.

The chocolate had taken all night to make, and I had used up all the special jam I had brought with me.

If I was going to serve it again tomorrow, I would probably have to start working immediately and go another entire night without sleep.

Even so, I summoned what little courage I had left and answered the Young Master.

“Yes, of course! Thank you very much!”

The Young Master gave me a gentle smile and said,

“Thank you, Shirley. I’m looking forward to it.”

…Ah. Ahhh.

That smile was simply too adorable.

It was truly the smile of an angel. At that moment, my heart was completely pierced through.

…If it would make him happy.

Then what did a little hardship matter?

I didn’t know whether this feeling was loyalty, maternal instinct, or perhaps even a weakness for little boys.

Even so, it was more than enough to make me strive, for the first time in my life, to cook not for myself, but to bring joy to someone else.

Then, the moment the Young Master left for work and disappeared from sight, the older maids rushed toward us and surrounded Anne and me.

“Hey, what was that!? What kind of snack did you two serve him!?”

“What did you mean about the fillings!? What did you put inside!? I’ve never seen the Young Master look that happy before!”

“Why didn’t you serve sacru!? That’s cheating! I can’t believe you!”

We were jostled around as everyone bombarded us with questions.

Incidentally, that last remark came from Jacqueline.

Still, I could hardly blame everyone for reacting that way.

After all, the Head Maid had essentially told them to start serving snacks other than sacru from tomorrow onward.

And if that was the case, the first thing they needed to know was what exactly had delighted the Young Master.

As I wondered how I should answer them, I noticed the Head Maid leaving the courtyard.

“Ah, excuse me, please let me through! Anne, I’ll leave the rest to you!”

“Wha—hey!? What do you mean, leave it to me!? Wait, you…!”

I called that out as I hurried after her.

Anne cried out like an abandoned puppy behind me, but I had no time to worry about her.

I hurried down the corridor and finally caught up with the strangely quick-footed Head Maid, calling out to her back.

“Head Maid! There’s something I want to ask you!”

The Head Maid slowly turned around and looked at me with her usual stern expression.

I did my best to catch my breath, straightened my back so I wouldn’t get scolded, and asked,

“Was this… was this your plan from the beginning? To have me serve something unusual and break everyone out of the habit of serving nothing but sacru?”

Yes. That must have been it.

The Head Maid had wanted to change the atmosphere where everyone served sacru and competed over it.

And that was why she had brought in an oddball like me.

The Head Maid did not answer immediately.

She stared steadily at my face, and after a full ten breaths or so, she finally spoke.

“This stays between us, Shirley. You are not to tell anyone.”

“…Yes.”

“The Young Master… does not particularly like sacru.”

…Huh?

My head filled with countless question marks.

No way. But… but the Young Master ate enormous amounts of sacru every single day!

“The Young Master cherished the time he spent eating snacks with Her Majesty the Queen. But that did not mean they shared the same tastes. When it comes to cake, the Young Master prefers a much moister texture.”

“…Then… then why didn’t he say so!? It’s his own snack time!”

“Because he did not want to reject the maids’ goodwill.”

“…Ah…”

And suddenly, everything made sense.

The maids had kept serving the Young Master the flavor of his memories because they knew he must have been grieving after losing his mother.

The flavor he had once happily enjoyed together with her.

The Young Master understood their feelings and was grateful for them.

That was why he had quietly endured eating sacru every day. Sacru he did not even like. …How kind of him.

At the same time, I finally understood why he had refused to eat what I made.

A new team arrived, perhaps giving him hope that something different would finally be served, only for us to bring out sacru yet again.

And ours tasted worse than everyone else’s. Of course he wouldn’t want to eat it.

“For the Young Master to say, ‘I have had enough sacru,’ could also be taken as rejecting his memories with Her Majesty the Queen. It was difficult for him to say such a thing himself. And even I, knowing how hard the maids had worked, could hardly bring myself to say it.”

“I see… So you were hoping one of the maids would decide on her own to serve something different.”

“Yes. Although I never expected you to start serving sacru as well.”

The Head Maid said that, then continued while staring directly into my eyes.

“I assumed that someone as insensitive as you would simply ignore everyone else’s circumstances and serve whatever you personally liked… Apparently, I misjudged you. That was my mistake.”

…Haa. Huh. I see.

So that old hag had been looking at me like that.

She had assumed I would brazenly and shamelessly serve something other than sacru without anyone having to tell me.

I see… Just you wait.

“Still, that bread earlier surprised me. Filling it with three different soft, sweet fillings is not an idea the other maids would have come up with. Nor would they have thought to draw a face on the surface of the bread. You really are unusual.”

“When you say ‘unusual,’ you make me sound like some kind of weirdo.”

“…You are a weirdo. But that is perfectly fine. That is how you should be, Shirley. Serve unusual things. And…”

The Head Maid turned her back on me and began walking away as she continued.

“Give the Young Master enjoyable moments. Keep bringing a smile to his face.”

“…Yes!”

Of course, Claire-sama. No──Head Maid.

I’ll do it. Absolutely.

Just as you said… I’ll keep serving the Young Master strange things!

With that resolve, I clenched both hands tightly.

For the Young Master’s smile, I could endure any amount of hardship. Yes, even knowing I was about to pull a second all-nighter in a row, I would do it!

And so, in the truest sense, my life as a maid at the Royal Palace finally began.

And those days would indeed become days of battle.

And before much time had passed, a great incident that would shake the Royal Palace itself was waiting for me… but that is a story for next time.