Chapter 16: The Maid is Meticulous in Her Preparations

The invitation to the Maritsuji family went through more smoothly than I’d expected.

Probably because I’d handed it directly to Maritsuji Anri herself.

Reizen-sensei had supervised the wording of the invitation for me. As a Japanese language teacher—and as a member of the Reizen family, who’d apparently established noble etiquette even before the Maritsuji family did—she’d been teaching me various points of protocol beyond just the invitation itself.

I’m always relying on other people, huh.

Or maybe… should I think of it as learning how to use people?

“Well then, today’s the day the Maritsuji family will be visiting this old Kiyomiya manor…”

The scheduled time hadn’t arrived yet, but we’d already gathered in the drawing room to begin preparations.

“Don’t worry so much. There’s no need to be tense, y’know? Let’s just take it easy.”

“Why are you the calm one here, Sayaka?”

Today, Sayaka wore the same long-skirted maid uniform she’d worn the other day. Her hair was done even more carefully than usual, and she appeared to be wearing light makeup as well.

“Well, I mean, if we mess up, you’re the one who’ll get scolded, Keiji-kun…”

“Hey, weren’t you supposed to be supporting me here!?”

“I’m kidding. This is Hisaka Sayaka, whose selling point is being cool and composed, remember? I’m not so inexperienced that I’d get nervous over one or two guests.”

“What a reliable maid…”

I wasn’t wrong to pay Sayaka a million yen to hire her.

“Hey, Keiji. The maid uniform’s one thing, but can’t we do something about this long skirt? I hate long skirts more than green peas.”

“Don’t be so picky if you’re supposed to be an Ojou-sama from a good family. Have you really never worn a long skirt before?”

Standing beside Sayaka was Maki.

Today, instead of her usual school uniform or flashy casual clothes, she too was wearing a maid uniform—a classic, long-skirted style nearly identical to Sayaka’s.

“If you showed up in a miniskirt maid outfit, the Maritsuji family would probably turn around and leave on the spot. People like them are strict about etiquette, y’know?”

“Ugh…”

Maki made a displeased face as she pulled up the hem of her long skirt, tugging it so high that her thighs were completely visible.

If the Maritsuji people saw her like this, they’d definitely go home immediately.

“Sayaka being a maid is fine since she’s cute. I don’t care about making Sogano wear a maid uniform either. But… why am I also being forced into one?”

“We’re short-staffed.”

And standing behind Sayaka was Reizen-sensei, likewise dressed in the same type of maid uniform as Sayaka and Maki.

“Being a maid at a student’s house… If the school found out, wouldn’t I get fired?”

“If that happens, I’ll take responsibility and hire you as a maid here.”

“Then I’ll take you down with me and get you expelled, Kiyomiya.”

“You really love the idea of mutual destruction, Sensei!”

The hidden side of this supposedly kind and gentle teacher is far too dangerous.

I would’ve been happier not knowing her true nature.

“But Sensei, that maid uniform really suits you. Just like I thought—when a high school girl wears one it feels like cosplay, but when an adult wears it, it looks authentic.”

“You little—! Are you trying to say I’m an old hag!?”

“You’re reading way too much into it! I was genuinely complimenting you!”

No, seriously, Reizen-sensei is popular at school as a beautiful teacher.

The maid uniform genuinely looks good on her.

“H-Hmph! No matter how much you flatter me, Saya is mine! I won’t hand her over!”

“Speaking of which, Maki’s here too. Is it okay for your mask to be off, Sensei?”

“…Sogano is the type who can keep her mouth shut. Unlike the other completely untrustworthy students at Sōshūkan, Sogano is at least marginally better.”

“Ohh, Sensei gets me. I’m satisfied just knowing Mama-sensei’s hidden side. This information is probably too expensive for anyone to buy anyway.”

“Sogano, your information broker activities are being treated as a problem in the staff room, you know.”

“It’s fine. I often overhear what you teachers are talking about too.”

“Don’t just casually blackmail your teachers.”

Uwaaah… these people are terrifying.

I thought the guests who were coming would be the scariest, but there are absolutely terrifying people right beside me.

“However, Miyabi-san, Maki-san—Keiji-kun and I will be the ones welcoming the Maritsuji family. I feel bad making you dress up like this, but I’d like you two to support me from behind the scenes.”

“I know, Saya. Being in the back is more helpful for me anyway.”

“As for me, I just want to cover the Kiyomiya vs. Maritsuji showdown from a front-row seat. Don’t worry, I’m used to skulking around without being seen.”

“Don’t get used to things like that.”

That’s a skill you wouldn’t expect from a well-bred Ojou-sama, Maki.

“Kiyomiya, Sogano, and my adorable Saya.”

What’s this about?

Even though she’s a teacher, there’s way too much difference in how she addresses us, but I guess it’s fine since it’s outside work hours?

“I’ve taught you all various points of etiquette, but… this isn’t the Heian period, and we’re not welcoming royalty. As long as you act with common sense, that’ll be more than enough.”

“Ehh!?”

“If kids are too stiffly polite, it can actually come across as cheeky. Modern etiquette has been simplified. The sense of speed is completely different from the old days. If you followed the protocols from when the nobility lived in Kyoto, you’d just be wasting the other person’s time.”

“You should’ve told us that earlier, Reizen-sensei!”

“However, that’s the advanced application. Whether it’s studying or sports, the fundamentals are important—and etiquette is the same. There’s a world of difference between simplifying things after knowing the proper etiquette versus handling things with modern manners while knowing nothing. Even just the way you bow your head is different.”

“Ooh, Reizen-sensei is saying something teacher-like…”

“Listen here, Kiyomiya. If you underestimate me too much, I’ll seriously beat you down, got it?”

Is this person a former noble or a former delinquent?

“Yes, yes, both of you calm down. Now then, Miyabi-san and Maki-san, please stand by in the kitchen. Keiji-kun, let’s check your appearance one more time. You’re the star of the show, so we need to be meticulous.”

“You’re right about that.”

I was wearing my finest suit today. As a high school student, I was fairly used to wearing suits, and I could manage my hair and clothes neatly on my own, but it was probably better to have someone check me over.

“Keiji, just to be safe, why don’t you wear expensive underwear too? Maritsuji-san’s mother is coming, after all. You might have a shot at a mother-daughter bowl, y’know?”

“Like hell that’s happening!”

“A mother-daughter bowl? What’s that?”

Sayaka tilted her head in confusion.

Thank goodness—the honor student’s brain doesn’t seem to waste capacity on useless knowledge.

I should head back to my room before Maki says anything else unnecessary.

“Alright, this should be good…”

“Yes, I think it’s fine.”

I checked my entire appearance in the full-length mirror set up in my room, and Sayaka, standing behind me, nodded in agreement. My suit jacket, trousers, and shirt all looked fine. My tie was neatly fastened too.

“Though, if what Miyabi-san said is true, maybe it’d be an option to dress down a little and show some vulnerability?”

“Let’s keep everything neat. I couldn’t stand it if they made some sarcastic Kyoto-dialect remark like, ‘My, what fine clothes you’re wearing.'”

“Meaning the person wearing them is sloppy and it’s a waste of expensive clothing, right?”

“Having the Maritsuji family as my first boss battle is setting the bar pretty high.”

“For what it’s worth, wasn’t Fujikawa a boss too?”

“He was more like a tutorial character.”

I’m saying something harsh myself, but what he’s done to me since elementary school was worse.

“Ugh…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Now that I think about it, I’m getting nervous… I’ve greeted important guests from other families at the main residence plenty of times, but Father and the servants handled everything.”

I’d just stood somewhere inconspicuous with a smile on my face—though even that smile apparently didn’t sit well with those esteemed people.

“It’s fine. Being a little nervous makes you more charming.”

“Does the Maritsuji family really expect me to be charming?”

“Well, there’s not much else they could expect…”

“Are you really on my side?”

Sorry for the cliché response, but I’m seriously doubtful.

Sayaka remains as suspicious as ever.

“Ah, but looking at you, Sayaka, I feel like my nervousness has eased a bit.”

“How rude—not getting nervous when looking at a beautiful woman’s face…”

“Isn’t that where you should be happy as a maid?”

Sayaka’s loyalty was questionable too. Well, not that I was demanding she pledge her loyalty or anything.

“Well, I’ll just stay moderately nervous. It’s more student-like than being perfectly composed, right?”

I glanced at my wristwatch.

“We prepared with a bit too much time to spare. There’s still time left.”

Knowing the Maritsuji family, they’d probably arrive exactly on schedule.

“In that case, could you check me as well? Is this maid uniform alright?”

“Hm? I don’t know anything about how to wear a maid uniform properly—but it looks fine, doesn’t it?”

Her ribbon was tied properly, all the buttons were fastened, and her blouse didn’t have a single wrinkle. Her skirt was long rather than her usual mini, and she was impeccably put together from head to toe.

“Um, I don’t want you to think this is strange, but…”

“Yeah?”

“J-just in case, I’d like you to check this too.”

“Check what—hey!?”

Sayaka pinched the hem of her long skirt and smoothly pulled it upward—revealing her pale white thighs, and then even her pure white, modest underwear.

“Wh-what are you doing!? You said you wouldn’t do that kind of service—”

“Th-this isn’t service. A maid should wear things that aren’t too flashy but not too plain either, even in places that can’t be seen, right?”

“Even if you say that…”

The underwear Sayaka wore featured lace trimming and fabric with a subtle sheen—elegant in design without being too plain. She even had a garter belt properly fastened.

“Um, aren’t you staring a bit too much?”

“You’re the one who told me to look! A-Ah, right, it’s fine. I think it’s fine.”

“I see…”

Sayaka slowly lowered her skirt without any rush.

It’s a little—well, quite a shame, but if she’d lifted it any higher, I would’ve had a heart attack.

What’s the point of my heart stopping from excitement before the Maritsuji family even arrives?

“This is among the especially expensive underwear I bought when we went shopping with your money before, Keiji-kun. I thought I’d definitely never need it, but I guess it’s true what they say about being prepared.”

“I-I see.”

When I was dragged to that lingerie shop, I wanted to run away.

But I guess it was good that I went—or was it?

“Ah, that’s right. I’ll tell you this now while I have the chance—”

“Hm?”

Sayaka’s face turned red as she leaned in to whisper in my ear.

“I have no intention of providing that kind of service. But if you really—absolutely can’t take it anymore and call me to the bedroom, I just want enough time to put on this underwear beforehand.”

“W-wait. Don’t tell me your bra is the same expensive kind—!”

“If I take off my top, it’ll be a hassle to put back on, so I can’t show you. But if you really insist—”

“That’s not it! That’s not what I meant!”

The panties just now were so shocking that I ended up curious about the matching set.

“Just as you have no intention of doing that kind of service, Sayaka, I have no intention of making you serve me like that. I’m serious about this.”

“…Are you really a high school boy? Will the Kiyomiya family be able to produce an heir?”

“Don’t make me sound impotent!”

Ah, saying things like impotent isn’t very refined either.

But Sayaka’s the one who made me say it, you know?

“Hah…!?”

“Wh-what is it, Sayaka?”

“I’d completely forgotten until this very moment… I’ve only been thinking about you becoming the head of the Kiyomiya family, Keiji-kun, but I need to think about producing an heir too, don’t I?”

“You’re getting way ahead of yourself.”

I’d had a similar conversation with a certain young lady, but it was far too early for a first-year high school student like me to be thinking about children.

“But it’s strange that you won’t even lay a hand on a mere maid like me. Didn’t nobles in the old days use their servants to satisfy their sexual urges?”

“That’s what scummy people did…”

Though it seems even nobles who acted refined commonly kept mistresses and had them bear children.

Of course, that’s also a story from long ago.

In this world so strict about compliance, having a child with anyone other than your legal wife would be fatal. The head of the Kiyomiya family had also fathered a child with a woman he wasn’t married to, but in his case, at least he’d been single.

“We’ll have to consider that aspect in the marriage talks with Maritsuji-san. However, the Maritsuji family seems rather uptight, so there’s a possibility it’ll be off-limits until after marriage.”

“What exactly will be off-limits…?”

I found myself unconsciously using polite language with my maid.

“When you really can’t hold back anymore, you can release it with me or Maki-san.”

“Don’t just casually drag Maki into this!”

Maki was strictly a female friend. That kind of release was absolutely out of the question.

“Ah, it’s almost time. Let me just adjust your tie one more time…”

“You’re ending the conversation so naturally… Hey, I told you I can do it myself.”

“Let me do it. I’m a maid, after all.”

Sayaka stood in front of me, grasped the knot of my tie, and adjusted its shape with little tugs.

“There, perfect. You’re a master I wouldn’t be ashamed to present anywhere now.”

“……”

I stepped away from Sayaka and moved to stand in front of the bookshelf. Then I pulled out a children’s book that had been a favorite of mine, and from within it, removed a single photograph that had been tucked inside.

“Come to think of it, maybe it’s about time I stopped hiding this and put it in a photo frame.”

“I’ll buy a suitable frame next time.”

“Please do. If it were up to me, it’d probably stay tucked in there forever.”

After all, it had been stuck in there for nearly ten years, since I was small.

“Wakura Honoka… I wonder what she thought of me.”

“She passed away before you were old enough to remember things—more than ten years ago, right?”

“That’s right. I only have the faintest memory of her.”

The face in my memories was blurry, and I could only vaguely recall her voice.

“But I do remember that she was kind.”

“That must be nice.”

“Eh?”

“My mom—I don’t have a single millimeter of memory of her being kind.”

“……”

Sayaka’s mother would be her adoptive mother—my biological mother, Hisaka Tsukasa, right?

She supposedly raised Sayaka until just recently, and yet there are no good memories?

What kind of person was my genetic mother?

“I see, so you still haven’t heard anything about my mother.”

“Huh? Does someone know about your—about Hisaka Tsukasa?”

“No, don’t worry about it. You’re happier not knowing about my mom.”

“…When you say it like that, it just makes me more curious.”

Honestly, I was curious in the sense that she was Sayaka’s adoptive mother, but as my biological mother, I had almost zero interest.

“If anything, it might be better to have the Kiyomiya family send assassins to dispose of her.”

“What do you think the Kiyomiya family is!?”

“Mom isn’t stupid, you know. She wouldn’t do anything to defy the Kiyomiya family, so she’s harmless if left alone. But you’d be better off not expecting any motherly love from her.”

“No, I seriously have no expectations…”

I was already starting to forget about Wakura Honoka, who I’d believed was my mother.

I seriously couldn’t care less about a biological mother whose face I’ve never even seen.

“However, it’s just that my mother and your mother are… special.”

“Yeah?”

“The mother who’s coming today will be a formidable opponent. Keiji-kun, can you stand up to her?”

“No, I won’t stand up to her.”

I straightened the collar of my suit as I spoke.

“The nobles of this country don’t fight. They just smile while spinning their schemes.”