“—So, what tricks did you use to get close to Lady Alisha?”

Lotte was being pressed by a girl similarly clad in a maid’s uniform.
Behind her stood two others, both radiating palpable hostility.
　Having left Alisha’s room and finally composed herself before returning to work, she was now summoned by her fellow maids.
These were the very ones who had gossiped behind her back before she resigned.
This was the first time they had directly confronted her like this.

“What tactics? I haven’t exactly…”

Naturally, she couldn’t explain her connection to Alisha.
Nor could she possibly say why Alisha had summoned her.
It seemed they simply couldn’t stomach the fact that Lotte, who should have left, had returned.
A hard shove to her shoulder sent Lotte off balance, and she landed flat on her backside.
　This was the mansion’s back garden, rarely visited by anyone —or rather, only servants came here at this hour.
They’d deliberately brought her here, timing it for this specific moment.

“Just when we thought she’d finally left, she comes back and suddenly gets put in charge of Lady Alisha’s care!”
“Exactly! We’ve never even been allowed to speak properly with her!”
“And someone like you getting summoned to Lady Alisha’s very chambers!”

　They all piled into her at once —they were jealous.
Admittedly, Lotte had felt envious when she saw the maid entrusted with caring for Alisha.
But she wouldn’t —and had no intention of— blaming or berating anyone like this.
Besides, what they said was true —it was work that should properly be done by a maid of higher standing.
　It wasn’t something Lotte, a returnee, should be doing —so she accepted their words without complaint.
Perhaps it was punishment for what Lotte had done to Alisha earlier.
Unable to hide their irritation at Lotte’s silence, one of them eventually grabbed her hair.

“Ugh…”
“Don’t just stay quiet! Say something!　Someone like you is unworthy of the Zekrosia household! Quitting once and then coming back? Shameless—”
“Who’s the shameless one?”
“—”

Everyone present turned their gaze towards the voice’s owner.
Not just the maids —Lotte too stared at the figure, surprise etched on her face.
There stood Alisha, still clad in her formal princess attire.
　To be precise, her attire was slightly dishevelled.
It seemed Alisha had chased after Lotte without changing.
Given the situation, it wouldn’t have been strange for Lotte —who should have been entrusted with the change of clothes— to be blamed for what she was doing, but no one could possibly speak up.
Alisha’s gaze —was colder than anything Lotte had ever seen before.

“L-Lady Alisha…!　Th-this, well… th-this one made a mistake—”
“This one?”
“…!”

The maid who’d tried to make excuses fell silent at Alisha’s single word.
Probably, no one present had ever seen her angry before.
Indeed, it was a sight even Lotte had never witnessed —ignoring the three maids, she crossed the room and held out her hand to Lotte.

“Are you alright?”
“Y-yes. I’m… fine.”

Lotte still felt awkward and hesitated to take the hand offered.
Yet Alisha grasped Lotte’s hand and helped her to her feet.
The gaze directed at Lotte was incredibly gentle. Even though she must have been causing trouble for Alisha —Lotte felt a slight dislike for the relief she felt.
　The anger was directed solely at them.

“—I know Lotte left once before. And I was the one who asked her to come back.”

Alisha explained to the maids in a matter-of-fact tone.

“She looked after me during the expedition. So —when I found out she used to work here, I simply asked her to return. Any objections?”

　There was no need to go into detail about how they met.
Simply that Alisha had brought Lotte back —that reason alone sufficed for Lotte’s presence here.
After all, Alisha had needed her.

“Ah, no, well…”

Faced with Alisha’s words, the maids faltered, unable to reply.
They couldn’t possibly argue.
　After all, Lotte being a maid wasn’t something she should be blamed for in the first place.
For them, it was purely that they disliked Lotte and were secretly taking out their frustrations on her.
And for that to be discovered by Alisha of all people meant there was no excuse they could possibly offer.

“I requested Lotte as a maid befitting the Zekrosia household. If you refuse to accept that —then it is you who should leave this place.”

Alisha declared it plainly.
Naturally, the maids could not hide their agitation at her words.

“W-we… we are terribly sorry, Alisha-sama! P-please forgive us…”

　Their faces drained of colour as the maids knelt before her.
The Zekrosia household held considerable power within the kingdom —being dismissed from such a residence would be a grave dishonour for them.
It could profoundly alter the course of their future lives.

“W-We grew jealous that Lotte was entrusted with attending to Lady Alisha…”

　They were so cornered they even admitted the reason Lotte had been summoned here.
Even hearing those words, Alisha’s expression remained unchanged.
The kindness she had shown Lotte was absent; she continued to stare at her with a sharp gaze.

“It is not to me you should apologise.”
“S-S-Sorry, L-Lotte…”

　Prompted by Alisha’s rebuke, she bowed her head to Lotte.
—They were only apologising because Alisha told them to.
Surely, they weren’t truly sorry to Lotte.
Knowing this, Alisha couldn’t forgive them.
But if this continued, she might genuinely expel them —just as Alisha opened her mouth to speak, Lotte tugged at her sleeve.
　Alisha stopped dead in her tracks and turned her gaze towards Lotte.
Lotte shook her head slightly – meaning this was enough.
She feared that saying it aloud would make the others misinterpret the relationship between Lotte and Alisha.
Seeing Lotte like this, Alisha let out a small sigh before saying,

“You may go now. But —there won’t be a next time.”

Saying this, as if to emphasise her point, the maids nodded frantically and hurriedly left the scene.
Alisha, always straightforward and resolute in her demeanour, was indeed someone Lotte admired —recognising this, Lotte found herself once again being saved.
In the end, Lotte always seemed to cause trouble for Alisha.

“A-Alisha-sama, about that—”
“Shall we return to my room first? I haven’t changed yet.”
“Ah, y-yes!”

Lotte nodded frantically and began walking after Alisha.
—Yet within Lotte, another feeling was beginning to solidify.