The Shepherds Are Dense

Chapter 58: The Lady-Killer

Aiwass and Lily reached the Hall of Silver and Tin at approximately 5:30 in the afternoon, before the sky darkened.And yet, by 8:45 in the evening, dinner still wasn't finished.

There wasn't a ball, and no other guests. It was only Aiwass, Princess Isabelle, and Master Yanis, the three of them non-stop talking.

The initial batch of dishes had long since cooled, so a second batch was brought out.

Featuring baked apples, sponge cake, and pan-seared scallops of foie gras…

Halfway through, Isabelle caught sight of the maid Lily, who had been standing behind Aiwass the entire time, looking a bit peckish, and smilingly invited her to sit down and join them.

By this point, she'd consumed three glasses of wine. Her cheeks were flushed red, but her eyes shone even more brightly.

As a servant, it wasn't proper to share the same table as a noble princess… but Lily was hungry, yes.

She had taken a small something to eat prior to going out to avoid hunger, but having stood perfectly upright behind Aiwass the whole time, it had sapped all her energy.

Yet if she could sit and eat was still up to her master's attitude, Aiwass.

And Aiwass not only concurred, but even asked Isabelle if Lily could be permitted to rest afterwards rather than to keep standing behind him.

Isabelle promptly agreed.

The three of them were the kind not to pay much attention to "etiquette"—Isabelle had practically been brought up by her grandmother, Queen Sophia; Yanis had walked around the world alone; and as for Aiwass, who had the flexibility to navigate all Paths, it was only natural.

So their party of three happily became a party of four and went on.

Since she was Aiwass's personal maid, Lily had to keep her dignity.

She did not need to be in the ordinary maid uniform like the others. She could accompany Aiwass in good civilian attire.

Being from a knight family, both Lily's appearance and her attitude were just like the young ladies in Glass Island.

And since she preferred knowledge to mere looks—reading way more than the indulged noble maidens of the capital—she possessed an educated and sophisticated poise that rendered her even more of a real young lady.

Her sitting down did not evoke any feeling of incongruity whatsoever.

Actually, when literature was mentioned, she even found herself able to respond to Master Yanis's queries with aplomb.

Seizing the moment, Aiwass mentioned his petition.

"…It's true that Mr. Aiwass does need someone to look after him," Isabelle nodded sincerely. "Are you planning on having Miss Lily with you at university…"?

She turned and softly inquired of her teacher, "Master, do I have the right to decide on something like this?"

After a few glasses of wine—even low-alcohol sweet wine—Isabelle had definitely loosened up. Her reserved nature had mellowed somewhat.

If this was to be taken as a glimpse of her authentic self, it certainly indicated a different personality.

"Of course you do, my darling,"

Yanis smiled. She had consumed twice as much wine as Isabelle, yet remained stone-cold sober.

"This is the Royal University of Law. Of course, what you say is law."

"Then… instead of giving Miss Lily the rank of a maid allowed to take courses, I'd like to officially register her as a student. I believe she's more worthy of university education than a good many of the students that are already there. Is that all right?"

Isabelle spoke it all at one breath, but then lost confidence.

"Would that be too presumptuous of me…?"

She really had no idea if this would upset the staff.

This was a princess who had never once been selfish in her life—so much so that she didn't even know the full boundaries of her own authority.

A course of course," Yanis couldn't help but laugh. "You're just too cute. my little sweetie. For something so little, you only have to give the command. All the paperwork and routine will take care of itself.".

"Although the Round Table Chamber might have more influence in affairs of state than the Hall of Silver and Tin, don't forget that all decrees of the ministers still have to be signed by Her Majesty the Queen before they become operational.

"Don't belittle yourself—if you belittle yourself, others will belittle you even further. Scum always feed on weakness.".

“Believe me, Sophia won’t mind at all. She’ll only feel proud of you—proud that you’ve begun to recognize your status and learn how to use your power.”

“Then it’s settled, Miss Lily!”

Isabelle looked at Lily with anticipation.

—You’re going to be my kouhai now!

Yes! Another friend!

“Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Young Master Aiwass! Thank you, Master Yanis!”

Realizing that her life course may have been forever altered, Lily stood up eagerly and bowed repeatedly, thanking again and again.

"In that case, Lily…"

Yanis resumed the conversation, tidying things up much more neatly than Isabelle was able.

"Because Aiwass is not very mobile now, I think it would be best if he does not stay at home anymore. The trip from the White Queen District to the Red Queen District is a bit too far… just wheeling a wheelchair would take more than two hours. That would be a big load on you."

"No, not at all, it's not a problem…"

"I know."

Yanis cut in softly.

But you two are students—and young. You need loads of sleep, and time to establish friendships. But, like Isabelle, you're not cut out for dorm living…

"So I think there are two possibilities. One is to purchase a property close to the university and move in. The plus is privacy and flexibility of meals and daily schedules. The negative is lack of security.".

"Besides, in the university you're protected by professors. Outside, though, you two have little fighting power. With only a single maid, Lily could be exhausted, missing study time. Then Oswald would have to provide additional servants to wait on you."

Avalon, in contrast to noble regimes in Stannum and Iris, had strict restrictions on domestic staff even for knightly households.

This was done to avoid allowing them to clandestinely train private militias of exceptional people.

This limitation, in return, restricted their mobility.

Large estates needed plenty of staff to take care of. When members of the family had to stay elsewhere temporarily, only their nearest servants were allowed to go with them.

"That won't do," Aiwass shook his head. "Father's away on business and won't be home for a while, but as compared to me, Yulia requires more protection and care."

Especially since he wouldn't be able to come back frequently, she may feel even lonelier.

"So the alternative is to have the university allocate you a private dorm room, and the two of you share it. As long as it's still on school premises, food, hygiene, and safety are all taken care of."

"…Eh?"

Isabelle was taken aback this time.

"Miss Lily has to share with Mr. Aiwass? That could be… a bit of an awkwardness, no?"

"Isn't that what a personal maid is for?"

Yanis replied with a careless tone.

She gazed at Isabelle, suddenly appeared to realize something, and laughed:

"Ah, I see… Is that what you were thinking about?"

"Master, thinking what—what do you mean?!"

Isabelle blushed with embarrassment.

"As far as I know, to avoid randy young lads being seduced by shady women or having bastards… before they're given a decent fiancée, it's usually the job of the personal maid to, shall we say, take care of their needs."

The ageless elven woman spoke this with total candor, gazing at Aiwass with curiosity:

"So, Aiwass, you wouldn't need that kind of thing, would you?"

Lily blushed and hung her head at her words.

And Isabelle gazed, eyes wide, in dumbfounded silence.

Aiwass merely smiled and sidestepped the question.

"Sounds like you've heard a thing or two about my reputation."

"Well, seeing is believing,"

Yanis laughed, shaking her head with a knowing glance.

"Sweet-talking and fox-like … Honestly, you're even more amazing than I imagined—more charming than the gossip says."

"…Huh? What gossip?"

Isabelle, being a friendless girl and therefore isolated from the gossip chain, was utterly perplexed.

"You don't think you're the only one who can appreciate Aiwass's charm, do you, little Isa?"

Yanis teased.

You may not have seen our little Aiwass in university yet, but when he was in secondary school, he was already legend as a lady-killer.

"Offspring of knightly families are public figures. Even having a girlfriend is delicate—others would wonder about the affair, or rumors would bring shame to their household. I've seen it covered in my own newspaper before.".

"And Aiwass? He continued to charm people left and right, earning repeated accusations of 'improper relations.' He was known as a scoundrel at the capital.

"Even prior to hitting the papers, he was already familiar to many.

"He was still healthy then—hadn't been struck by that confounded scholar—and he was a good athlete, particularly cricket. He was tall at an early age, a very handsome young man, smart-alecky and always courtesy personified towards girls.".

"Many girls fought for him. Some even thought they were his girlfriends—though in the end, they were only kidding themselves. Nevertheless, it had an impact on his reputation."

Honestly, they weren't wrong.

Aiwass told himself.

He did have a pretty nasty streak in this department. He never shied away from his radiance—he let his charm flow unfettered, giving warmth to everyone.

But at the same time, he never really gave back others' affections.

Because, in short, he simply didn't find them interesting. They were not sufficient.

—Even prior to reclaiming his past-life memories, Aiwass had always possessed some pride. A pride based not on knowledge of plot, but on the very nature of his soul.

The most drastic change following the recovery of his memories was that the old Aiwass was lacking in social acumen and a little astuteness.

He was a little too innocent—like when he stupidly met his pen pal by himself.

After all, this was an age before the internet. A little naivety in the young was to be expected.

And as for Aiwass's old reputation—it was impossible to conceal.

Aiwass didn't feel anything romantic about Isabelle at the time.

His mind was on getting stronger, altering the future, fighting the apocalypse—he was far too preoccupied.

All that he did for the princess was to make her stronger, to give her confidence, and to wipe her of her flaws.

Love and romance had no time.

—But he could not honestly say that he fall in love with her.

After all, she lovely.

That was a strong consideration on its own.

Not to mention, she was a kind and loyal heart—and a reliable ally on the battlefield.

Spend time enough together, and feelings could naturally arise…

Lying to himself was pointless.

—And if it ever did come to that, long-term lying would be a form of cruel betrayal.

So Aiwass was really thankful to Master Yanis for ripping away that veil early on.

Better now than later, before things got messy.

But what surprised him was how little Isabelle responded to it all.

She just looked up at Lily, then over at her teacher—as if in a state of deep contemplation.

And then Yanis turned to Aiwass and their eyes locked.

"After all," she said, "he a Moriarty. Everyone knows old James had a frightening eye for adopted children. Just like his older siblings, Aiwass was born to shine—to be loved."

…Older siblings?

Aiwass's heart missed a beat.

I have a sister?

Why didn't I know that?

Just when he was going to invite her to ask, the butler came to the door and announced that Aiwass's ride had just arrived.

That is, it was time to leave—it wouldn't be proper for Aiwass to spend the night in the Hall of Silver and Tin.

It was only then that the three realized it was already later than nine.

It was bedtime for Isabelle.

—As daft as it may sound, she actually sleep that early.

"You haven't met Aiwass's oldest brother yet, have you? Well-timed—you should go meet him."

Yanis smiled and got up.

"He was a very impressive student himself…"

"…Oh, Master Yanis."

The butler broke in with a correction:

"The one who arrived isn't Mr. Edward Moriarty.

"There was another warehouse explosion in the White Queen District a while ago. Inspector Edward had to take it in hand.".

"The gentleman who has arrived to take away Mr. Aiwass is Mr. Sherlock Hermes, Consulting Agent."

---