CHAPTER 50: IN THE CARRIAGE WITH THE MAID

Today is my first day at the academy, and it’s exactly March 10th. I arrived here on February 28th, and after that, I had my first appearance at the party, so enough time has passed.

My school uniform is... cute, not too over-the-top, but it looks really cute on me. The soft black color instead of the darker black looks great. The white skirt is a little short, ending just above my knees, so if a summer breeze blows, my panties might show.

The reason it’s short is for the practicality of movement, but it ended up slightly sexualizing the uniforms.

’I hope nobody sees my panties...’ Even in this mansion, the maids like to see me in cute things. They’ve also gotten along well with Shogo, although I haven’t seen Shogo since that night I always see the maids talking about how cute she is.

And that’s where the problem comes in. Although they’re not as bold as the castle maids, they still do everything they can to make me wear cute things... my heart-patterned panties are something humiliating that I’ll have to wear for now.

’Damn, why a heart on the white panties? Am I some kind of kid?’ Technically I’m a baby, but even then, it’s too much humiliation to wear heart-patterned panties.

I tried to destroy all the panties of this type... they managed to get more, I don’t know where from. I discovered a stash with over a thousand cute panties and burned them... but more appeared a few hours later.

And no matter how many I destroyed, more would always show up in the drawers, in the closets, in clothing sets they were all with cute designs or things like teddy bears, hearts, butterflies, etc.

And for some reason, 80% were white panties with cute things on them, and that’s where the point came in I thought about mocking Kaelith for wearing this kind of underwear... until I found Kaelith’s clothes... all slutty panties... if there’s one thing I don’t understand, it’s why everyone wants to see me in cute things.

The maids won’t even see me wearing these panties, so why the obsession with making me wear them? It’s unfathomable to my mind to comprehend the reasons of these demons.

And that’s why it’s reached the point of resignation it’s better to just accept it, because even if I threaten or kill them, they still won’t stop making me want to wear this, so there’s no point in causing trouble, it’s better to just ignore it.

"Are you ready, Grand Duchess?" A maid knocks on the door.

"Okay, come in." The maid enters, accompanied by Shogo.

’S-So cute!’ Shogo in a maid uniform is incredibly cute, that reddish-pink hair with the black and white uniform is just adorable I want to hug her and never let go.

I look at Shogo’s and the other maid’s outfits.

’Shogo’s outfit... doesn’t it have a bit more frills and a cuter aesthetic?’ It seems they’ve caught Shogo with the cute clothes thing.

"Shogo has completed her training and is permitted to be your personal maid at the academy... although she still doesn’t know how to say anything more than..."

"Mama," Shogo says excitedly to me.

’... I forgot about that fact.’

"Listen, Shogo, don’t even think about calling me ’Mama’ at the academy. I’m way too young to have kids... although if Mikael wants... I mean, don’t call me anything, understand?" Shogo nods affirmatively and makes a cute gesture with her hands, as if locking something and throwing away the key.

About having a personal maid at the academy, many may think it’s unfair to the commoners... but the fact is that few nobles can afford to keep a servant at the academy, and the reason is... you have to maintain your grades 60% above the school average if you want to keep a servant.

In other words, having a servant forces you to study very hard and have a lot of merit to be able to keep them, and it’s a way to force us to have more school work.

’Well... I should be able to maintain my grades easily.’

"Mama," Shogo gives me a smile and hands me a flower.

"Thank you?... Ah... I’ll get it." I accidentally drop the flower, surprised by the strangely cute gesture, her cute eyes surprising me so I wasn’t paying attention.

I crouch down to pick it up, it’s a pretty flower, but I think the gesture is cuter than the flower, so I hand the flower back to Shogo.

"It’s pretty, but I can’t take care of it, you can keep it somewhere, Shogo." I pat her head, and she seems excited. Then I look at the maid behind me and see her blushing.

’Why the heck... DAMN IT!’ She saw my panties. I quickly put my hand on my skirt as an instinct to protect, and the day I find out which damn hero brought this crap of cute panties fashion, I’ll desecrate his grave.

I soon give up on saying anything, let that maid enjoy the view she had, because she’ll never see it again.

I leave the room accompanied by the maids, Shogo is carrying my bag and I see she’s really strong, carrying it like it’s nothing.

Soon I arrive at the carriage and get in. At the academy, each person has an individual room, which is good because I’ll have to do the work of my demonic kingdom in my free time, and it would be bad if someone saw me with papers about improvements to the demonic kingdom.

On the way, I try to talk to the maid who will accompany me to the academy.

"Hey... hmm... have you never thought of being, like, something different? Having autonomy, making your own choices, that kind of thing..." They are homunculi, so they’ve never really had a real choice about what they want to do.

"Actually, no, Grand Duchess," she replies calmly, as if it’s an obvious answer.

"And why? Wouldn’t you like to do what you want? To choose your own paths alone?" Personally, I would never accept someone dictating my path.

"Grand Duchess, ignorance is a blessing. Freedom is not always truly liberating. Life is... difficult, it’s never fair. Sometimes this ’Freedom’ is just another way to suffer."

"I have everything I could want I have a job, a home, friends and colleagues who care about me. I always have warm food and a comfortable bed, I live in a safe environment and I’m paid to do my job that’s already guaranteed."

"Sometimes happiness is in the simplicity of life, appreciating the small moments is important. Of course, having big goals is good, but not always having something grandiose makes you happy."

"If you don’t enjoy what you have, because you’re dissatisfied, you’ll lose the small good things that happen."

"...But... what if I wanted to kill you right now... would you just accept that without a fight? Don’t you think it’s bad to be under the control of others?" I can’t understand her, why be content with the bare minimum like this?

"Grand Duchess, think of it this way our lives are defined by others. When you’re born, your life is under your parents’ control. As we grow up, our lives are in the control of the people around us. Tell me, didn’t you strive to make the best choices for your people?"

"...Yes..."

"Now, did you do that because you are the [King], not because?"

"...Yes, I suppose..."

"But do you think that’s within or outside your control?"

"...I’m not sure..."

"Exactly. You can, at any moment, decide not to do anything. However, when you do, it’s mostly for others, even though it’s your choice, it’s based on others."

"Life isn’t about conquering everything, it’s about whether you can be happy with what you have while trying to get what you don’t have. As for you killing me... well, every life ends, sooner or later, right?"

"At some point, I will die, whether sooner or later. You are my master, and as such, my life is yours to do with as you please. But that’s not bad, I like it. I’m happy to be useful to someone in my life."

"Many just want that feeling of knowing they are useful, even if you kill me without reason, at least I’ll die happy because I know my existence was useful, even if it’s for just a single second."

"Grand Duchess, tell me, are you happy with the things you have? Are you happy with the people you know? Are you happy with their love and admiration? Are they special to you? Have you ever questioned and realized that you are happy with what you have?"

"I’ve never thought about it... but yes... I think I’m happy with them... I like spending my time with those who are important to me..." I’ve never noticed it, but since I was reborn, every moment has been incredible, being surrounded by people who love me and truly see me as special makes me happier than I could say.

"I understand, so Grand Duchess, this doesn’t mean you can’t pursue grand dreams, it just means you shouldn’t forget the small joys that life provides. It’s these small things that sometimes help you when everything is difficult."

It’s impressive how this maid has such deep thoughts about life and happiness. I’ve never really stopped to think, but I really am happy, even if I still seek revenge, it doesn’t ruin the happiness I have at the moment.

"You know, I... I’m in love... I like those around me... I like the incredible things each one tells me... I even like the lessons, even though they’re difficult... each one is so... amazing." I say with excitement.

"So I think I can say with 100% certainty that yes... I like and am happy with my current life... I’ve never thought about these little happy moments... but now that you’ve said it, it’s true, I’ve enjoyed all these little joys that have come up..."

"I see, that’s great, Grand Duchess. Many don’t realize this happiness and let it slip through their fingers. And when that happiness is gone, it’s hard for it to come back."

"That’s why always enjoy what you have, even if it’s the minimum. Sometimes the minimum is more special than the maximum. A rock can be worth more than diamonds, depending on the person. So never forget, Grand Duchess, happiness is truly noticed only when you don’t ignore it."

"...That was... profound and amazing... could you tell me a recent moment that gave you this happiness?" I have an excited smile on my face, I think I’ll even recommend this maid for a promotion to Veritus.

"...It was seeing your cute panties hehehe," she says with a perverted laugh.

’...Forget the damn promotion, fuck everything, let the world burn in misery and sink into the deepest pit of despair, let the world’s happiness be completely shattered like glass and never be repaired.

I will never, ever forget the shame I feel from hearing that my cute panties were the reason for someone else’s happiness.

I look away and out the window, I’m not well enough to keep looking at her, my burning face would only give away my shyness in this situation.