Chapter 62, Strategy Meeting 2

Translator: Lizz

“…Alright, that should do it.”

Edward decided and then called Calogero, Gina, and Beffa to talk about creating a restricted area.

Calogero studied the floor plan with careful consideration.

“…It’ll be better to forbid access near the back gate as well. Without Lady Sylvia’s permission, the gate won’t open and the drawbridge won’t lower, but conversely, if permission is granted, it will allow passage. If some unforeseen situation occurs and the back gate becomes usable, and the Marquis’s daughter escapes into the Duke’s territory and goes missing, it will become a matter of responsibility for the Ducal house.”

He gave his opinion.

“…That’s true. Then the back gate is forbidden.”

That place was never visited except when Edward used it for training or went out to the Duke’s town to gather information. It was on the opposite side of the castle town, with poor sunlight, so there was no need to go there.

In other words, because there was no need to go there, it had not been designated as a restricted area. But when he thought about it carefully, he realized it was a road that led directly into the Duke’s territory.

“Since the maids move around a lot, I want all the areas accessible to the servants to remain open. We’ll cover things on our side too, but we don’t know what kind of requests the Marquis’s daughter will make, or how the maids will act…”

Gina honestly felt uneasy.

She knew Sylvia was a noble, but she also knew that Sylvia was a quite atypical one.

And although Gina had tailored clothes for the Ducal house, she had never spoken directly with nobles. As a subcontractor, the transactions were handled by the clothing shop. Gina only made the clothes as instructed.

In the first place, she had been too busy to go out much. She studied conversation and manners, but worried about accidentally being disrespectful to nobles.

One of the newly arrived senior servants would probably be assigned to the Marquis’s daughter as her maid, but if there were not enough hands, Gina would end up doing it too. Besides, she had already asked for maid training, so perhaps the maid who came with the Marquis’s daughter might have that in mind.

If that happened, and she said, ‘You can’t go there because it’s a restricted area’, it might cause problems.

While Gina voiced her opinion with growing anxiety from overthinking, Edward and Calogero nodded to her.

Sensing Gina’s feelings, Calogero looked at Beffa.

“Beffa, when the Marquis’s daughter arrived, you were to cover the maids here. I have high expectations for the skills you’ve honed as a servant of the Onofrio Marquis’s house.”

Calogero said with a bright smile.

Beffa bowed.

“Understood. Thanks to my parents’ training, I’m used to unreasonable demands, so I will handle the Marquis’s daughter well.”

Edward added,

“And also cover Lady Sylvia. Lady Sylvia does not have much interaction with other nobles. …How should I put it, she is the Lord of this castle at such age. She might suddenly do something outrageous. Step in before the Marquis’s daughter gets angry.”

“Leave it to me! If the Marquis’s daughter showed disrespect to my Lord, I would immediately punish her!”

“Don’t! Were you even listening to me!?”

From the capable servant-like demeanor just moments ago, Beffa suddenly leaned forward with sparkling eyes and gave an outrageous reply, which instantly made Edward uneasy.