[“If you ask me, Dali’ang is the one Lord Moen favors the most. If only I could be chosen by Sir Dali’ang.”]
[“You think you can reach Sir Dali’ang? In my opinion, only the prettiest among us, Rita and Matilda, stand a chance.”]
The maids of Grayheart Castle were all girls from good families selected from the territory.
They had been chosen since childhood and underwent various kinds of training.
Once they reached a certain age, the lord’s—that is, the Duke’s—sons and daughters would pick them to be their personal maids.
Naturally, they preferred to be chosen by the Duke’s sons.
Even if the master they served was destined to marry another noble, they would still receive compensation out of their master’s guilt for many unspeakable reasons.
Of course, there were rare cases where a Duke’s son married a maid.
That depended on the individual. Nobles who didn’t want to involve themselves in power struggles valued emotional bonds more.
The couple would be blessed, granted a fief, and never expected to inherit the Dukedom.
Dali’ang was considered the son most qualified to inherit the Dukedom.
Although he wasn’t the eldest, he was exceptionally gifted.
It was said that in his past life, he might have been a War God.
He could wield a sword from birth and had even mastered Battle Techniques.
On top of that, he was extremely intelligent, learning everything faster than any other child.
This person was you, who had already been simulating for ten years.
You looked down at the young, innocent, and lovely girls on the stage, and a longing stirred in your heart.
“Dali’ang, I advise you not to compete with me for Matilda.”
Beside you was your slightly older brother, Daniel.
“What do you mean by compete? If we both fancy the same maid, we’ll just let her choose.”
Daniel knew you were right.
But he lacked confidence in himself. He had heard of Matilda’s beauty long ago and had already found a chance to meet her.
After seeing her, Daniel fell head over heels. He swore he would make Matilda his personal maid.
Yet today, the moment you appeared, you overshadowed all the Duke’s children.
Your features were sharply defined, as if carved by the mythical God of Beauty without a single flaw.
A wine-red velvet coat embroidered with gold thread, a perfectly tailored black silk shirt underneath—it was clearly custom-made.
On your gold-adorned belt hung a jewel-encrusted sword.
It was obviously not meant for battle, purely decorative.
In the eyes of every woman in the territory, you were their dream lover.
Seeing you make such an entrance, how could Daniel not grow jealous, even afraid that Matilda would be taken away from him?
Though you didn’t let Daniel off the hook verbally, you knew in your heart that this brother wasn’t a bad person.
‘I’d better not take what he wants.’
“Matilda, huh… Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her yet.”
“Young master, Matilda is the girl on the far left with a flower crown on her head.”
The butler beside you, hearing your mutter, spoke respectfully.
You turned your gaze and saw that she was indeed a beauty.
Her eyes were lovely, carrying a trace of melancholy.
That melancholy blended with her girlish charm, creating a peculiar reaction.
No wonder Daniel had fallen for her.
The girl next to her was probably Rita.
Rita’s figure was no worse than Matilda’s, and she looked much livelier.
Ordinarily, she seemed slightly less striking than Matilda, but once she smiled, it was a different story.
‘So this is what they call a dynamic beauty…’
After thinking it over, you decided on Rita. After all, you had to have someone by your side every day.
If you could see that kind of smile every day, it would probably lift your spirits.
Once you made your decision, your attention no longer lingered on the girls before you.
But Daniel couldn’t calm down.
Seeing you take notice of Matilda, he regretted it deeply.
If only he hadn’t told you who Matilda was, since you didn’t even know her.
Daniel had no idea you had already decided not to take what he wanted, so he kept wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.
By then, your mind had already drifted elsewhere.
“The biggest gain from this simulation is that studying can also increase levels.”
Lai En realized that by simply learning knowledge—swordsmanship, history, and such—after only five years of study, his level had already reached 8.
“It seems the underlying logic of this system is to live each life earnestly, to gain Experience and rewards.”
“But… if my level at the end of the simulation is lower than in reality…”
[If the Host’s level at the end of the simulation is lower than in reality, the Host’s real-world Experience level will not increase, and this simulation’s evaluation will be greatly reduced.]
The system’s prompt confirmed Lai En’s suspicion.
“Then… even choosing a maid has to be done carefully.”
[Just as these thoughts were running through your mind, a commotion suddenly broke out in the Great Hall.]
[“How did you sneak in here!”]
The Head Maid’s voice was loud enough to draw everyone’s attention.
You followed the crowd’s gaze and saw the Head Maid frowning, her hand gripping a maid’s wrist tightly.
The other maids around were snickering maliciously.
It seemed they had known this would happen beforehand.
Curious, you looked at the maid being held by the Head Maid. Her clothes were a bit messy.
Not only were some buttons undone, but even her cap was crooked.
What drew the most attention, however, was the bandage wrapped around her face.
That bandage was positioned precisely to cover her eyes.
It was obvious she was blind.
“You can’t even dress yourself properly, and you still have the nerve to attend today’s ceremony? And you girls—why didn’t you help her fix her clothes!”
Seeing that the Head Maid was about to scold them as well, the maids quickly stopped their giggling.
“What a pity… Who would choose a blind maid?”
The butler shook his head sadly.
“She can’t see. How could she be chosen?”
You asked out of curiosity.
“Her parents died early. She’s not bad-looking, but it’s a shame she can’t see.”
“Lord Moen took pity on her and let her be a maid. I never thought she’d come to this ceremony…”
From the butler’s words, you understood that this girl had come here with hope for her future.
As you sighed, your intuition told you something was off.
On a whim, you sensed the mana on her.
“This? A mana fluctuation?”
Seeing her downturned lips from grievance, the idea of taking her as your own maid rose in your heart.
Of course, it wasn’t just because of her mana fluctuation. It was also because you couldn’t bear to see her dreams shattered.
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