Lisa thought that if she said she couldn’t do it, her recognition as ‘Laria’s closest associate’ would be revoked. Even so, Serena was not around these days, so on the inside, she was very proud because she was by far the closest person to Laria…

‘If I didn’t do well, the Young Duke will secretly wonder if Serena, and not me, was her closest associate…’

Rumors once spread in the Capital about the Duke’s resident’s fraudulent doctor.

She heard that Serena also took a big bite out of Duke Orlando. However, Lisa guessed that Serena was not a con artist and was just Laria’s person. She had enough tact not to ask for details.

‘If he ever brings Serena back, I will be completely pushed out of my position as Lady Laria’s closest associate!’

Laria already had a history of getting ousted with Serena. Therefore, it was a pressing problem for Lisa. She thought about it all day and even discussed it with a few people she was close to at the mansion, but she couldn’t find any answers.

Rather, the more she talked, the more frustrated she became because there was no consensus.

In the end, she decided to go out into the street and rummage through the things herself. Just as she was wandering around like that for two hours, thinking about her worries, someone came up next to her and spoke quietly.

“Why is it difficult for you to choose a gift for Lady Laria?”

Lisa was so startled that she almost collapsed on the spot.

A strange woman with short brown hair wrapped in a gray robe was grinning next to Lisa. Nonetheless, her voice was so familiar that she recognized it right away. When she looked closely, she saw that his facial features had not changed.

“Ho, ho, how are you in… di, disguise?”

“Well.”

Serena giggled. She then sighed and added.

“I like my red hair, but I can’t help it because I’ll be in trouble if Duke Orlando catches me.”

Lisa’s only deviation so far in her life was that she took Olivia’s side once. For Lisa, a model student in the maid world, just imagine a life of being chased by someone made her body tremble.

“Are, are, are you okay?”

“Hmm, the number of people chasing me has increased from eight to nine? It’s no big deal.”

Lisa knew right away why she wasn’t right for Serena. Their life trajectories were very different.

“Anyway, shouldn’t we pick out a gift quickly? We need to save it before giving birth.”

“…How did you know that? I am looking for a birth gift under the Young Duke’s orders.”

“Some people I knew at the Duke’s residence told me.”

“….”

Lisa quickly tried to name a few of the servants she had discussed this with, and it was difficult to choose which of them had told Serena.

“Isn’t Lady Laria the one who orders everything she wants anyway?”

Serena frowned and spoke thoughtfully.

Lisa also had no choice but to nod her head. It was true that Laria liked expensive and luxurious things, but since she was the mistress of Duchy Icard’s family, there were few people who could afford such things like her, so any special gift no longer had any value.

“The level of difficulty is quite high.”

As Serena sighed and mumbled, Lisa unconsciously nodded her head.

“That’s right. I really want to give some gifts, but I have to spend my own money to buy them…”

Serena quickly responded to her words.

“Lady Laria never wastes money on herself.”

Lisa almost jumped for a moment. This was because she found it difficult to empathize when sharing her troubles with other servants.

“Of course, even if the Young Duke gives her anything as a gift, she will first pretend to like it with her excellent acting skills…”

“I’m sure the Young Duke will find out somehow.”

Lisa felt refreshed inside.

It felt like she finally had someone to talk to. Still, she quickly realized that as Laria’s closest confidant, her pride was a bit hurt, so she was about to say goodbye quickly.

“So, the Young Duke has someone close to him.”

Serena subtly changed the subject.

“That guy, Nathan. Does he have a girlfriend?”

“What? No.”

“Ah, thank goodness.”

“…By any chance.”

“My pride was hurt because he was the last person who didn’t fall for me. I think he was just a person who didn’t like women very much.”

“Hmm… isn’t that expected of someone at the Young Duke’s closest aide’s level? However, if you’re disappointed…”

“Well.”

Serena shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s okay because there’s no need to go back to Duke Icard’s residence again.”

Lisa was completely relieved. Even with a little help from Serena, it seemed like she would be able to maintain her position as Laria’s closest confidant in Duke Icard’s residence.

“Anyway, so… we have to find something Lady Laria doesn’t know she wants, and that’s difficult.”

“Hmm.”

“I don’t really remember when Lady Laria is truly happy, except for when she looks at expensive things…”

“Ah!”

Serena clapped her hands once.

“She enjoys writing letters to people in her social circle.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know.”

“She kept it a secret. In fact, Lady Laria enjoys teasing others while exchanging letters.”

Meanwhile, Lisa thought that Laria was only giving perfunctory replies to the many letters out of courtesy. Though when she thought about it, perhaps it wasn’t the case.

“We have an answer.”

Lisa muttered blankly.

“An extremely expensive letter paper is good. Lady Laria doesn’t necessarily use expensive things that she doesn’t have to but gives to others.”

Lisa felt like hugging Serena.

As the person was Laria, she has been able to change her thinking from ‘something I want to have, but it was a waste’ to ‘something I want to give, but it is a waste.’

“But she really enjoys bragging and showing off to others!”

Serena nodded her head with an expression that showed that it seemed plausible to Lisa’s words.

“If it were Lady Laria, she would love to use expensive letter paper to convey the message, ‘I am giving away this much money!’ But even though the letter paper is expensive…”

“There is a premium thing for all noble accessories at a huge price range, though just unknown to others.”

“Really? I didn’t know.”

“Only a competent maid from a noble family can know such things.”

Lisa spoke confidently.

“When the baby is born, congratulatory letters will definitely pour in, so she can use them when she replies!”

So Lisa went to a handmade paper craftsman and ordered a large quantity of letter paper. The design of the stationery was entrusted to Radian Cares, one of the most expensive companies these days, and even gold and silver leaf was meticulously inlaid on it.

Evan was very satisfied, and Lisa resolved in her heart not to hate Serena anymore. Some time after preparing all the gifts for Laria, Lisa was called to Laria again.

“Ah, Lisa.”

Laria said, stroking her full stomach.

The child would be born at any time.

“It’s not something… I think I want to give Evan a birth gift.”

“…What? To the Young Duke?”

“Yes. I was honestly touched by the way he worked so hard to look after me throughout my pregnancy.”

Lisa felt like her eyes were going dark. She would really have a hard time finding the right gift for Evan because he didn’t really like anything other than her.

However, before Lisa could get really worried, Laria spoke clearly.

“Buy a remote hill in the corner of a continent and build a small mansion.”

“What? A villa? Then, among the tourist destination…”

“No, not a tourist destination, just a place with no people and not well known. The more isolated it is, the better.”

“Uh… hmm… yes. Then, shall I purchase it in the Young Duke’s name?”

“No, definitely in my name.”

“Didn’t you say it was a gift?”

“Yes. So, I’m telling you to do it in my name and purchase details just to get secretly caught by Evan. Hm, handcuffs or chains? I need to order more things like that.”

“…Who are you kidnapping, Lady Laria?”

“To be exact…”

Laria muttered seriously, her eyes pensive.

“I think I need to give hope that one day I will kidnap and imprison…”

“…Yes?”

“Due to Evan’s personality, he will also take care of childcare. It must be difficult, but shouldn’t he at least have the expectation that his wish may suddenly come true one day?”

Lisa, like the capable maid she was, immediately understood what her master meant. It seemed that Evan’s wish was to be kidnapped by Laria.

Well, it wasn’t that surprising.

And Lisa, like the sensible maid she was, asked no further questions. This was because she noticed that even as Laria spoke, she was feeling a little embarrassed inside.

“Yes, then I’ll take care of it.”

As she said her greeting, Lisa couldn’t help but think that Laria was much more comfortable to have as a master than Evan.

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