Staring at the now-empty young lady’s room, I found myself lost in thought.

…Even though I’ve become her exclusive maid, it doesn’t mean I’ll be at her side 24/7.

Just like now.

After all, she is the daughter of a duke—she has various lessons and classes to attend.

Today happened to be one of her study days, so after I brought her back, she was immediately taken away for a lesson in etiquette.

…Though I felt a little lonely, I still had to carry out my proper maid duties.

It looked like no one had come to tidy her room in a while—it was slightly messy.

But amidst the clutter, one thing stood out in orderly elegance:

—The bouquet of blue flowers she and I picked together a few days ago, sitting neatly in a decorative vase.

Though they were inevitably starting to wilt, it was clear the girl had been carefully tending to them.

Unconsciously, a gentle smile crept onto my face.

“Alright! Time to give it my all today too!”

As expected of a noble daughter’s bedroom—

The size was nothing like the dormitory bunks us servants shared.

Even the room I was supposed to move into—right next to the young lady’s—couldn’t compare.

A room this big takes twice the effort to clean…

Luckily, my body was tough.
After a good meal, I always had energy—and with my experience from my previous life, I could handle this kind of work.

Looking at the now-gleaming windows, I wiped the sweat from my brow with satisfaction.

Knock knock.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Looking over, I saw it was the butler, Mr. Josen.

“Mr. Josen? What brings you here?”

“Ailena, this is the Duke’s directive. Please come with me to the ducal knight training camp.”

Huh!? Now!?

I was just about to take a short break!

But if the Duke requests it, I have no reason to refuse.

With no choice, I dragged my weary body after the butler in a jog.

The Knight Training Camp, as the name suggests, was a place where knights trained hard and broke a sweat.

So yes, it literally smelled like sweat.

I wrinkled my nose instinctively.

…Not that I looked down on them. On the contrary, I respected the dedication of these men, training even under the blazing sun.

But maybe because I was now in a girl’s body, I found myself much more sensitive to this kind of smell.

It reminded me of my little sister from my previous life.

“Ugh, bro, you stink! Go shower!”

Every time I got home after a long shift, she’d pinch her nose and nag me playfully.

Then while I was bathing, she’d prepare a delicious meal…
When I came out, we’d eat together.

Maybe I did smell bad to her, but she never hated me for it.

Thinking about that warmed my heart—and somehow the stench didn’t seem so bad anymore.
Or maybe I was just used to it.

Either way, I had some mental bandwidth left to take in the surroundings.

—The Anisette Knight Camp was known as the strongest private knight training ground in the entire kingdom of Orega.

Every year, talented individuals from all over came here, hoping to become elite knights and serve the Duke—or even the kingdom.

Especially the current Captain of the Knights—

Though born from humble origins, he rose swiftly through the ranks to lead the squad at a young age.

With his bright looks and athletic build, he was quite the heartthrob among the maids—plenty of young women secretly crushed on him.

That red-haired guy training over there must be the Knight Captain, Eric.

…Though red and brown hair were common in the kingdom, most of the knight recruits here were noble sons—so red actually stood out, proving that Eric had no high-born status to rely on.

Yet even so, he rose to the top.

Just look at him—

Movements so fast they didn’t even seem human, and yet brimming with raw power.

No matter the world, there are always these cheat-like people.

But wait… who’s he sparring with?

I turned my gaze toward Eric’s opponent—

And froze.

Golden hair tied neatly, fluttering with every step;

Emerald eyes focused with unwavering sharpness;

Sweat ran down sculpted features, soaking into his shirt and outlining chiseled muscle;

His wooden sword swung with perfect technique—every strike brimming with strength.

…If I had to sum it up:

He looked like a grown-up, male version of Lady Katarina.

But unlike her adorable innocence, this boy had an unnerving kind of allure.

Even as a former man, I couldn’t help but stare.

…There was no doubt.

He must be the Duke’s son—Claude Anisette.

Though I’d never met the Duchess, one thing was clear:

The Anisette children didn’t get their looks from their father.

They only seemed to inherit his eye color.

“You’re curious about that match?”

Josen spoke as if reading my thoughts.

But what he said next caught me completely off guard.

“No need to just watch—you’ll be joining them soon.”

“HUH!?”

“HYAAAHH!!”

Dragged to the training grounds without warning, I ended up witnessing a close-range sword battle firsthand.

…It was clear that the older boy—two years ahead of me—already had significant skill with the sword.

Unfortunately, no matter how fierce his attacks were, not once did they land on the Knight Captain.

With movements that defied logic, Eric dodged every blow like it was child’s play—

He didn’t even counterattack, just moved gracefully as if humoring his opponent.

Once Young Master Claude began to tire and slow down, Eric seized the moment—

With one clean hit to the solar plexus, Claude dropped instantly.

A clean, decisive victory.

Even then, Eric courteously extended his hand.

Though Claude looked frustrated, he still accepted the hand and stood up with his help.

“Thank you for the lesson.”

“Wow…”

I couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

That sigh drew their attention.

“…A maid? Why is there a maid here?”

“…And a child?”

They both stared at me with confusion.

Don’t look at me—I don’t get it either!

Thankfully, Josen came in to clear things up.

“This is by the Duke’s orders. He wants this maid to undergo training here—at least to gain basic close-combat ability.”

“…The Duke wants the Knight Captain to train a maid? That’s… ambitious.”

Eric turned to look me over.

“Hmm…
Body seems decent. Bit on the slim side, but the muscle tone’s okay.”

Then he glanced back at Josen.

“So what exactly does the Duke want me to do with her?”

“Anything you like.”

“Oh-ho~?

My training’s pretty harsh, you know?”

“Just don’t break her.”

“Got it~ Leave it to me.”

He looked me up and down again—like a kid who’d just been handed a new toy.

“Alright then, little one.”

…Wait, don’t I get a say in this!?

And I just finished cleaning that giant room!

Can’t I rest for just five minutes!?

Even if my body’s sturdy, there’s a limit to how much you can abuse me in one day!

But before I could protest, Eric grabbed me and dragged me off.

Hey!

This is child labor abuse!

…Then again, this world has no child protection laws.

No matter how I complain, no one’s going to care.

In the end, I experienced the most unforgettable Spartan training of my life that afternoon.