Vol 2 Chapter 8.1 – Interlude — The Princess and the Maid【Vol 2 – Personal Maid = Mistress!?】

Two days had passed since Kazuki-san arrived from another world.

I — Princess Flora Orleans — had summoned my maid Iris to my chambers.

Of course, it was to ask about Kazuki-san. About the sides of him I hadn’t seen yet — the things I’d need to understand if we were going to build a life together.

Kazuki-san was wonderful—handsome and kind.

Nothing like the noble men of this world.

The nobles see me as nothing more than a vessel—a means to produce children who carry the right bloodline.

But Kazuki-san… he treated me like a person.

I’d been so anxious about who might come through the summoning. That it turned out to be someone so gentle — I was truly, genuinely relieved.

My future had been narrowing toward becoming some noble’s possession. The fact that I got to marry someone like Kazuki-san instead felt like more happiness than I deserved.

I thought of the warmth of his chest — broad and steady — and felt heat rise to my face.

But Kazuki-san wouldn’t have me as his wife only. He’d eventually have many consorts and many mistresses.

And Iris — my maid — as his first personal attendant and first mistress, had apparently wasted no time making a baby with him.

“…You and Kazuki-san did that already? The moment you met?”

“Y-Your Highness gave those very orders herself — !”

Iris answered in a fluster, her cheeks going pink as she stumbled over the words.

I knew. Of course, I knew.

I was the one who appointed Iris as his personal maid — his mistress, in this world’s terms.

In a society like ours, where men are scarce and male dominance is simply the order of things, wealthy and noble men have always taken many consorts and mistresses. It wasn’t just custom — without it, the social structure would collapse entirely. In many cases, it was the only way for women who couldn’t survive on their own to find security.

An Emperor was expected to gather hundreds of beautiful women around him.

Powerful men claiming many women for themselves was entirely ordinary here.

And I was proof of that myself. I wasn’t the daughter of the primary Empress — I was born to one of my father’s consorts.

So, of course, Kazuki-san would be with many women. He needed to be. We needed to produce as many children as possible — children with strong mana — to secure the imperial line for generations.

I understood it perfectly well. Rationally.

But still —

“Was it… good? With Kazuki-san?”

“Yes. It was… very, very good.”

Iris said it with a red face and a soft, private smile.

Something complicated stirred in my chest.

Iris was always so composed, so cool. The fact that she was sitting there with that flustered, almost dreamy expression, softer than I’d ever seen her — it could only mean one thing. That which happened between her and Kazuki-san had genuinely felt wonderful.

Iris was the maid I trusted most in the entire world.

Her birth wasn’t noble, but we’d grown up together since we were small. After my father — the previous Emperor — died, and the court became a place where I could trust no one, she was one of the only people still in my corner.

That was exactly why I’d wanted her to be Kazuki-san’s first mistress.

Until the wedding, I couldn’t make a baby with Kazuki-san myself. And in the meantime, he would… well, he’d have needs. Obviously.

But hearing that Iris had actually done it — that she’d actually been with him — left a strange, heavy feeling settling in my chest.

Iris gave a quiet laugh.

“You needn’t be jealous of someone like me, Your Highness.”

“I am not jealous!”

The word was out of my mouth before I could think — and the moment I heard myself say it, I realized it was exactly what I was feeling.

If my position as Imperial Princess didn’t bind me, I could have been the first one to make a baby with Kazuki-san.

And come to think of it — had Kazuki-san had a wife or a girlfriend back in his world? If he had, I would definitely have been jealous of her, too.

Iris looked at me as if she could see straight through every thought I was having.

“Kazuki-sama did not simply give in without hesitation, Your Highness. His world apparently practiced monogamy, and convincing him to be with me at all required a great deal of explanation about how things work here. He needed quite some persuading.”

“…You were that determined to have him hold you?”

“I was following orders.”

She said it simply — but her cheeks were pink.

She’d fallen for him, too. Of course, she had. Men were rare in this world, and if you had the chance to be with someone like Kazuki-san, you’d throw yourself into it wholeheartedly. That was just the truth.

I could feel myself starting to sulk — and Iris leaned in and whispered.

“Kazuki-sama kept saying he felt terrible about it, Your Highness. Because of you.”

“What?”

“He said it clearly — ‘I have Flora-san. I don’t need consorts or mistresses.’ If I hadn’t begged him, I truly believe Kazuki-sama would have refused entirely and saved himself only for Your Highness.”

“He… really said that…?”

“You are loved by Kazuki-sama, Your Highness.”

Was that really true?

Compared to Iris, who was two years older, my body was still less developed. I’d told Kazuki-san that seventeen was a fine age to bear children — and that was true — but Iris’s womanly figure was something I simply couldn’t match yet.

Even so… the fact that Kazuki-san had said I was enough for him —

That made me happy. Genuinely.

I see.

The part of me that was just a girl wanted to keep Kazuki-san all to myself.

But the part of me that was Imperial Princess knew that was impossible.

He needed to be with many women. To make many children.

But within all of that — I could still be his favorite. More than Iris. More than any consort or mistress who came after. I wanted to be the one he loved most.

And after the wedding, I’d finally be able to make a baby with Kazuki-san myself.

I looked straight at Iris.

“I won’t lose to you, Iris. I’m going to be the first one to give Kazuki-san a child.”

“In terms of standing, the difference between you as primary consort and me as a personal maid is not a competition at all — that was decided before it began. But as for who bears his child first… that may be another matter…”

Iris suddenly pressed a hand to her lower abdomen, a shy, uncertain look crossing her face.

I couldn’t help it. I had to ask.

“How many times did you and Kazuki-san…?”

Iris leaned in close and murmured the number against my ear.

My eyes went wide.

“That many — !?”

“After the first time, it seems Kazuki-sama found it… difficult to hold back. When I’m attending to him, I never quite know when he might — well. If he wakes up in the morning and I’m there, he pulls me into bed. If I bring him a meal, I end up pinned beneath him before I can set the tray down. Bath service naturally leads to baby-making. And night duty is — very thorough. Last night I barely slept at all…”

I stared at her.

I knew that people summoned from other worlds underwent a kind of spiritual transformation during the crossing — something that left them physically stronger and healthier than ordinary people. But I hadn’t anticipated that.

All those times, and he wasn’t even tired?

My concern, however, shifted quickly to Iris.

Iris managed a slightly frazzled smile.

“Making babies with Kazuki-sama does feel wonderful, and it’s a great honor, but… physically, it is beginning to take a small toll…”

“Iris… you’re being cherished, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say cherished exactly…”

She murmured it shyly. Just as Iris had grown fond of Kazuki-san, it seemed Kazuki-san had grown equally fond of her.

The competitive feeling inside me intensified.

I reached over and kneaded Iris’s chest through her maid’s uniform.

“Your Highness — wh-what are you doing — !?”

“Well, you’ve got quite a figure, Iris. No wonder Kazuki-san took to you so quickly.” ♪

“P-Please stop — Your Highness — ah—“

Honestly, her chest was impossibly soft. Any man would find it irresistible.

But the current situation was a problem. If Iris were his only mistress, her body wasn’t going to hold up. She was my most trusted maid — I wanted her to be healthy and to bear her child safely.

And — if I was being honest with myself — I didn’t love the idea of Kazuki-san having only Iris to turn to. It might have been a childish kind of rivalry. But still.

Which meant I needed to find him a new mistress.

My hand slipped beneath the fabric of Iris’s uniform.

“Hyah—“

Iris let out a soft cry and went red, struggling to hold herself together.

Someone who could hold her own alongside Iris’s figure. Someone captivating in her own way.

My younger sisters were already in my plans to become Kazuki-san’s consorts eventually — but that was for later. Not yet.

So who, then…?

The answer came to me all at once.

If the goal was to complement Iris — then the answer was someone completely different from her.

Young. Innocent. Adorable in an entirely different way. A noble young lady of that type.

And as it happened, I knew exactly the girl.