curtain call The Loyal Servant’s Resting Place

“Another summer comes, does it not…?”

The red-haired maid ran her fingers through her master’s hair, her gaze fixed beyond the window.

“Yes… how many years now… summers without her…”

“Thirty-two years.”

The maid answered without hesitation, her reply swift enough to be called immediate.

She had left the estate shortly after her beloved former master had departed, gathering her belongings and stepping out.

Her final words with her beloved former master had been spoken on the day of the Foundation Festival.

“Spica-sama, if you leave this house, I too shall depart.”

Spica turned to Alyssa, her expression one of confusion.

“But… you’ve worked so hard… why now…?”

“I could only endure because you were here. If you are gone, there would be no reason for me to keep going.”

I realized it… there is no other master for me besides you. So, when Spica-sama returns, I thought I should leave this house and become a first-rate lady-in-waiting at her side.”

“Do you have a place to go?”

Spica does not look away from Alyssa.

Alyssa shifts uncomfortably, averting her gaze.

“W-well, I think I’ll manage somehow. There’s always a shortage of people, after all.”

She has neither destination nor connection.

“Then, why not stay here for a little while?”

Spica, half-amused, half-stunned, hands her a piece of paper upon which she has written something.

The name written on the paper is that of Spica’s friend.

A noblewoman of high rank—someone whose family ties would normally make such an alliance nearly impossible.

“Are you certain? She’s… well, she’s…”

“It depends on Alyssa. Whether she’ll hire you or not. And this… this is my farewell gift… my final offering…”

Alyssa already knew Spica’s resolve. She understood that this was a determination unshaken by whatever might come.

“Tell me, Alyssa. I was truly happy, knowing you were by my side. So please, do not let me bind you—live for your own happiness.”

A single tear, large and bright, slipped from Spica’s eyes.

“Madam Spica, my happiness is mine to choose. So if, in the days ahead, I find myself at your side, then let me be the one to care for you.”

The two parted in a fervent embrace, reluctant to let go.

When Alyssa left the manor, she collided head-on with Maasa, her mother—though not by body, but by word, as if struck by a blow.

As her final act, Alyssa hurled her resignation letter toward the head lady.

It struck Maasa’s cheek with a sharp, clean sound.

I no longer regard you as my mother. I cannot see you as a worthy senior maid to respect. I sever you from my life! Farewell.

Wait! Alyssa! You must go to the Imperial Palace with Lady Stella! Who will support the young mistress now?! Alyssa!

Alyssa did not hear her mother’s cry. She simply carried a large bag and left the estate.

Though she had lived there for seventeen years, to Alyssa it had already become an empty shell.

Without looking back, she moved toward another estate.

A year later, Alyssa stood within the Imperial Palace.

One of the attendants for the next Duchess, Patricia, during her entry into the court.

Yet here, Alyssa showed nothing but quiet, steady diligence in her work.

I’m sorry, Alyssa. My attendants are also proud...

"No, Lady Patricia. It is only natural. I would be content to repay your kindness in whatever way I am able."

Alyssa offered a bright, gentle smile to Patricia, who regarded her with quiet pity.

Immediately after leaving the manor, Alyssa went straight to the Marchioness of Mitzberg and presented herself before Patricia, bearing Spica’s letter of recommendation.

There, Alyssa said:

"My heart already belongs to another master I serve. Yet will you still take me? If my true master returns, I wish to return to his side."

Patricia’s mind was filled with the face of her friend, and she sorrowed over how distant that hope now seemed.

"Very well. Until Pearl returns, I shall lend you a branch to rest upon."

Yet the ladies-in-waiting present with Patricia did not recognize Alyssa. To them, harboring another master in their hearts while pledging no loyalty to the one they served—such a thing felt like betrayal, a desecration against Patricia.

Especially since the master they cherished would soon depart…

Alyssa endured the tension with the servants who mourned such a master. She understood, even she who held her true master close within her heart, that no one would wish to draw near to their master someone unfaithful, even if it were their own.

Thus, Alyssa labored twice as hard as any other.

She took up tasks that were not required of her, without hesitation.

Later, she learned of the death of a woman she had once served, but felt no remorse for the fleeting guilt of the one who had caused her master pain.

Hate Stella, but Spica shall not return…

She carried out her duties with a quiet understanding, as though she had already seen the truth.

The惨状 and truth of Emmental House, her former service, reached her ears.

To treat Lady Spica so contemptuously, and yet act as if they were the victims of tragedy—she felt nothing but scorn rise in her throat at the sheer audacity of it.

Yet speaking it would not change her fate.

Her mother, having been divorced from her father, now lived with Spica’s parents, who had become former counts, in the lands of Emmental.

Occasionally, a letter would arrive, asking if she were well. She never replied. She could not bear the thought that the one who had once written to her could not even write a letter now, nor could she forgive herself for being the one who had once scorned the very person she now revered as a master.

Years had passed, and through her diligent work, Alyssa had earned the trust of those around her. She had the skill to match her reputation, and her work had never known a single flaw.

She had become the mistress of her own heart, and her childhood friend was now the Imperial Palace’s High Saintess.

Alyssa’s place of work had shifted from the Imperial Palace northward to the great estate, and as the Lady of the Parasitic Trees, she led a life of constant busyness.

There were those who sought her favor.

She had dismissed them coldly, assuming such men would exist among the ladies-in-waiting of a duchess—but this one had truly been the first to fall in love with her.

Yet Alyssa did not accept his feelings.

To take a husband before her master was unthinkable.

Thus, she continued her days as a veteran lady-in-waiting to the duchess, performing her duties with quiet diligence.

Yet Patricia knew, deep within, that a quiet flame of loyalty to Spica still burned in her heart.

On the spring of the forty-eighth year since their tearful farewell, the news spread throughout the land. An announcement of succession at Emmental—the High Saintess, having fulfilled her duty there, was to be replaced.

The news stirred the entire realm. Families with daughters of marriageable age纷纷 stepped forward, offering vast donations to the church in hopes their daughter might succeed her.

Five granddaughters of Patricia had entered the competition. Two reached the final selection, yet the position ultimately fell to another noblewoman.

The young women, in their pristine and unwavering pursuit, sent forth a successor untouched by ill will or shadowed intent.

“Lady Patricia, I come to seek your leave.”

That summer, Alyssa petitioned to become Grand Duchess. Patricia smiled with quiet grace.

“Returning from the branch to the true master’s side… It will be lonely, but if this is your wish, then I accept it. Thank you, for all you have done.”

And so, with gentle favor, Patricia released her.

Alyssa arrived in Kiwa, the capital city of Emmental, as the Foundation Festival thrived in celebration and the High Priestess was being replaced, the air thick with festivity.

She had petitioned countless times to meet the High Saintess, but permission would never be granted to a woman of common birth.

But when the request for an audience had been made more than a dozen times, the audience was finally granted.

Is Your Ladyship well…? Are You not unwell…? Within the room conveyed amidst such anxiety stood a delicate woman, her hair free of tea’s scent, her face slender and faint, as if barely present.

It seemed as though it had stepped directly from Alyssa’s memory.

Spica… Your return, safe and sound—my deepest congratulations. As promised, unworthy Alyssa now stands before you.

Please allow me to serve you, from now on, at your side, for your sake.

Alyssa bowed her head deeply, deeply down.

But the woman did not nod her head.

"No, Alyssa. I do not wish for you to sacrifice yourself for my sake.

You do not know the feeling that seized me when I found your name on the list of petitioners…

I wish to spend the days ahead with you, not as a servant, but as a friend, as a childhood companion."

With that, she placed her hand—smooth as a girl's, unmarked by time—onto Alyssa's weathered one.

They shared once more a quiet embrace.

The tomb where the High Saint rests drew many who wished to align their wills with hers, and others who sought to claim her favor. Yet not all could be accepted; only a select few were granted that honor.

Among them stood a small stone. It bore the name of a loyal servant, said to have tended the High Saint's person since her awakening, and to have applied the final rites to her face at the hour of death. Her name was inscribed in the imperial chronicles.

"The High Saint's sole and singular friend and loyal servant"

Alyssa Fedelova lies here

At the final moment of the High Saintess, it is said she held her hand as a friend, just as the High Saintess had wished.

At her tomb, maidens who aspire to serve gather without cease, offering flowers; even today, it stands in quiet stillness as a sacred site of pilgrimage.

Many revered her as a predecessor who had upheld her convictions with quiet sincerity.

We have been long absent from your sight.

This time, I have written about what happened to Alyssa afterward.

Furthermore, permit me to take this opportunity to share details regarding this work's publication.

Scheduled for early release by Comic Seema on April 25th

It shall be so!

It has been announced that it will be released sequentially on Kindle, au Book Pass, honto, BookLive, and other platforms.

The cover art is being drawn by Teacher Yanyomi, and I’ve just been shown a rough sketch of the people of Emmental—it was truly magnificent!

I was truly astonished by the image of the three brothers—exactly as I had imagined it!

There are also original stories included—please do look forward to them!

Personally, I’ve been dealing with an influenza infection and urgent work matters, so each day has been quite hectic. Please all take good care of your health.

Sato Mashiro