Who Brought the Head Maid Back? - Chapter 24

“Where are they going?”

Noah’s head snapped toward her. His golden eyes sparkled as he stared intently at Amy.

“The person I mentioned earlier told me about something else. They are going to find it.”

At the end of the corridor, the doors to the hall appeared in the distance. Noah’s pace slowed.

“Is that a magic tool as well?”

“Yes. Though the knights don’t know that.”

” Oh.”

Noah blinked and lowered his gaze slightly. He felt a small wave of emotion knowing that Amy had shared something with him that she hadn’t even told the knights she seemed so close to.

Amy spoke energetically as she pushed open the hall doors. “You must always have a hearty breakfast.”

Noah looked up and smiled. “Yes, I know.”

His precious Head Maid was always sincere when it came to meals.

After breakfast, Noah immediately summoned Vernon, the Captain of the Guard, and ordered him to send out knights as quickly as possible to retrieve the magic tool Amy had mentioned. He pressed them so urgently—as if herding cattle—that Dwayne and Jack were forced to leave the Grand Ducal Castle that very afternoon, looking as if they were being chased out.

After seeing them off and wishing for their safe return, Amy turned back to find Noah waiting. He asked softly, “By the way, what kind of magic tool is it?”

To the curious Noah, Amy lowered her voice and explained, “It will bring Your Highness immense wealth and luck.”

“!”

Noah’s eyes went wide. He glanced around to ensure no one was eavesdropping before lowering his voice even further.

“Is that why you told me I had to become the Grand Duke of the North?”

Amy fought back a smile, her lips twitching. How could her master be so sharp?

“Exactly. Once the knights bring it back, the North will be turned upside down.”

Noah fell silent as he watched her flushed face and shining eyes. The entire Empire was already buzzing because of the weather change; he couldn’t even imagine something more incredible happening than that.

He swallowed hard before speaking. “If that happens… will you be happy, Amy?”

Amy always centered her words around him. Even the first thing she had said to him after walking away from her guaranteed position as the Crown Prince’s Head Maid was…

‘I will get you out of this suffocating Imperial Palace.’

Even while she was busy making him a Grand Duke and heading North…

‘Your Highness, you only need to enjoy what I provide for you.’

And even now, she was talking about bringing him wealth and luck. But more than anything, Noah wanted Amy to be happy.

” Of course, Your Highness. Your joy is my joy.”

Amy watched him for a moment before nodding. Only then did Noah relax and give a silly grin. He puffed out his chest and asked with newfound motivation, “What should I do now?”

“Well… it should be arriving just about now.”

Amy tapped her chin, calculating something in her head, and then smirked. “It could be as early as today, or the day after tomorrow at the latest.”

Noah was bewildered. “So, what exactly is coming?”

“Your Highness, you are a genius.”

The tutor Amy had painstakingly selected declared this while waving Noah’s answer sheet.

“My goodness…”

Amy covered her mouth with her hand to hide a budding laugh. Goodness, there is nothing our Highness cannot do.

The elderly tutor chattered away, spitting slightly in his excitement over what an extraordinary student Noah was.

“Your Highness has mastered not only the Trivium—grammar, logic, and rhetoric—taught at leading universities including the Imperial University, but also the Quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. You could enter a senior faculty at a university right this moment.”

“Doesn’t one have to pass the junior faculty to enter the senior one?” Amy asked, glancing at Noah, who was sitting quietly at his desk. His tightly clenched fists were trembling slightly. Though he was pretending otherwise, he seemed shocked to learn his own level for the first time.

“That is correct. I am saying he has already surpassed the junior level.”

Amy leaned toward Noah and whispered, “Your Highness, do you have any interest in attending a university?”

” But then I’d have to go back to the capital.”

Noah grimaced. Amy began to list a few universities outside the capital in her head, but before she could speak, Noah shook his head and continued.

“I want to stay here.”

“I see. But you still want to continue your lessons, don’t you?”

Amy had realized how lively Noah became when faced with a problem. This poor boy had been starving for knowledge.

“Yes.” Noah nodded instinctively, then added quickly, “If circumstances allow, that is. I don’t want to force it.”

At that, Amy spoke decisively. “Money spent on your education is an investment. The people are only comfortable when their Lord is wise.”

She then turned to the tutor. “Do you have any professors you personally recommend? Retired individuals would be ideal.”

“I will reach out to acquaintances in each subject of the senior faculty.”

The tutor, who had agreed to be paid a large sum regardless of his continued employment upon reaching the North, readily offered his connections.

Amy and Noah talked as they headed toward the office.

“I never heard that a tutor was brought to the Second Prince’s palace. Where did you learn all this?”

Noah scratched his cheek. “I learned it from my mother.”

“From Her Highness the Imperial Concubine?”

Amy was inwardly surprised. The Concubine was a princess from the South, and not much was known about her other than her high-profile romance with the Emperor. Despite Amy’s reaction, Noah calmly searched his memory.

“Universities in the South accept women. My mother was the top of her class.”

“My goodness…”

“And unlike the Empire, Southern universities have a special subject called Mana Research. She said it was her favorite.”

Noah touched his earlobe, a slight frown on his face. “I suppose that’s why she had those magic tools.”

“I see. Then how many magic tools did you receive from her?”

Amy asked, thinking of the gemstone Noah had given her. Noah shifted his gaze and spoke in a small voice.

“Three…”

“Three… What? Three?” Amy was aghast. “You mean you gave two of them to me?”

“Uh, well…”

Noah’s eyes darted around frantically. Amy pressed her hand to her temple and let out a sigh. They say raising a child is a fool’s errand…

She blurted out, “I’m returning them.”

Noah panicked and waved his hands. “What? No, just keep them. I gave them to you, Amy. As you know, it’s just a hairpin and a colored stone. What would I use them for?”

“Then at least the future Grand Duchess should have them.”

Amy spoke firmly and reached for the pin in her hair. Seeing her about to pull it out and hand it back, Noah hurriedly intervened.

“Then I’ll only give the hairpin to you, Amy.”

“Pardon?”

Amy frowned. It looked like a simple pin, so she had used it without a thought, but knowing it was a rare magic tool made it feel burdensome. Then Noah spoke hesitantly.

“To be honest… that pin might not even be a magic tool.”

Amy’s ears perked up. “Really?”

“Yes. Mother explicitly said the others were magic tools, but she didn’t say much about that one. It might just be a pin she brought from the South.”

At those words, she slowly lowered her hand and thought, Well… it is quite plain. It shared no similarities with other magic tools. If she had to find one, it was just that the material and color were similar to the tool that changed the weather.

Seeing Amy lost in thought, Noah seized the opportunity to persuade her. “Even if you return it now, I have no use for it… If I shove it somewhere, I might lose it and never know.”

Amy paused. Noah was terrifyingly indifferent to things that didn’t interest him, so it sounded plausible.

“Amy, you got me out of that hellish Imperial Palace. Mother would understand.”

Noah decided for himself that since he liked Amy, his mother would have liked her too. After all, Amy is the owner of those things now. He had no intention of taking the tools back. If he could, he would have given her the black stone in his earlobe, too. But that was something his mother had begged him never to take off, so he couldn’t give it away.

In the meantime, Amy finished her thoughts and made up her mind. “I will accept it since it is a gift from you. However, if it’s ever revealed to be a magic tool later, I’m returning it immediately. Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

Noah let out a silent sigh of relief. Afterward, Amy rummaged through her pocket, pulled out the colored stone, and held it out to him.

“Take this. Keep it safe and give it to the future Grand Duchess later.”

“Fine, I will.”

Noah accepted it obediently, and only then did Amy’s expression relax.

“Well, you must be tired from the exam. Shall we go eat?”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to be busy from now on. We have a mountain of work to do.”

More than two months passed since Jack and Dwayne left. In that time, Amy and Noah cleared away a massive amount of work.

They summoned Northern merchants to open trade with the Grand Ducal Castle, screened recommendation letters for those wanting to work, verified the quality of milk, flour, and honey from the village, and signed contracts with farmers.

As they worked frantically, the banquet was suddenly around the corner. Melbourne and the servants poured their hearts into sweeping, polishing, and decorating the castle. They wanted their precious Grand Duke to stand tall against the local nobles who had grown up in the North.

The guards also memorized patrol routes and heightened security to ensure no issues arose. Amy was so busy supervising everything that she felt like she needed two bodies to keep up.

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