The president of the Knights asks Rae to find someone to train everyone in proper service technique, and she chose Lene. Little did she know Lene would immediately become drunk on power, wear glasses and carry a whip and make everyone, regardless of station, call her sensei.
However, it works, and she whips nobles and commoners alike into a bunch of passable maids and butlers. However, Lene’s “reliability” tracks, as she was the only one of young Claire’s personal maids to last more than a week, all because she knew how best to deal with her selfish whims.
The day of the Foundation Day Fair arrives, and Claire, Rae, and Misha are resplendent in their butlers’ outfits. Claire can’t help but compliment how good Rae looks, completely unbidden! She also proves a top-notch server, even when Rae on her break is her customer.
Claire maintains a serene face and patient tone throughout their interaction, even though she knows full well Rae is loving every second of being waited on by her mistress. I love a good role reversal!
When a young man tries to get Prince Yu’s attention, blushing the whole time as if he wants to confess to him, we then cut to a mysterious masked man lurking in the shadows. I have no idea what that’s about except that the masked guy appears in the OP so he was bound to show up at some point.
Speaking of showing up, Rae has the misfortune of getting some difficult stuck-up foreign royalty for customers. In the game, one of the princes would have bailed her out, so she assumes she’s on her own. However, it’s Claire who comes to her rescue, able as she is to speak the royals’ language fluently.
Rae later thanks her for saving her, and Lene, who observed what went down, isn’t surprised. Claire also saved her from some uppity royals when they were kids, and Claire wanted to buy her a dress. Sure, Lene was only a commoner, but she’s a commoner under the employ of the Francois family, which is different.
When Claire and Rae share a break, Rae helps her with her hair, and while Claire is impressed with how good a butler Claire has been, she prefers the “usual, honest” Claire. Claire scoffs and asks what part of her is honest, and asks Rae to skip the flattery as she’s well aware of her flawed personality. To this, Rae gets on one knee and holds out her hand, and offers to escort Claire around the fair.
Claire could have easily turned Rae down, but instead she takes her hand. Why? Because, like us, Claire knows that whatever headaches Rae may cause, she’s a hell of a lot of fun to hang out with. So hang out they do: Claire is predictably petrified by the haunted house and clings to Rae, while Rae (probably) lets Claire win the biggest stuffed animal at target practice.
When they take a break and Rae offers to grab Claire some water, I was suddenly worried that masked guy might kidnap Claire or something. Instead, it’s Rae who gets accosted, by fellow commoners, who are starting a “Commoner Movement” calling for equal rights and treatment. Claire, wondering what was delaying Rae, takes her by the hand and leads her away from the hard sell.
Rae later admits that she believes the movement makes some great points, but also assures Claire that no matter what, noble or commoner, she’ll always serve Claire. Rae then presents to her the gift of an amulet meant to aid with romance, wishing her good luck with Thane.
When Claire asks why, if she loves her as she claims, Rae supports her having success with the second prince. Rae simply states that Claire’s happiness is more important to her than having her own love realized. After all, Claire is her “heart’s savior.”
Back in her old world, Rae was worn down to the bone by the pressures of her job, but playing her otome and interacting with Claire helped soothe her troubled, exhausted heart. Claire may not know or believe it, but she saved Rae. It’s only natural she’d want to pay her back by prioritizing her happiness.
Claire does her usual thing where she says Rae is just messing with her as usual (she’s not), re-establishes that they are noble and commoner, “nothing more or less” (untrue), but the fact is she doesn’t refuse Rae’s gift, but holds it carefully in her hand as she walks away.
The next day, while performing more mundane Knights tasks, Rae, Claire, Lene and Misha encounter a commotion, and learn from Claire’s friends that there was a skirmish between commoner and noble. It’s looking like a battle between the classes is inevitable, and Claire will soon learn that Rae isn’t all talk about serving and supporting her no matter what.
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