sadslime's manga / #Maid(2)

Nene is an orphan living at the church and working selling matches until the priest sends her to work at the local manor, where she meets the lord and his nephew, Hal. Nene and Hal fall in love, but meanwhile, the priest who raised her is running a sex trafficking/arson ring using the girls he raised, and he thinks it's time to get Nene into it. Not really my thing. Trigger warnings: sex trafficking, arson, attempted rape, statutory rape, child abuse.

Bernard is a fifth son of a minor noble family who he felt he had no choice but to become a knight to make a name for himself, and Lady Agnes is the flower of high society who should have nothing to do with a low ranked noble like him. Still, when he tries to introduce himself to her at her debut only to get glared at, he holds a grudge against her for looking down on him for years, which is why when she ends up with nothing after her father commits treason and comes to see Bernard at the knight's hall, he impulsively offers to take her in as a maid, intending to crush her pride. To his surprise, she's delighted and thanks him profusely, and now he gets to deal with housing a traitor's daughter who acts nothing like the haughty lady he was expecting. Still, a knight's oath is to protect those who can't protect themselves, so he can't turn Agnes away now! I like this one so far, especially the interesting touch of having it told form the ML's point of view, but it felt a little cliche once they introduced his mother and the "fiance" plot. Trigger warning: stalker.