Chapter 96
T/N: I posted the wrong chapter last night. Here is the correct one
It looks like I brought trouble to the house. I am sorry, Father.
I bowed deeply to Father. I predicted my house would get implicated, but I never expected it would be this bad. Father unexpectedly dismissed my apology calmly.
Remember, Welner. If youre going to become a royal court minister, you have to be prepared for something like this to happen anytime.
In the situation where we might lose our title and life if Mazell defected to another country, Father was calm. It might be rude for me to say this, but I was surprised by Fathers nerves of steel. Maybe it was because he was a minister.
Actually, Father, I didnt want to become a minister.
Plus, you trust Mazell, right?
Of course.
I could say this with confidence. Unless the Bain Kingdom did something extreme, Mazell wouldnt abandon it. Though there was a chance that Mazell would go to travel the continent for the sake of killing the demons.
Maybe because of my assurance, Father nodded and ended our conversation with just Good then. However after hearing the full story from Father, there was something else that I wanted to confirm.
Father, are we surrounded?
The mansion of Count Stormer in front of us and the mansion of Viscount Ulner on our right are filled with knights. The mansion of former baron Diehl behind us has been empty ever since he moved after his appointment as the assistant minister in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so Goretzka-dono has been taking care of it.
They sure did not take any chances
Our house was well guarded, it seemed. Anyway, was Goretzka that Father was talking about that Goretzka who was the Royal Guards lieutenant?
The mansion of former baron Diehl must have been packed to the brim with knights. It seemed like the Zeavert mansion had a level of security that other noble houses and even the Merchant Guild would envy.
If we, the Zeavert house, didnt cause any trouble, it would just end with our mansion having an extremely high level of security but if we did cause any problem, the kingdom would be able to immediately suppress us. Still, Father didnt seem to be nervous or anything. As expected of a noble.
Just think of it as the country providing us with high-level security free of charge. Ali and Anna would learn to become nobles chefs, while Lily would stay here to learn some manners.
Understood.
I understood Fathers decision. Mazells parents didnt go to the academy, so it might be hard for them to learn about the nobles way of doing things.
Keeping that in mind, Father had them learn to be chefs. Being a chef in a noble house was a respected job. The chefs of a noble house must be someone that the nobles themselves trusted, since the food might be poisoned. That was why chefs in the noble house were considered high-ranking servants and their salary was pretty high.
As for Lily-san, she was at the age where she could go to the academy to study, but the academy itself was half-closed. That was why she would learn manners here by becoming a servant. It was actually pretty common for a noble lady to learn manners by becoming a servant.
But with this, my plan to move Mazells family to the fortress before the attack on the capital was disrupted. Mazells family was here because of His Highnesss request, so moving them somewhere else would be hard. What should I do? I never expected things would become like this
Well, lets think about the solution later. I still have stuff to do, so I bowed to Father, left his office, then entered my office. Ah, there was a vase with flowers by the window. I didnt notice it before. The flowers werent bad, but I just think the flowers didnt suit my office.
Good, my desk was tidied. There was nothing on top of the drawer next to the table. No paper, no anything. Absolutely nothing!
While constantly convincing myself that I saw nothing on top of the drawer, I opened the two boxes that were placed on the table. Inside the boxes was the prototype. It looked just like what I had imagined so lets take a closer look. After this, I still needed to write a request for other things. Ah, Im so busy.
After checking the prototype, I was planning to write another request but it didnt go well. I held a pen in one hand while scratching my head with the other hand. I heard a knock and replied to it ruefully.
Pardon my intrusion, Welner-sama. I have brought you te-!
When Lily-san, who came in with a tea tray, saw the state of my office, she was stunned. Anyone would be surprised after they saw how the floor was sprawled with paper balls to the point it was hard to step anywhere in the room.
UmThis
Sorry for the mess. I was having a bit of difficulty with my job.
I let out a wry smile. I felt embarrassed by my mess. The scene of paper balls that filled the room made me feel like a writer or something.
Lily-san put the tray on top of the guest table and then started to pick up the paper balls. I hurriedly helped her. It might be unbecoming for me as a noble to do this, but it was a mess I created. I felt bad for letting Lily-san alone tidy it up.
We both picked up all the paper balls and then put them in the rooms corner. Since there were too many of them, we couldnt put them inside the trash can.
Sorry for the trouble.
Please do not worry about it. Um, I brought you some tea so
Ah, yeah, lets take a break.
I felt frustrated since I kept failing, so I needed a break. Lily-san proceeded to pour me tea with a relieved expression. Her movement was fluid. Maybe because she was an innkeepers daughter, she seemed to be used to it.
Please.
Thank you.
I took a sip of the tea. Both the fragrance and the taste were just right.
It was good. Thank you.
You are welcome.
A relieved smile appeared on her face. Ah, I felt nervous. I mean, I mostly hang out with male friends in the academy, so I wasnt used to a female throwing me that kind of smile unless it was someone I had been used to like Tirula-san.
In any case, there was something I wanted to ask her, so lets put this thought away for now.
Come to think of it, Lily-san, you..
Um, Welner-sama
When I began to talk to her, she showed me a troubled expression.
My apologies, but would you please stop using honorific? After all, I am a maid.
Ah!
I didnt feel comfortable calling Mazells little sister without honorific, but currently, I was a noble and she was a maid of my house. It was true that using honorifics for her might cause some trouble. I understand that, but still, calling her without an honorific was a big hurdle for me.
(T/N: In Japan, dropping honorifics, especially between a male and female, means you are close.)
Okay, LiLily
Yes, Welner-sama.
Urgh. A thousand-watt smile! Calm down, Welner. Remember, you still have something to ask her!
Stuff happened, and it looks like youre going to be working here, but are you fine with that?
Of course! I never thought I could work in this splendid mansion. I am happy that Count-sama asked me to work here.
I.. I see.
Everyone has also been very kind to me. Besides letting me study, they also taught me about manners. Working here is a very rewarding experience.
Im glad that you seem to be happy working here.
Well, usually, being allowed to work for a noble was considered an honor for a commoner. I still felt guilty though since I knew the reason His Highness wanted the Hearthing family to stay here. However, Lily-san seemed to be really happy with staying here, so lets stop worrying.
But Welner-sama, what have you been doing?
Well, Ive been trying to draw something but I havent succeeded.
There were several metal balls, a partially modified magic lamp, a pen, and paper on my desk. There was something that I wanted to draw, but it was pretty complicated, so I kept failing.
Here. The drawing is pretty terrible, right?
Um
Lily-san let out a troubled laugh, making me smile bitterly. You could be honest, Lily-san. It was terrible, right? I mean even I, the person who drew it, saw nothing but a jumble of squares, triangles, and curves. Lily-sans next words surprised me.
May I borrow some paper and a pen?
Huh? Sure. Do you want to sit down?
Yes. Then, pardon my discourtesy.
I was planning to tell her a light joke to change the atmosphere, but unexpectedly, Lily-san took the magic lamp and then she sat on the guest chair. She took some of my crumpled paper, spread it on the desk, and started to draw. Whoah!
Youre good at this
When there were customers who couldnt read came to the inn, I drew the inns menu and also the location of shops in the village for that customer. My parents have also often praised me for my drawing skill.
Her reasoning for her skill made sense, but her drawing wasnt at the level of an amateur! I think she might have a Skill related to art, like [Painting]. I did not know she had this kind of talent.
Here, it is finished. What do you think of my drawing?
Honestly, Im surprised by your skill.
Her drawing was realistic, like a sketch created by Leonardo da Vinci. You sure couldnt judge a book by its cover. Now, I needed to explain the details to her and then ask her to draw it on proper paper wait a minute.
Lily-saLily. You can read and write, right?
Huh? Yes. I sometimes did the writing for the inns ledger.
Can you do some math?
I can, Just at the level of being able to calculate the room and meal charge. I am currently learning the more complex calculations.
Wait a minute. Someone who could read, write, do simple calculations, and was good at drawing?
Wasnt this one of the valuable talents Ive been searching for!?
(T/N: Welner talked about wanting a skilled person as his subordinate/assistant before he met Frenssen.)
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