Chapter 172
Chapter 172
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: The Tooth Fairy's Letter
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Waking in a daze to the seeping sunlight, Lianus slipped his hand under the pillow to check if the fairy had taken his baby tooth and left a letter.
"...!"
Something was there!
"Nil... ah, Poofu!"
He bolted upright and flipped the pillow, sending Poofu—who had been sleeping peacefully beside him—flying into the air. Fortunately, Sir Evan snatched it up before it hit the floor.
"Sir Evan, thank you!"
"No trouble at all."
Lianus clutched Poofu and Popo tightly to his chest as he checked beneath the pillow. There was a small card and two pretty tassels.
The tassels appeared to be a matching set with identical designs—one gold, the other a deep blackish-blue.
Lianus shook Nihil awake.
"Nil, get up quick! The fairy wrote a reply!"
"Guh... mmph..."
Nihil rubbed his sleepy eyes and chuckled at Lianus's lisping speech. His lips poked out in a pout, but since the letter came first, Lianus decided to let it slide for now.
In truth, Lianus had wondered if his friend had written it for the fairy, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
Tiny footprints were stamped across the sealing wax!
These had to be the fairy's footprints. His friend wouldn't have used a stamp in such a messy pattern.
Wanting to preserve even those footprint stamps properly, Lianus carefully peeled off the sealing wax with a paper knife.
A fresh yet cozy breeze rustled gently.
Opening the small card revealed elegant, forceful handwriting that felt oddly familiar.
Still, it definitely wasn't Nihil's handwriting!
-Rian, congratulations on losing your first tooth. A strong, healthy new one will surely grow in to reward your courage. I'll treasure your baby tooth. Continue growing up healthy and pain-free. If you need anything, feel free to ask anytime. I'll do my utmost to help you...
"...?"
For some reason, the fairy's tone seemed to shift midway, but Lianus could tell it held great fondness for him.
Lianus carefully returned the card to its envelope and fiddled with the two-colored tassels. They were clean but carried a sense of use. They seemed familiar somehow.
He had to treasure them!
"Rian, do you like the gift?"
"Yeah!"
Lianus nodded vigorously. He couldn't imagine liking it more.
"I'll recast a preservation spell on them later. They already have one, but it doesn't seem very strong. Maybe it's just too old."
"Sounds good!"
Vigorously agreeing, Lianus carefully stowed the card and tassels in his safe.
He hadn't been fitted for a sword yet since he was still growing, but he might need one soon just to attach these gifts.
Later, once Nihil enchanted them with preservation magic, he'd hang them from his sword hilt!
"I... I wonder if I can really do this properly..."
Nihil sighed deeply, small knife in hand. With the child's guardian fidgeting endlessly beside him, he hadn't even started the treatment.
He'd already disinfected who knew how many times. He'd bill the holy water and potions separately for sure.
"...Mother, please calm down now."
Sergio, who had been scared at first, was now tired of waiting and ended up comforting his own mother instead.
"That's right, calm yourself, Madam. You can trust my friend."
Our little seaweed, looking all the more mature after losing his baby tooth, was reassuring the mother too—and his clear, precise speech without the lisp was pretty amusing.
"...He pulled my tooth without it hurting a bit. I didn't even notice. It was really... over in an instant."
...So you'd been hung up on that.
"Rian, it wasn't so much pulling as..."
"That's not the issue! Wh-why are you blindfolding him?!"
Nihil started to explain to Lianus but had no choice but to remove the eyepatch due to Countess Tarandrus's hysterics.
"There, happy now?"
"St-still, we should call a proper physician... Y-you're too young, your hands too small... Eek!"
In the end, he had "seaweed" shoo the countess away to a distance. He ignored her protests and sprinkled more holy water.
"Your mother's really overprotective."
"......"
At some point, Jane began sensing unwelcome stares directed her way.
Of course, it was a gaze she was all too familiar with.
The problem was...
"Jane, what's wrong?"
"...Y-Yvon."
"Yeah?"
"If s-someone b-bul-bullies you, t-tell me. D-don't f-fight right away..."
Especially not kitchen knives. Jane silently prayed there would be no fights in the kitchen, of all places.
"Haha, who would pull something like that here?"
"......"
Jane pressed her lips tight, watching Yvon laugh without a care. It seemed some of the servants held a grudge because she'd reported the "young master's blunder" to the butler—but the culprit himself was blissfully unaware.
Come to think of it, she needed to tell the butler about the silver coins her mentor had forced on her too...
Jane explained the situation to Yvon and asked him to come with her to the butler. People tended to get frustrated with her stuttering.
But before they could clear things up, an uproar broke out in the palace.
"Pharmacist! Check it properly!"
"Y-yes? Ch-check what...?"
The pharmacist was surrounded by a group of servants, fidgeting anxiously. Among them was a twin-tailed girl her age, sniffling ominously.
"Figure out what drug was in this vial!"
"Th-that's just an empty vial... Is there something invisible to my eyes...?"
The servant thrust the empty bottle—tied with a pretty ribbon—toward Rima.
"Scrape the bottle clean and investigate. Something will turn up."
"I-I'm not a mage, though..."
Rima had no knowledge of herbal medicine to begin with, and she had no way of guessing what the now-empty liquid had been, so she gave an awkward smile, clearly at a loss.
Jane watched from afar and decided it wasn't her place to intervene, so she tried to slip past pretending not to notice.
"Eh, m-medicine? Then Nil young m-mmph...?"
If only it weren't for her nosy best friend, she would have passed safely.
"What was that?"
"Ah, n-nothing, r-really."
Jane clamped a hand over Yvon's mouth and dragged him along with an awkward reply.
The young maid stared at them with wide, teary eyes, but Jane forced herself to ignore it.
"Wait up."
She hadn't taken three steps before they were stopped. Jane considered dragging Yvon and running but worried it would only make things worse later, so she reluctantly turned back.
"Wh-why?"
"What did you say earlier? What did it mean?"
"Wh-what?"
"Not you—your words."
"Uh... it was nothing."
Yvon finally noticed the odd atmosphere and tried to brush it off, but the man pressed relentlessly.
"Tell me exactly what you said. How does a newbie like you know this vial was from Nil young master?"
"Eh? That was from Nil young mas—mmph!"
"N-no, re-really, n-nothing!"
Jane hurriedly covered Yvon's mouth again in shock, but she couldn't escape the servants' narrowed glares.
"You two... you know something, don't you?"
"Wh-what are you t-talking about? I r-really d-don't k-know."
"Spit it out!"
Suddenly, the man grabbed Jane by the collar.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Yvon roughly yanked him off, freeing her quickly, but Jane's heart pounded, fearing a fight would break out.
"If it was from the young master, just go ask him directly! Why grab some innocent person?!"
"A poisoner won't just admit it's poison!"
"...Poison?"
"A pregnant woman took it, and her baby was born deformed!"
"...!"
The unexpected words made both Yvon and Jane gasp in shock.
"The baby had no eyes! We thought it was born blind at first, but the sockets were just empty!"
"That's impossible!"
Jane blurted it out without stuttering in her outrage. Perhaps due to her height and fierce expression, the man flinched back.
Yvon chimed in.
"Exactly. Where's the proof it was the young master's drug?"
"That's why we're investigating now!"
"How can you spread unconfirmed rumors like that?"
"Wh-what does a newbie know...! And you—you were the one fawning over the young master...!"
"What is all this commotion?"
"...!"
As voices rose, a young woman approached from the end of the hall. It was Head Maid Perry.
Jane, who found both the butler and head maid a bit intimidating, stepped back and hid behind Yvon.
"Sniff... Head Maid..."
"Anna, what happened?"
The young maid approached Perry, sniffling.
"Is it true... the young master really harmed my sister?"
"What... do you mean by that?"
"...It's nothing."
The man, who had been yelling like he wanted to devour Yvon moments ago, backed off surprisingly obediently.
Jane inwardly sighed in relief, thinking the head maid's arrival would smooth things over, but her nosy best friend opened his mouth again.
"What do you mean nothing? Head Maid, there are nasty rumors circulating about Nil young master among the servants."
"Y-Yvon...!"
"Jane, we have to clear this up properly!"
Though Jane panicked and tried to stop him, her ever-righteous childhood friend pressed on confidently.
"I don't know exactly what he gave her, but twisting good intentions like this is absolutely wrong."
"...You're right."
"And think how heartbroken the young master would be if he heard these rumors!"
"......"
At those words, the head maid's expression grew subtly complex. For a fleeting moment, it seemed she glanced pityingly at Jane beside her.
"Anna, what Marilyn received from Nil young master was just an ordinary stamina restorative."
"Sniff... right? Uncle Tom misunderstood, didn't he?"
"Of course. And as palace servants, mind your conduct and speech. Always remember the royal crest emblazoned on your chests."
"...Y-yes..."
"And Pharmacist, the young master is calling for you."
"Ah, y-yes."
The head maid soothed the young maid and dragged the pharmacist away. Jane let out a sigh of relief at the resolution.
"Why spread baseless rumors and stir up anxiety?!"
Ah, Yvon, please...
"...That's odd."
"Yeah. His nosiness is as strong as ever."
Nihil nodded roughly as he stroked Evan II's head, listening to Rima's report.
"The butler and head maid must be having a tough time."
They'd posted hiring notices to increase staff, yet for some reason, those two's workloads only grew.
"Heh heh, it's our job, so don't worry about it."
Paul, who had come up with his own report, smiled good-naturedly with bright eyes.
"Hm, still, we should hire a footman to assist them. I'll talk to the kid's dad—maybe even that young one..."
Bang! Crash!
"Nil! Big trouble!"
The door flew open noisily as the toothless baby tiger burst in fiercely.