Chapter 254: Benefactor(1)
Chapter 254: Benefactor(1)
Adelia’s transition into a maid was an important matter, but there was still a mountain of work left to do.
Leona and her mother were scheduled to visit the territory soon, and Cherry, disguised to hide her identity, would also be arriving before long.
Adelia was already aware of Leona’s situation, but Cherry’s visit was closely tied to my secret identity. Consequently, I deliberately left out any mention of Cherry for now.
I had already provided a rough explanation through letters, but hearing it directly from the person involved is always better than reading it on paper.
Thus, I gave my mother a detailed explanation and sought her opinion on how to proceed. Both of my parents already knew that Leona was a beastkin.
My father, in particular, had numerous experiences with armed conflicts against beastkin at the border during his active service. This meant he had seen his own comrades fall at the hands of savage beastkin with his own eyes.
Naturally, it was impossible for him not to harbor some resentment toward them. As I’ve mentioned before, I was deeply concerned that he might vehemently reject her.
Though the story had progressed somewhat subtly, Leona’s affection for me was genuine. She would rub her face against mine as if she had truly become a cat, even wagging her tail.
Between the cultural differences between humans and beastkin and the fact that those around us didn't think much of it, it had simply become a recurring happenstance.
It had reached a point where people said Leona felt more like a pet than a romantic rival. This was a sentiment shared by both Marie and Cecily.
After listening to my explanation, my mother spoke up as if it didn't bother her at all.
"Don't worry about that. Neither I nor your father really mind."
"I can understand you, Mother, but even Father?"
"Yes. He frowned a bit at first, but he respects your choice."
To my surprise, even my father had accepted it calmly. I felt a bit deflated, realizing I had worried for nothing.
"But you said the girl is coming with nothing but the clothes on her back? That she has nothing because she's the daughter of the third wife?"
"Yes. Among beastkin, any wives other than the first are considered spoils of war."
"Is there anything about her that could be useful to you?"
"Hmm..."
I pondered my mother's question. Since Leona was constantly immersed in her studies, she had an excellent reputation among both students and professors.
She was fundamentally brilliant and, though a bit stiff, quite eloquent. I had even heard that she once engaged in a debate with a professor.
Of course, Leona lost the debate. However, the professor gave her a perfect score, highly valuing her inquisitive spirit.
Because of this, professors were constantly trying to recruit Leona as their teaching assistant. Ironically, Elena, the professor of the History Department, didn't seem to care much.
During her freshman year, she hadn't been able to blossom due to the struggle of adapting to human society and the complex politics of Animus, but since becoming a sophomore, she had been displaying her talents and abilities without reservation.
"For starters, her reputation within the Academy is excellent. You could say she has a bright future as a scholar."
"A scholar... What kind of scholar does she want to be?"
"I'm not sure. Leona's only goal is to graduate from the Academy."
Leona had hidden her identity and enrolled in Halo Academy solely to make her mother happy. Her only goal was that single Halo Academy diploma.
If her only aim was the diploma, she didn't even need to join a specific department; she just needed to complete the four-year curriculum.
"She doesn't want to become a scholar?"
"No. She told me she's only getting the diploma to please her mother, and then she'll return home."
"What a rare, filial daughter. Hmm..."
After hearing my story, my mother picked up a neatly sliced piece of fruit and popped it into her mouth. After chewing for a moment, she shifted her gaze to Adelia.
Adelia’s face was still bright red from the earlier incident. She couldn't even lift her head properly; she seemed incredibly embarrassed.
"Then why don't you have Leona work as a maid as well?"
After staring at Adelia for a while, my mother spoke up as if she’d hit upon a brilliant idea.
My eyes widened at her suggestion.
"What? What do you mean? You want Leona to be a maid too?"
"Wouldn't that be for the best? You could show off, like, 'I'm so capable that I even hire women who graduated from Halo Academy as my maids!' You could flaunt it like that."
Is that so? I tilted my head at my mother's suggestion, which seemed to make sense yet felt somewhat profound.
I felt like I had heard something similar in my past life. I couldn't remember the details, but it was a method often used by the wealthy who were obsessed with prestige.
Furthermore, a certain degree of academic elitism existed in this world as well. The difference between a scholar who had completed the Halo Academy curriculum and one who hadn't was quite significant.
However, since the method my mother suggested would take a long time, it seemed best to put it on hold for now. I would also need to ask for Leona's opinion.
"I understand for now. I'll ask Leona as well, so I think it's best to take our time thinking about this."
"Let's do that. And... Adelia?"
"Ye-yes?"
Startled by my mother's call, Adelia snapped her head up. Her wide, sky-blue eyes were filled with surprise.
"I'll speak to Nurse Dana, so go find her tomorrow to begin your training. You'll need combat training as well, so I'll mention it to my husband."
"Th-thank you, Baroness."
"No need for thanks. Instead, promise me this: that no matter what happens, you will stay by Isaac's side."
Perhaps the question, imbued with my mother's kindness and sincerity, struck a chord in her heart.
Adelia flinched as soon as she heard the request, then tightly clenched her fists resting on her thighs.
At the same time, her expression became infinitely serious. The maid who had been blushing with shame just moments ago was nowhere to be found; only a determined knight remained.
However, regardless of the atmosphere, her mouth kept opening and closing as if she lacked confidence. It was a clear display of her inner fragility, despite her usually easygoing exterior.
Slide—
To ease her burden even a little, I placed my hand over her clenched fist on her thigh. Adelia flinched and looked at me as I did so.
When I gave her a silent, gentle smile and a nod, her tightly clenched fist slowly relaxed.
Eventually, we clasped our hands together, sharing each other's warmth. Adelia's palms were covered in calluses from grueling training, feeling very rough and hard.
Gaining confidence from my gesture of reassurance, Adelia curled the corners of her mouth upward. It was her signature, confident smile.
"Of course, Baroness."
Adelia finally spoke. Feeling no further need to hide her feelings, she squeezed my hand tightly.
"No matter what happens, I will protect Isaac."
A resolve so firm it could not be broken. At those words filled with determination, my mother nodded with a satisfied smile.
I smiled warmly at Adelia's decision. From what I had seen, she was wonderful in every way, but she lacked the courage to take that one step forward. You could say she lacked greed.
I hoped that, starting today, she would find both courage and a healthy amount of ambition. Adelia was someone who fully deserved to be loved.
"I can see your heart is true. Then..."
After confirming Adelia's feelings, my mother nodded and then clapped her hands together brightly.
"Shall we go measure you for your clothes now?"
"Pardon?"
Adelia asked back in a bewildered voice at the abrupt suggestion. The serious atmosphere seemed on the verge of vanishing once again.
Even so, she kept a tight grip on my hand, as if she didn't want to let go. She didn't seem to realize she was doing it, so I just let her be.
"You're Isaac's exclusive maid now. Especially since you're tall and have such a good figure, Adelia, we absolutely must take your measurements."
"I... I see. Understood."
"And next... Isaac?"
While Adelia wore a reluctant expression, my mother called out to me this time.
I met her gaze and answered without much thought.
"Yes, Mother."
"Do you have a specific design in mind?"
"A design?"
"Yes, a design. A master is allowed to order whatever attire they wish for their exclusive maid."
Was there such a rule? Since I didn't know much about maids, I couldn't tell if it was true or not.
Usually, you can discern someone's intentions by looking at their expression, but my mother was all smiles. Since she always looked like that when we talked, there was no way to know.
Adelia? Adelia was someone who had devoted herself entirely to martial arts and didn't even know common slang. Even now, she had a dazed look on her face, as if wondering, Is this right?
This meant I could describe exactly the kind of outfit I wanted. I glanced at Adelia and then spoke cautiously.
"Can I show you a drawing later? It emphasizes practicality, so it's hard to explain here."
"Of course. I'm curious to see it myself."
Adelia couldn't join the conversation between mother and son and just sat there quietly. She just blinked her eyes like a big golden retriever.
I smiled inwardly while talking to my mother. Even for an exclusive maid, there was surely a standard uniform.
But seeing my mother make such a suggestion meant she was fine with whatever I wanted. In that case, I had to go through with it.
"Adel-nuna."
"Ye-yes?"
"You'll wear whatever clothes I pick, right?"
Adelia's sky-blue eyes darted around at my question before she answered in a hesitant voice.
"Ye-yes. Of course. As long as it's nothing strange..."
"It's not strange at all. Like I said, it'll be practical and comfortable."
"Well, then..."
Though she gave me a suspicious look, she reluctantly agreed. Now that I had her permission, all that was left was to submit the design.
I'm looking forward to it.
I couldn't wait for the day Adelia would wear the maid uniform.
*
The maid incident with Adelia was settled amicably, but there was still a mountain of work left.
I couldn't even release a side story until the publisher had completely moved to our territory, and I also had to prepare for the exhibition.
With that in mind, I headed to the office to help my father with his work, but...
"...What is all this?"
"Documents."
I couldn't help but be horrified the moment I saw the stacks of paperwork piled high on my father's desk. To exaggerate slightly, they were piled high enough to reach my eye level.
Even if development had been fast-tracked and a temple had been built, wasn't this an excessive amount of paperwork? I watched my father, who was wearing glasses and signing documents.
My father was meticulously reading every single page with a frown. The perfectionist streak he’d had since his days as the Knight Commander was still in full force.
One might suggest just signing them and getting it over with. But that was impossible because every single one of those documents was vital.
From the buildings currently under construction to the merchant groups coming from other countries and the resulting customs duties—there were countless things that required his attention.
Naturally, all of this was because of the Xenon Biography and the exhibition. The territory, which was originally supposed to start developing three years from now, was growing at an explosive rate because of the exhibition.
The fact that development was supposed to start in three years meant that personnel were also scheduled to be dispatched then. In other words, my father was handling all the document processing by himself.
"Didn't you say the Imperial Family dispatched personnel?"
"This is the result after they were dispatched. More than half of these are approval documents."
My father answered without even looking up. His hands didn't rest for a second, showing just how busy he was.
In this world, where not even a calculator, let alone a computer, had been invented, the importance of documents went without saying. Since people had to do the calculations themselves, errors were frequent.
Because of this, professions like accountants or calculators were considered top-tier talent. They had to be exceptionally bright, and some were even mages.
However, our territory had been nothing more than a backwater countryside until just a few months ago. Even with the personnel support from the Imperial Family, it was bound to be woefully insufficient.
"Don't just stand there staring. Don't you have any intention of helping your father?"
"Do I even have the authority? You said they were approval documents."
"...You don't. If I could have it my way, I'd hand over the lordship to you right this instant."
Just how difficult was the work for him to say such a thing? Just looking at the piled-up documents made me want to gag; it must be a nightmare for the one who actually had to approve them.
Eventually, my father paused his work and took off his glasses. He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose, a clear sign of his exhaustion.
"So, what brings you here?"
"I was wondering if there was anything I could help with."
"There's plenty to help with. Attending to the guests who will be arriving and inspecting the territory. That alone is enough."
"Like during the last exhibition?"
If that was it, it would be easy. I could just do what I did last time.
But that was a complete miscalculation.
"Yes. And it seems you'll have to act as a guide as well. Not just for the Ters royalty, but for our Empire as well."
"Pardon?"
Just as I was reeling from the unexpected news, my father continued in a flat voice.
"In addition, we've received word from Helium and Albenheim. They said they want to enjoy this exhibition together and requested that you guide them."
"..."
"Son."
My father wore a complex expression as he looked at me, still dazed, and asked.
"Just what on earth have you been doing?"
"..."
"First Cardinal Kate, and now this. What did you do to give your father such a headache?"
I could only feel sorry.