The Fallen Lady Must Have a Touch of Arrogance
Constanze had once stood at the pinnacle. As the daughter of House Eisner, a prestigious black magic family that ruled the western borderlands of the empire, her life had been guaranteed to be one of inherited glory. All she needed to do was enjoy the honors her ancestors had built.
But that promised happiness had crumbled.
Even now, Constanze wasn’t entirely sure why. She had only overheard the surviving vassals grumbling that her father, a man lesser than his own son and an even lesser father than his daughter, had grown obsessed with results and caused some kind of accident. Those who remained had not been involved in the experiment itself, so they seemed to know little. Or perhaps they simply hadn’t wanted to tell her the truth.
“Ah…”
Because she knew nothing, she had despaired.
At first she tried to endure it alone. She even devised a plan to bring in her maternal family to counter the constant interference of the vassals. So she set out alone across the continent. The price of failure was humiliating—she was captured by slavers and sold as a slave to the young master of some minor barony.
“Ah…”
It was as if Constanze had lost the ability to speak entirely. She lost the will to live. She turned her back on any sense of responsibility to restore her house. The only thought that filled her young mind was that it would be better to die like this. Severe lethargy followed. Her appetite vanished completely. She could barely remember the last time she had eaten until she felt full.
And then.
“Don’t you want to make up for your ancestors’ mistakes? From what I’ve heard, House Eisner first earned its count title through exceptional achievement in black magic, recognized by the imperial family itself.”
The man before her—Fabian Arnold, the young master of a trivial barony—spoke with eyes that sparkled as if it were his own family’s history. He recounted the glorious beginning when the first Eisner received a peerage from the emperor and laid the foundation to one day be called a margrave of the frontier.
“If you can obtain that same level of power, you should be able to restore your count title. Or more precisely, reclaim it.”
And then, as if it were the most natural thing, he gave her advice. He told her she simply needed to reclaim her title in the way she was best at.
In that moment, Constanze felt the noble identity buried inside her stir back to life.
That’s right…!
I am noble. I am the last direct descendant of House Eisner.
That’s right…!
I am beautiful. Even if I’ve fallen into slavery and look wretched, my essence has not changed. The dust that accumulated while I sat in despair can simply be cleaned away.
That’s it…!
Black magic. The one thing I am best at. I will reclaim my place through it.
At that point, a complete plan seemed to form in Constanze’s mind. But putting it into words right away was difficult. After all, she had spent the last several months locked in Madam’s iron cage, keeping her mouth tightly shut.
While she hesitated for a brief moment—
“What are you doing? Stand up.”
“Uh, ah…”
“Go and take your lessons.”
“Follow me. I’ll make sure to educate you properly.”
“Ugh…”
Fabian deliberately crushed the reviving pride in Constanze, hoping the backlash would fully restore her confidence, and reduced her to the role of a maid.
“Wipe it properly! Properly! An apprentice maid’s basics are dishes, cleaning, and laundry!”
“U-ugh…”
“No chatting!”
“Y-yes…”
“No crying!”
Fabian’s scheme hit its mark perfectly. While doing dishes, cleaning, and laundry—things she had never done in her life—Constanze made a vow.
I will get revenge.
She would get revenge on Fabian.
“If you want to escape maid life quickly, you’ll need to seriously research black magic. After all, you have to reclaim your count title and the glory of becoming a margrave, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Once you’ve finished your tea, could you bring me that document from yesterday so I can sign it?”
“I will. Just don’t spit in the black tea.”
“I wouldn’t even know how. A count’s daughter doesn’t go around spitting, you know.”
Even if she had to endure every kind of humiliation and insult while living as a maid for now… once she escaped this wretched existence, she would crush that playboy-looking young master first using the power of a margravine of Eisner.
I will never forgive him.
And this was exactly the picture Fabian had wanted most. He was certain that if he continued to support her steadily, she would never be able to truly hate him. Even if her desire for revenge became the driving force, he had no doubt that the resentment would soon fade, leaving only powerful motivation and gratitude behind.
‘Constanze’s spirit returning is good. They say talented but lethargic people have a harder time succeeding than average ones, don’t they?’
Even if small and large troubles arose in the future, it was a good thing that life had returned to Constanze’s eyes. But too much spirit could also be a problem. He was the young master of a barony, and she was the daughter of a count family. There was a clear gap between them, and he needed to rise above that gap to control her.
“Thank you for signing the contract, Constanze.”
“Not at all. I needed to repay you for saving me, and I needed a place to stay. That’s all.”
“I’ll definitely support your black magic research as I mentioned yesterday. However—”
“Is there a condition?”
“For the time being, I expect you to diligently perform your duties as a maid as well.”
“That… what do you…”
For now, he would have her work as a maid to get a feel for holding the reins. The experience of working as a maid would naturally instill a sense of defeat in Constanze. He could use that sense of defeat to comfortably control a Constanze armed with noble pride.
“I said I’d help with your black magic research, didn’t I? Think of it as earning material costs and a bit of busywork. Something like taking care of meals today. Occasionally you can go watch the raiding demi-humans and practice your black magic too.”
The excuse was solid.
“Well, I suppose when would someone like you ever get to drink tea served by the daughter of a future margrave? Since you’re helping me, I’ll bestow upon you that much honor.”
In the future, this status as a maid would become the most important point of contention in the power struggle between him and Constanze.
“Then finish this and prepare to go out. We’re going for a walk.”
“A walk?”
“Yeah. I’m going to see the farmland I handed over to Maron.”
Sipping the black tea Constanze had poured for him, Fabian leisurely gazed out the window. Right in front of his office, a small vegetable garden caught his eye. That was the plot he had given to Maron. It had only been one night, so there probably wasn’t much to see, but since she was a druid, she might have something to show. It wouldn’t hurt to go check with a little expectation.
It took only ten minutes on foot from the baronial mansion to the field given to Maron.
“My legs hurt.”
“I’m walking too.”
“These clothes are too long, and I have to wear heeled shoes. They’re completely unsuitable for walking around a dirt field like this…”
“You’re a maid, Constanze. Wearing a maid uniform is only natural.”
“Then will you also buy me clothes to wear as a black mage?”
“If you want.”
“Please use good fabric.”
“I’ll have them custom-made. Share your measurements with the other maids.”
“…Will the report go all the way to you?”
“Why would it? The budget will just be charged to me.”
“Then I understand.”
After listening to Constanze’s grumbling, they soon arrived. Fabian walked a little ahead and approached Maron.
“Maron.”
“You’ve come, young master.”
“How’s the farmland? Do you like it?”
“The ley line range is good, and the quality is excellent. I think we’ll be able to grow many good crops.”
“Work hard. If you produce results, I’ll increase the size of your personal plot too.”
“I will do my best.”
Maron looked bright. Since she had been the first to express her willingness to cooperate with him, she didn’t seem to have any reason to feel upset.
“Results will come quickly. The plant I’m growing this time is a Guardian of the Forest.”
“Guardian?”
“Yes. I heard from Lady Alice that there are many demi-humans in the area who carry out raids.”
“That’s true.”
“So I planted plants that will protect the crops from them.”
Honestly, it was hard to picture. Would something like a Venus flytrap uproot itself from the field, waddle around, and eat goblins?
“You don’t believe me?”
“It’s hard to imagine. I understand what you’re saying, but the idea of a plant that eats goblins or orcs doesn’t really come to mind.”
“That makes sense. Humans only grow plants they can eat or admire, after all.”
When Fabian gestured toward the field where seeds had just been sown and not a single sprout had yet emerged, Maron nodded in understanding.
“But you can look forward to it. The Guardian of the Forest is a plant that even elves cultivate.”
“Elves?”
“Yes. People say elves don’t like fighting, but they’re not so naive that they would tolerate anything swarming around their mother.”
“Mother… the World Tree…”
“That’s right! I planted the seeds of the guardians that protect the World Tree, so you can definitely look forward to it.”
In truth, how a carnivorous plant caught and ate its prey, or what it looked like, wasn’t particularly important. What mattered was whether they could increase their defensive measures against demi-humans hostile to them. And if the seeds they had planted this time were from plants that even protected the World Tree, there was no reason not to be happy.
“Good work. Maron, thank you so much.”
“Ah, please don’t touch my head. My horns will shake.”
When he awkwardly stroked Maron’s head, she let out a delighted giggle. From his experience looking after many R-grade orphans, this was a positive sign. He stroked her head a little more before withdrawing his hand.
“I’ll let you farm as much as you want. Just take care of cleaning up the raiders for me.”
“That’s not difficult. I’ll do my best as far as my strength allows.”
The settlement of the externally recruited orphans was gradually coming to an end. Now all that remained was to prepare the stage to watch these children’s performances. Summer would arrive soon, and the hot-tempered demi-humans would begin swarming in droves. He had planned to prove then that his orphan welfare policy had not been wrong…
“There’s smoke rising.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t look like a wildfire. Isn’t that a beacon?”
Constanze, who had been pretending to be uninterested while he spoke with Maron, pointed to the distant column of smoke. That location was definitely where the beacon tower stood. A beacon had been lit.
“Looks like we won’t even have to wait until summer. Show us what you can do, kids.”
The stage was set.