The Noblewoman's Request
Pete entered the study just as Isabelle was thoroughly enjoying her tea time.
"The client has arrived, my lady."
"Ah, show her in at once."
Isabelle had poured her intellect into resolving countless problems within her own territory, but occasionally requests came from far away. The nearly empty teacup was cleared away, and both Rood and Isabelle moved to the receiving room used for entertaining guests.
A middle-aged woman wearing a black veil over her face and a dress adorned with expensive jewels opened the door and stepped inside. Even though only Isabelle and Rood were in the room, she kept glancing around nervously. Though the room was warm, she shivered as if chilled to the bone.
Rood stood behind the sofa where Isabelle sat in the seat of honor, his hands clasped politely in front of him as he waited.
"Y-you are the genius problem-solver of House Voenac, the young lady they call the Lady of Solutions, yes?"
The trembling woman seemed uneasy as she took in Isabelle's rather youthful appearance and asked hesitantly. Isabelle smiled kindly and gave a small nod.
"My skills are still lacking, but thanks to many people speaking well of me, that is what they call me."
"Did you happen to read my letter?"
"Yes. I received the reply that since there were things that could not be written in a letter, you would come in person to speak."
The woman pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh. Before speaking to Isabelle, she glanced several times at Rood standing behind her.
"Does... that man really need to be here?"
"Yes. He is my bodyguard, after all."
"Is his mouth... heavy enough?"
Isabelle gave a short nod.
"He is not the sort to speak carelessly. I will vouch for him on my name and that of my family."
"How can I trust that?"
"If you cannot trust even that, then it is strange that you would come to me seeking a solution."
"That is different!"
The noblewoman shot up from her seat, raising her voice. Realizing her behavior had been excessive, she cleared her throat.
"We are nobles who uphold honor and sacred duty. How could we possibly compare even a bodyguard to those lowly creatures?"
Rood quietly, yet firmly, tightened his clasped hands.
Yeah. That's what a typical noble looks like.
Rood once again felt the wall of reality and recalled just how wrong the distance between himself and Isabelle truly was. Nobles and commoners might both be human, but they were not the same kind of human.
Even animals have leaders and hierarchies, so how could humans not have ranks?
Yet even as Rood seemed resigned, he always harbored doubts about such matters.
Even if we are not the same, the gap between them and me is merely that between one human and another. So what exactly separates nobles from commoners?
Most nobles lived in wealth while commoners lived in poverty. If a person's worth changed according to the money they possessed, then were humans not dignified as tools for earning money rather than as humans themselves?
Nobles knew leisure, while commoners devoted every day to labor. If worth changed according to the freedom one possessed, then how could people love and live by the stories of heroes who bore heavy responsibilities?
Yet Rood still could not find his own answer. What exactly distinguished the noble from the lowly among humans?
Upon hearing the noblewoman's words, Isabelle frowned slightly for a moment before taking a breath and speaking.
"It seems the nobility and lowliness you speak of, madam, differ from what I consider nobility and lowliness."
"Why? We inherited the blood of the divine dragon from birth..."
"Then you must be saying that the thicker one's divine dragon blood, the more noble they are. In that case, how is it that you enjoy nobility within the lands of the Kingdom Alliance?"
The woman flinched at those words. The Kingdom Alliance had been founded to oppose the tyranny of the Emperor who possessed the blood of the divine dragon, having begun as part of the Empire itself. Therefore, the claim that divine dragon blood determined nobility had, with just a few words from Isabelle, turned into an insult toward the Kingdom Alliance as a whole.
"T-that cannot be! Then I would like to ask as well."
The woman awkwardly covered her mouth with her hand. However, the sneer that slipped between her fingers was obvious to anyone.
"Why is it that the problem-solver stands above other commoners and looks after the surrounding lands?"
The woman was indirectly asking why Isabelle, who was herself a noble enjoying those very benefits, would take issue with her words. Isabelle did not let a single laugh escape at the woman's remark and answered with composure.
"I believe the answer lies within the very words that separate a person's nobility and lowliness as I see it."
"What is it? Intellect? Fame? Isn't that level of excessive pity rather useless?"
"Fulfilling honestly imposed responsibilities. That is the standard by which I consider a person noble."
"Ha!"
The woman clicked her tongue.
"Honesty and responsibility? Aren't those attitudes that commoners should possess more than nobles?"
"If that is the case, then that commoner would be more dignified than a noble."
"Nonsense!"
Isabelle continued.
"Then are you saying that the Kingdom Alliance is nothing but a den of rebels, and that the people of the Alliance deserve to be treated worse than slaves because of it?"
"How does the conversation lead there! It is simply that we are different from those vulgar, uncultured lowly things!"
"How is that gaze any different from how the Empire looks at our Alliance?"
At Isabelle's words, the woman was left speechless. There was nothing in her statement worth pointing out. Therefore, the woman tried to attack Isabelle to defuse the atmosphere.
"It seems the young lady problem-solver has preserved her untainted purity for far too long!"
"Please listen to me until the end, madam. Your attitude toward this request does not align with me. If you question me one more time, I will not accept the request."
Isabelle also spoke in a stern voice to take control of the mood. The woman tried to add something else but realized it would not benefit her and closed her mouth.
"Our Kingdom Alliance is a newly born nation because the emperor, who should have looked after the people, failed to fulfill his responsibilities and instead engaged in corruption."
At Isabelle's words, the woman burned with anger but nodded with a face that showed she was holding it in.
"You previously took issue with the matter of governing nearby territories. Isn't properly looking after one's own domain a way to protect ourselves from the Empire?"
When the woman raised her hand, Isabelle nodded.
"Please speak."
"Why is governing territory a way to protect ourselves from the Empire?"
"Because in order to defeat the Empire, we must walk a path different from the Empire's wrong customs and actions."
When the woman still tilted her head at Isabelle's explanation, Isabelle added,
"Since the Alliance was chosen to break free from the Empire's wrongs, conversely, we must oppose them by properly caring for the people within our domains. The people who receive such care will act with even greater unity. If all the people within the Alliance unite in that way, we will be able to defeat the Empire's emperor, who sought only to fill his own belly with violence, oppression, and rotting money."
At Isabelle's explanation, the woman widened her eyes. Yet as if she did not want to admit it inwardly, she put on a sour expression again.
"Then, young lady, are you saying that if one fulfills honesty and responsibility, even a beggar living under a bridge or a wandering clown would be far more noble?"
"That is correct. Of course, bearing even more burdens would require great strength. Wouldn't the person who supports others' burdens from the lowest place be the most noble?"
At Isabelle's words, the woman bit her lip.
"I... understand. I understand, at least. However, agreeing with it completely... seems difficult."
"That is enough. Now, would you tell me the details of the request?"
The woman let out a long groan before finally spitting out the problem that had been eating at her.
"My... I cannot remember the face or name of the personal maid I cherished most."
Rood nearly laughed at the noblewoman's confession. The fact that the request was to find her personal maid, after she had spent the entire time looking down on those beneath her as lowly creatures, was incredibly ironic. A middle-aged woman dressed as a noble cherishing her personal maid. Setting aside the easy assumptions that followed, Rood found one contradiction in her claim.
"How do you know that you cannot remember?"
When Isabelle accurately pointed out the contradiction Rood had noticed, the space between the woman's brows narrowed.
"Because I remember clearly the things I did with that maid... no, the times we spent together."
"So the memories of being with that person remain?"
The noblewoman clasped her hands together with an aggrieved tone.
"That's what I'm saying! But when I asked the other servants, they only said she quit a month ago. Even when I sent people to search, they couldn't find her..."
It was strange that she remembered the times spent together but did not know the person's name or face.
"It seems others cannot remember either."
"Exactly!"
Isabelle, like the noblewoman, simply inferred that even the other servants did not know who the person was. If they had known, the noblewoman would not still be unaware of the name and face.
"What I want to request is not where that maid is. Such a thing can be replaced easily enough."
Despite saying it could be replaced, the woman's expression seemed somewhat regretful.
"But I am scared because I don't understand why no one can remember... I even thought perhaps it was a ghost..."
Rood was curious as well. How could someone have vanished from everyone's memory? It was not easy to explain a situation where it was not all memories that had been erased, but only that person's existence.
Isabelle also rested her chin on her thumb, tapping her upper lip with her index finger as her eyes darted around.
"This is an interesting request. I am currently busy with other matters, so visiting right away would be difficult, but I will have some free time in a week. I shall go directly to where you are staying then."
"You will accept the request?"
"I am truly grateful for the generosity of the young lady problem-solver. Ah, if you happen to discover who the maid is while investigating the cause..."
"Yes. I will be sure to inform you, madam."
Only then did the woman smile brightly and release all the tension she had been holding.
"Thank you so much for accepting. As promised, I will definitely provide the admission ticket."
Admission ticket?
Rood stared blankly at the woman. Upon hearing her words, Isabelle's face brightened and she rose from her seat to show proper courtesy.
"Yes. Please return safely."
It was only long after the noblewoman had left the receiving room that Isabelle finally relaxed her rigidly straight posture and slumped.
"Aigoo, I'm so tired I could die. My shoulders feel stiff again."
"Shall I massage them a bit more?"
"No need! Now I can't even complain about small things in front of you, Rood!"
At Isabelle's expression of genuine annoyance, Rood smiled slightly. Having listened to the case from the side, Rood asked Isabelle about the thing he was most curious about.
"About this case, have you gotten any sense of it?"
Then Isabelle, who had been sprawled like slime for a while, turned her head to look at Rood behind her.
"I only have a few guesses."