Vile Rumors (2)
"Look at this! It's in the newspaper! I was so shocked when I just received it...!"
I found Silvia's appearance far more shocking. Sticking a fork into her matted hair like that. So that's what she does when she's alone in her room on her day off. Keeping a step away from Silvia, who looked like she might smell, I accepted the newspaper.
'Count Belmont, Did He Really Fall for Commoner Slaves? Ages Known as 13 and 14 Respectively, Excommunication...'
Evil God 'Kali' lets out a scream!
What the hell. Eyes meeting? If that were true, we'd be holding an engagement ceremony by now and asking the protagonist to officiate. If I could have seduced Charlotte and Julia, I would have done it ages ago.
"T-This, how did this happen? Even if the head of the household routinely extorts and intimidates people, he is not the kind of trash who would harbor lust toward young children, right!?"
"I think I know the source of the rumor."
"Really? Where is it?"
"...?"
Silvia stared at me with trembling pupils. She genuinely looked like she had no idea. She should have figured it out just from overhearing the maids whispering as they passed by. It seemed Silvia was being ostracized among the staff. I had learned something I never wanted to know.
"Tell the head maid to gather all the maids in the dining hall."
"Yes. I will do so."
"And I won't demand you dress as properly as on workdays, but at least take the fork out of your hair. Just in case you're wondering, it actually suits you quite well. I didn't tell you to remove it because I disliked the sight."
"...!"
Fumbling. Silvia's hand shot up to her head. She touched the fork, and her face flushed bright red. It seemed she had forgotten the fork was even there.
"T-This is...! Ah! No!!!"
Thud, thud. Silvia let out a shriek and fled. She really kept her work and rest times strictly separate. At first I had thought she was an entirely different person.
"...Master. The head maid and all the maids have assembled in the dining hall."
A short while later, Silvia returned in a neat appearance to report. Her face was slightly—no, very red.
"And that fork... No... I don't normally do this, but my hairpin broke, so I had no choice..."
"It's fine. If you'd mentioned something like that, I would have bought you a new one. Is the pay cut making things difficult?"
"It's not because I have no money!!!"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't hesitate to tell me from now on."
"Uwaa!!!"
Leaving the screaming Silvia behind, I entered the dining hall and found the maids lined up stiffly. Tension filled their faces for the first time in a long while.
"If you thought I wouldn't know about the rumors circulating in the mansion, you were sorely mistaken."
"..."
"I had no intention of making an issue of how you gossip about, tear apart, savor, and enjoy me behind my back where I can't see, as long as you perform your assigned duties well. But a rumor that should have stayed as mere backbiting within the mansion has somehow spread outside."
Thud. I slammed the newspaper onto the table. The maids' faces turned ashen the instant they glimpsed the headline. They had been indulging in wild fantasies by pairing Charlotte and Julia with me, and now they had finally crossed a line that should never be crossed. This was a grave matter that could not be overlooked lightly.
"Rumors may seem like wildfires spreading at random, but if you look closely, finding their roots is not difficult. It's merely very troublesome. Would you prefer I go through the effort of tracking it down, or would it be better for the culprit to confess right here?"
"...!"
"If you choose the latter, it will pass without severe punishment. But if I have to choose the former, the sin of being insolent may be added on top."
It was quite a pleasant rumor, as far as false rumors went. Still, the fact remained that someone in the mansion had leaked baseless stories to the outside. Of course, whoever spread it to the press was someone else, but finding the root came first. As I looked over the maids one by one, they were all smacking their lips with expressions that looked ready to burst into tears.
"No one? Really? Then..."
"Pardon me, Master. I am truly sorry such an unfortunate incident has occurred. However, the maids I have trained would never commit the security breach of discussing mansion affairs outside, and even if someone made such a mistake, they would certainly confess honestly. I swear this on my life."
"..."
The head maid stepped forward and bowed her head. Her strict training methods were well known. Occasionally, when passing by, one could hear her loudly scolding the maids. For such a head maid to swear on her life... Even for the sake of her long service and honor, I should believe her here.
'The fact that no maid has come forward yet means there truly is no culprit among them.'
And if there had been a culprit among them, they should have jumped out and confessed the moment the head maid made her oath. Otherwise, not only their own life but the head maid's life—who shared meals with them—would be at stake.
On the outside, I continued to feign unappeased anger. On the inside, I had already withdrawn most of my suspicions toward the maids. It wasn't them. Even if they had engaged in malicious delusional slander, it had clearly been a story confined to the staff.
'Then whose doing is it?'
If so, it meant the person who created this rumor and the person who spread it to the press were one and the same. The investigation had become much simpler.
"Who on earth spread such absurd rumors! The Master would never entertain such trashy thoughts of raising children only to make them his women!"
"Uh, uh. That's right..."
Evil God 'Kali' doubts the sincerity of your words.
Shut up, Silvia. Because of you, Kali is going to find out. It's not that I never had such thoughts. I really only entertained them occasionally. How nice it would be if things were like that. Everyone has imaginations like that. Things like 'Ah, that emperor bitch is so damn hot, I want to fuck her so bad.' Everyone has delusions like that. I'm right, you damn prudes.
"I will begin the investigation immediately! To clear the Master's name...!"
"No. There's no need for that."
"Yes? Why not?"
"Because there's someone else who will investigate for me."
"M-Master! A messenger from the imperial palace! Sent directly by His Majesty the Emperor!"
At that moment the door burst open, and the awaited news arrived. I had expected it, but not this soon. I quickly left the dining hall and greeted the messenger waiting outside.
"Greetings. Welcome to Belmont Manor. My apologies for keeping you waiting. Right this way to the reception room..."
"It's fine. His Majesty values substance over formality, so I will simply deliver the message."
"..."
That emperor, that messenger. Refusing even basic hospitality and just delivering the message before leaving. At this point it went beyond pragmatism and straight into sheer laziness. It was a mystery how such a person had become emperor.
"Ahem, ahem."
The messenger unfolded the documents with a rustle and cleared his throat. In that instant—
"Aslan Belmont."
"...!"
The messenger's thick voice suddenly rose into a high pitch, changing into a voice so similar that I momentarily thought the Emperor himself was speaking.
"I have heard ominous rumors about you. It seems the rumor was that Count Belmont looks upon young children with eyes full of lust, but that is not true at all, is it?"
"Yes. It is not true."
"Good. Well done. ...That concludes His Majesty's message."
"..."
Had he predicted what answer I would give? Well, there would be no crazy bastard who would say 'No, it is true' there, so it was only natural. Glancing at the document the messenger had unfolded, it read: '...that is not true at all, is it? (3 seconds pause) Good. Well done.'
"That is all. His Majesty said he would identify the source of the rumor and inform the Count. After that, the disposal is at the Count's discretion."
"Yes..."
The messenger departed immediately after delivering an unusually straightforward message. It left me wondering if that was really the end.
"His Majesty seems to trust you infinitely."
"You can say that again."
I felt relieved for now. The most frightening thing had been the Emperor's suspicious gaze, but fortunately it seemed he still trusted me. My sincerity during the hospitality must have worked. The problem was—what exactly was this trust for? He had told me to look forward to it because he would entrust me with work later... What was he planning to make me do? Suddenly a chill ran down my spine and my groin tingled.
"The hurdle has been cleared. Now, until His Majesty informs me of the source of the rumor, I just need to observe the situation."
I sighed and tossed the newspaper I had been holding onto the floor. Actually, who had done this was fairly obvious. If it wasn't the maids, only one suspect remained. The person who stood to gain from this incident.
'Irene Belmont.'
The person who had always disliked me and wanted to bring me down. Aslan's older sister. That woman had probably spread this malicious rumor to tarnish my reputation. The Emperor had likely known that even before starting the investigation. That was why he hadn't punished her directly and had left the matter to me. It was a kind of consideration, allowing me to handle family affairs myself.
'How should I deal with this woman Irene...'
At this point it was frustrating. Why did she dislike me so much? And why was she so obsessed with black magic? Before becoming head of the household, I hadn't been able to say a word to Irene and had to lie flat, but the situation was different now. I thought I should call her over sometime and have an open conversation.
"Julia! What does this writing say? It's a word I've never seen before."
"Uh, this is read as excommunication."
"Then if I read it all, it becomes like this? Count Belmont, Did He Really Fall for Commoner Slaves? Ages Known as 13 and 14 Respectively, Excommunication!"
"...!"
"What do you mean eyes meeting? Meeting eyes? Uhehe, I don't know!"
Startled by the cute voice, I turned around. There on the floor, looking at the discarded newspaper, were Charlotte and Julia. Charlotte, who had read the entire headline, smiled brightly, while Julia looked up at me with a betrayed gaze. Ah.