Isn't This a Nadena-de Novel?
Ever since I became Ivan Cluers, I'd occasionally find myself thinking this.
Had I actually transmigrated into a web novel or a game? And had I become one of the characters who appeared in that web novel or game?
Honestly, that was pretty much the standard rule of the genre.
Even so, there were solid reasons why I'd concluded this was a fantasy world rather than a web novel or game world. In my memories, there was no web novel or game that featured a character named Ivan Cluers.
Of course, it was possible that Ivan Cluers was an extra who never even got any screen time. But if that were the case, I should at least have remembered the name of the country I was living in now—the Kaisis Empire. Yet no web novel or game featuring the name "Kaisis Empire" existed in my memory either.
That being the case, it made more sense to conclude that I'd simply transmigrated into a fantasy world.
Of course, there was still one other possibility: that I'd transmigrated into a web novel or game I'd never read or played. But it was right to rule that possibility out. There was no way to figure out whether I'd actually transmigrated into a web novel or a game—no way at all.
So until now, I'd excluded the possibility that I'd transmigrated into a web novel or game I'd never seen.
But at this very moment, I was seriously considering the possibility that I'd transmigrated into a web novel or game I'd never encountered.
Why was I taking it so seriously?
Because of the sudden appearance of Aria Frunhel, of course.
A young girl who'd escaped from a wretched home environment.
No matter how I looked at it...
"Isn't this a nadena-de novel?"
Before transmigrating as Ivan Cluers, I'd read all sorts of web novels. Among them were works in a genre called nadena-de novels.
Typically, the protagonist of a nadena-de novel possessed extraordinary talent, yet never considered their own abilities anything special. Maybe their self-esteem had been shattered for some reason... The reasons varied, anyway. And the people around them would make a huge fuss over the protagonist's talent, showering them with praise and affection, treating them incredibly well in every way. The protagonist would soak up all that praise and love from those around them and gradually recover their self-esteem—that was the nadena-de novel as I knew it...
"Anyone could see she was a nadena-de novel protagonist."
Having been abused at the Frunhel Duchy, her self-esteem must have plummeted, so she'd be undervaluing herself. And on top of that, Aria was cute. She was extremely cute-looking. She even had the adorable appearance that was absolutely essential for a nadena-de novel, so this was something worth seriously considering.
"If this really was a nadena-de novel..."
Then a talent of historic proportions had walked right into my territory of her own free will.
"I'd have to raise her so that talent could blossom."
How could I help Aria's talent bloom? More importantly, what kind of talent did Aria even have?
The possibility that she had no talent?
None. I could guarantee she had talent, no question. I was certain of it.
A young ducal lady, still a child, had hidden herself inside a gift being sent to another territory and snuck in all alone—evading everyone's eyes, no less. Would that have been possible if Aria were a talentless, incompetent young lady? Absolutely not.
Besides, no matter how abusive her environment, a ducal lady was still a ducal lady. A certain degree of attention was bound to follow her naturally. Honestly, making it to my territory alone should have been close to impossible. And yet she'd made it here... That meant Aria had to have something. Something that could make the near-impossible possible.
I could figure out what that was in due time...
"What mattered was the environment."
Armed with knowledge from modern Earth, I knew that environment was incredibly important when it came to raising a child. So when it came to nurturing Aria's talent, the environment would clearly have a major impact.
What kind of environment should I create?
The answer was already decided.
"A nadena-de novel environment, of course."
Even if it was just a guess, she was a nadena-de novel protagonist—of course I had to create a nadena-de novel environment. Even if Aria wasn't actually a nadena-de novel protagonist, that was fine. Helping a poor abused girl recover her self-esteem and freely giving her praise wasn't a bad thing, was it? If anything, it was praiseworthy behavior.
Fortunately, I had both the ability and the authority to create a nadena-de novel environment.
Who was I, again?
Ivan Cluers, the Margrave.
In this territory right now, there was no one higher than me. Power was meant to be used for things like this. The people working under me would probably prefer me throwing my weight around for something like this rather than for petty nonsense.
...Probably.
Alright then, shall I call for the Head Butler?
I had a dream.
In the dream, Margrave Ivan Cluers appeared. The Ivan Cluers in the dream was so very different from the one I'd seen. The Ivan Cluers of my dream looked at me with cold eyes. He didn't give me any sweets. He didn't give me a soft bed and a fluffy blanket. He didn't speak to me in a kind voice.
The Ivan Cluers who appeared in the dream was so frightening. And the me in the dream felt grateful that he wasn't throwing me out right away. I felt grateful that he'd given me bread for dinner and let me sleep on a blanket on the floor.
I... preferred the kind Ivan Cluers who'd told me he wouldn't throw me out over the cold Ivan Cluers from the dream.
I woke up.
The moment I woke, I started folding the blanket I'd been under. If you didn't wake up early and fold your blanket, you got scolded. It had been the same at the duchy. If you woke up late, you got scolded for being lazy.
I finished folding the blanket. Now I just had to have it inspected to make sure I'd folded it properly.
What if I got scolded for folding it wrong? Surely they wouldn't throw me out just for folding a blanket poorly... right?
Worry suddenly gripped me. Fear, too. Since this wasn't the blanket I usually used, I wondered if I might have made a mistake, so I checked the folded blanket one more time.
"...Oh my."
And at that very moment, a maid entered.
"You're already awake...? Did you fold the blanket by yourself?"
I nodded, frightened.
The maid looked at the blanket I'd folded. I swallowed hard without meaning to.
Please don't scold me.
I didn't want to leave a bad impression already. I didn't want to seem lazy, or incompetent. If I'd known it would be like this, I should have woken up a little earlier... Regret started to set in.
"You've folded it so prettily."
The moment I heard those words, I let out a sigh of relief inside.
Thank goodness... I wasn't scolded...
As I was feeling that relief, the maid looked at me and spoke in a gentle voice.
"From now on, you don't have to fold the blanket. Folding blankets is the maids' job, you see. Understood?"
...Is that really okay?
What if I trusted those words, didn't fold the blanket, and then got scolded?
I couldn't believe it. I'd heard the exact same words when I was at the duchy. A newly arrived maid had told me in a warm voice that folding blankets wasn't a young lady's job—it was a maid's job.
I believed her. I believed her completely. So for just one day, I didn't fold the blanket. As a result, the new maid claimed she'd never said such a thing, and I became the wicked child who'd lied because she didn't want to fold her blanket. Of course, I was scolded terribly.
"I-Is that really all right...?"
"Of course it is."
So I mustn't believe it. I mustn't get thrown out of here. I mustn't trust those words and have the same thing happen all over again.
I repeated it to myself over and over. Over and over.
At present, Aria Frunhel was essentially a special-status individual in my castle. So anything that happened involving Aria Frunhel would reach my ears. If I wanted to, I could learn her every single move... but that would be a bit much, wouldn't it? So regarding matters involving Aria, I'd ordered them to report only the things that seemed worth reporting to me.
"...That's pretty severe, isn't it?"
And I received a report about what had happened early that morning.
One might wonder whether the fact that she'd folded her own blanket really warranted a report... but let's remember that Aria Frunhel's status was that of a ducal young lady. Across the entire empire, bloodlines more noble than Aria Frunhel's? Hard to find. If you wanted to find one, you'd have to look toward the imperial family.
A bloodline that noble waking up early in the morning to fold her own blanket? Fine, let's say that much could still be possible. I couldn't rule out the possibility that the duchy's educational policies were a bit unusual.
But the moment she heard that folding blankets was a maid's job and she didn't have to do it, she started watching the maid's reaction? Not the head maid. A regular maid.
Even if she'd become someone with nowhere else to go, she was still a ducal young lady. Reading my mood? That I could understand. But reading a maid's mood...? That still didn't make sense. And on top of that, she'd carefully asked the maid again if it was really okay.
I'd roughly expected she'd been abused ever since the words "floor cleaning" left her mouth, but... there was a real chance she'd lived in an environment far worse than I'd anticipated.
Honestly, I still couldn't wrap my head around it. A ducal young lady subjected to severe abuse? To the point of reading a maid's mood? If she were an illegitimate child, maybe—but Aria wasn't even that.
"It's gotten even harder to ask how she lived at the duchy..."
The moment I asked that, I'd be stepping on a landmine for sure... Honestly, when it came to a hard life, Ivan Cluers had nothing to be ashamed of anywhere—but in front of Aria, I felt like I had to concede a point.
Anyway, after hearing the report, I became even more certain. My judgment that I needed to create a nadena-de novel environment wasn't wrong. The world was practically telling me to my face to create a nadena-de novel environment.
Starting today, Aria was a nadena-de novel protagonist. Even if she wasn't, it didn't matter.
I'd decided it, and I was going to make it so.