Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Dinner with the Count
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"I never thought the Leonhardt Lady would become friends with our second daughter."
"Ah... haha... Yeah..."
How did it end up like this...?
"Our daughter hardly ever goes outside. I thought it was strange that she went out alone today..."
"Yes, yes..."
"Then I heard she wasn't alone, but out with someone else. You can't imagine how surprised I was."
"Haha..."
Originally, I had planned to just drop Karen off at the mansion and head home normally.
I didn't want to make my intentions too obvious, so this time, I figured I'd just build a casual connection and part ways.
After all, we'd probably meet again anyway.
I did want to get a bit closer, but I thought keeping it moderate for now was best.
"By the way, I hadn't heard that anyone from the Leonhardt Family was in Melnik. And we certainly didn't invite you."
"Well... yeah. The Niesista Lady helped me come here."
"Niesista, huh. Yeah, we meet that baron occasionally."
"Yes..."
But then, suddenly, the count was waiting in front of the mansion, and I ended up invited to dinner.
...Ah, for some reason, I was missing Rozalin more than usual today.
"So, how did you get close to our daughter?"
"Pardon?"
"She's the type who stays cooped up in her room in the mansion every day. I never imagined she'd go out wandering with a young lady from Leonhardt."
"Ah..."
...Yeah, it was definitely awkward.
There was a clear gap between the lady of the Rosaki Family, who ruled the great city of Melnik, and Leonhardt, which got picked on among nobles every time.
And as the count said, Karen pretty much lived in her room.
So, I explained to the Rosaki Count how we happened to meet.
There wasn't much to it, really. After all, Karen had approached me first, right?
"...My daughter?"
"Yes? Uh... yeah...?"
The count even asked me to confirm again.
Well... if your shut-in daughter suddenly strikes up a conversation at a gathering, yeah, it'd be surprising.
That's how we ended up... having a one-on-one dinner like this.
"...How did you do it?"
"Pardon?"
"...How did you get her to go out like that...?"
"Huh?"
"...I want to go on a date with my daughter too."
"........"
Whoa.
Um.
Uh.
What was I supposed to say to that?
I understood the count's words intellectually, but emotionally, it didn't compute.
Of course, it was natural for a parent to want to bond with their child, but hearing the count say it like that... it felt off.
I never expected a middle-aged guy who looked so stern on the outside to say something like this.
"Ever since she hit her teens, she's just stayed in her room. Lately, she barely even comes out except for the occasional dinner..."
"Ah...."
"...Could you at least tell me what you did out there? I want to spend some long-overdue time with my second daughter."
"...Of course."
Well... it started with helping in these little ways.
It wasn't a big deal, just minor advice, so I readily agreed to help the count.
It was the Rosaki Count's family, after all.
Helping them was nothing but beneficial for me, and even if it weren't the Rosakis... he was Karen's father.
"I'll help. Let's start with what Older Sister Karen likes..."
I'd only known Karen for two days, but we'd gotten close enough.
She came off as a shut-in, introverted sister with surprisingly poor social skills, so I did consider using her to my advantage.
But that wouldn't work.
Karen was cuter and kinder than I'd expected.
"Books? She does read a lot, but... that much?"
"Yes, we went to the bookstore today, and she loved it so much we stayed until evening."
"Oh..."
"And she seems to like plays too. Ah, how about taking her to one based on a novel? I'm sure she'd love it."
"Oh ho..."
"And... she probably likes most foods. She ate super spicy pasta with me today..."
We talked like that for a while.
The count seemed to care for his daughter more than I'd thought, and I heard stories confirming it.
...Of course, I was a bit intimidated until I actually sat down for that conversation with a count.
"...Phew."
"Were you very tired, my lady?"
"Yeah. Exhausted."
After chatting with the count like that, I came home.
As soon as I got back, mentally drained, I had Lize prepare a bath and was now relaxing in the tub.
"The count really is a count."
"Pardon?"
"Our mansion is pretty upscale, right? Bigger and pricier than most barons' or viscounts' places."
"Indeed."
I truly felt what a real noble was like.
It had a dignity utterly unlike fake nobles cosplaying as such—like our Leonhardt Family.
I'd felt something similar at the Niesista Baron's, but that space belonged to a count.
The area beyond the main hall from the gathering... it was incomparable. It hit me starkly what nobility really meant.
"Our family still feels so far off in many ways."
"...You are more than enough, my lady."
"Me? I'm no different from Father."
Enough? Hardly.
Sure, William was plenty weird, but that didn't make me some paragon of purity, free from interest in money or such.
Nor was I refined and dignified like a true noble.
"You are a wonderful person, my lady."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. As you say, you take a lot of interest in money and business, much like the patriarch. That's how I see it."
"...So basically, I'm like Father?"
"...And yet, you focus on business without neglecting those around you."
"Hmm..."
Lize wasn't wrong.
I was still better than William, honestly. I'd admit that much.
"That was nice to hear, though."
"...It's true."
"Hehe, no raise just for flattering me, you know."
I was grateful in many ways. It must've been annoying following me around and taking care of me, but she handled it so well.
She didn't need to praise me like this, though.
Still, it was pleasant, so I closed my eyes again.
"Phew..."
Today had been tiring, as expected.
Beyond walking Melnik with Karen and browsing books at the bookstore, there'd been plenty else wearing me out.
So, having Lize soap my arms felt amazing. It eased my fatigue too.
I just lay there.
"What do you think of me, Lize?"
"Pardon?"
"Just curious. You said I'm better than Father earlier, right?"
"That's... sudden."
"I'm just wondering. We're close enough for this, aren't we?"
Lize and I were more than just mistress and exclusive maid.
We'd been together since I was younger, and she was too back then, so we were like best friends.
Probably the closest relationship I had.
I'd vent about William in front of her, share pretty much everything.
Had been that way forever, and likely would be.
"........."
"Embarrassed?"
"Embar— No."
"Then why's your face red?"
Lize hesitated, blushing slightly at my question.
It wasn't that embarrassing, so what was she thinking about me usually?
Sure, I teased her sometimes, but she wouldn't list my flaws here.
...Or maybe that's why?
"It's..."
"Yeah."
"...I just think you're a good person. You provide welfare for the mansion staff... Few do that, and you let them rest when they're sick."
"Yeah?"
"...Yes."
"I see..."
Well, she wasn't wrong.
As Lize said, I did offer some benefits to the staff.
Maybe because I'd lived in another era—skipping that felt weirder to me.
To Lize, I must seem like a good person inevitably.
"Hehe, thanks. Nice praise."
"...No need. I just said what I think."
"You're such a good person, Lize."
"Am I...?"
"Yeah."
She washed me without hurting at all, just right, and I couldn't help but think highly of her in every way.
Sometimes, I even felt bad treating her like a maid when our age gap wasn't that big.
"Someone as good as you... I bet you'll be super popular later. Not just good-hearted, but pretty too."
"Pretty..."
"Of course. Among people I've seen, you're one of the few as pretty as you."
"...You overpraise me."
Eyes closed, head tilted back, but I could picture Lize's face beside me.
Blushing shyly again, no doubt.
Lize was shy like that. Had to be.
"In another four years or so... you'll be so pretty, the mansion servants might send you letters. Though I wouldn't allow dating mere servants, of course."
"...I have no such intentions."
"Good. I'd hate hearing you quit as my maid to date someone else."
"...Yes."
I couldn't imagine using any other exclusive maid.
After all these years with Lize, suddenly some stranger beside me?
And finding someone as cute, pretty, kind, quiet as her? Tough.
Anyway, I chatted with Lize smiling, listened to her, and unwound.
Maybe because of the one-on-one with the count, it was more tiring than usual.
Tomorrow... I was supposed to hang out with Rozalin.
...I worried I'd still be tired then.