Chapter 250
Chapter 250
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 250
Chapter Title: Between Love and Friendship -2
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[Year 453 of the Lion Calendar, October 4th]
It's been a while since I wrote in a diary.
Strictly speaking, maybe I should call it recording. Like a vehicle's black box, I'm capturing the surroundings and tacking on my thoughts.
When was the last time I kept a diary? Elementary school, I think. Yeah, around then. I remember it being summer vacation homework. Probably.
One by one, we went up to the podium to share how we'd spent our break.
Classmates proudly recited their sparkling memories—trips with their parents, toys they'd bought, that sort of thing.
But every line in my diary was gloomy and miserable. I couldn't bring myself to read it aloud. I just hung my head.
Who'd want to hear about the neighbor uncle puking all over the stairwell after a drunken rant?
That's probably why I hated diaries.
No fond memories to savor. Even if I diligently reminisced and wrote them down, it'd just be a way to chew over my own wretchedness. So after that, even when diary homework came up during breaks, I skipped it.
But this time, I figured I needed to. I'd heard somewhere that keeping a diary is incredibly effective for sorting out your thoughts.
Resuming diary writing after decades—even crossing dimensions.
I'll wrap up here for today. Gotta clean the hallway spotless.
Recording end.
[Year 453 of the Lion Calendar, October 5th]
Should I start with a self-introduction?
I'm a module of the Mad Wizard. And this is the Northern Grand Duke's estate.
Thanks to the goddess's Forced Exile, I was torn into dozens of pieces and flung away. Fortunately—or by coincidence—I crash-landed right in front of Daisy-kun's estate.
Naturally, I had no money to my name. A quick check showed my computational power and mana scraping the bottom like a sluggish caterpillar. Doing anything on my own was next to impossible.
I thought I'd freeze to death in the northern wastelands like this.
"We can afford to hire one more servant, so wear this from now on and get to work."
"...I'll do my best!"
Thanks to the kind-hearted head steward's generosity, I got hired as a servant here.
The pay's a pittance, but no big deal.
No threats to my life, meals provided three times a day, and most importantly, a surefire way out of here. Just wait, and Daisy-kun will come back.
Once Daisy-kun returns to the estate, I can ask him then. To send word to the Violet Magic Tower. Yuna will show up and collect me.
...Feels a bit weird.
I mean, this "me" that's not the main body. My informational makeup is slightly different.
The main body was made of two parts: life and performance. But during the Forced Exile separation, just the performance part cleanly broke off—that's me.
Like the character an actor embodies peeling right off.
To me, the main body's life feels distant and hazy. Moonlit nights in the slum, modern memories, Yuna's smile... I remember the basics, but they're far away.
On the flip side, the years that should have been pure performance feel vividly close. The time selling stories under the name Heart, chatting and playing with Daisy-kun.
So who am I?
Am I still the Mad Wizard performing as Heart?
Or Heart performing as the Mad Wizard?
......
I could remember other people's names.
That fact felt like what set me apart from the main body.
Recording end.
[Year 453 of the Lion Calendar, October 7th]
These fucking bitches are giving me hell with their cliquey bullshit.
"There's dust on the window frame. Is this how you do things?"
Or.
"We can tell how you lived out there. With that punchable face, you probably just played cute and slacked off all the time!"
I didn't even pull aggro, but they swarm like a pack of dogs and lose their shit.
If I'd been slacking, it'd be one thing, but this is Daisy-kun's estate. I cleaned every inch with utmost care.
And that one claiming dust on the frame?
She rubbed her finger hard—no dust. So she smeared some from her broom and pointed it out. I wanted to rip her hair out.
I tried glossing over minor hassles. Sneakily dumping their work on me, sending me to do laundry in midwinter. I could endure that.
But when it turns personal, it's hard to stomach.
The maids loyal to the first wife are the worst offenders.
A servant's dignity reflects their master's caliber. Guessing the first wife isn't exactly sane.
Still, I held back.
I'm the new girl here. Stir up trouble and get booted? That'd be real trouble. I'd lose my natural shot at meeting Daisy-kun.
Knocking on the estate door? Guards would cut me off. Jumping in front of Daisy-kun's carriage? Soldiers might swing before he stops them.
Then I'd have to cross the north penniless and nerfed to reach the tower. Better to take the insults.
"The garden beds were a total mess. You think you can half-ass the work and flirt your way out with that sleazy body?"
"......"
Better to take it...
"Can't even clean properly. No idea why the head steward picked up a halfwit like you. Did you shake your ass for him?"
Fuck this. Just deck her?
My specs might be down, but my knowledge's intact. I could take a maid in a straight fight. There was a picture frame behind me.
Smash it over her head for initiative. Hook to the jaw in the stagger—down two easy.
Drag the knocked-out maids to an unused room for some physical re-education to shut their mouths—
"What are you all doing? Dinner isn't ready yet, is it?"
"S-Second Madam..."
That's when it happened. Daisy-kun's second wife, Neriel Brune, appeared.
A beauty with dark brown hair. Bust above average. Stylish clothes. And clearest eyes.
At the second wife's command, the nasty servants scattered like clouds before the wind. I felt infinite gratitude welling from deep inside.
Almost sparked a brawl there.
After some small talk, we exchanged names.
"I'm Neriel Brune, second wife of the Grand Duke's house. What's your name?"
"Heart, ma'am!"
Even from that brief intro, I could tell. She didn't mind my first impression, and I took a shine to her. We'd get along great.
And so, I made a new friend at the estate.
Recording end.
[Year 453 of the Lion Calendar, October 12th]
Neriel was a hard worker.
"What do you think about changing the estate's curtains to a new design, Heart? These are needlessly thick and drab—makes me uncomfortable just looking at them."
"I agree, Neriel. Something fresher would be better, right?"
"Then I'll order from the merchant... Anything else? Oh, the kitchen said they're low on spices."
"Sugar's half gone, salt about a third. Time to restock."
With Daisy-kun away, Neriel handles the estate's little matters. Supplies, ingredients, accounts... She's bustling all day.
Sometimes busier than the servants.
Not for personal gain, either. Proper mindset as the lady of the house, dutifully supporting her husband.
Despite all that effort.
"Lady Neriel Brune of the Grand Duke. Do not interfere with our Northern Warrior Corps."
"...I just asked if they needed more oil for polishing weapons and armor. That's not interfering!"
"You have no authority for that, Lady Grand Duke."
"......"
Neriel's position in the Grand Duke's house was weak. Even warriors told her to butt out.
Three reasons she got disrespected despite being the Grand Duke's wife.
1) Daughter of a family that once stabbed the Grand Duke's house in the back.
2) Lacking power and status compared to the first wife.
And the clincher: Daisy-kun cold-shouldering her.
Neriel pounded her pillow, venting layers of pent-up rage.
"...Isn't that too much? And he never replies to my letters. Not once!"
"Really? That can't be..."
"He even ignores them like he never got them. A simple 'got your letter' would suffice!"
Strange.
Daisy-kun might carry winter in his heart, but no reason to snub her this hard. What gives?
Gathering quiet intel around the estate, Neriel hadn't caused any incidents. If anything, the first wife had.
What the hell?
I comforted Neriel, saying it'd all work out. Daisy-kun wasn't that bad, and she wasn't the type to be hated.
Just needed a clever cuckoo bird to dramatically improve things. Yeah, me. I'd normalize this couple.
They were already married—how sad without any sweet moments? Even arranged, they could be friends.
The very day I resolved this.
"Honey, I'm ho—"
"Heart... Am I seeing things? You, here?"
"......"
The Northern Grand Duke Daisy's no-look pass to Neriel exploded.
Shit.
I couldn't even look at Neriel. Too guilty to speak. Remorse surged up, smacked my skull, and sank.
Her icy husband melting sweetly for some outsider? This wasn't right. Reality shouldn't be this cruel.
"...Hic."
Neriel covered her mouth with a handkerchief, silently crying as she fled inside. Droplets of tears hit the ground, tracing a constellation of sorrow.
Once the NTR shock faded, a seed of doubt sprouted.
Daisy-kun wasn't a screwloose idiot.
My outfit screamed maid no matter the angle. He'd instantly clock me as the new servant.
So.
He knew exactly how greeting a servant first in public would look—what it implied. In other words.
It was deliberate.
Daisy-kun meant to socially demolish Neriel.
Time to confront him.
...Why pull this shit, Daisy?
Recording end.
Northern Grand Duke Elbillion Julius gave thanks for the fortune that had come to him. He'd thought her gone forever, yet here she waited in his estate.
How had this happened? Elbillion was about to ask the demurely seated Heart for the details—
"Heart, if it's alright, I'd like to hear—"
"No. I have something to say first. Why did you do that, Daisy?!"
—but Heart beat him to it.
She was furious. Pure, unfeigned emotion. Why the anger? The Northern Grand Duke pondered briefly and found his answer.
Heart had befriended Neriel with her usual affinity. She was the type to rage on a friend's behalf, incensed by Neriel's neglect.
Her vibe differed slightly from the Heart he remembered, so he'd suspected an imposter. But this confirmed it.
He explained honestly.
"War looms. I'll raise an army for northern unification—win or lose. Heart, guess what happens to a loser's wife?"
"...Nothing good."
"Exactly. Hanged with me, or locked in some sunless hole. But... if our relationship's been bad all along, and rumors spread across the north, it's different."
"You're distancing her on purpose... so if you fail, she won't get dragged down by implication?"
Elbillion nodded and added.
"Also to prevent power diffusion. If I die, the Grand Duke's authority must pass wholly to my son."
Heart nodded in understanding, then suddenly widened her eyes and pressed.
"I get that. But... even maintaining a bad relationship, you could've done it without hurting each other."
"It wouldn't ring true then. Besides, Neriel Brune doesn't like me anyway. She wouldn't be that hurt."
"What? If she had no interest, she wouldn't write those heartfelt letters weekly!"
"......"
Doubt flickered in Northern Grand Duke Elbillion's eyes.
"I've never received a letter from Neriel Brune. Not one."
"...What?"
Crackle. Pop.
Inside the fireplace, spitting embers. Amid the logs.
Undelivered letters burned pitch black.