Feigned Illness

Cecil has returned.

A return after a whopping 40 days.

I was about to get angry at her for being so late, which seemed a bit excessive.

"My apologies, Master. I'm a bit late."

"Uh... yeah. You worked hard."

But I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Contrary to my expectation that she'd been out having fun, Cecil looked exhausted.

I heard she'd been working in the North the whole time.

At first, I didn't believe it.

No matter where she was from, I doubted a mere maid could sneak into the North and accomplish anything.

"Did you meet the Hero?"

"Yes. I met her and stayed with her the whole time. Aila Rose, she possesses a heart truly worthy of a Hero."

But after hearing her report, I changed my mind.

Over the past while, Cecil had accomplished a lot during her absence.

I don't know how she infiltrated, but she got into the Grand Duke's castle and lived side-by-side with the Hero, Aila, every day.

"We sparred every day, and it was quite rewarding to raise her."

Cecil even went as far as to say she had "raised" her.

I don't know the extent of the Hero's achievements, but it must have been satisfying enough for Cecil, who holds the title of bodyguard before that of a maid.

Anyway, I don't really want to get involved with the North...

I assume she didn't get too entangled, right?

"It felt similar to when I used to train with you, Young Master."

"Oh, right... wait, what?"

But as I listened, a strange remark slipped out.

Train together? Who?

"Oh my. Was there such a time?"

"Yes. There was a time. Lady Sonia."

"Please, call me comfortably now. Lady Cecilia."

"Are you sure? Well... I heard you worked hard as a member of the Silberg family while I was away, so it would be impolite to keep using honorifics. Welcome to Silberg, even if it's late. So, you can call me Cecil comfortably too."

"Yes! Cecil-nim!"

While I was feeling bewildered.

Cecil and Sonia were bonding.

It was a nice sight, but it didn't register in my ears.

Anyway, what was that?

I used to train?

The moment I heard that.

An unpleasant feeling began to creep up.

It was a similar vibe to when I was dragged around until I passed out after foolishly saying I liked alcohol in front of a senior at school before I transmigrated.

And that worry soon became reality.

"Come to think of it, Master. You haven't been practicing mana rotation much lately... aren't you neglecting your training too much?"

"...Huh?"

"How about it? Shall we have a light spar for the first time in a while?"

An unexpected proposal.

At Cecil's words, I had to roll my eyes.

I'm glad my eyes are small at times like this.

"Hmm."

Cold sweat broke out.

I had thought about looking into something when I had the time.

After all, since I entered a romance fantasy world, I thought it would be fun to experience love and something fantasy-like.

Among those, I wanted to learn magic first.

Love was something I could have done in my original world, and besides, it looked more comfortable than using a sword, which requires physical labor.

Still, I was planning to learn it much later.

It was because I didn't want to get swept up in the original plot by learning it half-heartedly.

The original work doesn't depict the exact timing, but based on the flow of the described seasons, two years would be plenty until all events conclude...

I could just live comfortably as a bystander and learn when the story ends, right?

...That's what I was thinking.

"Why are you so worried?"

"No... my skills have rusted a lot lately..."

"Ayy~ There was already a gap in skill between you and me to begin with, so you don't need to worry about that. Did you think I'd forget that? I'll go easy on you."

This was something I really hadn't anticipated.

That Leon Silberg was someone who already knew how to use magic, and even someone capable of sparring with Cecil, a field operative.

No, seriously, what kind of wizard is a mere Viscount from the South?

"Forget it. You look tired, so let's do it another time. Just rest for today."

"That's a shame. I wanted to see your unique magic for the first time in a while..."

Anyway, I was able to avoid the situation by making excuses for today.

But I know.

I can't keep doing this forever.

If I keep telling half-assed lies, the moment Cecil casts "Who the hell are you?", my peaceful life will be over.

No, it's not just about a peaceful life; the day that happens, my life as Leon Silberg will also come to an end.

"...."

I had to come up with a countermeasure.

Since that day, I searched the family library.

"Damn it, there has to be something...!"

The library was a place I had visited often since I transmigrated.

And it was also the place where I woke up immediately after I transmigrated.

In front of the north wall of the library,

My first memory as Leon Silberg was waking up on the empty floor after hearing Cecil calling me.

Anyway, it was a place I came to every day to understand this world, and to study the Silberg family, which wasn't depicted in the original work.

"Not this, not that..."

I repeated the process of pulling out books and putting them back indiscriminately.

What I was looking for wasn't a book related to magic.

Even if I crammed magic study now, it was clear I wouldn't reach the level Cecil remembered, and Leon Silberg's unique magic that she mentioned wasn't a problem that could be solved by studying.

Then there was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only one solution.

To find something like a diary or research log left behind by Leon Silberg.

In the original work, people from the Magic Tower said, "Anyone who learns magic is bound to leave a diary," so if Leon was a wizard, he must have written a diary.

If I found that, it would contain either the unique magic or something I could use as an excuse for Cecil.

But.

"Why can't I see it?"

It wasn't there.

Forget a diary, I couldn't even see a book that could be a clue.

"...What kind of books are these, none of them are intact?"

And, something I felt before too...

Missing pages and defective copies.

There wasn't a single intact book.

It didn't feel like they were trying to hide something, either.

Most of the books had pages missing, as if they had been torn out emotionally.

Just how did this family educate people on reading to end up like this?

The history books were especially a mess.

Weren't there pages torn out whenever important wars or power struggles occurred, and sometimes I even saw books with ink smeared all over them.

At this point, I didn't even know why they bothered collecting and keeping books in the library.

"What do I do now?"

However, the state of the books or the management of the library wasn't the important thing right now.

I had to come up with something to respond with so I wouldn't get caught as a transmigrator.

"There's... nothing."

However, there was nothing I needed in the library.

Since this was the only place in the mansion with books, I thought there would be something, but...

Not only was Leon Silberg's diary missing, but there was no data on the Silberg clan itself.

As if they had deliberately hidden it,

Nothing was visible.

"Are they collecting those separately and keeping them somewhere else?"

It shouldn't be that they don't exist.

I don't know exactly what generation I am, but

Even if it's a Viscount family.

It was stranger that a noble family with a mansion, a territory, a knight order, an intelligence bureau, and dozens of servants didn't have a single paper document.

In the first place, if there were no ledgers or anything, management itself would be impossible.

"Hmm, okay."

So I made a decision.

I would secure such materials under the pretext of investigating family-related matters, and then deal with the suspicions regarding magic.

If there was a place where such materials were collected,

My, Leon Silberg's, diary or research materials would surely be there too.

I asked Cecil right away.

It was uncomfortable to ask her, but

Most of the servants were distant with me, and above all, Cecil knew the most about the mansion.

And since Cecil still didn't know that I couldn't use magic,

She wouldn't even be able to guess my intentions.

"A place where family materials are collected? Of course I know."

Fortunately, Cecil knew the answer.

But... she only knew.

"Really? Where is it?"

"Are you testing me right now? It's in the library. Inside the secret room of the Silberg family on the north wall of the library."

"What...?"

The north wall where I was lying down was the entrance to the Silberg family's secret room?

No, in the first place, there's a secret room?

It was an absurd story.

But whether I believed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it or not wasn't the issue.

What was urgent for me right now was,

"Master, I've thought you were strange lately... is something the matter?"

"Ah, no, Cecil."

"Please tell me. I was just thinking that it was strange. What exactly is the problem? Yes?"

Cecil's suspicion came in suddenly.

She, who usually maintained a chic appearance, grabbed my body and asked with intense emotion, so I couldn't run away.

Ah, this isn't a matter of the heart.

Physically... really. Cecil's strength was truly strong.

"Haa... alright. I'll tell you."

In the end, I decided to come clean.

That didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mean I could say, "I'm a transmigrator."

If I suddenly said something like that, there was a high possibility I'd be kicked out as an unwanted stranger, and I could even be killed as a bad guy who took over the Master's body.

"You've lost your memory?"

That was the answer I came up with after quick brain rotation and deliberation.

Now I know why people in dramas or movies claim amnesia when they're at a disadvantage.

Having tried it, there was no better excuse than that.

"Where and how much have you lost?"

But Cecil didn't believe it right away.

Cecil asked questions first, as if to verify the facts.

She then brought in the family doctor and a wizard, saying she would verify something.

"How is it?"

"The mana circuits are intact. However, they are a bit stiff from not being used for a long time."

"How is the physical condition?"

"He is healthy. The levels are slightly low due to frequent drinking recently, but overall there are no major problems."

As expected of a romance fantasy world.

By bringing strange stones to various parts of the body, a physical check-up at the level of modern medicine was possible.

That was the final conclusion.

"Are you feigning illness again? Master?"

Why does the conclusion end up like this?

Perhaps because there was a precedent, Cecil judged my words as a lie based on the test results.

However, I had no choice but to keep claiming amnesia.

Because there was no other way to explain my current state other than this.

"No. It's true. I don't even remember how to use magic. And the secret room? I really didn't remember that either. Who knows, maybe my memory will come back if I go into that room?"

I said it with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as much truth as possible.

So, let me into the secret room.

After seeing, hearing, and learning there, I'll try to live up to this position little by little under the excuse that my memory is returning.

...That was the logic I came up with.

But that method wasn't easy either.

"Only a Silberg knows how to get in there."

What? Is it like a family tradition?

"Is there no one who would know?"

"There's no way they would. It's not like it's passed down as a tradition... it's a place that opens in a way that anyone who is a Silberg realizes how to enter."

"...What is that?"

In the end, I couldn't find out how to enter the secret room through Cecil.

I asked all the servants, but it was a waste of time.

Even the servants who had stayed at Silberg for almost their whole lives didn't know the method.

"So, speaking of which... Old Man Luke. Do you happen to know anything?"

"The secret room is constructed with magic so that it cannot be entered unless you are of Silberg blood. And I understand that entering it is also a method that only a Silberg can do."

"What is that?"

"I do not know."

"Damn it..."

"But I have heard something."

"Huh? What did you hear?"

"It was said that if someone of Silberg has a worry, they should go to the north wall and vent. I understand that everyone who has actually entered the secret room entered in that way."

"Oh... really?"

The fortunate thing was that I got a hint.

But that was all.

"...What kind of venting am I supposed to do?"

A hint that was too vague.

"Open up."

"Open it for me. Ancestors."

"Ugh, it's tiring as hell. Being Master is hard~"

"It would be better to live as a Count than a Viscount~"

In my desperation, I locked myself in the library and repeated venting at the north wall for hours, but the secret room didn't react.

"Open Sesame!"

"I'm a transmigrator!!"

"Haa~ Life is like shit."

"Knock knock?"

Rather, after spitting out all sorts of things for a few days.

I only felt like I had gone crazy.

And a few days passed.

Originally, I was planning to lock myself in the room again today and be obsessed with breaking into the secret room.

But what do you know?

"Haa~ Alright. I'll believe you're not feigning illness. So stop that now and tell me what you want."

For some reason, Cecil declared surrender first.

But even after hearing her surrender, I didn't feel much.

Anyway, I had to break into the secret room to find out about the unique magic or whatever, and since I was focusing on this, it didn't feel too bad because the days were passing by well.

For that reason, a few more days.

I locked myself in the library.

Then...

"Haa~ Master. Please give orders directly when you give them. Please think about us who have to interpret them every time. We aren't as smart as you, Master."

Cecil brought something first.

"Here it is. This is what you wanted, right? It's the classified information that was in the Magic Tower's secret room."

And that was something I really hadn't expected.

...What am I supposed to use this for?