The carriage returning from the villas and the surrounding area was lively and noisy.
“When should we negotiate your salary?”
“As soon as we get back! Ah, but first, let’s open a bank account.” Lunie was overjoyed, listing all the things she had to do once they returned.
Is this really the same person from earlier? Seraphie felt a little disoriented. The solemn figure who had kissed her hand and sworn loyalty just moments ago was nowhere to be found.
The situation itself felt surreal. Not long ago, Seraphie had to handle everything on my own. That was just how it was. In this unfamiliar world, the only person Seraphie could fully rely on was herself. But before she knew it, when she looked around, there were many people willingly helping me. The employees who had been with her from the start, the doctor who treated her and her mother for free. Even the insufferable Duke Felicia was, for now, a benefactor. And Orkis… there were no words left to say about him.
If the world were to proceed as it did in the original story, Seraphie was prepared to risk her life to help him and his family. And today, she had accepted Lunie as one of her own.
I shouldn’t get attached. Though it was a joyful situation, Seraphie felt a bit troubled. It’ll be harder later… She tried to remind herself of her goals but suddenly paused. Why would it be hard?
The goal she had once pursued with such fervor now seemed blurry. Like something buried beneath the swift currents of a river, it was difficult to retrieve. It felt so unimportant that she barely cared anymore.
Ah, right! But Seraphie finally managed to recall their goal. To return to the original world I lived in…
The moment the forgotten goal resurfaced, Seraphie felt as if a bucket of ice had been poured down their spine, freezing their entire body.
“…Sera?” Lunie, who had been chattering about bonuses and salaries, was startled out of her wits. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”
“…”
“Oh my god, look at how pale your face is!”
Lunie quickly set down the bag that had been beside Seraphie onto the floor, carefully supporting her head as she helped her lie down. Then, she pulled out a canteen from the bag, poured a bit of water onto a handkerchief, and gently placed it on Seraphie’s forehead.
“Are you okay? Are you feeling a bit better?”
“Yes…”
Though Seraphie tried to sound composed, her inside was in utter turmoil beyond what words could describe. At the same time, she was consumed by a whirlwind of complicated questions.
It wasn’t unusual for Seraphie to occasionally forget her goal like this. Those moments were unsettling, but at least after a brief period of reflection, she would quickly recall it and strengthen her resolve. It was a fleeting phenomenon, almost like a one-off occurrence. But this time, it was different.
How long have I forgotten?
Seraphie realized that she had forgotten her goal of returning to her original world for weeks now, even though she used to remind herself of it at least once a day. That goal had been the driving force in her life, something that allowed her to accomplish so much. And yet, she had let it slip away so easily.
It wasn’t that she had forgotten. But it felt like that goal had never existed in her mind, completely erased.
“Just lie down for a moment. We’ve already passed quite a bit of the wasteland, so we should be arriving at the capital soon…”
Lunie, who had been looking out the window to estimate the remaining distance they had to travel, suddenly widened her crimson eyes as if they were about to pop out.
“Sera!” Lunie pointed somewhere with a trembling voice.
Seraphie, who struggled to lift her upper body and look in the direction Lunie was pointing, had her blue eyes shake violently as if an earthquake had struck. Something was fluttering against the window frame of the carriage, which was moving at a steady pace. It was a pristine, pure white feather of excellent quality.
Seraphie suddenly remembered. The first time she had forgotten her goal, the gallery had sent her a feather.
* * *
The two of them, having arrived at the mansion, immediately headed to the study with the feather in hand.
“Master, a guest has arr—”
“Later!”
Ignoring Marine, who was reporting the arrival of a guest, Seraphie pulled out a glass jar from the bookshelf in the newly expanded study next to the office.
“Let’s gather them here.”
The day the feather had multiplied into five. Peonia cast a protective magic on a jar she had sneakily taken from the kitchen. Seraphie placed the five feathers inside, sealed the jar with a cork stopper, and wrapped it tightly with a bandage enchanted with protective magic.
“Hurry up and open it already… “Lunie was precariously holding the tip of a feather with her fingernail.
Seraphie quickly unwrapped the bandage and opened the cork stopper. The five Feathers inside the bottle were still intact.
Lunie grimaced and handed over the feather. Seraphie carefully wrapped the feathers with the bandage, placed them back into the bottle, sealed it, and meticulously rewrapped it with the bandage. Only then did she lower her head and finally relax.
“Ugh, what on earth is this!” Lunie whined. “Today was supposed to be the day I made a grand pledge of loyalty!” She had planned to celebrate the day with Seraphie, her new master, by enjoying an elegant meal paired with an expensive wine. But unable to do so, Lunie grumbled for quite a while.
“What a bad luck.”
“Stop talking like some grandmother.”
Lunie pushed the bottle as far away as she could with her foot. “This is the first time I’ve encountered such a sacred yet creepy curse.”
“Is it even really a curse in the first place?” Seraphie muttered with a weary expression.
“But no matter how much I think about it, it just doesn’t make sense.”
Now, there were six feathers. But the real issue was that they had no idea why these feathers were attaching themselves to Seraphie, making it impossible to come up with a solution.
“Well, still… “Lunie tried to act like it was fine, albeit a bit late. “Peni said it wasn’t a curse, so it probably isn’t anything too serious.”
Seraphie recalled how Lunie had treated the feathers like something horrifying just moments ago. Of course, those words couldn’t be trusted. Still, even if the uneasiness was set aside, Seraphie couldn’t sense anything particularly suspicious from the feathers either.
Knock, knock.
“Countess.”
At that moment, someone knocked on the study door. Seraphie quickly recognized the voice urgently calling her name. She suddenly remembered Marine mentioning that a guest had arrived.
“Darling!”
Orkis’s worried expression quickly turned into a frown. Lunie, who had been watching in surprise from behind, also stiffened.
“Countess, please…” He pleaded with her to save such terms of endearment for when there were no people around.
“If you won’t call me by term of endearment in private, how will you ever do it in public?”
“Do you think someone like me would ever utter such an embarrassing nickname?”
“Which is why it would make us seem more like a loving couple.”
“What are you two doing?” Lunie, who had approached unnoticed, looked back and forth between Seraphie and Orkis with a peculiar expression.
“How long have you been waiting?” Seraphie asked, curious why Orkis had come to the mansion.
“First of all, I apologize for showing up so suddenly.” Orkis began by apologizing for the unannounced visit.
Seraphie slightly furrowed her brows. “Darling, you can come by anytime.”
It wasn’t unpleasant for him to visit the mansion without notice. In fact, she would have gladly welcomed him and asked what brought him there.
“Da…” Orkis tried to call her ‘Darling’ but ultimately failed.
At this point, Lunie found herself newly impressed by Seraphie, who had managed to push the mighty Lord Felicia to this extent. And she felt incredibly proud of herself for being able to work under someone like that. Lunie secretly patted her own backside in self-congratulation.
“…I came to deliver something.”
Orkis, who had failed to utter the term of endearment, handed over two large document envelopes. One of them was a Commercial Property Registration Certificate.
“You’ve completed the acquisition of Lady Lunie’s store today.”
“Finally, it’s here.”
Seraphie handed the envelope to Lunie. Lunie carefully received the envelope with both arms and hugged it tightly to her chest.
“How much did you pay for it?”
“There should be a receipt inside the envelope.”
“I’ll deduct it from Lunie’s salary later.”
Ugh, Lunie’s smile instantly vanished as she pouted. “Can’t you just consider it a gift for your first employee?”
“Then I’ll give it to you on your 100th employment anniversary.”
“Fine, I’ll live long out of spite… !”
Orkis squinted one eye, not quite understanding the jokes being exchanged between the two. He knew Lunie was currently helping out with Seraphie’s work, but their conversation just now sounded as if they had signed some kind of lifelong contract.
“I’ll explain it to you later.” Noticing Orkis’ confusion, Seraphie promised to clarify things later. “What’s the other one?”
“This is…” Orkis handed the remaining envelope to Seraphie.
Taking the envelope, Seraphie examined the seal imprinted on the opening and tilted their head in curiosity. What is this?
“My goodness.” Lunie, who was looking at the emblem alongside, spoke up instead. “Isn’t it the Council of Elders?”
“The Council of Elders?” Seraphie frowned.
“You don’t know the Council of Elders? It’s a bunch of stuck-up jerks gathering together to act all high and mig—”
“It’s an important assembly where influential nobility of the Empire gather to discuss state affairs and maintain political balance.”
Orkis explained with a textbook definition. Because of that, Lunie’s malicious description was left incomplete, but Seraphie understood everything.
When Seraphie opened it to check, inside was a letter congratulating her on her admission, along with documents related to joining.
“Admission? For Sera?” Lunie, who was about to exclaim in surprise, quickly shut her mouth.
Judging by Orkis’s expression, this didn’t seem to be a particularly good thing.
“Why would the Council of Elders send me admission documents…?” Seraphie, the person in question, was left with a headache trying to figure out the situation.
The Council of Elders is the stage where the crown prince clashes with Duke Felicia in the early part of the original story and with the Third Prince Eks in the latter part. The event that triggers the rebellion also begins here in the Council of Elders.
The function of the Council of Elders was already explained earlier by Orkis and Lunie. To put it politely, it’s an assembly where representatives among the nobility are elected to discuss state affairs. To put it bluntly, it’s a place where the rich fight to get even richer. Seraphie personally preferred the blunt description. But that wasn’t the important part.
This is where the key conflicts in the original story unfold…! In other words, joining this place would mean that Seraphie would be fully dragged into the whirlwind of the original story.
Of course, I shouldn’t join! Just as Seraphie was about to express her refusal.
“By the way,” Orkis spoke up. “It’s a recommendation from Her Majesty.”
Seraphie looked utterly incredulous. “Her Majesty recommended me?”
“Any noble who receives a recommendation from Her Majesty is automatically joined. The term is for life.”
“Wow, and there’s even an annual fee too.”
“I have to pay an annual fee for something I’m being forced into?”
Seraphie felt like she was being robbed in broad daylight. A surge of betrayal rose within her toward the emperor, who had proceeded with this without even consulting her. But that wasn’t the only problem.
“By any chance, is that person also… ?”
According to the original story, the crown prince was also…
“…a member of the Council of Elders.”
Seraphie was starting to fear she might end up starting a rebellion herself at this rate.
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