‘What’s this?’
I hadn’t heard there would be guests today.
Listening closely, I could hear people yelling something at the knights standing guard.
‘Are they holding a protest? At this time of year?’
It was spring, the beginning of the year, and the busy farming period.
In other words, everyone was incredibly busy, both administratively and with farm work.
Even if they had a grievance against Dilucia and wanted to protest, people would usually avoid this time out of consideration.
‘What’s going on?’
Curious, I headed towards the front gate with Ludwin.
And I could see who was causing the commotion.
“Albert? Denson? And, oh, even Royer. What’s going on with you all?”
They were from the hospital, the school, and the talent training support group, respectively.
The people who were making a fuss, asking to be let in just this once, saw me and almost rushed at me, shouting.
“Ahh! It’s Lady Tyria!”
“What? Where? Where is she?”
“Miss! Please listen to us!”
The three people were talking so loudly at the same time that I couldn’t understand anything they were saying.
I raised my hand to the security knight.
“It seems they’re my guests, so could you open the gate?”
“Yes, miss.”
Soon the gate opened, and the three of them came rushing in.
As soon as they entered, they approached me in unison.
“Miss!”
“Please listen to us!”
“We’ve finally met!”
They were so frantic, it was almost threatening. Startled, I took a step back, and Ludwin growled.
Grrr.
They froze in shock when they saw Ludwin growling.
“T-that dog…”
“M-Miss.”
I waved my hand to calm them down.
“Now, now, everyone calm down. You’re startling Lu.”
Although it was clearly me who was startled, no one contradicted me.
“So, what’s going on? Aren’t you all busy these days?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
They probably couldn’t afford to come visit me leisurely at a time like this, right?
Even Tibon, who took over for me, was working overtime every day lately.
When asked why, the people waiting with tearful faces shouted at the same time.
“Miss, please come back!”
“Uh?”
I was taken aback by their unexpected plea.
“Why? I handed over everything properly, didn’t I? Is there a problem?”
While I was announcing my retirement and preparing for the flower shop, I made the handover process as thorough as possible so that there would be no problems even if I were not around in the future.
I did this not only for my successor, Tibon, but also for the key staff.
However, when I questioned why on earth they needed me, Albert shouted.
“After announcing the amendment, we’re constantly receiving complaints asking how we can trust that the new amendment will proceed properly.”
“They said the lady wasn’t there, so teachers have started leaving for that wretched Baron’s territory since you left.”
“The sponsorship recipients seem to have lost their motivation. Performance reports have decreased rapidly.”
As each of them whined about different issues, Tibon’s voice came from the mansion.
“What are you all doing here?”
Everyone was startled by that sound.
We looked up to see Tibon approaching angrily, wearing his formal attire, and carrying a bunch of documents. It seemed he was in the middle of work.
“M-Master.”
“Master Tibon. How come you’re here?”
“Is it a problem for me to be in my own home?”
I was also surprised. I never would’ve thought that Tibon, who hasn’t been able to come home for the past few days due to revisions to the hospital operation plan, was at home.
“Tibon. Weren’t you at the hospital?”
When I asked with wide eyes, Tibon smiled lightly and answered.
“I just dropped by because I forgot something.”
Then he looked coldly at the three people.
“I distinctly told you all that my sister was busy. It seems you all have plenty of free time seeing as you’ve come all the way here.”
The three people flinched at Tibon’s cold tone and averted their gazes.
Apparently, they’d tried complaining to Tibon a few times and, when that didn’t work, they had come to the house without any hesitation.
Tibon seemed to have noticed that too and let out a brief sigh.
“I’m sorry, Sister. It seems I wasn’t good enough, and your rest has been interrupted.”
“Oh, I’m fine.”
The three, caught by Tibon, bowed their heads and trembled.
“S-sorry.”
“We just want you to come back…”
“Yes, we only wanted to say that…”
I cut them off firmly.
“Why would I?”
“Miss!”
The three of them shouted, looking shocked. They seemed to be asking, ‘Why on earth not?’
“Tibon will do well, so why bother? You don’t need me anymore.”
“Don’t need you! What are you saying?”
“While the master is capable, everyone is still hoping for your return.”
“All the sponsorship recipients joined Dilucia because of you, Miss.”
As their words continued, I was dumbfounded.
“What are you all talking about now?”
I silenced them with a low voice as I became increasingly irritated.
“I clearly said Tibon is my successor. I acknowledged that he was fully capable of doing so, and the Count also approved. But now you want me to come back? Are you protesting that you don’t trust Count Dilucia and the Vice Count?”
“That, that’s not what we meant!”
The three of them were so flustered that they jumped at my words.
“Oh, my lady. Since when am I a Vice Count?”
And funny enough, it was Tibon who was the most flustered.
I continued pretending not to hear.
“Albert, Tibon wrote the amendment and I checked it all. And I’m not telling you to die, but you should comply when the hospital director says so. You’re being paid the best salary in the empire, so stop whining!”
The salaries of our Dilucia Hospital employees were the highest in the empire.
“Denson, are you in a position to have talent stolen? If you can’t bring back the teachers the rogue Baron stole, you will be beaten too!”
After 10 years of nurturing, those teachers become obsessed with money and ran away to a Baron’s estate? Both the ones who stole them and those who left are done for.
“Royer, the sponsorship committee is not my fan club. If they joined just because of me, tell them to leave. They aren’t worth being sponsored by Dilucia’s taxes!”
If they’re going to be my fans, they should get out of Dilucia!
As I huffed and swore at each of them, all three became bright-eyed.
“As expected of Dilucia’s golden hand.”
“I finally feel relieved after being scolded by the young lady.”
“Ah! This charisma is irresistible.”
I was shocked by their reaction.
It seemed they were anxious because I retired suddenly.
That’s why they brought such trivial issues and acted like they couldn’t handle them.
Of course, I hadn’t raised them to be this weak.
I’d trained everyone thoroughly so that even if I disappeared overnight, the business would still run smoothly.
Even if I end up with the same fate as the original, at least those who could survive would live.
But fortunately, I survived and escaped the original.
“Enough. I’ve already retired. Unless you’re ordering flowers, don’t come looking for me.”
I’d lived for 10 years, working tirelessly until I was spitting blood.
Now that it’s finally over, I just wanted to rest. Why would I return to that chaotic life?
No way! I won’t go! If I have to, I’d rather run somewhere far away.
After I firmly stated my position again, all three of them looked sullen.
It seemed like they’d finally accepted the reality that I would no longer be returning.
They all kept glancing at Tibon as they lowered their heads.
“We’re sorry, Miss, Master.”
“I really had no intention of insulting you, Master.”
“We were short-sighted. Please forgive us.”
“…I’ll try harder. So, everyone, raise your heads.”
Tibon seemed to have a lot to say, but accepted their apology without further comment.
“But since you wasted my sister’s time, be prepared. You’ll all be working overtime every day this month.”
This time I was surprised by Tibon’s next words.
“T-Tibon?”
No matter how good a person’s job is, shouldn’t they take it easy to be able to work for a long time?
I hurriedly tried to stop Tibon, but the three of them accepted the punishment humbly.
“Yes, thank you for your generosity.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Of course I will accept it.”
They apologized for taking up our time and then retreated.
“I’m sorry, Sister. I thought I had persuaded them enough.”
I was taken aback for a moment and snapped out of it at Tibon’s voice.
“Why would this be your fault, Tibon? They were just surprised by the sudden change, that’s all, right?”
Still, I never expected them to all come rushing to me like this.
I smiled bitterly as I watched Ludwin lying down and grooming himself cutely.
Tibon looked like he was pondering something, his expression grim.
“…Actually, I wanted to ask you the same thing.”
Startled, I turned towards Tibon.
“What? You want me to come back? I told you I’ve retired, right? You know what retirement means, don’t you?”
“I do. But why did you retire?”
“Why? Because I didn’t want to do it anymore.”
This time, Tibon was taken aback when I answered as if it were obvious.
He seemed to have never imagined the straightforward answer of ‘I didn’t want to.’
He dropped the books and documents he was holding.
“Oh! You should be careful.”
But Tibon didn’t seem to care. He asked urgently.
“But, but all of Dilucia’s key projects were created and nurtured by you, Sister.”
He was right. I’d built all those projects with my blood, sweat, and tears.
“Hm.”
I placed my index finger on my chin and thought for a moment about how to explain this.
It’s not that I’m not proud of the businesses I’ve built.
It felt good when the people benefiting from them occasionally thanked me.
However, that was all.
“Tibon, how did you feel after working hard these past few days?”
