After getting Inein into the team, I returned to the duchy in the afternoon.
“Ah, so…”
Butler Loid, Rubel, and I sat together in one place.
“Are you saying I intentionally used ointment to spread skin diseases among the servants?” After hearing the butler’s words, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
As soon as I returned from the underground castle, I wondered what was going on as they asked to have a conversation with me with a serious face… It seemed like something happened again while I was paying attention to Norma and neglecting my work.
“It seems that such suspicions have arisen because the ointment Lady has made is a commonly used item among the servants recently.”
“Servants are servants, but more than anything, the senior vassals who heard this news…” Rubel, following Butler Loid’s words, opened his mouth. “They claim it must have been an intentional crime committed by someone.”
A skin disease that was common in slums was spreading not only in Duchy Felicite but also in other places.
“There is such a fuss that we need to conduct a thorough investigation and find a reasonable cause.”
It was natural for vassals and servants to be suspicious. However…
“It means that even those senior vassals are suspicious of me.”
Why are the arrows coming at me?
“It’s already been a few months since I gave them that ointment. So, everyone has probably used more than two or three of them so far.”
Since it was around when I first met Redian, the servants had already been using it for over a few months.
“They were fine back then, but now there’s a problem? Besides, the ointment was not only used by them but also by my father, Butler, and Rubel here.”
“Yes. Some vassals claim that there must be a difference in ingredients between the ointment Lady gave to us and the ointment given to the servants.”
“Ha, what?”
That cheeky rotten water said that? Let’s see…
After pretending to be quiet for a while, it was clear that they were trying to turn the situation around with this incident. However, it hasn’t been possible to detect the ingredients of the ointment in detail because the technology in this world hasn’t developed it yet. In other words, if they acted unreasonably like that, there was no other way to explain it.
If you mess around in a novel way, at last, it’s fun to deal with.
Their next step was also clearly readable. They will either bribe doctors or somehow set up a trap and make a fuss about asking the duke to hold a truth-finding session.
Have I been falsely accused like this about 35 times? How can the extra characters be behaving so consistently?
“I know you didn’t call me like this because you really suspect me.”
“…”
I looked at them with a grave gaze. “So, my father probably sent Rubel and Butler instead of calling me directly.”
If the duke really suspected me, he would have called me alone or found out some other way. Sending the experienced butler and Rubel, his right hand, at the same time, ultimately meant to come up with a plan together with them.
“It looks like Lady has already noticed, so we will also tell you comfortably.
Then Rubel said, “Actually, His Grace knows best that Lady is not the kind of person who is making unnecessary ointments to get revenge on the servants.”
“That’s my opinion too. Rather than scheme things up in such a dark way, Lady has the personality to throw them out right into the duchy’s stable.” The butler nodded as if to agree with Rubel.
Wait… It’s a compliment, right?
“Do you have any idea who might have orchestrated this? What Sir Rubel and I are thinking about are Emma, Rei, and also, um, let’s see.” The butler, who took out a thick notebook, spoke earnestly. “A year ago, you poured water on Susan for not arranging your bed properly, and eight months ago, you slapped Ron for giving you spoiled ingredients…”
For a while, the butler’s voice continued. Looking at the thickness of the notebook, I thought Siani was really something else.
It’s all self-defense, right?
“That’s about it. I think it was the work of one of the servants who had a grudge against Lady.”
“Well, I don’t think they are servants.” I waved my hand dismissively.
A servant harboring resentment for the punishment I imposed, trying to frame me now…
“If that’s really the case, isn’t it proof that the head maid messed up the servants’ education?”
The servants were managed thoroughly by the head maid. In other words, the head maid was clearly responsible for the actions of the servants who had been secretly ostracizing Siani. So, I didn’t like her much, but…
“It would be more possible that the head maid used the servants to set things up.”
There was silence for a moment.
“Everyone knows that Jen is absolutely not the type of person who would harm the order of the duchy for such reasons.”
“That’s right.”
There was a reason why she remained the head maid of Duchy Felicite for so long.
“Then who…”
They didn’t seem to have any idea.
“Anyway, no matter how much I say it’s not true, it won’t be of any use if I can’t prove it.”
In any case, it was true that skin diseases were circulating among servants. It was natural that I couldn’t be free from this suspicion as long as the vassals kept pressing this matter.
“As Butler said, it would be faster to catch the culprit with my own hands and throw them into the duchy’s stable.”
I got up from my seat.
“Rubel, you have the ointment I gave to you, right?”
“Ah, yes. Here it is.”
“Butler probably also has ointment that you collected from the servants.”
“Yes. I collected the ointment they used and stored it.”
Rubel and the butler took out the ointment one by one. It was an ointment that made no difference from the outside.
“Okay, then let’s do this.” I lifted two ointments at the same time.
My rule is not to mess with others unless they mess with me first, but…
Let’s give it a try.
It is also my rule to properly pay them back when they mess with me.
* * *
A few days passed like that.
“We will start the basic training with knights of the duchy.”
Preparations for the monster hunting competition were progressing quickly.
“Starting next week, we’ll be dealing with Astra (a special magic weapon used to hunt monsters) in earnest.”
Aeron explained as he followed me to the training ground. Francis, who comes from a noble background, has basic skills, so he just needs to adapt. Redian and Vallentin are good at using Astra.
“But Inein didn’t even know how to hold a bow, which even commoners used, let alone a sword or a gun.”
“He must have been in the underground castle for at least several years, but how could he not even know how to hold a basic weapon?”
I was shocked when I heard that story. There must have been something special about him as he was one of the four Norma who survived. It was something I had never found, even among the incompetent trainers.
“Aeron, please report to my father how irresponsible Irik was. You know what I mean, right?” I smiled lightly as if I were joking with Aeron.
“…Hmm.”
Then Aeron suddenly avoided my gaze and cleared his throat. He looked like he was thinking about a math formula just now. Why is he being like that?’
“Let’s take a look at them one by one for now.”
As I entered the special training ground of the lower level 3rd Circle, Inein was visible. It seems like we’re preparing for a handsome man contest, not a monster-hunting competition. Even if he hides half of his face with a mask, I wonder if he can conceal that warm aura.
“We will first teach you how to hold a bow against 3rd circle level monsters and then begin Astra training.”
“Go ahead.”
After nodding, Aeron instructed the trainer in the control room through the communication port. At the same time, small monsters jumped out in front of my eyes. Perhaps because they were low-level and for training purposes, they looked like cute maggots (?) rather than monsters.
“Inein, use the given bow to hit the monsters.”
“…”
Inein looked at the bow in front of him, then picked it up. It was very plausible when that large hand with bronzed skin and bulging veins grabbed the arrow.
“Kikikiki.”
Hmm.
The arrow that Inein fired fell to the ground with an ugly sound. The mocking laughter of the monsters filled the training ground.
“Although he’s lacking compared to other Norma, I wonder if there is a reason why His Grace chose…”
Whoosh—Thud.
Aeron was unable to finish his sentence due to the sight before his eyes. He even switched Inein’s bow and arrows and tried to move down one level of the circle.
Whoosh—Thud.
“Kikikiki.”
However, Inein couldn’t even pull the bowstring properly, as if his hands were weak.
“This is serious. Did he really bring him here just because of his physique?” Aeron, who was looking at the low-level monsters flying around, muttered in frustration.
“Aeron, look closely at Inein holding the bow, not at the monster. Isn’t something a little strange?”
“Yes?”
But I could see it because I was watching him all the time.
“As Aeron said, if he has a physique like that, he should be able to pull the bowstring with some force. But he can’t even hold it properly.”
It’s like regular weapons bounce out of his hands. It didn’t seem to be just because of his skills.
“That means…”
“Kikikiki, idiot, idiot!”
“Inein.” I approached Inein, who was being teased with a face that looked like he was going to beat up all the monsters.
“Princess.”
“I’ll change your weapon.”
This guy, I can’t believe it…
“Do you want to use magic Astra instead of a bow?”
Isn’t he a magician?
Im sry, i read Loid at the beginning of the chapter and thought, “Spy x Family??”