For Asahisan, thank you so much for the ko-fis! ♡
<Episode 104>
“….I’m sorry.”
Tsk tsk. With a slightly pitiful look in his eyes, the sharp-tongued Malcolm glanced at the Head Maid. Then he turned his gaze towards me.
“Miss Daisy probably already knows, but the former head of the Weatherwoods family was one of Dian Cecht’s disciples.”
I looked at the Head Maid.
There was no particular reaction from her.
Since they said they had been contemplating this for a week, that conversation between Malcolm and The Head Maid must’ve already happened.
“That’s not all. The Weatherwoods have a deep connection with the Northern Continent. Over the course of 200 years, there are quote a few records of Astrozans being welcomed as the mistresses of the family. They were considered to be the most numerous Astrozans among the nobles in the Empire… but in reality, they were only second or third.”
Listening to Malcolm’s calm voice, a new question arose in my mind.
Could it be that the Weatherwoods family was a spy family planted by Rogue?
‘But that doesn’t match the timeline.’
The history of the Weatherwoods family spanned over 200 years, while Rogue was reorganized after a major civil war in the continent 150 years ago.
“It was a statistic that didn’t sit well with them as the spy family of Rogue.”
Hmm, so they were spies. Reality truly surpasses imagination.
“It all started when the Holy Church turned its attention to the Northern Continent. The need to investigate the drug trafficking routes arose within the Rogue. To confirm their connection to the imperial family, they sent spies to the Empire, and one of the targets for exploring the noble society was the Weatherwoods family.”
Malcolm continued, lightly tapping the handle of his teacup.
“After the drug incident was resolved, the Northern Continent closed its doors to foreign exchanges. From that day on, The Weatherwoods completely fell into the hands of the Rogue and became their eyes observing the Empire. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to call them spies… That’s what I believed until recently.”
Was that an old man’s joke? It was so infuriating.
I pondered whether to wave my fist at him or not, but I decided to let it go out of respect for the elderly.
“Stop playing around and tell me the truth, old man.”
Ahem. After a brief cough, Malcolm spoke.
“It’s true that some families within the Empire were swallowed by the Rogue for political reasons. However, the Weatherwoods family is different. They had a different purpose.”
“What was it?”
“I heard from the previous head of the family that Dian Cecht had been looking for something for a long time. It seems the object belonged to the Empire.”
Dian Cecht?
‘It’s that name again. There’s no place that he’s not mentioned.’
Feeling a bit of unease, I gently brushed my left chest.
Maybe it was because I now knew he was a part of me now, but every time I heard his name, my heart felt strange.
“Is the object a treasure?”
“No one knows what it is. The Weatherwoods had been searching for it under Dian Cecht’s orders for generations. Although that plan fizzled out due to the outbreak of the magic war.”
The only relic left by the previous head of the Weatherwoods was the egg.
And Dian Cecht.
“Hmm.”
This combination felt very familiar.
“The former master hid an egg in this house, didn’t he? Is that egg related to the item Dian Ket is searching for?”
“…An egg? Ah, Dian Cecht’s relic! Haha, Miss Daisy, have you discovered their connection? You’re smarter than you look.”
Thank you for seeing beyond my appearance, but I wasn’t amused at all.
What… then, did Dian Cecht’s relics have nothing to do with treatment?
Was it just a tool developed to find the object Dian Cecht longed for….? However, there was too little evidence to be sure of anything.
“So what was he looking for?”
The answer to this question came from the head maid.
“We don’t know.”
Are you kidding me?
“But there is a clue. From what I heard, there are five relics of Dian Cecht in total, right? We will try to collect them all first.”
“Do we really have to?”
“It may not mean much to Miss Daisy, but it means a lot to me. Protecting the lineage and legacy of the previous head. That’s the only reason I’m staying in the Weatherwoods.”
“Yes, Miss Daisy. Didn’t you encounter those after the relics in Westwinterre? We must also prepare defenses.”
“If we leave things like this, the previous master’s inheritance will be taken away by them.”
“You don’t have to worry about the succession. We can manipulate the issue of succession rights by forming a presumed relationship between the Fagers and the Weatherwoods. We have experts who have been active in this field for 150 years.”
How boastful, grandpa.
“Among those who know our secrets, you are the only person who we can trust and entrust this to, Miss Dais-”
“All right, that’s enough.”
My firm words silenced the head maid.
I now clearly understood what they wanted from me.
In short, what they needed was a noble slave to find Dian Cecht’s relics, didn’t they?
Ultimately, so they could find the object Dian Cecht was looking for.
“I understand the situation. However, I need time. I am also a person with my own personal affairs that I need to deal with.”
There was no such thing.
‘I hit a complete jackpot.’
Worries? No need. My life as a maid? I had no regrets about it.
From this moment on, I would change my status to Viscount Weatherwoods.
The status of a noble within the Noble Society.
A cash cow and information gatherer, Malcolm. The Head Maid and Jean, who would be responsible for the security of the Weatherwoods family instead of me.
Wasn’t this simply the best combination for finding Dian Cecht’s relics?
Still, I would only give them my answer tomorrow. They have to put in more effort for something like this.
“I need a definite answer by tomorrow, Miss Daisy. We have to leave for the Duchy of Zenail the day after tomorrow.”
The maid, who was looking at the darkening sky beyond the window, asked me belatedly how I was doing.
“I can’t see Mr. Rue and Jean, did they leave for somewhere else?”
“They will be back a little later.”
“Well, in that case, it would be difficult to transform you into Viscount Gray Weatherwoods for the duchy. Please consider our offer carefully.”
“I don’t want to.”
“If you don’t want to right now, fine, I’ll start preparing dinner.”
With my body still exhausted from the travel, I unpacked my luggage and then went down to the kitchen.
Did I have to taste the head maid’s cooking again? I desperately missed Rue.
The next afternoon.
Jean returned home a day late.
But her condition was beyond words.
There were vivid red marks on her delicate face, and somehow, there was a limp in one of her legs.
As soon as she returned home like that, she began humming, something she had never done before, while tidying up the dishes. It felt like she was missing a screw or something.
“Why do you look like that?”
“Oh, senior. It’s nothing. With an injured body, how can I possibly learn from the Calepa, right? Besides Duke Berkeley-Gratten, Duke Zenail, and you, senior, no other swordsman has ever been so overwhelmingly strong in my life. At first…”
I had never seen Jean so excited before. So, I just listened to her story.
“It seems I made the right choice to follow you, senior. Thank you so much for granting my unreasonable request.”
Well, if she’s that happy about it.
“But how did the evaluation turn out for you?”
“I failed.”
“What? How could someone as skilled as you…”
“Due to misconduct.”
“Oh.”
I made a face like I understood, which was a lie.
After checking a letter from Yeager, which was delivered through Jean (it said that if there were any problems, I should contact him anytime), I resumed my duties as a maid.
Whether I’d been to Westwinterre or Astrosa in the northern continent, once back at Weatherwoods, I was still just a maid (although I was scheduled to become a Weatherwoods noble).
I had tasks to complete and people were around me as usual. The peace of everyday life was my comfort.
Except for one thing.
“Miss Daisy, there’s only one day left. Tomorrow, a decision must be made. I hope you make a wise judgment.”
“Maidservant. Come find me when you have some free time. I have something to discuss regarding Berithlet.”
“Senior, I’ve been practicing the Devil’s Ironing Technique that you showed me the other day, can you check it just once?”
“Sister! We developed a new menu at our pub. It’s a strawberry jam cucumber sandwich, and the response has been amazing! Please come by later and give us your evaluation!”
“Oh my, Miss Daisy! I’ve heard you’ve been on vacation for the past ten days? Good job, good job. It’s good to take breaks. Come to the market later, let’s have a cup of tea with Potato-seller grandpa.”
Except that I was damn busy.
“Damn it.”
Why was I busy?
I thought I was doing my best just to find Dian Cecht’s relics, so why were there so many troublesome things happening around me?
In the end, I was exhausted after a day.
It can be a bit tiring to wield a sword all day, but it was even harder to deal with people.
But if there was anything harder…
‘Facing Raphael tomorrow.’
Sigh.
Thinking about Raphael made me feel at a loss.
Especially with that clever Desherro by his side, it felt even more daunting.
‘But still, it would be much better to meet him as my original self than as Gray Weatherwoods.’
Yet, if there’s one more thing that bothered me unnecessarily, it would be…
‘If he recognizes me as Andert’s sister, he might propose to me.’
Hmm.
After contemplating for a moment, I stood up from my chair.
Then, I swung open the door to the Weatherwoods Room, where the Head Maid and Malcolm were engaged in a conversation.
The Head Maid, who was leisurely sipping her tea, looked surprised as she looked at me.
“Miss Daisy? Opening the door without even knocking is impolite…”
“I’ll do it.”
“What?”
“Become Viscount Weatherwoods.”
Their eyes widened. I quickly added:
“But I have a condition.”
Daisy will specifically become Viscount Weatherwoods, not Viscountess because the title being passed down is Viscount (Head).
Thank you for the chapter!
Is Daisy introvert or extrovert? Andert(Daisy) was described as social but current Daisy find dealing with people annoying. For now I just assume that she is like a cat and it depends on her mood.