Factory.
I headed toward the aide’s office to meet Conrad.
“I keep worrying about Blizen’s situation.”
While deep in thought and looking at the ground as I walked, I heard murmuring up ahead.
Among the maids, a single head stood out towering above the rest.
“Conrad?”
He was carrying a heap of things.
His smile was painfully awkward.
“Thank you......”
The maids blushed shyly and clasped their cheeks, sighing “Haaah......”
Among them, one maid admired Conrad’s forearm and said, “We should be the ones thanking you......”
“Hm?”
Suddenly, an all-too-familiar face popped into my sight among them.
“Greta?”
Hearing my voice, Greta’s shoulders jerked up sharply.
She stiffened and mechanically turned her head to look at me.
“A-a-a-a-... g-g-g-... g-go-od.”
Huh?
She looked like she’d just been caught cheating on someone.
Her pupils trembled as if an earthquake hit, staring at me wildly.
Then she blurted out desperately.
“I swear I wasn’t looking elsewhere. I definitely bought something for you too. But Lady’s Day is still far off... And besides, Conrad has been so considerate to the maids. We owe him so much. I really, truly love you the most, Lady. I know saying this is meaningless, but, so, Lady, I... I’m sorry─!!”
“.......”
Having declared she loves us both with one heart, Greta left with a tearful expression.
“Love is a crime~!”
A crime~!
A crime~!
Greta’s voice echoed through the factory.
...Suddenly, I felt tired.
I watched Greta fade away, shaking my head.
Conrad, awkwardly smiling with a mountain of gifts piled high, strode over to me.
“Lady.”
The towering stack of gift boxes hid his face completely, so Conrad barely peeked out beside them and spoke.
“What’s all this?”
“Oh, it’s Gentleman’s Day in four days... I’ll be out starting tomorrow, so I guess he gave them today.”
Ah, Gentleman’s Day?
So it’s already four days away.
The day to give gifts to a gentleman you like.
“Like Valentine’s Day.”
The towering pile of gifts in Conrad’s arms wobbled dangerously.
“For now, put those down. I have something to ask. I’ll wait here. The weather’s nice today.”
I took a deep breath of the soft breeze. The scent of grass filled my nose.
“Yes, Lady.”
Conrad hurried back after leaving the gifts at the aide’s office and asked.
“What is it?”
“You watch over the second generation at the Main Estate, right?”
Conrad made a troubled face.
“They call it protection.”
“Whatever. Does that include Uncle Noarizen?”
“Yes. Since he is Master Blizen’s father. But compared to other second gens, the intensity is considerably lighter.”
Even that would be good.
I clasped Conrad’s hands and said with sparkling eyes.
“I want to see those records.”
Conrad glanced around and lowered his voice.
“I will copy and send them to the jurisdiction castle.”
“Okay!”
I nodded quickly with a big smile.
“As expected.”
The effort I made at age three wasn’t wasted.
I placed suitable people everywhere.
“Thanks to that, I can get necessary information this easily.”
I was glad I had worked hard when I was three.
Waving cheerfully, I greeted Conrad as he returned to the office.
Goodbye, Conrad!
My walking, talking factory information guild!
Inside the carriage on the way home.
I was slouched in the carriage.
It took at least two hours to move each time we changed locations—it was a nightmare.
Even after loading the Gaho stone of , it was still exhausting.
“I envy Blizen’s Gaho.”
He has two Gahos.
One is an offensive type.
The other is Gaho.
He wields a powerful offensive Gaho while moving it around recklessly.
“Isn’t he a total broken character?”
Even the twins couldn’t beat Blizen in practice matches.
Though matches rarely happened.
Joshua, who has the area attack , trained mostly outside the castle to avoid damaging the dukedom during fights.
Balzac, with Gaho, manifested an aura that was basically an area effect attack.
So the twins’ matches with Blizen happened only once or twice a year as events.
Of course, the twins sometimes won.
“But Blizen’s win rate was higher.”
There was a reason he never lost his rank.
“Anyway, I’m so jealous of the movement Gaho...”
Not having to ride in a carriage when going to the market district or factory.
Every time I go out, I feel like I’m taking a long-distance bus to the capital.
“Two hours is basically commuting to the capital.”
Today, I spent more time in the carriage than outside and was nearly dead tired.
Daymond’s jurisdiction castle.
It was nearly evening when we arrived at the castle.
I was so tired I didn’t even change clothes and collapsed on the bed.
Not eating or doing anything, Heidi and Betty gently comforted me.
“If you soak in warm water with rose salt, it’s fragrant and relaxing.”
“We’ll wash you with soft bubbles. We’ll wash your hair too.”
Heidi and Betty laid their heads side by side on my bed and said.
“While you’re in the water, you’ll get some sweet and sour lemonade.”
“When you come out, you’ll find delicious toast waiting.”
“Toasted bread lightly grilled on the outside, topped with avocado, crispy bacon, and a soft poached egg. It’ll be delicious, right?”
Betty whispered while tucking strands of my hair behind my ear buried in the blanket.
“For dessert, milk tea crushed into a crunchy texture...”
I peeked up from burying my face in the bed.
“Okay, okay.”
I answered half asleep.
“I’ll do it...”
They had gotten really good at persuading me over the past seven years.
“That toast sounds delicious.”
My mouth watered thinking of toast. It already smelled like butter lightly spread on toast.
A warm bath with rose salt was my favorite.
The fragrant rose scent in the warm water wiped away the day’s fatigue.
The maids washed my body with fluffy bubbles floating in the bathtub.
After bathing, sitting in a shower gown, the maids came with towels and dried my hair.
When I put out my hands, they even clipped my long nails.
“Ah, refreshing.”
Feeling soft and dry, I sat with a blissful expression.
Taking a bite of toast and dipping it into the poached egg yolk was pure heaven.
After finishing, patting my stomach, Betty brought out milk tea ice cream with a pleased smile.
My favorite bath, meal, and sweet dessert.
“Oh, the true taste of money, power, and affection.”
I was so happy my eyes felt dizzy.
Betty and Heidi chuckled seeing me like that.
“Washed and fed, you did well, didn’t you?”
“Yeah...”
While holding the dessert spoon in my mouth, Han Jihyuk entered the room.
He must have brought the copied documents Conrad requested earlier that day.
“You looked like you were about to die from exhaustion, but now you’re fine... Lady?”
Han Jihyuk habitually tried to speak informally but quickly corrected himself at Heidi’s glare.
I smiled and said.
“I’m happy.”
Seeing me smile brightly, Han Jihyuk made a reluctant face.
“He always gets annoyed when I’m happy.”
“I was pulling weeds under the scorching sun, and you’re drinking lemonade in a cool room?”
“If you don’t like it, I’ll arrange a spot outside.”
“If I go out! What if those cheaters catch me! Make me a steward like Michelan!”
“The steward of a grand noble family is someone who graduated from the academy. Do you want to attend the academy now?”
“Same damn elitist society everywhere...!”
Things like this, or—
“I was shoveling snow for four hours in freezing weather, and you’re eating sweet potatoes in a warm room?”
“I told you like ten times I can set up a spot outside.”
“Send me to the factory. I want to be a steward like Conrad Marcial.”
“Conrad works overtime 300 days a year. Are you okay with that?”
“I should report you to the labor office. Damn it.”
Or this—
“I almost got my skin ripped off at the bath with Mosco, and you’re having a bubble bath?”
“I told you a hundred times I can arrange a spot outside.”
“Make me a noble lady like you.”
“Mosco! Mosco─!!”
These sorts of things happened all the time.
After the maids and Han Jihyuk left, I lay on my stomach on the bed and took out the documents.
“Let’s see.”
I flipped through them one by one.
Compared to other second gens, the information was very limited.
“Only movement records and holidays.”
Factory.
Jurisdiction castle.
Market district.
Jurisdiction castle...
“Hm?”
Noarizen hadn’t left the estate even once in half a year.
“What? Then how did he meet Count Talos?”
Michelan had definitely said Noarizen and Talos met.
“Someone so meticulous wouldn’t have told me without checking first.”
What the heck was going on?
I took the communication stone from the nightstand and immediately connected to Michelan.
[Yes, Lady.]
“When exactly did Count Talos and Noarizen meet?”
The sound of pages flipping came through the stone.
[On the 4th, 11th, and 18th of last month, and the 5th and 12th of this month.]
I quickly grabbed a pen and checked the dates on the documents again.
“Are you sure?”
[Yes.]
“Okay, thanks.”
I ended the connection.
“What is this?”
I carefully put the communication stone back on the nightstand and reviewed the documents Conrad gave me again.
It was clear that all ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) the days Michelan mentioned were marked as holidays.
But there were no records of leaving the estate.
“Did Blizen teleport him? Hmm... no, that can’t be.”
Blizen was away on duty until the 20th last month.
“Maybe he used a Gaho stone?”
No. That stone hasn’t been discovered yet.
If the Gaho stone existed, there’d already be chaos.
Nobles would be carrying treasures around, begging to sell them.
I understand.
Carriages are exhausting...
“Anyway, if I don’t talk to Blizen, I won’t get anywhere.”
I summoned the maids outside.
And wrote a letter inviting Blizen.
[Blizen, would you invite me to the Aisa jurisdiction?]
I got a reply from Blizen.
[Sorry, but I have business, so I can’t invite you.]
I was somewhat dumbfounded.
[I haven’t even said when yet?]
[Not for the foreseeable future.]
[Then can you tell me when you can?]
[Not for the foreseeable future.]
[When the foreseeable future passes, I want to go!]
[Not for the foreseeable future.]
[Did you write the same letter several times?]
Letters were exchanged several times.
But I won.
Eventually, I received a reluctant approval.
[If it’s just a moment.]
“Good!”
After getting the reply, I hurriedly finished preparations and left the room.
I quickly climbed into the carriage and headed to the Aisa jurisdiction.
The Gaho stone I briefly thought about yesterday...
“I hope it exists.”
It’s so exhausting to travel by carriage.
I shifted my gaze out the window.
“Wow...”
The path to the jurisdiction castle was covered thick with purple, yellow, and white wildflowers.
“Aunt Aisa really liked wildflowers, didn’t she?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the beautiful scenery outside.
In front of the Aisa jurisdiction castle.
Seeing a strange carriage embossed with the Astra emblem, a maid suddenly ran breathlessly toward it from afar.
After confirming it was me getting off, she gasped in surprise.
“Lady Erilot, what brings you here...!”
I glanced around the unfamiliar Aisa jurisdiction castle.
“I got a letter from Blizen inviting me to the jurisdiction.”
“We haven’t heard anything about it... When did you receive the letter?”
I blinked confidently and answered.
“An hour ago.”
“......”
The maids who had run out all looked embarrassed and exchanged glances.
Since the mistress invited me, they reluctantly escorted me inside.
Their faces turned pale as they hurriedly opened the castle gates wide.
“This way.”
Guided by a maid, I entered the jurisdiction castle and met a man in the corridor.
A handsome man with long gray curly hair tied in a classical style, hanging down to his waist.
Uncle Noarizen.
People who looked like administrators were sweating profusely chasing after him.
“I told you that day won’t do.”
“But the moneylender insists on that time─”
“Anyway, that day won’t do. How many times do I have to say it?”
Blizen really did inherit his father’s tone.
Noarizen shot a sharp glance at the administrator with a grumpy tone as he walked.
He was nothing like the Uncle Noarizen I knew.