I wrote a letter to the mayor of
"Is it really alright to leave him be?"
"For now, there's nothing else to do. Removing him by force would be simple enough, but what matters is what comes after."
The Chief Priest said this after deciding to leave the mayor alone.
Using the power of a noble, it would be easy enough to seize a small fry like the mayor — or even have him physically executed. But considering the town of Hasse afterward, simply removing the mayor would not be sufficient.
"Shouldn't we remove someone who does bad things?"
"
"Well, selling orphans, or giving 'sleeve bribes' to the former High Priest and the civil officials — that is, handing over money and goods…"
As I counted them off on my fingers, the Chief Priest raised one eyebrow in surprise.
"None of that is actually bad, is it?"
"Huh?"
The unexpected words made me blink. We looked at each other in mutual confusion, tilting our heads.
"In exchange for looking after the orphans, he holds the rights of ownership over them. Whether to sell them or not is the mayor's decision. And gifting money and goods to nobles in hopes of securing favorable treatment is perfectly natural, isn't it? Even
Apparently, owning rights over orphans and giving bribes were considered entirely normal and did not fall under the category of wrongdoing.
"Huh? Then what bad things did the mayor actually do?"
"He disobeyed my orders as a noble, and he attempted to stand up without permission and challenge our decisions — that is clearly what counts."
Even if the mayor had been engaging in minor corruption and selling off orphans, as long as it benefited the town, he would be considered a good mayor by the townspeople. If he kept the money from selling the orphans to himself, nobody would complain. Rather, if that money could enrich the town, the people of Hasse would support the mayor.
Hasse currently had several hundred residents, or about a thousand if you included the people gathering from the farming villages for winter, along with a handful of orphans. The ones who should have been protected were the residents — yet if we protected the orphans and forcibly removed the mayor, we would become the object of hatred. The Chief Priest explained this to me with a perfectly calm expression.
The unexpected words made my heart clench with a sickening noise. Never in my life had I imagined that saving orphans on the verge of being sold would be considered a bad thing.
"So, in other words, from Hasse's perspective, we're the villains?"
"At this point, yes. You snatched away orphans who were supposed to be sold to nobles, stashed them in a lower temple where nobody can touch them, and instead of caring about tax-paying residents, you're fussing over a handful of orphans."
The Chief Priest continued with a completely composed expression. "Unlike your blue shrine maiden apprentice days, when you covered everything with your own funds — as the lord's daughter, you now live off the taxes of the residents. Don't you understand which you should prioritize: orphans or taxpayers?"
Since I was starting a new printing business, I needed people not employed elsewhere, and the orphanage had been incredibly convenient. That was why I had envisioned establishing orphanages across the region and expanding the printing industry — and the lord had granted permission for it.
"The lord's permission was granted because he determined that taxes could now be collected from people who had never paid taxes before. It wasn't pure charity."
A chill ran down my spine. Confronted with my own carelessness and narrow-mindedness, another piece of my common sense crumbled away, and I wanted to cry.
"I… never imagined the understanding of wrongdoing would differ so much. That small fry will make an excellent teaching material for you. Create opposition against the mayor, cultivate it, and isolate him."
"…Come again?"
"I'm telling you to set up a capable successor who will run Hasse's town smoothly after the mayor is removed. Cultivate obedient pawns who side with us, then remove the mayor — and everything will work out smoothly. Go ahead and try."
Since the mayor was already going to be punished regardless, I might as well make full use of him — saying this so matter-of-factly, the Chief Priest assigned me an outrageous task.
Being given the assignment to frame someone, I could feel my back teeth grinding. I had caused trouble for those around me through my book-related rampages before, but I had never once deliberately acted to frame someone. I had been raised being taught that framing people was something you must not do.
…I was scared.
When I gave a small shake of my head and balked, the Chief Priest gently patted my head as if soothing a child throwing a tantrum.
"Rozemyne, if you don't get yourself together, the orphans at the lower temple won't be able to go out into the forest. Then they'd become nuisances who can't work in the workshop but still eat their full. You'd end up being resented not only by the town of Hasse, but even within the orphanage itself. You didn't snatch them away only to create an environment where they'd be hated, did you?"
"I… have no idea how to frame someone."
In response to my feeble resistance, the Chief Priest knelt down on the spot, brought his eyes level with mine, and flashed a smile so sweet it was spine-chilling.
"It's your first time. I'll teach you how."
I could feel the poison steeped in that beautiful smile seeping into me, and I bit down hard on my back teeth.
That night I couldn't sleep well, and on top of my sleep deprivation, my spirits weighed down, I set off for the castle.
I needed to get the measurements and orders for winter garments done quickly — Richarda had been flying ordonnances at me three times a day yesterday. Hounded beyond endurance, the exasperated Chief Priest had forcibly dragged me along.
Having been struck by the Chief Priest's toxic atmosphere, I wasn't feeling well and wanted rest, but none was granted. What a demon of a Chief Priest.
Since I couldn't help it, I figured I might as well take the trip to the castle to get
"
"Understood. I'll have at least one copy finished today, so please cheer up."
"Thank you, Gil. Keep growing up just as you are now."
That honest, innocent smile healed me from the depths of my heart — all the more so after someone else's venomous grin. All our attendants are adorable.
"Rozemyne, what's wrong? You don't look well."
"I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about having to frame someone."
Whose fault was that, I thought, glaring at the Chief Priest. He blinked in surprise. "You won't survive as the lord's daughter if you can't handle this," he said.
It might have been a beginner-level task by the Chief Priest's standards, but for me it was far too difficult. If I followed his instructions and succeeded in framing the mayor, I'd probably develop insomnia.
"You're far too weak."
"…I'm aware of that."
I knew perfectly well that I was fragile — both physically and mentally. As I nodded in agreement, the Chief Priest let out a soft sigh and furrowed his brow as if considering something.
"…Well, there's no use worrying about it now. Let's depart for the time being."
I rode a lessor beast to the castle, and I had grown accustomed to being greeted by
The Chief Priest said, "I'll go inform the lord about the chef situation. You're busy, I'm sure," with a smile so bright it was suspicious, then swept his cloak dramatically and departed with graceful strides. I was certain he just wanted to escape from Richarda.
"Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne. The tailor is already waiting."
Hurried along by the Richarda who had come to greet me, I headed to the reception room where the tailor was waiting. Bolts of warm-looking fabric were rolled up and stacked in large quantities, and an abundance of fur in various types had been laid out.
This was my first time selecting fabric from scratch and having garments made. There was definitely a sense of excitement, but my mood refused to lift at all.
"Since this will be both your and
Richarda had only ever arranged men's clothing before, so she seemed very enthusiastic. She said that she had already placed orders for several winter garments together with my mother and adoptive mother.
"I've had them made based on last summer's measurements, of course, but children grow quickly, so I think it's best to have proper measurements taken."
I'm not exactly growing much, though.
The Chief Priest's assessment was that it was difficult to grow because magic power needed to be kept full in my body. Lately I'd had more opportunities to use magic power, and I'd been eating plenty, so I wanted to believe I had grown at least a little.
The measurements showed that I had indeed grown a little — a tiny bit compared to children my age.
"What kind of outfit would you like, My Lady? Here is Master Wilfried's outfit, so let's match yours to it."
A wooden tablet showing the design of Wilfried's outfit was presented to me, and Richarda recommended matching fabric and colors. I thought it would be heartwarming to see little siblings in matching outfits, but wearing one myself was a different matter entirely.
"Which do you prefer, My Lady — this or this?"
However, it seemed that for Richarda, the fabric and color matching was already decided. All that remained was the final design — and even that had already been narrowed down to candidates.
In my case, I didn't care that much about clothing. As long as the people around me were happy to do their work and the outfit didn't make me look foolish, I was fine with anything.
"Then let's go with this one."
Thinking the debut outfit selection was over, I was about to celebrate — but I wasn't released until we had finished ordering a complete set including everyday winter wear, undergarments, shoes, and more.
Since we were at it, I went ahead and ordered clothing and floor coverings for the temple as well. Last winter's preparations had been grueling just trying to get clothes sorted, so this was a great help.
"Richarda, I need to speak with my adoptive father about the chef…"
"The chef you brought along has become quite popular at the castle. Everyone wants to know his recipes, but apparently
It seemed Hugo's popularity at the castle was indeed growing. That was our Hugo for you.
I felt a small swell of pride, then laughed softly at Richarda, who was grumbling about how everyone should just enjoy delicious food together.
"My adoptive father paid for the recipes, so I don't think he'd hand them over easily. He apparently plans to surprise the nobles at the winter social gatherings."
"I was once invited to Lord Sylvester's lunch as well, and I was quite amazed. I'm looking forward to winter now."
…I'm taking that chef back with me. Sorry.
Apologizing to Richarda in my head, I asked for an audience with the lord.
"I imagine it would be difficult on such short notice."
"Lord
"Very well, My Lady. It will take some time. Please wait here and read this while you wait."
Richarda produced a book and placed it before me. I could feel my face lighting up. The heavy mood that had been pressing me down was shoved aside, replaced by the joy of being able to read.
"Thank you, Richarda."
"Be a good girl and wait patiently."
I answered Richarda with a smile and immediately picked up the book.
It was one of the magic books the Chief Priest had gathered for me — a volume about the relationship between magic stone colors and the gods. It stated that different magic was easier to use depending on the god's sacred color, and that for magic related to the Water Goddess and her divine retainers, green offered the best magic power efficiency, or something to that effect.
I already knew the names of the gods and their retainers, and what each governed, thanks to the Holy Book, so I could read it without much confusion. But since information about every god and their retainers appeared all at once, being taught with this book alone might scramble one's brain.
Moreover, this book seemed to be intended for adults. The phrasing was difficult, the sentences long and hard to follow. And to copy the text exactly, the writing itself was old-fashioned and difficult to read. There were artistic illustrations, but they had little relation to the content, so they seemed rather pointless.
…If this was considered essential material for nobles, then the picture books of divine retainers I was creating would surely have considerable demand.
Convinced that my winter business venture would be a success, I continued reading. Richarda lightly tapped my shoulder to get my attention.
"Lady Rozemyne, it seems the lord can see you during tea time at the fifth bell."
"Thank goodness, Richarda."
I spent the time Richarda had secured for me reading. Secretly, I wished I could have kept reading instead of meeting with my adoptive father.
The fifth bell rang, and I moved to the front of the main building where the lord worked. As I was heading there, I caught sight of Wilfried being brought over by what appeared to have been his guard knights.
"Rozemyne, so you were here?"
"Good day, Brother Wilfried."
"Where are you off to?"
"…Somewhere? I'm not entirely sure."
I couldn't very well tell Wilfried — who had been complaining about me getting to meet the lord alone — that I was going "to have tea with the lord."
"It's the lounge on the second floor of the main building, Master Wilfried."
"…Why is it always Rozemyne who gets to see Father?"
Wilfried bit his lip hard and glared at me with hatred in his eyes.
"This isn't fair! You're stupid! I hate Rozemyne!"
"You're the stupid one, Brother Wilfried. You have an environment where you can read books, but instead you run around avoiding them, causing trouble for everyone — what's unfair about that? Hurry up and at least learn the basic alphabet. I'm sitting here eagerly waiting for time to study. If you had learned your letters and our study time had increased, Lord Ferdinand wouldn't have given us such unreasonable assignments!"
In the end, it was completely a case of lashing out.
Perhaps he hadn't expected to be talked back to, because Wilfried's dark green eyes went wide as he stared at me.
Normally I might have let it slide, but with my mind raw from the new task, I was so irritated that I felt I had to give back more than I'd received. I wished he would stop picking fights.
Seeing Wilfried running around doing as he pleased reminded me of my days as
"Y-you… how impudent!"
"Which one of us is the coward who, as the lord's child, thinks only of running away from the studies he ought to be doing? If you behaved with such dignity that I wouldn't dare speak impudently to you, that would be enough."
Especially now, when I loathed the increasingly restrictive position I was in — seeing Wilfried enjoying the same status as the lord's child made me want to smack him. I wanted to shout, "You do this task of mine too!"
"Lady Rozemyne! Please, calm yourself!"
Shaken out of it by Daumuel, I came to my senses. In my irritation, I had been slightly intimidating Wilfried. I should retreat quickly. Staying here face-to-face with Wilfried any longer wouldn't be good for either of us.
"I'm terribly busy with my mountain of tasks, so I must take my leave."
I turned and headed for the lounge in the main building — that much was fine. But the lord's mansion was unnecessarily spacious. My room was simply too far from the office. Sleep-deprived as I was, I ran out of breath partway.
Seeing my increasingly sluggish steps,
"Richarda, Lady Rozemyne doesn't look well…"
While serving as a guard knight in the lord's mansion, he addressed me with the proper honorific, but the worried expression on his face was purely that of an older brother.
After peering at me, Richarda picked me up and started walking. This was bad. My head was spinning.
"My Lady, please be careful not to collapse before your audience."
"Sorry. …If only I could just summon a single-person lessor beast inside the mansion."
"Let's propose that to the lord."
When we arrived at the lounge, the fifth bell had already finished ringing, and my adoptive father was drinking tea with the Chief Priest and his attendants.
"You're late, Rozemyne."
"It's simply too far from her room to here, My Lady nearly collapsed inside the mansion. Could she please be granted permission to ride a lesser beast within the building?"
When Richarda said this, my adoptive father raised an eyebrow lightly.
"Wouldn't the wings get in the way?"
"For everyone else, yes, the wings would be an issue if they tried to ride a lesser beast inside the mansion. But My Lady's beast has no wings, and its size can be freely adjusted."
At Richarda's words, my adoptive father's eyes lit up.
"Show me. I've never seen it. If it's interesting, I'll grant permission."
"Understood. If she's to ride it inside, it would need to be a single-person model, so this size…"
I took out a magic stone and produced a single-person lessor beast. Shrank down to my personal size, it looked completely like a child's toy. I climbed in and moved around the room at about a walking pace.
"That's a lesser beast?! What is that?! Bwahahaha! How amusing! As expected of Rozemyne. You come up with things we would never even imagine."
Seeing the lessor beast, Sylvester clutched his stomach and burst out laughing.
"It's amusing, so it's approved. Rozemyne, you may use that to move around the mansion."
"Wait just a moment. Sylvester!"
"What is it, Ferdinand? It's still better than constantly being carried around by attendants and guards, isn't it?"
With the lord's official approval, I had nothing to fear. I let out a sigh of relief, having secured a means of transport within the mansion.
Once I was seated and tea had been prepared, my adoptive father glanced at me.
"So, what's this about?"
"I believe Lord Ferdinand has already discussed it with you, but I'll be taking the chef Hugo back with me."
When I said this, my adoptive father frowned deeply and looked at the Chief Priest.
"…Ferdinand, I wasn't told about this."
"Huh? What exactly did Lord Ferdinand discuss with you?"
"There was a more urgent matter than the chef."
The Chief Priest tapped his temple while saying, "The deadline has passed anyway. There shouldn't be any problem with taking him back," as he looked between me and Sylvester.
I had no problem, but Sylvester apparently did.
"No. His cooking has finally become stable. Give me an extension."
"No. I can't extend any further. The Italian restaurant won't be able to open."
When Sylvester and I glared at each other, the Chief Priest said, "Call the chef here." He suggested it so casually, as if just letting the man choose would solve everything, but there was no way a mere chef could refuse a lord's orders.
When Hugo was brought in, his face was ashen. A chef was a commoner laborer — they were never brought into a noble's room. Just as
"I bid you greetings."
"Your Grace."
Hugo was spoken to as he knelt, his head bowed. I couldn't see his expression.
"You — would you like to become a court chef? If we were to offer to keep you employed here at the castle, what would you say?"
"…That is…"
The moment Hugo hesitated rather than accepting with delight, I interpreted it as a refusal.
"My adoptive father, Hugo is merely on loan from the
When I said this, Sylvester shrugged slightly without breaking his lordly composure.
"Hmm. What a shame. I suppose I'll just have to dine at your restaurant."
"I eagerly await your patronage."
Having decided to take Hugo back by carriage, I bid farewell to the lord alongside Hugo and exited.
The moment we left the room, Hugo let out a quiet breath.
"Lady Rozemyne, thank you so much. I have someone I want to marry, so becoming a court chef permanently would have been a bit of a problem."
Last year's Star Festival he had been running around carrying tau fruit, and it seemed he had finally found a girlfriend. That meant he would want to return to the lower town as soon as possible. Since there was basically no means of communication between the Noble District and the lower town, it would be far more difficult than a long-distance relationship.
"So, after you get married, will you move to the Noble District?"
"…It depends on her, but if possible…"
With a dreamy smile, Hugo murmured that after the next Star Festival, becoming a court chef might not be so bad.
More tasks piled on. This new task is like teaching herbivorous animals how to hunt. He's quite the small fry, but will I manage to bring him down?
Next time: the Italian restaurant opens.