Chapter 45
#45 Servant Cedric (Cedric) (11) - Things Drawn to Flowers
“Lady Toria. Have you heard the news from Eched Territory?”
“Eched? That’s a name I’ve never heard before.”
“Y-yes, the place where the youngest of the Redvel marquis family is staying.”
“Ah, I see. That place. Did something happen there?”
“Well, you see—”
Talk of Eched Territory spread quickly throughout the Kingdom of Birca.
It was already noteworthy that the Redvel family’s delinquent young lady had driven out the lord’s deputy and taken the position herself, but hearing that she was even using the family’s secret art to implement new policies made it impossible not to be interested.
Some people focused on how effective the delinquent young lady’s policies were, while others mocked her for using the family’s secret art for something so trivial.
The other children of Marquis Redvel were not pleased by any of it.
“Is Claudia out of her mind? I’m so embarrassed I can’t even show my face these days!!”
Mira Redvel, the marquis’s third child and the only daughter left by his first wife, snapped in a sharp voice.
Ervin Redvel, the second son, also flushed red and chimed in.
“Damn it. That brat is making the family a disgrace in every possible way! How can she even think of using the family’s secret art for something so lowly? Does she not have the bare minimum of dignity and pride a noble should have?”
A family’s secret art is both a symbol that proclaims its identity and history, and a weapon that brings real benefits.
Efficient mana cultivation methods, advanced swordsmanship, and spells no one else knows can widen the gap between you and everyone else simply by being in your possession.
Among such secret arts, the Redvel family’s Blood Beasts belonged to a particularly excellent and powerful class.
Strictly speaking, they were classified as magic, but there was no problem using Blood Beasts even if the owner was not a mage, and their strength even grew along with the owner’s skill.
They could be handled as easily as well-trained hunting dogs, there was no need to worry about betrayal, and even if they died, they could be replenished given enough time—where else could there be such a convenient servant?
For Ervin, who had finally succeeded after all kinds of effort in creating a creature as powerful as a knight capable of using sword aura, the mere fact that his powerful servant was lumped into the same category as Claudia’s mutts was enough to make his blood boil.
“Hmm.”
Among the younger siblings who kept hurling all kinds of criticism and condemnation at Claudia, the eldest son Armin Redvel remained silent, as if lost in thought.
Whether he disliked the eldest son’s attitude or not, the two younger siblings vented their complaints.
“Brother, say something too. Are you really just going to stand by and watch that girl Claudia?”
“If this keeps up, the Redvel name will be dragged through the mud. We need to grab that stupid wench right now and stop that damned nonsense!”
The eldest son looked quietly at their faces, then shrugged.
“I understand what you mean, but what, exactly, do you intend to do about it?”
“Well, we need to tell her to stop what she’s doing right now.”
“Do you think she’d even pretend to listen if we said that?”
At the eldest son’s words, the second son and third daughter fell silent.
Claudia was the youngest, born to a different mother from them, though they shared the same father.
Even if they were bound together by the pretense of being siblings, there was practically no family affection between them; if anything, they were so eager to tear each other apart that they would never listen even if spoken to kindly.
And as for political pressure, that was awkward too, because Claudia’s position as lord was fully official.
It wasn’t as if Claudia had chased out a perfectly normal lord and taken his place; it was more that she had finally begun using something that had always been hers in the first place, so outsiders could gossip all they wanted, but direct orders were difficult.
“There are only two who can give that girl official orders: the royal family and the head of the house. From the royal family’s perspective, though, there’s no need to bother keeping Claudia in check. Claudia doesn’t even have a claim to succession, so she isn’t a rival, and for them she’s still part of Redvel blood—if her influence within Redvel grows, that’s beneficial to them rather than harmful.”
“Then does that mean we need the head of the house to step in?”
Even the eldest son and the second son called Marquis Redvel the head of the house instead of calling him “father.”
That was how distant and difficult he was to them.
“Yes. If he thinks Claudia’s actions are bothersome, then there’s no need for us to step in at all; the head of the house will sort it out himself.”
The third daughter narrowed her eyes and asked,
“And if he doesn’t step in?”
“Then it means he found enough value in Claudia to leave her alone. He might even be backing that girl. He’s not exactly stingy when it comes to investment, is he?”
After checking the younger siblings’ faces as they twisted in a way that was almost amusing, the eldest son shook his head.
“In any case, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything we can do by stepping in ourselves. Still, don’t worry too much. I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.”
“…Yes.”
“I hope it works out like you said, brother.”
The eldest son patted the two on the shoulders, then turned his back and left the room.
And then he thought to himself.
‘Mira and Ervin hate Claudia and their stepmother to an extreme degree. They’d already dislike the idea of Claudia gaining power, but if they thought the head of the house might show interest in her, they absolutely wouldn’t be able to sit still.’
Armin had said,
that there was no way to stop Claudia through official means.
In other words, if they used unofficial means, they could stop her however much they wanted.
For example, by physically threatening Claudia’s safety so that she’d be forced to pull back the Blood Beasts serving as her escorts.
Of course, that would be an incredibly short-sighted move.
It was also a method Armin himself would never use.
However, his younger siblings were different.
‘What adorable little siblings they are.’
You can’t love a rival who threatens your own position.
But loving those who are lacking compared to you is not that difficult.
Therefore, the eldest son Armin loved his two younger siblings.
And he also loved his youngest sibling, who alone openly displayed hostility toward him.
At least, that was true for now.
‘I do hope you stay a lovely little sibling, youngest.’
***
Eched Territory lord’s manor.
Claudia Redvel, the topic of everyone’s attention, was attempting a very cautious and secretive rendezvous.
“…The item?”
“Here it is.”
The suspicious dealer… no, the maid Neria, who had recently grown especially close to Claudia, held out an object to Claudia, thoroughly wrapped in cloth.
Claudia said.
“You weren’t caught, right?”
“I got it while Cedric was away shopping. I also kept it completely secret from everyone else.”
“You worked hard. I’ll repay you later.”
“I hope your plan succeeds. Then I’ll be off.”
After casting sharp glances around as if drunk on the atmosphere, Neria slipped away, muffling her footsteps like some assassin.
Watching her go, Claudia locked the bedroom door and carefully unfolded the cloth bundle Neria had given her.
Inside was a book.
[Roses and Pocket Watches - How Did Lady Roselia Capture the Dignified Servant?]
Seeing the title engraved on the cover, Claudia swallowed hard.
And then, with trembling hands, she began to open the book.
You might think she was making a fuss over a romance novel, but Claudia was serious in her own way.
‘Somehow, if I just stay like this, it feels like Cedric will leave. Before that happens, I have to find a way.’
The term of her contract with Cedric was three months.
What had once seemed trivial was now extremely irritating to Claudia.
Wasn’t that basically saying there’d be no way to keep him once those three months were over?
Of course, logically speaking, once the contract ended, they could simply make a new one.
The ‘Lady of Redvel,’ who was on the rise in the Kingdom of Birca even if she wasn’t yet a true power player, was trying to keep him with promises of good treatment; there wouldn’t be a servant who’d refuse that.
But Claudia knew.
That Cedric was not a man you could ever judge by common sense.
He would work if he wanted to work, and leave if he no longer wanted to work.
And money or power would never, ever keep him tied down.
Therefore, the third method was what Claudia was aiming for.
‘The point is, Cedric just has to fall for me, right?’
Of course, that wasn’t an easy road either.
The biggest problem was that Claudia had no idea how to win a man’s heart.
That was because, for her, attention from the opposite sex was not something she had to struggle to obtain—it was simply something that was “naturally given.”
Beauty like a flower bud that had yet to bloom, and all the more promising because of it.
The social standing of being a Redvel family young lady, and the vast wealth that came with it.
The men Claudia met all tried their best to win her favor, and until she went wild as a delinquent, that had been as natural as everyday life.
Where on earth would she have learned how to flirt with men?
Claudia needed a textbook to make up for what she lacked, and the one she chose was this romance novel, which had recently become very popular among the kingdom’s young ladies.
Flap. Flap.
Roselia, a noble young lady born of noble blood and raised as precious as a rose in a greenhouse.
Clark, the servant who, while everyone else doted on her, kept his mistress bewildered with behavior that swung between arrogance, rudeness, and courtesy.
At first, Claudia had been intrigued by the setup, which matched her and Cedric so perfectly it was almost as if the story had been written about them, but as the story went on she could only grow more and more discouraged.
‘…This servant is supposed to be really popular among noble ladies, but is he really that popular?’
A cool, sharp beauty reminiscent of a finely honed blade?
Not as good as Cedric, who was gentle like a puppy yet sometimes showed unexpected sides.
Work that was artistic and perfect to the point of seeming measured with a ruler?
Based on the descriptions in the book, he seemed to be about 0.6 Cedric.
A beastlike ferocity, growling without hesitation even at a noble lady?
Even that was only puppy level compared with Cedric, who had flat-out shot back at his own mistress, “Comparing you to a dog would be an insult to dogs, you bitch.”
On top of that, the setup was far too contrived.
For the servant to actually be a noble—moreover, the third son of the Northern Grand Duke.
At least the author seemed to have enough sense not to stuff in any rightful-heir nonsense, but even so, strange points remained. Honestly, what on earth would someone of that status be lacking that they’d want to work as a servant?
Unless they were the sort of person with such a bizarre inner world that they could enjoy being someone else’s servant as if it were a hobby—in plain terms, a lunatic.
“Hoo. This isn’t helping.”
In the end, Claudia closed the book she had been reading.
As a simple entertainment novel, it was decent enough that she might read it again later, but at least as a textbook for winning over Cedric, it was utterly useless.
Maybe I should ask Neria to get me a new book next time.
Just as Claudia was thinking that and was about to turn off the lamp lighting her bedroom,
Click.
Someone turned the bedroom doorknob.
Claudia froze reflexively.
The night was already deep.
For someone to come to a noble lady’s bedroom at all was outrageous rudeness that could give rise to all kinds of scandal.
Much less if they tried to intrude by turning the doorknob without even knocking—that was outright sacrilege, the sort of thing that would leave you unable to complain even if your head were cut off.
Claudia felt something cold crawling up her spine.
Her brain spun furiously.
Whether to hold her breath quietly or make a commotion.
She considered which course was more correct, and if whatever was standing at the door really was the ‘thing’ she had in mind, what situation they would most want to avoid.
She acted.
-Woof! Woof-woof! Grrr!
The Blood Beast summoned beside her began growling loudly and barking furiously.
A racket that would echo through every corner of the lord’s manor.
Crash!
A moment later, her bedroom door flew off its hinges.
What burst into the room were three assassins swathed in cloth as black as pitch.
After swiftly cutting down the Blood Beast that was barking raucously, they immediately began searching the room.
It was a race: would they find Claudia hiding somewhere in the bedroom first, or would the others arrive after seeing the signal Claudia had sent?
But unfortunately for Claudia, the assassins’ preparations were even more thorough than she had expected.
When one assassin took out a sheet of parchment and tore it apart, the light bursting from it shot straight toward Claudia.
Claudia, hidden in the blind spot beside the bedroom door, dashed out the moment she realized she’d been found, and the assassins chased after her.
The very instant the assassins’ hands were about to reach Claudia.
“Sorry I’m late, miss.”
The moment that familiar voice rang in her ear, Claudia’s body suddenly lifted into the air.
Claudia couldn’t fully grasp what happened after that.
For a few seconds, everything in her vision kept spinning wildly, and the sound of someone being kicked and sent flying rang out.
Only after her shaky vision finally stopped did Claudia fully understand her situation, and her face flushed bright red.
Cedric.
Because he was carrying her princess-style in his arms.
“H-hey, l-let go of me!?”
“I was about to let you go anyway. The enemies have already been dealt with.”
“Huh?”
At the mention of being let go, Claudia, who had been thrashing about in embarrassment, suddenly went quiet.
Rolling her eyes around, she said,
“...I still don’t know whether it’s safe, so wait a little.”
“It’s safe, though?”
“I said wait.”