Chapter 47
#47 Servant Cedric (13) - Redbell's Invitation
Though their father had called them idiots, objectively speaking, second son Ervin and third daughter Mira were not that incompetent.
Compared with most nobles scattered across the Kingdom of Birka, who were, quite literally, trash with nothing to boast about beyond their bloodlines, the two of them could at least properly manage their own domains, and each had made a fair name for themselves in swordsmanship or in social circles.
It was true that they had made several mistakes out of carelessness and impatience, but at the very least, they were not fools incapable of realizing that if they failed to bring Claudia down right now, they would be the ones brought down instead.
So they had prepared thoroughly.
Rank 4. Four fighters who, in other territories, could even serve as the knight representing an entire domain. And nearly thirty more experts on par with Rank 3, prepared to support them.
They also provided a number of scrolls, each one unbelievably useful—darkvision, target detection, noise suppression, and more.
They practically doused one merchant guild with piles of gold coins, forcibly dragging it into their camp.
Compared to Redbell as a whole, it was only a drop in the bucket, but for the siblings, who had not yet fully inherited that power, it was an investment so enormous it was practically like cutting off an arm.
Indeed.
At least, they had done everything they could within their means.
But.
The world sometimes deals out irrational calamities that human effort simply can't do anything about.
“Welcome! Everyone. I've prepared rooms in the underground prison, so please go right in!”
The assassins met a clear-eyed madman!
The assassins' vision went black!
***
Capital of the Aizeurn Empire, Kalastia. Gold Cloud Palace.
“Oh? You brought a lot of scrolls of fairly decent quality. If we add in the amount squeezed out of the merchant house that colluded with them, the domain's finances should be fine for a while.”
Lucidra looked at the crown prince, who was grinning as he reviewed the spoils, with a delicate, hard-to-describe gaze.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Didn't you say you would be devoting yourself to this performance with complete thoroughness?”
The crown prince looked puzzled.
“Am I not devoting myself to it? This time, your natural way of speaking hasn't slipped out once, and I haven't shown any abilities that don't fit the role either.”
“No, no, no.”
Lucidra waved her hands emphatically.
“Your way of speaking may be as you said, but your abilities are full of problems no matter how you look at it.”
What kind of servant in the world single-handedly beats down assassins wielding sword aura, lays out development policies for a territory, and meddles in administrative efficiency?
Isn't that a serious violation of the identity of a servant?
At Lucidra's entirely justified protest, the crown prince answered with a far too serious expression.
“That is because he is a servant.”
A brief silence fell.
Lucidra blinked a couple of times, then asked again.
“What?”
“Haha, it seems you don't know much about how the world works. I understand. It's only natural, considering how long you were sealed away.”
The crown prince went on in a calm tone, like a teacher instructing ignorant children.
“If there is any being in this world closest to the word 'omnipotent,' it would be a butler or a maid. Mastering housework is the bare minimum; they have to excel at cooking and tea service, be able to drive, use swords and magic, slice through buildings with wire, and sometimes even stop time. Cedric may not have earned the honored title of butler, but a butler is, broadly speaking, still a kind of servant. So Cedric showing all sorts of abilities is no problem at all. It doesn't go against the concept.”
“……?”
Lucidra tilted her head to the side.
She wondered whether there might be some profound and philosophical meaning behind what she had just heard, and soon reached a conclusion.
“That's just bullshit.”
“Heh-heh, covering your lack of understanding with harsh language isn't a very good habit.”
“No, it's bullshit!! Do you think anything becomes true just because you say it with a convincing face and voice!?”
“Don't raise your voice. Soundproofing is basic, yes, but did you forget that the moment we're found out, your head flies off?”
“Aaaaaagh!”
Lucidra screamed while wildly messing up her hair.
It was so frustrating that she couldn't share this suffocating feeling with anyone.
The women who keep falling for this man need to see this!
After huffing and puffing for a long while, Lucidra narrowed her eyes and stared fixedly at the crown prince as she said,
“Even if I concede a hundred steps—no, ten thousand steps—and say that's true, you do know that being a jack-of-all-trades isn't free, right?”
The crown prince is a superhuman.
To the point that he can turn the ridiculous bullshit he himself claims into reality.
However, his avatar, Cedric, is different.
If he had specialized by limiting his abilities, like the previous avatar, the adventurer Bern, that would be one thing, but Cedric had spread his abilities across many areas, so the peak of each individual one could only be lower.
And yet, Cedric was clearly showing performance that surpassed that peak.
“That avatar won't last long. Well, it isn't suddenly breaking apart like last time, so the backlash is smaller too... Still, 'Cedric' is going to disappear.”
“It doesn't matter.”
The crown prince declared without hesitation.
“Cedric has already fulfilled a large part of the role I originally decided on. Claudia's greatest weapon as a lord is improved public order and the support of her people that comes with it. The more she grows her forces, the wider her influence spreads, and the more the Kingdom of Birka's rotten situation will improve little by little. And the gift for that is almost finished too.”
Of course, even if it had the power of a 'gift,' Claudia alone would not be able to change the entire Kingdom of Birka.
Even if she rose to the pinnacle of Redbell and seized all of that sphere of influence in her hands, there were still areas in the kingdom that Redbell's influence barely reached.
Places so atrocious that even a cursory look made Redbell seem decent by comparison.
The crown prince planned to tear those down as well, but at the very least, that was not the role of 'Servant Cedric.'
“Besides, Cedric had to disappear anyway. Capable people grow an organization, but they also define its limits. To keep Eched and Claudia from becoming people who can do nothing without me, Cedric has to leave.”
Though Cedric seemed to be involved in every major and minor matter of the territory, in truth the time he spent out in front was steadily decreasing.
As for the territorial reform, he had only created the environment and systems for people to work efficiently, while keeping his direct involvement in other people's work to a minimum. That way, the territory would keep running smoothly even after he was gone.
“Hm.”
Lucidra gave an indifferent snort.
She understood the crown prince's big picture, but would that spoiled young lady really keep moving as he intended even after the servant she was obsessed with left?
“Then how about we make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“When 'Servant Cedric' ends the contract and leaves, do you think that spoiled young lady will obediently keep acting as lord, or not? I'm betting she won't.”
“Then I'm betting she will. Fine, I'll accept.”
“Loser has to grant the winner's wish?”
“We'll need a contract to clearly define how victory and defeat are judged, as well as the scope of the wish. Should I prepare about thirty pages first?”
“You bastard... more devil than the devil himself... no, just a crown prince bastard...”
***
Claudia Redbell had been in an excellent mood lately.
“Their trump card for dealing with me failed, so by now they must be shaking all over. Serves them right.”
These were the people who, while her mother was alive, had watched her from afar and, after her death, had continued with blatant interference and harassment.
Even when the names of those two people came out of the assassins' mouths, she felt not shock but first and foremost, 'as expected,' so family affection was practically zero.
So what should she do next?
If it had been the old her, she would have immediately started thinking about sending assassins too, but the current her, who had learned many things from Cedric, was different.
“Publicly exposing them would hit the hardest, but if it looks like Redbell's name might get stained, that man will step in. Hm, if I threaten them with public exposure and squeeze them for everything... ah, no. Maybe I should just take a ransom and send them back? If they accept, I can drain their money and interests, and if they refuse, I might be able to win over the dogs their master threw away. Yes, that seems better.”
She was lost in those pleasant thoughts for only a moment.
When Claudia answered the knock at the door to her office, the chief butler, Vestian, soon said with a grave expression,
“My lord. The marquess has invited you to the main house. He sent word through a messenger that, since it has been a while, he would like the family to gather and enjoy a meal together. This is the invitation.”
“What?”
Claudia's face, which had been full of cheerful smiles, turned to bewilderment.
A family dinner? Since when had Redbell ever been such a warm, affectionate family?
Claudia hurriedly broke the seal on the invitation and checked its contents.
[Claudia. Seeing you return to the right path after wandering astray and make a name for yourself fills me with uncontainable joy as your father. Since the family is gathering to talk after a long time, I hope you will be sure to attend, even if you're busy.]
A letter that had stripped away as much as possible of the flowery rhetoric typical of nobles, and really did seem like a father rejoicing over his daughter's reform.
The moment she realized the handwriting was the marquess of Redbell's own, Claudia felt a chill run down her spine and goosebumps rise on her skin.
An assassin's death threat would probably feel less unpleasant than this.
“This... I guess I can't skip it, can I?”
At Claudia's near-clinging words, Vestian answered with a reluctant expression.
“You already know the answer, my lady.”
“Yeah, that's right.”
Claudia let out a deep sigh.
It was true that she had been doing fairly well lately, but that was only possible because she held the position of 'lord of Eched Territory.'
The one who actually holds sway over Eched and the various lands Redbell owns is none other than the marquess of Redbell.
If he were to take the lordship title back from Claudia, everything she had built would be thrown back into the mud then and there.
Of course, in a vassal relationship, territorial rule is not something you can so easily grant and take back, but enough power can make even the impossible possible.
Claudia chose to think positively about the situation.
'Right, I need to settle this with that man anyway, if only so my worth is acknowledged and I won't be easily sold off.'
In a way, the very fact that they were summoning her like this was proof that the marquess was also interested in what Claudia had been doing, wasn't it?
She reflexively tried to call for Cedric, but then hesitated when she saw Vestian's face right beside her.
Because she remembered the advice she had received from Cedric.
'He told me to think about the feelings of the other retainers and servants too.'
It was something he had said because she kept leaving the head chef out and asking Cedric to cook instead.
At the time, Cedric had scolded her with an unusually serious look, so Claudia had to spend the entire day utterly deflated.
“Ahem. Vestian?”
“Yes, my lady?”
“I want to leave the selection of who goes to the main house to you. Can you handle that?”
Vestian's eyes widened in surprise for a moment.
Then a faint smile appeared on his lips as he said,
“Leave it to me, my lady. I will prepare the best possible lineup—one that can balance your safety with the management of the territory left behind.”
“R-right.”
Seeing how clearly he was burning with enthusiasm, Claudia felt a pang of guilt for no real reason and turned her gaze out the window.
All while thinking once again that Cedric's words were never wrong.
***
“—Claudia. The royal family says they want to arrange a marriage for you. What do you think?”