Chapter 52
#Chapter 52: Servant Cedric (Cedric) (18) - A Noble Young Lady's Lucky Day
Cedric thought.
‘My physical condition is a mess.’
His whole body felt heavy, as though lead weights had been attached to it, and his arms and legs went numb at the most unexpected times.
His five senses, which he always kept razor-sharp, had dulled so badly that he could barely maintain an ordinary person's level without supplementing them with mana.
Without a doubt, his body was racing toward ruin.
In a way, it was only natural.
During the assassination attempt on Claudia, the force he had brought to bear had been roughly at the mid-fourth rank.
It was power that a combat-specialized double like the adventurer Vern could use without difficulty, but for Cedric, whose pursuit of versatility had lowered the peak of each individual ability, it was strength that demanded he brace for enormous backlash.
His body had already accumulated considerable strain at that point, and afterward he had used more magical power than he was permitted to.
Armin Redbell's surveillance had been as persistent as his personality, so to catch him off guard while completely evading his underlings' eyes, Cedric had needed to combine and use quite a variety of spells.
Even as he clearly perceived every component of his mana-constructed body creaking and screaming, Cedric did not hesitate to smile.
‘Still, it's fortunate that the end of the contract isn't far off.’
This body was not his true body to begin with.
Even if it self-destructed, that would be far from death, and unless it was suddenly destroyed by an outside force as Vern had been, he could minimize the backlash transferred to his true body.
If he had to name a source of concern, it was merely the possibility that he might fail to fulfill his role as ‘Servant Cedric,’ but fortunately, judging from his current condition, he seemed capable of holding out through the remaining period.
“Cough! Cough! Tsk. That almost got on my clothes.”
Despite wryly smiling at the sudden spurt of blood, Cedric soon tidied himself up perfectly and continued on his way.
Since his senses had been greatly dulled by the side effects, he failed to notice
that a certain maid was watching him in horror.
***
Sometimes, one wakes up feeling good for no particular reason.
For Claudia, today was exactly such a day.
Perhaps the maids helping her get ready for the morning sensed it too, because the maid brushing Claudia's hair spoke up.
“You seem to be in a good mood today, young lady.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes. Did something good happen?”
“Not really. I just feel strangely well today.”
Laughter bloomed warmly amid idle small talk entirely free of tension.
Watching the maids' smiling faces reflected in the mirror, Claudia thought to herself.
‘If this had been before, they would have been frozen stiff and done nothing but work like dolls.’
Only a few months ago, the maids voluntarily attempting ordinary conversation with Claudia would have been unthinkable.
The moment Claudia's mood turned sour, a slap would come flying, so what maid would be bold enough to speak casually?
‘What a foolish thing I did.’
Just because she herself was suffering and miserable did not justify taking her anger out on other people.
Servants were not objects she could handle and dispose of as she pleased, but human beings who bled and felt pain just as she did.
Establishing authority as a noble was different from inflicting wanton harm, and as proof, even while chatting like this, the servants' efficiency had not declined; it had actually improved.
These were facts she had not known before—or had known but deliberately ignored.
‘I feel sorry all over again….’
Of course, she had already apologized for her past wrongs and offered monetary compensation, but the guilt in Claudia's heart would not disappear all at once.
All the more because she knew that while some servants had sincerely accepted her apology, others had accepted it only because her status left them no choice.
She would have to make up for this lingering guilt slowly over a long time.
Breakfast time.
The chef, who had recently worked himself to the bone to improve his skills, served Claudia a fairly familiar meal.
“Omurice and hamburger steak?”
“It took me quite some time to make what I learned from Cedric my own cooking. Please savor it.”
Claudia took a bite of the omurice covered in a deep brown sauce rather than the red sauce Cedric usually served and gave a small nod.
‘This is pretty good in its own way.’
Unlike what she had eaten before, the sauce had a stronger, deeper flavor and a more mature feel.
As far as Claudia's personal tastes went, she preferred Cedric's work, but perhaps the other nobles would like this version better.
Cedric's hamburger steak had originally been one large lump, whereas the chef's came in the shape of round little balls, each bite-sized.
They were easier to eat with a fork, and the taste was not bad either.
“Good. It's tasty.”
At Claudia's single comment, the chef's tension, which had kept his entire body rigid, relaxed, and a happy smile appeared on his face.
She wondered if he was not being excessively delighted over something she had not even said particularly remarkable, but she also felt sorry for him, thinking how little recognition he must normally receive from her to react that way.
In this spacious mansion, it could hardly have been difficult to say that food made exclusively for her tasted good.
When she went out into the garden, she saw several servants tending to the Blood Demon Beasts.
More precisely, they looked less like they were tending them and more like they were playing together.
“Here! Go fetch! That's it! Good job!”
“Paw! Paw! Tsk, why won't you listen to me?”
“Isn't that all a matter of skill?”
“What? Hey! Switch! Let's switch the ones we're assigned to and try it!”
“Now, now, I merely stated the truth. Why are you getting so worked up?”
Leaving the servants, who had begun growling at one another despite not being dogs themselves, to their own devices, the two Blood Demon Beasts the size of small dogs yawned lazily.
Considering that these had once been servants who trembled at the mere sight of a Blood Demon Beast's shadow from far away, it was an astonishing change indeed.
Of course, one could not exactly treat a gigantic monster that could give a lion a run for its money and a dog shorter than one's knee the same way….
‘Have they forgotten that the Blood Demon Beasts they're playing with right now have drops of my blood inside them?’
Claudia did not always share in real time everything the Blood Demon Beasts saw and felt.
However, when she and the relevant Blood Demon Beasts came face-to-face, she could receive their experiences as impressions conveyed through their will.
Conversely, she could give the Blood Demon Beasts somewhat complicated commands for an ordinary dog, such as ‘In this situation, do this,’ or ‘At times like this, go to such-and-such a building and call someone.’
She had instructed the Blood Demon Beasts now scattered throughout the territory to ‘Teach your offspring what you have learned,’ so even without Claudia personally meeting each one and issuing commands, the security system would be passed down automatically.
Claudia wondered whether to offer the servants a light admonition, but soon decided to remain silent.
To be honest, it was a rather entertaining sight to watch.
-Woof!
-Bark!
Perhaps sensing Claudia's intention, the two Blood Demon Beasts conveyed their will to her: ‘We'll tell you later how they played!’
Claudia left the garden with a smile.
The next place she visited was the lord's office in the manor.
Chief Butler Bestian, now so accustomed to having documents in hand, reported on the state of the territory's administration.
“The number of free people coming into Eched Territory from outside and attempting to settle here is steadily increasing. It seems that the prospect of living in ‘a territory where they do not have to worry about criminals or monster attacks’ is proving a major attraction.”
“Are there any problems with food or territory?”
“Eched Territory had a great deal of land that was unused and left unattended to begin with, so if we gradually accept the immigrants while having them clear farmland, there should be no major problems. The territory's finances are also relatively ample, so if necessary, we have the means to purchase food from outside.”
“I suppose I should thank my older brother and sister. We really did squeeze quite a lot out of them.”
“It was compensation for your life being threatened, after all. I doubt anyone could object if you squeezed them even harder.”
“What are the reactions in Redbell's other territories?”
“Quite a few were bewildered to see you supporting His Highness the king's younger brother rather than His Highness the Second Prince, but relatively few have voiced their displeasure openly. Seeing that the marquis has not imposed any particular sanction on you, the general mood seems to be interpreting this as a kind of ‘putting eggs in different baskets.’”
If they put all their eggs in the Second Prince's basket, they would lose everything the moment the Second Prince was defeated.
But if they put some eggs in the king's younger brother's basket as well, they would have something left even in the worst-case scenario.
Of course, that was only true in theory, and in practice it was a strategy fraught with problems.
Apparently, the Second Prince was already jumping up and down, demanding to know whether she was playing both sides.
The point was that Marquis Redbell did not care what the Second Prince did and barely even dealt with him, leaving only the eldest son, Armin, tormented to the point of going bald.
“To work this hard for his little sister—just as expected of the eldest son.”
Claudia burst out laughing.
Though she had gained some composure and dignity and had become more lenient toward ‘her people,’ her fundamental personality had not vanished without a trace.
That delight in other people's misfortune was the very picture of a villainess.
After looking over paperwork of one kind and another for quite some time, she brought her work to a stopping point and went to find Cedric.
She wanted to drink the black tea he brewed.
“Here you are, young lady.”
A little while after she called for him, Cedric appeared with a serving cart, and Claudia quietly took a sip of the black tea he had brewed.
The technique of lowering the temperature to a drinkable level while preserving as much as possible of the aroma—which normally weakened somewhat once the temperature dropped that far—was something only Cedric could…
“…Huh?”
Feeling a strange incongruity, Claudia tilted her head, then took another sip of the clear orange liquid.
And then she became certain.
‘The aroma is weaker than usual?’
The taste itself on her tongue was not greatly different.
But the aroma, an important element of tea, felt somewhat weaker.
Cedric had said that he used mana somehow to lower the temperature while preserving the aroma so she could fully enjoy it; perhaps that process had not gone well.
Even after tasting the failed attempt, which was less polished than usual, Claudia did not get particularly angry.
No, she was even a little pleased.
Thinking that Cedric could fail at something too made him seem strangely familiar and amusing.
“Good grief, it tastes worse than usual. Have you been letting your guard down too much lately?”
Claudia said to Cedric with a touch of mischief.
She was looking forward to what shameless answer he would throw back at her this time.
But the response she received was unexpected.
Cedric's eyes went wide as if he were genuinely startled, then his face turned somber and he lowered his head.
“…I'm sorry, young lady. I have no excuse.”
“Huh? Oh, ah, no, you don't need to take it so seriously. People make mistakes. You taught me that, didn't you?”
Claudia abandoned her original plan to tease Cedric and hurriedly comforted him.
She had never imagined such a response would come back.
By now, Cedric's existence had become something enormous, inseparable from Claudia's life.
Claudia was not so petty that she would genuinely scold the servant who had changed her life over one small mistake.
That was how things stood—until she heard what Cedric said next.
“I am deeply grateful for your broad generosity, young lady. You have truly grown so much. I think I can now leave with peace of mind.”
“…Leave?”
Claudia muttered the word blankly.
A short while later, her utterly serene expression turned vicious.
“Don't say strange things. Where do you think you're going?”
“The contract period is ending soon.”
“Then we can just renew it!!”
Crash!
The teacup Claudia had dropped shattered with a loud crash.
Yet Claudia did not even glance in that direction.
Her eyes were fixed solely on Cedric.
“Don't go. You're mine. You're my servant. Do you think I'll let you go!?”
“Even if you say that, extending the contract is impossible, young lady.”
“Then why!!”
Bang!
Claudia slammed the table and rose to her feet.
Claudia's blazing eyes and Cedric's calm eyes met in silence.
Cedric was the first to lower his head.
“…You seem somewhat agitated at the moment. I will come see you again later.”
Saying that, Cedric left the room, and Claudia glared fiercely at the door he had gone through before dropping into her chair with an irritated motion.
At that moment, Maid Neria entered to clean up the shards of the broken cup.
After tidying the floor with careful sweeping and mopping, she hesitated, for some reason not leaving immediately.
It was just as Claudia, whose good mood had been rendered meaningless and whose nerves had become razor-sharp, was about to snap at her.
“Um, young lady. Actually─”