Chapter 20: Fluvia Speaks to Father

I’ve managed to compose myself after my escapade.

After I had opened up the secret passage, my thoughts became a complete mess.

There was a narrow passageway behind the door with a few stacks of books covered in dust and cobwebs.

The passageway was fairly short, about the length of a bed and a half, and it opened up into fairly narrow storage room that had a bookshelf full of old, dusty books, and piles of books on the floor.

Perhaps the room was narrow but long with quite a bit that I hadn’t been able to see at the entrance, but I highly doubted there was anything but books in that area.

I had seen the skittering of a few rat-like creatures, but that wasn’t what had terrified me so badly.

The Fluvia Sensor had intensified to an alarming degree.

Sir Edgar, even when he approached me before the Sensor had stopped sounding, didn’t make it so intolerable.

If I hadn’t been stubborn by nature, hating to just do what I was told, I would have irresistibly walked in to take hold of whatever was there, like some mindless idiot.

Instead that compulsion, plus my terror towards losing control over myself, made me feel so nauseous and disoriented that I automatically fled.

Thank god for my survival instincts.

Anyway, while dully listening to Mary lecture me, I managed to calm down and the clammy, cold sweat feel gradually subsided.

I still wasn’t able to stomach much of my lunch, though.

I don’t think I will ever return to that cellar. I’m too scared to see if the feeling went back to its normal ‘look at me look at me!’ feeling, or if it will forever stay at the ‘obey me immediately’ level.

I lucked out that my body reacted in the correct way, regardless of the confusion in my mind. I’m not willing to see if it will happen again.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I wait for Mother and Father to come by for tea.

I lucked out and made it back past the point of no return.

I had that kind of feeling, of a war hero who returned home after years of warring.

“Fluvia dear-! Mother missed you-!”

“Fluvia-! Father’s come to see you-!”

Today it’s just Mother and Father? Fedor is…?

“Brother?”

“Ah, Fedor is working hard. Even though I said it’s fine if he didn’t work so hard every day…”

“Fufufu, my dear Estella, wouldn’t it be good if he became a magic knight? He’s doing well! Discipline is good too.”

Uwah. Some rather good words I never thought he’d say came from Father.

Different from Mother, Father is full-heartedly supporting Brother’s efforts, huh?

But… ‘discipline is good’, huh?

And who was it who initially got angry when he heard that Instructor Dale was forcing Brother to train even though Brother cried about it and didn’t want to do it …?

Although you might say that Father is maturing, I think it’s actually Brother who is maturing under Instructor Dale’s influence.

If Brother seriously didn’t want to do it, then Father would have fired Instructor Dale rather than supporting his actions for Brother’s benefit.

While I’m thinking like that, Mother pouts.

“But it’s been a while since we’ve all been together…”

“Haha, but Fedor said he had to keep it up himself, right? Although I don’t know what he means by ‘heroes never give up’.”

See? Mother might coddle us, but Father is the one who truly dotes on all our whims.

But… so Fedor really took all my hero stories so seriously…

He’s way too easily influenced -! And to a degree where he’s gritting his teeth and completely ignoring his first 4 years of complete indulgence-!

Like this, I really can’t let any gold-digging women around my precious brother, can I?!

Tch.

Villainess Rival, you want to date my brother? Let’s see if you can get by this Sister-in-Law-sama first!

“I’ll be getting out soon, right? So let’s make our first time all together at home-!”

Although I say that, rather than home, it will be our estate in the Capital. Don’t mind the details.

“Oh, Fluvia-!”

“Fluvia dear is right, my dear Estella. Let’s have the biggest welcoming party, all together-!”

After that, my parents went into a frenzy, planning for the party.

Erm… this is just a party to welcome the sick daughter home, right?

Why is it beginning to sound like a coronation for royalty?

“F-fluvia thinks that quieter would be a little better…”

I can’t help but say.

“Hm… if Fluvia says so…”

“Eh? But more festivities would be better…”

Father, it’s just you who wants the festivities, right?!

Jeez, these two baka-parents.

After I manage to calm them down, Father suddenly asks,

“Say, Fluvia dear, is you business going alright?”

“Hm? Yes, Father. Why do you ask?”

I honestly have no idea why he’s asking.

“That is… well, that Apprentice is very… clumsy.”

Father knits his brows together.

What he means is, Sir Edgar is no good, huh?

I guess I should have expected the rumors to reach Father.

“Eh? That hopeless man is handling Fluvia’s business? Didn’t Bolther say that everything he let him do was being ruined? Dear, let Bolther take over-!”

Mother grips onto Father’s sleeve, her face white as a sheet, like she had just heard I had a relapse or something.

Hmph.

Although I had mixed feelings after the cellar incident, I had once again made up my mind to keep Sir Edgar as long as he wasn’t going to be a bad influence.

The difference in the intensity of the Fluvia Sensor also made me think that Sir Edgar is just a small role in whatever the Sensor’s playing at.

If I’m careful, perhaps I can change his meaning in being the Dellarose Steward.

I mean, to let such a good talent to get away on a ‘maybe’ feeling… well, I’ll throw him out if I sense anything remotely wrong, though.

I mean, a maybe feeling is still better than a definite fail in Bolther.

If he had been involved with the strange numbers in our taxes for 10 years, a stroke from over half a year ago isn’t the problem for his disloyalty here.

Hm? I should doubt Sir Edgar a bit more?

Uh, the Royal Reserve’s seal was on the documents, though… and like, if he’s actually hopeless and a dunce like the rumors say, can he still put on such a convincing performance in front of me?

Any way I look at it, Bolther is still the more suspicious one.

So looks like I have to do a little work here for his sake…

“But Sir Edgar was really smart? Why do you say he’s clumsy?”

I said, tilting my head childishly.

Of course this won’t convince Father, but let’s just see how things play out.

“Hahaha… so Fluvia dear thinks he’s smart, huh? Hm… Well, Bolther says he’s hopeless?”

So it’s still ‘because Bolther said’, huh? If that’s all Father is going off, then…

“Eh? Then who picked him as Apprentice Steward?”

“Ah… Bolther did… see, but now after trying him out, Bolther says he’s no good.”

“Bolther should have noticed before he hired him, then?”

I wrinkled my nose, like I smelt something bad.

I did, but it’s not an actual smell that’s ‘bad’.

“Hahaha, well, Edgar was supposed to be a young genius in the Stewards Academy. Can’t be helped that Bolther got tricked.”

“Then… the Stewards Academy is hopeless.”

I sigh.

“Nono, that’s not it at all, it’s just … a special case!”

“But for him to be called a genius, that means a lot of people at the Academy think that-!”

“Th-that’s… well, anyway, these things can sometimes happen!”

… I didn’t mean to make Father sweat like that, but… haa… Well, I mean, if you’re questioning the Royal Authority of an Academy, it can get a bit… risky.

“Hmph. But if they say a hopeless man is a genius, I mean, an Academy that’s all about teaching people how to manage other people making such a mistake.”

Mother sniffed, looking irritated.

“W-well … that’s…”

Fufu, now Mother’s jumped on board with me.

“So other than Bo – Sir Bolther, who says Sir Edgar’s hopeless?”

“W-who… well, some of the servants say that Bolther’s complaining about Edgar too.”

Father’s too honest. And you didn’t think about questioning something like that?

“Eh? So only Sir Bolther says Sir Edgar is hopeless? But everyone at the Academy doesn’t?”

“Th-that’s…”

Father hesitates.

“Then why doesn’t he fire Sir Edgar?”

“Well… the longer Edgar apprentices, the harder it gets to let him go, since he gets to know more and more about our House’s secret information.”

“Oh, so Sir Bolther only realized it too late.”

“That’s…”

Father falls silent suddenly, his brows knitting together violently.

Fufufu. So Bolther started complaining right away.

“Well, I get it~ since a Steward wouldn’t want to admit making a mistake with choosing people. But if he realized it, he should have acted right away, if he really wants to select a good successor, right? It’s not like he’s hoping we get a bad Steward for the future, right?”

Father still hasn’t said anything.

It takes a bit to get them going, but he has SOME cogs turning in his head, it seems.

“Well, I thought Sir Bolther was bullying Sir Edgar. Since he bullied Mary.”

“Bullying?”

“What?! Bullying Mary… she’s not our servant, but she’s YOUR attendant-!”

Unlike Father, who didn’t seem to get it, Mother seems indignant.

She grew to like Mary somewhat, who would trade tips with Beth and help her wait on Mother hand and foot.

Even though it’s just a ‘kind of’ like, Mother is a woman with extreme reactions.

Mary, on the other hand, got startled, then kind of looked like she wanted to disappear.

Sorry. It’s important.

“Yeah-! She was sent out of the room really rudely.”

“A-ah… well, if it’s sensitive information about our House…”

Father looks like he can’t decide if Bolther was in the right or the wrong.

“But, I mean, he treated her like a … dog!”

I almost said ‘slave’, but that word has different impressions in this world, it seems.

“Anyway, as long as he isn’t purposefully trying to ruin Sir Edgar’s reputation, it’s fine… I’m sure other people who work with Sir Edgar will eventually agree with Sir Bolther? Ah, but Sir Bolther should really make up his mind about what he wants to do with Sir Edgar. Just complaining without doing anything… no Steward would do that-!”

I giggle like it’s funny.

In the end, Father doesn’t say a word more, leaving the rest of the time for Mother-Daughter bonding time.

Are-? I didn’t think it would be that effective.

Looks like, although he couldn’t put it into word or thought, Father’s felt something funny about how our House’s Stewards are acting.

Before Mother and Father left, I said,

“Father, can we give Sir Edgar one more chance? We can use my business as his chance! Then, if Sir Bolther still won’t do anything about Sir Edgar, then YOU will have the evidence you need to do what you have to-!”

“A chance… is it?”

“Un! Can I borrow a guard? He can report to me what Sir Edgar’s doing. See? Then we can see what he does!”

“Hm… Alright! I don’t think that’s too bad.”

Father chuckles, rubbing my head affectionately.

I know that, although there are some things Father is now suspicious of, he’s not really taking my suggestion that seriously.

After all, he can’t fire Sir Edgar just because I said so. More like, he’s just letting me do as a I please to humor me.

Like, ‘Daughter is taking an interest in my work, so I’ll let her scribble on some paper and pretend that she’s helping’, that kind of feeling?

Like I said.

Father dotes on both Brother and me.