Epilogue (2)
“Whoa….”
Tracyana’s face had already turned blue when she got off the carriage.
After riding a carriage for a while, I arrived at Sylvania Academy and the task I received upon taking office was to go to the Ross Taylor estate and find Professor Ed. I wondered if all these unreasonable things were happening, but it was something that could not be helped.
Tracyana took a wooden bag full of documents and got off in front of the Ross Taylor mansion.
I had been riding a carriage for several days, so I felt dizzy at any moment. Still, I’m glad I arrived.
“…I heard that a lot of it was destroyed during the Mebula Advent, but there are no signs of that anymore here either…” The
Ross Taylor Mansion was much larger than when Crepin managed it. Actually, it was worth it.
There were difficult times, but in the end, the duchy was successfully revived by the next head of the family, Tanya Ross-Taylor, and her brother, Ed Ross-Taylor.
Not only is it receiving a lot of protection from powerful forces within the empire, but it has also succeeded in maintaining its original authority and has many strong people in its ranks.
Thinking about it that way, it seemed natural that the Ross Taylor family would continue its heyday.
“I was contacted in advance, but what happened to the daughter of the Bloomriver family all of a sudden?”
As I went inside with the guidance of my retainers, a familiar face came out to greet me.
It is usually the role of the head butler or the head maid to come out and greet guests politely using the name of the maid.
“…Why is Mr. Bell here?”
“It’s been a while, Miss Tracyana. “You’ve become so mature and dependable that you can’t compare to when you were at Ofilis Hall, so I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“You were scouted by the Ross Taylor family? “Mr. Bell?”
“yes? No, it’s not that big of a deal, but…”
As soon as she arrived at Ross Taylor’s mansion, Tracyana was happy to meet someone with a spherical face, but she didn’t expect Belle to come out.
Belle Maia is the head maid who manages the top-class dormitory, Ofilis Hall. He was not the type of person who was easily scouted because he had a lot of pride in his work and was not concerned about money.
In fact, there were rumors that the Elte Company tried to get her out several times but failed several times. There was a strong feeling that her residence was decided by herself.
“Actually… I received a lot of offers similar to scouting. I was refusing every time. Even if you are not from the Rosstaylor family.”
“But why are you doing such an unreasonable thing here, Chief Butler?”
“Well… actually, it’s a bit hard to say it myself, but I tend to have a sense of responsibility. I believe that if it is something I am responsible for and must accomplish, I must take responsibility until the end. So… there is something I feel I need to take responsibility for… so for now, I will leave the work related to the Ofilis Hall to my successor and come out here.”
Maid Jean Belle Maia is a servant, but she is capable enough to be treated as an executive within Sylvania.
Once placed at the top, they take care of personnel management, financial management, mansion management, housekeeping, reception of VIPs, and even minor government affairs, and they also have a fairly high level of combat ability.
As there were no such talented people as advisors, he was a person who was difficult to recruit from various noble or influential families. However, the more people like that, the more carefully they choose who to serve.
“Currently, I am serving Tanya Ross-Taylor and Ed Ross-Taylor as the owners, so I am only in charge of the academic side as an advisor.”
“is it so…? I won’t pry into what it means to be responsible. First of all, I’m having a hard time riding the carriage for too long. “Can we go inside to rest and talk about business?”
“of course. “I will guide you personally.”
Tracyana handed over a bag full of documents to the employees and wiped away her sweat. For the past few days, I have been moving around again and again. I was already exhausted.
So Tracyana followed Belle Maia into the mansion without saying a word.
*Once you arrive at the Duke’s residence, it is polite to meet the head of the household in charge of the place and say hello.
Consisting of a majestic main building, two rather small annexes, and a large spire standing in the center, the Duke of Rosstaylor’s residence was much larger than in its heyday. If you let your guard down, you could get lost.
Not only is it the largest ducal family on the continent, but it has recently gained sky-high authority, making it a prestigious family second only to the Cloel royal family. The scale of the mansion, which is almost palace-like, is understandable.
“Since you have come to the mansion as a VIP, please say hello to Master Tanya first.”
The owner of this mansion, Duchess Tanya Rosstaylor, is a student at Sylvania Academy and the student council president.
During the school year, he comes to the academy to entrust the management of the mansion and basic family affairs to his major retainers, but during vacation periods like now, he stays in the duke’s residence and handles family affairs.
It was such a huge schedule that it felt like I had two bodies, but when I saw that she was actually accomplishing it, I thought Tanya herself was an incredibly talented person.
“Currently, there are several distinguished guests inside Duke Ross Taylor’s residence. “There will be people who are familiar with Miss Tracy and others, so you won’t be too embarrassed if you run into them.”
“Distinguished guests? “What’s going on?”
“no. There are always VIPs coming and going at the duke’s residence. “It is a place where the most powerful people in the entire empire pop out whenever the opportunity arises, so I recommend that you always be careful about how you behave.”
A place where you meet VIPs who are hard to find even in the imperial family while passing by.
From the maids’ perspective, it was a working environment that was almost hellish. It is a place where everything had to be perfect at all times and even small mistakes were not tolerated.
Belle Maia, who wore the title of maid in such a place, was not an ordinary person, but even Tracyana knew that she was an extraordinary person.
“Of course, Miss Tracyana, the daughter of the Bloomriver family, is a very honored guest.”
I didn’t forget to add that in case it felt like I was belittling the other person. Belle Maia was a person with a knack for managing even the smallest detail.
“Thank you for saying that, but… actually, I did not come today as the daughter of the Bloomriver family.”
“Is that so?”
“yes. Today, I came to see Professor Ed as an assistant professor at Sylvania Academy. “I have something to tell you about work.”
Tracy Ana became an assistant professor. At first, Belle Maia did not show any signs of surprise.
This is because if you do it wrong, it can be rude. I just calmly accepted it as is and lowered my head with my eyes closed.
“I’m sorry, but even we maids cannot accurately judge Master Ed’s fate.”
“yes? is it so?”
“yes. He is a very mysterious person, so if he suddenly appears at the mansion… he will return to Aken Island at some point.”
“I searched every corner of Aken Island, but I couldn’t find it. “That’s why I came here.”
“Is that so… My master tends to take care of everything in advance that he thinks might be necessary, but you made him take the step himself. “I would like to apologize on behalf of the owner.”
First of all, Traciana waved her hand as if embarrassed, saying that it was okay to Belle Maia, who politely greeted her. The way she handles her work without leaving even the slightest grudge against her master is typical of a top-class maid.
However, since he has always had a strong image of being the leader in charge of the Ofilis Hall, it is refreshing to see him pick on someone and call him ‘master’ and follow him.
Because I never thought that Bel Maia would entrust herself to someone. To be precise, there weren’t many people who had the courage to take on and handle such a talented person.
Competent staff sometimes even prey on their own masters. A person with a small capacity cannot embrace someone with a larger capacity than himself.
“Still… I don’t think he’s on Aken Island, so it would be right to look for Duke Rosstaylor first. It doesn’t seem easy because it looks bigger than I thought, but…”
“We will notify users.” Then, let’s head towards the main building where Master Tanya’s reception room is…”
That was then.
The spire square is surrounded between the main building and the annex. The two people who were standing with their names on each other looked towards the main building and quickly turned their heads.
At that moment, the large door of Ross Taylor’s main building opened and a distinguished guest came out from inside, escorted by employees.
The person who walked out among the retainers, wearing a red dress and braiding light pink hair, was someone Tracyana had heard of.
Bel Maia bowed her head, and the people around her also bowed their heads in unison.
Among the vassals who protect Duke Rosstaylor, there is a spiritist whose strength is different from the others.
Baroness Yenica Palover. She was a girl
who managed the Croton Mountains at the southern end of Ross Taylor’s territory and was revered as an angel by the residents of the area…
In fact, she was one of the best forces protecting this Ross Taylor territory.
Compared to when he was a student at Sylvania, his youthful appearance had disappeared, but he still looked childish and lively. Since he was born as a commoner, he is very popular among the residents of the territory, and because of that, there are no bad rumors going around among the VIPs.
A heavenly girl who smiles brightly at everything in the world. That was Tracyana’s assessment when she first saw the Yenica Failover, but it doesn’t seem like that has changed even after several years.
It was so consistent that I felt reassured.
“Oh, Senior Tracyana!”
I don’t know if she is conscious of the fact that she is a Baroness whom the people of the territory look up to.
She pulled up the hem of her dress and ran down the stairs at a quick pace. The employees who followed behind quickly caught up with puzzled faces.
“It’s been a while. What happened to Ross Taylor’s mansion?”
The fact that Yenica Palover still remembered Tracyana’s face was surprisingly touching.
Even though he was a senior from the Ministry of Magic, there wasn’t that much interaction.
First of all, Tracy, who was a senior in school and is now the daughter of a self-author, did not lower her head.
“Yenika… It’s been a while. I heard that he was given the title of Baron, but I had no idea he was being treated so kindly…”
“What? Well… he is in a position where he is treated particularly specially within the Ross Taylor territory…”
In fact, he is at the forefront of protecting the territory and is protected by both Tanya and Ed.
Although his title was a baron, he was treated almost like a duke under the protection of the two men.
In addition, because she was receiving a lot of love from Young Ji-min, Jenica was so shy that she would often hang her head wherever she went. If he even chants his name, he quickly closes the curtains of the carriage and hides inside, and stamps his feet because he doesn’t know what to do with the employees’ hospitable treatment… Sometimes,
he rolls up his sleeves and tries to do the laundry or dishes, so the employees don’t know what to do. It is said that there are many cases where people get startled and run away.
It’s easy to get used to it in two years, but due to Jenica’s nature, she can never take off her commoner identity.
In fact, Traceiana felt reassured because she thought that part of her was like Yenika. It might be rude to Yenika herself.
“Are you on your way after meeting with Master Tanya?”
When Belle asked that question, Yenika shook her head thoughtfully.
Tanya is not there.
As soon as she heard that story, Bel Maia held back a sigh.
With Tracyana by my side, I will protect my master’s authority for now.
But… Traceiana had already noticed. Tanya is not a perfect superhuman like rumors say… I already vaguely knew about it when I was an undergraduate student.
*A tea table was set up in one corner of the neatly maintained Ross Taylor mansion.
Yenika sat on one side and tapped the beak of the sparrow-shaped wind spirit sitting on her shoulder, then raised her finger above her head and sent it flying away.
She is a girl who is strangely loved by spirits, both past and present.
“Actually, ever since I joined the Ross Taylor family as a vassal, I always meet new people. “It was great to meet an alumnus after such a long time.”
Yenica said this to Traisaana with a grin on her face.
“okay?”
“Of course, it’s full of people who are too nice to me, but…”
Even if the dessert trays are full of refreshments, they are high-end products. I only came to look for Ed for a moment, but I never thought he would treat me so kindly.
At first glance, it looked like top bakers were working in the kitchen. Tracyana had eyes that could accurately see the quality of refreshments.
“Anyway, you are really treated well. “It feels like all the employees are watching you.”
“Yes…? I’m worried too. Actually, there’s no need to be so polite to him… Even if he made a minor mistake, he apologized like he was going to die. It’s already been quite a while since I’ve been given the title of baron, but I still can’t get used to it…”
What kind of treatment will they be receiving at the private residence in the Barony of Failover? If you go there, Yenika is the owner of the mansion.
At this point, I was starting to get worried about Yenika.
“I think like that sometimes. Was I even suited for a position like this? I wonder if I am being praised too much just for doing what I am supposed to do…”
“Well, don’t worry about that, Yenika. It’s not just empty words, it suits you really well. “You seem like a much more distinguished guest than me.”
“Is that so?” “Yes. I was surprised when I came out of the main residence earlier. “I really thought you were a duchess or something.”
At those words, Yenika suddenly blushed and spoke.
“The late Duchess…! “What if you say something like that so carelessly?”
“…?”
“…”
“…”
Then Yenika looked around for a moment, then subtly lowered her head and spoke softly.
“Really?”
“What is that reaction… weren’t you and Ed dating in school to begin with?”
“It wasn’t like that… Should I say it was a similar relationship or not… Since Ed was so busy, it might have been a bit too forward to impose such relationship rules… I thought about that. “Something like that, even if I didn’t even hear it…”
As Yenika spoke with a deep blush, Tracyana understood the situation in an instant.
In the first place, this girl is as nice as she can be, and if she falls in love with her, she is the type of person who will take out everything, including her liver and gallbladder.
Ed is not that kind of person, but she would be perfect to be the heroine of a tragedy where she is cruelly thrown away after having fun as she pleases if she does something wrong.
Tracyana opened her half-moon eyes, took a sip of tea, and spoke.
“If that’s the case, let’s start dating… Even if you say that, a man who has come this far and doesn’t have proper relationship rules is trash. Just…”
“Don’t criticize Ed…”
“… I’m sorry.”
In fact, it may be because the other man has too big a bowl. Speaking of the owner of the Duke of Rosstaylor, he is a person who is difficult to treat as an equal, no matter how much he holds the title of Baron.
In fact, I don’t think there will be an issue of authority between Ed and Yenika, but if it goes beyond a man-woman relationship and becomes a marital relationship, it’s a different story.
“I’m starting to feel a sense of crisis. Now that they have become successful enough, there will be a lot of people who are eagerly targeting Professor Ed… At that time, are you going to be more proactive and then hit the ground and regret it?”
“When you talk so directly… it’s hard to say anything…”
Yenika lowered her head and spoke with difficulty.
“Of course, there are a lot of different women coming and going at Duke Ross Taylor’s house… I also felt an unreasonable sense of crisis…” “
Really? “That’s definitely a huge improvement.”
“But they are all people who claim to be mine… Last week, didn’t Saint Clarisse come by with the feeling that she just wanted to see her face, and didn’t Lortel, the owner agent of Elte Company, suddenly show up…” Everyone said their
names together. They are so big that just looking at them makes you break out in a cold sweat.
A moment of silence was held for the employees working at the Ross Taylor residence. Every day will feel like walking on thin ice.
“I guess I should say that I am rather discouraged… Since Ed has become such a huge figure, I am wondering if he would hang out with someone like me…” “
…Really?”
“And this… um… it’s hard to know how to talk about it…”
Yenika glances around again and lowers her voice before speaking.
“They say that when you become the owner of a duchy, you often take on multiple women by yourself…?”
“…Yenika…”
“Please don’t look at me like that. Yes, I know Ed isn’t that profligate. But… if that happens… can I join in too…? Sometimes I feel that way, sometimes I don’t, but it’s a bit weird to not do it, and it’s really bad to think like that… It feels like my morals can’t keep up in the first place… But if I don’t think about that possibility in advance… ”
“…”
Tracyana was speechless as she watched Yenika rambling.
What good is there in taking action to become a concubine in the first place? It wasn’t that I didn’t know that Yenika had low self-esteem compared to her outstanding abilities, but this wasn’t the case.
“I shouldn’t be so sure, but at least to Professor Ed, Yenika, you are special enough. “You can have more self-esteem.”
“Thank you so much for saying that… hehe…”
Traceyana lamented as she looked at Yenica, whose mouth turned up for no reason.
“So, you have to think about becoming a worthy companion. To be honest, if you lie down and look at me, Professor Ed would look at you right away.”
“That’s true, but then Ed will be in trouble…”
“…”
“I don’t want to trouble Ed under any circumstances. If possible, I want to be of help…”
I am not unaware of his pure personality like a blank page. That’s why Tracyana almost lost her mind.
For me, a snob, Yenika, who is such a heavenly girl, is not a good match…!
“Yes… Whatever you think, Yenika, you are free. I won’t argue about that. However, it is nice to see her becoming jealous after losing Professor Ed to another woman…”
“That’s…”
Yenika may also be worried about something, but is unable to hastily answer Tracyana’s words.
It is said that all kinds of women come and go to Ed’s mansion. Some may even be seriously trying to snatch Ed away. Even Tracyanna is aware of that.
In fact, Yenika was also aware of the fact that Ed had a lot of female clothing. Most people did not build rapport as well as Yenika. However, that did not mean that I could feel at ease again.
The person who gets on Jenica’s nerves more than anyone else is probably…
“Hello.”
When I heard a blank voice, I turned my head.
The petite girl who appeared with the assistance of two maids was someone no one would have known if they had attended Sylvania Academy.
Lucy Mayril, a rare genius wizard.
Now there are rumors that he has quit Sylvania and taken up residence at the Ross Taylor mansion. It seems the rumor was true.
“Lu Lucy?”
“huh. hi.”
– ‘She is the daughter of the Bloomriver family. You need to interact a little more… in a special way.’
– ‘Opportunities like this are rare! Let’s approach in a more friendly way…!’
A maid standing behind Lucy carefully lowered her head and whispered in Lucy’s ear.
Lucy shook her head with an expression of annoyance in the world, sat down on one side of the tea table, and buried her head on the table.
Her attire was a neat social dress, and her hair was shiny and neatly curled.
I didn’t notice it when she was rolling around on the grass in an ill-fitting school uniform and an old witch’s hat, but when she dresses up, Lucy looks quite like a young lady and is pretty.
– ‘You need to behave more gracefully. ‘It’s rude in front of the Lady of Viscount.’
I was really worried about the maid who kept whispering behind me.
– ‘If you want to interact with VIPs, you must behave in a dignified manner. Now, please straighten your back.’
Lucy straightened her back with an expression as if she were dying. Her face was almost bloodless.
“…”
Tresiana looked at the scene and eventually became speechless.
Lucy was the same as before and now.
