Episode 8
✠Countess Gillette, Sandra Gillette, was notorious among the servants as a difficult mistress.
Sandra was originally a commoner who had caught the Count's eye and risen in status, but judging by her tastes and temperament, she was as finicky as if she had been a lady of a great noble house from birth.
Her personality was nervous and capricious, she was picky about this and that, and she always demanded only the finest according to her standards, making it extremely difficult for the servants to please her.
Then again, the people of the Gillette family were mostly all like this.
A narrow-minded Count who couldn't tolerate subordinates' mistakes, a Countess obsessed with luxury, an arrogant delinquent Count's son, and the Count's daughter who was hard to classify but was avoided by all the servants...
Truth be told, Gillette Castle wasn't exactly a great place to work.
But today, that finicky and capricious Countess was in an exceptionally good mood.
The Countess tapped her cheek lightly with the back of her hand and smiled with satisfaction.
'My skin looks good today.'
After applying the beauty potion gifted by the alchemist this morning, her skin gleamed with a lustrous sheen, making her feel like she had regained five years of youth.
Until now, no matter how many health-enhancement potions he made that were poured into her son's stomach with no effect on his swordsmanship achievements, she had thought him an incompetent fool, but seeing this, it seemed the claim that he came from the Golden Ivory Tower wasn't an empty boast after all.
'He should have made this sooner. What was he doing all this time? Hmph.'
It was then that the Countess felt a baseless sense of offense.
"Mother, shall I bring you a hand mirror? You've been so preoccupied with your face that you haven't been paying attention to what I'm saying."
"Gasp! N-no, Via! Mommy heard everything!"
Even the finicky Countess had someone who made her flustered.
That was her ten-year-old daughter, Bianca Gillette.
The little lady with bluish-black hair sat before the Countess with a poise beyond her years.
"Ahem! Where were we, daughter?"
"We were discussing the survival of our Gillette family."
"Hm?"
"It seems we should consider the line of our swordsmanship noble family to have ended with Grandfather. In this state, entrusting the position of next head to my incompetent and foolish brother would be a direct path to ruin, so I think it would be better for smart me to become the head and bring in a capable knight as a live-in son-in-law. What do you think, Mother?"
"……."
The Countess was momentarily stunned.
Was this really something coming from the mouth of a ten-year-old child?
'She's my daughter, but she's lovely and terrifying!'
Unlike her appearance, which closely resembled both the Count and Countess, Bianca's insides were entirely different.
Neither the Count nor the Countess had the capacity to make such cold and rational judgments, so how such a daughter was born was beyond comprehension.
The Countess, who had been lost in other thoughts, came to her senses before a stern reprimand could come her way.
With an awkward smile, she tried to reason with her daughter.
"Your brother is only twelve. Let's wait a little longer."
"Hmm."
Fearing her daughter who was clearly showing her dissatisfaction with the answer, the Countess tried to change the subject.
"A-anyway, Via, I heard you drove away another playmate this morning? How many times is that now... If there's a problem, won't you tell Mommy?"
"If there's a problem, it's that there's no child at my level."
"I-is that so? Mommy will try to choose more carefully."
"I wonder. For now, I think it would be better to get me books rather than friends. I've almost read all the books in the library."
"A-all of those?"
"To be honest, our family's library doesn't have that many books."
"W-well, anyway, understood. I'll tell the butler."
Just then, with a knock, Isella, the tea attendant, entered.
"Madam, Miss, I've brought refreshments."
The refreshments prepared today were sweet fruit black tea, pure white lemon sugar bowls, bouncy orange jelly, and appetizing red apple soup.
"Oh my, there's a unique dessert."
"Indeed, Mother."
As if agreed upon beforehand, mother and daughter both picked up the apple soup first.
Upon taking one bite, both their eyes widened.
"Oh my, a soup with such refined flavor. It's exactly my taste."
Isella, who had been wearing a satisfied smile for a while, stepped forward casually.
"It's a dessert made by Mr. Rodelaine's daughter. She has quite a talent for preparing refreshments. I'm planning to teach her properly."
"The alchemist's daughter? I was already in a good mood because the alchemist made me a whitening potion and moisturizing potion today, and now his daughter has done something commendable too. Tell them to give her a generous snack from the kitchen."
"Yes, Madam."
Bianca, who was usually indifferent to everything, perked up her ears and asked back.
"A beauty potion?"
"That's right. I always thought potions were just medicine, but who knew they could be made into lotion too."
The functional cosmetics had an excellent effect. Although the price would be expensive, the Gillette Count's family had money to spare anyway.
Bianca fell into deep thought.
'Wasn't Leonard Rodelaine a stiff alchemist who only knew how to do orthodox research? He suddenly thought of making a beauty potion?'
And even distinguishing between whitening and moisturizing at that.
No matter how she thought about it, it couldn't be Leonard Rodelaine's idea. Then who?
Coincidentally, Isella provided a clue to solve Bianca's question.
"Mr. Rodelaine distributed high-quality soap to the servants of the mansion. He was proudly showing off that his daughter made it."
"Isella."
"Yes, Miss."
Bianca's red eyes flashed.
"Where is the alchemist's daughter right now?"
✠"Hey, Printz's little sister."
A voice full of provocation came to me as I came out of the greenhouse picking tomatoes.
Looking to the side, a boy about Printz's age was looking at me with his arms crossed.
With bluish-black hair, luxurious clothing, and a face covered in maliciousness, I could easily guess his identity.
'It's the Count family's delinquent!'
Hiding my feeling of having stepped in dung, I greeted politely.
"Hehe. Hello, Young Master Romdio."
"Never mind the hello, hand over the tomato basket."
"Ah!"
The delinquent snatched the basket from me.
Immediately after, an opportunity to confirm the delinquent's character unfolded before my eyes.
"Kekeke! Eat this!"
The delinquent started throwing tomatoes at the servants passing by.
Thwack! Thwack! Splat!
The tomatoes burst splendidly. Apprentice servants who were carrying goat's milk and got hit screamed.
"Hehehe! I hit them! ...Huh, what? The tomatoes are already gone. Tch, what were you doing only picking this much?! Go pick more for me."
"……."
"Hey, I said hurry up and pick more."
I wanted to crush a tomato in his face, but...
"Yes, Young Master!"
I, who was nothing more than a powerless little apprentice maid, became an accomplice to the delinquent who would be condemned by all.
I quickly went into the greenhouse and picked apron-fulls of tomatoes. I handed them to him one by one on the spot, matching the speed at which the delinquent threw them.
More power went into the guy's hands and forearms, and his throwing power and accuracy were gradually increasing.
The excited delinquent turned to look at me.
"Hey, this is really fun! You try throwing on—"
It was then.
Squish!
"...Huh?"
It was the sound of the tomato crumbling in the delinquent's grasp.
"Oh my, oh no!"
While I dramatically covered my mouth with my hand, the rotting tomato slime oozed out of the delinquent's hand.
And between the gaps, white maggots wriggled into view.
The delinquent's face turned pale.
"U-uwaaaah! What is this! B-bugs! It's bugs! Uwaaaah!"
Hmph, who told you to play with food?
The sight of him thrashing about was quite satisfying, but it seemed like I should start cleaning up.
"Oh my, Young Master! I'm really sorry! I picked the tomatoes in a hurry and made this mistake! Please stay calm for now."
"How can I stay calm! You could do that?! Uwaaaah!"
"If you wave your hands around and scream like that, the maggots might get into your mouth!"
"Gasp!"
The delinquent became calm.
In that gap, I took off my apron and wiped the delinquent's hand.
Perhaps finding it too painful to look at the bugs, he closed his eyes tightly and left his hand to me, which looked comical.
"There, all done, Young Master. Shall we continue our tomato throwing game?"
"N-no!"
"Yes, what a shame."
The delinquent, now traumatized by the rotten tomato, walked away grumbling.
Just before the guy turned around, it wasn't my imagination that his eyes seemed slightly moist.
['The Word that Builds the World' clicks its tongue, saying that just like the villain who fed the original work's readers bitter potatoes for a long time, his insolence and nastiness have been extraordinary since childhood.]
I was a bit surprised.
"Oh, were you watching, Lord of Words?"
['The Word that Builds the World' says awkwardly that since you are the first believer, it plans to look in on you whenever it has time.]
And it wasn't just 'The Word that Builds the World.'
['The Sharp-tongued One that Harmonizes Balance' came to urge the Director for approval and discovers you.]
['The Eyes that Watch the Chaos of All Things' quietly appreciates your conduct.]
So it was literally a situation of 'the gods are watching.' I felt like I had taken one step closer to being a religious person.
I went into the greenhouse.
To complete the kitchen errand, I had to fill the empty basket again.
I felt a shadow fall over me as I crouched down.
When I looked up, what I saw was, once again, not a welcome person.
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