Chapter 9
"Hey, what did you talk about with the young master?"
Nelly, thoroughly infuriated by yesterday's and today's events, glared at me as if she'd devour me alive.
I stood up, brushing off my skirt.
"What is it, Nelly. Don't tell me you came all the way here to pick a fight with me?"
"I asked first! What did you talk about with the young master! What could you have talked about that makes him look right past me and walk away?!"
I had no idea why this snoop was so obsessed with that scoundrel, but my answer was set in stone.
"I'm not telling."
"Hey! You little—!"
Unable to contain her temper, Nelly raised a hand.
I flinched, thinking she was going to slap me, but she grabbed me by the collar instead.
['The Word of Worldbuilding' glares as it cannot directly intervene in the believer's crisis.]
Meanwhile, Nelly shoved her face uncomfortably close and growled.
"I knew it from the moment you suddenly wanted to learn how to serve tea! Your goal is the young master too, isn't it!"
"What?"
"Don't even dream about it! You're just an ugly nobody!"
"……."
I tried to speculate why on earth she was spouting such nonsense.
'Does this snoop actually like that scoundrel?'
But the secular and combative light in Nelly's eyes was far too intense to dismiss with the pure word "like."
That was when it happened.
['The Word of Worldbuilding' relaxes its gaze and smiles with anticipation.]
['The Eyes Watching the Chaos of All Things' curves its eyes into crescents, gauging the host's capabilities.]
Huh? All of a sudden?
The reactions of the gods watching from their omniscient perspective seemed unusual.
Just then, something caught my eye as I looked past Nelly's shoulder.
'Oh ho, I see.'
I understood why the two gods had smiled.
"Hey, not answering? What are you just smiling about?"
"Oh, sorry, Nelly. So what you're trying to say is, since your goal is to seduce the young master and marry up, you want me to stop getting in your way?"
"That's right! For an idiot, you actually understood properly!"
At that moment, the footsteps of two people approaching from this direction came to an abrupt halt.
I pretended not to notice and continued the conversation with Nelly.
"But Nelly, don't you think that's a bit difficult? The young master is a noble and we're commoners."
"Hmph, what does that matter! The Madam herself is of commoner origin, so who's to say I can't become the next Countess?"
A small sound of someone inhaling sharply could be heard from somewhere.
But it was still slightly insufficient. I needed to scratch the mouth of malice one last time.
"My, does that even make sense? Who told you that? You?"
"My mom told me, so what!"
Nelly's triumphant and clear voice rang throughout the greenhouse garden.
Good. This was enough.
Nelly flinched upon seeing me smile softly.
"What? Why are you smiling so sinisterly?"
"Look behind you."
"H-hieek! M-Madam! Y-Young miss!"
The Countess, radiating a fiendish aura like a yaksha, and her expressionless daughter who had come holding her hand, were standing right there.
A chilling voice drifted over.
"Ah, I see……. So the position of Countess looked easy to you……? Because I'm of commoner descent……?"
"M-M-Madam, th-that's not what I meant……!"
"Well, I suppose……. Children of that age can say childish things……. But…… your mother taught you to say such things……?"
"Th-that's……!"
Realizing there was no way out, Nelly turned pale and trembled violently.
The Countess shouted, veins bulging in her neck.
"Pack your bags this instant and get out of the Count's castle!"
At the icy command, Nelly collapsed onto the spot.
"M-Madam……. H-hic! Waaaah!"
"Crying like that when you're fully grown, how unseemly! Butler!"
In the end, she even called the butler to drag Nelly away.
Judging by her stubborn attitude, it seemed unlikely the Countess would reverse her expulsion order.
With this, the Head Maid and her daughter were dealt with. How satisfying.
['The Eyes Watching the Chaos of All Things' acknowledges that you, who effortlessly disposed of the petty villain, are truly worthy of an S-rank assessment.']
No, seriously. That's not a rank I possess, it's this world's survival difficulty rating.
The Countess and her daughter still hadn't left the greenhouse.
I was pondering whether to offer a tomato as consolation to the still-furious Countess.
The Countess's daughter…… her name was Bianca Gillet, I believe.
Bianca spoke with an expression and voice so indifferent it bordered on cold.
"Overlook it and think of it positively, Mother."
"Sigh, Bia. I fail to see how I can view any part of this positively."
"The Head Maid had long been a problematic employee due to embezzlement and hiring corruption. Expelling her now is a good thing for the Count's castle."
"Ah, was the mother of the girl I just kicked out the Head Maid?"
"……You didn't know. She was difficult to deal with as Head Maid, but I didn't expect such a perfect excuse to get rid of her to present itself."
After speaking, Bianca cast a sidelong glance in my direction.
I pretended not to notice and hugged the basket of tomatoes.
"Well then, Madam, Young miss. I shall return to the kitchen now."
"Yes, you may go."
"No, wait a moment."
The Countess and Bianca's words crossed.
"What is it, Bia?"
"I have something to say regarding the disposition of this child, Ailet Rodelaine."
Huh? I didn't do anything wrong, so why?
The Countess seemed to share my sentiment, tilting her head in confusion.
Just then, Bianca stepped closer to me and smiled.
I was briefly surprised by an expression I never thought the utterly indifferent Count's young lady would make.
Then an explosive statement hit my ears.
"I want to make this child my playmate."
✠
The playmate of the Gillet Count's young lady. According to rumors passed from servant to servant, it was an extreme occupation.
Bianca Gillet had a quiet disposition, neither particularly demanding nor harmful to others.
However, due to her inscrutable, expressionless face and cold demeanor, Bianca was known as a fearsome and difficult Count's young lady.
It was so bad that even the Count and Countess themselves struggled in her presence, and the scoundrel of a young master would slink away to avoid her.
Several girls from cadet branches of the family had been conscripted as Bianca's playmates, only to burst out crying and flee within days.
It was said that whenever Bianca attempted to see them off, the playmate would look as if they'd seen a ghost and flee in terror.
No one knew exactly what terrifying events transpired in the room of a ten-year-old Count's young lady.
And now I was about to find out firsthand.
Starting the next afternoon, I was exempted from kitchen duties and assigned the role of Bianca's playmate instead.
'Phew, the hidden power of the Count's family lies beyond this.'
In front of the beautifully carved wooden archway, I took a deep breath. It felt a bit like entering a dungeon.
I sought permission with a knock and opened the door.
"You've come, Miss Ailet?"
Bianca, who had been reading alone, greeted me first. Setting aside her lack of expression and cold voice, she was actually quite amiable based on the situation alone.
"Hello, Young miss."
"Yeah."
Pleasantries were done, so it was time to get down to business. What does a ten-year-old noble young lady in a medieval fantasy world do to play?
Having no idea, I hesitated awkwardly, but fortunately Bianca spoke up first.
"You can read books."
Bianca gestured at the books piled high on the table. As if telling me to pick whatever I wanted.
Just read books?
When I put on a troubled expression, Bianca asked with a look of sudden realization.
"Perhaps you don't know how to read?"
"No. I can read."
With the host support system's assistance, I was capable of perfectly speaking the common language.
Bianca nodded in understanding, saying she expected as much from someone with a scholar for a father.
I surveyed the book titles in earnest. The books encompassed all fields including literature, history, society, politics, management, and theology.
'Aren't these too advanced for a ten-year-old?'
Could this be the secret to why she drove away all her playmates?
Suspicious, I glanced at the book Bianca was reading.
Hmm……. Seeing as the title was 'Prospects for High Value-Added Business Utilizing New Dungeon Materials,' it didn't seem like she was trying to torment me.
What I chose was literature. I was an avid reader of web novels in my past life, and the title 'On the Hero Who Seduced the Demon King' seemed rather interesting.
"Go read on the couch. You can lie down comfortably."
"Wow, thank you."
Since I wasn't a noble young lady anyway, I readily accepted Bianca's consideration.
I lay face down on the couch like I would on my own bed and opened the book.
'This is surprisingly pure literature?'
About thirty minutes passed as I softly turned the pages. I sensed a problem.
"Um. Excuse me for interrupting your reading, Young miss."
"Why?"
"May I change books?"
"Sure."
Contrary to her indifferent answer, I felt a gaze of careful observation cling to my cheek.
What I picked up this time was the most representative theological text—that is, the Bible.
Bianca asked.
"The Bible? Why did you choose that?"
"I thought I wouldn't be able to understand literature without understanding the Bible."
Religious culture provides the foundational subject matter for art.
How many works of art, music, and literature were created based on religion, penetrating the public consciousness?
Even my past life, where debates over the existence of God were sharply contested, was no exception.
Let alone the Serentela continent, a worldview where divine power, proof of the gods' existence, is present.
The influence religious culture had on the secular world had to be far greater than in my past life.
For that reason, I set aside 'Hero-Seduces-Demon-King' and picked up the Bible.
Though it seemed like a mix of the major religions from my past life, I figured I should properly learn about it at this opportunity.
Just then, I noticed Bianca had a somewhat dazed expression on her face.
"To identify the areas that require learning on your own……"
"Young miss?"
"N-nothing."
Muttering to herself, Bianca hurriedly buried her face back in her book.
Privilege for the Host