Workaholic

***

Warm morning sunlight.

“Hmm.”

I swallowed the brewed tea and looked outside.

In the distance, I could see chimney smoke from people cooking rice and children running about at play.

Today, too, was as peaceful as ever.

By now, perhaps the Grand Duke and the heroine were spending a pleasant time together in the North?

The monster rampage and the barbarians’ zombification—major crisis elements in the original story—would only begin in earnest a few months from now, so at present, it was the time when the fresh romantic feelings of the novel’s early chapters were blossoming.

“What a nice time.”

Of course, given the nature of the novel.

There would be a few minor crises even in the midst of that, but all of them were buildup meant to deepen the love between the northern Grand Duke and the heroine, the Hero, so they would probably be enjoying themselves in their own way.

And I would hear news of it through Cecil.

“It’s a shame I can’t see it for myself.”

But it was a story that had nothing to do with me.

It was a pity to have possessed someone in the original novel only to remain a bystander, but I had no intention of volunteering for needless hardship and getting involved.

And right now, there was something else bothering me in another sense.

━ Knock, knock.

“Lord Leon, may I have a moment of your time?”

“Ah… Sonia. You’re here?”

That existence was the woman standing right before me.

Sonia Rugner.

One month had passed since the party at the House of Count Rugner.

Sonia was currently staying at the House of Viscount Silberg.

Well, up to that point, there was no problem.

To begin with, I had been the one to bring her here, saying we should take some time to get to know each other, and she had certainly come with the official permission of the House of Count Rugner.

But….

“I’m here to report on the grain sector I mentioned yesterday. Wheat production in Viscount Silberg’s territory increased by about 0.6% compared to last year, and the reason was the maintenance work done on the reservoir in District 8. The rest was at the level of 0.1%, so it was negligible, but as the valley in the western region swelled with rainwater….”

The moment she came in, she began laying out explanations like a real estate administrator.

Hey. Sonia.

Didn’t you follow me here because you said you liked me?

Well, even if that wasn’t the current me, but Leon Silberg before I possessed him.

You didn’t follow me here to work like this, did you?

“And here is the northern report compiled by the Intelligence Bureau. I summarized the 730-page draft into 5 pages, and to put it simply, the existence of the Hero has been confirmed with a reliability level of 98.2%. It is a document organizing personal information on the individual presumed to be the Hero. I catalogued and arranged their origin, background, body measurements, and so on.”

“…”

“Ah, and the reliability was confirmed through Lady Cecil, who is currently staying in the North. She says she witnessed the Hero in person, but since the background and ability verification have not yet been fully completed, they measured the reliability that way. The details are on the very last page.”

“…You got in touch with Cecil? When is she coming back?”

“Ah, yes. She contacted us first. We weren’t able to get a definite answer on her schedule. So I passed along a message asking her to tell us when she’ll be returning.”

“I see….”

In any case, she had brought good news too, so I decided to let the momentary discomfort pass.

And, out of courtesy, I decided to flip through the report Sonia had brought.

The report contained detailed information about the Hero.

I hadn’t asked for details to this extent….

Still, it was a profile related to the protagonist of the novel, so I skimmed through it.

Behind the summary was a thick stack of materials.

There, it contained everything from the Hero’s name to her origin, background, growth process… even her height, weight, and three measurements—things that would be hard to know unless one were the person herself.

“How did you find out her body measurements?”

“They are the resulting values obtained by combining information from the clothing stores the Hero often visited with several details Lady Cecil personally confirmed.”

“…Uh, I see.”

After hearing that much, I simply closed it.

To be honest.

No matter that I had possessed someone, it was useless information to me, since I didn’t want to get deeply involved with the novel.

But I couldn’t exactly say that in front of someone who had worked hard to investigate and summarize it.

“You worked hard. You’re doing even better than I expected.”

I smiled and gave her praise.

“Ah…! Yes! Thank you!”

Sonia smiled brightly at my praise.

And a few seconds later.

She once again created something for me to worry about.

“Then what should I do next?”

This was the problem.

After watching her for a month, I had learned something.

This girl Sonia… was a serious workaholic.

I had placed her in that position because Cecil was away and I had no one to talk to, but as if she had seized some kind of opportunity, she worked far too hard.

I would casually toss out just one thing, and in a day or two, a report the size of a book would be submitted.

‘Looks like it might rain today. I wonder how long it’ll last?’

I had merely murmured my thoughts while looking at the weather, and the next day, a three-month weather forecast was sitting on my desk.

‘Hm? There’s dust on the floor.’

Even when I casually let something slip.

‘Lord Leon! I cleaned it up!’

‘…You did it yourself? You could have just asked the servants.’

‘For things like this, I feel more at ease doing it myself. The servants of Silberg are all carrying out important duties of their own, after all. It’s only right that the person with the least work, me, does this sort of thing.’

From what I could see, the busiest person was Sonia.

Yet she claimed she had no work, creating tasks that didn’t exist or finishing tasks that didn’t even need to be done.

‘Lord Leon. How is it? Are you satisfied?’

‘Yes… You worked hard. Well done.’

‘Hehe… I’m glad I was useful.’

‘?’

And each time, Sonia would report to me and crave praise.

So now, I was certain.

This woman.

She was a severe workaholic and a praise addict.

“Haa~”

In any case, for that reason, I was troubled.

Yes. Being good at work.

That was fine.

To be honest, Sonia made things convenient.

Not only had there been several times when she brought solutions like Dorae○mon whenever I needed something, she also took care of some of the tasks I, as the lord of the estate, had to handle, allowing me to spend even more comfortable days.

But the more she did so, the more my worries grew.

Because I hadn’t brought her here to make her work.

Leaving aside Sonia’s feelings of affection, I had brought her here after even telling her parents that I would take good care of her.

But if Count Rugner found out that, despite saying all that and taking his daughter away, I had only worked her to death… would he leave me be?

Even Count Rugner, such a good man that I called him Brother, would not be able to tolerate that.

On the day he found out, he would probably lead troops here to capture me.

And I would be defeated.

Even if the knights of our territory were, in their own way, brave and dependable people,

a count and a viscount.

They wouldn’t be strong enough to overcome that difference in rank.

For someone like me, who wanted to live comfortably and quietly, war was something I absolutely had to avoid.

Anyway, for that reason.

“Sonia. How about you rest a little?”

I wanted to make her rest.

Watching it once or twice was one thing.

If I kept watching her like this, I felt like my own stress would only pile up.

“I’m fine! I can still work more!”

But my suggestion did not work.

Well, there was a reason it was called an addiction.

It was probably because the person herself couldn’t control it.

Still, I had to stop her now.

Wasn’t there some good method?

At that moment, a good idea came to mind.

“Ah, right. By the way, have any invitations come in?”

“Invitations…?”

“Yeah. Like a party, like the one your count’s household held before.”

It was attending a party.

I had felt it last time, but nothing served as rest quite like that.

In any case, the very act of leaving the estate was an act of distancing oneself from work, so there would be no better way to stop a workaholic like her.

But there was one thing I had overlooked.

“There are… no invitations.”

“Uh… Is that so?”

“Yes.”

There were no invitations that had come in.

Well, even before, invitations didn’t arrive every day.

They were things that flew in right around when I had forgotten about them, so there were more times when there weren’t any than when there were.

Still, a whole month had passed since the last party, so it was a little strange that there wasn’t even one.

I was sure the intervals hadn’t been this long….

“I say this carefully, but… could it be because of the last party?”

“The last party…? You mean the one at your house? Ah… that could be.”

But soon.

At Sonia’s words, I felt like I had a rough idea of the situation.

Unlike before, when they had invited me without knowing much,

many nobles had come to know me at the party of the House of Count Rugner.

They had probably realized it there.

‘Ah, even if we invite this person, there’s nothing much to gain.’

…that sort of thing.

Back then, I hadn’t brought any grand gift, and my network wasn’t broad either, so I had even been stuck in a corner at the beginning.

Nor was I a high-ranking noble whose mere attendance would brighten the occasion.

In other words, they had learned that I wasn’t someone who would benefit them even if they invited me.

Come to think of it, most of the invitations I had received until now had been telling me not to come, using refined noble language.

‘The last party’s invitation was probably sent out as a courtesy too, but I just attended recklessly.’

In the end, I was someone who had ignored noble language and participated in the party.

And even after participating like that, far from benefiting the host, I had taken his daughter away and made her work, using her as I pleased.

…Now that I thought about it, seriously.

If Brother Rugner hadn’t been such a good man, I would have had nothing to say even if I were beaten to death.

And because of that appearance, I must have been branded as a bad guy in the minds of the other nobles who had attended the party.

In any case, the current situation was the price I paid for forgetting that the last party had been my social circle showcase.

“Hmm… I only need one… invitation.”

A party would be the best way to make Sonia rest,

but unfortunately, since there were no invitations, there was nothing I could do.

Wasn’t there some good method?

I needed another alternative.

“Lord Leon… do you need an invitation that badly?”

But Sonia, who had been listening to me, thought for a moment and then took something out from inside her clothes.

“Hm? Why?”

“Actually, there is one invitation that came for me….”

I received an invitation in a white envelope stamped with a brown seal.

An invitation with the words 『To Lady Sonia』 written on it in cursive.

No, Sonia.

If you had something like this, you should have told me sooner!

“May I read it?”

“…Yes.”

Since the seal had already been opened, I asked for permission and decided to read its contents.

The contents were simple.

It was full of refined noble language, and there were many parts that were slightly irritating, but to summarize, it said that since they wished to hear the aftermath of the last birthday party, a tea gathering of noble young ladies was being held, so they hoped she would certainly make time to come.

“Hmm.”

Seeing how the left and right sides were slightly crumpled,

I could tell that Sonia had held this invitation in her hands and agonized for quite a while over whether to attend.

“It was sent by the House of Count Zahel. Is the Zahel count’s household far?”

“…No. It’s about a day away, so it isn’t that far. As you may know… with Runia as the reference point, it is the territory attached on the opposite side from Silberg.”

Yeah, I don’t know.

But I roughly nodded.

What mattered right now was not where it was located, but confirming whether it was a distance worth traveling.

In any case, it wasn’t bad.

The distance was suitable, it wasn’t such a large event that I would feel burdened, and above all, it was the perfect occasion for my goal of making Sonia rest.

“What should I do…?”

Sonia cautiously asked for my opinion as I was reading the invitation.

I didn’t know what she was worried about, but she certainly didn’t seem to give off the feeling that she wanted to go.

It seemed she intended to leave the decision to me.

But my answer had already been decided.

“You should go.”

She needed rest.

Most of all, the invitation also contained that reason.

Among the contents written in the invitation,

there was one sentence that especially bothered me.

「In order to grant a brief rest to Lady Sonia Rugner, who must be exhausted from serving day and night…」

Among the refined noble language, that one unusually plain sentence pierced me like a dagger.

The content was simple, but it contained a great deal.

The part about serving day and night was clearly referring to Sonia’s workaholism, and if so, the young lady of the Zahel family knew that fact well.

In addition, it was a neighboring territory, so the young lady was certainly a close friend of Sonia’s.

In the end, the young lady of the Zahel family had called Sonia out in the form of a tea gathering in order to forcibly give her some rest.

That must be why Sonia had been troubled.

Because of her addiction symptoms, she wanted to keep working, but a close friend was calling her out.

While she was wavering back and forth, I had been looking for an invitation….

So perhaps she had taken this out both to resolve her dilemma and to ask for my opinion.

“I see…. So I must go.”

Even in the midst of that, Sonia made a tearful face, as if she regretted the work she had left behind.

…Just how

addicted to work are you?

She was openly showing that she didn’t want to go.

So I spoke even more firmly.

“Yes. You have to go. It’s right for you to go.”

And while I was at it.

I decided to rest as well.

Well, I had already been resting originally… but it just so happened that my boredom had started acting up again.

“And I’ll go with you. That should be fine, right?”

“R-really?”

So I said I would go with her.

After all, if Cecil was gone and Sonia was gone too, it was obvious my boredom would grow even worse.

Perhaps because of the relationship between nobles and servants, aside from those two, there weren’t many people who would speak to me.

“Then I’ll go!”

And Sonia too.

Since I was going with her, she seemed to have some expectation that she would be able to do some kind of work… so this was the best way to persuade her.

And so.

The two of us came to head for Count Zahel’s territory.

But Sonia probably didn’t know.

I don’t intend to make any work for you to do.

So let’s go and have a good rest.

All right?