96. Between the Northern Grand Duke and the Tragic Handsome Man,
An Unbridgeable Wall of Taste
A week later.
At last, the decisive day dawned.
“You’re really leaving. And leaving me behind, too.”
Just before I departed for Baron Garrett’s territory, the Administrator—who had come to see me off—looked as though he were about to cry.
“Travel safely. Don’t get hurt. If anything happens, contact me. And if you ever want to see me, just say so.”
“Alright.”
“Don’t you dare forget me just because you can’t see me, okay? You know I’ll always be watching you.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Your answer sounds half-hearted. You are listening properly, aren’t you? Hm?”
He spoke with such desperate sincerity, but I only gave a dry laugh.
“You’re acting like we’ll never see each other again. It’s only three or four days at most. Besides, didn’t you say you were coming with me?”
“Yeah, but I’ll be in chat mode. Since I’ve already made my appearance with an avatar, I wanted to stick right by your side.”
“Oh, absolutely not.”
The Administrator had suggested traveling with me in avatar mode, but I refused.
The Administrator is only visible to me, after all.
Having what was essentially a half-ghost following me around would be asking for mistakes.
So I asked him to just accompany me in chat mode for convenience.
“But you know what they say—out of sight, out of mind.”
He still sounded sulky.
“Do you think I bothered appearing in such a cute, adorable form for no reason? I only did it to catch your eye. Being handsome might divide opinions, but being cute? Everybody likes that.”
“Even being handsome divides opinions?”
“You really don’t know romance fantasy, do you? People who love the Northern Grand Duke and people who love the Tragic Handsome Man—how could they ever be the same?”
The Administrator let out a sigh.
“I need to know what you like so I can fit the role. But our possessor seems cursed when it comes to romance—you’re so unenthusiastic…”
He was nagging more than usual today.
I tried to placate him.
“No, I really like cute things a lot. Now that I think about it, your strategy was spot on. Cute really is the best.”
“…Really?”
“Mm-hm. Actually, I thought you were cute even back when you only chatted with me. Especially when you used emoticons.”
“Really, really?”
“Really.”
【Unknown: (＾∇＾)】
【Unknown: Hehe.】
【Unknown: Then I’ll follow along in chat mode.】
Simple creature.
Knock, knock.
“Young Lady, it’s time to depart.”
At that moment, the butler’s voice rang out, marking the official start of my journey.
Outside, the carriage was already waiting.
The servants were loading luggage into the supply wagons, while several attendants stood ready to see me off.
Caien was waiting in front of the carriage. Even in a crowd as dense as a flock of clouds, he stood out unmistakably.
“Roselia.”
At that moment, Icart spotted me and approached.
Philip was with him.
“Are you fully prepared? You’ve packed the protective items I gave you, right?”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Besides, this time a large number of knights were accompanying us. At least as far as safety was concerned, there was nothing to fear.
“Good. I’ve thoroughly briefed Philip about this transaction, so if anything comes up, ask him.”
“Leave it to me.”
Philip’s eyes were shadowed with fatigue. Who knew how many nights he had stayed awake preparing, but it looked like he’d worked hard.
“But I don’t see Lady Seraphine of House Blaine.”
“Strange, isn’t it? We should be leaving soon.”
Seraphine had been coming and going from the ducal estate until just yesterday. She had been brimming with enthusiasm for this journey; there was no way she wouldn’t show up.
“Let’s wait a little longer.”
We left the carriage idle as we waited.
“Young Laaady!”
“There she is.”
An all-too-familiar voice rang out from afar.
Seraphine was arriving in her family’s carriage. She stuck her head out the window and waved enthusiastically at me.
But then—
“…?”
Behind her carriage trailed not one but two wagons laden with luggage.
It wasn’t like she was emigrating. Why did she bring so much stuff?
“I kept you waiting, didn’t I? Sorry!”
Seraphine stepped down from the carriage with a sheepish laugh.
“Why did you bring so much that you needed three carriages? What is all this?”
“Snacks!”
“Snacks? All this?”
“Of course! You love desserts!”
So she filled two entire wagons just with sweets?
I wasn’t that obsessed with desserts.
But while I looked dumbfounded, Seraphine only seemed proud.
“There was even a servant who used to secretly sneak you desserts, wasn’t there? Since no one will be around to do that on this trip, I decided I’d take care of you myself.”
Uh, that person’s right here, though.
“….”
I glanced sidelong at Caien. His expression was visibly souring by the second.
I rode in the same carriage as Seraphine and Philip. Caien and the other attendants took different ones.
During the ride, Philip gave a briefing on the upcoming schedule.
When he finished, I spoke first.
“I heard Baron Garrett is the third son of Count Langley.”
“Ah, yes, you’ve heard correctly.”
Philip was startled that I brought up Baron Garrett on my own.
“Is there anything I should know in advance about him? Tell me in as much detail as possible.”
Even if I was only a stand-in, I couldn’t go in blind.
Philip looked briefly flustered but quickly regained his professional composure.
“As you know, Baron Garrett is the youngest son of Count Langley. He was pushed out of the line of succession quite early.”
“Because of his brothers?”
“Partly due to birth order, but also because he lost much of his reputation due to misconduct. On top of that, he had no aptitude for the family business, so he was excluded from succession early on.”
“That serious?”
What kind of debauchery did it take to get disowned so soon?
“Yes. He apparently caused frequent trouble both inside and outside the family. Some incidents were so severe even Count Langley could barely cover them up.”
“Oh my.”
Seraphine gave a small sigh.
So despite being a noble, his behavior was little better than that of a common thug.
“Handing over Garrett’s lands to him was, in effect, Count Langley’s way of removing him from succession.”
Philip’s words were diplomatic, but…
More bluntly, it was like saying: take this and get lost.
Garrett’s territory was plagued by poor security and frequent monster raids.
Before the discovery of a mana stone lode, its revenues had been meager at best.
Giving him the barren, dangerous region along with the bare minimum rank of baron made it obvious how little the family valued him.
“They gave him a troublesome land, but unexpectedly it turned into a gold mine.”
“Exactly. No one could have predicted a mana stone vein would be discovered in Garrett’s territory.”
“I see.”
“Still, since inheriting the title, Baron Garrett has devoted himself entirely to managing the estate.”
“Really? Somehow I doubt a man who lived as a wastrel would suddenly reform overnight.”
Ping!
【Unknown: Right, right.】
【Unknown: People rarely change.】
【Unknown: ( ¯⌓¯)】
The Administrator chimed in.
【Unknown: I was watching because I was curious,】
【Unknown: and this is a pretty interesting story.】
【Unknown: I really should’ve gone along in avatar mode.】
【Unknown: (╥_╥)】
You’re watching everything through the chat anyway, so what’s the difference?
At this rate, you’re less like a guardian angel and more like a restless ghost.
A faint smile tugged at my lips, but Philip gave me a puzzled look.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I quickly smoothed my expression.
After riding half a day without rest, dusk had fallen outside the carriage window.
Seraphine, worn out by the long journey, had dozed off.
Philip looked out the window.
“Once we cross this bridge, we’ll be entering Garrett territory. We should prepare to disembark.”
I nodded silently.
Out the window, Garrett’s lands looked surprisingly prosperous.
They said that only a decade ago, this was little better than a slum.
Though the mana stone mines had transformed it, the region had once been home to impoverished settlers.
Geographically isolated and plagued by frequent monster attacks, development must have been next to impossible.
But thanks to steady mana stone revenues, the territory had flourished this much.
I marveled as I gazed at the modern streets.
Before long, our carriage slowed and finally stopped before Baron Garrett’s manor.
As I stepped out, a line of the baron’s servants greeted me with the utmost courtesy.
“You’ve come from House Serteia. You must be weary from the long journey—please, come inside. The lord is waiting for you.”
That description of the baron being all bad sounds like something an evil stepmother would put out to tarnish some poor FL. I wonder if it’s accurate or not.