by Funa
Perhaps I greatly underestimated Mariel... No, no, no!
Count Maslias quickly shook his head. No matter how clever she was, no human could have such a connection with the Goddess. Had she really ordered those horses to...?
No, I must use my common sense!
The count looked at the horses, dogs, and crows overhead, then hung his head...
Count Maslias actually didn’t fully believe in Mariel’s words himself. But there was no mistaking that there was something supernatural about these events. And whoever was responsible for these supernatural events was clearly on Mariel’s side, and there was no one he could think of that would fit such a profile, besides the Goddess Celestine herself. This went not just for the count, but everyone gathered there...
Having witnessed the once-in-a-lifetime event of an actual miracle, and the moment a beautiful noble girl avenged her family, the crowd was all worked up, undulating like a massive wave.
Seeing this, the count thought to himself: I must ride this big wave!
“Aragorn, just accept it.”
But Aragorn wouldn’t give up. If he confessed to his crimes now, he would lose far more than his reputation. Not only would he lose his status as a noble, he would be executed, so he was obviously going to struggle until the very end.
“A-Accept what? That girl has joined forces with the devil and murdered her own parents, then used her demonic connections to frame me for her own sins! She’s the one we should be punishing, as the enemy of the Goddess...”
The count cringed visibly.
“It seems you misunderstand something.”
“Huh?”
Aragorn paused after being cut off, and Count Maslias continued.
“I may be the count of your parent house, but I cannot simply do as I wish to a noble of another house. Unless they try to harm me directly, that is. So, there’s no point in you trying to make excuses to me, or trying to convince me of your innocence. Even His Majesty the King couldn’t freely punish nobles without evidence. If he did, the nobles would revolt!”
“Ah, then...!”
Aragorn looked elated upon realizing Count Maslias didn’t intend to convict him. But the count wasn’t done talking.
“Whether there’s evidence or not, the only one who can freely punish a noble is that noble’s head of house.”
“...What?”
Aragorn’s neck turned slowly, laboriously, until it faced toward Mariel. There, he saw Mariel’s face, smiling right at him.
At first, Mariel thought no one would ever listen to a child like her, even if she did speak up. Her brother was to be the heir, so Mariel hadn’t received any education about being the head of house, and though she had been instructed on how to be a lady, those lessons had not included details on the dark side of managing a house, such as the head of house’s right to freely deal with a family member as they wished.
But now, ever since she had resolved to get revenge, she had researched and studied everything she could possibly do.
“Mariel doesn’t need evidence or witnesses to sentence you. She can simply say you disobeyed the head of the house or brought shame upon the house in order to strip you of your nobility, lock you in a dungeon for life, or even behead you. The reason she has gone through this entire procedure is to prove that it wasn’t some ordinary bandits who got the best of her parents, and to show the public that she had finally avenged her family’s killer. With the lone heiress getting revenge for her family, and with the full support of her house, she not only avoids losing face or her title, but she has all but ensured her stability as the head of the noble family that is watched over by the Goddess Celestine. Who would dare make a move on the noble family that has the favor of the Goddess herself? If such a fool exists, I’d like to meet them.”
Count Maslias then turned to Mariel, ignoring Aragorn completely as he collapsed to the ground.
“What will you do with him? I presume it would be difficult to see his face if he was kept alive. Someone could plot to use him somehow, as well. Shall I take care of him?”
Mariel shook her head.
“Thank you for your consideration. But as the head of my house, I must be the one to get rid of my family’s shame. I only need the Goddess’s helping hand to guide me.”
“I see... Yes, of course...”
That would be more effective for when the rumors spread among the nobles and in the royal palace. This way, she would be known as the fierce and dignified viscountess, favored by the Goddess, who avenged her parents and brother by her own hands.
The count couldn’t help but nod repeatedly in understanding.
＊ ＊
“...Well then, allow me to go over the final confirmation of the contract’s details.”
The event ended without us having to step in. Afterward, Mariel’s servants tied up her uncle, Aragorn, and dragged him off to the dungeons... So, they really did have dungeons...
The count left after talking for some time, and we had just gone over the confirmation of the completed job.
Oh, Emile and Belle had taken Ed and the others back already, and the crows and dogs had dispersed, for now. They were all pretty disappointed, since they had had a pretty good gig going. They wanted me to contact them again next time, but I really doubted there would be all that many job opportunities for seeking revenge like this. Well, I did give it some thought, at least, for their sakes.
As for Carlos, he went straight to the stables here, got his mask off, and he’d been there ever since. Mariel already paid me the amount I bought him for.
...I wasn’t running a charity, after all. I would be collecting expenses, separate from my retainer.
“I’ve received the retainer and expenses, so I’d like to discuss the bonus reward... As we discussed previously, I’ve permitted the crows and dogs one visit each to come to this house if they ever get injured, sick, or otherwise need help. If a dog or crow enters your premises looking weak, please protect them and provide care and food. Then, I ask that you keep records of their visit and turn them away if they return a second time. Likewise, if they come simply to beg for food.”
“...”
Mariel and the butler had rather awkward looks on their faces.
Well, if they wanted to provide service for the second visits and so on, that was up to them. I was just pointing out that their responsibility, as stated by the contract, was to treat them just the once.
“Dogs are one thing, but we wouldn’t really be able to tell the crows apart. Even if we had portraits of each one...”
Oh.
The butler nodded in agreement at Mariel’s rather astute point.
Urrrgh...
“I-I’ll leave that up to you...”
If a crow ever got injured, they would most likely die then and there. I didn’t expect a lot of them to be able to make it to the mansion. Yes, I’ll leave it all up to them! It’s their problem now!
And so, everything had been fully resolved. The initial job as the “animal doctor,” the additional horse translations, and the final assistance with her revenge...
The revenge case was technically a request from Carlos, but with all the extra requests that came afterward, I had signed a new contract with Mariel to consolidate the additional issues. Otherwise, all that crow and dog food would have put me wholly in the red. It wasn’t like Carlos was going to pay me, after all.
“Well then, I’ll be going now...”
“Please wait!”
Just as I tried to leave along with Francette, who was waiting in the back, Mariel called out to me.
“...Yes?” I stopped walking and asked, then Mariel and the butler rose from their seats, and they, along with the servants who had been waiting behind them, got on their hands and knees and bowed their heads toward me.
“We sincerely thank you for your help, from the bottom of our hearts. If possible, please, we ask that you give us an opportunity to repay you...”
Ahh... I didn’t
really want to deal with that kind of thing... But it would’ve been rude of me to tell Mariel that, I guess...
“Yes, if such an opportunity ever arises...” I said, mostly to be polite, as I prepared to leave for real this time... But wait, why did that servant girl look so worried?
“What is it?”
“Ah! N-No, it’s nothing!”
Yeah, that was the expected response.
“Tell me!”
“Eeeeeek!!!”
Wow, she didn’t have to get that scared... Wait, is it the eyes?! Are my eyes that scary?!
No, no, I had used adhesive to force my eyes to look droopier and used makeup to cover it up.
...So what’s the deal?!
“Speak!”
“Y-Y-Yes! U-Um, is it okay to say the crows and dogs that helped us are servants of the Goddess...? We won’t really incur the wrath of the Goddess this time, will we...?”
Oh, that. She thought I was just some girl who could speak to animals, so she was afraid I was using the Goddess’s name for my own gain. Her concerns were completely understandable, considering that this was Celes we were dealing with.
“Don’t worry. Celes wouldn’t get angry over such a minor thing, and she wouldn’t complain about something I decided to do. Because...”
“Because?”
“Celes and I are friends!”
Some of the other servants looked anxious too, so I figured it’d be fine to tell them, just to put their minds at ease. I’d already stressed to Mariel and all the serving staff that they were to speak of me to absolutely no one.
The servants were flabbergasted, though Mariel and the butler must have already suspected this, as they were rather unperturbed.
I left the house of Viscount Raphael behind with Francette, who seemed dissatisfied by the way I had been in the background during the earlier events, but she was full of smiles after seeing me being worshiped in the end.
＊ ＊
“...So that’s what happened.”
After dinner, Francette gave the full account of what had happened up until now to Roland. He needed to have this information, just in case something related to this incident came up later on, making this a necessary process.
“Why was I left out of this?!”
...Even though we knew Roland would get upset.
“That is, of course, because we cannot have you, a member of the royal family, getting involved with issues concerning nobles of another nation. If you happened to let slip your own status, or the need for you to reveal your identity were to arise, it would have led to an international incident...”
“Then how about you, Francette? You’re a noble of our own kingdom! That could have led to an international incident, too, could it not?!”
Yeah... I figured he’d say that... Honestly, I probably would have argued the same thing.
But Francette was unperturbed.
“In that case, I would simply have forfeited my title as viscountess and instead become a vagabond swordswoman in exile. I would have you return to the kingdom, and our engagement would be null and void...”
“Wha?! Fran, you would go that far...?”
She would have given up her nation, family, and engagement, becoming a wanderer without a home. But as Roland was greatly admiring her spirit...
“Then, as the guardian knight of the goddess, I would spend my days happily with the four of us: me, Lady Kaoru, Layette, and Belle... Hehe, hehehe...”
“What? That was your true intention?!”
“Where am I in your plan?!”
Roland yelled, and Emile raised his own objection, as Francette drooled with a slovenly smile, lost in her fantasies.
Yeah, I figured as much...
Besides, what nation would dare exile Fearsome Fran, the reborn knight, the great hero who had been granted the divine blade and received the blessing of the Goddess? They would rather risk a war than lose someone like her. In fact, they might even prioritize her over Roland. No, seriously...
＊ ＊
“An emissary from the royal palace has arrived.”
“Let them through.”
It was finally time.
An emissary from the royal palace...
“Not to worry, I’ve already sent a letter to His Majesty. This is likely just for confirmation.”
With that, Count Maslias gave me a reassuring look. He had taken good care of me and House Raphael since even before my family’s passing, and I admired him greatly. He had come here hurriedly today purely out of concern for me, immediately upon hearing the news of the emissary’s upcoming arrival. With my parents no longer here, he was like a father to me.
...An emissary from the royal palace.
Indeed, the visit was to confirm the truth about the death of my family, my uncle Aragorn’s crimes, and how he had been dealt with, all of which I’d detailed in a letter to His Majesty the King.
Count Maslias informed me that he had also explained the circumstances in a letter, and as such he assured me that this was merely a formality to confirm the details...
I greeted the emissary in the reception room and began explaining the situation, though everything had already been outlined in the letter, so there wasn’t much to add.
“So, what happened to the divine horses, crows, and dogs of the Goddess that this horse, Carlos, brought in?”
“Huh? I had them leave, of course.”
The emissary, surprisingly, was a count. I had been expecting a common government official, or perhaps a third- or fourth-born noble of lower rank, one that was perhaps an untitled civil servant. And he did not question me about my uncle... no, Aragorn’s... crimes, but focused on the details of the unnatural phenomena... or, rather, the Goddess’s miracles. I took this to mean that they had no intention of meddling with the internal affairs of House Raphael, or how I had handled Aragorn’s disposal. Although, really, it wasn’t as if I had done anything worthy of reprimand in the first place.
If they had interfered with the legitimate head of a noble house punishing a villain within their own family, the other nobles would end up fearing that the same thing could happen to them and would likely stand together against the royal family. The current royal family had a relatively good relationship with the powerful noble houses, so it was unlikely that they would do something so foolish, especially when they would not benefit from going after a small viscountcy like mine.
Besides, the royal family should have been aware that Count Maslias wouldn’t idly stand by and let such a thing happen. Which meant that House Raphael should be safe, but...
“...And did you happen to meet a young girl with scary eyes as of late?”
Huh?
What was this about? The one I met had kindly, downturned eyes. Though, there was an unnaturalness about her face, like it was being pulled taut.
“No, no one like that...”
“I-I see. Then what about, o-oh, I don’t know, someone who could perform miracles from the Goddess...?”
“As I mentioned previously, the only mysterious events were the actions of the crows, dogs, and horses.”
“I see... Then, would you mind letting me meet those horses?”
“Oh, um, sure, that’s not a problem...”
When I brought him to the stables, Carlos and the other horses walked over right away. I’d always been close with the horses, but I’d been even closer with them since that day.
“Carlos. I’ve heard of your great deeds. His Majesty was quite impressed, as well!”
“Brr? Bff!”
Ah, Carlos is blowing air out of his nose in annoyance, probably because an unfamiliar human is talking to him so presumptuously.
“Whoa!”
Oh, Carlos got a bit of snot on him...
The emissary asked me a few more things afterward, but he never ended up faulting me or those of House Raphael for what had happened, and left these words by the king before leaving: “You’ve done well. Continue to protect your
house, your territory, and your people, and faithfully serve your kingdom.”
“You carried yourself well, Mariel! This means your actions have been fully, officially approved, and His Majesty has acknowledged you as the rightful heir of House Raphael. Though, I suppose that conclusion was never really in question. In any case, I’m glad things turned out smoothly. Now, you should thank your servants for their hard work, reward them with a half day off and some extra spending money, and take some rest for yourself, as well. I’m sure you’re exhausted from everything you’ve been through. Managing your health is part of your duty and job as the viscountess. Rest well.”
He left soon after, perhaps because he thought I wouldn’t be able to rest with him around.
＊ ＊
After the count took his leave, I did as he recommended: distributed a small allowance and told the servants, except the guards, to take the rest of the day off and return before it was time to close the gates.
The cooks had been dismissed as well, so there wouldn’t be anything for them to eat if they stayed. I told them as much, and they laughed awkwardly as they prepared to go out for the day. Of course, the funds I had given them were enough to have a fairly high-quality meal with plenty to spare. I called it a small amount, but it obviously wasn’t mere pocket change. We might not be powerful, but we were a noble house, after all. A viscount’s house at that, not just some baronial house! Now that I had some free time, I decided to go to the stables to pay Carlos a visit.
“Carlos! Thank you for everything. I couldn’t have done it without you. If you hadn’t gotten to know the divine horse and met Lady Celestine’s goddess friend, I never would have been able to avenge my family and secure House Raphael’s future. I can’t thank you enough...”
“Brr, brrrr!”
“I’m sorry for turning down the Goddess’s offer to give you the ability to speak to humans with her magical potion. I thought you wouldn’t need it...”