Chapter 10: Cecil Leaves Home

October rolled around, and Allen turned eleven. After his first success clearing an orc village at the end of May, he had gone on to wipe out twenty more since. There were still plenty left, but he planned on getting to every last one of them eventually. Naturally, he was starting in the north and making his way south in line with the baron’s desire to resume mithril mining operations.

Thanks to his work, preparations for opening the northernmost mine had sped up significantly—the process that had been expected to take three years at least had now been shortened to two. Hiring laborers for the mine and its associated facilities was also going so smoothly that preparations for the village where the laborers would be living could begin as soon as the snow melted away in the coming spring.

Everything’s going great. I’ll keep wiping out the orc villages at this pace, then hopefully clear out the armored ant nests too before becoming an adventurer next year.

Back when he was eight, Allen had made up his mind that he would resign from service to House Granvelle once he turned twelve. Three very eventful years had passed since then.

“Allen, I leave Cecil in your hands. Protect her.”

As the days counted down to the day of Allen’s resignation, Mihai’s words began surfacing more and more often in his mind. Just what on earth did Mihai want Allen to protect Cecil from? If the intention behind those words had been for Allen to continue serving Cecil for the rest of his life, then he would have to refuse. He had mulled over the line many times, trying to figure out what else it could mean. Sadly, no answer came to mind.

“So! Royal envoy today!” Rickel commented, sliding into the seat across from Allen’s as the boy was eating breakfast.

“That’s what they said,” Allen replied, thinking about how these breakfast chats had gone on for more than three years now.

Just as Rickel had mentioned, a royal envoy was scheduled to arrive that day. All the servants had been informed the day before that he was to be expected slightly after noon. All personal attendants had been ordered to gather in the dining room on the second floor at the time.

Is it going to be talk about raising the head tax again?

No one had heard what the purpose of the visit was. The large majority of royal envoys were quite haughty, so nobody really looked forward to their visits.

Noon arrived, bringing with it the royal envoy. Sebas guided him from the entrance hall to the second floor dining room. Allen stood at attention right behind Cecil, who sat at the lowest seat among the members of the baron’s immediate family. The other personal servants had also taken up positions right behind the respective family member they served. There were no arrangements for food to be served—this would not be a lunch.

Soon, three people walked into the dining hall. The one at the head was noticeably better dressed, making it clear he was the envoy and the other two his aides. He took the distinguished seat at the head of the table as his aides stood at his sides. One of them was holding something.

After Sebas walked over to stand behind his master’s seat directly across from the envoy, the baron said, “Thank you for coming all this way. May I ask what the nature of your visit is today?”

“Mm, House Granvelle has always served the royal family well. His Majesty has called Baron Granvelle’s dedication an exemplar for the other nobles.”

“I-It is an incredible honor to receive such praise. As the servant entrusted with the management of the realm of Granvelle, I express my heartfelt thanks to His Royal Majesty.”

As someone invested with the exclusive authority to speak on behalf of the king, the royal envoy’s status was above that of the baron’s. The baron was quite shaken, as this was the first time a royal envoy had ever started a visit with such praise.

The room then fell silent for a while as the baron waited patiently for the envoy to continue speaking. Thomas squinted at the man as if asking, “What’s with him?”

Eventually, the envoy said, “It truly pains me to deliver this, but...”

Those words seemed to be a signal, as the aide holding something made his way to the middle of the long table. Sebas walked forward to meet him and accepted the proffered envelope before turning back and reverently laying it in front of the baron.

“A letter?”

“Indeed. From your son.”

This exchange between the envoy and her father prompted Cecil to turn and stare at the letter on the table.

The baron’s eyes widened. “F-From Mihai?”

This time, no reply came.

Seeing that the envoy had no intention of saying anything further, Baron Granvelle opened the unsealed envelope and took out a single piece of parchment. When he did so, however, several strands of what looked like lavender-colored thread also fell out. The blood drained from the baron’s face at the sight.

He immediately began reading the letter, but soon blurted out in distress, “What?! But! How can...?!”

“F-Father, what did Mihai write?!”

Normally whenever a guest visited, only the baron was supposed to speak. The others could only reply when addressed directly by the guest. Cecil had been so unsettled that she forgot this rule and called out to her father, but the man did not respond, his attention focused solely on the letter in his hand, his shoulders quaking.

“Wh-When was this written?”

“They are asked to write these regularly and this is the most recent one, which means it’s from around three months ago.”

“What?! But that’s... This is different from what I was promised! H-How could this happen in only six months?!”

The envoy’s unconcerned attitude seemed to have rubbed the baron the wrong way as he railed at the man, his emotions on full display in sharp contrast from his usual self.

“Your son fulfilled his duty, that is all.”

The baron leaped to his feet, glaring daggers. “I-I bet you purposely stationed him in a dangerous place j-just because I’m a lower noble! Mihai had only just graduated from the Academy!”

“Am I to take those as words directed toward the royal family?”

“Wha—?!”

The royal envoy’s haughty attitude had remained the same ever since he walked into the dining hall. He used the same stiff and impassive tone as before to give a response that bordered on a warning. The baron started and swallowed his words back down.

“What is... Let me read it!”

Unable to sit still any longer, the baroness got up and snatched the letter from the baron’s hands. Halfway through scanning the page, she muttered, “This can’t be... M-Mihai...” and fainted from shock. Her personal attendant caught her in the nick of time and carried her off to her room.

“The gratuity payment will be delivered at a later date after your son’s register has been properly reviewed and recorded.”

The baron’s head had gone entirely blank. None of the envoy’s businesslike declarations were reaching his ears.

“Well then, the letter has been delivered, and so my business here is done. I have to head for the next fiefdom now, so I shall take my leave. Baron Granvelle?”

“Y-Yes, my lord?”

The envoy stood up and said, “Remember to continue fulfilling your duty to the royal family as baron of the realm of Granvelle.”

The three visitors exited the dining room, leaving the baron in a total daze. When Sebas made to follow along to escort them out, the envoy said curtly, “No need.”

Silence filled the dining hall until Cecil spoke up in a quivering voice, “Father, wh-what happened?”

Anyone could tell from the way the conversation went just now that Mihai had passed away, and Cecil was not stupid. What she was asking was why he had died and how things had ended up this way.

“That’s... Everyone, leave us. You too, Thomas.”

Apparently even Thomas, a member of the baron’s direct family, was not allowed to hear what he was going to say. Everyone obediently exited the dining hall, leaving only the baron, Sebas, and Cecil inside.

That afternoon, Allen was to clean the mansion together with the maidservants. While his hands moved, his mind mulled over Mihai’s parting words.

“Allen, I leave Cecil in your hands. Protect her.”

Just like the others, Allen had picked up on the fact that Mihai had passed away from the conversation between the baron and the envoy. That meant the letter was likely his last will. He had expected his own death.

Abruptly, a shrill scream filled with rage exploded from the second floor, filling the entire mansion. “THAT MEANS YOU LEFT HIM TO DIE! YOU SENT HIM OFF KNOWING HE WOULD DIE!”

“Wha—?! That’s not what I said! W-We nobles have a duty—”

“AND YOU’RE SAYING NOW I HAVE TO DIE FOR THIS STUPID DUTY TOO?! WAS I BORN JUST TO DIE AS WELL?!”

“No! That’s not— Cecil! Stop right there. Cecil!”

The dining hall door banged open so loudly that the sound reverberated throughout the mansion. Cecil had apparently rushed out in a rage. The nearby servants all exchanged looks, wondering what had happened.

That night, Cecil did not show up for dinner.

The next morning, Rickel once again slipped into the seat across from Allen’s during breakfast. “Hey, did you hear the shouting yesterday?”

“Well, it was pretty loud.” I think everyone in the mansion heard, to be honest.

“Looks like it’s true.”

“What is?”

Rickel leaned over, gesturing for Allen to bring his head near. Then, in a low tone, he said, “I heard a rumor long ago, back when I was still a houseboy, that the members of the Granvelle family all die early. Apparently it had happened to the baron’s parents and older brother.”

It was clear from Rickel’s attitude that this was not something meant to be spread around loudly. Allen continued chatting with him until it was time to head up and tend to Cecil. He joined up with a maidservant, and together they went up to the room of the young lady of the house, who had skipped dinner the night before.

As usual, the maidservant knocked on the door and entered first to help Cecil change. The moment she stepped in, however, her scream rang out, “LADY CECIIIIIL!”

Allen, who had been standing by right outside the door like normal, immediately rushed in. The first thing he saw was the maidservant, who had fallen on her behind and had both hands clapped over her mouth. The second thing he noticed was that Cecil was nowhere to be seen. The third thing...was that the window was open.

He rushed over to the window and peered outside. Did she escape from this window?! But this is the third floor! Shit, she’s nowhere in sight.

“What is all the commotion?!” Sebas roared, having rushed over in response to the maidservant’s scream.

After hearing her explanation, Sebas then promptly ordered all the staff to go and search for Cecil. Even the baron and baroness joined in, but no one found the slightest trace of her. Allen combed through every inch of the mansion, going even so far as the stables, but to no avail. He decided to return to her room to speak with Sebas, who was still at a complete loss.

“Sir, if milady is nowhere on the grounds, she just might have gone out into the city. May I have permission to go search outside?”

“Good idea. I’m counting on you!”

After having received his permission, Allen rushed out of the mansion.

Where is she?!

When Allen had looked out of the window earlier, he had already sent out eight Bird Es into the sky, making sure to do it in a surreptitious way, of course. Now, he was Sharing with all of them, Hawk Eye activated, and had them scouring the city.

Why does this city have to be so huge? Please don’t be inside a building.

Perhaps due to its previous status as a hub for mithril mining, Granvelle City was quite sizable. What’s more, since Hawk Eye could not see inside buildings, Allen could only hope that Cecil was somewhere outside where he could see her.

Found her!

There was a young girl with lavender-colored hair crouched on the ground, hugging her knees in an alleyway several turns off of the main avenue in the business district. One look and it was clear that this area did not have good public order. As Allen hurriedly made his way over to her, he realized that the vicinity appeared to be a slum area. The air was damp and foul.

When Allen approached, Cecil’s shoulders jolted. She slowly lifted her head. “Allen...?”

“Yes, milady.”

After excusing himself, Allen sat on the ground next to Cecil. The two of them sat in silence for a while.

“Didn’t you come to bring me back?”

“No, I did not.”

“What? Then why...?”

“I am your personal manservant, Lady Cecil. When you go on an outing, it is my duty to accompany you.”

Over the past few years, Allen had visited a lot of different places throughout Granvelle City in his capacity as Cecil’s personal manservant. That included shopping trips, events that Cecil had to attend as the daughter of the feudal lord, and at times, simple walks that had no particular purpose. According to Allen, this situation was no different from all the other times before.

The answer was so unexpected that Cecil found herself at a loss for words.

“Lady Cecil, I see you have a wound on your leg. I have some herbs with me. Please excuse me as I apply it.”

Allen reached over with a Leaf of Life to heal the gash that Cecil had likely gotten while escaping from the mansion.

“Huh?”

Cecil exclaimed softly in surprise at seeing her cut disappear in a matter of seconds. Then the two returned to sitting in silence. After a while, however, Cecil’s stomach growled. She pressed her hands over her stomach, blushing slightly in embarrassment. She had not had anything to eat since yesterday.

“I’m afraid this is all I have on me, but would you like some, milady?” Allen held out some molmo, dried jerky, and dried potatoes that he had retrieved from Storage.

“Where were you keeping those?” Cecil asked, giving him a weird look. However, her empty stomach won over her curiosity, so she did not press the matter.

While Cecil was engrossed with wolfing down the food, Allen continued keeping an eye on the vicinity, using Hawk Eye to ensure there were no hoodlums approaching their location.

Hmm, it’d be a problem if someone picks a fight with us her— Hm?

Allen’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Cecil’s sobs. Now that her stomach was filled, what happened in the dining hall yesterday had probably come back to mind. She repeatedly mumbled, “I don’t want to die” in a small voice.

I’ve never tried consoling an eleven-year-old girl before, but looks like I don’t have a choice.

“Lady Cecil.”

“What?”

“What do you think about not returning home and running away from this city with me? If memory serves me right, the magic ship should be arriving tomorrow, but if you prefer, we can travel by land too. There are many other fiefdoms in this country, right?”

“What?!” Cecil lifted her head to look at Allen’s face in surprise. Not only did he not try to talk her out of running away from home, he was even pushing the idea himself.

“You can forget your family. We can travel through so many different countries and visit so many different places. Imagine how fun it’d be!”

Though we’d be seeing a lot more monsters than we do cities. I just happen to need someone who can deal ranged damage.

The word “monster” usually carried the connotation of death, so Allen glossed over it with the word “places.” As it so happened, his Summons could only fight in close quarters, so it would expand the breadth of the strategies he could take if someone like Cecil was to fight together with him.

“That’s impossible!”

“It’s entirely possible. If it’s money you’re worried about, I have plenty of it.” Allen started producing gold coins one after the other.

“That’s... Huh?!”

“Another option is to return to the mansion first and wait it out for one more year. Next year, we’ll both turn twelve and can register as adventurers. We could wait until then.”

“B-But the Academy...”

All this time, Cecil had grown up being told she would be going to Academy City when she turned twelve.

“I mean, you don’t have to go, right?”

“I don’t?”

“Even if someone tells you to go, if you don’t want to go, then you don’t have to go. What do you want to do, Lady Cecil? It’s your life. It’s your choice.”

“What I want to do...”

All Allen wanted to do was help Cecil see that she had a lot more options than she thought. The young girl fell silent as she mulled over what this meant, and Allen waited patiently for her. Perhaps it was the first time she had truly thought about what it was she wanted to do.

About an hour later, a commotion started approaching along the main avenue. Apparently, the search for Cecil was kicking up a notch. The sound of voices calling her name reached all the way down the alleyway to where she and Allen were.

“Allen.”

“Yes, milady?”

“I’m returning to the mansion.”

“Understood.”

“Give me a piggyback ride.”

“Of course.”

Allen turned around and knelt down, and Cecil clambered on. He then started walking out to the avenue.

“Allen.”

“Yes, milady?”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you, milady.”

Cecil bashfully buried her face in Allen’s shoulder.

As soon as Allen emerged into the main avenue, his eyes met with a knight’s. He informed the man that he had found Cecil, then turned to head straight back to the mansion. Word seemed to have gotten around, as when they were about halfway home, they stopped seeing knights running about.

It took quite a while to walk all the way back, but the mansion finally appeared up ahead. The baron and his entire family were waiting outside. Slightly before reaching them, Cecil asked Allen to let her down.

The baron rushed over and enveloped her in a hug. “Cecil!”

“I’m sorry for causing such a commotion, father.”

“It’s fine. It’s fine, really.”

“He’s right. Cecil, you don’t have to shoulder this by yourself,” the baroness added, tears of joy streaming down her face.

The baron grabbed both of Cecil’s shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. “I almost have everything ready. I’m so close.”

“Huh?”

“The first mithril mine is going to be reopened very soon. I’m planning on offering a portion of the mining rights to the royal family in exchange for exempting you from your duty. I promise you I’ll successfully negotiate it. So you have nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.”

Perhaps this was what the baron had been trying to tell Cecil yesterday.

Ohhh, so that’s why he was really pushing so hard to get the mines up and running.

Ever since the day that news had come of the white dragon moving away, the baron had seemed somewhat desperate about resuming mining operations. As it turned out, he was clinging to it as his ticket for saving the life of his beloved daughter.

“There’s no need, father.”

“What?”

“I, Cecil Granvelle, shall carry out my duty as a daughter of House Granvelle, just as my brother, Mihai Granvelle, did. I will no longer run from it.”

In a quivering voice, the girl with crimson eyes clearly declared what it was that she wanted to do.

＊ ＊ ＊

Several days after the commotion raised by Cecil running away from home settled down, Allen once again visited Krena Village through a Shared Bird G. Ever since July the previous year, he had sent the parrot back home regularly to bring money to his parents. He had done it more than ten times by now.

Clink.

When the sound of the coin hitting the earthen floor rang out, Theresia turned around. “Oh, good morning, Pippi. You’ve brought us another one? And there’s the letter too.”

Its name is Chappy, mother.

“Pii!”

Right next to the gold coin at the bird’s feet was a sheet of parchment. It had held the gold coin in its beak and clasped the letter with its claws.

Theresia picked both up.

The third time Allen sent money back, he had sent Chappy all the way inside the house, so Theresia finally caught sight of the bird. Even since then, he had also included a letter with the coin.

The first letter had only said “Allen.” Although his parents were for the most part illiterate, they still knew how to read and write the names of their children. This was how they learned who the sender was.

“It’s Pippi!” Myulla, who was now four, rushed out to the earthen-floored room in an effort to catch Bird G. Even though Allen had set “Chappy” as its name, his family had taken to calling it “Pippi” instead.

Hah! There’s nothing you can do if you can’t catch it!

With more than 200 Agility, Bird G had no trouble zipping around the small room, elegantly evading Myulla’s lunges.

“Myulla, hon, settle down.”

“Okay, mommy.”

“Oh! Another letter! How’s my boy?” Rodin just happened to come home. He went straight over to the family water jug and took a long draft.

It was now time for lunch. Rodin, Theresia, Mash, and Myulla gathered around the dinner table. Despite having become commoners, they still lived in the same house and ate the same food.

“A letter came? Let me see!” Mash said, reaching out for the parchment that Pippi had brought.

Oh? Let’s see how much you’ve learned!

One reason Allen had started including a letter with the gold coin was to assuage his family’s suspicions about the money he was sending back. Another was because Mash had started learning how to read and write.

A tutor had arrived at the village last year to prepare Krena for the Academy’s entrance exam. She had two years to learn everything she needed to know. Thanks to the village chief’s arrangements, the tutor also agreed to teach a few more children at the same time, including Mash, Dogora, and Pelomas. Allen had not watched any of the lessons himself, but he had gleaned that the tutor was teaching reading, writing, and math. Every day, Mash came home with a parchment bearing words written by the tutor and read them out loud repeatedly, doing his best to commit them to memory.

Although he stumbled a few times, Mash managed to read the full letter out loud. “Father, mother, Mash, and Myulla, how are you doing? I am doing great. Father, don’t drink too much. Myulla, go to bed when mother tells you to. I will write another letter next time.”

Hey, he’s gotten pretty good at reading. Looks like his studies are going well. Honestly, I’m pretty sure that if father puts his mind to it, he’d be able to learn reading and writing pretty quickly too.

In this world, the Intelligence stat affected how well someone could remember things. Even if Rodin’s Intelligence was ranked at D or E, considering how many levels he had gained from all the boar hunting he did, he should still have a much better memory than the average person. By Allen’s estimate, he could probably learn how to read and write if he applied himself seriously for a year.

Mash turned to look at his sister. “Myulla, Allen told you to go to bed when mommy tells you to.”

“But I do!” Myulla retorted in between bites of her steamed potato.

Rodin sighed a little. “Is Allen really doing all right? He keeps sending us so much money.”

Even though Allen had said many times in his letters that he was making more than enough, his parents still worried about him. For both serfs and commoners, one gold was a lot of money. The truth, however, was that ever since he had started selling armored ant shells, Allen’s monthly income, combined with his salary, exceeded ten gold. Sending one gold home was not all that much of a burden on him—conversely, he was holding himself back and keeping it at one gold in order to avoid causing undue worry.

Although he had not been able to do anything for his family in the first year and a half after becoming a manservant, thanks to Sharing, he could now do so with ease. There was no such thing as insurance in this world. Allen was hoping that this money could help tide his family over in case—knock on wood—anything happened to them.

＊ ＊ ＊

While Allen was enjoying time with his family while Sharing with Bird G, Cecil called out to him. It was lunchtime here at the Granvelle mansion too, and Allen was on serving duty.

“Allen, come to my room afterward.”

“Understood, milady.”

Cecil seemed to have pulled herself together over the past few days. Although she had not completely gotten over what had happened, she no longer showed signs of being so unstable as to run out of the house again. And ever since that day, her treatment of Allen seemed to have gotten slightly kinder. The way she spoke remained the same, but the way she looked at him had grown a little softer.

After lunch, Allen knocked on the door of Cecil’s room. Upon hearing her “Come in!” from within, he pushed it open. Due to having just seen his family’s home, the sight before his eyes looked a bit grander than it usually did. Cecil was sitting at a round table that was just the right size for two people to have tea at.

“Allen, good job finding me the other day.”

“Thank you, milady.”

“Come over here.”

“Yes, milady.”

When Allen reached the table, Cecil told him to take the seat across from hers, so he obliged. The table was loaded with tea and snacks that looked much fancier than what Cecil usually enjoyed.

“Allen, you’ve been my manservant for three years now. You even helped me out the other day. This is your reward.”

Yay, snacks! Yay, reward! Funny, I didn’t get a celebration last year, but I got one this year.

After Allen’s first year as manservant, Cecil had offered him a reward. Thanks to her arrangements, he had gotten a lesson with her magic tutor. That was where he had learned how magic in this world worked and how it was related to the Intelligence stat.

Last year, Allen had planned on asking for the snacks he had forgone requesting for his first anniversary, but Cecil never brought the topic up. Allen thought she had forgotten about the anniversary or had gotten bored of giving out a reward after the first time, but here she was with a combined reward for his third anniversary and his service the other day.

“Go on, it’s all yours,” Cecil said, gesturing at the baked sweets.

“Thank you!” Allen, who had always had a sweet tooth, dug in with gusto, showing no sign of reserve despite being in front of Cecil. IT’S SO GOOOOOD!

During that time, Cecil explained that she had asked her father for an allowance and then paid the head chef that money to have him bake all this for Allen. In other words, these baked sweets were also partly a gesture of gratitude from the baron.

I never knew Mr. Dudley could bake something this delicious! As expected of a former royal court chef!

Upon learning that it was the head chef who had made the sweets he was now eating, Allen recalled how Rickel had told him previously that there were two people in this mansion who once used to serve in the royal court. One of them was Dudley, the head chef, who had worked there until he retired after turning fifty and came home to Granvelle. Allen remembered thinking, How did someone with such a coarse tongue make it in the royal palace? at the time.

The other person was Cecil’s magic tutor. This elderly man who had taught Allen so much about magic had also come to serve at the Granvelle mansion after retiring from the royal court. However, unlike the head chef, Granvelle was not his hometown. The reason he was here in Granvelle City was entirely because of Cecil.

It was customary for noble families to hire a tutor for their children when they were identified as having a Talent for magic through the Appraisal Ceremony. If the Talent in question was only a one-star Talent, such as Mage, then a fellow Mage would suffice. However, Cecil possessed Wizardess, a rare two-star Talent. Back when the baron was looking for a tutor, he happened to hear of someone with the same Talent who was nearing retirement age and so approached him with an offer. Now, the elderly man came around to the mansion once a week, spending the rest of the days in his house in the nobles quarter and enjoying his life after retirement.

“Allen, you don’t have to worry.”

“Hm?” What’s she talking about?

Apparently, there was something that Cecil still wanted to talk about. Allen stopped his hand, which had been reaching out for another piece of baked confection, to listen to her.

“You mentioned becoming an adventurer when you were talking about the future. But don’t worry.”

Oh, she’s talking about what I said to cheer her up back in the alleyway?

“You’re very good at your job. I know. So I’ve told father to make you a gentleman-in-waiting as soon as possible.”

You did what?!

The only thing Allen could say in response to Cecil’s bright, innocent smile was, “You honor me too much, milady.”