Chapter 57

[To Miss Truydd,

May you be in good health and prosperity, and may peace be upon your household.

Attached is the requested real estate information.

Sedona Agricultural Cooperative]

—

[To My Esteemed Employer,

I understand that sending a letter to this address means it will reach you. Sedona is next to Carten. Not only did you find a property that fits my criteria, but you also provided a detailed description of the house and land. Thank you.

I have many questions about the tone of the letter, but it would be problematic if this message fell into someone else’s hands. I’ll ask you directly when we meet at the start of the academic year.

I assume I can move in immediately? According to the report on the field, I need to start managing it now if I want to plant anything next year.

— Nerys Truydd]

—

[To the Even Greater Miss Truydd,

The first letter wasn’t from me; one of my subordinates sent it. What kind of tone did he use? Never mind, I’ll ask him myself.

I figured you’d want to move in immediately, so I made the necessary arrangements. Halograss may be a specialty of Lantville, but it’s not exactly expensive. What do you need a whole field for? You’ve secured a house, land, and even workers—this must be for growing it, right?

I’m looking forward to seeing something interesting again. If you need more errands done, just let me know.

— Your Employer]

—

[To the Employer Who Must Be Greater Than I, Lord Maindulante,

Judging by the tone of your second letter, it seems the delivery route is secure.

I assumed the wording of the first letter was for security reasons. I trust you have already resolved any questions regarding its tone.

I don’t think this will be anything particularly amusing, but you’re free to expect whatever you like.

By now, the workers should have arrived at the house you secured. Speaking of errands, could you send the enclosed money to the person at the house? Preferably in a way that doesn’t make it obvious it came from Ferrisher.

I need to pay wages, but if it comes directly from Ferrisher, it’ll be too obvious.

— Nerys Truydd]

—

[To Miss Truydd, Who Seems to Be Doing Many Things Without Her Employer Knowing,

I had one of my men discreetly deliver the payment.

How many nobles do you think are in Ferrisher? Even if I wrote down the exact name of the room you’re staying in, no one would suspect you of hiring this person and paying their wages.

The wages you’ve set for your field worker are quite low. Should I pay in advance and deduct it from your future salary?

— Cledwyn Maindulante]

—

[To Lord Maindulante, Who Meddles Where He Shouldn’t,

Why would you pay the wages of someone I hired? That would be strange. And as for the amount, I had no choice.

That’s the amount I can afford to pay consistently. Once I sell a lot of Halograss and become rich, I’ll make sure to reward them properly. For now, this is fine.

Also, your standards are too high. The wage I set is reasonable by normal standards.

— Nerys Truydd]

—

[To Miss Truydd, Whose Standards of ‘Strange’ Are Strange,

Judging by your wording, you’re not simply growing and selling Halograss. I see, you don’t want me prying into your business idea.

It seems we have very different standards for what’s strange and what isn’t.

You’re fine with me buying a house in advance, but not with me paying workers’ wages ahead of time? Even though the wages of my subordinates’ subordinates come from my own treasury?

— Cledwyn Maindulante]

—

[To Lord Maindulante, Who Seems to Be Bored,

Your subordinates’ subordinates were hired to better execute your orders, so of course you’d pay their wages.

But my worker is someone I hired purely for personal reasons.

The house and land? Well, since your subordinate (me) might live there someday, I suppose my salary was just paid in advance.

Something strange happened at the castle recently. Tommy Hillison is Angharad’s cousin, isn’t he?

That vile brat seemed to be planning something with the clothes my mother manages for the Viscountess of Ferrisher, but after checking, everything appeared untouched. Did you take care of it?

When I tried to probe, it seemed like Sir Hillison and his wife knew nothing. Apparently, Tommy received a letter and a cheap toy from Angharad.

Before I could even scold him myself, Tommy was already terrified.

For now, thanks.

— Nerys Truydd]

—

[To Miss Truydd, Who Has a Knack for Handling Employer Expenses,

Angharad Nine was scolded by his father for embarrassing the family. He likely won’t be making a move for a while.

It’s interesting that Baron Nine doesn’t hint to Wilmot that your family’s presence is an inconvenience. Even though he ran all the way to school to officially complain for his precious daughter’s sake. Maybe it’s a matter of pride for him.

Did you willingly decide to return to Rohez because you understood his values?

There are plenty of schemers here. Your natural insight will be useful in many ways.

Hurry up and grow, Miss Truydd. I can’t have a child dealing with the Grand Duke’s elders.

— Cledwyn Maindulante]

—

[To Lord Maindulante, Who Seems to Think I’m Already Handling Things Well on My Own,

I couldn’t send a letter these past few days because the MacKinnon family was visiting. Diane kept dragging me to her room from morning till night, so I had no time to read or write letters.

Right now, I’m sneaking out to find some light so I can write this.

If I get mistaken for a thief, it’s not my fault. Someone in your ranks is clearly watching me, so they can handle it.

I don’t have natural insight. That’s something Diane and you have. I just put in effort.

I don’t know what kind of people the Grand Duke’s elders are, but I’m sure you’ll handle them well. I know you will.

— Nerys Truydd]

—

[To My Esteemed Employer,

Has my last letter gone missing?

— Nerys Truydd]

—

[To My Dear Miss Truydd,

I assume our lord must be wondering why there was such a long gap between your last letter and this one. By his command, I am relaying this message to you.

Our lord is currently dealing with matters that are difficult to express in writing.

Out of concern that this situation might also affect you, we kindly request that you refrain from sending letters for the time being.

— Sedona Agricultural Cooperative]

—

[Nerys,

Are you doing well? Is the Viscountess of Ferrisher treating you kindly?

You told me that staying at school for the summer break was a good decision, but honestly, the only people left here during this season are the most tedious clergy members.

It may sound funny coming from a theology student, but even we despise boredom. We’re human, after all—what can we do?

Remember how I told you my servant, Dogon, went missing while on his way to my uncle?

For a while, Father Adams and Father Birk helped me manage things, but recently, Father Birk was dismissed. He was a kind man—it’s a shame.

I’ve never been to Ferrisher, but a classmate of mine visited two years ago. It seems to be a well-known retreat spot among the nobles of Bistor. If that’s the case, at least you’re having a summer that’s not unbearably hot. That’s a relief.

By the way, about that guy—I’ve been hearing rumors that he’s in quite a dangerous situation.

There are some rebellious vassals who refuse to acknowledge an ignorant kid inheriting a title. Two of them have even joined forces and staged a revolt.

News about affairs within a Grand Duchy rarely reaches the outside world, so I barely managed to hear about this myself. I thought I should let you know, just in case.

Don’t contact him. Ever.

You’re too kind for your own good, and I’m worried you’ll get yourself involved in something troublesome.

I know you have a habit of helping out people who seem pitiful, even if it means putting yourself at risk. But listen—none of the people you help, including me, are actually pitiful. We all have our own ways of surviving! You must never endanger yourself out of misplaced sympathy, understood?

Especially not for him. That day, I saw him survive a level of blood loss that should have killed him.

There are rumors that he’s someone who simply refuses to die, and they’re true. He’ll figure this out on his own, just like always.

Ah, the bells are ringing again. I signed up for scripture reading out of boredom this summer, and I regret it. It’s an absolute pain.

I hope your summer is more enjoyable than mine.

You’re still a kid, so have fun and eat lots of delicious food.

That’s all for now.

— Ren]

—

Nerys tilted her head, wondering what kind of image Ren had of her.

She also had no idea how to respond.
Yes, I’ll eat lots of delicious food?
You’re still young too, so have fun yourself?

Ren was worried that Nerys, being too kind, would end up in an unfortunate accident. But that was completely unnecessary.

Nerys wasn’t some saint who blindly helped every unfortunate soul. On the contrary, she was the kind of person who would shock Ren if he knew her true nature—someone far more cunning.

She knew exactly what she was doing whenever she lent a helping hand. Everything was calculated.

If anything, the real meddler here was Cledwyn.

Despite Abelus’s assessment that he was a ruthless monster incapable of caring for his own people, he was quietly extending aid all the way to Nerys’s mother, who was living peacefully in the distance.

Clearly, his subordinates also had an unusual degree of creativity when handling their master’s letters. Cledwyn must have had a softer side toward his own people.

After all, he even went out of his way to celebrate the birthday of a first-year student.

It had been nearly a month since their regular exchange of letters had come to an abrupt halt.

Judging from the contents of his last letter, it wasn’t just any ordinary issue. And when she combined that with Ren’s warning, the situation seemed genuinely severe.

Still, Nerys wasn’t particularly worried about Cledwyn.

In her past life, he had lived well into adulthood.

However, since she had already interfered in various ways, small details might have changed.

So she was slightly concerned.

Just a little.

Because if he died, that would be a problem.

Nerys tapped her fingers against the desk, deep in thought.

Then, she made up her mind and shredded Ren’s letter into tiny pieces.

She dropped the fragments into the glass of water she had set aside for drinking.

The paper slowly sank, the ink smearing until the words became illegible.

Had it been winter, she could have simply tossed it into the fireplace. But in the summer, she had to go through the hassle of disposing of it like this. There was no reason to waste firewood.

—

“Lady Nerys.”

A voice called to her from outside the room. It was one of the castle’s housekeepers.

Nerys responded in a polite, composed tone, betraying none of her inner thoughts.

“Yes?”

“Your mother is calling for you.”

The housekeeper, though a commoner, had long been close to the Viscount and Viscountess, making her a senior servant of considerable standing.

Unlike someone like Angelo, a newly rich upstart, she was a person who deserved proper respect. So, as someone indebted to the household, Nerys intentionally used formal speech when addressing her.

“Understood.”

Nerys poured the water out the window along the outer wall, wrung out the damp paper scraps, and discarded them in the trash.

Then, with the same serene expression she always wore in Ferrisher, she stepped out of the room.

(T/N: They became legit chat mates. Lol)