345 - Preparations for Returning to Grenore
The thing I have to do now that I've wrangled permission to return to Grenore is one thing. To cut off all lingering worries so I can return to a leisurely life of seclusion in Grenore.
...Well, even if I say it in a cool way, it's basically just packing, isn't it?
I also have a promise to go see Virup Fortress with Leonardo, so I need to pack for that too. That said, the trip to Virup Fortress is more like a little excursion, so as far as my preparations go, it's just about getting some pants for riding a horse. I won't be staying long, so I only need the bare minimum of changes of clothes, and I don't need any study materials. Aside from that, following Leonardo's assessment, I just need to prepare some portable rations and snacks that keep well as emergency food. I don't need the kind of serious packing that going back to Grenore requires.
"Curry Rice is big, so I think it would be better not to take him to Grenore."
Unfortunately, the big black dog stuffed toy will just have to reign as the guardian of the bed at the detached palace. They made it so its limbs could be detached so I could carry it from room to room each season, but a stuffed toy of this size takes up space even if I could load it onto a carriage. The carriage to Grenore becomes my living space for the journey. It's not just a room for me alone, so it's better not to bring things that are too bulky.
"The jewelry box on its belly is of course coming with me."
Naturally, I'm also bringing back Leonardo's sketch and Aurelia's lace ribbon stored in the jewelry box Basilia gave me. These two items are like my good luck charms. I can't imagine leaving them behind.
"I want to bring the kotatsu too, but what should I do?"
Since I had the kotatsu made to order from the table, I can actually remove the legs and store it compactly. The problem is the kotatsu dress, the cover for the kotatsu. It's not as thickly padded as a Japanese kotatsu futon, so it's thin, but it's still bound to take up space.
...If I had something like a futon compression bag, I wouldn't have to worry about this.
I'll postpone a conclusion on the kotatsu and kotatsu dress by consulting with Alf, who I'll be sharing the carriage with. If he says to leave them behind because they're too much luggage, I'll obediently leave them behind.
"My wardrobe has increased too, hasn't it."
I peek into the dressing room that exists in each seasonal room and look at the clothes stored there. There are clothes I brought from Grenore, but after two years in the capital, the number has naturally increased. Even aside from that, children grow quickly, so the period during which they can wear the same clothes is short.
...I seem to grow slowly, so I can still wear last year's clothes, though.
Unlike the ready-made clothes I used to buy in my previous life, these are made to measure for my body. For a fast-growing child, wearing last year's clothes wouldn't even be possible.
"Clothes that can't be worn even after alterations are no use bringing back."
That said, there's no point in leaving children's clothes at the detached palace. For a noble's daughter, hand-me-downs might be given to one's lady's maid, but my lady's maids and I are too different in age and build, and besides, they themselves are daughters of nobles. Although they wear good-quality clothes, the clothes made for me as the little sister of a commoner (Leonardo) can't be given to them even if they fit, and they couldn't wear them for quality reasons either.
...Elke and Petrona are bigger than me, so that's no good.
For the same reason, I couldn't give them to Mirshe either, who I hear has become about as tall as me now. The fact that she's working as a maid-in-training at the lord's mansion means there's no problem with my hand-me-downs in principle, but if there's no difference in body size to begin with, there are no hand-me-downs to give.
"The items themselves are good quality, so donating them to the wrong place might cause trouble again. What about just selling them?"
If I'm going to sell the clothes I can't wear anymore, I should probably consult Nadine or Leonardo. Although they're my clothes, the money came from the detached palace and Leonardo.
"I'll bring back clothes for the coming season and the ones I can still wear. It should be less than half... but it's still a lot, isn't it."
There's no option not to bring back clothes for the coming season to Grenore. Having been in the capital for two years, if I don't bring them back, I'll soon be in trouble for things to wear in Grenore.
...Maybe I'll just add another carriage and bring Curry Rice back too.
I wondered if that would be okay, but when I thought about it, Alf delivered a whole carriage-load of clothes when he came from Grenore. Since there's precedent for it, maybe it's not impossible.
...Yeah. There's no use thinking about this alone any longer.
Since it's about the detached palace, I decide to take the matter to Nadine for consultation. I am the master of the detached palace, but the reason the detached palace functions properly even though its master is just a child is thanks to Nadine managing it. She's the kind of person I'd be in trouble if she just threw all the work she's been doing at me and said, "Manage the detached palace by yourself from today."
"Nadine, I have something to discuss."
I knocked and peeked my face into the office, but Nadine gave me a troubled look. I wondered if I had failed at something, so I reflected on my own actions and found the failure.
...Oh, right. Since I'm the master, instead of coming to visit the office, I should have called Nadine to me.
They say I've finally started to acquire some lady-like qualities, but I still make a lot of these small mistakes. I can't help but choose to go to them myself, thinking that I can't call an older person who's working to my room.
"I'm sorry. I made a mistake."
"It is quite alright, Christina-sama. Please summon me to your room next time."
"Yes."
The power dynamic between master and servant still doesn't sit right with me. In the royal castle, I've been given a detached palace as a guest of the king, but I'm just a commoner. Even as Bertrand's granddaughter, I'm only the daughter of a Merit Peerage family. I'm not the kind of person who should stand above the lady's maids working in the royal castle. No matter what, I end up thinking I'm beneath them.
"So, what is Christina-sama's consultation about?"
"What will happen to the servants working at the detached palace when I return to the city of Grenore?"
I asked, thinking normally that if the master isn't there, the servants wouldn't be needed. I've heard that houses need to be aired out from time to time to prevent damage, but I don't think servants need to be in the detached palace year-round when the master is absent. I've also heard that the current servants at the detached palace were gathered for my use of it.
"Even while Christina-sama is away from the capital, this detached palace is always kept ready, awaiting your return so that it can be used immediately at any time."
Apparently, since the number of servants was already smaller compared to other detached palaces, it wasn't enough people to warrant dismissals just because the master would be absent for a long period. To prepare the rooms, lady's maids are needed, and to support those lady's maids' lives, maids are needed. Then cooks are needed to make food for those lady's maids and maids, and kitchen maids are needed to assist them, and laundry maids are needed to wash the laundry produced by these servants, and so on. Apparently, just managing and maintaining the detached palace requires a fair number of people.
"The detached palace won't ever be unoccupied?"
"Buildings without signs of human presence quickly fall into disrepair. To let the air circulate, people's comings and goings never cease."
That feels like a waste of tax money to me, but when I asked with lady-like decorative wording, apparently sealing it up completely actually costs more money. It seems it's cheaper to keep it maintained and ready for use at any time, rather than leaving it alone and then rushing to repair things when it's needed.
"This detached palace has lower expenses than other detached palaces even when its master is present, so there is no need for you to worry, young lady."
"So the lady's maids and servants stay the same, and it really can be used whenever I come?"
"Indeed. The lady's maids and servants are employed to maintain the detached palace, so things do not change even when the master is away."
It sounded like good news that just because the master (me) is away, the servants won't lose their jobs, but that raised a different concern. For servants who have families, it might be good as a stable workplace, but I wonder about the lady's maids being tied to a detached palace without their master. The flower of their youth seems to last longer than in my previous life, but I still felt like it would be wasting young girls' youth.
"The noble young ladies working at the royal castle each have their own reasons for doing so, so it is not something Christina-sama needs to concern yourself with."
The reasons noble daughters work at the royal castle vary, from those refusing their parents' arranged marriages, those who have given up on marriage, or conversely, those who have come to the royal castle to seek a better partner. Nadine says that since they became lady's maids attached to the detached palace for their own reasons, it's not my place to worry about their marriageable age. Of course, she also said that if I had a favorite lady's maid or maid and wanted to keep her at the detached palace without letting her marry, she would accommodate that selfish wish. I firmly declined that offer. If there are girls who want to marry or have plans to marry, I'd rather they be sent off happily.
"Next time I come to the capital, if it seems we're short on lady's maids, please look for some, Nadine."
I concluded by saying I trust Nadine's judgment. Nadine was the one who created the tyrant Dietfried when I first met him, but I've seen her skill in running the detached palace for two years. Whatever her true feelings, Nadine is someone who reliably does the work entrusted to her.
I walk through the detached palace, thinking about whether there's anything else I'm forgetting. The transcription of Saint Yuuta Hiraga's research materials is absolutely necessary for translation, so I must bring it back. Elke and Petrona are of course coming back too. I peek into Leonardo's room, seeking an answer to what else I should be bringing back to Grenore. In Leonardo's room, preparations for the trip to Virup were already underway.
"Leonyaldo Big Brother-sama, do you know if there's something I feel like I'm forgetting to bring back to Grenore?"
"I know something that you should be leaving behind that you'll realize as soon as you see it."
"Huh? Something to leave behind?"
I was supposed to be thinking about what to bring back, but he said the opposite. Apparently, I'm thinking of something I should be leaving behind as luggage to bring back. What could it be? I tilt my head and look up at Leonardo, and he points at my feet.
"...Ah, indeed. I forgot."
What Leonardo pointed at was the Black Dog (Oscar). He's been stationed at the detached palace looking every bit like my pet dog, but correctly speaking, he's Bertrand's dog. At some point he started appearing at the detached palace and just settled in.
"I need to return Oscar to Bertrand-sama too."
I don't mind returning the Black Dog itself, but having to meet Bertrand to return the dog is bothersome. He's been quiet lately, but the reason is that every time we meet, he says bad things about my mother.
"Leave Bertrand-sama aside for now. What's the status of Kalisa's contract?"
"Kalisa's the same as before. She's a maid at the Mandez Residence, and she's here in the capital under my orders as the master of the Mandez Residence."
In short, it seems to be the same situation as when she came to the city of Grenore before. It's treated as a business trip under the orders of the master of the Mandez Residence.
"...Can she come to the Grenore residence like that?"
"If Kalisa personally leaves the Mandez Residence and works in Grenore as an individual, she can stay with Tina all the time."
"That sounds like a weird way to put it, but..."
Kalisa and her sisters, who were taken in by the master of the Mandez Fortress when they were babies, don't have a home to return to. They were raised at the Mandez Residence and have worked there as servants, so once they become independent and leave the Residence, it seems the Residence ceases to be a home they can return to. Alisa made herself into part of the Residence's fixtures as a servant (Brownie), but Kalisa and Salisa are different. They have the freedom to go outside the Residence, but once they leave, they don't have the freedom to come back.
"In other words, it's possible to hire her at the Grenore residence like before, but if the master changes, Kalisa would have to return to Mandez. If I don't want that, she'd need to leave the Mandez Residence and be employed personally by Leonyaldo Big Brother-sama, but in that case there's no guarantee afterward, is that it?"
"Well, it would be possible to keep employing her and have her work at wherever we move, or she could look for another job. But losing the place she can return to like a family home would be unsettling for her too."
Kalisa is beautiful, but because she's one of triplets, it seems there are no takers for marriage in the city of Mandez. If she's interested, it might be good for her to leave Mandez and find work in another city where she's less known as a triplet. If she meets a good partner, she could get married and gain a new home of her own there.
"...In the end, is the best thing for Kalisa to continue as before, on loan from the Mandez Residence under the master's orders?"
"That's fine as long as I'm the master, but if the master changes, that's it."
Depending on the new master's wishes, Kalisa would have to return to the Mandez Residence.
"By the way, Leonyaldo Big Brother-sama, I can't really see a future where you retire from being Knight Commander."
I can't help but wonder what he's worried about. Leonardo, who's in charge of not just Grenore Fortress but three other fortresses as well, is worrying about what will happen after he steps down. That's what it felt like.
"That's not true. I can't be the strongest at the fortress forever either, and I'm approaching the age where my physical abilities will start to decline. Every year, many new Black Knights are born, and the younger generation has grown up too."
Leonardo says that being the master of four fortresses will probably end within a few more years. Not in a year or two, but it's something that could happen within a few years.
"Besides, I've started to think it might be better to step back from the front lines so I can spend more time with Tina."
"Please tell me important things like that properly."
An unexpected declaration of retirement from the head of the household. Since it's a matter that affects our livelihood, it's troubling to hear it suddenly like this.
"Sit here," he says, sitting down on the lounge chair and patting the seat next to him. Since we usually relax on the lounge chair in the living room, I rarely sit on the one in Leonardo's room. Maybe because it's a lounge chair in a man's room, the cushion felt a bit harder.
"What do you plan to do after you step back from the front lines?"
I place my hand on Leonardo's thigh as he sits down next to me. I'm fully prepared to assert my objections immediately if I have any.
"Well... it might be good to go back to being a Silver-White Knight and serve as Tina's guard."
Apparently, if he goes back to being a Silver-White Knight, he can be with me more than when he was a Black Knight flying between four fortresses. I had interpreted "stepping back from the front lines" as "quitting being a knight," but it seems the "front lines" Leonardo is stepping back from refers to "border defense." Even if he quits being a Black Knight, Leonardo is still a Silver-White Knight. He won't lose his job right away.
...Oh, and if Leonardo-sama really does retire, he becomes a Merit Peerage, right? I forgot.
I feel relieved that if Leonardo stops being a Black Knight, it doesn't mean Mirshe and I and the three of us will be thrown out. Even if a Black Knight stronger than Leonardo appears, Leonardo would just be treated the same as the Vice Commander and other Black Knights. At the very least, Siegwald, who was the Commander of the Silver-White Knights, is currently the Vice Commander. Even if someone takes his victory in the martial arts tournament, he doesn't need to retire from the Knights.
"Tina says she'll stay with me until she's twenty, but once she gets married, I won't be able to see her as much."
In that regard, if he becomes her guard, no matter if she gets married or goes to the capital, they'll be together. That's Leonardo's thinking. I'm honestly happy he's trying to increase the time we spend together, but I also have concerns.
"...I really can't imagine a bride actually coming for Leonyaldo Big Brother-sama."
"I think that myself sometimes."
Leonardo replies with a straight face, saying it would be impossible unless it's a woman who can accept his whole self that prioritizes his little sister above all. This guy is seriously, more than a little, worrying. He's so focused on his little sister (me) that he might miss his chance at marriage.
...As a husband, his conditions are good, though?
He's healthy, has a stable job with good pay, is strong, a bit ditzy in some ways, but kind. He's not bad-looking either. He just has the flaw of being likely to prioritize his little sister over his wife. Even that would probably improve if he had children of his own.
...I feel like it'll have to be either a broad-minded woman who can accept me too, or I get married early, or I become Leonyaldo-san's wife myself.
Since he's so starved for family, it would be cruel for him to end up unmarried. We both need to become a little more independent from each other as siblings.
"What do you want to do, Kalisa? Tina says she wants you by her side from now on too, but what about you?"
While I was thinking about Leonardo's marriage prospects, the topic seemed to have ended for Leonardo. He started asking Kalisa herself, who was as usual with me, for her intentions.
"...Please summon me to Grenore in the form of a loan from Mandez, like before."
"If the master changes, you'll have to go back to Mandez. Is that alright?"
"There's also the possibility that even if the master of Grenore Fortress changes, the master of Mandez Fortress might not change. And... by then, I might have gotten a little more used to being outside."
Kalisa says that once she gets used to living outside of Mandez city, she'll consider independence from her sisters too. We all understand that we can't keep depending on each other forever.
With Kalisa's trip to Grenore decided under the same terms as before, I reluctantly write a letter to Bertrand. It's about returning the Black Dog, but I came up with a brilliant idea midway. The Black Dog is a smart dog. If I write a letter and give it to him, maybe he'll deliver it to Bertrand.
...If this works, will Oscar's return be complete too?
Thinking I've come up with a great idea, I change the letter's content from a request for a meeting to a notification about returning the Black Dog. If I can avoid meeting Bertrand, that's for the best.
"Oscar, could you deliver this letter to Bertrand-sama for me?"
When I seal the finished letter and show it to the Black Dog, he raises his tail and stands up, then takes the envelope in his mouth and leaves.
That completes the return of the Black Dog too.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date. I introduced a kotatsu, but it's gotten deeply cold. During winter, if there's no update by 2 o'clock, please assume it'll be updated the next day in the afternoon.
Found typos and errors, corrected them.