418 - Giselle's Perspective The White Good-for-Nothing 11
Once her cold healed, Christina wanted to go out into the garden again. Edgar had understood by now that she would be satisfied if she could search for Kalisa, so a thick coat and boots were prepared. It was equipment she would probably only wear once, until Christina was satisfied, but he could not let her catch another cold and die. He had had enough of locking her in her room and having her throw a tantrum, and he did not want her going outside without warm clothes and catching another cold either. So it was better to let Christina have her way to some extent and then calm her down. Edgar seemed to have realized that as well.
And just as Edgar had anticipated, once Christina had finished going outside and searching for Kalisa, she became docile again. Even when the birdcage door was locked, she no longer kicked at the iron bars or made noise. She returned to her quiet days of sunbathing on the lounge chair and silently weaving lace at the desk where the bobbin lace pillow was placed, just as she had done at Augusta Castle.
...And Edgar was out and about again today, apparently.
With Christina calmed down, Edgar seemed to have returned to his usual life in the Imperial capital. According to the servants at Augusta Castle, Edgar originally hardly ever returned to his territory of Uhlenfurt and apparently lived in the Imperial capital. After seeing Christina's face, he had started frequenting Augusta Castle, but apparently that had been unusual. When I wondered what kind of work he did in the Imperial capital, it turned out he just showed his face at tea parties and soirées held at various nobles' homes every day. Having Christina clinging to him all day would be a bother, so his going out was welcome in itself, but participating in tea parties every day... what was that about, I wondered.
...In other words, he is just playing around every day, right?
I understood that socializing was part of a noble's work, but tea parties every day was a bit strange. Edgar was a noble with a territory to protect. He should have work to do managing that territory.
...Even at my own home, a small territory, there was work requiring decisions every day. I did not think Edgar could possibly have no work... could he?
My house was a Flower Peerage. When it fell from Loyalty Peerage to Flower Peerage, its territory was reduced, and now it was only a small territory. Compared to a Staff Peerage that governed a large territory, my house probably had less work, but still, the head of the family sat at his desk every day, looking over documents and stamping the necessary ones. In the capital, he seemed to occasionally show his face at tea parties and soirées for socializing, but every day was impossible. Whether in the capital or in one's territory, a territorial lord had work to do.
...Staff Peerages with territories too large, or Royal Peerages who could not leave the capital, did use stewards, though.
Even if they used a steward to manage their territory, the final decisions were made by the lord himself. Never seeing someone working at all, like Edgar, was unthinkable in the Kingdom of Ivizia.
"...This is what the nobles of the Zugall Empire are like."
It was Jasper who answered my question. Jasper, who was staying at the residence as the pharmacist assigned to Christina, had no work when Christina was being docile. He was probably free while Christina was calmly weaving lace.
According to Jasper, up to the point of using stewards to manage territory, it was the same as the Kingdom of Ivizia, but beyond that, it was completely different. The nobles of the Zugall Empire only governed their territories through stewards and did nothing themselves. They were merely 'somethings' that lived a luxurious life on the taxes the stewards collected from the people. They were far too different from the nobles of the Kingdom of Ivizia. The nobles of the Kingdom of Ivizia, when war came, stood at the front to command their soldiers, wielded their swords, and became shields for the people. That was precisely why they were beloved by the people, respected, and able to stand at the top.
But the nobles of the Zugall Empire did nothing. When war came, they gave orders from the very back, and the ones sent to the front lines were the precious working men gathered from towns and villages. Whether wielding their lives as swords or exposing themselves as shields before the nobles, it was all commoners. Hearing the reality of things, even I, a Flower Peerage, wondered what exactly the 'nobles' of the Zugall Empire existed for.
"If a steward betrayed them, that would be frightening, would it not?"
"In reality, there is no shortage of nobles who have had their heads in a noose due to steward embezzlement."
Stewards who acted as the lord's proxy held considerable power in the territory. Because of that, it seemed there were not a few stewards who eventually forgot they were employees and became overbearing. Stories of it being too late by the time the lord noticed the steward's embezzlement were apparently not uncommon.
"When it comes to the work of a Zugall Empire noble, it is about 'keeping watch' over the stewards, I would say."
"I would not call that work."
The system of the Kingdom of Ivizia, where even a commoner could call themselves a noble for three generations if they performed meritorious deeds, was sometimes looked down upon in neighboring countries as having no weight to blood. In the Kingdom of Saenard and the Zugall Empire, where the class system was absolute, apparently they would not acknowledge you as a fellow noble unless your house had continued as long as a Staff Peerage house. I had heard that both countries tended to value noble blood above all else, so I could understand why a declining Flower Peerage would be ignored and a Merit Peerage without family history would be dismissed. However, having learned the reality of Zugall Empire nobles, their nature resembled the Flower Peerage. They were houses that had lost the noble pride of being the people's sword and shield, and had merely continued their bloodline. Not a single trace of the weight of what should be noble blood could be felt. The 'nobles' of the Zugall Empire, no matter how much history their houses had, were a collection of Flower Peerages from the Kingdom of Ivizia. In the Kingdom of Ivizia, a Flower Peerage fell to commoner status after three generations, but in the Zugall Empire, there was no such cutoff. Under lords who had neither the spirit nor ability to manage their territory, the people were exploited their entire lives simply based on the circumstances of their birth.
Even though it was another country, I was brooding for several days about the unfortunate people born in the Zugall Empire, when the Black Dog (Oscar) appeared in the back garden. He had come to deliver a message to the gardener about replacing the withered flowers among those displayed in the sunroom, but the gardener's shed was outside the residence. It was only a short distance, but the guard, disliking the cold, had grown sluggish and was watching me with only his head poking out from the building. I thought it was negligent of him as a guard, but as the one being guarded, I was grateful. Whether because of the distance or because it was easy to hide in the shadows, the Black Dog had come.
...It seemed he had delivered my letter?
The letter tied to his collar was gone, so my letter had probably been safely delivered to Christina's rescuers. I breathed a sigh of relief at the Black Dog's somewhat cleaner-looking neck.
...What?
Twitching its ears as if alert to its surroundings, the Black Dog hid in the shadows and stretched its neck out toward me. The Black Dog probably knew that my guard was at the entrance of the building. To supplement the Black Dog's low posture as it hid, I pretended to look at the gardening tools placed beside the gardener's shed, concealing the dog while I felt for its collar.
...A letter?
At the feel of paper tucked inside the collar, I pulled the letter out from the collar. Apparently the Black Dog had come to deliver this letter. After confirming the letter was in my hand, it left the gardener's shed while still keeping low.
I had received the letter, but being watched, I could not read it immediately, so I hid the letter in my pocket during the daylight hours. It was that night that I was able to look over the letter. For the purpose of confinement and surveillance, my room was a private room with a lock, unlike the other maids' rooms. That was actually convenient for secretly reading letters at night.
...It was a letter from Leonardo-sama.
I had intended to deliver the letter to Jean-Chack, but apparently the Black Dog had delivered that letter to Christina's brother, Leonardo. According to the letter, Leonardo had come close by to pick up Christina. He seemed to have confirmed that Christina was at Edgar's residence in the Imperial capital, and while he could not take her out immediately, he said he had someone constantly keeping watch around the residence.
...Thank goodness. I would soon be able to return young lady Christina to her home.
I was aware that I was useless as a guard. Even so, I had thought hard and protected Christina in the ways I could. But no matter how hard I thought, the anxiety that I might be missing something or doing something wrong always clung to me. If Christina's rescuers had come this close, I felt I could suppress those anxieties a little.
...What I absolutely had to protect above all else was young lady Christina's physical strength.
As for the escape and flight, I could leave that to Leonardo. The letter also contained reassuring words that the rescue was coming, they would definitely save her, and not to worry too much about looking out the window so as not to arouse suspicion. I just had to follow these instructions, not take any foolish actions, and only think about Christina's health and building up her strength.
I focused on building up Christina's strength so she could escape Edgar's grasp in the near future. I believed regaining her muscle strength was absolutely necessary for Christina, but there was no way Christina in her current state would understand that. Christina, who hated being forced to do anything more than anything else, resisted even me when I invited her to walk, even if just inside the birdcage.
Days passed as I struggled with Christina, who resisted whenever I invited her to walk, and then noble guests began to visit Edgar's residence. Visitors to a residence where a kidnapper and his victim lived together. Even Edgar seemed reluctant about these visitors, and I felt a small satisfaction. Since Christina was a hostage, I could not launch any kind of attack against Edgar from my end, but honestly, seeing Edgar flustered by the unexpected situation of having visitors was rather satisfying. This was what happened when you got involved in criminal acts like kidnapping. You ended up troubled by sudden guests.
Edgar being troubled was a good thing. I had thought so, but when Edgar guided the guests to the sunroom where Christina was, I was startled, wondering what was going on. Edgar had apparently decided it was fine for the guests to see the Christina he had kidnapped.
...Shameless.
Cursing Edgar inwardly for being so brazen as to not mind the kidnapping victim being seen by guests, just how thick was his skin, I stepped back to the wall. Since I was serving Christina as one of the maids, I thought it was better to act like the maids of the Zugall Empire. For the maids of the Zugall Empire, they were furniture to their master. Unless called upon, they would not appear before their master, and when their master entered a room where they were present, they would either turn their backs so as not to show their face, or stand properly to the side like furniture.
"Ha ha ha. Lord Edgar has an interesting taste, does he not. Keeping a girl in a birdcage and all..."
Even though it was a young girl's room, the visiting noble entered the room without hesitation. On Edgar's face, following behind him, it was clearly written that he was truly reluctant. He probably had not planned to let the guest into the sunroom.
"But still... is she not a truly beautiful girl? Lately there is a rumor going around that Lord Edgar has kidnapped a spirit princess."
...A rumor?
I was blinking, wondering what rumor he meant, when the guest approached right next to the birdcage. Christina was sunbathing on the lounge chair, her eyelids slightly closed, seemingly unaware of the guest's approach. Or perhaps, as usual, she was ignoring him. To Christina, who did not move a muscle, the guest seemed to want to catch her attention. He kicked the iron bars, just as Edgar had done before, trying to get Christina's attention with the noise.
A loud clang echoed and the birdcage shook slightly. The attendant the guest had brought with him flinched at the sound, but there was no reaction from Christina.
...Well, young lady Christina had been subjected to that plenty of times by Edgar already.
It was still fresh in my memory that after Edgar kicked the iron bars, Christina had learned to kick the iron bars herself and had kept kicking them at all times except when she was sleeping. A loud noise from kicking the iron bars would hardly surprise Christina now. The guest, who had been completely ignored despite making a loud noise, stared at Christina's face for a while, then without averting his gaze from Christina, began saying to Edgar, "Is she not an exquisite doll?"
"This beauty, this composure that does not react to loud noises. She cannot be a living human. This is a doll."
Or perhaps he had really kidnapped a spirit princess, the guest said. Christina was a 'princess' in the sense of being a noble young lady of the Kingdom of Ivizia, and as a Spirit's Favored Child, she could indeed be called a 'spirit princess,' I felt. But Christina was human. She was neither a doll nor a spirit.
"Sistina is human. I explained the circumstances, did I not. She was kidnapped as a child, and I was only able to find her recently."
Edgar explained the same 'circumstances of Sistina' that had been given to the servants at Augusta Castle, and regarding Christina being in the birdcage, he explained it was 'because she was afraid to go outside.' Not a spirit princess or a doll, but his living niece.
"I would ask you to refrain from doing anything to startle Sistina."
"I see, I see. My apologies. I had forgotten... Still, she is beautiful."
The guest apologized only with words, his gaze still fixed on Christina the whole time. Christina had always been adorable, but I felt a little uneasy, had she ever been this captivating before. Christina now had very little expression. That was probably why she was likened to a doll or a spirit. Because she seemed emotionless, she did not look like a living human.
I wanted to punch Edgar's head as he narrated to the guest as if it were a heartwarming story, that he was reassured his niece would never be kidnapped again even if she went outside, and he was waiting for the day she would come out of the birdcage of her own accord. At this very moment, in reality, it was Edgar who had kidnapped Christina.
...Rather, I was beginning to feel that young lady Christina was confining herself because she felt safer inside the birdcage protected by iron bars.
In any case, Christina would only leave the birdcage of her own will when Leonardo came to pick her up.
The unwelcome visitors for Edgar did not end with just that one day. Edgar seemed relieved to have successfully dealt with the first guest, but a few days later, another guest came, having heard the story from somewhere. This guest seemed to be someone Edgar could not easily refuse, so he was led to the sunroom again. The guest, upon entering the sunroom and staring at Christina inside the birdcage, let out an admiring sigh, saying she was a beautiful girl just as the rumors said. The guest camped out in front of the birdcage until Edgar gently hinted it was time to leave, and reluctantly went home, only to return the next day with another person. The guest said, "He said he wanted to see the rumored spirit princess for himself, so I brought him along," but he probably just wanted to see Christina himself. The guest brought by the first guest was also captivated by the doll-like Christina, and the next day visited the residence with yet another person. This continued, and day by day, the number of guests gathering around the birdcage containing Christina increased.
...He had a look on his face like, 'How did it come to this?'
I could not welcome the commotion around Christina, but seeing Edgar flustered was satisfying. He was making a spectacle of Christina, so it served him right to be troubled a little. Christina was completely ignoring the guests, and with so many guests checking each other, no one had yet done anything improper to Christina. I found myself oddly convinced that sometimes, having many eyes around was actually safer.
...Displaying her in a birdcage had backfired on him.
From the rumors the servants had picked up from outside the residence, I realized Edgar's mistake. If he had just confined Christina to the sunroom normally, he probably would not have gathered this much attention. Edgar had made a huge, beautifully decorated birdcage for Christina and locked her inside it. The location where he placed that birdcage was also bad. The sunroom, chosen so she could spend time in the warmth of the sunlight, could be seen from outside the grounds. Just a giant birdcage in a sunroom would draw people's interest, and inside it was an exceptionally beautiful girl. Of course it would become a rumor.
As a result, rumors spread that a beautiful girl was being kept in a giant birdcage at Edgar's residence, and it was apparently the talk among bored nobles. The description of the 'beautiful girl' varied between 'spirit princess' or 'Doll Princess' in several patterns. In any case, guests who heard these rumors gathered at Edgar's residence and became captivated by Christina, whose beauty matched the rumors. A beautiful girl like a spirit. They brought jewels and dresses as tribute to try to catch her interest, but Christina showed no interest in stones or cloth. That only made her seem even more otherworldly.
...How long would this commotion continue?
Having other people's eyes around Christina was a little reassuring in terms of her physical safety. However, Christina being constantly watched also meant it would be more difficult for those who came to rescue her to carry out the rescue. I was also concerned that it was Edgar, not Christina, who was getting irritated by the daily stream of visitors.
...How unusual.
Edgar, who had been irritated by the daily stream of visitors, today led an elderly lady into the sunroom. Usually his inner irritation showed on his face, but today was different. This elderly lady was probably not an unwelcome guest for Edgar. He wore a somewhat troubled wry smile, but I could tell he was not genuinely troubled. This was extremely unusual.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.