460 - Alfred's Return 1
...Come to think of it?
While I was stitching Leonardo's shirt, something occurred to me. Whether it is because I am thinking about it now, or because my thoughts have finally begun to turn toward my surroundings, Salisa should have been diligently doing embroidery during the winter. Carissa had embroidered the collar of my dress, but no matter how I looked at it, the embroidery Salisa was doing was not for a young girl (me). If it were elegant flower embroidery for an adult woman, I would think she gave it to Alisa, but that had a sword, a shield, and even a Cerberus embroidered on it.
No matter how I look at it, it is embroidery for the Black Knight of Gurnol Fort.
If so, I thought it might be for Leonardo, but then I remembered that Carissa, who is also a servant, had not prepared any embroidery for Leonardo. That means Salisa, who is also a servant, would likely not give embroidery to her master, Leonardo.
...Has spring arrived without my knowing?
There is still a possibility she gave it to Iridal, but she probably would not give a Cerberus to Iridal. The Cerberus is the symbol of Gurnol Fort. There is no reason to give it to Iridal.
Driven by curiosity about who she gave the embroidery to, I stuck my needle into the pincushion to go ask Salisa. The shirt I plan to give for Leonardo's birthday at the end of spring is not urgent, so I will put it aside for now.
"What is it?"
"Just a bit, I am going to scout today's snack."
When I stood up from my chair, it seems he noticed I moved. Aaron looked up, so I gave him a random answer. Usually, Salisa waits by my side, but only during snack time is Mirsche by my side as a maid. Because of that, Salisa is often in the kitchen during the first part of the afternoon.
I told Aaron that since I would not be leaving the mansion, it was fine for him to wait in the room, and as I was about to leave, there was a knock on the door from outside.
"Yes, who is it?"
"It is Salisa. A guest has arrived for Tina-ojousama."
"A guest?"
I wondered who it could be and tilted my head, when Aaron opened the door and told me, "It is likely Alfred-sama." In exchange for losing his sight, Aaron's hearing seems to have become sharp. Aaron said he could hear Alfred's voice from the floor below, and Salisa also confirmed that the guest was Alfred.
"Hello, Alfred-sama."
Consciously straightening my back, I gave Alfred a lady's curtsy. Recently, I have become aware that I have been shedding my lady (cat) persona too much, so I want to gradually correct that. I think this is also one of the reasons I am not treated according to my age.
...At the very least, I want to be treated according to my apparent age.
Alfred, who was led to the drawing room instead of the living room, must be coming truly as a guest today. Leonardo, who should be working at the fort, was also with him, perhaps having come to serve as Alfred's guard.
"Is there some formal business today?"
"Yes. It has become time for me to return to the royal capital, so this is my farewell."
"...I understand. I will go pack Rannvald-sama."
The lady (cat) persona I had just put on was energetically shed again today. Perhaps sensing Leonardo's presence somewhere, Rannvald showed his face in the drawing room at the perfect timing, so I grabbed his arm. When I looked up at Rannvald with a smile, telling him to go back together, Rannvald's cheek twitched.
"Even if I force him back, he looks like he would just run away again, so I do not need him."
Alfred refused to take Rannvald back, saying the effort of guarding against escape during the journey to the royal capital was not worth it. I thought it was a good opportunity to kick out Rannvald, who for some reason stayed at the mansion forever, but it is a pity. When Rannvald is around, my share of Leonardo decreases by about ten percent.
"Indeed, he would definitely try to escape. He often outsmarts the guards, too."
Two Silver Knights have been assigned to Rannvald to serve as guards, but even now, they are nowhere to be seen. I do not know how Rannvald caught the scent of Leonardo and came to the drawing room, but if they are guards, I wish they would show enough competence to arrive at the same time.
"More importantly, he has been staying at the lord's mansion anyway, so why not just hire him as a servant?"
Rather than taking him back while guarding against escape only for him to disappear from the royal capital and go missing again, it seems better for Alfred to hire him as a servant at the lord's mansion where his whereabouts are known. If he can be contacted in an emergency, there is no point in bringing back a prince who is officially dead now.
"Rannvald-sama as a servant?"
"I have told you before that the mansion is short on servants. Since he is my uncle, Christina is used to him, and a man's hand is a man's hand."
When told that the two Silver Knights who come along can also be counted as military strength, I thought about it for a moment. It is not as if the lord's mansion being chronically short-staffed is a new thing, but in the end, despite realizing that manpower is insufficient, I have not been able to increase the staff until today. One reason is that I have been spoiled because Alf or Alfred lent me servants when manpower was lacking. Because my own backside was not on fire, I ended up losing to my shyness and did not seriously try to increase the staff.
"Increasing the staff is an attractive proposal, but it would be problematic if he were to suddenly vanish."
"He is a grown adult, so he would not do such a thing."
"I think that is exactly why Felicia-sama was so enraged."
As I said that I still cannot remember Felicia's face at that time, I realized something. I have no memory of the two years I was kidnapped, but Felicia's expression of rage has also vanished from my head. For me, Felicia's expression of rage must have been equivalent to the terror of the kidnapping.
...Thinking about it that way, I feel like I might be able to go outside a little.
A beautiful woman's angry face was scary. The kidnapping was about as scary as that. It is strange how, by letting my brain misidentify it as a small thing like this, I somehow start to feel that going outside is not such a big deal.
...No, it probably will not be as easy as I think.
As if to hold onto those drifting thoughts, I looked up at Rannvald's face, whom I was holding. When I asked if he would suddenly vanish, he gave a wry smile and said that a grown adult would not leave a workplace without a greeting.
"Even I always follow proper procedure when I quit a job."
"Despite leaving home in silence?"
"Running away from home and quitting a job are different things."
"Please follow proper procedure when you leave home, too."
When I delivered the finishing blow by saying Christoph and Felicia were angry, Rannvald awkwardly looked away, and the two guards who arrived late behind him clapped silently. They were probably thinking, please tell him more.
"Since that is the case, when you quit, please use the relaxed plan and tell me three months in advance."
"It is a problem that Bart and Tabitha are the only permanent contract servants. Even if I quit, I will stay until a successor is trained."
As if the contract were established, I released the hand I was holding and shook hands with Rannvald. No one raised a voice of complaint, but only Leonardo had a question mark floating over his head.
"The employment was decided in a natural flow, but is that alright with you, Rannvald-sama? Even if only in name, a prince..."
"Even if I am a prince, I am officially dead, and staying as a guest forever is unsettling. I am grateful to have work."
His work as Leonardo's body double has ended, but since he plans to stay in Gurnol for a while longer, he says he welcomes having a job. He also mentioned that working at the lord's mansion is helpful because food, clothing, and shelter are provided at the workplace.
"They say those who do not work shall not eat, but it is somehow strange that a royal would actively want to work."
It is technically a servant's job, so I wonder if it is alright. Although I am the one who decided to hire him, doubts arise when I think about it calmly. Hiring a royal as a servant, even if he was a former one.
"Rather, you could say it is characteristic of our family line."
In the Kingdom of Ivizia, royals are not recognized for their royal privileges unless they work, and to work, a certain level of education and a track record of territory management are required, and only after obtaining a Royal Peerage are they counted as full-fledged adults. Adult royals who lack the power to obtain a Royal Peerage are treated as objects by the King. By objects, it does not mean they are treated as inorganic matter or broken by violence. The easiest way to use them is as pawns for political marriages. This is also why Bertrand took a princess of royal blood as his wife.
Furthermore, while royals cannot defy the King, once they become a Royal Peer, they are permitted to defy the King. Part of the reason Alfred and Felicia were able to leisurely choose their partners without marrying until recently is that the King cannot force a partner upon them.
The Kingdom of Ivizia is a place where even the King, or a parent, recognizes the rights of those who work. It seems this spirit was also rooted in Rannvald, who abandoned his royal status and fled. Rather, because he has lived among the common people, he probably knows the importance of labor.
"...If you have the will to work, why did you go as far as pretending to be dead to run away from home?"
"Adults have adult circumstances, Tina-ojousama."
In the address from Rannvald, 'ojousama' was promptly added. I think Rannvald called me 'Tina' to match Tabitha and the others, but Alfred corrected this to 'Christina'. He said it would be problematic to be treated as a child with a nickname forever.
...Ah, Leonardo-san looked away.
Since Leonardo is the primary person who calls me 'Tina' by a nickname and treats me like a child, it probably stung his ears.
...Still, adult circumstances, huh.
Now that he mentions it, that must be the case. Rannvald's flight was accompanied by a funeral, and there is even a grave. Christoph did not know Rannvald was alive, so it was not Christoph who assisted him. After talking about how there were signs of use at the exit of the hidden passage in the detached palace, it was Ethelbert who gave the message for Rannvald as a ghost-repelling charm. Rannvald must have fled with the approval of his father, Ethelbert. That means even if Rannvald could be captured, there is no need to forcibly deport him to the royal capital.
"Hmm. Since the employment is decided, the room will move from the guest room to the attic."
"The attic is being used by a woman (Salisa), so that is no good."
Leonardo had told me before that the attic is for servants' rooms, but I should refuse this. A room for a woman of marriageable age is right nearby. A man's room should not be placed nearby.
"Christina-sama, for what purpose do you think there are three attic rooms on the left and right? The attic rooms that are the same number on the left and right across the hallway are for separating men and women."
"...Is that so?"
Since it was something Rannvald said, I instinctively sought confirmation from Alfred. To me, who doubted Rannvald's statement from the start, Alfred gave a wry smile and generally agreed. In the lord's mansion, rooms are divided north and south across the hallway, but he said that in some houses, a wall is built in the center of the attic, and the living spaces for men and women are completely separated using different stairs.
"I understand. Rannvald-sama... no, Valdo-san's room will be in the attic... Eh? Is the attic really alright? It is for me to say, but Leonardo-oniisama said the attic is for servants..."
"Since I am that servant, there is no problem."
Additionally, I feel a strange kinship with Rannvald, who says the narrowness of the attic room is calming. Perhaps because he has been mixed with the common people for a long time, Rannvald's sensibilities have become quite commoner-like.
"Then, I will hire Valdo as a servant. Please choose any room you like from the north side of the attic. Your main job is to assist Bart, and when you quit, please declare it three months in advance without suddenly disappearing, and if possible, stay until a new person is found."
Alfred took the 'san' off 'Valdo-san' and confirmed the employment contract. Detailed talk such as wages was thrown entirely to Leonardo. When increasing servants in our house, compatibility with me, who spends most of my time in the mansion, becomes important. The decision of who to hire was left to my judgment.
"...Are you really hiring a royal as a servant?"
"Is it no good?"
"If Tina and Rannvald-sama say it is fine, I will not oppose it, but..."
He will not oppose it, but the doubt of whether it is really alright seems impossible to wipe away. Even I, thinking about it calmly, want to ask if it is really alright.
"If Ran... no, Valdo returns to being a commoner, what will Karl and Reinart do?"
"Those two were originally sent to Gurnol as Christina's guards. There should be no problem leaving them in Gurnol as they are."
It would be problematic if they did not follow as guards when I go outside, but it seems it is fine for them to be around Rannvald normally. I think situations requiring guards rarely occur as long as we are in the mansion, so I have no complaints. Rather, I do not feel at ease if there are too many people around, so if someone is always attached, it is just right to have only the familiar Aaron. Even with just Aaron as a guard, Salisa, who has learned self-defense, is always with me. Any more guards than this could be called excessive.
"...You can take them back with you."
"Do you mean yourself?"
Rannvald tried to entice Alfred to send Karl and Reinart back. In response, Alfred wore a truly beautiful smile, but that face was far too familiar.
The conversation drifts.
Typos and omissions will be handled another day.