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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Operation: Make Everyone My Ally
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“I don't think Uncle will let me go.”
My shoulders slumped, and I couldn't even think about eating.
Zenda bent down, tilted her head, and met my eyes.
“Shall I go and ask him for you, then?”
“You, Zenda...? What if you get scolded?”
I perked up.
“To be honest, it felt so empty for the half-day you were gone. I thought it was for the best, since you were returning to a bigger and better place, but it truly felt hollow. I suppose I've grown quite fond of you over these past few days without even realizing it.”
“I like you too, Zenda.”
It made me happy to know that Zenda felt the same way I did.
Zenda folded her hands on her lap, her expression turning strangely solemn.
“I may not have much power, but I'll use everything I have to protect you, my lady. I'll do my best to stop you from being sent anywhere you don't want to go. And I'll plead as hard as I can for you to go where you wish.”
“But I don't want you to get in trouble.”
“I'll be very careful with my words so I don't get scolded. Would that be all right?”
“Okay, that's good then.”
Having Zenda on my side felt incredibly reassuring.
As that thought settled, another one flashed through my mind.
What if I make everyone else my ally, too...?
Then wouldn't they all protect me if Uncle tries to scold me or send me away again?
The head chef, and Zenda, and everyone else... if they all stood up for me?
At the thought, a smile spread across my face before I even realized it.
“Zenda.”
“Yes?”
“I'm going to make everyone else my ally, just like you.”
“So you can persuade him without getting in trouble?”
Zenda said with a smile.
As I nodded eagerly, Zenda's smile deepened.
“In that case, leave Gerard to me.”
“Gerard?”
“We're like siblings. Not by blood, of course... but we're from the same orphanage.”
Zenda and Gerard were from the same orphanage. She explained that Gerard's swordsmanship was so exceptional, even at a young age, that their grandfather, who sponsored the orphanage, took notice and brought him into the Valliat household.
As soon as he had settled in, Gerard came for Zenda. She said that since she had nowhere to go once she became an adult, she followed him without hesitation.
Later, when her uncle moved out to live on his own, Gerard and Zenda came to this mansion with him.
“Zenda, Gerard...”
“All the children who arrived in the same year were given names with the same first letter, so we were often mistaken for real siblings.”
“I see. Zenda, Gerard. It's true. ...And geraniums! They're all pretty and nice things, right! That must be why you and Gerard are so pretty and cool.”
Zenda paused for a moment, then smiled softly.
“You're right. I never realized.”
While talking with Zenda, I thought of a great way to make everyone my ally.
“Zenda, can I borrow your ear?”
“Like this?”
I cupped my hands and whispered into Zenda's ear.
Zenda laughed out loud.
“Well then, since we have an 'Operation: Make Allies' to carry out, shall we eat? I think the soup is getting cold.”
With her words, a fork and spoon naturally found their way into my hands.
* * *
Cassel was savoring the peace that had settled over the house for the first time in days.
He'd even spent days agonizing over whether he should start locking his own bedroom door in his own house.
For someone so small, she had endless energy. One moment she'd be running around panting, then collapse into sleep, only to wake up and start all over again.
Today, there was no sign of her.
He wondered for a moment if he'd been too harsh, but quickly erased the thought.
He was that kind of person, after all. It was nothing new.
Returning after finishing his work, he was striding down the hallway when he noticed the atmosphere in the house was different from usual.
The servants were grinning from ear to ear, and they seemed to have gone soft, radiating a distinct sweetness.
There was no way the sweet scent that usually clung to the child could be coming from those grim-faced servants.
‘What is this unsettling feeling?’
The reason, however, was revealed soon enough.
Every servant who greeted him as he passed wore an identical red flower on the left side of their chest.
It looked like a brooch made of soft lace, and it must have been quite precious, as the servants were constantly stroking the flowers and walking around with silly smiles.
His niece was nowhere to be seen today, and the servants were all acting giddy, as if a screw had come loose somewhere.
It seemed everyone but him knew the reason, so it was only natural that he started to get irritated.
It was then.
The pitter-patter of small, frantic footsteps echoed as Aika came running from the end of the hall.
She was clutching a bundle of something red in her arms.
Her black hair, tied in two pigtails, bounced with every step she took.
Of course.
Cassel deliberately pressed his temples as if nursing a headache, watching her with a cynical gaze.
“Hi, Uncle! Did you have a safe trip?”
“I told you to walk quietly.”
“I'm in a hurry! Hi, Gerard. Gerard, this is for you!”
Barely greeting him, Aika rushed past Cassel and stopped short in front of Gerard.
Catching her breath, she thrust the red flower she was clutching at Gerard.
It was the same kind of lace flower he had seen on the servants' chests.
So this was the source of it all.
A smile bloomed on Gerard's face.
“A good day to you as well, my lady. Is this for me?”
“Yep, it's a present! It's good if you wear it here. I even prayed to the flower for good things to happen to you, Gerard!”
Aika said proudly, patting her own chest.
“Thank you. I will treasure it.”
As Gerard knelt and bowed in a gesture of loyalty, Aika's face brightened even more.
Finally, Aika gazed up at Cassel.
If you're going to give me one, just give it to me. Why are you staring?
Thinking he'd better just take it and pretend to put it on to stop her from whining, Cassel held out his hand expectantly.
But Aika flinched in surprise and took a step back.
“I'm sorry, Uncle! I won't bother you anymore!”
Then she turned and vanished in a flash.
Cassel's eyebrow shot up crookedly, as if reaching for the sky.
His outstretched hand remained empty.
What about me?
Cassel whirled around.
It was Gerard who tensed at the sudden, menacing aura.
Cassel's lips twisted.
“Must be nice, huh?”
At the displeased tone, Gerard bowed his head low.
“...Yes, it's very ni— I mean, no, sir.”
With that honest answer, the temperature in the vicinity dropped by about three degrees.
“Right. Enjoy it.”
Cassel spun around again and quickly disappeared down the hall.
“...Ah.”
Zenda had told him to get His Grace in a good mood by the end of the day, too. He was in deep trouble.
Sensing a dark future ahead, Gerard scratched the back of his head roughly and hurried after him.
After that, even more servants with red flowers pinned to their chests appeared before Cassel's eyes.
But by dinnertime, Cassel's chest remained bare.
Finally, evening came.
Aika, the cause of it all, looked the very picture of innocence when he saw her at the dinner table, as if she knew nothing.
The last shred of hope he'd been clinging to was brutally crushed.
* * *
“Wow, what is this?”
As soon as I entered the dining room, I spotted a tree standing tall in the center of the table.
It looked like a winter tree with fried bits clinging to it like snowflakes.
“It's made of root vegetables, fried and arranged. It's a thank-you gift for the flower brooch you gave us, my lady. Would you like to try some?”
Sophie, the head chef, snapped off a branch and offered it to me.
“Can I really eat it? If we hung fruit on it, it would look just like a Christmas tree!”
I popped the fried root vegetable from Sophie into my mouth.
Crispy on the outside, crunchy on the inside.
The outside was savory and salty, as if sprinkled with salt, while the inside was warm and sweet.
It was a taste that made my nostrils flare with excitement.
“It's delicious!”
I can't believe something other than meat could be this tasty!
“Next time, shall we try making a tree with fruits and leafy greens, too?”
“Yes!”
“So noisy. Sophie, don't get taken in by her.”
Just then, my uncle entered the dining room.
