Chapter 28
28
Chapter 7. Too Much (2)
“Oh, Shana. You’re here early today.”
“Raven is busy.”
“So you took this opportunity to run away?”
“I didn’t run away. I kept my loyalty.”
“Loyalty?”
Bailey blinked, looking puzzled. I kindly explained.
“If I progress without Raven, he’ll feel left out if I’m the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on.”
“You really are good with words…”
Bailey just laughed, as if she couldn’t help it. It was true that I had skipped the afternoon class and ran away without a plan. I’d probably be so scolded by the professor tomorrow that I’d want to faint, but people are animals that live for today.
“Bailey, where are the twins?”
“They’re naturally at the Training ground. Maria is sparring with them.”
“That means they’re getting beaten up. I should go watch!”
Bailey was silent instead of answering. That meant I was right.
“You’re so mischievous, Shana.”
“Is Ayl there too?”
“No, I sent Ayl on an errand.”
Ayl was Bailey’s son’s name. He originally grew up outside the mansion, but since last year, he had been working as a servant in the mansion and occasionally receiving training from Lloyd.
“Evelyn, let’s go!”
“Yes, Shana!”
Evelyn, who had been standing quietly behind Bailey, popped out and came to my side as soon as I called her.
“Evelyn, I didn’t say you could go.”
“Shana’s orders come first!”
“Really, you two are exactly alike.”
Bailey clicked her tongue as if she couldn’t help it, but she didn’t stop me. Compared to Maria and Ella, who nagged a lot, Bailey didn’t say unnecessary things.
She prefers to show rather than tell. Bailey is really scary when she’s angry. I shouldn’t be cheeky….
“Evelyn, Bailey doesn’t bother you too much, does she? You don’t have to work, really.”
“No, I’m strong!”
I know that. Even when she was as small as my palm, she easily blew me away…. I said, holding Evelyn’s hand.
“You know you shouldn’t overdo it just because you’re strong, right? I’m worried because Evelyn is too kind…”
“I have to earn my keep. You’ve been feeding and housing me for free all this time!”
Evelyn smiled brightly.
Evelyn was the same as when I first met her. She looked like a girl of similar age to me now, a beautiful girl with black hair and black eyes. It’s pleasing to the eye.
“Do I look kind? Shana?”
“Huh?”
Is this a trap? Is this some kind of joke, asking if I still see her as Evelyn?
I hesitated, not knowing how to answer, and Evelyn smiled brightly and took my hand.
‘She seems to have glossed over it with a smile, but what was that about?’
Evelyn is like my Younger sister, so kind, cute, and pretty, but she sometimes acts strangely like this.
“Shana, are you tired after all? Why are you walking? Should I give you a piggyback ride?”
I’m running.
Let me say it again, Wentworth’s mansion is large.
It’s not comparable to the Imperial Palace, but it was definitely too big for a family of just three. When I was young, there were many places I couldn’t go because my legs were short, but to me, who had grown up, the mansion was already conquered territory.
My parents’ bedroom, each of their studies, guest rooms, the servants’ quarters, and even the stables, there wasn’t a place I hadn’t been.
The Training ground was one of the places I visited most often, along with my room, study, and my parents’ studies.
It’s called a Training ground, but it was practically my playground.
“Ian, Leon! We’re here!”
“Don’t come any closer!”
How heartless.
I started running when I was almost at the Training ground and shouted excitedly, but instead of a welcome, I got a heartless refusal. It was Leon’s voice. Of course, I wasn’t discouraged.
“Is the game over already?”
“……Don’t say it’s over……”
Leon’s dejected voice sounded gloomy. When I got closer, I saw Leon, already tattered and lying on the floor. Leon frowned and said.
“I showed you an unsightly sight again.”
“Like that’s anything new. Leon is always unsightly.”
“……”
Maria burst into laughter.
“Leon is going to cry, Shana!”
“Don’t be silly. Leon doesn’t cry over something like this. He’s a brave 11-year-old.”
Leon groaned and sat up. Ian approached him and handed him a towel.
“Good job.”
“……Why did Shana have to come back on my turn?”
Leon glared enviously at Ian, who was relatively neat. Ian looked clean, probably because he had already finished his turn and tidied himself up. Ian raised his nose and said.
“I told you to keep your ears open. I thought Raven would be busy in a few days.”
“What does Raven being busy have to do with this?”
“If Raven is busy and can’t teach, Shana will definitely skip class.”
I was just standing there, but I got hit for no reason. Ian knows too much about me. I should just disappear.
“You’re such a jerk. Is that why you read the newspaper every day?”
“That’s not the only reason. I just find it interesting.”
“Maria, I’m going to wash up!”
Leon reported to Maria first, but Maria wasn’t listening anymore. That’s because Maria had already come to my side and was hugging me.
“Shana, it’s been 5 hours!”
“Maria, I can’t breathe…”
“Raven didn’t hit on you, did he? How many times have I told you, his way of speaking has been suspicious since he was young, so you can’t let your guard down. If only my status was okay, I would follow you around without leaving your side for a moment…”
“I’ll take the thought, thank you.”
Ella, who would stop Maria, isn’t here.
“Where’s Ella?”
“She went on an errand with Ayl and Bailey!”
This is hopeless. I couldn’t hide my expression and made a face like I was about to cry. Maria doesn’t care anyway. Evelyn slipped out and pulled Maria away, saying.
“Maria, why don’t you go wash up too?”
“I didn’t sweat a drop, so I’m fine. Shana needs to train her stamina too.”
“Today is a day off. I’m already tired…”
Maria smiled gently as if she would let me off the hook and stepped away. It seemed to be because Leon and Ian had returned just in time.
Maria and Ella, who worked as babysitters at the mansion, and Bailey, who worked as a nanny, continued to work as servants at the mansion. Bailey seemed to be working under the butler grandfather, and Ella and Maria mainly worked with Lloyd.
“Shana always tries to rest whenever she gets the chance.”
“Ian, do you know what my life motto is?”
“I know. ‘Healthy, lazy, and comfortable’.”
Leon shook his head and clicked his tongue. He was openly looking at me with contempt, but I didn’t care. I’m confident.
Try dying from overwork, there’s no better life motto than that.
“There’s one more. As long as I don’t cause trouble for others.”
“How admirable…”
Even Ian looked at me with a similar look to Leon. Whatever.
Ian and Leon were one year younger than Raven, but they were much taller than him. Perhaps because they exercise every day, their frames were large and solid, which was visible even through their clothes.
It’s great that the kids are growing up, but the problem is that the twins have started treating me like a Younger sister.
‘More like they’re trying to act like older brothers than treating me like a Younger sister?’
How presumptuous.
In my eyes, the twins still look young, but it’s funny to see them trying to treat me like a child. In the end, they’re treating each other like children. How absurd.
“Then wait here for a moment. Ian, don’t let Shana sit on the dirt floor.”
“Leave it to me.”
I take it back. Everyone around me seems like a child, but no one acknowledges that I’m an adult. How sad.
‘I’m 7 years old, I haven’t really caused any accidents, so why are they like this?’
It was surprising that Maria, Ella, and Bailey stayed at the mansion.
I actually thought they would leave soon. I heard that it was originally a contract to work until Bailey’s son grew up to some extent.
‘I wanted to hire the three of them later, but when I think about it, it costs too much money….’
Hiring three Rank A Mercenary at once is a bit…….
Even if Her Majesty the Empress promised to support me, it was a little, a lot, too much. The market price I looked up briefly made me feel discouraged. If it’s that much for one request, how much should I pay for an annual salary?
“But Ian, what do you mean Raven is going to be busy?”
“Ah, that.”
Ian said.
“There’s an epidemic going around near the slums of the capital.”
“Gasp.”
“They’ve been isolated early and housed in facilities, but it doesn’t seem to be working out well. The disease can’t be cured with Divine power or Healing magic……”
“…What about medicine? If they find a cure.”
“Even if there is one, it will be expensive, and they haven’t found a medicine that’s perfect for the epidemic. But if they leave it alone, they don’t know when it will spread to the entire capital. They’re urging him to solve it somehow.”
“……”
“Since it’s a matter within the capital, the Imperial Family will have to step in, and then Raven will be busy.”
Ian’s intelligence is beyond ordinary. Look at how smart my kid is. I think he’s more suited to be a civil official than a knight, so why did he pick up a sword?
‘Even so, Raven is only 12 years old.’
Raven’s face, which had been making a troubled expression, suddenly came to mind.
‘I have a bad feeling……. If someone is being unreasonable, it seems like he’ll step up and say he’ll do it himself. ……No, right? It can’t be, he wouldn’t be such a fool who can’t tell the difference between right and wrong….’
The next day, I heard that Raven had gone directly to the slums to solve the epidemic.
Is this guy crazy!
