CH 38

“Fuuh… that’s the end of that,” I said, signing and stamping the document I had just checked.

Lately, I’ve been trying to process business documents as well. Helmut and Isabella were too good and didn’t complain, so I left it to them, but these are the jobs I should have been doing. It’s too late now, but I’m thinking of getting involved in my business little by little from now on.

After I finished processing the payment documents, I started reading the reports. It’s not something that’s urgent or anything that I need to give my permission for. I look over clerical reports and non-urgent requests.

“Huh!? It’s Louisa…” I muttered.

I find Louisa’s name in the report and freeze. It was a report on a newly opened ranch and poultry farm in the royal capital. When I visited the royal capital last time, I asked King Wilhelm to open a ranch and poultry farm near the royal capital. Of course, I received an OK on the spot, so I instructed Helmut and Isabella to investigate the location, personnel, and initial costs then make the arrangements.

Basically, people who work on newly opened ranches and poultry farms in the royal capital are supposed to be hired locally, but it’s not possible for everyone to start as a complete beginner. Therefore, it was decided to ask for applicants to transfer some of our personnel in Carruzan to the other side as supervisors.

The royal capital is too far away for me to pay attention to, and there are some people who are trustworthy and accustomed to working here, and Louisa’s name is among those who wish to be transferred over there.

Why, Louisa?

Luisa worked on a farm, not on a ranch or poultry farm. There is no doubt that she is also written in the column for experienced workers requesting a transfer. Doesn’t it seem like she moved to the ranch after she stopped seeing me?

Of course, you wouldn’t know where her aptitude was at the start, so she should have experienced both farm and ranch, but since Louisa was placed on the farm, her aptitude developed for farm work. Still, why did Louisa transfer to the royal capital where we’re supposed to open up a ranch and a poultry farm instead of opening a crop farm?

In the remarks column, they said there is no problem with her work attitude and that there is no problem with learning the work after Louisa received training at the poultry farm. It seems that she went out of his way to receive training at the poultry farm to qualify for the transfer.

I guess she doesn’t want to stay in Carruzan that much… if Louisa goes to the royal capital, I won’t be able to see her. It also says that Louisa will move to the royal capital with her family. Once she moves with her family, she has no reason to come back here.

My chest feels like it’s aching. But it’s not something that I, a complete stranger, can have a say in. Louisa’s family probably has their circumstances, and it is not written here why she wanted to be transferred to the royal capital. I didn’t specifically instruct the transferring workers why they were doing it, and I don’t think I should get into such complicated things, so I did not ask it regardless.

It bothers me, but I can’t help it. As I stood up from my chair and moved to the window, I was thinking of that lively girl as I looked out.

The day of my public debut is approaching soon. The dress I ordered was already finished, so I decided to try it on at home today.

At the tailor shop, I tried on clothes many times, but most of the time it was only before they were finished. That I was trying it on at home because the maids don’t know how to help put it on me on the day itself and this will make sure it doesn’t take more time than expected. It will be easier if we already know the whole procedure and how long it would take beforehand.

Well, Isabella is the only maid who helps me change clothes… but Isabella has now been dismissed from House Carruthers. That’s a weird way of saying it, so let me correct it. Isabella will be hired by me, personally, as a maid in the service of the Knight of Caan.

As my father told me when I was talking about my social debut, I have to make my debut as Sir Caan on my own. I can’t borrow the power of House Carruthers, so I need to procure all the attendants and carriages by myself.

Helmut is the son of House Royce who serves House Carruthers, and it seems that there is a separate heir to the Royce family, but he can’t serve the Knight of Caan without permission. Even if other servants eventually leave the service of House Carruthers and go into mine, there is a procedure. If you ignore those procedures and do whatever you want, you can’t live in aristocratic society.

Isabella, on the other hand, is old and originally intended to retire from serving House Carruthers. Her House seems to be managed by someone else, so it seems like a retired person just working as a hobby. Therefore, Isabella was the only one who could complete the procedures immediately, so it was decided that she would retire from being a maid of House Carruthers and instruct the other maids of the Knight of Caan as my chief maid.

Of course, that was just a title, and in reality, there was only Isabella in the Knight of Caan. We just say “a veteran retired and then was invited to instruct the maids of the Knight of Caan, a newly established noble” so we can keep people from claiming that Isabella had been poached or vindictively transferred from the main branch of the family. It’s an open secret that things like that are just public appearances, but it seems that aristocratic society is troublesome if you don’t follow these steps.

“Please excuse me, Miss Flora… how should I help you with this?” Isabella said.

“Huh? Aah… this for tying and fastening over here,” I said.

Isabella asked me how help me put on my dress in front of a full-length mirror. Isabella, who has seen dozens of normal dresses, didn’t seem to know how to wear this one-of-a-kind dress that I designed.

“My, my, my! Flora, my dear, what a lovely dress!”

“Mother,” I said.

Mother came in as I was almost finished trying on my dress. From my modern Japanese point of view, the family in this mansion is kind of weird, but the one I don’t understand the most might be my mother. It’s been almost 10 years since I was born and she has not changed at all.

For example, when you see someone every day, you don’t notice the gradual changes, and you feel as if they haven’t changed for years. But if you compare it with old photos and videos, it’s quite possible that they’re older now. I’m sure there are such things, but my mother is completely different.

First of all, Mother used to be with me when I was little, but after I got to a certain age, she would suddenly go somewhere and suddenly come back. Even though she hadn’t been here home recently, she suddenly was home now, so I wondered where she had gone. I haven’t seen her so much since the middle of the year for all her trips.

I don’t think it’s just my subjective opinion that she doesn’t look old. In fact, my mother looks abnormally young even compared to other people who seem to be around the same age. My older brother Friedrich is 7 years older than me, so he must be about 17. Even compared to the Japanese people who were said to look perennially young, my mother looks so young that it’s hard to believe she has a 17-year-old child.

It’s strange that I don’t really understand Mother’s normal life or even if she’s trying to retain her youth with anti-aging treatments. Her mother had been away from the mansion for days, and then she came back suddenly as she had now. No one says anything about it nor do I believe she’s being unfaithful. I can see it, my father and mother are still in love. I still think that one of these days I’m going to have a younger sibling, too.

So why is she suddenly gone for days? Why is no one saying anything? I have no idea where she was or what she was doing.

“Oh? Flora, dear, what’s wrong? You’ve been staring at Mother for a while now? Are you lonely?”

“Uu!” I gasped. “It’s nothing like that…”

Mother approached me with a grin and hugged me in her too magnificent chest. My face is smothered by it and it’s hard to breathe. Albert! Do you always get to touch such wonderful things!? I’m jealous!

“Is that so? Oh! That’s right! Let’s be together from now on! Okay? That sounds great!” Mother said.

“Ah……” I gasped.

I should have had various plans of my own, but when Mother said this, I couldn’t go against it. No matter what she says, I still love my mother… in this way, all the plans for this day were changed, and I spent time with Mother trying on dresses, talking, and eating together.

Today is the day of my longed-for debut. I’ve been dreaming of this day. It’s a stage I’ve longed for ever since I learned that I was born the daughter of an aristocrat.

Do you think it’s disgusting to wear a beautiful dress for your social debut even though you’re a man inside? But I’ve always wanted a stage like this. If I were a girl, I would do that, I would do this, I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I can’t help but be happy.

“Are you ready, Young Miss?” the coachman said.

“Yes, please,” I said.

I got into a simple carriage with no crest on it. Neither the carriage nor the driver belonged to House Carruthers. It’s a so-called rental that I asked the Kruck Trading Firm to prepare. The money to foot the bill, of course, comes from the Knight of Caan’s business income. House Carruthers is not responsible for anything.

Helmut is in the service of House Carruthers, so I can’t bring him with me today. Riding a rental carriage, Isabella and I head to today’s party venue. My heart pounded with anticipation and anxiety. Today I will make my public debut in the social world of my dreams. Wearing a dress with a new design that is completely unrecognizable in this world…

Will everyone accept this dress? Can I get close to a cute, young, beautiful lady? And hopefully, I can have fun with the other girls… I was sitting in the carriage wishing for that.

Splendid carriages arrive one after another at the gorgeous party venue, overwhelming anyone who saw them. This event is hosted by House Carruthers. The main characters of today’s party are children who will be 10 years old this year, it was a fine stage for them to make their public debuts in the nobility’s social circles.

During this season, parties are held all over the Kingdom of Ploiss to celebrate their debut. As this is a party hosted by House Carruthers, only the relatively upper-class members of the Carruzan’s nobility gather here, and it is quite a prestigious occasion.

A party with a lower prestige than this one is prepared separately, and noble families of lower status go there. Nominally, it’s a joint effort by those lower-rank nobles, but both parties are held at the Carruthers’ Villa with donations made in the House’s name.

“Look, look! That The Count’s House…”

“And that’s the Viscount’s house…”

While watching the guests coming in one after another at the front of the venue, the people who were making the rumor mill spin had already started competing with each other. Social circles are not just for chatting. It can be a place where you can get information, get close to other families, and kick out your rivals.

Of course, not everything is so ill-intentioned, and depending on the situation, there will be social gatherings where people from the same faction can socialize harmoniously. However, the 10-year-old’s debut is also an important occasion to determine the relationships and hierarchy of each House in the future. If you end up at the bottom here, it will be difficult to rise higher without incredible efforts moving forward.

Meanwhile, there arrived a modest carriage that was unsuitable for this venue. They didn’t think it was a House that could come to this prestigious place with the coachman’s normal appearance. Everyone who was talking about the carriages waited for this one’s passenger to come down, their attention has been caught. Everyone is curious about who they are.

“Young Miss, please go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

After the coachman prepared a platform and the elderly maid got off first, the onlookers go, “Hoou.” If the carriage merely stood out, the appearance of the girl who got off is nothing short of eye-catching.

All of the girls participating in this event had hair curled above their heads with ankle-length hoop skirts, as was currently popular in the Kingdom of Ploiss.

Compared to them, the girl who just came down was wearing a bright red dress with a tight skirt that reached just below her knees. However, although it is a tight skirt, it has three diagonal folds and a large ribbon at the edge. She has a very novel style. And her hair is left untouched. She has her long blonde hair worn straight down. She is definitely different from the current fashion style.

With her beautiful features and graceful gestures that made one think she was some kind of royalty, the men all had ulterior motives for the girl. And all the women felt the flames of jealousy ignite and roar as one.

Due to the ruckus, the receptionist let her through into the venue without even confirming the girl’s identity. The party begins with greetings from the host, Margrave Carruthers. All the boys were looking for that certain girl, but before that happened, she was surrounded by the other girls.

“You… you came in a very modest carriage, didn’t you? Which House did you come from?” a girl with slanted eyes and a strong personality said.

She stood in front of the unusual girl, with other ladies surrounding her as if they were her subordinates.

“Huh? Do you mean me?” the girl said. “I am the Knight of Caan, Floto…”

“My!” the young lady with slanted eyes said. “A child of a knight’s family? And this Knight of Caan? I’ve never heard of them! If I may? This is a high-class party venue where only people from prestigious families may gather. This is not a place for the children of knights. Are you certain you haven’t mistaken the venue?” she said, looking at Floto with disdainful eyes and a dismissive wave of her hand.

The men who were trying to talk to Floto also stopped. If the other party is just a knight’s daughter, no matter how beautiful she is, she is not the one to talk to on this occasion. If you want to take her on as a lover, then if she’s a beautiful woman, others probably won’t care about her origins, but if you’re the child of a knight in this gathering place for high society, even your House will be disrespected.

“I am the eldest daughter of Count Lingerburg, Alexandra von Lingerburg,” the young lady with slanted eyes said. “The County of Lingerburg is one of the oldest families to have served the Margraviate of Carruthers, and are one of the most distinguished, most accomplished noble Houses, second only to House Carruthers itself.”

“We have no place for the daughter of a knight here! Hurry up and disappear!” one of Alexandra’s entourage snapped as Alexandra bragged before she poured a drink over Floto’s head.

The men who were watching the situation burst into laughter all at once.

“Hold up, you! What do you think you’re doing?!”

However, with a resounding “PAN!”, it was Alexandra’s drink-dumping crony who got slapped, and by Alexandra herself, at that.

“My, that dress you’ve prepared for this occasion has been ruined, hasn’t it?” Alexandra said. “I’ll lend you a spare of my mine, so hurry up and change then head to the other party at this venue. If you hurry now, you might still make it in time.”

“…… Huh?” Floto went.

“………… Huh?” went Alexandra’s entourage.

“……………… Huh?” went everyone else around them.

Floto tilted her head in confusion and stared at Alexandra. The entourage who had intended to ridicule the knight’s daughter and then kick her out could do nothing but let their voices trail off and pout. And the rest of the party-goers were stunned, not knowing what to do or what was going on.

T/N: Oh, I was so looking forward to Alexandra and translating her dialog, she’s so much fun. Next to Katharina, she’s one of my favorite love interests because of her personality and how different she is from the others.