CH 46

Nikolaus, the Head of House Lingerburg, was holding his head in his hands. He had planned to restore House Lingerburg by making connections with influential aristocrats here and there around the same time as Alexandra’s social debut, but that plan seemed to have failed.

Normally, children who have debuted deepen their relationships by visiting and being visited by the people they met on social occasions. The children of powerful families must be busy with many invitation letters these days, sending them out and receiving them, alongside receiving or going on the actual visits.

Even so, Alexandra seems to have sent some letters out, but there were no letters addressed to Alexandra in turn. He checks his daughter’s letters every day and waits for an invitation from somewhere, but it never comes.

From an early age, Nikolaus raised Alexandra to be worth her role as the eldest daughter of House Lingerburg. She should have learned how to write letters, etiquette, and demeanor all befitting a daughter of a top-ranked county.

However, no matter how you think about it, Alexandra didn’t receive any letters and no replies to the letters she sent out. There was probably something wrong with Alexandra. That is the only thing Nikolaus can conclude.

“Why?! Why hasn’t Alexandra received any letters of invitation?! The daughter of House Lingerburg, the highest family among the vassals of the Margraviate of Carruthers, has never received an invitation letter or anything else of the sort, what in the world is wrong with her?!”

Nikolaus was irritated without even bothering to address Kaspar, the coachman who was waiting in his room. Kaspar doesn’t speak, knowing he hasn’t been asked for his opinion.

Kaspar is one of the few remaining staff of House Lingerburg. Although his main occupation is a coachman, in Manor Lingerburg which has almost no manpower, Kaspar does everything from serving as a butler to gardening. Kaspar is the only male servant, and the rest are basically just a handful of maids.

If they don’t interact with other families soon, they’ll be kicked out of the horizontal connections between nobles again. Nikolaus’s impatience grew day by day.

When Nikolaus heard that Alexandra had not been sending out letters in a while, he’d given up on her. He doesn’t expect even a reply of refusal, anyway.

Even so, Nikolaus’ expectations reached a climax when he saw his daughter suddenly choosing a dress and preparing to go out, all in a good mood.

“What’s wrong, Alexandra?” Nikolaus asked. “Did something good happen?”

From the way his daughter looked, Nikolaus had a guess that she was going to visit someone, or that someone had appeared at this house to visit her, but he deliberately asked her that question. Then, in her good mood, his daughter spoke freely.

A reply that reads like a wonderful poem incomparable to Alexandra’s writing, she said. She’s going to visit her friend’s house for the first time, she said. But Nikolaus can’t find out anything important that he wants to know. That’s not what he was asking for.

What is her host’s House’s status? What is their title? What is the family’s name like? Is it a House with money? Do they have strong political power? Does House Lingerburg benefit from associating with that family?

That’s what Nikolaus wants to know. It doesn’t matter if the writing in the letter is nice or not. It’s probably because there was something wrong with Alexandra as if she was finally making a friend for the first time. If she’s the daughter of an ordinary aristocrat, it’s not strange that she’s already decided to marry them, let alone become their friend. That it is not so was because Alexandra is not normal.

Nikolaus gave up on trying to find out what his daughter was talking about and called Kaspar at a later date. He orders him to accompany Alexandra on her visit and investigate the other party’s house.

Is it better for anyone to have friends than not have them? Not really. Associating with someone who doesn’t fit House Lingerburg’s status will only stain their name. Associating with a noble doesn’t mean you can just go out with anyone. Each person must interact with someone who matches the status of their family.

What manner of a stranger was this “Floto,” whose name was the only thing Nikolaus knew? Were they of a House worth associating with House Lingerburg, who boasts the highest status among House Carruthers’s vassals? Nikolaus was eagerly awaiting the results.

After exchanging letters several times, Nikolaus knocked on his desk as he heard Kaspar’s report after he had delivered Alexandra to her acquaintance’s house.

“A knight, you say!” Nikolaus yelled. “And he’s living in a hut in the woods to the north!? 1 Don’t be ridiculous! It’s not the time to deal with someone like that! What is Alexandra thinking!? Is she planning to defile the name of House Lingerburg!?”

Kaspar reports that Alexandra went to visit a shack in the woods. It seems that her host is from the Knight of Caan, and they seem to have hired an old maid who seems to have retired from elsewhere.

Nikolaus also received a report that they were calling each other by name on their way home. A daughter of a knightly family cannot be forgiven for showing such disrespect to the daughter of a county, and not just any county, but House Lingerburg, who boasts the highest status in the Margraviate of Carruthers.

“I’m sending a letter to that Floto von Caan! He was sending Alexandra letters. Do you know where this should be delivered in turn?” Nikolaus said.

“Yes,” Kaspar said. “I know where to deliver it to.”

“Alright… hold a moment,” Nikolaus said.

After that, with the paper and a pen he had immediately prepared for this occasion, Nikolaus took 3 days to finish writing.

After that, Nikolaus exchanged letters with this Caan family several times, and finally decided today was the day when their daughter, Floto von Caan, would come to visit.

As Alexandra said, she seems to be able to write a letter with elegant, aristocratic expressions. Even though Nikolaus had been thinking about it for 3 days and finally finished writing it, a reply came back almost immediately a day afterward.

However, it is not necessarily because this Floto was writing it herself. Nikolaus has already confirmed that there is an old maid in the Knight of Caan’s household. The fact that she is an old maid means that she had been serving somewhere else, retired, and is now serving another master.

If you are an experienced old maid, you may write on behalf of the master you serve. With the addition of many years of experience to a maid who was already well educated, there will probably be some who can write letters to nobles. It is highly likely that the letters from the Caan family were written by the maids, or thought out and advised on their behalf.

To begin with, this Floto certainly wrote elegant and aristocratic phrases and sentences, but she lacked consideration. Even though Count Nikolaus von Lingerburg was of the higher position, and he prides himself on his ability to write letters, this Floto could write even better still, inevitably frustrating Nikolaus even more.

Hence, people of lower rank usually have to write letters with consideration for those of higher rank. If your recipient writes poorly, you write worse than your recipient. Nikolaus prides himself on being able to write excellent letters that are as good as those around him, but if his recipient is in a higher position than Nikolaus, he writes his letters at a lower level relative to his recipient’s writing.

That kind of consideration is what is necessary for relationships between nobles, and it would be out of the question to write a letter that is better than someone of a higher rank, just to show off that you’re better skilled at writing. This Floto lacks that consideration. It’s clear she’s only received some manner of crude, rote-memorization education. 2

Kaspar will be waiting at their doorstep to meet her. Nikolaus waits for Floto’s arrival by watching the situation outside through the window overlooking the entrance gate. Then came a simple carriage. It cannot even compare with the one that House Lingerburg received from House Carruthers. The appearance of the coachman is also quite poor.

But Nikolaus was a little disturbed by the sight of the one who came down. Outside, Kaspar was probably upset, as well. After all, the child who came down was certainly a girl of the same generation as Alexandra, but she was dressed as a man in a knight’s formal attire. Doesn’t she look like a knight herself instead of being the daughter of one?

Nikolaus thought so when he saw the passenger coming down, but he can’t just keep looking out from the window forever. It’s to be kept secret that he was watching, and he has to sit down and pretend to have some busy time before Kaspar guides Floto to the room where Nikolaus is waiting.

There was no way Nikolaus could show himself, the Count of Lingerburg, curiously peeking out the window to see what was going on. He had to sit down and pretend he was busy and so sat down imposingly before Kaspar showed Floto to Nikolaus’s room.

Hence, he hurriedly left the window where you could have seen him from outside and rushed into the room he had ordered Kaspar to take Floto to, and then Nikolaus took a deep breath, sat down, and waited. Kaspar, who took his time guiding Floto, knocked on the door and called out to Nikolaus, so he arrogantly allowed them to enter the room.

“Thank you for inviting me today, Count Nikolaus von Lingerburg. I am Floto von Caan, the Knight of Caan. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Nikolaus observed Floto from top to bottom as she greeted him in front of the door. There is nothing wrong with her etiquette and there is nothing to point out. Yes. As a knight, she would have been…

There is something wrong here. The clothes she wears are the formal attire of a knight, not the clothes worn by the daughter of a knight. The greetings were also in accordance with the etiquette of a knight, not a greeting given by a woman.

“Hmm,” Nikolaus hummed. “First of all, let me welcome you. You have done well to accept my invitation. Come and sit here.”

“Yes, thank you very much,” Floto said.

Nikolaus behaves as usual, even though he is confused. He then looks at the people behind Floto. One is an old maid. This must be the person mentioned in Kaspar’s report. Although she is an old maid, she is younger than Nikolaus thought. She imagined her more of an ancient and infirm woman, but she’s a maid who’s elegant and strict enough to make Nikolaus think he’s got a stick in her back, it’s so straight. She seems to have received a very good education without any flaws in her demeanor.

And she had another servant. A young butler who was not in the report. He’s young, but he’s strong. He must have had a good education as well. Above all, there is a depth of experience that can not be acquired unless you serve a good master. Nikolaus doesn’t think it’s too good a butler to serve a knighthood that popped up out of nowhere.

The problem above all else is this Floto von Caan. You can feel the elegance in even her slightest actions. Her style could be described as a beautiful woman dressed as a man in the formal attire of a knight, but her dignity is absolutely unheard of for a knight. She has the air of being the daughter of a fairly high-ranking aristocrat. But, he thinks of something. Yes. Nikolaus thought, there is something off here.

Certainly, the butler, the maid, and the master herself are all average. But it’s too confusing. At first, Nikolaus was taken aback and a little upset, but soon Nikolaus opened his mouth with a distorted grin, trying to peel off this monster’s mask.

“I beg your pardon, but I have never heard of a family called the Knight of Caan, and I wonder which House you serve under?” Nikolaus asked. 3

With this alone, the opponent will already start unraveling. After all, there is no family named the Knight of Caan among House Carruthers’s vassals, nor are there any such Houses among their neighboring territories. Such a House does not exist to the knowledge of House Lingerburg, the highest-ranking county for many years.

“Yes,” Floto said. “I had been knighted by His Majesty, King Wilhelm, just this year, so I don’t think my title is well-known just yet. And I serve under the royal family.”

“Ooh? A direct retainer of the royal family?” Nikolaus asked.

Nikolaus touched his chin to see if Floto had prepared a reply. Of course, there is no such convenient thing. Why would she be invited to the social gatherings of House Carruthers if Floto had just been knighted this year? There are contradictions and points to prod at, but Nikolaus will leave them for now.

“If that’s the case, what kind of achievement did your father receive to be knighted this year?” Nikolaus asked.

“No, it was I myself who was knighted,” Floto said. “It’s not a great achievement, but when Prince Ludwig was about to be attacked by a monster, I defeated it and was awarded the title for my achievement.”

Nikolaus’ eyebrows twitched at Floto’s words.

“Enough of this nonsense!” Nikolaus yelled. “A child like you defeated a monster? And you, protecting Prince Ludwig? Give it a rest, you fools! There’s no way a 10-year-old child can be knighted! What the hell are you doing with Alexandra? Why are you aiming at, approaching me? What are you aiming at, pretending to be an aristocrat and approaching my daughter!? Is it money? Or are you in the service of another House trying to destroy mine?”

Nikolaus sees through this group of people who are too suspicious, they are frauds claiming themselves aristocrats. Floto has made many mistakes that a real noble would never make. After all, she was just pretending to be well-educated through rote memorization, so she didn’t even notice such rudimentary mistakes.

The same goes for the letters. Writing a better letter than Nikolaus in reply is not the proper way to do so. It’s not enough to just write a wonderful letter, it’s important in aristocratic relationships to be respectful to your recipient.

Besides, there is no way Floto could have protected Ludwig. What connection could there be between Ludwig, whom even Nikolaus had never even seen up close, and this girl’s little party? How would you protect someone like that from monsters?

It’s also impossible that she has even defeated a monster. Nikolaus doesn’t know what kind of monster it was, but if it was a monster that such a little girl could defeat, the Prince’s guards would probably have killed it first. 4The very premise is suspicious.

So is Floto’s behavior. The way she talks and behaves is like a knight, but she still behaves like a noble lady. She must have been scamming others while playing various roles here and there. That’s why various peculiarities are mixed and a strange contradiction appears. It would be a mistake to let such a child become a knight.

“I don’t know… what you’re talking about, I just want to be friends with Alexandra…” Floto said.

“Shut up! Even if all you were saying were true, you should cut ties with my daughter because you’re a mere knight! My daughter is busy at this time of year. I don’t have time to worry about mysterious strangers like you. If you really care about my daughter, don’t associate with her anymore! Her life! Her House! You want to ruin it all!? I will never allow you to see my daughter ever again!!”

This was such a farce that Nikolaus’s blood rose to his head and he found himself screaming at the top of his lungs. As Floto listened in silence, she restrained the butler who was glaring at Nikolaus with terrifying eyes then said:

“Calm down, Helmut… I beg your forgiveness. It’s natural for you to be worried about Alexandra, no, Lady Alexandra, as her parents. I must leave you for today.”

This rather rational child left early. Perhaps Nikolaus’s yelling intimidated her so much that she ran off in fear.

Looking out the window again at the departing carriage without a coat of arms, Nicolaus was so glad that he had managed to get rid of these strange, suspicious insects before they could land and taint his House.

T/N: You really can see where Alexandra’s arrogance and insistence on the pride of being a Lingerburg come from. The consistent affirmations that House Lingerburg is the highest-ranking House among the vassals of the Margraviate of Carruthers were both telling and an amusing bit from the original text.

Also, if this was the sort of Head of the House the previous two Count Lingerburgs raised, you can quite easily understand how the family fell to ruin before.