CH 50

"The naive Viscount daughter, scolded by her father."

Translated by Dawn

Time goes back a little bit…

~ Side Josphine ~

“I can’t forgive you for humiliating me like this! I will tell Father about this!”

“O-ojou-sama! P-please, wait! Josephine ojou-sama!” (+)

My name is Josephine Raganfeild. I am a Viscount daughter whose father is the lord of Raganfeild, which includes the city of Rendark.

My father’s name is Rubert von Raganfeild. He has not achieved much in particular but is highly respected by his people for his firmness in governing.

Other nobles say that he is “flattering to the people” and a “disgrace to the nobility,” but I respect my father very much.

This year I turned 14 years old. Recently, perhaps it is a growth spurt, but the underwear I used to wear no longer fit me. They used to be my favorite underwear…….

Ahem, that’s not important. What matters now is the fact that I, a……noblewoman, was kicked in the foot by a mere commoner.

It is unforgivable for a mere commoner to defy a nobleman of noble blood! I will tell Father and have him punished.

I quickly returned to the Raganfeilds’ mansion accompanied by Sally, and immediately went upstairs to the office.

The Raganfeilds’ mansion is a large three-story mansion. The first floor has a dining room, kitchen, and a hall for holding tea ceremonies, and the second floor has many rooms for administrative purposes, such as offices and a study.

The remaining third floor is used for living spaces such as bedrooms, and the servants’ rooms are also on the third floor.

Ah, that’s right. It doesn’t matter now about the Raganfeild family mansion. Instead, I must quickly tell Father about what happened today!

I pull up the hem of the skirt of my dress and start to run. The waitresses I passed on the way greeted me with awkward bows and “Welcome home,” though their eyes widened in surprise at the sight of me.

While answering the greetings with a polite “I’m back,” I headed for the office on the second floor and opened the door to the office with a bang.

“Father!!”

“…Aah, Josephine. I always say. A lady should act with a little more modesty—”

“I’m tired of hearing that to the point that I can hear an octopus(+). Instead, listen to what I have to say!”

Father is going to lecture me again on how to be a good aristocrat. I am tired of hearing such things. My first priority is to punish that commoner.

–After I explained everything to Father, for some reason, he suddenly started to hold his head in his hands. As I was wondering why in the world he was acting like that, I heard Father’s yelling voice echoing through the room.

“What a mess you’ve made!”

“Ueh! What is it suddenly!?”

“That adventurer is providing us with material that will be beneficial to our city. We have made plans to invite him to our mansion to deepen our friendship. And…”

Father is usually kind to me, but once he gets angry, he is very scary. The other day, when I was playing in the flower beds in the garden until I got muddy, he gave me a hard time.

Apparently, that adventurer who refused my invitation was a very talented person…….

“But, Father. I am not the one who is to be blamed for this. That adventurer made a fool of me, the daughter of the Raganfeild family! I urge you, as a lord, to use Father’s power to punish that adventurer–”

“Yooouuu, stupiiid!!”

“Hi, hiii–”

I involuntarily shudder at the loud voice of my father, which I have never heard before. Apparently, this incident was quite a blow, and he blames me for severing the connection with that adventurer.

“……forbidden.”

“What?”

“You’re banned from going out for a week! Now, I want you to go back to your room and reflect on what you’ve done.”

“N-no way–”

How did this happen? All I wanted was for the commoners who were disrespectful to me to be punished…….

The longest I’ve ever been forbidden to go out was three days, and now I’ve broken the record again. I’m not at all happy about it, though…….

Father, who has nothing more to say, waves his hand and tries to get me out of the room. Ugh, this isn’t very good. It’s not cool…….

Now my father won’t listen to me. If I insist any longer, I could be banned from going out for a week to a month.

“…I’m sorry.”

“…”

I threw a few words of resignation at my father, who wrinkled his brow, but of course, there was no reply.

As I was walking back to my room on the third floor at a slow pace, I came across a familiar figure.

She has long brown hair and eyes as beautiful as sapphires. Although she is 16 years old, two years older than I am, she has a very mature atmosphere that I admire as a woman.

“Ara, it’s Jeanne. What’s wrong?”

“Father scolded me again……”

“Arara, what a disaster that must have been! But I’m sure it was Jeanne’s fault too.”

For some reason, Margaret onee-sama calls me “Jeanne” when she calls me by my name. When I asked her why, she simply replied, “Because it is easier to call you that way.”

When I told her what had happened, she gave me the words I had just mentioned. What was wrong with her?

Perhaps my doubts were showing on my face, but onee-sama gave me some advice.

“Good thing, Jeanne. A person is …… well, an aristocrat has to be tolerant of the commoners and others below them.”

“Tolerant…is it.”

“Yes. For example, Sally, who is standing behind you, what would you do if I asked Jeanne to give me Sally?”

“No! Even if it’s you, Margaret onee-sama, I won’t give you Sally!”

“…, Josephine ojou-sama…”

I then take Sally in my arms and hold her like a doll so that she will not be taken away from me. Sally looks happy and embarrassed, but it doesn’t matter to me.

Sally is like a sister to me, and even if she is onee-sama, I will not give her to her.

“It’s the same thing. We all hate to have something taken away from us. The more you love something, the more you hate it. I wonder if the adventurer thought that becoming your retainer meant that he would be deprived of his freedom.”

“Ah…”

When onee-sama told me, I realized for the first time that I was being very unreasonable. No one would be willing to be forcibly deprived of what they have, regardless of their own will. At least, I categorically refuse.

“I must have done something very terrible to that man…….”

“Ojou-sama…”

‘Maybe you shouldn’t feel so down about it? It is true that Jeanne may have done something terrible to that person. But you understood that it was a terrible thing to do, and you were sorry for it. A truly terrible person is someone who knows he or she is doing something terrible, but does not reflect on it and does something even more terrible.”

That is how she consoled me. However, the fact remains that I have done something terrible to him. I would like to run out of the mansion and apologize to him right away, but since my father has banned me from going out, I can’t go outside until then.

“Then, why don’t you write a letter?”

“A letter?”

When I told your sister about the ban from going out, that was the answer I got back. A …… letter, that might not be a bad idea.

“Thank you, Margaret onee-sama. I will try to write to him right away.”

“Don’t worry about it. Nothing would make me happier than to be of service to my precious little sister.”

“Onee-sama…”

I feel my heart warming up to her words. Yes, you are right. I have to take responsibility for what I have done. Once I have decided that I cannot stay like this.

After I thanked her and left her, I immediately went to my room and began to write a letter of apology to him. Please wait for me. I will send you my feelings immediately.