Chapter 40: (Self Edited) Another Cousin

“Yuri! Welcome back!” (Suzuya)After opening the door, she ran and hugged me. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

*Gyu~~*

“Thank you, Okaa-san. I haven’t been in touch for a long time.” (Yuri)

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re doing your best after all.” (Suzuya)

“Yes, I’m doing my best.” (Yuri)

It smelled as good as ever when I was held by Suzuya.

‘It makes me feel at ease. Anyway, it’s kind of weird tension today.’

“You’re going to stay today, right?” (Suzuya)

“Yes, of course.” (Yuri)

“That’s great.” (Suzuya)

She seemed to be delightful more than anything else.

—

‘It has been five years since I started using this secondary residence. I remember most of the faces of the people who work here.’

‘These people, or at least more than half of them, have worked for the Hou Household for generations. The faces don’t change so much in five years.’

‘The guards are another matter. Spending their lifetime as a guard was nothing in their career, so they are dispatched from another territory.’

‘The quality and quantity of entertainment in the royal capital are remarkably different from the rural area. Rather than being caused by the relegation, it’s due to the recreation. The guard rotation is much easier than usual by putting a face of ‘not to lose focus’, and there is plenty of time to go out to play.’

‘That is why the matter is different since the guards always change unlike those who worked inside the residence. It’s not because they are too many of them. There are only ten of them at best.’

“It’s my first time to see you. Yuri-sama.” (??)

However, the one who bowed to me when I sat in the dining room was a stranger. That person was wearing dress for maid.

“Nice to meet you.” (Yuri)

Naturally, I thought of her as a newcomer. It looked like she was younger than me.

“Yuri, it’s your cousin.” (Rook)

“Ehehe.” (Suzuya)

‘Speaking of cousin, I thought I only had one, Syamu. Is she Gouk’s illegitimate child?’

“Did Gouk-ojiisan has illegitimate child? I’m glad she didn’t find out during his lifetime.” (Yuri)

‘Dear me, he dodged it by a hair’s breadth, huh.’

“Don’t be silly.” (Rook)

Rook was angry.

“She’s my niece.” (Suzuya)

‘Aah. Is that so? She is the cousin from the mother’s side.’

‘I’ve never been to Suzuya’s parents’ house, but I’ve heard that it’s a rural area. The cousin, who just shows up, doesn’t look unrefined when coming out of the rural area. It may be the way she is from the beginning.’

‘The hair is neatly arranged, and the appearance is refined. Well, did they groom her that way because she was going to work here?’

“Is she working as a maid?” (Yuri)

“I am indebted to you from last week.” (??)

‘It’s a polite way of saying it. Is she coming to work?’

‘Setting aside the time when Rook was a rancher, what is the social standpoint of Suzuya’s parent family now that Rook is the head of the household? Is it a farmer as usual? I don’t get it.’

“She is more or less going to work here temporarily.” (Rook)

‘Hmm. However, although she is a cousin, it doesn’t really fit for her to become a maid. It doesn’t involve calling me with the honorific -sama.’

‘I am used to be called with -sama by the maids, but it is very uncomfortable when I’m being treated that way by a cousin even if the cousin is a commoner.’

“What is your name?” (Yuri)

“My name is Beaure Emernon.” (Beaure)

‘Emernon. Indeed, it was Suzuya’s maiden name.’

“Beaure-san, is it?” (Yuri)

“Please call me without honorifics.” (Beaure)

‘Hmm…’

I looked at Rook to ask for his help.

“…Well, I’m thinking about that too.” (Rook)

“Is that so?” (Yuri)

‘Rook seems to be holding back on correspondence, too.’

‘Beaure’s position, though simple, is fairly subtle. Although she is a commoner, she has become a relative to the head of the General household by chance.’

‘Of course, if Rook was the eldest son from the beginning, and he married Suzuya through love relationship, the status of Emernon household would have stepped up accordingly.’

‘However, Rook became the head of the household after he got married, and that complicates the matter. When Rook got married, Rook had the position of the second son of the General household, who rock and rolled out from the rail of glory. Even if they got married, there was no reason to bring the Emernon family into the Hou Household.’

‘There is a good reason to promote the family status just after marriage, but there is also the question whether the other party wants that now.’

‘It is a mystery why they send this child.’

‘Rook is probably thinking whether it is alright to make a close relative to work as a maid. I wonder what Beaure is thinking.’

‘There should be no problem to make her work as a maid, but there is a problem with her feelings. Is this due to the Hou Household’s upright family bringing? Depending on the situation, there seems to be a family that always uses ‘What’s wrong?’ from the beginning.’

“To see how it looks, she’s going to work as a waitress today.” (Rook)

“Yes.” (Beaure)

‘Since we are relatives, it wouldn’t be strange to have a meal at the same table. The relationship with Suzuya is between a niece and an aunt.’

“…Well then, please take care of me.” (Yuri)

“You’re welcome, I will do my best. Please take care of me as well.” (Beaure)

—

After the meal, I was called to the study room.

“Yuri, what do you think of that girl?” (Rook)

Rook asked.

“I think she’s a good girl. I think she is special from a standpoint.” (Yuri)

I sat on a chair and said that while drinking the tea served.

“She is the second child of Suzuya’s older brother.” (Rook)

“Ooh.” (Yuri)

“Don’t you ‘Ooh’ me. You also have to associate with your relative in the future.” (Rook)

“I don’t understand. There’s no way I can only say ‘Oh’ It depends on the intention of Okaa-san’s family sending her to us.” (Yuri)

‘If they send her with a sort of ambitious idea, we will probably need to take some action, right? When Rook was a rancher, they had no ambition or didn’t give a dang at all, but because he has become the head of the household, it doesn’t sound well even that really helps his wife’s family a little bit.’

‘However, even if we were to help, in the first place, there is a system called Knights as in the Knight households, so it will be difficult. In the world of the army, it is like a graduation certificate of the military academy. Just as the sergeant and the officer are clearly distinguished, to those who don’t graduate as a Knight, they can’t be given a position in the army. If they don’t have the position in the army, it is also difficult to give them a territory.’

‘Apart from that, it isn’t difficult to promote them to become nobles. However, according to the rule of the General Households, a large amount of money is imposed as a consideration when not serving in the army. Since there’s no special treatment that exempts them, even if the Emernon family, a farmer who doesn’t know how to manage territories, is given a territory, that will obviously make them bankrupt.’

‘Rook was also subjected by this rule. However, since his territory has only a ranch and his own house, the payment was small. He was able to pay it without difficulties in the interest of the ranch. In the same way, the Emernon family can be regarded as a small landlord with only a house. But unlike Luke’s, the Emernon family is just a farmer, and has very little money income.’

‘Certainly, the amount of payment is small, but the total increase in tax expenditure is unavoidable. As a result, even though they become nobles, they would become poorer. That’s the thing.’

“…Yes.” (Rook)

“Are you going to do anything to them?” (Yuri)

“Well. I had my house rebuilt with the money of the Hou Household, and now I’m living a wealthy life in my own way.” (Rook)

‘I see. It should be around that much. If the parents’ family of the head’s wife is poor, the head will be considered by others as being stingy.’

“It looks like she’s going to work as a maid. Did that come from Beaure-san?” (Yuri)

“That’s right.” (Rook)

‘Hmm.’

“Moreover, I wouldn’t say that she should work like that if she wants to make the relationship gets better. She is just trying to say thank you.” (Yuri)

“It maybe so. Is that what you think?” (Rook)

“Well, yes. If she’s looking to marry a good partner, she should be aware of the reverse side of working as a maid.” (Yuri)

‘If she wants to make a strong connection with the Hou Household, it would be normal to work together so that a high ranking Knight would welcome her as a wife. If the husband were a servant of the Queen at the Royal Castle, she would be nothing but a noble wife even though she is someone from the Hou Household, and they would be given a small house in the royal capital.’

“I was wondering whether I should let her working like this.” (Rook)

‘Did you think about it? Then, make her quit.’

‘However, I wonder why she offers herself to do this job.’

“I guess it’s good if she is a distant relative. It’s too close since she’s a close cousin.” (Yuri)

“Is that so?” (Rook)

“How old is that girl?” (Yuri)

“She’s 13.” (Rook)

‘13 is it? In some cases, it’s an age that people make noises of child labor. In this country, unless you’re making them do a lot of hard labor, there’s no one to make a fuss about it.’

“She should marry a man from a powerful branch family to make her in safe hand.” (Yuri)

“She’s too young. I asked her, but she didn’t want it.” (Rook)

‘She didn’t want it? Hmm…’

“It’s difficult. So then, what are you going to do?” (Yuri)

“To be honest, I also don’t know. I’m not sure what her family thinking is about.” (Rook)

‘On the other hand, it would be easier for Rook to be entrusted with the girl if they say ‘I want her to marry this warrior, so I will do my best’. In that case, Beaure should do something like bride training, and later, marry a suitable branch family.’

“I don’t intend to look down on them, but the common sense of farmers are different from ours. There’s a possibility they think that the work of a maid is a shortcut to become a bride, and they told that to Beaure-san. I think it’s mostly that she’s purely dedicated to be a maid without any ulterior motive.” (Yuri)

‘I’m not proud of it, but since I’ve received various educations here and there in Japan, I can’t understand the common sense of people who were born and have no school education at all.’

“I guess so.” (Rook)

Rook seemed to be the same idea.

“I don’t think it’s important, and you don’t have to think too seriously.” (Rook)

‘From Rook’s standpoint, it’s nothing but a trivial matter. No matter how he deals with it, there will be no one who makes a fuss.’

“She’s from your mother’s family. So, I want to take care of her.” (Rook)

‘Indeed, she is.’

“By the way, how much do you earn from the side business you were talking about?” (Rook)

The discussion suddenly changed.

“Well, I haven’t been able to recover the capital investment so far. Overall, it’s in the red.” (Yuri)

“Red is it? I don’t really understand capital investment, but what is it?” (Rook)

“The easiest way to say it is I haven’t recovered the construction costs of building the stables for the birds on Father’s ranch.” (Yuri)

“Aah, I see. Then, that’s fine.” (Rook)

‘As expected, Rook seems to understand since he is also a business owner. Capital expenditures are not something that can be immediately recovered. Even if you buy a car and embark on a thousand kilometers, it would be impossible to recover the purchase price. It would be nice to be able to recover it by the time you get on 100000 kilometers.’

“Yes. I’m not making money yet.” (Yuri)

“Of course. How much did you spend?” (Rook)

‘Hmm… Let’s tell him.’

“It’s about 40000 Ruga, and for the time being, I made 5000 Ruga a month.” (Yuri)

“Oi, that’s amazing, you know. Well, you’ll be in black soon.” (Rook)

“Yes, very soon. We’re increasing production more and more, so maybe we’ll get more.”

‘If this were a company, it would be a super good company. It will take less than a year to recover the initial investment costs. If there is a bank in this country, the person in charge would head down and offer the funds, saying ‘please borrow as much money as you want’.

“As I expected of you.” (Rook)

“It’s helpful because I’m excellent in this field of work.” (Yuri)

‘Most of the practical work is done by Cuffe, so he’s been a great help.’

“Well then, are you fine with Beaure?” (Rook)

The discussion suddenly changed.

‘What?’

“No. I mean what are you trying to imply?” (Yuri)

“What if she becomes your secretary or close aide?” (Rook)

‘??? I don’t understand. What are you talking about?’

“If I’m scared of that, it made me think that I’m an idiot son, you know.” (Yuri)

“It’s fine if you do it for the outward appearance. Anyhow, it doesn’t look well with being a maid. Other maids were telling me that they had trouble to deal with her.” (Rook)

‘I see.’

“It will be the same for me.” (Yuri)

“There will be no problem if she works for you. It’s not good for a relative to work as a maid in the residence.” (Rook)

‘Hmm… Certainly, it may be bad to hear if a close relative becomes a maid. In that respect, it’s somewhat better to let her work for me. Is that what he tries to say?’

“You should have a reliable relative.” (Rook)

‘Somehow, I feel nostalgic.’

“I understand.” (Yuri)

‘I don’t have enough manpower, so I guess she can work for it.’

“But in that case, she won’t be able to work for the Hou Household.” (Yuri)

“Eh?” (Rook)

“If she works for the Hou Household, people will think later that my business is a family business. That’s why I’m doing this on my own.” (Yuri)

‘I don’t like that thought. It’s a general idea, but there is a big difference. Rook is doing business with his son. Rook’s son is doing business. The meaning of those two statements is completely different.’

‘Even Rook operates a ranch, he had a brother, Gouk, who wasn’t good at running a ranch. I would feel sick if I had that thought.’

“So, what are you planning to do?” (Rook)

“I’ll arrange a room for her to live alone.” (Yuri)

“Yuri, that’s a girl who will live alone.” (Rook)

‘He’s making a bitter face. He seems to be worried.’

“But, it would be uncomfortable for her to be here. Although she is a relative, would she feel happy if a farmer who just came out of the countryside to be treated specially?” (Yuri)

“You’re right. She didn’t say this, but she seems to have a feeling of inferiority.” (Rook)

‘As I expected.’

“For the time being, I let her live nearby to my employee. Since she looks like a local to some extent, there should be not much danger. If that’s not possible, I will let her go to work from the residence here. I’m not going to throw out a 13 years old girl.” (Yuri)

“What kind of man is that?” (Rook)

‘Aren’t you overprotective as well, Otou-chan? You don’t have to worry, Cuffe won’t rape a girl.’

“He’s a man over mid-twenties. He isn’t interested in little girls, so you don’t have to worry about that.” (Yuri)

“Is that so? In that case, I entrust the girl to you.” (Rook)

‘Haa, goodness.’

“But if she doesn’t like this, I won’t bring her there, alright.” (Yuri)

“Got it.” (Rook)