Be My Heroine 49
HE LAUGHED AT ME
Scribble, scribble, scribble
Inside an office, only the sound of a pen fluently writing on top of high quality paper could be heard. There, on the sofa, sat an unusually cute and lovely child, sulking.
Beth knew why her young mistress was behaving as such. Even so, Beth ignored it.
“I can’t do anything about things that shouldn’t be done.”
“But….!”
Few days ago, Claire visited Baron Norman’s territory, where Jessie resided. Beth’s objective was to purchase land, namely a mountain, at a steep discount. The mountain was known to grow a variety of poisonous mushrooms that encroached on its surroundings. For the Normans, it was quite a headache. So when Beth proposed a modest amount, they acceded with a smile.
Because the amount was less than she anticipated, there was money left over. A third was returned to the vault, while the rest was devoted to promoting education to the commoners.
The issue, however, was Claire’s insistence to stay for a few more days. It was her first time making an aristocratic friend, let alone visiting another’s estate. So, despite promising to only stay for a day, Claire begged Beth and Kedrick to stay.
Naturally, they both said she couldn’t – it was obvious for Beth to refuse. But Claire and Beth were taken aback when Kedrick said no.
Beth calmly explained the many reasons as to why they should not extend their visit. While it was not easy to coax the young child, Claire was eventually won over and boarded the carriage. Beth recalled Jessie’s unwilling face as she said goodbye to Claire.
“Haha, Young Miss, are you still sulking?”
Kedrick entered the office with a chuckle, loud enough to be heard by Claire. In his hand was a tray filled with two different sets of tea. One was for Beth, while the other was placed before Claire.
Beth’s tea was uniquely fragrant, which she had drank daily for the past two years. Pairing it with dried fruit, a balanced blend of sweet and sour, cancelled the strange smell making it Beth’s favorite.
The refreshments for Claire were her usual favorites. Sweet and fluffy — delicious Madeleines. Really, though, Claire enjoyed anything that was sweet, so there was nothing special about it.
“Kedrick.”
When Kedrick came, Claire sat beside Beth pouting. As if she just remembered him, she then shot him a gaze full of discontentment.
“There’s no use looking at me like that, Young Miss. If we stay any longer than scheduled, it would become a burden for the Baron.”
Claire and Jessie were happy to see each other, but for the adults the same could not be said.
Based on the food Baron Norman had served, it was obvious they took the arrival of the Gordons seriously. Even how they presented themselves, one could see how much effort they put into it. In fact, Baroness Norman wore her most exquisite dress.
In such a situation, how could they say they wanted to stay for a few more days?
Nothing could be more cumbersome than that.
It would be a silent fuss. Though Beth didn’t have any other thoughts, it saved the Baron’s dignity.
While she organized the documents of the deed to the mountain, Beth shook her head.
“But Ryan won’t be coming.”
“Mm….”
Claire was 10 years old now. For the past two years, Ryan proved to the Mage Association how much of a genius he was. This caused him a headache due to being caught by different instructors. Every time Ryan wrote to Claire, he would provide a full explanation of what he learned. In turn, Claire would report to Beth, her confidant whom she shared everything with. Because it was her young miss, Beth would respond and listen patiently.
The magic of this world was quite different from what others may have thought. It was not the typical fire and ice magic where one would need to learn from a skill tree.
No, if they wanted to do so, they could make it.
Kedrick could do pure magic, as he did some time ago when he was with Beth. But if she were to describe those types of mages, in her previous world they were more like inventors and developers. This did not mean there was no one who could use pure magic, but they were considered inferior. This was because they would not be able to use or delicately handle any new magic formations.
“Ryan…. He may be able to come next year.”
“Really?”
“Probably….?”
“The same was said last year too.”
Claire murmured with a depressed voice. She was unable to get angry with Beth so she heavily chomped down on the Madeleines brought by Kedrick.
It was tasty as usual, but Claire couldn’t hide the furrow on her face.
Kedrick shifted his eyes from the large person to the small person and then said with a bright smile,
“Young Miss, you haven’t participated in ‘Diar’s Blessing’, right?”
“….! Mm!”
Diar’s Blessing. It was a festival held in autumn where chilly winds would begin to linger after summer. It would take place for a few days in the territory. Normally, Claire should have already participated in the last two festivals, but two years ago, she was busy when her new position was bequeath to her. Then last year, she caught a fever and fainted on the day of the festival.
Yaah, that’s right…
The original.
Even in the original story, this year would be Claire’s first Diar’s Blessing festival. It felt like someone was pulling the strings. Even though many things had changed before Claire’s first Diar’s Blessing festival, it still felt as if someone had planned it all beforehand.
During this festival, however, to say nothing will happen would be a lie. For example: James will discover the one who will try to assassinate the Crown Prince. He would then use said information to help the Imperial Palace capture the perpetrator to some extent. [KL1]
The culprit was a rebel. Furthermore, their original target was the Emperor.
With just this much information, it could enable them to gain a lot. However, nothing was found in the original. Nevertheless, strangely enough, the Emperor still hid the Crown Prince.
The details have changed but the framework remained the same. Beth frowned. Then this time, will the Crown Prince sneak out to the territory during the festival?
“…So, let’s all go together.”
“Can we do that?”
“Who in the Gordon territory could order our young Miss?”
While Beth was caught in a quagmire of thoughts, Kedrick and Claire continued their conversation.
“Beth, can we go?”
“Yes….?”
At some point, Claire approached Beth with a cheerful face, while Beth was lost in thought. She still held onto a pen while staring intently at the documents. It was difficult to refuse those sparkling eyes. No matter how much she thought about it, she wanted to avoid going this year. Beth considered what to say.
“Mm… If you don’t get sick like last year, then it’s okay to go.”
“…!!”
“Great~.”
Even if they did try to avoid going, Beth felt like it wouldn’t have worked. Sometimes avoidance does help, but not this time because she didn’t have any information. Six years. Six more years before the original story kicks off in full swing. This meant Beth needed to take advantage of the time now, to test how much she can alter the events of the novel in this world.
Only then, could Beth analyze how to operate when she confronts Cecil. All because she wished for Claire to live. If possible, happily.
What if the Crown Prince visits?
What if Claire falls for Arthur like in the original story?
If that happens…
“What to do….”
“Hm? Dinner menu? Heard it’s fish.”
“Indeed, Beth also hates fish, right?”
While Beth was lost in other thoughts, look at how much the conversation had progressed…. Both were in a heated discussion whether fresh fish was tasty or not.
“I am okay with anything.”
She was someone who didn’t care . She had even eaten tree bark one time during winter, so she didn’t care if the fish was tasty or not.
According to Beth’s standards, as long as the food was edible then that was all that mattered.
But just because the young lady changed a little, it would be futile if it wasn’t taken to heart. He was not someone who could be overcome like the turning of hands.
Yes, it was about Arthur.
As a reader, Arthur was cool and charming. But now…she was Claire’s guardian. To Beth, he was the worst kind of trash.
When his heart began to waver he will give Claire an ample sum of alimony along with an identification certificate from the royal family. Till the end, he didn’t end his engagement to Claire, yet he would still passionately flirt with the protagonist, Cecil.
Beth felt deeply annoyed. With a sigh she called Claire,
“Miss…”
“Um, Mm?”
Claire was startled by the sound of Beth’s mournful voice, when she said,
“If, if… the young lady ever finds a person you like and you begin dating. If that person cheats on you, rather than holding it against the person he cheated with, you should take revenge on him, the person who cheated on you.”
“….?’
“…..???”
Upon hearing such words out of the blue, Kedrick and Claire opened their eyes wide at Beth. Kedrick and Claire obviously have a different appearance, but at this strange moment, their semblance looked oddly similar.
After a long time, as if she suddenly understood something, Claire shouted.
“Kedrick! Did you cheat?!”
“???? No way? Who could I cheat with?”
“Would you want to cheat if there was someone else?”
“No No, that’s not what I meant…”
“What the heck are you guys talking about?”
Why was Kedrick asked whether he cheated or not? Beth did not understand. And she confirmed that she did not have any such relationship with Kedrick.
“He, him…”
Claire had thought that Beth and Kedrick were in that sort of relationship. In response, she rolled her eyes at them and turned her gaze away.
“It’s not…?”
“It is not.”
“It’s not~.”
Who the hell would spread such rumors? Suppressing an incoming headache, Beth asked as calmly as she could.
“Do you know who said these rumors?”
“Ju, Julia….”
Hearing what her lovely lady said, Beth scoffed out loud. She downed the tea brought by Kedrick in a single shot, then rang the bell next to her.
A moment later, Daniel entered.
“Ms. Beth, did you call for me.”
“Summon Julia, immediately.”
“….? Yes. I understand.”
The efficient Daniel expressed his understanding without a question, bowed, then exited the office.
Soon, the bitter sound of a pitiful maid being lectured by the evil representative reverberated throughout the mansion.
