Chapter 53

DD 53: With the servants

“First and foremost, once again allow me to express my sincerest gratitude . Saying thank you hardly seems enough now . Without everyone, I couldn’t imagine being able to return home in safety anyway . ”

“Mind not, for what we bodyguards have done – as this guy said the day before – was a natural course of action given the circumstances . On the other hand, you appear to have slept quite soundly last night, princess . ”

“Indeed, and you seem lively as well, Dida . ”

The duo is in a better spirit today, and looks as though to have reverted to their usual expression – in the manner of how frequent Ryle giving Dida and his frivolous talk a dirty look . The fact that they managed to come back unscathed and currently stay in a safety zone with no imminent danger is something worth appreciating… Nevertheless, there is no greater feeling than seeing these guys have the chance to loosen up at long last .

“Well then, both of you . How about we move onto the main subject…?”

“You meant the background of those bandits from yesterday?”

“Apparently, yes . Frankly speaking, if that was Elria-sama pulling the strings from behind like Father had warned, I would deem it quite a harmless move though . Yet considering the timing of the attack, we cannot merely disregard the assailant as ordinary bandits . ”

Elria-sama certainly can strike at me in her own ways without making use of those bandits . For example, she can effectively exploit her house’s political influence, or even abuse her position as the queen of the country .

Still, the timing was so peculiar that hardly anyone finds the attack completely unrelated . As far as I am concerned, this was more like pure rampage, rather than a calculated move orchestrated by a noble supportive of Elria-sama and her house .

“Regarding this matter, we have already launched the investigation with Tanya . ”

“…With Tanya? It can’t be, since yesterday…?”

“That’s right . Last night, she gave directions to the servants in the mansion and try to look into the incident by herself, hence we also join in the investigation . ”

When I recalled how quickly she retreated to her room the night before… surely you jest, she has been working non-stop ever since? Good grief, honestly when does that girl take a break, I wonder?

“I see… understood . Thank you for your continuous support . ”

“Then, we will head back to work . ”

As those two left, they went past Merida who was about to enter the room .

“Oh, Merida . It has been awhile . ”

Because Merida was entrusted with the teahouse division of the Conglomerate, she has been keeping herself busy rushing from stores to stores all day, so it has been a long time since we last met at the mansion .

“I was informed that Milady had just gone through quite a troubling experience . Out of anxiety, I came to see you as quickly as I could . ”

“Thank you . As you can see though, I am perfectly fine, don’t you think?”

“Indeed . Were you to get hurt, I would surely tear both Ryle and Dida apart . ”

To such a Merida-esque remark, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh .

“And there’s one other thing . The new commodity Milady spoke of is now ready . ”

“Oh, really? Did you bring it along by any chance?”

“Unfortunately, only the news for today . For I was hurried coming to the mansion and forget the item in question was fully my mistake . Next time, I will definitely show you when it is prepared . ”

“I’m looking forward to that . ”

The commodity I requested from Merida was a kind of dessert made using a type of vegetable gelatin, which can only be obtained through trading with nearby countries .

“And what about coffee? When will we begin serving that beverage at our stores?”

While I was at the royal capital, coffee has finally been created . Incidentally, this is dandelion coffee since coffee bean has yet been discovered . From the perspective of a coffee addict in the previous world, they are slightly different somehow though…

“Let’s hold back for now as we still have a lot to do such as advertising . ‘Till it can be served in stores, I would be grateful if you can come up with desserts using coffee . ”

“Understood . Anyway, I was thinking of having a temporary stay at the mansion after a long absent period, and will focus on the discussed problems in the meantime . ”

“I will leave that to you . ”

“Speaking of which, how was the royal capital you haven’t seen for a while?”

“…Even though I sort of expecting to be filled up with various emotions, in the end I didn’t feel anything at all . ”

“…Nothing, you say?”

“Nothing . Naturally, I was both nostalgic and delightful when meeting with my friends and family . However, it seems like I have little sentimental attachment to the place called royal capital . ”

“You must have felt quite relieved, I suppose?”

Merida smiled happily .

“Rather than feeling relieved… I wonder if it was because that place was not where the old me belonged . ”

When I was brought back to life, I was in the middle of that incident – and before I can develop some sort of attachments to the royal capital, (un)fortunately I already came to the fief . As far as I am concerned, due to the dispute between Miss Yuri and the me holding the title of duke’s daughter, the royal capital was plainly a suffocating experience .

“Fuun, was that really so?”

“That was how it is… To me, this is my home, and you guys here are my precious family . For that reason, I am happy with this outcome . ”

“Hahaha, it is our utmost honour to receive such a compliment . ”

After exchanging a few more words, Merida also left the room .

Thus, I went back to the documents .

…Tax revenue is excellent . Thanks to the increasing trade volume with foreign countries, the Conglomerate’s profit has gone up as well . Furthermore, it seems like the sales of commodities made by the high school division is rising at a favorable pace . In any case, with more jobs created, the individual income has also been improved .

The construction of middle school division is now underway . Next in the list would be the infrastructure development of rural areas… Though the infrastructure in the fief’s capital is so well-maintained that you wouldn’t feel inconvenient, in rural areas there are a lot of places without access to water and sewer services .

As I was checking on each task’s progress, signing, and making modifications as needed, there was another knock on the door .

“…Excuse me, there is something I forgot to report earlier . Since I’m going to leave today, can I have a moment of your time?”