Chapter 2: The Cola Bargain

“Then I shall take my leave. Please take good care of my daughter.”

“You don’t have to worry, Your Grace. We will do our utmost to ensure the Young Lady feels as comfortable as if she were in her own home.”

“Haha, thank you.”

The Northern Grand Duke, after a brief conversation with my father, approached me.

Inwardly, I was cursing, but outwardly, I wore a bright smile.

Even the renowned Northern Grand Duke wouldn’t imagine a seven-year-old child harboring such dark thoughts.

The Northern Grand Duke knelt to meet my eye level.

“Child, you must get along well with my daughter, alright?”

“Yes.”

This man was even threatening a seven-year-old kid.

The thought that the great Northern Grand Duke’s business involved threatening a seven-year-old child made me feel that the future of the North was bleak.

After finishing his conversation with me, the Northern Grand Duke spoke briefly with the still expressionless Marine and then left the territory.

Phew, one bomb had disappeared.

I looked at Marine with troubled eyes.

Though a much larger bomb remained.

---

Time flowed quickly, and soon it was dinner time.

The dining room was filled with the rich aroma of butter.

The mealtime, which would normally be filled with harmonious conversation among family members, had become desolate due to the presence of a single stranger.

“Um… Young Lady, is the food not to your liking…?”

Unable to watch Marine sit blankly with her meal untouched, Father finally spoke.

“…”

Marine didn’t answer Father’s question, as if she were attempting a vow of silence challenge for the day.

My soft-hearted father’s eyes gradually moistened with unshed tears.

Clatter.

Fortunately, Marine wasn’t wicked enough to make a grown man cry, as she belatedly picked up her cutlery.

She began to eat without a word.

Father let out a sigh of relief.

Indeed, if word had reached the Northern Grand Duke’s ears that his only daughter had been starved, our family would have vanished into history that very day.

‘Well done, Father! Let’s just endure a little longer.’

---

A week had already passed since Marine began living in our mansion.

For nearly that entire week, the atmosphere in the mansion had been unsettled.

The cause, naturally, was Marine.

Fortunately, it seemed Marine hadn’t fully awakened as a complete villainess yet, as she didn’t torment the servants.

However, she did cause accidents. Quite a few, in fact.

The servants, who had grown accustomed to peace due to my unusually mature upbringing, were newly realizing how terrifying the thoughtless actions of a child could be.

Surprisingly, Marine succeeded in her vow of silence challenge for a whole week, but contrary to her quiet mouth, her movements were very active.

Crash~

‘Ah, she broke something again.’

Over the past week, Marine had shattered four statues and three paintings.

Mathematically, she destroyed one item per day.

Deciding I could no longer stand by, I had the expensive artworks moved to heights beyond a child’s reach, but it seemed she had found some way to break them anyway.

If she had been the young lady of an ordinary family, we would have demanded compensation from her family, but her family was a Ducal house, no less.

If we demanded compensation, the Sword Master’s sword aura might come visiting.

“Ch…Chief Maid!”

“First, get the Young Lady away from the fragments!”

I was curious about what sculpture she had broken this time, but I was currently self-isolating in my room to minimize contact with Marine.

The duration was until Marine returned to the North.

In the worst-case scenario, if the Northern Grand Duke didn’t recall Marine, I was prepared to isolate myself until I reached the age of academy enrollment.

The characteristic restless energy of a child was screaming within me, but I was doing my best to release it through exercise.

I earnestly prayed that the Northern Grand Duke would recall Marine as soon as possible.

---

Surprisingly, a year had passed since Marine started living in our mansion.

For a year, I had been hiding as if playing hide-and-seek, and Marine was steadily growing as a villainess.

“What is this hair!!! Are you even a maid looking like this? Get outtt!”

Kwa-kwang!

Since Marine was using the room next to mine, I could tell what she was up to even while cooped up in my room.

I knew that because Marine threw things around so much, most items in her room had been removed, leaving only the bare minimum, but it seemed she still had things to throw.

“How long do you think it’ll last this time?”

I asked Kani, who had fled Marine’s wrath and taken refuge in my room, as I accepted a snack from her.

She was the cute maid who had been horrified to see me climbing the windowsill when I was younger.

Kani, still sporting those infamous watermelons of hers, had apparently gained some seniority and had passed off the duty of handling Marine to her juniors, taking refuge in my room.

Kani mumbled on a chocolate cookie, thought for a moment, then gave her answer.

“She’ll probably rage for about 2 hours and 20 minutes, then get tired and fall asleep.”

A strangely specific number.

Kani’s prediction, having endured the longest as Marine’s personal maid, was reliable.

Most had fled within a month, but Kani had lasted a remarkable three months.

“…”

“It seems to be over.”

Marine, who had vented her energy for a full two and a half hours, had apparently fallen asleep, as it became quiet.

The discrepancy with Kani’s predicted time was a mere 10 minutes.

“Amazing, you got it almost exactly right!”

I praised her, genuinely impressed by her ability.

“Huhu, this much is basic.”

Kani, puffed up with pride at the compliment, stuck out her ample chest.

It seemed she was being unguarded with me because I was a child, but it was truly awkward for me whenever this happened.

Knock, knock.

“Young Master, it’s the Head Maid.”

“Hieek!”

While I was chatting with Kani, the Head Maid knocked on the door.

The battle between Kani, who dodged her duties like a senior soldier about to be discharged, and the Head Maid, who was trying to catch her, was an amusing spectacle from a third-party perspective.

“Y-Young Master, please act as if you haven’t seen me…”

“Don’t worry.”

“Thank you!”

Kani quickly hid in the closet.

Chuckling at the sight of Kani, I opened the door.

The Head Maid bowed her head lightly upon seeing me.

“The family head is looking for the Young Master.”

“Huh? Me?”

I thought the Head Maid had come looking for Kani, who was hiding, but she brought up something unexpected.

For Father to summon me like this, when he usually brought up matters during meals if he had any business, was unlike him.

“Alright, Father is in his office, right?”

“Yes, he is.”

There was nothing particular to prepare to meet Father, so I left the room without delay.

“Um, Young Master?”

The Head Maid stopped me as I was about to head to the family head’s office.

“Yes?”

“May I take a quick look around the Young Master’s room?”

The closet twitched.

“Be gentle.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The Head Maid’s eyes gleamed.

She didn’t look like she would be gentle at all.

Since I told her to be gentle, I had done my part. I prayed for Kani’s soul.

“Kyaaak! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Perhaps it was my imagination, but Kani’s scream seemed to come from the room, but I desperately pretended not to hear it.

---

The office of the Count Edgar family head.

Father, who always had a smile on his lips, was fiddling with a cube I had made, his expression mournful.

“Son.”

“Yes, Father.”

“The atmosphere among the servants is currently very tense. Three maids have already submitted their resignations.”

“…”

Being a servant in a Count’s household was considered a dream job among commoners, offering high wages and a good living environment.

The fact that not a single servant had quit since I was born proved this.

For servants to resign from such a dream job, it was a considerably serious problem.

“Honestly, I thought if we just endured for about a year, the North would take the Young Lady back?”

“I thought so too.”

“Actually, the North was also preparing to take the Young Lady back. Someone from the North visited last week.”

Being cooped up in my room, I hadn’t known that someone from the North had visited.

“However, it seems the situation isn’t unfolding very well. Would you take a look at this newspaper?”

Father took a newspaper from his drawer and handed it to me.

[Noble’s Newspaper]

[Large Monster Horde Confirmed in the North.]

[Northern Grand Duke Issues Emergency Mobilization Order, Imperial Support Measures Under Discussion.]

[Currently Under Media Blackout for Civilians.]

“…”

After checking the newspaper, I was speechless.

Of course, the large monster horde was terrifying, but the most important point was that an emergency had been declared in the North.

In such an ominous situation, would the Northern Grand Duke really summon his daughter to the dangerous North?

If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t.

“Since Lord Kallis, the Sword Master, is protecting the North, we don’t need to worry about the monster horde, but it seems unlikely we can expect the Young Lady’s return anytime soon.”

“…”

“But if we continue to leave the Young Lady as she is, it will be difficult for our family.”

“That’s true…”

What on earth was he trying to say, laying all this groundwork?

I had a bad feeling.

“Son, I know you’re very mature for your age, but wouldn’t you, being of the same age, understand the Young Lady’s heart the best?”

At this point, I couldn’t fail to understand what Father was implying.

I shook my head in alarm.

“Father, I… I really can’t. I haven’t exchanged a single word with the Young Lady for a year, you know?”

Father silently took a notebook from his drawer and handed it to me.

This was the notebook I had given to Father, asking him to develop its contents, as I suffered from the lack of modern goods.

I naturally assumed he had dismissed it as a child’s fancy and forgotten about it, but it seemed Father had cherished it.

“After briefly discussing it with the mages, it seems a few of these ideas are feasible. Even the Co… Cola you wanted most? That’s possible too.”

Cola can be developed?

I barely managed to suppress an involuntary cheer.

How I had missed that fizzy, carbonated sensation.

“If you manage the Young Lady, how about I support you in realizing these imaginations?”

I nodded as if possessed.

Blinded by the prospect of cola, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.