Chapter 80: Bloodline

“What is the meaning of this….”

The child of a branch family, whom I was meeting for the first time.

Roslin Gardner suddenly declared she wanted to be my Ladies’ Maid.

Well, I was quite pleased that she recognised my elegant grace enough to want to serve me upon our first meeting, but this was a bit troublesome.

It was impossible to appoint someone as a close aide when I didn’t even know what kind of person she was.

And above all, I already had Heine, who was more capable than any other maid.

“It is exactly as you’ve just heard, Lady Lin.”

But this child, Roslin.

She suddenly started making a difficult and unreasonable demand.

She wanted to have a match with Heine, and if she won, Heine’s position as my Ladies’ Maid would be hers.

“No, no, no. No matter what, that’s just too much….”

“Very well.”

“…Eh?”

“I will accept your challenge.”

“Heine?”

Just then, Heine accepted Roslin’s unreasonable demand.

‘Huh?’

‘Why?’

‘From Heine’s perspective, there’s no reason to accept.’

‘Besides, don’t I, the master, have the final say…?’

“Hmph. I’ll give you credit for not backing down.”

Roslin flicked her long hair with her hand.

Seeing such a villainess-like gesture, it seemed she really was of the Rosegarden branch bloodline.
Of course, it couldn’t compare to my own lofty grace.

“Alright. In that case, right now…!”

“No.”

Heine cut off Roslin, who was getting ahead of herself.

Roslin’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the firm tone.

“You must be tired from your long journey. It would be best for you to rest fully today and reschedule for a later date.”

Heine, unconcerned, showed worry for the condition of Roslin, the one who had started the fight.

However, did Heine’s goodwill perhaps seem arrogant to her?

Roslin crossed her arms and scoffed at Heine’s consideration.

“Truly. How utterly impertinent.”

“……”

“Well, it was a decent strategy. But do you think buying a day or two will allow someone like you to beat me?”

Roslin began to spew some very nasty words.

‘I take back what I thought earlier.’

‘Those fierce eyes could never be considered villainess-like.’

“But, I see. The kind Lady Lin must have grown attached to a maid like you… you surely need time to say your farewells.”

‘No, regardless of the match, I have no intention of saying farewell?’

‘There’s no way I’d part with my precious Heine, whom I wouldn’t even yield to Cain.’

‘What’s with this girl, anyway…’

“Just this once, I will graciously overlook your insolent scheme.”

A one-sided challenge.

And with a one-sided pardon,

“Then, Lady Lin. I will come to formally greet you again later.”

Roslin disappeared and retreated after giving me one last smile.

“…Heine.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you refuse? You could have ignored such an absurd challenge.”

I asked Heine why she had accepted such an unreasonable challenge.

As if it didn’t bother her in the slightest, Heine answered as she always did.

“With a young lady of that type, it’s obvious that refusing would only make things louder.”

“…I see. You have a point.”

I was deeply convinced by Heine’s answer.

Her wisdom in foreseeing the future was very reassuring.

‘As expected of my excellent maid.’

“And also….”

Heine’s answer continued.

“I wanted to teach her a clear lesson.”

“…?”

“That I am the only one who can be Lady Lin’s Ladies’ Maid.”

My lovely Heine, saying such admirable things while acting nonchalant.

If only she would always show this honest and cute side….

“Huhu, to think my Heine would say such cute things.”

When I made a graceful, villainess-like gesture, Heine didn’t budge.

Having no choice, I stretched my arms out low, and only then did Heine lower her head as if she had no other option.

“I shall grant you 585 maid points!”

“Your score is a little ambiguous today, unlike usual.”

“That’s because it includes a 15-point deduction.”

And so, by patting her head in praise, I safely completed my duty as a master.

***

“I’ll praise you for not running away.”

Before long, the day of the match arrived.

Having comfortably rested at Rosegarden Castle, Roslin’s condition seemed to be at its peak.

“This match, what do you make of it?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

‘But, who are all these people…?’

My family had come to watch this meaningless match, one where the result would have no bearing on anything, win or lose, since I hadn’t wagered my Ladies’ Maid.

For the record, when I say family, I mean not just my grandfather and father, but all my other branch relatives as well.

“She is none other than Lady Lin’s maid. Her skills must surely be more than adequate. However, I fear it may be difficult for her to defeat my daughter…”

“You pretend not to be, but you’re quite a doting father.”

“Are you really one to talk?”

Even my grandmother was sitting cozily next to my grandfather, watching the spectacle.

In truth, since the only forms of entertainment in this era, besides hunting, were drinking tea and playing chess, it was only natural for such an event to draw interest.

Moreover, from the adults’ perspective, it must look like a cute squabble between kids who have just come of age.

How could they not watch such an amusing contest?

Even I probably couldn’t resist.

“The match is a single round. The rules are simple. You either go out of bounds, or you get your opponent to surrender.”

“…Leo?”

“Or, you show a skill difference so clear that anyone would acknowledge it.”

In the centre of a makeshift square ring.

Leo, standing between the two contestants, Heine and Roslin, was explaining the rules of the match.

‘That idiot, what is he doing up there?’

“Showing your hand before the skills test… How kind. Or is she that confident?”

“They say Roslin is particularly skilled among our branch bloodlines. Well then, shall we see those skills?”

“Tsk, even so, she’s so reckless. It seems the only real rivals are me, Gilbert, and the two from the direct line…”

The other branch family children had quite serious gazes.

They made their own assessments, concentrating on the unofficial match to prepare for the upcoming skills test.

“Duel!”

With Leo’s declaration to begin, which felt like it should make the duelists’ life points appear, the meaningless match that would yield no result began.

“I’ll let you have the first move. If I were to attack first, you’d be defeated by judgment before you even had a chance to show your skills.”

“…How merciful of you.”

“Mercy? No. It’s to show you clearly. The difference in class between you and I.”

Roslin’s arrogant remark.

Indeed, she stood with her arms crossed, not even taking out her wand.

“Then. I won’t hold back.”

Heine took out a bright red ruby from her pocket.

“Hoh?”

“Jewel magic. She inherited quite a unique bloodline.”

Along with small gasps of admiration from the audience, the ruby was tossed into the air.

The jewel emitted a red light, releasing the mana contained within.

Jewel Magic.

A magic that manifested from the bloodline factor of the Rubel family, it was a versatile magic that was not bound by any particular element and could use various spells simultaneously depending on the type of jewel.

Fwoosh…!

The first thing to appear was the flame of the ruby.

The massive flame that spread out from the jewel created a heat haze in the air.

Then, it gathered back into a single point, concentrating its heat.

“What!?”

“A provincial big shot from the colonies, with such precise mana control?”

“As expected of Lady Lin’s maid, should I say… Huhu, she’s quite something, isn’t she?”

The other branch relatives couldn’t hide their surprise.

‘But… you there.’

‘Are you really allowed to look down on Heine, calling her a provincial big shot?’

‘I’d like you to remember that you’re only governing the count’s domain as a proxy….’

‘Just because your title is viscount, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re higher than a baron.’

Heine made a small gesture toward Roslin.

At that, the fire magic condensed in the ruby shot out like a laser.

“Hmph.”

Roslin’s arms unfolded.

As she leisurely took out her wand from her pocket and swung it, Heine’s magic was blocked by something and bounced off.

“That is!?”

“Could it be….”

“How can a branch bloodline…?”

“……”

The thing that had deflected Heine’s magic shimmered and writhed in the air.

Emitting a pure white sheen, it had a form somewhere between a liquid and a solid.

“This is… quite surprising.”

Stroking his beard, my grandfather’s gaze, which had been watching the match, changed slightly.

In fact, just like the Jewel Magic of the Rubel family, the Rosegarden family also had a similar bloodline magic.

Mercury Magic.

A special magic that rarely manifests in the Rosegarden bloodline.

It possessed both water and earth attributes, combining their unique flexibility and strength, and even had the terrifying ability to poison opponents.

And the greatest strength of this Mercury Magic was,

It looks incredibly villainess-like…!

It had a point of being unbelievably, immensely more villainess-like than something like water magic…!

“You’re already aware of the correlation between elements, I presume?”

“It’s a magic that combines both water and earth attributes.”

“Yes. That’s right. It could be said to have the absolute worst compatibility with your flames.”

Roslin pointed her wand at Heine.

“Well.”

Simultaneously, the shimmering mercury changed its form into a sharp spear.

“Even if the compatibility were reversed, you would never be able to defeat me.”

The silver spear cut through the wind with a haughty remark.

However,

“…?”

“Thank you for the useful information.”

Roslin’s silver spear never reached Heine.

Lush roots extending from a jade, thrown after the ruby, wrapped around the silver spear, scattering fresh green leaves across the arena.

“What is that magic…?”

“My magic. The Jewel Magic of the Rubel family handles the unique attributes of the jewels.”

The Empire’s magic is fundamentally based on four elements.

Fire, water, earth, and wind.

The common, natural elements.

“Ruby is fire. Sapphire is ice. And the attribute of this jade is…”

However, this concept was merely the standard set by the Empire.

“Wood attribute, which is extremely effective against both water and earth.”

The real truth was that far more diverse elements and magic existed in this world.

“What, that element. I’ve never even heard of it…”

“…Is that so.”

Heine’s eyes closed quietly.

Following the ruby and jade, Heine took out various colorful jewels.

The gems, strung between her fingers, were scattered into the air.

“Then allow me to show you. That countless magical attributes exist in this world.”

As Heine’s jewels each emitted their own light,
all sorts of magic erupted and rushed towards Roslin at once.

Common elements like fire, water, and wind, as well as various other magic attributes excluding lightning, shattered the mercury shield Roslin had hastily erected.

“It seems the match has been decided.”

Everyone silently agreed with the quiet words of the family head, my grandfather.

Even Roslin’s father, who would have been biased towards his own flesh and blood.

In truth, this was a very natural result.

In the first place, Heine was one of the ‘main heroines’ of the world.

She was not at a level to lose to some arrogant viscount’s daughter who didn’t even appear in the original story.

“I apologize, Lady Roslin.”

Heine approached the powerlessly collapsed Roslin.

Whether it was thanks to her control or Roslin’s innate manaskin, Roslin, who had no major injuries, had her head bowed low.

“However, I have sworn to assist Lady Lin for my entire life. Therefore, I cannot yield this position.”

“……”

“To anyone. At all.”

Heine’s firm declaration echoed quietly around them.

The family elders, who valued her loyalty as a maid more than her exercising the rights of a victor over a viscount’s daughter from a branch family, nodded their heads.

However, was the fact that she had lost such a shock?

Roslin remained sitting on the ground for a while, not moving.

As someone who had manifested the Rosegarden family’s bloodline magic despite being from a branch family, her confidence must have been particularly great.

And so, Roslin, who had been staring at the ground for a long time, finally lifted her head to look up at Heine.

“……ni…”

“…?”

“Big Sis Heine…”

…

‘Huh…?’

The look in Roslin’s eyes as she gazed at Heine had completely changed 180 degrees.

A change in attitude so drastic it made me wonder if she’d been hit on the head too hard.

The duel, which was expected to change nothing at all, was said to have greatly altered the admiration of a certain viscount’s daughter.