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Chapter 3
Roselia glared at Sven.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You did it on purpose… I know you did.”
Before her return, Sven had often bullied her like this whenever Count Felis and the other servants weren’t around.
It was one of the reasons she had refused to leave her room.
“What? Me? Unlike you, who can’t do anything, I’m the master of a lower water spirit.”
Sven shrugged as if her accusation was ridiculous.
Hovering above one of his shoulders was a tiny lower water spirit no larger than the palm of a hand.
It resembled a rosebud carved entirely from transparent crystal, with a golden stem and shimmering leaves that sparkled as though dusted with diamond powder.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Such a beautiful water spirit… and its master is this rotten brat.
It was truly like casting pearls before swine.
“You’re the one who foolishly stood next to the fountain. Why are you blaming me?”
Just like in her previous life, Sven shifted all the blame onto her.
Back then, I couldn’t even argue. I just cried and ran back to my room.
But not anymore.
I won’t.
Roselia strode directly toward Sven until she was standing right in front of him.
“W-What?”
Instead of fleeing as he expected, she stared him straight in the eyes.
Sven instinctively flinched.
Roselia smiled brightly.
Then—
Thud!
“Argh!”
Sven cried out as he clutched one of his shins, hopping around on one foot.
“Oh my! I don’t have any spirit powers, so I was simply out for a walk. Why were you standing there like an idiot, Brother Sven?”
Tilting her head innocently, Roselia looked at him while he writhed in pain.
“Ow! You little—!”
“Oh! Would you look at the time? Well then, have fun with your training.”
Leaving the groaning Sven behind, Roselia quickly hurried away.
If she stayed any longer, he might order his spirit to drench her again.
“Roselia! I won’t let you get away with this!”
Sven’s furious shouting echoed from behind her.
She couldn’t have cared less.
* * *
Back in her room, Roselia completely forgot she was still soaked.
She doubled over, clutching her stomach as she laughed to her heart’s content.
I should’ve done that years ago!
After thoroughly enjoying the sweet satisfaction of revenge, she changed into dry clothes with Mary’s help and sat on the sofa, deep in thought.
The landslide has been dealt with.
Next… I need to find Kardian.
To find him, she first needed information about where he was.
And to gather information, I need someone trustworthy.
Her eyes fell on Mary, who was placing a cup of hot tea on the table.
Unlike usual, the maid looked unusually gloomy.
“Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
“N-No… It’s nothing.”
Nothing? That’s clearly a lie.
“Come, sit down.”
“Pardon? Why…?”
Looking thoroughly confused, Mary sat on the sofa opposite her.
“I heard you asked for an advance on your wages.”
Mary’s eyes widened.
“H-How did you know that, Lady Roselia?”
“Why do you suddenly need the money?”
“I… well…”
Mary lowered her head and fell silent.
Roselia already knew the reason.
In her previous life, Mary’s father had stolen the money intended for her mother’s medical treatment and gambled it away.
Desperate, Mary had requested an advance on her wages, but the head maid had refused because it violated the household rules.
Eventually, Mary resigned and took her severance pay, only to discover that her mother had already passed away before she could afford treatment.
Roselia had overheard the story from the conversation between the new maid assigned to her room and the head maid.
“If you don’t want to tell me, then you don’t have to.”
Roselia stood, walked over to her desk, opened a drawer, and retrieved something.
Returning to the sofa, she placed it in Mary’s hands.
It was a leather pouch about the size of a fist.
“W-What is this?”
“Open it.”
At Roselia’s urging, Mary carefully loosened the drawstring.
Her jaw dropped.
The pouch was filled with gold coins.
“L-Lady Roselia!”
“It’s forty gold coins—half of the eighty gold I’ve saved from my allowance. I never really have anything to spend it on, so I’d rather you use it.”
A maid earned only one gold coin per month.
Forty gold was an enormous sum.
“B-But how could I possibly spend your allowance? I can’t accept this.”
Mary quickly closed the pouch again and placed it back on the table.
Roselia smiled gently.
“Then how about accepting it as payment for doing me a favor?”
“A… payment?”
“Yes. It isn’t anything difficult.”
Mary hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“All right. But I’ll only accept twenty gold coins—half. Even if it’s payment, that amount is far too generous.”
If it were me, I’d have accepted every last coin without hesitation.
I really did choose the right person.
Feeling pleased, Roselia counted out exactly half the coins before handing them to Mary.
Then she quietly explained the favor she wanted.
“Thank you very much, Lady Roselia.”
Her eyes reddened with tears, yet her voice remained firm.
“I’ll find what you’ve asked for as quickly as possible.”
As a result…
Mary would no longer lose her mother.
And Roselia had gained a loyal ally.
* * *
“This is the place?”
Standing in front of a shabby three-story wooden building, Roselia—her head hidden beneath a brown hooded robe—turned to Mary.
The two of them had left the estate under the pretense of buying books from a bookstore within Hailen territory.
“Yes. This is it.”
Above the entrance hung a wooden sign reading:
The Fisherman Who Catches Whales.
It was an inn that also served food and drink.
Since lunchtime had already passed, the establishment was fairly quiet.
Roselia approached a rough-looking young man with brown hair tied back, who was polishing a beer mug behind the counter.
“Lunch service is over. Come back this evening.”
Without even looking at her, he spoke curtly.
Roselia ignored his dismissal.
“But I’d still like something to eat.”
The man’s hand stopped polishing the mug.
Only then did he raise his head to look at her.
“Minors aren’t allowed in here. You should leave.”
“Even if I’m the golden whale that’s come to catch a fisherman?”
The man’s gray eyes narrowed for just a moment before returning to normal.
After a brief silence, he replied,
“In that case… please follow me.”
His tone had suddenly become polite.
Setting down the mug, he opened a door behind the counter and walked through.
As Roselia started after him, Mary lightly caught hold of her robe.
Turning around, Roselia saw the worry in Mary’s eyes.
She gave the maid a reassuring nod.
The man climbed a creaking staircase to the third floor and entered the room at the very end of the hall.
The room was old but cozy, furnished simply with a sofa and a table.
“Please, have a seat.”
Roselia sat down and removed the hood covering her head.
The moment the man saw her face, he hesitated.
“You look… rather young.”
“I’m fifteen!”
Roselia protested immediately.
The man smiled apologetically.
“My apologies. We’ve simply never had such a young client visit us before.”
He gave a courteous bow.
“My name is Gray. I’m the guildmaster of this information guild. Now then, what brings you here? I should mention that our guild never accepts illegal requests.”
“I know.”
She nodded.
“That’s precisely why I came. I have a legitimate request… and some information I’d like to trade with the guildmaster as well.”
The favor Roselia had asked Mary to perform had been to investigate information guilds.
Out of all the ones Mary found, Roselia had deliberately chosen this one.
She knew of it because, in her previous life, she had overheard prison guards talking about it.
The Golden Whale—an organization that operated both an information guild and a merchant company.
No matter how much money was offered, they never accepted illegal commissions.
“What is your request?”
“I’d like you to find someone.”
“A person?”
Gray folded his arms.
“And may I ask why you’re looking for them? If it’s for anything illegal…”
His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
What should I say?
She obviously couldn’t tell him she wanted to find the man who would one day accuse the Hailen family and bring about its downfall.
But if she hesitated too long, he’d become suspicious.
Roselia squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment before opening them again.
“I’m… looking for my first love.”
