Chapter 07 – The Leslie house after Nicola was kicked out

Nadia was present and saw everything that happened to Nicola after he was administered with Animium, but it still felt like something that had happened far away, of which she had only heard about. After he was given a massive dose of Animium, under the orders of Count Leslie, Nicola was transported to the place called “The River of Death”. Nicola’s face had already begun to blacken due to the Animium overdose, lying to everyone that he’d passed on because of an illness would not be possible. Of course, they had no way of knowing that it had returned to normal after he was sent drifting down the river.

Katrina then bound a contract with Riley and had returned to her human form. Though Servants can’t contract with even two humans simultaneously, humans can do so with multiple Servants. Riley was now contracted with both Katrina and Nadia. “Now we can finally relax. It was worth taking a month to make all required preparations.”, said Katrina with an air of satisfaction, but Riley was glaring at her. “All the careful preparations went down the drain because you went and killed him! Originally he was only supposed to be kicked out of the house!” Despite Riley’s obvious discomposure, Katrina was still smiling. “But this way your obstacle has been eliminated, and no clean up is required. Moreover, we don’t have to worry about him returning to exact his revenge. Your future is completely secure right?” said Katrina glibly. “That maybe so, but….” With Riley still not completely convinced, Katrina embraced from behind, making him blush, and said, “That’s enough of the depressing talk. Let’s go to the room already, now we don’t need to worry about anything and can go at it every day. We are bound together after all.” Katrina stroked Riley’s thigh softly as she spoke in his ear. Linking her arm with his, Katrina naturally fell into Riley’s side as he nodded and got up. “Nadia, why don’t you take a walk outside? You seem to be quite shaken by today’s events.”, ordered Riley before he returned to his chamber.

I know what they were going to do, and also that they’ve been doing it for far longer than a month. I doubt Nicola ever noticed. But the nerve to do it on the same day a family member died, I will never understand it. Nadia had known about their affair, but she had no idea about their plans for Nicola. They probably discussed it only when Riley asked Nadia to leave. Looking outside the window, Nadia saw the heavy rain pouring down. Riley was too absorbed with Katrina to notice or care about much else. He doesn’t care about what happens to me. He ordered me to walk outside despite the pouring rain. I was just in the way, like Nicola was. Soon he’ll do away with me too.

The river would swell under this downpour and wash Nicola’s body far away. Nadia trembled as she imagined herself being discarded into the river and dying by being smashed against the rocks. Should I have spent more time with Nicola? Would things have turned out this way if I were the one who had been contracted with him? But she also felt that Nicola still couldn’t have escaped disinheritance as the eldest son of the Leslie household.

Finding a maid staring vacantly on her way outside, Nadia called out to her. “Excuse me, are you alright?” Turning towards Nadia she still had the vacant stare, and her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. She was the maid who often took care of Nicola, and was always with him when he came to observe Riley’s training. Her name is Eida right? I remember Nicola calling her that.

The maid, Eida, took out a hand kerchief from her pocket and wiped her eyes. “What happened?” When Nadia enquired, the maid replied with a trembling voice that, “My fault. This was all my fault! It’s because of me master that Nicola is dead. When I was interrogated by Lord Leslie and master Riley, I told them that master Nicola had dropped Katrina during training, that’s why….” As the words poured out, so did the tears and Eida began to weep uncontrollably. “They just needed any excuse, and you were simply used for it. Even without you telling them anything, I am sure the Count would have found something else to disinherit Nicola. None of this was your fault.” said Nadia as she held Eida and stroked her back comfortingly. Hearing her words, Eida sobbed even more into Nadia’s chest.

— —

Riley came with Katrina to do his usual training and began to spar with Count Leslie. Of course, the ever present observer, Nicola, was nowhere to be found. Nadia was replaced by Katrina who now hung as a sword from Riley’s waist, while she was relegated to Katrina’s spot as an observer. After the sword training was over, Riley said “Without Nicola around, I was able focus completely on my practice.” Count Leslie smiled in response and agreed “Yeah, looked like it.” The Count then turned around and returned to the mansion.

“Katrina, let’s try practising our Ability. It should be easy for us. In fact, because we understand each other so well, we should be able to use even more amazing Abilities than before.”, said Riley after drawing Katrina from his waist. “Yes, definitely.” agreed Katrina making Riley smile. “Alright. Let’s do this!” Riley assumed a stance with Katrina and shouted “Flying Water Blades!!”

……………………………………..

After a night of heavy rain the crickets and birds chirped happily under the sun, but nothing else happened. “Huh? Katrina?” Riley didn’t understand what had happened or rather not happened. “Riley? What are you waiting for? Do it already.”, complained Katrina. “What are you talking about? There is no way I can use an Ability right?! You’re supposed to do it!”, shouted Riley. When Riley used Nadia it was always she who used Riley’s mana to completely construct and manifest an Ability. Since Riley couldn’t even properly regulate the mana he sent to his Servant, that duty too had fallen to her. In short, when it came to using an Ability, Riley left everything to his Servant.

While it may appear that only Servants could use Abilities, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Certainly, humans can’t use Abilities or Magic on their own, but once they contract a Servant they are able to sense the flow of mana and can also take part in the construction of the Ability along with their Servants. To use more complex and powerful Abilities, it becomes absolutely essential for both the contract holder and the Servant to take part in the construction of the Ability. The difficulty rises further if the contract holder has an attribute too. To use a second grade Ability, it is usually necessary for both parties to work together. Usually being the operative word. Nadia had succeeded in reaching that grade all on her own.

Everyone is taught as much by the church when they contract with a Servant for the first time. —A Servant and contract holder should cooperate and work together. Only if you continue to do so will your Ability grow stronger.— But Riley never paid mind to such teachings, nor did Katrina and Count Leslie. In complete contrast to Nadia, Katrina barely did anything to help while casting an Ability and was often an impediment instead. Katrina had never been able to properly deal with Nicola’s massive mana reserves. She was simply unskilled as a Servant. With only her pride matching Nicola’s mana reserve, she never tried to face that reality and believed that her incompetence was actually Nicola’s instead.

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Nadia was aware of Katrina’s personality and lack of skill from observing Nicola’s practice, but she was never able to speak up about it. She was coward. That’s why, not wanting to be scolded or abandoned, she practised hard to be able to use the water attribute’s second grade Ability all on her own. However, it seems like Riley misunderstood that to be his own talent and skill and was now screaming at Katrina. “I am trying, so please stop shouting at me.” Katrina was somehow trying to cast the Ability, but it wasn’t working. Forget water blades, she couldn’t even produce a water ball.

Rather, there doesn’t seem to be any attribute infused in the mana. Nadia was slightly alarmed when she noticed this. She tried to cast the water attribute’s first grade Ability on her own. She felt the flow of the mana well enough, but she couldn’t feel component that signified the presence of the water attribute. The presence that she had always been able to sense until now. Suddenly, she heard Riley yell at her. “Oi, Nadia!! You just tried to interfere with me and Katrina now right!? Don’t you dare use an Ability without my permission!” Nadia trembled in fear. “I’m sorry”, she apologized and tried to make herself small. “I see! So that’s why Katrina wasn’t able to cast the Ability. I thought it was strange, with how compatible Katrina and I are she shouldn’t have failed in using it.” said Riley with a forced haughty smirk. He knew very well that Nadia wasn’t the cause. But his expression showed that he didn’t want to acknowledge it.

“Nadia, I can understand that you are feeling jealous, but please try to control yourself.” said Katrina as she changed back into her human form. She on the other hand, seemed to really believe that she wasn’t, in any way, responsible for the failure. “I will get out of your way then.”, saying that, Nadia hurried back to the mansion.

I don’t get it! How… How did Riley suddenly lose the water attribute? Not just the water attribute, she couldn’t sense the abundant strength that she usually used to feel. Nadia began to think back to recall since when had she not been able to sense that power. “It was after Nicola had left them1….”

◇

Several days later, Rose, Nicola’s fiancé, arrived at the Leslie mansion after hearing about Nicola’s disinheritance. With a frail constitution, Nicola often spent his time in a bed, but Rose was happy to sit beside and spend time with him. Rose was an extremely reticent person. If she had to convey something, she would do it through her male Servant, Glen. In human form he appeared as a small boy, almost like he’d tried to match Rose’s stature.

“Rose asks: Why did you have to go as far as disinheriting him?” enquired Glen immediately after taking his seat in the parlour. Beside him, Rose was calmly trying the black tea while glaring daggers at the Count. Nadia was watching this scene form the corner of the room. The Count let out an audible sigh and replied, “Yes. That was because Nicola had been mistreating Katrina. We had the testimony of a maid too.” The Count clasped his hands together tightly and continued, “He could not be allowed to carry the Leslie name with such a flaw in his character. I had no choice but to exile him.”

Rose place the cup down and whispered in Glen’s ear. “Rose says: Nicola never appeared to be such a person.”, said Glen. “Yes I trusted him too. But he… he did something unspeakable.”, said the Count in dismay. “Rose asks: Specifically, what did he do?”, asked Glen without pausing for Rose to whisper. The Count looked at him dubiously for a moment, and said, “The act was so disgusting that there is no way I can utter it here.” Rose’s glare grew frigid. “I asked you to be specific, says Rose”, stressed Glen. The Count was taken aback by their persistence, but he shook his head in response and maintained, “It doesn’t matter. He had issues in his character. His actions were contrary to the moral values of our household, so I had to exile him.”

Rose whispered in Glen’s ear again. “Rose asks: Where did you exile him to? Colonite? Hypercam? Potoria?2” The Count bit his lower lip to project shame and answered, “That, I don’t know. I gave him enough money and told him to take a carriage and leave town. I don’t know where he went.” Such lies thought Nadia and sighed surreptitiously to herself, but the sharp-eyed Rose caught it and made eye contact with her. “Rose says: Is that so. I understand.” Saying that, they got up and left the mansion. “Seriously, what a troublesome woman.”, complained the Count.

A few days after Rose’s visit, Riley, who had been in an irritable mood, went to see Nadia. “You’re still interfering with us!! Tell me! Isn’t that right?!” Despite Nadia being nowhere near their training these past few days, Riley was still treating her this way. Looks like he’d completely forgotten about the pretext they’d used to kick Nicola out. As his tirade wound down, he finally said, “That’s it!! I’ve had it with you! Nadia, I will sever our contract! Repent for the rest of your days as a sword!” Nadia tired to object, and then tried pleading, but it all fell on deaf ears as Riley unilaterally voided their contract. With the contract voided, Nadia returned to the form of sword and was left to wallow in a storeroom.

About a week later, the maid Eida retrieved Nadia from the storeroom and brought her to Rose and Glen. “Are you satisfied with this?”, asked Riley. “Rose says: Yes, I will take both of them with me.”, replied Glen in Rose’s stead. Eida and Nadia were then boarded on to Rose’s carriage. When the carriage started, Glen began, “Nadia, I’ve heard the whole story from Eida. Nicola is no longer…”, but he wasn’t able to complete the sentence. Rose was clenching her fists, trying hard to hold back her tears. “Rose says: The two of you will be received well in my house. There is no way I could leave you both behind in that house after all. Nadia, if it’s okay with you, would you consider forming a contract with my younger sister? She hasn’t formed a contract with a Servant yet.”, said Glen. Recovering from the surprise of such a fortuitous offer, Nadia answered, “Yes, if she’ll have me. Thank you very much, Miss Rose.”

T/N Notes:

I used “left” instead of “dead” because I think she might have been able to feel Nicola’s excess mana even after being injected with Animium. She would have felt it until he was transported to the “River of death” These fantastical places are too hard to translate.

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