I was invited by Camile-sama to visit three territories, including the Arceides Frontier Territory.
What on earth was he thinking? Even if I ignored the fact that I still did not trust the nobles of this country, there was no way I would accept such a troublesome offer.
…I nodded my head in agreement, even though I was not willing to accept. Huh?
If there was a problem, it would be the people at home. Not only did they not want to see my face, they didn’t even want to hear my name, but when Camile-sama approached them, they readily agreed.
Were they just happy to have a connection with the royal family? Or were they planning something fishy? In a sense, those people were even more untrustworthy than Alice and Flare, so I should be wary of them.
And my brother Dirk, as I had expected, was very stubborn and insistent.
“Carol! How dare a filthy subhuman like you cause trouble for Camile-sama! Camile-sama only feels sorry for you, a subhuman who can’t even leave the house!”
“…”
Then don’t bring me all the fruits I like and try to force-feed them to me while putting me on your lap. What you were saying and what you were doing are two different things.
And stop stroking my legs.
“[Blackout]” (mumble)
“Noooooo! It’s the spirit of darkness again. I will not be defeated by the spirit’s harassment!”
Dirk yelled at the spell [[Blackout]], which enveloped his vision in darkness.
I had grown up enough that even the first level spells could no longer be resisted, and Dirk… well, it seemed a little cute that he still thought it was the work of the spirits of darkness, but what he was doing was sexual harassment, so I wouldn’t forgive him.
However, because people in this world were very religious, or rather, saw spirits as messengers of God, most of the things that spirits did were forgiven. It would be the same for the spirits of darkness, whom the aristocrats purposefully avoided.
That was why Alice was so popular as the [Beloved Child of the Spirits], I guess.
***
Dirk was an aristocratic student, but there was no way he would be allowed to accompany the royal carriage, and so the inspection trip began.
Since I was nominally the daughter of a nobleman, I was also allowed to take Maia and her whole family along as an attendant.
However, I really wondered what Camile-sama’s intentions were. We were riding in the same carriage, but Camile-sama continued to do his work quietly at a simple table, so there was no particular interaction between us.
“”…””
And when the most important person was working, I couldn’t chat with him.
Maia and his butler looked like they were having a hard time breathing.
I don’t mind, since I find it a hassle to talk to people, and I am more concerned about the young butler’s sobbing than the sound of the papers that Camile-sama rolled up at the same rhythm.
Well, then, I should have some time to myself. As I began reading a grimoire the size of an encyclopedia from my bag, the butler, who had no idea about subspace storage, tried to peer down at my feet and returned to his position after being glared at by Maia.
I was silently reading the grimoire in such a situation when suddenly I felt a gaze and looked up to see Camile-sama, and our eyes met.
“”…””
I stared back at him, wondering what was going on, but nothing happened and time passed without any further incident.
I had one brother who was a pervert, and Camile-sama remembered that, too.
“Oh, right. Sorry.”
And just as Camile-sama was about to go back to his work, suddenly…
“Don’t be sorry, what were you thinking!?”
That young butler stood up in the carriage and yelled angrily at his Lord.
“You let the “Mere Old Man” do this to you after you went on a journey and returned to that? I didn’t come all the way from Solvet to see this!”
“Nicholas, stop being so annoying!”
“Annoying!?”
Solvet was a neighboring country, I believe, right? The butler, called Nicholas, was aghast at Camile-sama’s words and turned his face to me.
“Say something to him, young lady!”
“Noisy”
“Noisy?”
I said shortly, and Nicholas sat down on the bench with another shocked look on his face.
After that, Nicholas kept mumbling, and to summarize what he said, Nicholas was a schoolmate from Solvet, where Camile-sama was studying, and he was so worried about Camile-sama that he followed him here to the Kingdom of Caenista.
The reason he didn’t show his face last time was because he was doing a job that was difficult for a nobleman of Caenista to do, but the servants last time were not very nice to me, so he was urgently called back because he was not prejudiced against subhuman people. That sounds tough.
It couldn’t be helped. Shall I step in a bit?
“Is this all the documents you have?”
“No… there’s more.”
“I’ll help you.”
“…okay”
Camile-sama, who looked a little surprised at my offer, showed me the remaining documents.
“Is checking local tax affairs a job for royalty?”
“…they don’t want me to get involved in central affairs, so…”
“…”
A random official would just stamp it without even reading it first. But if there was a flaw, and they didn’t notice it, it would be a blunder. How bothersome.
As they worked silently and quietly, Nicholas, who wanted to say something, sat down without saying anything and was consoled by Maia, who patted him on the shoulder.