* * *
After the black-haired, black-eyed girl instantly fell asleep, Baron Martz gently covered her with a blanket and quietly left the room.
Though nominally considered nobles as the Salar baronial family, they were not particularly wealthy.
Since there were no magic lamps installed in the dimly lit hallway, he made his way to the study room holding a portable magic lamp in one hand.
“My, she must have been quite exhausted. She flew straight onto the bed as soon as she entered the room and instantly fell asleep,” the baron said as he entered the study room where two people, a man and a woman, were waiting.
One was Baroness Emma.
The other man was Sneigen, the head servant of the Martz baronial household. He was a tall man with an unpleasant look in his eyes.
“To instantly annihilate those bandits… In terms of combat ability, she’s at least equivalent to a second-rank adventurer, but from her demeanor, you wouldn’t imagine such strength at all. She just looks like an ordinary child.”
Sinking deep into his chair and resting against the backrest, Baron Martz turned his gaze to the tall head servant standing beside his wife Emma.
“So, what did you think of her, Sneigen?”
“An ominous, unclean, repulsive cursed child. It would be best to expel her from the house as soon as the sun rises tomorrow,” the head servant bluntly stated without hiding his displeasure.
“For one with such black hair and black eyes to breathe the same air as Lady Emma herself is unbearable. She should have been cut down immediately, yet we provided her with a night’s meal and lodging. Such generosity is excessive for a lowly being.”
“Hey now, even if she is our benefactor, that’s no way to speak about her, is it?”
“No, just having a conversation with that cursed child besmirches Lady Emma’s honor. She is an unforgivable existence. Besides, what was her story anyway? I overheard from behind, she was living in the forest? Eating insects and grasses to stave off hunger? There’s no way a child could survive such a life. It’s utterly ridiculous. Her background is dubious and suspicious, and on top of that, she’s a cursed child. We cannot allow such a being to get any closer to Lady Emma!”
“Sneigen!”
Emma chided the increasingly heated head servant, whose voice had grown louder.
Sneigen bowed his head and sealed his lips shut.
Originally, when Emma married Martz, he was the only servant who left the Count’s family to accompany Emma.
His loyalty lies more with Baroness Emma rather than the Salar baronial family.
Capable at his job but with various issues, that is Sneigen.
“Emma, what did you think of her?”
Next, the baron asked his wife, who pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Well, as Sneigen said, her background is indeed unclear. But I don’t think she’s trying to hide something or lie.”
The baron nodded in agreement with his wife’s opinion.
“It seems she has difficulty speaking.”
Though Emi intended to share everything except her reincarnation without hiding anything, her explanation did not convey much to the baron and others.
She spoke little, and her story was fragmented, jumping here and there, making it very difficult to understand.
“It’s unthinkable that she’s some sort of agent trying to deceive us with lies.”
“Besides, even if they did try to deceive a poor baronial family like ours, what benefit would there be?”
“My lord. For you to refer to our house as poor, is that not unbecoming? If our house is impoverished, then it is simply a matter of your lack of ability. For you to admit such without shame, I question your qualification as the head of the household.”
“Sneigen, please be silent.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
“…Let’s return to the topic at hand.”
Baron Martz cleared his throat and steered the conversation back on track.
“Well then, Emma. What did you think of her personality?”
At this question from her husband, Emma furrowed her brow slightly, as if about to say something… but swallowed those words and responded:
“I’m not quite sure. She’s expressionless and taciturn. Perhaps due to her lack of opportunities to interact with others, she seems to have little emotional fluctuation. To the point where she didn’t seem to feel anything even after killing people, bandits though they were.”
“That… is a necessary quality for being an adventurer, isn’t it?”
“I suppose you could put it that way… You know, I’m grateful to that child for rescuing us from the bandits. …But…”
The baroness continued with a slight tremble in her voice.
“I’m… a little scared of her. That child… An indiscernible being.”
“Then we should expel her immediately! There’s no need to wait until morning!”
“Sneigen, be quiet.”
“A little… scared, huh?”
Resting his elbow on the desk and cupping his cheek, Baron Martz seemed deep in thought.
What he was considering, Emma, who had lived with him for many years as his wife, could discern.
That he could not voice certain thoughts out of consideration for her.
Thus, with a sigh, it was Emma who broke the silence in the study room.
“Don’t you think… she could get along well with Sara?”
“…I wonder.”
“Yes, that child… has quite the thick skin. To the point where her lack of concern for details becomes worrisome.”
Emma continued with a wry smile.
“Sara hasn’t had any friends around her age until now… For about a month until she enrolls in the academy, it might be alright, don’t you think?”
“…Pardon me, but what are you discussing…?”
The head servant looked perplexed, unable to follow the couple’s conversation.
“Sneigen, in this incident, the bandits clearly understood that Emma and Sara were of the Salar baronial family.”
“Yes.”
“In other words, the Salar baronial family is being targeted. For what reason, I don’t know.”
“Yes.”
“I need to ensure the safety of my beloved wife and daughter, don’t I?”
“Of course!”
“Then, does our baronial family have the financial means to hire an adventurer as a guard for the next month?”
“…No, we do not.”
“What about hiring a live-in maid apprentice?”
“?…If it’s that, then…”
As he was about to affirm it was possible, the head servant finally grasped what the baron was implying.
“My lord, please reconsider!”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“That child is a vagrant of unknown origins!”
“But she’s strong. Hiring someone strong and inexpensive, isn’t that ideal?”
“However, she is a cursed child! Who knows what calamity may befall us if we house such a child…!”
“Emma says it’s fine, doesn’t she?”
“Ugh…”
Having been told this, the head servant could not refute.
“Sneigen, I’ve made up my mind. From now until Sara enrolls in the academy, I will employ her… Emi, as a maid apprentice and guard for our baronial family. After breakfast tomorrow, have her brought to the study room.”