CH 221

Words : 1085 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

Mr. Ekenhart Explained The Reason That He Brought Her “Well, I’ll leave Anneliese to you, Claire…” As Ms. Claire glared angrily, a cold sweat dripped from Mr. Ekenhart’s forehead as he returned to the main subject. “Your Grace, you were speaking of keeping Anneliese here…” “Ah. As you can see, her feelings of guilt are… Well, she knows nothing of the world. And so I had no choice but to bring her here to be educated.” “Educated…you say? That is very… But what has Count Barsler said about this?” “Hahaha. He is in no position to be saying anything. Because I told the royal family about what he did.” “The royal family…” The people who control the nobles…the people who stood at the top of this country. I didn’t know anything about them, but I had heard that it was their responsibility to keep the nobles in line. “A malicious store that sells herbs… Through an investigation, we know that the Barsler family are involved. Well, I’m sure there is a lot more that will come to light soon enough. And the royal family will know it all.” “I see. So people must be monitoring them now?” “Aye. There is evidence of some things but not others… And so people have been sent to keep an eye on Barsler’s mansion.” When a noble has committed a crime or is suspected of committing one, the royal family will send people to acquire evidence through monitoring and investigating. Because of this, Count Barsler was being monitored, which would make it difficult to complain of others or act behind the scenes. “Once everything is exposed, we will finally be punished. But I was asked to take care of Anneliese in the meantime.” “Asked by who? It wasn’t Count Barsler, was it?” “Of course, not. The request came from someone connected to the royal family, but… Her ignorance of the world is a real issue…she understands Barsler’s crimes…but does not know why using her mind to make suggestions is so reprehensible…just as Claire said.” “Ha…” Apparently, Mr. Ekenhart was asked to take care of Anne by someone related to the royal family. Well, it wasn’t hard to see why someone would be troubled by this lady, who was acting so innocent, just because she only made suggestions and didn’t actually act them out. Perhaps she led a sheltered life…and was unable to think of others. “And well, Claire has one of the finest reputations of any young noblewoman, and has done me much credit as the one who raised her. So it was only natural for their eyes to turn to me. A reeducation from none other than a duke might be just the thing! After all…Anneliese is Count Barsler’s heir.” So Ms. Claire had a good reputation in the king’s court. Indeed, in spite of her high position, she had no prejudices against the common folk, and was loved by the people of Ractos. It had been the same at the orphanage. She never acted like she was better than others. …Though, she only wore clothes that were tailor-made, and her way of thinking was often that of a wealthy young woman… “So the count’s heir is to be educated in this house?” “Exactly.” “However, wouldn’t the nobles object to this? It will look like you are trying to take over the count’s house…” “Yes, I’m sure there will be plenty of gossip. However, the royal family will show their support.” “I see… It is a matter settled by the royal family and Your Grace. I can do nothing but aid you as your butler.” “I thank you for that, Sebastian.” And so Mr. Ekenhart and Sebastian’s conversation about Ms. Anne ended. Between the other noble houses, it was possible that less than complimentary rumors would be spread. But since this was something involving the royal family…it surely meant that she would be properly educated in order to take on the role as heir. Well, if Mr. Ekenhart and Sebastian were satisfied with the arrangement, there was nothing for me to say. Besides, I’m sure that Ms. Claire would go about it with that fiery will of hers… I glanced over and saw that she was still using Leo as a weapon against Ms. Anne… But I decided it was best to leave them be. I did not want to accidentally attract her rage. Also, I had learned another thing. In this country, nobles had a hereditary system, but there were no rules about it being through a male line. But then again, the founder of this very house had been a woman, so it wasn’t actually a surprise. I suppose…it was gender equality? “Now, I will leave Anneliese to Claire and… We should move on to this blasted store.” It all seemed a little disorganized to me, but I didn’t feel like contradicting Mr. Ekenhart. And while Ms. Claire and Ms. Anne were still being quite loud, Mr. Ekenhart ignored them and continued with a serious expression. Aside from Tilura, who looked a little jealous at all the attention that Ms. Anne was receiving from Leo, everyone else became quite serious as well. Sebastian and Ms. Lyra even straightened their backs. “Well, now that Anne is here, and Count Barsler is being watched closely, and cannot move… Sebastian.” “Yes, Your Grace?” “Aside from what is happening outside…are you certain of what is happening inside of the store as well?” “Yes. We have gathered a lot of information, everything, from the reason the disease was spread, to the timing of the store opening, it all connects.” “I see… A glass sphere… Hmm?” After finding the glass sphere in Range village, we had all the necessary pieces to act. But Mr. Ekenhart had now acted, and would take care of everything now. After confirming this with Sebastian, Mr. Ekenhart showed interest in the glass sphere once again. He had already heard about it from Ms. Anne, who thought of how to use it, and from Sebastian’s report. But he still had other questions. “The glass sphere is a magic tool. I had Isabelle, who runs a magic tool store in Ractos, look into it. And according to her…” And so Sebastian explained to to Mr. Ekenhart about the glass sphere, Range village, and the merchants, as well as the orc attack, and everything else that had happened.

CH 221

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