Cedric thought,
‘This body’s falling apart.’
His entire body felt as heavy as if it were weighed down by lead, and his limbs kept going numb at random intervals.
His senses, always razor-sharp, had dulled to the point that he now had to supplent them with magic just to maintain the perception level of an average person.
There was no doubt—his body was racing toward collapse.
In a way, it was only natural.
Back during the assassination attempt on Claudia, the force Cedric had unleashed was roughly mid-Grade 4.
That might not be too taxing for soone like Bern, whose clone body was specialized in combat, but for Cedric, who pursued versatility at the cost of individual peak performance, it ca with severe recoil.
Even then, his body had taken considerable damage—and afterward, he’d exceeded even his magic limits.
Because Armin Redvell’s surveillance was as relentless as his personality, Cedric had needed to combine a wide array of spells just to completely slip past his henchn and stab him in the back.
His body was constructed from magic. And though every piece of it now creaked and scread in protest, Cedric still wore a smile.
‘Good thing the contract’s ending soon.’
This body wasn’t his real one anyway.
Even if it collapsed, it was far from death, and unless it was suddenly destroyed by external force like with Bern, the recoil when returning to his real body would be minimal.
If there was one point of concern, it was whether he’d be able to fully carry out his role as “Servant Cedric” before the end—but from the state he was in now, he figured he could hold on for the remaining ti.
“Cough! Cough! ...Whew. Almost got it on my clothes.”
Even as he wiped away the sudden gush of blood with a wry smile, Cedric calmly composed himself again and continued walking.
But because his dulled senses had numbed him to the side effects, he didn’t realize—
That there was a certain maid, watching him, horrified.
***
Sotis, for no particular reason, you wake up in an unreasonably good mood.
For Claudia, today was one of those days.
Perhaps the maids helping her with her morning routine sensed it too, because one of them, brushing her hair, suddenly asked,
“You seem to be in a good mood today, my lady.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes. Did sothing good happen?”
“Not really. I just feel good today for so reason.”
The idle chatter was aimless and relaxed, laughter blooming naturally in the air.
Seeing the smiling faces of the maids reflected in the mirror, Claudia thought to herself,
‘In the past, they’d have been frozen stiff, doing their jobs like lifeless dolls.’
Just a few months ago, it would’ve been unthinkable for any maid to strike up casual conversation with Claudia.
The mont her mood soured, soone would get slapped. What kind of idiot would dare open their mouth around her?
‘That was stupid of .’
Just because she’d been in pain and suffering didn’t give her the right to take it out on others.
The servants weren’t objects for her to use and discard at will. They were human beings, just like her—people who bled and felt pain.
There’s a difference between maintaining authority as a noble and inflicting senseless cruelty. And proof of that was right here: even while chatting, productivity hadn’t dropped—if anything, it had improved.
These were things she’d either never known before, or had known and chosen to ignore.
‘I really am sorry again, all over.’
Of course, she’d already apologized for her past wrongs and offered monetary compensation.
But that didn’t an her guilt had vanished completely.
So of the servants may have sincerely accepted her apology—but Claudia knew full well that others had done so only because of her status.
The unease would probably take a long ti to repay.
At breakfast—
The chef, who had been honing his skills in quiet determination lately, brought Claudia a familiar set of dishes.
“Olette rice and hamburger steak?”
“It took so ti to make what I learned from Cedric into sothing of my own. Please, enjoy.”
Unlike Cedric’s usual red sauce, the olette rice was covered in a thick, deep brown sauce. Claudia took a bite and gave a small nod.
‘This is... pretty good in its own right.’
The flavor was deeper, more mature—more grown-up compared to the versions she used to eat.
By personal taste, she still preferred Cedric’s style. But other nobles would probably like this one more.
As for the hamburger steak, Cedric’s had been a large, solid chunk, while the chef’s version ca in bite-sized, round pieces like little marbles.
Easier to eat with a fork—and it tasted good.
“This is great. It’s delicious.”
At that single comnt, the tension vanished from the chef’s stiffened posture, and a joyful smile blood on his face.
Claudia almost thought he was overreacting—but then again, how starved for recognition must he have been, to react like that?
In this vast mansion, hearing a simple “It’s good” from the one person the food was made for shouldn’t have been that hard.
Out in the garden, a few servants could be seen caring for the blood beasts.
Well—“caring for” wasn’t quite the word. It was more like playing with them.
“Go! Fetch! Good boy!”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Paw! Give your paw! ...Tsk, why won’t it listen to ?”
“Skill issue, that’s why.”
“What? Hey! Let’s switch! Let’s swap beasts and try again!”
“Co now, why so sensitive just because I spoke the truth?”
As the servants started bickering like a bunch of kids, two blood beasts the size of small dogs yawned lazily nearby.
It was a shocking change, considering these sa servants used to tremble just from glimpsing the shadow of a blood beast from afar.
Of course, you couldn’t exactly treat a massive magical beast the size of a lion the sa way as one shorter than a knee...
‘Have they forgotten those beasts have my blood in them?’
Claudia didn’t share a constant, real-ti connection with the blood beasts.
But when she t with them in person, she could receive their mories through sheer will.
Likewise, she could give them instructions—commands more complex than what one might give an ordinary dog, such as, “In this situation, do this,” or “If that happens, go to this building and get soone.”
She’d already ordered the blood beasts stationed across her territory to “teach your offspring what you’ve learned,” aning the security system would sustain itself even without her direct involvent.
Claudia considered whether to offer a word of warning to the servants...
But in the end, she chose silence.
Honestly, it was pretty entertaining to watch.
Woof!
Bark!
Perhaps sensing Claudia’s thoughts, the two blood beasts conveyed their intent: “We’ll tell you how they played later!”
Claudia left the garden smiling.
The next place she visited was the lord’s office in the estate.
There, Bestian, now looking perfectly natural with docunts in hand, reported on the territory’s condition.
“There’s been a steady increase in freen attempting to settle in Eched from outside. It seems the appeal of ‘a territory where you don’t have to fear criminals or magical beast attacks’ is quite strong.”
“No issues with food or land?”
“Eched had plenty of unused, neglected land to begin with. If we accept the settlers gradually while having them cultivate farmland, there should be no major problems. The territory’s finances are stable enough that we could even import food in a pinch.”
“Guess I should be thankful to my brother and sister. I really did squeeze a lot out of them.”
“Well, it was in exchange for your life being threatened. I doubt anyone would complain if you squeezed even harder.”
“How are the other Redvell territories reacting?”
“So are quite startled seeing you support the royal contender instead of the Second Prince, my lady. However, only a few are openly expressing dissatisfaction. Seeing that the Marquess has made no move to punish you, many seem to interpret it as a case of ‘not putting all the eggs in one basket.’”
Putting all the eggs in the Second Prince’s basket ant losing everything if he failed.
But placing a few eggs in the royal contender’s basket ant that, even in the worst-case scenario, sothing would remain.
Of course, that was only in theory. In reality, it was a strategy with many flaws.
After all, the Second Prince was reportedly throwing a tantrum about their two-timing.
The Marquess of Redvell, however, paid no mind to the Second Prince’s fury and didn’t even bother engaging with him. So the only one suffering to the point of hair loss was the eldest son, Armin.
“Working so hard for his little sister... truly, eldest sons are sothing else.”
Claudia chuckled.
She had beco more composed, more refined, and softer toward “her people,” but her core nature hadn’t vanished entirely.
That joy at soone else’s misery? That was still pure villainess.
After going through various docunts for a while, she wrapped up the bulk of her work and went looking for Cedric.
She wanted to drink the tea he brewed.
“Here it is, my lady.”
Shortly after she called him, Cedric appeared with a serving cart, and Claudia quietly sipped the tea he had prepared.
The skill to maintain the aroma of tea while cooling it to an easy-to-drink temperature—despite the natural weakening of fragrance at lower heat—was sothing only Cedric could do...
“...Huh?”
Feeling a strange sense of dissonance, Claudia tilted her head and took another sip of the clear, amber liquid.
And she was sure of it.
‘The aroma is weaker than usual.’
The taste on her tongue hadn’t changed much.
But the fragrance—one of the tea’s most important qualities—felt noticeably diminished.
Cedric had once explained how he used magic to preserve the aroma even at lower temperatures. Had that process failed this ti?
Even though it was clearly a less refined product compared to usual, Claudia didn’t get angry.
In fact, she was sowhat pleased.
So Cedric makes mistakes too, she thought, finding it unexpectedly endearing and amusing.
“Geez, it’s not as good as usual. Maybe you’re getting a little too relaxed lately?”
She teased him lightly, expecting so cheeky reply in return.
But what ca back was completely unexpected.
Cedric’s eyes widened in genuine surprise. Then, his face turned solemn, and he lowered his head.
“...My apologies, my lady. I have no excuse.”
“Eh? Ah—no, I an, it’s not a big deal. People make mistakes, you said so yourself, didn’t you?”
Claudia quickly shifted her tone to comfort him, completely abandoning her original intent to poke fun.
She hadn’t expected a reaction like this at all.
To her, Cedric had beco sothing irreplaceable in her life.
He had changed her life. She couldn’t bring herself to seriously scold him over such a minor slip.
At least, that was true until she heard what he said next.
“I deeply thank you for your generosity, my lady. You’ve grown so much. Now I feel I can leave in peace.”
“...Leave?”
Claudia blankly repeated the word.
Monts later, her calm expression twisted into one of fury.
“Don’t say weird things. Where do you think you’re going?”
“The contract period is almost over.”
“We can just renew it!!”
Crash!
The teacup Claudia had been holding shattered with a loud clatter.
But Claudia didn’t even glance in that direction.
Her eyes were fixed solely on Cedric.
“Don’t go. You’re mine. You’re my servant. You think I’m just going to let you go!?”
“Even if you say that... contract renewal is not possible, my lady.”
“Then why not!?”
Bang!
Claudia slamd her hands on the table and stood up.
Her blazing eyes locked with Cedric’s calm gaze.
It was Cedric who looked away first.
“...It seems you are sowhat agitated. I’ll return to you later.”
With that, Cedric left the room.
Claudia glared fiercely at the door he exited through, then collapsed into her chair with a nervous twitch of her shoulders.
At that mont, the maid Neria entered the room to clean up the shattered teacup.
After cautiously sweeping and wiping the floor, she didn’t imdiately leave. She lingered, hesitant.
Claudia, whose foul mood had erased an entire day’s worth of good feelings, was just about to snap in irritation—
“...Um, my lady. Actually—”
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