I prided myself on saying that I had met a wide variety of human figures throughout my life. In particular, while spending my youth on the battlefield, I experienced various relationships that I could never have otherwise experienced on the Island.
But this was the first time I... A master made of an egg...
I scrutinized the appearance of the egg that was in the middle of the bed; it seemed to reach half my height. It was pretty, but... Is this, by any chance, a joke of the Weatherwoods family?
While I was nervous, the true master of the Weatherwoods might appear from some hidden corner of the room. I pretended to be surprised, letting out an exaggerated gesture just in case. "Oh my god!"
However, no matter how much I waited, nothing appeared like the true Viscount Weatherwoods. Hmm. Perhaps my reaction was too foolish. I looked to the maid for advice, but I couldn't bear to open my mouth. The maid's face was very serious. Thanks to this, I was able to return to the reality I had fled from. An egg white neatly placed on the bed.
"This egg really is Viscount Weatherwoods."
I straightened up and faced the egg. Wasn't this the first time I met my master as a maid? I had to make a good first impression. I greeted him, gently passing by the egg'... I mean, Viscount Weatherwoods's shell.
"Viscount." You are so soft.
Of course, no answer came. Only a soft heartbeat like the sound of heartbeats transmitted from inside the eggshell. "How does it feel, Miss Daisy?"
How is it? "Soft. Warm."
The maid, who seemed flabbergasted for a moment, covered her mouth and burst out laughing. It was a bit awkward because it was the first time I saw the head maid laugh so hard. "You really are..."
Hmm. She cleared her throat awkwardly and looked at the egg with somewhat relieved eyes. "Four years ago I met the current Viscount Weatherwood. At that time he was really smaller than an egg, but now he has grown so much and so fast that I can barely hold him in one hand."
He'd been growing for four years? "He seems soft, and even if you feel the heartbeat, the shell itself is very hard. You probably can't even pierce it with most swords."
Are you sure he's alive?
The maid whispered softly as she looked at my expression. "Do not doubt it, Mrs. Daisy. This egg was left to me by the former master, who asked me to take care of it as his successor."
"Yes."
"Viscount Gray Weatherwoods is the only heir of my former master. My former master died in the Magic War. As a hero of humanity, model citizen of the empire, pride of his family. He dedicated his entire fortune and himself to the cause for 10 years. He was willing to turn over four mansions to the medical corps and built daycares all over the empire to care for children who lost their parents and families in the war. I remember he received several medals throughout his life."
I slowly pulled my hand away from the egg as the maid smiled softly with her eyes that seemed to recall the past. In the Magic War.
Midwinterre was a city far from the southern front and had no significant connection to the war. That's what war was about. Although its impact could be clear and intelligible throughout the territory, even that varied greatly by region. Midwinterre citizens probably only realized the war through conscription. The smell of death was faint in the Midwinterre landscape, which was as clean and solid as a complete puzzle piece. There were no signs of collapsed buildings or incinerators where the war dead were burned.
So, since settling here, the memories of living on the front became much more distant. Did I run into former Viscount Weatherwoods on the battlefield? At least once? I heard the family name "Weatherwoods" the first time I came to Midwinterre, but it was possible I had met him by chance during the war. If he really was dedicated enough to generously share his own family's wealth, we must have met at least once.
"There was a reason the inside of the mansion was in such disrepair, unlike a noble family. Good people always left early." That was the only truth that never changed.
If former Viscount Weatherwoods had survived, he would have been revered as a hero who achieved brilliant achievements and raised the family's prestige. But when you died, you only had medals and honors left. Furthermore, his only successor was not even a person, but an egg...
"My master even got married during the war. Wasn't it so romantic?" The maid's eyes went to the wall opposite the bed. When she approached with the lamp in her hands, the large portrait that had been hidden in the dark emerged. "That's Enert Rosebell. The only daughter and heir of Countess Rosebell. She closed her eyes for eternity shortly after my master died in battle, as if to follow him into the afterlife."
In the portrait there were a man and a woman standing. The blonde man and woman seemed relatively normal, except for the fact that they were remarkably young. The high-quality fabric of their dress and their soft expressions exuded the peculiar aura of the upper class.
"If the current Count Rosebell dies, the title and property of the Rosebell family will belong to the master." The name Count Rosebell was familiar even to me. He was an old swordsman who ran across the battlefield with Duke Berkley Grayton. I guess he's still alive. We didn't have a very close relationship, but the fact that they survived made me happy.
"In fact, many of them already belong to the Weatherwoods family. The former countess brought an exorbitant dowry. However, due to the pre-nuptial contract that had been signed between the two, the countess's dowry is closely tied. No one can access it for the time being—not even the legal successor, Viscount Weatherwoods."
For the Weatherwood family, the bad news seemed to overlap one after another. "That's what the assassins are looking for. News about the Weatherwoods family is very diverse nowadays... they're suffering creatively malicious rumors. Well, it's natural, considering that the new heir of a well-known family has not shown any activity."
The former viscountess's property. She wasn't the world's only wealthy aristocrat. Had they sent assassins several times for an inheritance that was restricted anyway? It was suspicious.
I didn't tell the maid, but I think the motive for the assassins wasn't just the property. "Is there any secret I should know?"
The maid who was looking at the portrait looked at me. "Is there any secret I can divulge despite your promise? It's Miss Daisy, not me, who should be careful with her words from now on. It feels good to reveal everything frankly. How hard it has been to stay silent all these years."
I turned my head and examined the egg on the bed. Why do we know the heir of former Viscount Weatherwoods? Of all things, why was it an egg? And what was in this egg? It would be lucky if after a while, the egg broke and a person was born. But if something else were born...
No. Common sense doesn't suggest that. Rather, the assumption that the successor was protected inside the eggshell was the most plausible. Worried about an emergency, the Weatherwoods couple hung a "protective shield" over the baby who would have been their heir. If the child could grow safely inside an unbreakable egg, he won't be threatened by relatives blinded by wealth. In short, this egg was the true heir of the Weatherwoods family.
"Is the history of the Weatherwoods too much for you?"
"Not really."
"That's a relief. I thought you'd be fine, Daisy. You're... a bit... weird, aren't you?"
"Excuse me."
"Don't be offended. Even so, Rue is even weirder than you."
That was true.
"Daisy seems to be working hard every day, so it's always a pleasure to see you. I wonder what drives you to live with such energy, can you tell me?" It's an unexpected question that somehow seems philosophical. Motivation. Is Diancecht's relic the engine of my life? That was my goal in life, not its driving force. I didn't live because of the legacy of Dian Cecht. Even if I had no hopes of healing my soul, I would have lived the three years they gave me. It's not like you can decide to die just because you don't have a goal or a driving force, right?
"Do you have anything like that?"
"Nothing in particular comes to mind."
"I see. That's why I chose you. Normally, people like Daisy don't betray others. People who are not interested in others or themselves. Now that I think about it, it's kind of funny. You won't betray me because you're not interested enough."
I thought she was teasing me for living life without thinking. The maid's criteria for judging people seemed firm. While I watched in silence, the maid, who smiled a bit awkwardly, went back to the bed and turned off the light. "I'm sorry, I think I pointed it out too crudely. I hope you forgive me generously. Somehow today I'm talking to you a lot. It's late now, we should go back."
We left the bedroom and returned to the first floor. The maid was going to smoke again after her previous session was interrupted, so she reached me and went out the back kitchen door. I also followed her to the mansion's backyard. I had some errands to do.
"Ah, now that I think about it, they're here too." Before I could light the cigarette, I passed the head maid and dropped my luggage onto my shoulder. One of the assassins turned over and tried to wake up, so I didn't forget to give him another blow. As I jumped the fence, the maid asked a question urgently. "What are you going to do with them?"
I was going to leave them with the butler-assassin for the time being, but I should discuss their punishment in detail with him later. Considering the specificity of the Eachus mansion, i.e., the house across the street, it would be better to leave them there for the time being. The explanation seemed to get longer and longer, so I answered briefly. "Store them."
Leaving the pale-faced maid behind, I headed to the Eachus mansion. Fortunately, the butler-assassin seemed to welcome the existence of the two loads on my back. Apparently, he was short-staffed or something. A few days after that, I punched Baron Fedegail, a friend of my former owner, and was charged with assault and intimidation.