A dark bedroom with three people and an egg huddled together.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
The maid's cry sounded almost like a scream. Grabbing her forehead with a distorted face, she grit her teeth, her voice filled with deep regret.
"What a mistake... I think I rushed too much. Why did I show this room to Mr. Rue?"
Regardless of what she murmured, Rue, the person being criticized, didn't listen to her at all. He was busy examining the surface of Viscount Weatherwoods with clearly intrigued eyes.
I approached him and asked in a low voice, "Is it true?"
"If you're going to ask something, tell me first what you're asking about."
What a mean guy. I asked again, looking at the maid's face.
"I'm asking if this egg is really one of the 'Five Relics of Dian Cecht'."
The five relics of Dian Cecht. Five relics belonging to a legendary sorcerer that, when gathered, could treat any incurable disease.
After the maid and Rue made their oaths just five minutes ago, the three of us went up to Viscount Weatherwoods' bedroom together. The suspicious Rue couldn't hide his surprised expression when he discovered the identity of his mysterious master.
He walked to the bed. Then he said we should carefully examine the surface of the egg.
"Maid. Did you say this is Viscount Weatherwoods?"
"Yes."
"It doesn't seem like it to me."
"You may not believe it, but it's true. This egg—no, Viscount Weatherwoods—was entrusted to me by my former master, who repeatedly asked me to raise it..."
"There's no life inside this. This is a high-level magic device, manufactured by an elaborate sorcerer. I'd like to know."
"What?"
"Especially because of its appearance, which suggests the manufacturer's eccentric taste."
Rue, who brushed the surface of the egg with his long, slender fingers, let out a faint laugh. "It appears to be a work of Dian Cecht."
Frightened by this sudden revelation, the maid accused Rue of being a liar. Considering her position, it was a natural reaction, but I couldn't support the maid's argument. "Rue is an excellent magician."
He was also a seeker of Dian Cecht's relics, like me. There was no reason for him to objectify the egg's true identity without any basis.
"...Ha, I apologize to you, Mr. Rue. I think I reacted too sensitively. Everyone must have doubts about the Viscount's identity." The maid moved her lips with a calm expression. "Your argument is incorrect. That egg has been growing for four years. You can also feel its pulse when you put your ears to it. It has life inside."
"Mmh. I guess the maid doesn't believe me." Rue, who smiled cheerfully with a dark glint in his eyes, suddenly clenched his fist. "Well, then we'll check it ourselves."
There was no time to stop him. Rue's fist pierced the soft, pearly surface of the egg. You... he's always been crazy, but today he's even crazier!
"No way!" At the moment the pale-faced maid ran in and tried to push Rue by the chest, brown pupils floated to the top of the pearly white egg surface. Like an eyeball.
"Damage detected." I saw it clearly. The inside of the shell was empty. "Restore outer skin."
With the order from the strange voice, the pieces of shell that had fallen on the bed began to float in the air. As soon as the fragments returned to their original places one by one, the egg also returned to its original shape, as if the hole that had been pierced never existed. The brown pupils also disappeared, of course.
"What is this..." The maid, who was watching the scene, stepped back with hollow eyes. "No, that's ridiculous. Is this egg really a magic tool? Then what about me? What have I been guarding all this time? The Viscount... the Viscount asked me to..."
"Let's solve it now." With a cheerful response, Rue, who put his hand back on the egg's surface, began to recite long spells that were difficult to interpret.
The egg resonated. Soon a blue light emanated from its smooth surface. Glowing letters emerged from the light that swayed gently like curtains in the wind. The letters appeared one by one, enlarged enough to fill the entire field of vision in an instant.
A tear fell from the maid's eyes as she watched the phenomenon. "It really was a magic tool..."
A maid was the only person who could comfort another maid when she was distressed. I patted the maid's shoulder to soothe her pain. "It's not just a magic tool, it's a high-quality magic tool. If you sell it, you'll be fishing in a pond full of gold."
"...Miss Daisy needs to learn how to comfort people again." The maid, who slowly dried her tears, raised her head and looked at the letters in the air. A faint admiration began to build in her empty eyes. "But isn't this a magic incantation? I've never seen such a detailed interpretation."
"You had no way of seeing it before. The only unexplored genius here is me, that's why." Rue, who responded with little sincerity, slowly began to chain the combinations in the incantation. No, it was more like he summarized it.
"I think this tool is for defense. there is a wide range of various attack magics planted here. The purpose imprinted in its artificial ego is..." After a pause, in an odd tone of voice, he added, "Guardian of the Weatherwoods."
"Guardian?"
"Indeed. I can't think of a more accurate expression than Guardian."
"It seems that way, Madam Head Maid."
I couldn't hear any response. Are you crying? I turned my head with concern. ...I was worried for nothing. Contrary to my expectations, the maid's eyes were wide open. The gaze looking at Rue's magic interpretation was even bright. I couldn't believe she was the same person who was shedding tears a moment ago.
"I've never seen such a long and complicated interpretation of magic." A magic interpretation. The act of a magician developing specific magic blueprints in a language based on their intuition, perception, and knowledge. It is a form of magic so advanced that a beginner magician cannot even attempt it.
I had also often seen magic interpretations through the sorcerers of the Magic Union. However, all I had seen were a few blurry words or very short lines. "Never in my life have I seen such a systematic interpretation of magic." It would be the maid, not me, who could clearly feel its greatness with her skin. Because like Rue, she was also a magician.
"Oh my god. Every description is composed of perfect sentences." Respect and emotion welled up in the maid's eyes. A small trembling finger carefully scanned the inscription in the air. Perhaps due to Rue's phenomenal magic skills, the maid's frustration, which led her to call him a liar, also seemed to have dimmed. She must have reached some compromise beyond denial and anger.
Since she has recognized the truth, will she soon fall into depression? The five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. The aftermath must be quite large now that you've learned the existence you've dedicated yourself to for four years was an illusion. Perhaps there was a possibility of losing the meaning of life and making a stupid decision.
"Mr. Rue, where on earth did you appear from? Who taught you magic? You can't achieve this at the age you appear to be, but I wonder how old you really are. Every time I try interpretative magic, my vision goes blank and I faint. Is this just a lack of practice? Or..."
She seems to be in very good condition. It seems I didn't have to worry. But...
"Especially because of its appearance, which suggests the manufacturer's eccentric taste."
"It appears to be a work of Dian Cecht."
There seems to be something strange in his way of speaking. "Rue."
"Rue?"
"Mr. Rue." He nodded as if to continue. "Do you know Dian Cecht?"
Rue asked without looking at my face, with his arms crossed. "Are you curious?" That short phrase gave me a new conviction. "You know each other."
Dian Cecht was a character who died before I was born. If he was in a relationship where he could be considered an acquaintance of Dian Cecht, it meant Rue was at least forty years old. But this was only the minimum age and, if I remembered correctly, Dian Cecht lived for a hundred years before closing his eyes forever. So, how old was Rue really?
"I thought you were a little bit crazy. It's because you're a long-lived magician." It is said that no one was crazier than someone who studied magic even at an advanced age. Now I understood. This added new information to my knowledge about Rue. One, he wasn't an aristocrat, but he had a lot of money. Second, he knew Dian Cecht.
"I'm not curious."
"Really? That's too bad. Then now..." Rue shook his hand in the air and the magic interpretation that decorated the room instantly vanished like ink falling on paper. The head maid sighed with regret.
"Now that we've confirmed the intriguing identity of our mysterious master, let's move on to the next step."
"Next move?"
"The aristocratic meeting."
At that, the maid looked at the egg with a deep sigh. The complexity of her subtle expression was indescribable. "Certainly, if the magic is as good as Mr. Rue's... it would be possible to deceive those cunning nobles with hawk-like eyes."
"Of course."
"The Viscount Weatherwoods known in the outside world is the former Viscount's nephew. To be precise, he is the son of his younger brother, who was two years younger than him. He married early and, therefore, also had a son before the Viscount. The whole family died in battle, but... the nephew survived and inherited the Weatherwoods family. As the branch of the family wasn't distant, there couldn't be disputes over legitimacy."
"He just turned twenty this year, so he's at an age where he's eligible to participate in outdoor activities. But I'm worried. I don't feel comfortable letting Miss Daisy go alone. But it doesn't look good for maids or servants to follow you..."
Yes, that's right. It wasn't strange for a maid to accompany you if you were a woman, because you might need help with makeup or changing, but it was easy to be misinterpreted as a man. Especially if you were a young bachelor, the rumor could spread that you had a mistress among your servants. A successor to the Weatherwoods family, who had appeared after four years, would surely attract considerable attention. It was better to go as quietly as possible.
"Then we'll marry you off. If we put a wife by your side, you'll be able to control him properly."
Control? Was he a dog on a loose leash? It wasn't a very bad suggestion, but the maid's expression was still dark. "It's a good idea, but I'm not in a position where I can easily leave the mansion."
"I don't mind. I didn't intend to leave it to you."
"Who else is going to play the role if it's not me?"
Rue looked at the maid with eyes that suggested he was asking the obvious. Wait a minute. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
I had a bad feeling about this.