Of course, if they had hired a proper private tutor, she might have learned faster, but this much was still something.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Ian gestured for her to come closer and handed her a pouch of money.
“Here’s the 50 shillings I promised.”
The maid’s face lit up with a bright smile.
The maid’s monthly salary was 80 shillings.
Receiving more than half of her monthly pay in one go was more than enough to make her beam.
“Oh, and this is a bonus.”
But that wasn’t all.
“A… a bonus?”
“Take it.”
Though surprised by the unexpected bonus, the maid’s actions were honest.
She immediately held out both hands.
Ian placed the money into her palms.
Just as she was about to feel a little disappointed, thinking it might only be a single coin.
“Gasp!”
*Clink!*
The moment she saw the coin, she was so shocked that she dropped it to the floor.
She quickly picked it up, but the amount was still hard to believe.
What Ian had given her was a 5-silver coin.
It was more money than she would earn in six months of work.
This was the first time she had ever held such a valuable coin in her own hands.
“Y-young lord… this is too much…”
She wondered if he had made a mistake, but—
“5 silvers is a fair reward. Take it.”
If they had hired a private tutor, it would have cost much more.
In comparison, this was actually quite cheap.
“You’re the eldest daughter, and you have five younger siblings at home, right? As the eldest, you should live with your head held high.”
[Grien’s loyalty has increased by 3.]
“Th-thank you! Thank you, young lord! Thank you so much!”
The maid repeatedly expressed her gratitude.
Watching her, Ian smiled with satisfaction.
Of course, he could have given her less, but there was another reason for giving her that much.
‘When word of this spreads, people’s perception of me will change.’
A fair reward for a fair effort.
It would serve as a signal that Ian, who had only ever tormented and used people for his own gain, was changing.
“You can go now. I need to speak with Sera alone.”
“Yes, young lord.”
After the maid left, only Sera and Ian remained.
“Now that I can read and write, what do you want me to do?”
“What you’ll be doing from now on is alchemy. Specifically, brewing potions.”
“…Me?”
“I’ve already purchased the books for it, so I’ll give them to you.”
“Even if I can learn it, why are you entrusting this to me?”
There were plenty of other people. Why not just hire an alchemist from the start?
“Because it has to be you.”
“But why me?”
Though he spoke with certainty, Sera was still doubtful.
‘What about me does he trust?’
She didn’t even know the first thing about alchemy.
It would be stranger if she did, given that she had just learned to read.
“To be precise, it’s your father’s knowledge that’s needed.”
“Huh? My father?”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
She hadn’t expected her father to be brought up.
“Didn’t you know? Your father worked as an alchemist in a neighboring country. He was quite famous, too.”
Sera’s eyes grew even wider.
“Y-you knew about my father?”
“Of course.”
To be honest, he didn’t know much.
He only knew two things.
First, her father was a famous alchemist in a neighboring country.
Second, he had fled to the empire for some reason and settled here.
That was all he knew. The details were a mystery.
Still, the reason he brought up her father was simple.
He remembered a useful tip: Sera’s loyalty could be quickly raised by talking about her father.
‘And it’s also a good excuse to get her more invested in her work!’
Following in her father’s footsteps!
What better motivation could there be?
“W-what kind of person was my father?”
“Huh?”
He hadn’t expected her to ask that.
‘Ah, come to think of it, Sera didn’t know much about her father, did she?’
Her father had passed away before she was old enough to remember him.
Ian tried to recall what kind of person her father had been.
But no matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind.
Of course.
He simply didn’t know.
‘I think there was a video where a streamer summarized the story…’
He tried hard to recall what the content was, but since it wasn’t in his memory at all…
‘I must have skipped it.’
Ian was what people called a “skip addict.”
If he had read the story properly, he might have known, but unfortunately, he wasn’t that type of player.
He had watched quick guides and route breakdowns even after quitting the game, but he never paid attention to the story-related content.
‘If I had known this would happen, I would’ve read it properly.’
He skipped even the main story, so there was no way he would have paid attention to the NPCs’ detailed backstories.
‘What can I do?’
Ian shook his head and decided to dodge the question.
“…That’s not something I should talk about.”
“Why not?”
Because I don’t know!
…But he couldn’t say that now.
He had been talking as if he knew all about her father, so if he admitted he didn’t know, what would she think?
‘She’d probably explode, thinking I’m messing with her, and her loyalty would plummet.’
If talking about her father could raise her loyalty, the opposite was also true.
‘And if I lie, she could just ask her mother for the truth… Wait, her mother?’
Yes, why hadn’t he thought of that?
She had a mother.
He could just have her ask her mother!
“It’s not right for me to gossip about someone else’s family matters. I plan to have you start work tomorrow, so go home for today. If you’re really curious, isn’t there someone else you can ask?”
I know, but it’s not my place to say, so ask your mother.
Understanding it that way, she bowed her head and left.
After leaving the lord’s estate and arriving home, Sera was greeted by her mother, Rimil, who was cooking in the kitchen.
“Oh, you’re back early today?”
When they first arrived here, Rimil had been full of worry and always wore a frown, but after a few days, her face had brightened. She had realized that Ian had no intention of harming her daughter.
“Mom, I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“I heard from the young lord. He said my father was a famous alchemist.”
Rimil’s hands, which had been busy cooking, stopped.
“…How did he know?”
“He said he wants to make me an alchemist, and when I asked why, he said he needed my father’s knowledge.”
Rimil’s expression turned serious.
“Did he say how he knew?”
“No, he just said he knew. He also said he didn’t want to gossip about our family matters.”
“From what you’re saying, it sounds like he knows everything.”
Rimil let out a deep sigh and slumped into a chair.
Seeing her mother’s reaction, Sera realized there was something more to the story.
“If he’s saying that much… was there something big about my father that I don’t know?”
“….”
“Mom, please tell me.”
“….”
A long silence followed.
Rimil’s face clearly showed her struggle.
Sera thought it would be better to wait for her mother to speak rather than keep pressing her, so she sat down across from her.
After some time had passed, Rimil finally spoke.
“Alright, you’ve grown enough now. It’s time you knew the truth.”
Rimil realized that keeping her mouth shut wasn’t the solution.
She decided to tell her daughter everything.
“This might take a while. Are you okay with that?”
“I have plenty of time.”
With that, Rimil reluctantly began to speak.
The Next Day
Sitting at a table on the terrace, sipping tea, Ian frowned.
‘Black tea isn’t to my taste.’
In novels, comics, and movies, people seemed to enjoy it, but black tea just didn’t suit Ian’s palate.
Even though he was a troublemaker, he had tried to act refined and sophisticated, but it seemed like that effort had gone to waste.
‘Anyway…’
As he pondered, Ian suddenly recalled the events of the previous day.
‘Did I bring up her father for no reason?’
Maybe he should have gathered more information before saying anything.
‘No, I didn’t actually say much.’
He hadn’t mentioned any specific details, only the information he was sure of.
‘So it should be fine.’
…Or so he thought, but he couldn’t shake the unease.
He was worried that his memory might be wrong.
After all, it was a memory from years ago, so he couldn’t be entirely confident.
Tap tap tap tap—!
Seeing his leg shaking, everyone in the room held their breath and stayed silent.
For Ian, it was an unconscious reaction to his anxiety, but the maids and butlers in the room were on edge.
‘He suddenly decided to drink tea, which he never does, and now he looks so upset…’
‘At least there’s no fork or knife, but even hot tea can be dangerous if he’s in a bad mood!’
The servants’ perception of him hadn’t changed much.
Unaware of their thoughts, Ian let out a deep sigh.
‘Ugh, I don’t know! What’s the point of worrying about it now?’
In the end, he decided to go with the flow.
“Young lord.”
At that moment, the sound of a voice made his shaking leg stop.
Ian’s gaze turned toward the source of the voice.
Sera had come to see him.
“Hmm, alright. I need to speak with her, so everyone else can leave.”
The servants, looking relieved, quickly left the room without a word.
“Sit down.”
Ian pointed to a seat with his finger, and Sera sat down across from him.
“Did you hear the story?”
“Yes, just as you said. My father was an alchemist favoured by the king of a neighbouring country…”
‘Phew!’
Ian let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, his memory hadn’t been wrong.
‘I knew he was a famous alchemist, but I didn’t realize he was favoured by the king.’
“Did you hear what happened?”
“Yes.”
Sera then recounted the story she had heard.
Her father had cooked up a potion on the spot when the king was severely injured during a war. However, after drinking it, the king vomited blood and died, leading to accusations of poisoning.
After that, her father fled to the empire with her mother, Rimil.
‘So that’s the story. Well, it seems like it worked out.’
It had been the right decision to tell her to ask her mother instead of making something up.
‘Let’s not act recklessly from now on.’
This time, it had worked out, but he vowed not to pretend to know things he didn’t.
He made that promise to himself, over and over again.
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