The Reincarnated Thirty-Something Woman’s Otherworldly Reform Life
[A Stormy Birthday - The Curtain Closes]
Translated by: ME
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Servas watched the small back of his granddaughter as she performed a beautiful curtsy fit for a noble lady and found it interesting.
He knew it was improper, both as a person and as a grandfather, to find amusement in a situation that should be unthinkable for a small child. But seeing her react neither by crying nor throwing a tantrum, he felt a mix of astonishment, admiration, awe, and a touch of pity.
(What incredible nerve)
Both his sons were excellent in all respects, but this was a different kind of excellence.
If you were fooled by her cute appearance, you'd undoubtedly be the one getting devoured.
(Though, if I'm to be devoured by family, especially a granddaughter, I'd accept that fate. But for now, I must fulfill my role.)
Even though she had splendidly seized her own freedom, she was still young.
The man called the Demon General had eyes that were both stern and warm, like a conductor's.
***
Claude felt a profound sense of desolation as he watched his small niece direct a beautiful smile at the mother who scorned her.
Having lost his birth parents, he deeply yearned for blood ties.
His adoptive family treated him very well, and he never felt inferior about being adopted.
But as a child, whenever he saw his friends' parents caring for them, a bittersweet emotion would stir deep within his heart.
(And yet... she's being abandoned by her birth parents, and now the child is abandoning them in return...?)
The unnatural maturity of a four-year-old girl.
Her adorable face, with its prominent plump cheeks, showed not a trace of attachment.
Why was that?
...The child before him seemed like an entirely different, incomprehensible being from any child he knew.
Was the saying that parents have unconditional love for their children a lie?
The sight of his sister-in-law just now was certainly not that of a loving mother.
If so, then what are blood ties? What is family?
What is the connection that should stretch unbroken to the present?
***
Gerald gazed at his changed daughter and realized his mistake.
(Where did she change? When?)
He refused to believe his past assessment of her was wrong. —And yet, for some reason, the situation had drastically shifted without his knowledge. He recalled the unease he felt the other day.
His daughter, who had become a different person, had taken herself back with her own small hands.
...Her methods were slightly against the rules, but he decided not to point that out.
She would likely no longer cower in fear nor reach out seeking affection.
Instead, she would spread her wings wide and fly freely into the distance.
But he thought that might be for the best.
...Even if he was called irresponsible, if it meant she could be happy, if it widened her possibilities, then it was better.
(Farewell, the former 'little Magnolia.')
The silver coins in his palm felt both light and heavy.
Feeling the child's high body warmth transferred to the coins, and some invisible 'something,' Gerald smiled faintly.
***
Gai watched the Gilmore clan, thinking of the past and the future.
Would the new tomorrow truly shine?
Vaguely, ambiguously, indistinctly. The future always changes form.
—If the shape isn't fixed, then you can just make it as you like.
***
Magnolia pondered.
To leave no lingering complications. And to cause minimal trouble.
There was no time for sentimentality.
Aim for the best possible outcome. Before they find contradictions. Before the other party grasps the full picture. As quickly as possible.
「Grandfather, I have a requesht.」
「What is it?」
「It'sh about the maidsh.」
「The maids?」
The maids standing by the wall, who had been standing as if holding their breath, straightened their postures as their own situation was brought up.
「Yesh. Regarding thish incident and the documentsh, the maidsh were not involved at all. I acquired them accidentally. However, they might be suspected of involvement, made to feel ashamed, or even... fired? Fortunately, two of the three assigned to me are scheduled to leave within a few monthsh. If there are no issues, I request early retirement and compensation for them. For the others, after confirming their wishes, I ask for your help in finding new positionsh or the like.」
「Lady Magnolia...」
「We will be fine. Please do not worry yourself. If necessary, we will handle things ourselves.」
「…………」
Daisy teared up, her words failing. Lila bit her lip and nodded to Magnolia.
Rosa stared into space, unmoving.
「Alright, understood.」
Servas nodded. He intended to grant his granddaughter's current wishes as much as possible.
***
「Alsho, Marquish Gilmore. Let'sh discussh what to do about my living coshts up until now.」
「Surely that's not... necessary? Anyone can raise a small child, can't they?」
It was Claude, not Gerald, who spoke to Magnolia, sounding weary.
「That ish not the case.... Even if it ish generally true, if you deviate from the norm, the approach changesh. Discusshing things properly ish important for both our sakesh.」
Turning over one of the household expense copies, she revealed some calculations written on the back.
As if she had foreseen this outcome.
「Food expensesh. I believe I ate less than Young Master Brian. But I've calculated it as the same for now. How to account for miscellaneous living expensesh is a difficult problem, but visible clothing costs are here, education costs are zero, social expenses are zero. And if necessary, we might need to account for medical costs related to childbirth, perhaps even confirming with a doctor.」
Gerald slowly lifted his gaze from the copies and faced Magnolia.
「...Is it possible for you to waive receiving those?」
「...I believe using money to resolve matters is clearer and leaves fewer complicationsh.」
「...Is it possible for you to waive them?」
Magnolia let out a small sigh.
「When people face unpleasant situationsh, they sometimes take unexpected actionsh. You may think that won't happen now. But if something occurs in the future, leading to a situation where you try to take me back, having this settled prevents it from becoming a point of contention.」
The little girl pressed again for a clean, financial resolution, speaking persuasively to her father, who was skilled in a lord's duties.
He could feel the depth of her resolve in the fact that she wasn't factoring in any possibility of her own return.
But seeing Gerald's silent, steady gaze and realizing he too had no intention of backing down, Magnolia let out another small sigh.
「Then, shall we draw up a contract that satisfiesh both partiesh?」
A contract...
Claude watched the proceedings in silence, unsure how to intervene, finding it utterly bizarre that this farcical discussion before him was not a dream.
Certainly, it was a broken parent-child relationship... But even if his niece was leaving her birth home, he had intended to suggest discussions between adults, with more consideration for the child's feelings.
And so that someday, if their grievances faded, they could return to their former relationship...
But instead, a child—a *toddler*—was calmly taking charge, separating herself and those around her with terms that put adults to shame. It felt utterly unreal.
Even his usually emotional father watching quietly, just like him, felt strange.
His father was someone who valued human connections.
Precisely because he knew the fragility and strength of life, he seemed to cling to them even more.
「I understand.」
Even Brother... normally, he would have found a better way to evade or refute this...
***
「...You... you're really... impertinent!!」
A growling child's voice was hurled at Magnolia.
It was Brian, who had been standing idly by as if forgotten.
「Young Master Brian. It wassh a short time, but thank you for keeping me company.」
Without a hint of remorse, Magnolia bowed.
「Just get out!」
He probably hadn't fully grasped the content of the conversation until now.
Brian hurled a parting shot, intending to hurt his sister.
「Yesh, I shall take my leave. Farewell. Pleashe stay well and healthy?」
Clenching his fists tightly and biting his lip, he glared at Magnolia one more time, then ran out of the room at full speed.
The door slammed shut with a heavy thud.
***
After silently seeing Brian off, Servas spoke up, as if the moment had finally come.
「Magnolia. What do you intend to do after this?」
「Well... Basically, I plan to enter an orphanage?」
「「「…………」」」
「Domestic orphanages are varioush... Well, if that seems difficult, perhaps there ish a way to enter an orphanage in another country?」
Originally, she had planned to either disappear after leaving the house or during transport, lie low for a while pretending to be an orphan, and sneak into some distant orphanage.
But given the current situation, that would probably be difficult too.
Since influential domestic nobles were conveniently gathered here, she might as well honestly ask them to use their extensive connections.
***
Servas hummed, noncommittal.
Magnolia blinked her lovely droopy eyes rapidly.
「...I think an orphanage would be difficult.」
「Ish it a matter of social statush or pride?」
「No, that's not it. It's your color.」
「My color?」
She tilted her head.
(This fancy pink again... It's really irritating, honestly)
「It'sh a color characteristic of northern countriessh, right? To avoid standing out, couldn't I go to an orphanage in regions near where those northern countries were?」
There must be plenty of people with the same coloring there, right?
The four men—Servas, Gerald, Claude, and Gai—looked at Magnolia with expressions of pity, as if to say "Ah..."
「...No, see. It's a color specific to the 'royal family' of the northern countries. We have the blood of that deceased kingdom's royal house. Even though it was a small country, it was a rather unique one. If you became an orphan, you'd probably be snatched up by some country in no time, leading to nothing but trouble.」
「Eeeeeeeeeh～～～...」
(I never heard about thaaat...!)
Trouble...
Out of the frying pan and into the fire, is that it...?
Seeing her finally slump her shoulders in a childlike way, Claude smiled faintly and knelt down.
Peeking at Magnolia's downcast face from below, he grinned mischievously.
「You can just come to our house until you pay off the debt.... I can't have you skipping out on it, can I?」
「...That feels like cheating, and I'd rather not. Beshides, I promised to repay it when I grew up!」
As Magnolia pouted and retorted, Claude dismissed her.
「If you don't like it, pay up now. The full amount.」
「......」
Her handsome uncle was a strict collector.
She realized that at the tender age of four, she seemed to have gotten involved with a loan shark (a metaphorical one)...
***
「Um... excuse me!」
From near the wall by the door, Lily spoke up, having mustered her courage.
She had gone out with the other maids to greet Wisteria upon her return, but had taken advantage of the commotion to enter the room (sneakily) with Wisteria and had been watching the entire exchange from behind a pillar.
Being stared at simultaneously by the mansion's master, the Demon General, the Black Lion, and the Cheerful Assassin (from Lily's perspective), she made her plea while trembling slightly.
「Please take me with you, Lady Magnolia! I will work hard to be of use!」
Magnolia was startled.
「Lily...! What about your family!?」
She knew Lily's circumstances, working for her family's sake.
It wasn't Magnolia's intention to push her into an unstable position.
「It's fine! My family has already agreed that I would go with you if you ever ran away!!」
Lily had decided. No matter what, she would follow this little young lady.
*Grit.* She clenched her fists.
「So the runaway plan was found out, huh?」
Gai teased Magnolia with a laugh.
「We'll add her salary to your tab.」
Claude stated it as if it were natural, then *pat*, placed his large hand on Magnolia's head.
「Now, go get ready. Don't worry, no one said we'd let you stay for free. We'll work you hard, so rest assured.」
They were words that offered no reassurance, yet his voice had a strangely gentle and comforting ring to it.
Surrounded by the Demon General, the Black Lion, and a covert agent, disappearing during the move would probably be impossible now...
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