← Previous Chapter | Chapter Index | Next Chapter →

The Reincarnated Thirty-Something Woman’s Otherworldly Reform Life

[Things to Come]

Translated by: ME

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

「Magnolia, if you aren't tired, come to the office later.」

Claude walks away briskly while loosening his cravat.

He has been away for about a week, so work must be piling up. Good luck to him.

Meanwhile, Servas was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Sebastian, who wore an evil expression, and was dragged away without question. ...Good luck to you too.

As I watched my uncle walk away with the long strides typical of a knight, an elderly woman who appeared to be a maid spoke to me with a smile.

「Lady, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Plum, the head maid.」

「I am Magnolia. Pleath to meet you.」

「I am Lily! It is a pleasure to meet you!!」

Upon the appearance of her new boss, Lily greets her energetically with a nervous face.

「Well then, let me show you to your room. We will show Lily to the servants' quarters a little later, okay?」

The inside of the mansion has a calm atmosphere, feeling like a residence that has stood for a long time.

Ivory walls, dark amber wainscoting with beautiful wood grain. Well-worn carpets. Numerous landscape paintings framed in wood.

A mansion that properly gives off a sense of lived-in comfort.

(So the Lord's residence isn't exactly the royal palace of Azenda. Since it was a defeated nation, maybe it was destroyed and no longer exists...?)

I think about this while climbing the polished stairs.

No matter how small the country was, a royal palace or castle would surely be on a different scale than this.

Although it is kept clean, it looks undeniably ordinary... It has the atmosphere of a mansion belonging to a hired provincial lord who was given a small territory by the true lord living in a castle.

It's not that I particularly want to live in a castle, but it feels quite different in flavor from the other lordly residences I saw from the carriage as we raced through over the past three days.

Anyway. Since I am being taken care of out of goodwill, I want to do something beneficial for the territory.

(For that, I'll need to investigate various things...)

While ruminating on the state of the territory I observed along the way, I think about what to investigate.

The room I was guided to was a spacious room with impressive French windows that let in plenty of sunlight.

「This room was used by the Great Madam, Lady Azalea, when she was alive.」

「I thee. By the way, where ith Grandmother...?」

Leaving Great-Grandmother aside, I checked, thinking my Grandmother might be somewhere in the mansion, and Plum's eyebrows drooped sadly.

「Lady Lunaria also passed away several years ago.」

「...Is that so. That ith unfortunate.」

(So Grandma's name was 'Lunaria'. I'll ask someone later and go visit her grave sometime.)

As if to shake off the somber atmosphere, Plum continues with a smile.

「When Master Claude came here, he was already big, so he didn't use children's furniture. We gathered these in a hurry after receiving the notice, so once you are settled, let's order furniture to your liking, Lady.」

The consideration, typical for a young lady, tickles me.

「No, I'm thorry for rushing you. If I don't have to return it to whomever I borrowed it from, I'd like to keep uthing it ath is.」

「But for a young lady to use...」

Indeed, the furniture provided in the room seems to be simple and lacking decoration, perhaps a bit too plain for a young lady to use. Since a small child was coming suddenly, they probably scrambled to find it.

「It'th fine. Before, I uthed adult furniture with a thtep thtool. Compared to that, thith is much eathier to uthe.」

Plum glances at Lily, nods once painfully, and looks at the luggage placed in the corner of the room.

「Is your luggage over there?」

「Yeth. Lily, I'm thorry, but could you put the clotheth in the clotheth?」

Watching Lily immediately start working, Plum gasps.

Between the talk about furniture and the clothes on hand, she must have guessed the living conditions at my parents' home.

「More importantly, I need to go to the offith.」

「Are you not tired? You were shaken about in a carriage for so long... Don't push yourself. Master Claude also said 'if she isn't tired,' so if you are tired, I can go tell him for you?」

「I'm fine. There are thingth I want to talk about too.」

Plum, looking worried, escorted Magnolia to the office, then left with Lily.

Lily will probably receive various tours and explanations now.

(Do your best, Lily!)

I send encouragement to her retreating figure.

Being in a new environment where she knows no one must be full of lonely moments.

(I'll try to listen to her stories as much as possible.)

When I knock on the door, there is an immediate reply. After announcing myself and entering, Servas and Claude were at the desk, and a small boy was sitting on the sofa.

「I have arrived. Thank you for going out of your way to arrange the furniture.」

「Oh, Magnolia! You aren't tired?」

Servas, who had been looking withered and dejected, perks up the moment he sees his granddaughter.

Claude, though exasperated, swallows a sigh and looks at Magnolia and the boy.

「The furniture is just a stopgap, so you can choose what you like later. Magnolia, this is Dean Palmore. He is your playmate and valet... well, a chore boy for the time being.」

As soon as he was introduced, the boy jumped up from the sofa with great force and stood at attention.

「I am Dean Palmore! Third son of the Palmore Baron family, grandson of the head maid Plum, and I am six years old! Pleased to meet you!!」

Whether due to nervousness or because he was instructed to do so, his cheeks are slightly flushed, and his very energetic greeting is heartwarming.

Young Dean is an adorable boy with flaxen hair in curly ringlets and eyes the color of blue mixed with ink.

...I'm surprisingly shocked by the high facial deviation score of the people around me. He also looks very promising for the future.

「I am Magnolia Gilmore. I turned four the other day. Nithe to meet you.」

「Yes!」

The three people other than Dean nod approvingly at the fresh and innocent boy.

「Ummm. If you have time, there are a few thingth I'd like to dithcuth.」

「I don't mind.」

Whether Servas is happy to slack off work or happy to chat with his granddaughter is unclear. He replies eagerly.

「If Dean hath thingth to do, or if Mith Plum or hith parentth told him to come back, he can leave the room, okay?」

「...Umm?」

He lets his gaze wander, looking troubled.

「If you have nothing else to do, stay here, Dean. You're going to be one of the people dragged around by Magnolia from now on. You should listen for your own mental preparation.」

Claude is casually cruel. Magnolia furrows her brows.

「I haven't done anything, have I?」

「You are unaware, huh.」

He cut me down with a blank expression. Cruel.

Putting that aside for now, I count on my fingers as I list my points.

「Firtht, pleath leave the furniture ath it ith. And, point one: what to call Uncle. Point two: regarding Uncle's marriage. Point three: regarding my treatment. Point four...」

「Wait wait wait! Too much information!」

Claude scowls as if he has a headache.

Servas and Dean are both blinking their eyes rapidly.

「First, let's go in order. The furniture is fine as is if you are okay with it. ...What about what you call me?」

「If Uncle weally, weally preferth 'Uncle', then it can't be helped, but if you don't mind, may I call you 'Big Brother Claude'?」

Servas grins as if teasing his son.

Claude mumbled for a moment, then asked, looking puzzled.

「Call me whatever you like, but why?」

「Becauthe calling a nineteen-year-old boy 'Uncle'... It'th just awkward.」

「「「…………」」」

The coming of age in the Ascald Kingdom is eighteen, so socially he is an adult.

...But for someone who is thirty-three inside to call a boy who is more of a lad than a young man 'Ojisan' (Uncle/Old Man)—what kind of punishment game is that?

Even though 'Ojisan' (middle-aged man) and 'Ojisan' (relative uncle) have different meanings, it is incredibly hard to say.

「...I don't mind. What is the second point, about my marriage?」

「Do you have a fiancee? Any planth to marry thoon?」

He answers with a fed-up face.

「I don't. No plans either. Why?」

「No, I mean, if there'th a thithter-in-law in the houth you marry into, and a thmall child at that, wouldn't the other perthon hate it?」

If we were living somewhere just the two of us, it would be fine, but given his position as heir, his partner would inevitably have to marry into this house.

...It's already a world of "what is this?" with a father-in-law who is too macho, and then there's a mysterious toddler too.

Plus, not knowing how many years they'd have to live together—that's absolutely a "no thank you."

「If it'th decided, pleath tell me immediately. I will look for a houth.」

He is nineteen. Given his age and lineage, in the Ascald Kingdom, this would likely be an immediate matter.

「I have a lot I want to say, but fine. What is the third point?」

「Ith it pothible for me to live ath a commoner?」

「...Basically impossible. Why?」

Oh. He dismissed it as if it were troublesome.

「...If it'th becauthe of Great-Grandmother-related ithues, I think there wouldn't be danger if I lived quietly and plainly in a corner of the territory where Grandfather and Big Brother Claude could keep an eye on me?」

「Do you dislike being here?」

Servas asks as if to confirm.

「I don't dithlike it. But, how should I thay thith... I don't have the confindenth to live well in high thociety, and I don't want to thtand out too much. And if I don't live ath a noble, there won't be any debut ithues or troublethome rumorth, and if I change rethidenth ath a commoner, I think the earlier thithter-in-law problem would be solved all at onthe, you know?」

Servas and Claude look at each other.

...Dean has made himself as small as possible, staring into the distance and deciding that this has nothing to do with him.

「...Magnolia. You are very smart. That's probably why you overthink things.」

Servas continues in a gentle voice.

「Looking at the past few days, I think you would do just fine in high society. But if you don't like it, if you don't want to stand out, you can keep it to a minimum. More importantly, that is still a long way off. Regarding the debut, Gerald will put out the fires appropriately, and rumors can just be smoothed over. As for the sister-in-law problem, we will think about that after Claude actually finds a partner. If push comes to shove, I'll hand over the entire territory, lock, stock, and barrel, to Claude, and you can just live with me and do whatever you like, Magnolia. No matter how capable you are, a small child should live with their family unless there are special circumstances.」

「Grandfather...」

Hearing such family-like words (though there were some subtle parts), I feel somewhat guilty.

I'm not smart... I just look that way because I have the memories and knowledge of an adult. Not at all.

Claude asks.

「What is the fourth point?」

「...It'th nothing, thinth you only denied everything. For now, it'th fine.」

When Magnolia answered with a small pout, she was laughed at slightly.

「So, how about it?」

When Claude checked with Dean, there was a boy wearing an expression of great distress, and yet, despair.

「...Will I be able to handle the job...?」

(Eh, did I do something? I didn't do anything, we just talked, right???)

They are truly rude people.

Thinking so, Magnolia frowned magnificently.

*****

Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.