Mess 194
by Cristae194.
“My goodness, how much everything has changed.”
The Matron of Validus looked around the Validus estate, so different from what she remembered, and was filled with wonder.
The Validus estate she remembered was a nightmare.
Her former husband’s abuse and violence, shattered bottles, her daughter beaten in her place, the listless servants, and the wilted, lifeless garden.
She once thought she’d only leave this place in death.
“……”
Her hand, touching the bright columns painted in cheerful colors, trembled faintly.
“…I can hardly believe my eyes.”
Even when she left this house, it had been presentable enough.
But returning now, the mansion sparkled with a brightness and noble elegance that took her breath away.
“It’s truly remarkable.”
The Matron of Validus looked at Seraphie with pride. Flushed with embarrassment at the praise, Seraphie merely shrugged her shoulders.
“I tried my best.”
“If this is you just trying, others would throw stones at you!”
The Viscountess of Kea clicked her tongue as she sipped her tea—a blend the Kea Trading House had just resumed importing this year.
“Mmm. Fragrant.”
It had been a long time since the Viscountess enjoyed such a leisurely cup.
‘Grandmother has changed, too.’
Seraphie recalled the first time she had met the Viscountess here.
A woman who had once let everything go and departed now found hope to cling to and was making a fresh start.
Seraphie, more than anyone, knew well how much courage and effort it took for them both to rise again.
Now, at last, she marveled to see those efforts bear fruit.
Soon, Orkis and Carl entered the parlor. They greeted the Matron and the Viscountess in turn.
“So, are you living here now?”
The Viscountess fixed Orkis with a sharp glare. He met her gaze and nodded frankly.
“She leads such a busy life—it’s only right I lend her my support.”
“Easy words—anyone can say them.”
“I know what worries you.”
Not only to the Viscountess but also to the Matron, Orkis revealed his heart.
“I will be with Seraphie to the very end. Nothing in this relationship will ever harm her.”
“It had better not.”
At last, the Viscountess softened her gaze. The Matron, too, quietly let out a breath of relief.
She turned to Seraphie and, in her own way, peppered her with anxious questions.
“So, are you sleeping all right?”
“I haven’t been sleeping well with all the work, but Kis makes sure I do, even if it’s by force.”
“……”
“Mother, what’s with that face?”
“Uh, by force, you say?”
“N-not what you think, Mother.”
There seemed to be a slight misunderstanding, but Seraphie hurriedly cleared it up, leaving the Matron reassured.
“Then.”
The Viscountess got straight to the point.
“I don’t need you to explain the news.”
The capital’s events had been so momentous and serious that she’d been well informed even while away on her retreat.
“In any case, it seems resting is the last thing on your minds.”
The Viscountess eyed Seraphie and Luni, though her words were not unkind.
She meant to scold them, but seeing the pair looking utterly exhausted—near collapse, by the looks of it—her heart softened instead.
“You’ve worked hard.”
The praise brought sheepish smiles from Seraphie and Luni.
“All the more reason to be careful from here on.”
“Is there anything we can help with?” the Matron of Validus added.
As though waiting for the cue, Seraphie and Luni explained the current workload.
“…My goodness, you lunatics,”
The Viscountess threw up her hands at the overwhelming scale.
“Not even in my youth did I overwork myself like this!”
“Viscountess, really.”
Luni joked, waving the tea import report of the Kea Trading House.
“We run four estates, a trading house, and a commercial building. And the divine-forsaken land is still being mined.”
On top of that, there were preparations for the foundation and numerous other projects—including the inaugural paddleboat venture.
“At this scale, you need to divide up the work.”
The Viscountess gave Seraphie serious advice.
“You can’t handle all of this alone.”
“We have hired quite a few staff…”
“Now’s the time to hand full authority to professional managers or loyal retainers.”
“……”
Seraphie had realized this all along.
Yet, it wasn’t so easily done.
Finding truly capable management was a challenge; trusting them was harder still.
The few she did trust—Luni and the people from the Kea Trading House—were all overworked as it was.
“Well, in any case.”
The Viscountess looked closely at Seraphie.
“We’re here now. For the time being, you can breathe easier.”
“I’ll help as much as I can, too,” the Matron added.
“I even hit the books and studied hard for this. Your grandmother and Miss Batisa taught me a lot.”
“Does that mean you’ll be living here, Mother?”
“I’d like to. Is that all right?”
“Why ask my permission—it’s your house.”
Seraphie grinned.
“In fact, Mother, I was hoping you’d run the foundation. Your name is already listed as director.”
“…What?”
“All you need now is to sign here.”
The Matron of Validus could do nothing but gape in astonishment.
She’d heard of being tricked into buying things, but had never imagined being forced into a job on the spot.
“Congratulations on your new position, Matron!”
Following Luni, everyone applauded her employment.
Led by her daughter, she signed without thinking, her eyes rounded in surprise.
Orkis couldn’t help but think how much his mother-in-law resembled Seraphie.
“Ha ha, a bit of a shock, wasn’t it?”
Carl could certainly relate to how the Matron felt.
“I became captain of the Iris Knights just a few days ago myself.”
“And you think that’s the same thing?”
The Viscountess huffed at that, incredulous.
This rare family reunion was full of warmth and laughter.
“Now that you mention it,” the Viscountess proposed,
“Why not host a ball?”
“A ball?”
Seraphie’s eyes widened.
“…Me? Here?”
“Or should we hold it out in the street?”
For a moment, Luni thought an outdoor ball might be nice, but she bit her tongue, reading the room.
“But… is it really the right time—”
Seraphie hadn’t ignored that aspect, either.
True, the very busyness of Validus was proof of their extraordinary growth. Holding a ball to showcase this seemed a good idea.
Yet, with the Vagrosa family ruined and the Earl of Typhaeon arrested, flaunting wealth with a lavish event required caution.
“Not long ago, His Majesty donated the entire autumn ball budget to charity. Our foundation received a portion, too.”
“All the more reason you should host one,” said the Viscountess, adjusting her glasses.
“A party just for pleasure would bring criticism, but if the ball’s proceeds went to promote the foundation and collect donations, it would be perfectly acceptable.”
“Hm…”
Still uncertain, Seraphie glanced at Orkis.
“…It’s not a bad idea,” he said, agreeing with the Viscountess.
“The intent couldn’t be better. Of course, the event’s purpose will mean extra care to decor and food and so on.”
Still, if all proceeds were transparently accounted for, the ball could only reflect well on Seraphie as host and the nobles who donated.
“Very well.”
After a moment’s consideration, Seraphie nodded.
“My very first ball.”
There was, ever so slightly, a flutter in her heart.
“Oh my, a ball?”
Batisa, visiting the mansion the next day, responded enthusiastically to the charity ball idea.
“You’re organizing it yourself? May I look forward to it?”
“I’ve never hosted one—I’m not sure I can.”
“But you have the Viscountess and the Matron to help, don’t you? These things only get easier the more you do them.”
Batisa cheered her on with pure-hearted encouragement, clenching her fists with determination.
Thanks to that unadulterated goodwill, Seraphie was able to ease some of the tension that had crept into her heart.
“By the way, you said you’d be here yesterday…”
“Oh, that….”
Batisa averted her gaze, twirling a lock of her short hair around her finger.
Seraphie noticed her brown hair had grown quite a bit since the seaside.
“To tell the truth…”
Batisa hesitated.
“My parents scolded me…”
“What—why—”
Fresh from a long trip, why would her one and only daughter be scolded upon homecoming?
Perplexed, Seraphie waited as Batisa explained.
“It was because of the hair I sent before.”
“…Pardon?”
Seraphie unwittingly repeated the question.
Batisa covered her face with both hands and mumbled in a tiny voice. Through her hair, her rounded ears were flushed red.
“I’d cut it short, and it just seemed a shame to waste all that hair…. So, as a sign I was getting along, I sent the cut hair to the capital—but my parents were furious.”
Ahh…
Seraphie remembered the story she’d heard from Marquess Castane.
It had been mentioned at the Count Loria family’s funeral.
“……”
As soon as she allowed herself to think of ‘Count Loria’, Seraphie’s expression darkened.
But she quickly masked it, forcing a wan smile.
“I heard the Countess fainted because of that.”
“That’s why I got scolded. Both of my parents lost their minds, saying I must have lost my common sense along with my hair….”
Batisa cringed from the memory; her ears were still burning.
“And…”
Batisa lowered her voice and her expression grew grim.
“That man…”
She meant the heir of Vagrosa.
“I heard what happened to him?”
“So I’m told.”
“My father says that bastard tried to…”
“He was heading for the Consilium, intending to kill me.”
“……”
Instead of replying, Batisa squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists.
Were she in the capital, she’d have easily guessed the man meant to kill her.
“Some people never change.”
“They rarely do.”
“It breaks my heart.”
The emotion Batisa felt was not the compassion of mourning, but something rawer.
“…That bastard, feels like he just crawled out of some godforsaken pit.”
Seraphie’s jaw dropped.