[Chapter 57] May the Wind Be at Your Back

[To the esteemed Trued,

May the wind be at your back, and may your household be peaceful.

We have attached the information about the property you requested.

Sedona Agricultural Cooperative]

[To the great employer,

I understand that sending a letter to this address will ensure it reaches you. Sedona is next to Katon. Thank you for finding a property that meets my conditions and for providing detailed information about the house and land.

I have many questions about the tone of your letter, but I'll ask them in person when the new semester starts, as I don't want this letter to fall into the wrong hands.

Is it okay to move in right away? The report on the field says that I need to start managing it immediately if I want to plant something next year.

Neris Trued]

[To the even greater Trued,

The first letter wasn't sent by me, but by my subordinate. What was the tone of the letter? Never mind, I'll ask him myself.

I made arrangements for you to move in right away, as I thought you'd want to. Hallogras is a specialty of Rantville, but it's not that expensive. Why did you ask me to find a field to grow it, and even find someone to work on it?

I'm looking forward to seeing what other interesting things you'll do. If you have any more errands, feel free to ask.

Employer]

[To the great Lord Maindorant,

The tone of your second letter suggests that the delivery route is safe.

I thought you sent the first letter that way for security reasons. I'm sure you've already figured out the answer to your question about the tone of the first letter.

It might not be as interesting as you think. But it's your freedom to expect whatever you want.

The person who will be working on the property you found should have arrived by now. You mentioned an errand, so I'll ask: could you please send the attached money to the person who has arrived at the property? Make it look like it's not from Pariher.

I need to pay their wages, but if I send it from Pariher, it'll be too obvious.

Neris Trued]

[To the Trued who doesn't know what the employer is doing,

I've sent a suitable person to deliver the money.

There are a few nobles in Pariher, right? Even if I send the money with the name of the room you're staying in, no one will think that you're the one who hired him and is sending his wages.

The wages of the person working on your field are low, so should I pay them in advance? I can deduct it from your future salary.

Clewin Maindorant]

[To the meddling Lord Maindorant,

[To the meddling Lord Maindorant,

Why are you paying the wages of the person I hired? That's strange. And the amount is unavoidable.

That's because the wages I set are the amount that can be paid continuously. Later, when I make a lot of money selling hallogras, I'll give him a sufficient bonus, so it's okay for now.

And your standards are too high. The wages I set are at a reasonable level compared to the norm.

Neris Trued]

[To the Trued who has a strange sense of what's strange,

It doesn't seem like you're just planning to grow hallogras and sell it. Alright, I won't ask about your business idea.

It seems like our standards for what's strange and what's not are very different.

You think it's okay to buy a house in advance, but not to pay a servant's wages in advance? My subordinate's subordinate is paid from my treasury.

Clewin Maindorant]

[To the seemingly bored Lord Maindorant,

Of course, you would pay the wages of your subordinate's subordinate, as they were hired to better carry out your orders.

But my worker was hired for my personal purposes.

What about the house and land? Since I'm your subordinate, it's not strange to think that I'll receive my wages in advance, considering I might live there in the future.

Something strange happened in the castle recently. Tomi Hillison is Anagara's cousin.

That despicable kid seemed to be trying to do something to our mom's, the Lady of Pariher's, clothes, but when we checked, everything was fine. Did you take care of it?

It seems like the Hillison couple didn't know anything, and Tomi had received a letter and some cheap toys from Anagara.

I was going to scold him again, but he was already scared. Thanks for now.

Neris Trued]

[To the Trued who has a unique perspective on the employer's expenses,

Anagara was scolded by her father for her shameful behavior towards her relatives.

She won't be able to show her face for a while. It's unusual for the Marquis of Nain to imply that the existence of your family is uncomfortable for him, even to Wilmoth.

He officially complained at school because his precious daughter was hurt. I suppose that's his pride.

Did you try to return to Rohez quietly because you knew his values?

There are many snakes here, so your natural insight will come in handy.

Clewin Maindorant]

[To the already capable Lord Maindorant,

I hope you'll grow up quickly, Trued. We can't have you deal with the elders of the ducal family as a child.

Clewin Maindorant]

[To the seemingly capable Lord Maindorant,

I haven't been able to write letters for a while because the McKinnon family came to visit. Diane has been calling me to her room from morning till night, so I haven't had time to read or write letters.

I'm sneaking out now, while everyone is asleep, to find a place with light to write this letter.

If I get caught, I'll be mistaken for a thief. But I'm sure one of your subordinates is watching me, so they'll take care of it.

I don't have natural insight. That's something you or Diane have. I just work hard.

I don't know what the elders of the ducal family are like, but I'm sure you'll handle them well. I know you will.

Neris Trued]

[To the employer who hasn't responded,

Did your previous letter get lost?

Neris Trued]

[To the dear Trued,

Our lord is concerned that there was a long gap between your previous letter and this one. I am writing to inform you of the situation.

Our lord is currently attending to matters that are difficult to express in writing.

We are worried that you may be affected, so we ask that you refrain from sending letters for a while.

Sedona Agricultural Cooperative]

[Neris,

Are you doing well? Is the Lady of Pariher treating you well?

You said that deciding to stay at school for summer vacation was a good decision, but honestly, the only people who stay at school during this time are the most boring teachers.

It may sound ridiculous coming from a theology student, but it's true. Theology students don't like boredom either. We're human, after all.

Remember when I told you that my servant, Dogon, went missing on his way to our uncle's house?

So, Adams and Birk priests took care of my affairs for a while, but recently, Birk was defrocked. He was a kind person, and it's unfortunate.

I've never been to Pariher, but a guy in our grade went there last year.

It seems like Pariher is a well-known vacation spot for the Vistar nobles. I'm glad you're having a cool summer.

Speaking of that guy, I heard rumors that he's in a pretty dangerous situation.

[To the dear Neris,

Are you doing well? Is the Lady of Pariher treating you well?

You said that deciding to stay at school for summer vacation was a good decision, but honestly, the only people who stay at school during this time are the most boring teachers.

It may sound ridiculous coming from a theology student, but it's true. Theology students don't like boredom either. We're human, after all.

Remember when I told you that my servant, Dogon, went missing on his way to our uncle's house?

So, Adams and Birk priests took care of my affairs for a while, but recently, Birk was defrocked. He was a kind person, and it's unfortunate.

I've never been to Pariher, but a guy in our grade went there last year.

It seems like Pariher is a well-known vacation spot for the Vistar nobles. I'm glad you're having a cool summer.

Speaking of that guy, I heard rumors that he's in a pretty dangerous situation.

Don't contact him, no matter what. You're too kind and might get involved in something strange.

I know you have a tendency to help those who seem pitiful, but the people you help, including me, aren't really pitiful. We can all take care of ourselves.

Don't put yourself in danger out of sympathy, got it?

Especially that guy, I saw him that day, and he was still alive despite losing a lot of blood. I was surprised while treating him.

I heard rumors that he's hard to kill, and it seems to be true. He'll probably take care of himself this time too.

Oh, the bell is ringing again. I regret signing up for scripture reading this summer. It's so boring. I hope your summer is more enjoyable.

Have fun and eat well, kid.

That's all for now.

Ren]

Neris tilted her head, unsure of what image she had in Ren's mind.

She didn't know how to respond. Should she say, "Yes, I'll eat well and have fun"? Or "You're still young, so have fun too"?

Ren was worried that Neris would get involved in some unexpected accident, but he was thinking unnecessarily.

Neris wasn't a saint who would recklessly help those who seemed pitiful. On the contrary, she was a villain who would surprise Ren if he knew her true nature.

So, when she helped others, she did it carefully and calculatedly.

It was actually Clewin who was the meddling one.

Despite being called a cruel monster by Abellus, Clewin was helping Neris's mother, who was living peacefully far away.

It was clear that Clewin was a good person to have, considering he even celebrated the birthday of a 1st-grade kid.

The exchange of letters between Clewin and Neris, which had been frequent and creative, had stopped for about a month now.

Neris wondered what was going on, but she couldn't understand why the letters had stopped.

Neris thought that something was off, judging from the content of the last letter she received from Clewin. And now, with Ren's warning, it seemed like the situation was more serious than she thought.

Neris wasn't too worried about Clewin, though. In her past life, he had lived a normal life until he became an adult.

However, since Neris had intervened and changed some minor details, she was a bit concerned.

Just a little.

Because if he died, it would be a problem.

Neris's fingers tapped on the desk where Ren's letter lay, making a few sharp noises.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to tear up Ren's letter. She then shredded it into small pieces and put them in a cup of water that she had brought to her room earlier.

The paper slowly sank into the water, and the writing became illegible.

In the winter, she could have just thrown the letter into the fireplace, but in the summer, she had to dispose of it in a more complicated way. She didn't want to waste firewood unnecessarily.

"Lady Neris."

The voice of the castle's housekeeper came from outside, calling Neris. Neris responded in a calm and emotionless tone.

"Yes."

"Your mother is calling for you."

The housekeeper was a commoner, but she had been a high-ranking employee and had known the Lord and Lady since they were young. She had a certain air about her.

Neris, who was a guest in the castle, also used polite language when speaking to her.

"I understand."

Neris poured the water out the window and carelessly threw the shredded paper into the trash. She then left her room with the same calm expression she had always shown since arriving at Pariher.