Chapter 103 A Lively Breakfast
Sara arrived at the breakfast table a bit late, having overslept. There, she found not only Rebecca, but also Robert and Jeffrey seated.
"Good morning. I'm sorry. I overslept a bit."
"Good morning, Ms. Sara. You must have been tired, so don't worry about it."
Rebecca replied with a smile.
"Hehe. I'm glad Miss Rebecca has been spoiling me lately."
"Well, from today on, I'll have to teach you more strictly, won't I?"
"Haha. Sara's a bit of a scaredy-cat, isn't she?"
"Unlike Sir Robert, Milady Sara is a serious person. I don't think she'll have any trouble with something like this."
"Indeed, as Sir Jeffrey said, compared to Rob..."
"Miss Rebecca, it's hard to tell if that's a compliment or not."
"Hahaha. That's true, Ms. Sara."
Rebecca returned a natural smile to Sara, who looked troubled. Robert noticed that Rebecca had been making fewer expressions towards Sara lately.
"When did we return, Miss Rebecca?"
"We came back last night, but I heard Sara fell asleep during dinner, so I thought I'd greet her at breakfast."
"Oh, yeah I'm sorry, I was rude."
"It's okay. You're still only 8 years old, after all."
Robert and Jeffrey also put down their utensils and wore serious expressions.
"We think we've been too hard on you, Sara. We're sorry."
"We apologize for the trouble we've caused you with our lack of ability, milady."
Sara, who had been deeply bowed to by the two men, hastily put down her own utensils.
"Please, both of you, look up. And instead of apologizing, couldn't you praise me instead? I think I did a pretty good job!"
Robert and Jeffrey looked at each other, and the next moment, they burst out laughing.
"Hahaha. You're right, Sara! You did a great job. It's a shame it wasn't official, but it's still a remarkable achievement."
"Yes, it's a shame it was unofficial, but I think it's a great accomplishment."
"Then, may I ask for a reward from you two?"
The two men's laughter stopped abruptly.
"A, a reward?"
"Yes."
"From me too?"
"Of course! I think I have been doing a great job for the knights, don't you?"
"T-that's true..."
Everyone was smiling, but a strange tension filled the air.
"First, I'd like to ask you, Uncle."
"What is it?"
"Please give the merchant guild the rights to the book you wrote as a hobby. We'll print and sell it."
"Ms. Sara! That's not okay."
Rebecca interrupted, looking worried.
"It's just like Revi said. Sara, you're not ready yet!"
"Was the work you all gave me just kid's stuff? Are you going to treat me like a child only when it's convenient? If so, I can go over the accounting for the brōtḥel's payment and separate out the part you used, Uncle. By the way, the receipt had the name of the broken flower on it..."
"W-wait, Sara."
Robert turned to Rebecca, who was smiling sweetly, but her eyes weren't laughing at all.
"However, to avoid upsetting my governess, Miss Rebecca, I'll refrain from reading the manuscript myself. Besides, I plan to establish a publishing department, so I'll need to hire an editor separately."
"It's fine if you don't mind, Ms. Sara. But is that really the best choice for the first publication?"
"Let's start with something safe, like my piano scores."
"That sounds good. But I'd like to take a look at the accounting later, if you don't mind."
"It was a decent amount of money, so an audit might be necessary."
Next, Sara turned to Jeffrey.
"My request for you, Sir Jeffrey, is to arrange for a horseback riding and sword fighting instructor. I want you to teach me, not Sophia."
"That's what we agreed on at Baron Walt's estate, but..."
"Yes. And if possible, could you also teach Miss Rebecca?"
Jeffrey suddenly burst out laughing, as if he couldn't help it.
"Hahahaha. No, it's no use, Revi. I don't think I can keep it hidden anymore."
"Oh, Sir Jeffrey, you're surprisingly wild with your words, aren't you?"
"Hehe. I think this way of speaking suits Sir Jeffrey better, don't you?"
"Ah, sorry, I just couldn't help it.."
"Anyway, since both uncle and Miss Rebecca are childhood friends, I think it's okay to talk like this. We're not working right now, anyway."
"Yeah, that's true. It makes me feel more at ease too."
Jeffrey gave Sara a sly smile, and it was so charming that Sara's heart skipped a beat.
"You're finally acting like yourself, Jeffrey."
"By the way, what did you mean by 'can't keep it hidden'?"
Jeffrey glanced at Robert before starting to talk.
"Revi has been secretly taking sword lessons from me. Both her parents and Robert were against it, but Arthur was on Revi's side."
"What?! So, all those times you and Arthur would sneak out together, you were going to take sword lessons from him?!"
"Yeah, that's right, Robert. Arthur was more talented than you, and Revi's stronger than you too."
"Ugh..."
"You two brothers Robert and Arthur, were really bad at sword fighting, weren't you? Uncle (William) was always lamenting about it."
"Shut up!"
'So, does that mean Miss Rebecca doesn't need to learn sword fighting?'
"Milady Sara is... well, since you're my cousin, I guess it's okay to call you by your first name in this setting?"
"Yes, please do. Since I'm calling uncle by his first name, it would be weird if I didn't do the same for you."
"Alright, I will. So, Sara, what kind of sword fighting do you want to learn?"
"I think it would be hard for me to wield heavy swords, so maybe something like a rapier or a short sword?"
"You're saying the same thing as Revi."
"Well, as a woman, it's not like I can build up too much muscle or I won't be able to fit into dresses."
"That's true. Being a woman is tough."
"So, which one did Miss Rebecca choose?"
Then, Jeffrey burst out laughing again.
"Revi was greedy, so she didn't choose just one."
"What do you mean?"
"She's a dual-wielder!"
"Wowww, that's so cool!!!"
Back in Sarasa's time, she went to watch a friend's kendo match, and she saw someone fighting with 2 swords.
'I think one of them was holding a shorter shinai... I think there was a rule that one couldn't do it until you were an adult. Does that mean it's hard?'
"Hehe, actually, it's not so much about fighting with both swords, but more like using one to deflect. Ms. Sara."
"It's a style of swordsmanship that's strong on defense. I can only teach the basics, though."
"Anyway, I've already been found out, so I might as well get trained too."
'I really want to see Miss Rebecca's dual swords!'
"Ugh, Jeff always gets the good stuff. Sara, if it were horseback riding, I could teach you too!"
"Rob... sorry, but Ms. Sophia is better at horseback riding than you."
"Then there's no need to learn!"
"Ah, but I want to be able to fight while riding a horse! And I want to be able to use magic freely even while on horseback."
"Rob, you're not good at either swords or magic. You can't do it."
"I don't have anything going for me! Even when it comes to brains, Sara is better than me... wait, but when it comes to looks, aren't I better than Jeff?"
"Ah, sorry, Uncle. I prefer Sir Jeffrey. But, Uncle, you have talent as a writer, don't you? You have fans like Mr. Ben!"
"That doesn't make me happy at all ."
Robert slumped his shoulders in disappointment.
"I'm happy, though. Anyway, Sara, I've only loved one woman, my late wife, and you're just like her when I was young."
"We won't know until we meet, right? Plus, I think your son is 13 years old? I'm only 8 years old, so people might think I'm just a babysitter!"
"There's no way anyone wouldn't fall for a beautiful girl like Sara. I'll never let Sara marry you, no matter what."
"Stupid uncle, you're being ridiculous. Don't take Jeff's jokes seriously."
Rebecca scolded Robert, looking exasperated.
"By the way, have you two (Robert and Jeffrey) finished your work in the hunting ground?"
"My part is almost done, thanks to your proposal, Sara. I've been resolving the complaints of the woodcutters and hunters. The woodcutters were grumbling a bit, but since it's a protected area, they couldn't say much. In the end, we allowed them hunting in the area that was burned by the fire, so both the woodcutters and hunters were satisfied."
"Well, that's a good compromise, I suppose."
"As for me, I'll probably be stuck with paperwork at the knight's headquarters from now on."
"Paperwork is unavoidable, isn't it? Do you hate it?"
"I don't like it, Sara, but I'm not bad at it either."
"Office maids are really convenient, you know?"
"I think so, but it's hard to say if anyone would want to do it in the knight's headquarters."
"It might become a popular workplace, who knows?"
Sara was certain that the knight's headquarters would become a highly competitive workplace. Well, she thought that even if it wasn't just for women, men would probably aim to become bureaucrats instead, so maybe office maids would be the way to go.
"By the way, what happened to that boy who showed magic?"
"Ah, I forgot to tell you. He doesn't have a name."
"No name?"
"Apparently, he was just called 'boy' or something in the mercenary group. They were planning to sell him off, so maybe they didn't even bother giving him a name."
"That's a terrible story."
"So, I asked him if he wanted me to give him a name, and he said 'If it's not too much trouble, I'd like Lady Sophia to give me one.' I think he might have a crush."
'Haaaaaaa!?'
"Wait a minute. Isn't that kid around the same age as Ms. Sara?"
"He's supposedly 10 or 11, but I'm not sure exactly."
"Isn't Ms. Sara's Sophia a bit too old for him?"
"Hmm, boys around that age tend to have a weakness for older sisters. I remember it myself."
"Hmm, I see."
At Jeffrey's words, Rebecca's gaze turned even colder.
"Hmm, since Sophia saw him n*ked and all, maybe she should take responsibility?"
Sara tried to lighten the mood with a joke. However, Jeffrey and Rebecca burst out laughing, but Robert alone became indignant and shouted.
"Come on, Sara's not going to be your wife or anything!"
"Stop it, Uncle, it's just a joke."
"Hey, hey, Rob. There's a limit to how much of a fool you can be, you know?"
Jeffrey tapped Robert's shoulder.
"Uncle, if you keep being so annoying, I'll start to dislike you, okay? I mean, Uncle, why don't you just get married and have kids of your own already?!"
"That's right."
"Aww, Sara, won't you be my daughter?!"
"I'm still thinking about it."
"Hmm, how about you become my adopted daughter, and then you can marry my son in the future? Don't worry, even if my son is no good, I'll make sure you marry well."
"Hehe, that's a tempting offer, but Uncle, you're really going to cry, aren't you?"
"Yeah, definitely."
"Ms. Sara...you've got a really troublesome uncle, haven't you? I feel for you from the bottom of my heart."
"That's really true, Miss Rebecca."
And after the 3 of them (excluding Robert) laughed for a bit, the 4 of them finished breakfast and promised to head to Jeffrey's house in the afternoon.
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