Chapter 353 Her Name Is Margaret Grantchester
When Sara visited the guest room where Marg and the others were staying, Thomashiina peeked out from inside and guided Sara into the room. Wanting to greet them properly, Sara used magic to create a flow of wind around herself like a mask.
Marg and Millie still had a slight fever and were lying in bed. Thanks to being full, Millie had fallen asleep again.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sara Grandchester. I'm the owner of this tower."
Sara paused for a moment and elegantly curtsied. Seeing this, Marg hurriedly tried to get up from bed, but Thomashiina held her back.
"Just stay in bed. I heard your fever hasn't completely gone down yet."
"But I can't be rude to someone from the Grandchester family!"
"Margaret, you are a Grandchester too, aren't you?"
"!!"
Marg shot up from bed, standing protectively in front of Millie and glaring at Sara. While her attitude was brave, there was clear fear in her eyes.
"Marg, even if you were once the daughter of Viscount Radford, I won't make you pay for your parents' sins."
"I won't be fooled!"
"The one who deceived you was Chizen. That person tricked the naive Mrs. Viscount and tried to make her Baron Raska's mistress. You remember escaping from Baron Raska's villa, right?"
"Raska? I remember that toad."
"Then it should be clear who the bad guy is, right?"
Sara glanced at Thomashiina and forcefully lifted Marg back to bed.
"Hey! I can get back by myself!"
"Listen to me. Last night, both you and Millie had high fevers and were tossing and turning. If your condition gets worse, Adam, who risked his life to help you, will be sad."
"That's right! Is Adam okay? He was really hurt. I wanted to help him, but I was too scared to do anything."
"Adam is fine. All his injuries are healed with healing magic. Besides, if you had gone out, there would have been 2 injured people instead. I'm glad you stayed calm."
Sara stood between Marg and Millie's beds and smiled gently.
"Don't waste Adam's feelings for wanting to help you."
"Why would he come alone to such a dangerous place just to help us..."
"He said you were his friends."
"I knew he wasn't just some rich kid. I thought he might be a noble's son. But why would he be friends with kids from the slums?"
"You should ask Adam directly. I don't know."
Sara pulled a chair closer and sat down, lightly patting Millie's stomach. Millie's face was still red, but she didn't seem to be in discomfort. Sara turned back to Marg.
"You are the daughter of the late Sir Arthur, right?"
"You know that well. That's correct."
"My mother said that Sir Arthur was her first love."
"I see. Then you must have already suspected Adam's true identity, right? It's hard to believe that the daughter of Viscount Radford wouldn't know the names of the local nobles."
"I thought he was probably Sir Adam, the eldest son of the Young Marquis."
"You were pretending not to know."
"Adam was hiding it himself, and I was scared of being asked how I knew."
"If you were scared of being caught, you wouldn't have revealed that you were the child of a embezzler in the first place. At least you believed that Adam wouldn't accuse you, right?"
"Yeah... Adam said he would keep quiet."
"But you didn't reveal your status, did you?"
"I was pretending to be a boy, and with my hair cut so short, there's no way I could say I was a Viscount's daughter."
Marg quietly looked away from Sara. There were faint tears in her eyes.
"I heard you were aiming to be a bureaucrat?"
"Yeah. I wanted to become a bureaucrat and marry Millie off to a good family."
"Is that why you dressed as a boy?"
"This was because my mother said... girls are easy targets. Millie was also planning to cut her hair when she got a bit older."
Sara can't help but feel the naivety of a former noble in a situation like this.
"Listen, Marg... there are all kinds of people in the world. Your face is very beautiful, so some might even prefer a boy, or think a boy is better. I think you needed to hide not just your boyish disguise, but that pretty face of yours too. The Grandchester family has so many beautiful people, it's like they're cursed or something."
Marg looked back at Sara with a puzzled expression.
"Sara, it's amazing you can say that when you don't even look at yourself."
"I'm not unaware. I'm a Grandchester too."
"My father's looks were pretty low on the Grandchester scale. He was thinning on top."
"Huh, I heard Grandchesters don't go bald."
"He said, 'I'm not bald, just a little thin on top.' Even though they could see his scalp, the servants worked hard every day to style his hair in a fluffy back. I guess my grandmother's and great-grandmother's blood was stronger than the Grandchester line."
"So, Marg, you inherited your mother's beauty. You're really stunning. I wonder how she survived in the slums."
"She hid her face with bangs. By the way, Sara, even though you're shorter than me, you seem oddly mature."
"I'm the daughter of the third son who ran away from the main family, so I'm a commoner. Thanks to my parents' business, I was greeting customers from a young age. Plus, after my mom and dad died, I was almost starving."
"Hmm. So you've had your share of tough times."
Actually, that wasn't the whole story, but Sara thought it was a decent explanation for now.
"Well, because of that, I think I understand your difficult situation a bit."
"But Sara, your parents weren't criminals..."
"Actually, the embezzlement case isn't very well known. If it got out that they overlooked embezzlement for years and let the criminal escape, it would raise questions about the lord's management ability. Of course, we've reported it secretly to the royal family, and we've already filed the corrected tax returns, but since it hasn't been publicly announced, only a very limited number of people know about this crime."
"Is that how it is?"
"Yeah. So, we won't go out of our way to catch the family of the embezzler and make a big fuss, and your honor as sisters shouldn't be seriously damaged. Of course, some people might say something if they know, but if someone talks too much despite the Grandchester family keeping quiet, that would be more of a problem, right?"
"Even though so many bureaucrats disappeared at once..."
"Well, it seems like they're trying to make it look like 'the lord decided the bureaucrats were useless and fired them all.' So, your father will be treated as a governor who was dismissed for causing damage to the territory by mistake. Since the damage was really big, it feels like he's giving up his title and personal wealth to the main family."
Hearing Sara's words, Marg started to cry big tears from both eyes.
"That's... So, that means Mother suffered for nothing, got beaten, and just died like that. That's just too cruel."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking about this when you're feeling bad. I wish I could say something comforting, but considering the situation, I think that's probably how it is. No one will blame you for being sad or angry. Raska and Chizen's actions are worse than those of beasts."
Sara gently patted Marg's head as she cried softly.
"Hey, Marg. How about we get revenge on those guys together? I have a grudge against Raska and Chizen too."
"What do you mean?"
"My dad went out for supplies and was attacked by bandits, which is how he died. He took most of our money because he said he had a big deal to handle, so all we had left was our home. You might think it's better than nothing, Marg, but my mom had to start working at a bakery to buy food and firewood every day. The pay was really low, so we had to live by sharing leftover bread. During that time, my mom was approached about becoming Baron Raska's mistress. Raska told my mom, 'Chizen is a corrupt merchant who wants to sell you and your daughter. Come to my mansion, and I will protect you'."
"Wow, that's such a low move. But she refused, right?"
"My mom did refuse. But it was tough to get by just with the bakery, and we didn't even have enough money to buy firewood when it got cold."
Marg, who felt like this was her own story, listened seriously to Sara.
"So what happened next?"
"My mom prioritized me even over food, and because of that, she collapsed first. That meant we completely lost our source of income. I don't know if it was from illness or just being too weak, but she passed away peacefully in her sleep. I was thinking about going with her when my grandfather came to take me away, and that's how I ended up here."
"How old were you then, Sara?"
"I think I was around 7 or 8. I can't remember exactly."
"I see. It must have been really tough for you at such a young age."
"Coming from you, Marg, who lived in the slums, that's something."
The two looked at each other and started to giggle.
"Yeah. But right now, we can still laugh like this. Just that makes me feel like we're better than Raska and Chizen. So, I think the start of our revenge should be to be happy."
"I see. That kind of revenge, huh?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm not that nice, so I'll also do real revenge, okay?"
"What!?"
Sara briefly let out the angry aura she showed in front of Sedrick, even in front of Marg. Marg suddenly felt like the room had frozen, and a strange sound escaped her throat, "Eek!"
"If I scared you, I'm sorry. I just let out a bit of killing intent."
"Please don't do that in front of Millie. She might leak it."
"I'll be careful."
"But why are you so angry? Of course, I think what happened to your mom is terrible, but since she refused, there wasn't any harm, right?"
"My dad was attacked by bandits that Chizen arranged. I think Chizen probably made up the buying story too. They planned it, got close, lured my dad, and killed him. And then Raska is trying to get close to my mom, who can't support herself."
"That's totally a crime!"
"Yeah, it is. And you know, Raska seems to like young daughters too. He has a hobby of having both mother and daughter around."
"Wow, that's gross. That's way too perverted."
Sara let out a quiet sigh and gently took Marg's hand. Since she still had a fever, that hand was warm.
"You still have a fever. Let's talk about this more when you feel better."
"Yeah. That sounds better."
"You sisters are now under the protection of Maiden's Tower. We won't kick you out, and once you get better, we'll help you regain your original status. Also, the medicine you took is a treatment for your fever. It's a new medicine, but it was made by the best alchemist in this country. You'll surely get better soon."
"Thank you, Sara. By the way, when you say Maiden's Tower, you mean that famous mysterious tower protected by the Sophia Merchant Guild's golems, right?"
"Oh, it's famous, huh?"
"I know Miss Cordelia goes in and out of there, and I heard it's a base for setting up a new school. But you said this is your tower, right?"
"Yes, I own Maiden's Tower."
"So, does Lady Sophia come here too?"
'Huh, "Lady Sophia"?'
"Um... Sophia is a commoner, so I don't think you need to call her 'Lady'."
"What are you talking about? To the children in the slums, she is like a goddess. So many lives have been saved by her food distributions with the golems!"
"R-really?"
Sara felt a strange itch on her back as she realized that Sophia was being oddly worshipped without her knowing.
"So, is Sara related to Lady Sophia?"
"Marg, have you ever seen Sophia?"
"No, I haven't. I hope to meet her someday, but she's a busy person..."
"Oh, um... if you stay here, I think you'll meet her eventually."
"Really!?"
"Yeah. In fact, she should be coming by tonight, so I'll introduce you then."
"Yay! Thank you, Sara!"
"If you like Sophia that much, you should work for the Sophia Merchant Guild instead of being a bureaucrat in the future."
"You're silly. It's definitely harder to work for the Sophia Merchant Guild than to become a bureaucrat."
"Is it really that tough?"
"Well, they only hire people with experience. They use golems to handle the simple tasks."
"Now that you mention it, I guess that's true. I'll think about it."
"Why are you the one thinking about it?"
"Uh, um... I wonder why. Haha."
Feeling more and more uncomfortable, Sara quickly left Marg and Millie's room. When she returned to the second floor of the library, she plopped down roughly on the sofa.
"Sara, won't Revi get mad at you for acting like that?"
The voice came from Edward, who had just come out of Adam's room. Rihito was behind him.
"Please keep it a secret."
"It seems that ladies should be careful about their usual behavior. I don't know, though."
"That's true, but... today, let me just be commoner Sara. Meeting Marg and the others made me think of my dad and mom. My heart is a little troubled."
"...I see. Then I'll let it slide this time."
After saying that, Edward quietly sat down next to Sara and gently patted her head.
"Hehe. Your way of patting is just like Dad's."
"Well, we're brothers. Rob probably pats the same way."
"But Father is more of a hugger than a patter."
"Haha. He's been a spoiled one since he was little. He clings to you, Sara."
Sara confirmed that Rihito had sat down on the sofa across from her, and then her childlike expression faded away.
"Should I ask about Adam's situation?"
"Yeah."
"Then, let's continue in my room, both of you."
Edward and Rihito nodded and stood up. Considering Sara's short arms and legs, Edward picked her up.
"Uncle Edward, are you just being nice?"
"It's just easier to move like this, but... it seems I'll be relying on Sara from now on."
"I see. Let's hear what you have to say."
And so, the 3 of them moved to Sara's room.
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