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IBP 58
“Little one? What are you doing there?”
In the center of the Duke's mansion, there is a beautifully decorated small plaza.
I was sitting in front of the plaza's fountain, watching the people passing by.
They would each toss a word to me, asking what I was doing, and I always gave the same answer.
“Ah, I'm waiting for Lord Belief.”
“Pardon? B-Belief? You mean the Lord Belief who stays in the cottage?”
...A hundred times out of a hundred, they responded with rotten expressions.
‘Everyone must be scared because Lord Belief doesn't talk much and always has a fierce look on his face.’
But he's just a capable country uncle with low self-esteem...
That's why I prepared something.
“He's finally moved up to the mansion! From now on, he's going to do fun things with me!”
As if spoken of, Belief Ardos appeared gloomily behind my back.
The servants and knights who had been busily crossing the plaza looked at each other with bewildered expressions.
Everyone looked terrified that Belief might cause some sort of accident already.
But I could see it.
‘Teacher Belief, his self-esteem just dropped a bit...’
I turned to the passing valets, maids, servants, and handmaidens, speaking with an exaggeratedly proud air.
“The reason my animal affinity has developed so much is all thanks to Lord Belief here helping me.”
“...Pardon?”
“My teacher has been misunderstood, but he's actually a very wonderful person. He's a buff-type ability user, and he teaches me very meticulously.”
“Uh... Lord Belief Ardos is indeed a buff-type ability user, but...”
The servants and handmaidens glanced at Belief, who stood gloomily behind me in silence. They were surely recalling the legends of Belief's days as a degenerate.
Moreover, perhaps due to his long life in the cottage, Belief spoke well in one-on-one relationships but seemed awkward standing before a crowd.
So, I decided to make him happy in the way a puppy would.
I let out a loud, sharp whistle.
Then, flocks of birds began to fly toward my shoulder from afar.
It was a magnificent sight as beautiful birds of various colors flew in and filled the plaza.
“I heard the little one's supernatural ability was animal af-affinity, but...”
“To think she could control this many animals.”
Looking at the birds gathering around me, I beamed.
If the development of an ability is visually apparent, the conversation changes.
Especially for ability users who desire to make their power stronger more than anyone else!
“I heard that my teacher is so strong he can turn an ordinary swordsman into a sword expert. I learned from Lord Belief, and that's why my affinity increased so much.”
At those words, several bloodline members passing through the plaza wore intrigued expressions.
Then, they hesitantly approached Belief.
“Um, by any chance, could you provide auxiliary help for swordsmanship abilities...?”
“Of course. I'll have to check, but it is possible.”
“Me too! Please check if I can reach the level of sword expert!”
“...I cannot create something from nothing.”
Too honest!
Still, the love calls are flooding in!
I looked at Belief and the people with sparkling eyes.
After a few dozen minutes passed and the crowd slowly dispersed, Belief looked at me with a touched expression.
“Why that face?”
“...No, it's just that for the first time, I feel like this is a home that truly welcomes me.”
“Ah...”
Hearing that made him seem a bit pitiful.
I patted his shoulder and said,
“From now on, make sure to use your abilities for good things.”
“Yes, I should.”
“But you absolutely cannot just give them away for free! Got it?”
“Right. I will only give complete teachings to one single disciple.”
“Hehe.”
“As for others, I will only provide auxiliary help.”
That would be enough to keep Lucrezia's priests at bay.
“...Thank you, Coco.”
As he grinned, I felt strangely reassured.
‘Now then, it's about time...’
I scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Sure enough, I saw a maid of Lucrezia, who had been watching the plaza, hurriedly leaving the scene.
* * *
“What? Why did Belief Ardos suddenly appear?!”
At Lucrezia's rage-filled words, the maid hurriedly bowed her head.
“My lady, the entire capital is in an uproar. Since Lord Belief's supernatural ability is top-tier, people heard that he is providing help with ability development, even if only to a very small extent, and so...”
“What?”
A valet standing beside her added,
“Even though he's not taking disciples and only transferring a tiny fraction, they say it's far more impressive than the priests...”
“What are the priests doing?”
“T-That is. They went to watch because they heard Lord Belief's ability is amazing...”
“You bunch of stupid, lazy fools!”
Glaring at the maid, she muttered through clenched teeth.
“Get out.”
She had effectively lost face.
‘My private funds are empty, damn it!’
How much money had she spent poking around to bring a buff-type priest into the family!
“Lord Belief Ardos has returned, my lady!”
Belatedly, a young priest ran breathlessly toward Lucrezia.
“...Ha!”
She had simply wasted money and turned Duke Ardos into an enemy for nothing.
“W-What should we do?”
“What do you mean 'what should we do'? ...For now, we must withdraw.”
She ground her teeth.
Her own daughter was rotting away in a convent.
‘It means I have no utility value.’
To catch his eye again, Theresia had to prove her usefulness, whether through a marriage business or otherwise.
‘Or perhaps he will look at us mother and daughter again if something else disappears.’
Whether by chance or design, if she could get rid of not only Coco, who blocked her path, but also Chloe.
“That will do.”
“Pardon?”
“The social season is coming soon, so we just need to regroup and prepare again.”
Chloe, a time bomb on the verge of a berserk state, could never enter the Imperial Palace where precise magic circles were drawn.
Coco, who could not enter society without a godmother because she hadn't reached the required age.
The social season, where those two could be quickly marginalized, was returning.
“And in this social season, I intend to stir up something quite interesting.”
It might become an event where the very survival of one's fate is at stake.
She murmured to the maid.
“Bring me Lady Dahlia Melomande.”
Dahlia Melomande.
The one called the flower of the current social scene.
Once a close friend of Chloe, but Dahlia was greedy.
She had a history of coveting Chloe's fiancé.
‘But to me, she is a pawn more useful than anything else.’
Dahlia's supernatural ability was <distortion>.
The power itself wasn't that great, but with a simple gesture, she could completely distort a situation.
Lucrezia scanned her surroundings with a fresh smile.
“I need to have a serious conversation with her. About this upcoming social season.”
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