Chapter 7
"Why did you go to the forest? And what happened to your hand?"
"Ah…"
Noah's face paled at my question.
"I just went in by myself."
"You went into the forest for no reason and stayed there until night? And your hand got hurt like that?"
"Y-yeah. Yeah."
I narrowed my eyes.
But even at my glare, Noah only avoided my gaze and kept his lips tightly shut like a clam.
For whatever reason, he was trying to hide the person who tormented him. But I had no intention of letting it go.
When it was time, Noah showed up at the small training grounds.
After eating, resting in Carpe's annex, and changing into clean clothes, Noah was feeling pretty good, all things considered.
'This is still so surreal.'
Eating with Lady Carpe... I mean, it was just tea and cake, but it was still awesome.
'I wonder how long I can stay in the annex?'
I was hoping to stay as long as possible.
Maybe if I showed them how much I'd learned as a charity case, they'd let me.
'I've got to hit the books for that to happen.'
That's when Noah steeled himself.
"You're here early."
"Sir."
Baron Colben, who seemed like a nice guy, gave him a big smile.
He was the swordsmanship instructor Carpe had assigned to Noah.
There were other teachers, too, but they all bailed when Carpe started ignoring Noah. Only Baron Colben remained.
"I heard you were in the forest until late last night. Swinging a wooden sword isn't rocket science, so what took you so long?"
"Well..."
No matter how simple swinging a wooden sword was, doing it a thousand times was like torture, especially for a kid.
Colben just clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed.
"You didn't tell Lady Carpe about me, did you?"
Noah nodded his head slightly.
Colben was satisfied.
"Good. It's not my fault you were punished for screwing up your book errand. Alright, let's get started."
"Yes."
"Before that."
Colben's eyes gleamed slyly.
"Hand over the lesson fee first."
Noah's face paled.
"That earring from Lady Carpe you brought before wasn't enough. You brought something better this time, right? I gave you plenty of time."
"..."
When Noah didn't answer, Colben's smile slowly disappeared.
"Don't tell me you showed up empty-handed. You're not saying you don't want swordsmanship lessons, are you?"
"N-no! I want to... I want to take lessons."
Colben crossed his arms and let out a feigned sigh.
"I've told you a million times. Lady Carpe hasn't paid me a dime in ages. If you don't cough up the lesson fee, I can't teach you anything."
"..."
That was a lie.
Even now, Baron Colben's salary was being paid under Carpe's name.
Baron Colben had just gotten hooked on the extra cash he was making from ripping off the kid.
But Noah was clueless about all this.
"If you don't want to end up back at the orphanage, you've got to make yourself useful. Even if Lady Carpe dumps you, I can put in a good word for you with the Little Marquis."
"...I don't want to touch Lady Carpe's things anymore."
"What?"
'What's with this kid, suddenly growing a backbone?' Colben, annoyed, tried to strong-arm him.
"Oh yeah? So you're going to bring me something of Little Marquis Caiman's instead?"
"…!"
Little Marquis Caiman was about to become Marquis Opensa. He was way out of the league of a charity case like Noah.
When Noah didn't say anything, Colben gave him a smug pat on the shoulder.
"Good. At least you know your place."
"..."
"Anyway, Lady Carpe's going to be out of here soon. A loser from the main line can't stick around."
Colben kept going on and on about bringing him Carpe's valuables.
But Noah, head down, was now thinking different thoughts.
Sure, he'd been scared of Carpe and even hated her a little. He still felt some of that.
But she was the only one who'd come to get him from the scary forest.
And the first person he'd ever eaten with.
Thinking about that, he just couldn't keep doing what he'd been doing.
'…Maybe…'
Noah's eyes darted towards the main building. That's where Little Marquis Caiman's room was.
While Noah was gone, I called for the burly maid.
"Maid, give me the details."
"R-right…"
The burly maid looked rather rough.
Proof that she'd been working hard to find out why Noah had gone to the forest.
"Three servants knew Noah went to the forest."
I took the list and report from the maid.
It was a bit sloppy, probably because she wasn't used to this kind of thing, but it had all the important information.
"Did those jerks confess?"
"No. Other servants ratted them out. Those three denied it, even when I told them it was Lady Carpe's order…"
'Are these guys nuts?'
Instead of feeling bad about leaving a kid in the forest, they're probably badmouthing me for making them search.
"And here's some extra dirt…"
"What is it?"
"Those gifts you've been sending Noah anonymously? Those three servants have been stealing them."
"Seriously?"
My eyebrows shot up, and the maid's burly shoulders hunched.
"They devoured everything and only gave the kid the cards…"
"You've got to be kidding me."
I was seriously fuming. But the most important question still remained.
"Were those guys the ones who sent Noah to the forest too?"
The servants abandoned Noah in the forest. But the one who initially pushed Noah into the forest could have been someone else.
'That guy's probably the one who messed up Noah's hand.'
Sneaky bullying, and Noah just taking it. This wasn't a one-time deal.
The maid answered.
"Those three shady servants definitely knew something… but they wouldn't spill. I'm sorry."
"Tsk tsk. What good are those muscles if you can't even use them?"
whimpers
Anyway, the task became clear.
It was to pressure those cocky servants and find out who the real bad guy was.
"Let's go."
"Where are we going?"
I gave a fierce smile.
"We need some leverage to take down these guys who think they can walk all over us."
Carpe tried all sorts of things to fix her mana problem.
Some of it was straight-up illegal potions.
That night, after getting my hands on the goods, I sent another anonymous gift to the servants' quarters where Noah used to be.
The servants' quarters were dead quiet since everyone was busy with their morning chores. A few guys walked in.
"Ugh, I'm beat."
"Heard that Noah kid's living it up in the annex with the witch now?"
"Damn. So no more goodies coming for that kid?"
The three servants, practically drooling, stopped in front of the mail area.
"Huh? This came for Noah?"
"Really?"
It was an anonymous package for Noah. Looks like even the crazy 'Supreme Blonde Fairy' didn't know Noah had moved out overnight.
"Score! Free food!"
The servants ripped into the package like it was theirs.
Inside were some fancy desserts they could barely afford even if they splurged.
"Whoa, jackpot again!"
"Who the hell is sending this stuff to a little nobody? I'm so jealous."
"Who cares? It's all ours now. Hehe."
They devoured various breads and cakes.
They were a bit bummed they couldn't just dump the leftovers on Noah's bed like before.
"Ah, I'm stuffed, and my throat's parched."
"Here's some water."
"Thank… huh?"
A woman's voice?
The surprised servant whipped around, and BAM! He got a face full of water.
"Ptoo! Phoo!"
"What!? Cough cough."
The other two, just as shocked, choked, their dry throats constricted, and stared at the intruder.
All three of them froze.
It was the last person they expected to see.
Carpe, with her honey-blonde hair flowing down, gave them a sweet smile.
"Hello, scumbags."
"L-Lady Carpe!"
Carpe, gracefully, dropped the empty glass and looked at the empty box.
"You guys really pigged out, even though none of it was yours."
"Yes? W-well, that…"
Servant 1, the quickest of the bunch, started sweating bullets.
"The 'Supreme Blonde Fairy'... was Lady Carpe?"
"What?"
The other servants were also shocked.
When Carpe simply nodded, they knew they were screwed.
"P-please have mercy!"
"Should I, now?"
Carpe was still smiling, but her eyes were like ice.
"You guys know who sent Noah to the forest, right?"
"W-what?"
"Threats? Bribes? What was it?"
"We have no idea what you're talking about! We don't know anything!"
Carpe played with her fingernails.
"I don't give a damn about the reason. Just tell me who."
"We swear, we don't know anything…!"
"Ten seconds. The first one to spill the beans lives. The other two are out on their asses."
"What?!"
"You guys are drowning in gambling debts, right? Better watch yourselves."
Carpe gave them a feigned, sympathetic smile.
'She's already dug up dirt on us!'
It was a trap, and they'd walked right into it. The servants realized it too late.
"10."
Carpe started counting down.
"9… 8…"
The servants exchanged nervous glances.
They'd only started hanging out to take their frustrations with Carpe out on Noah. There was no loyalty between them.
"6… 5…"
Besides, even though Carpe was on the outs, she could still easily fire a couple of servants as long as she hadn't been tossed out yet.
"2… 1."
"I-I'll talk!"
And just like that, one of them cracked.
