The Grand Duke's Maid Writes a Consultation Log Today - Chapter 8
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Maid of the Grand Ducal House Writes a Counseling Log Today – Episode 008
“There is no point if you go home.”
“That’s…… true.”
Yulias tilted his head. His eyes seemed to ask why she was hesitating when she already knew.
It wasn’t a wrong statement, but hearing it put that way felt strangely peculiar.
Elysia shook off her awkward feelings and smiled.
“If anything happens, make sure to tell Hilmaiten first.”
“Understood.”
As Yulias left, Joshua, who was by her side, looked up at her.
“Is the Grand Duke busy?”
“Yes. He looked incredibly busy.”
Elysia recalled the documents piled up in his office.
Anyone could see it was an amount that couldn’t possibly be processed in a single day. Is being a Grand Duke a position where one must always dispatch that much work?
“Then when does he rest?”
“Well…… I’m not really sure either.”
Doesn’t he sleep? Still, a person needs to sleep to be able to work.
Elysia smiled and stroked Joshua’s hair.
After returning to the room together, Elysia chatted with Joshua as usual.
“So Uncle Hilmaiten!”
As Joshua led the conversation, the atmosphere was one where Elysia would listen quietly, reply, and ask questions.
And Sheila watched the two of them silently.
She stared blankly while sitting at the desk, looking just like a wary stray cat.
“Oh right! Lady, your hand!!”
Joshua clapped his hands as if he just remembered and looked at Sheila. Their eyes merely met, but the child flinched and drew his shoulders back.
“Lady, did you treat it?”
Elysia and Joshua’s gazes pierced toward Sheila. The girl started, shook her head, and wrote something on a piece of paper on the desk.
[Don’t mind it]
Because it was written quickly, the handwriting was scribbled, but it wasn’t illegible.
Come to think of it, she had never heard her speak directly. Could it be that she didn’t want to speak?
While Elysia looked at the paper, Joshua continued the conversation.
“He gave ointment! Un-cle Hilmaiten gave it to her!”
“Did you apply it too?”
“I don’t need to apply it! Look, look!”
The boisterous atmosphere kept hovering inside the room.
Sheila thought that the harmonious feeling, which she had never felt before, was as warm as a bonfire.
Perhaps exhausted after chattering for a long time, Joshua began to doze off while talking as he lay on the bed.
As Elysia and Sheila fell silent without speaking further, Joshua dropped fast asleep.
Seeing him deeply asleep, Sheila stood up from the desk and opened the room door.
“Good night, Lady.”
When Elysia bid her good night, the child glanced back and left the room without a reply.
Elysia stared at the quietly closed door.
“Does she…… hate speaking?”
While Joshua and she exchanged conversation, Sheila hadn’t uttered a single word.
Though she flinched whenever their eyes met in between, she didn’t avoid the spot either and just watched as if observing.
“Mnn, Sis…….”
As Joshua tossed and turned, Elysia snapped out of it and tucked the blanket over him more meticulously.
After that, she turned off the light, lay down beside him, and fell asleep while looking at Joshua.
* * *
The next day, as soon as she opened her eyes in the early morning, Elysia headed straight home.
She intended to return to the Grand Ducal House before Joshua woke up and looked for her.
Above all, looking at the date, it was certain that they would come looking for her at her house today.
The moment she reached the front door of the shabby house, Elysia paused in catching her breath.
“The door is open…….”
As soon as she realized that fact, a chill ran down her spine. Hurrying to open the door and enter, she saw a familiar face.
“Elysia, I thought you ran away or something.”
A rough-looking man tapped the ledger held in his hand. The inside of the house was already strewn about like a total wreck.
“……Don’t you think you’ve come at too early an hour?”
“The overdue money isn’t just a penny or two. So, you’re not going to ask me to wait another three days again, right.”
The man standing in front of Elysia looked down at her crookedly. Elysia recalled the words she had said while bowing her head to the man.
‘Please wait just three more days. My brother’s treatment is still…….’
‘The world doesn’t stop just because one more kid drops dead.’
Recalling the figure of the man speaking coldly, Elysia’s hands trembled faintly. She took out the money she had checked multiple times to ensure was safe in her pocket.
“Here it is.”
“One Belan? What kind of work did you do to get this kind of big money?”
“Now everything is liquidated, right? Never come looking for me again.”
“Ha, wow.”
The man clicked his tongue and fiddled with the ledger. Elysia wished for him to leave even a moment sooner.
“The principal is liquidated. But what are you going to do about the interest?”
“Interest?”
“Look here, Elysia. Don’t act stupid. How much money has piled up because you couldn’t pay back the principal? I’m going to need about three more Belan.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
As Elysia shouted, the man smiled fishily.
“Do you think we’re some kind of charity organization? Shall I make you talk even more nonsense?”
As the man took a stride closer, Elysia stepped back. The old table rattled as it bumped and tumbled over.
Suppressing her fear with effort, Elysia gritted her teeth and said.
“You know even better that you aren’t a legal organization either. Going to court is something neither I nor you want.”
“You don’t even have the money to hire a lawyer, yet you talk well. Since you paid the principal, now only the interest is left, young lady.”
After the man left, Elysia hurriedly rummaged through the house.
A small amount of tableware and kitchen supplies. Starting from clothes, everything that could be sold had already been sold off.
The only things barely left now were a few books and the storybooks they used to read together as children. There were scribbles on every bookshelf, and the corners were frayed.
‘What book does our princess want today?’
‘Elysia, books are good, but it’s time to sleep now, right? Hurry and lie down with Joshua.’
Elysia stroked the books.
They were items that held memories not only with her brother but also with her parents.
Closing her eyes tightly and then opening them, she carefully wrapped the books and put them into her bag.
“This is…… not to make money, but to survive.”
At that moment, the rims of her eyes suddenly grew hot, but she didn’t cry. Instead, she breathed slowly.
She could only desperately hope that no one would buy these books.
Elysia hurried toward the neighborhood used bookstore.
—Jingle.
“Please buy all the books here. Please.”
Elysia said as she put the old bag down on the floor.
The moment the used bookstore owner saw her face, his gaze changed to one of pity.
Her family situation was already famous in the neighborhood.
“……These are a bit too old. There are a lot of scribbles too.”
The used bookstore owner flipped through the books and closed them back up.
Watching that scene, Elysia said in a desperate voice.
“I know there’s nothing worth buying. But still…… even if it’s just one Ren per book.”
If it was one Ren, it was a price that could barely buy a loaf of bread or a single fruit.
The used bookstore owner looked at Elysia for a moment, sighed, and said.
“Then, I’ll give you one Ren for them, so take this instead. It’s an item that doesn’t sell, but for some reason, I feel like I should clear it away today.”
“An item that doesn’t sell?”
The used bookstore owner picked up and lifted an item that was under the counter.
What he brought out was a flat silver metal plate.
Faint golden lines were intertwined on the dust-settled surface, and it had a folding structure, making it look almost like a book.
“……What is this?”
“I don’t know either. It’s been here since decades ago, but it’s not a magic book, and it doesn’t seem to have mana either. No one would buy this.”
Elysia accepted it. The moment she held it in her hand, a peculiar sensation hovered beyond the cold metal.
She placed the metal plate into the spot where she had emptied the bag.
And leaving behind the books of memories that could never be recovered, she walked out the door.
* * *
By the time she returned home, the dawn was breaking.
An item that she couldn’t even tell if it was a book, a magic tool, or a piece of scrap metal. However, Elysia felt strangely drawn to it.
As she unfolded it on top of the table, a faint blue light suddenly brushed across the surface and passed by.
“What…….”
The moment Elysia was surprised and tried to pull her hand away, sentences floated up on the screen.
[Activating Counseling Log No. 000!]
“W-what is this? What on earth is this…….”
Elysia muttered as she pulled her body back in surprise, then swallowed her breath.
In a tense posture, she read the phrase written at the bottom part of the metal plate.
They were characters she was seeing for the first time, but she felt as though she could read them.
“……Laptop?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————