The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 257

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Part 2, Episode 62
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Eastern Region, Russell Territory.
Jerdian received a letter that morning.
“What? What?!”
Russell Count furrowed his brow at the sight of Jerdian’s widened eyes.
“What letter could warrant such a reaction?”
Jerdian stared blankly at the letter for a moment, then bounced up and down.
“I’ve secured employment, Father! And it’s exactly the position I wanted!”
Russell Count gasped for breath, momentarily speechless from overwhelming joy.
The eldest would inherit the noble title, the third had already become a teacher, but the second son had been adrift. He’d done all the rough work maintaining the territory, but that “rough work” had never become a proper future for the Count’s second son.
At the news that his second son’s future—fraught with concerns about both career and character—was finally settled, Russell Count nearly had a fit of joy.
But rationality soon brought worry rushing back.
“You must… you really must treat that benefactor well, understood?”
“Does that mean I mistreat everyone else?”
“That’s exactly what I mean you mustn’t do.”
Russell Count pleaded earnestly.
“If they discover that your character is like this… Well, if you were hopelessly corrupt, at least you’d be useful somewhere, but if they catch that you’re just ambiguously wishy-washy, you’ll be dismissed on the spot, won’t you?”
“My employer knows me well enough!”
“So who is this peculiar employer? Your taste in people leaves much to be desired.”
“Lady Brisa Sears.”
Russell Count was left speechless.
Jerdian spoke with a deeply satisfied expression.
“She’s appointed me as her Adjutant. The very day after my coming of age ceremony.”
“Well…”
Russell Count exhaled a wry laugh mixed with a sigh. He could not bring himself to make a harsh judgment of the territory’s benefactor. Moreover, he couldn’t even joke that she’d lost her mind.
“So she continues to bless me with good fortune… How am I ever to repay such kindness?”
In the end, the old man drew a deep breath, overcome with emotion, then asked,
“So when do you leave for Sears Territory?”
“Is that your way of saying you’d prefer I left quickly? You find me so unbearable to look at?”
Jerdian, picking a quarrel out of habit once more, shrugged.
“Not for now. It seems she’ll be coming to the Eastern Region again soon. She’s given me tasks to handle here in the east.”
“I see.”
Russell Count nodded in understanding.
“So she means to keep him at a distance while making use of him. Well, that lady certainly seemed wise enough.”
But Jerdian, who knew how to pick fights, had already disappeared, moving quickly to follow Brisa’s instructions.
* * *
Before leaving Baron Forman Territory.
Silvia called me aside in secret.
“This is something I’d been saving for Matthias originally, but it ended up being unnecessary.”
She pulled me into her room and handed me something that looked like a small perfume bottle.
“It’s a belated birthday gift. I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you sooner.”
I couldn’t bring myself to accept the small bottle readily and mumbled,
“I’ve never given you a birthday gift, not even once.”
“You don’t need to, ever.”
Silvia spoke seriously.
“Just witnessing Leopold’s historical embarrassment in person is more than enough to exempt you from birthday gifts for the next lifetime. A puffed rice cracker in his mouth while confessing in the street, no less.”
In the end, I accepted the perfume bottle she pressed into my hands. Examining it closely, I noticed a certification mark from the Magic Tower at the bottom.
“Though it’s a bit old, it’s still unopened and new. Apparently it’s a Magic Tower Limited Edition. It’s incredibly rare.”
I couldn’t guess what this perfume bottle was, so I cautiously asked,
“Is it some kind of magical fertilizer that helps things grow well?”
Silvia blinked for a moment, then laughed with a giggle. Then she leaned in close and whispered,
“Try using it when you meet a man whose feelings are ambiguous. The effect is amazing.”
“What?”
“This perfume’s name is ‘Love’s Impulse.'”
Her voice was utterly serious.
“It can’t create feelings that don’t exist, but it has a subtle effect of making people speak their true hearts. It gives wings to a wavering heart.”
My expectations, which had been set on something grand like “Blessing of the Earth,” came crashing down.
Seeing my disappointed expression, Silvia grew serious.
“Look, I know Leo well. He’s so much of a gentleman that, while he cares for you, he’ll never show the kind of forceful momentum needed to snap you to attention. How do you even stand that frustration?”
“Last night, he showed me plenty of momentum.”
I countered calmly.
“He wasn’t being gentlemanly at all, and he wasn’t considering me either. It was an overwhelmingly one-sided emotional onslaught. I really couldn’t get my bearings.”
“Oh, never mind then. I suppose you’ve only been an adult for a day, after all.”
Silvia raised her eyebrows.
“But soon, set aside a day with Lea. Your older sisters will teach you some good things.”
I nodded readily.
My casual conversations with Lea had introduced me to a whole new world called gossip, and it had been incredibly fun. So naturally, I wanted to be initiated into what “older sisters’ good things” meant as well.
Silvia tapped the small perfume bottle in my hand and continued,
“In any case, this is probably the last bottle left in the world. The Magic Tower says that some plant they used for the ingredient has gone extinct now. Really sad, isn’t it?”
“Goodness.”
I sighed with regret.
“The loss of plant species diversity is always sad news.”
“You have a long way to go.”
Silvia clicked her tongue once and shrugged.
“Well, you’ll thank me later. I’m giving you the most precious thing I have. Because… I owe you a debt of the heart.”
“A debt of the heart?”
“Yes. When you were at the Academy, I once told the Grand Duke that you weren’t that smart and that your family seemed to be ruined.”
It was a confession I would never have made. It was old business with no remaining evidence, so there was no reason to expose such a weakness.
I began to understand why Leopold shook his head, saying he and Silvia really didn’t get along. She was far too honest and calculated nothing in relationships.
“I suppose because you were being so prim about it, showing such a cold attitude toward Leo… I thought you were rather annoying as a Baron’s daughter. I lacked maturity back then.”
But that honesty she possessed had also pierced through my walls without hesitation.
“Please, Silvia. Stop this.”
I sighed and pressed my forehead.
“Don’t make me face the fact that I’m weak to men like Alpheus. I don’t want to admit I have such terrible taste.”
It was truly a tragedy I wanted to deny.
“Why can’t you just mumble vaguely, say meaningful things, hide your true feelings, put on an arrogant expression with all your might, and try to act like Leopold’s cousin instead?”
Silvia answered with a laugh.
“Because I don’t have as many obligations or wounds as Leopold does!”
It was a rather penetrating insight into life’s truth.
She smiled sadly, lowering her eyebrows.
“No matter what I say, Leo is my one and only cousin. I don’t want to see him being too happy, but I certainly don’t want to see him in misery either. He’s already been unhappy enough, and it seems he won’t easily find happiness in the future, so please take good care of him. I’m asking you.”
I looked at Silvia and nodded.
This perfume probably won’t have much use, but I could accept it gladly for the sake of her feelings.
“Usage is simple. Just rub it on your hand or somewhere like that. It’ll absorb immediately, and while you won’t be affected, people very close to you will show effects for about two to three hours.”
I let it go in one ear. It didn’t seem like I’d have much occasion to use it.
“Thank you. I’ll keep it safe.”
But since she said it was probably the last bottle left in the world, I packed it away in any case.
“But can I ask you one question?”
Silvia, who had been grinning, asked carefully.
“So… why all of a sudden are you planning to plant chestnut trees in Sears Marquis Territory?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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