The Status Effect Count - Chapter 12

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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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Abnormal Earl 012
The small bird that offered to help only failed whenever asked anything, producing a fruitless Search.
Everything else that came out of its mouth was some incomprehensible gibberish.
What even is a wiki?
What’s an official site supposed to be?
What does it mean to leave a star rating?
None of it seemed remotely helpful. Drained of all energy, Ann collapsed onto the Straw Bed.
“Chirp♪”
Above her, Jaeroong-i hopped about with cheerful cries.
All she’d gained was a cute, bothersome accessory.
* * *
“You’ll have to become the Earl’s Dedicated Attendant.”
“Isn’t this a punishment?”
“……Why would I punish you?”
Well, that was……
For rubbing her face all over the Earl’s face?
The next morning, when Ann heard that Belenche was looking for her, she thought, ‘I’m caught after all.’ But the proposal that came back was something different entirely.
Whew—
Ann drew a relieved breath, then something occurred to her.
“Not Perna?”
There was another maid besides Ann who came and went from the Earl’s chambers.
Perna, the bob-haired maid who had not fled the Mansion and remained, rotated with Ann to attend the Earl from night until morning.
Compared to Ann, even the way she moved was different—more elegant than any servant Ann had ever seen.
Wouldn’t she be better suited as a Dedicated Attendant than me?
To Ann’s question, the head maid answered with uncompromising firmness.
“Don’t concern yourself with her. She’s not someone you can keep close and use.”
She seemed like a good person.
“The master is a magnanimous person, so there’s nothing to worry about. He doesn’t treat even servants carelessly—he’s a man of dignity.”
“That’s……how it is?”
“He’s not difficult, so even if you’re still a bit lacking, there will be no hardship in serving him.”
“But……”
“The master seems to view you favorably. Just continue as you have been.”
Favorably? But he’d glared at her with sharp eyes, demanding if she was an assassin.
Ann ventured carefully to ask.
“Is it possible that the master also knows that I’m becoming a Dedicated Attendant?”
“Of course. I had to ask his permission first.”
Belenche nodded.
“He said you do your work quite well. That you’re earnest in your care of his recovery.”
Though Belenche spoke in a satisfied tone, Ann’s chest suddenly twinged.
“He doesn’t usually show much interest in servants. It must be because he’s grown weak.”
At the head maid’s unusually soft voice, Ann’s conscience pricked sharply.
That wasn’t what he meant it in a good way.
But Belenche, thoroughly misunderstanding, gave Ann’s shoulder a light pat with a gaze full of trust.
“You’re from Netherin stock like him, so you ought to do better for him. Understood?”
‘I’m not from Netherin.’
This time, Ann couldn’t bring herself to voice it, and instead managed an awkward smile.
* * *
Among all the trays Ann could see, there was one she made a point of avoiding.
The Favorability Tray.
Every time she called it, it scattered strange hearts through the air, and the sickeningly sweet lines—a little, no, a lot—made her uncomfortable.
Besides, what person in this world would want to measure something like their Favorability with an employer?
If the contents weren’t favorable, she’d only want to pretend not to know.
But now, Ann deeply regretted having avoided that tray.
“You’ve come.”
Gulp.
The tall man half-perched on the Sofa seemed as though he’d been waiting for nothing but Ann’s arrival.
Whether it was because the room was dark, or because his long black hair contrasted with it—
The Earl’s complexion looked sickly pale, drained of color.
But his blue eyes were sharp as arrows trained straight at Ann.
And they cut.
In that moment, Ann wanted nothing more than to wrench open the door and flee.
But Nadan flicked his hand, and Ann found herself standing obediently before him, as docile as a calf on a leash.
Ah. She’d clocked in, but already she wanted to clock out.
‘If I become the lord’s dedicated attendant, my current salary will have a maintenance allowance added to it.’
Money!
Ann’s eyes snapped wide open, clearing away the fog that had begun to cloud them.
‘At this point, shamelessness is my only way out.’
Ann broke into a brilliant smile.
“Good morning, Count! How are you feeling? Is there anything troubling you? Oh, the air seems a bit stuffy. I could open the window…….”
“Ann Marita.”
A languid voice spoke her name.
There was nothing quite as terrifying as an employer calling you by your full name.
Ann’s tongue felt parched in her mouth.
“……Yes!”
His gaze shifted to the sofa across from him. Ann clasped her hands together and approached with careful steps.
“Sit there.”
“But surely not before a noble…….”
“Sit down.”
Yes, sir.
Ann settled onto the sofa with perfect propriety.
It was softer and more comfortable than anything she’d sat on before. And the more she felt that comfort, the more uneasy she became.
Because she was now sitting directly across from the Count.
Nadan studied her in silence for a moment, then murmured thoughtfully.
“I don’t see anything particularly odd about her…….”
Still stroking his chin, he continued slowly.
“Temple-born. Eighteen years old. Been in the Capital for roughly four months. And here for about a month.”
After that, the Count’s lips delivered a string of details—her hometown, the places she’d visited upon first arriving in the Capital, one after another.
This wasn’t merely casual interest.
He’d investigated her. In just a single day!
“And I hear you’ve run with mercenaries quite often, particularly taken with the Forest Keeper—so much so that she kept trying to recruit you…….”
Ann’s eyes blinked rapidly.
The Forest Keeper—that was someone she’d grown close to back when she was in the Night of Silence.
Good-natured and hearty, though a bit thoughtless, which meant the hired hands under her command changed constantly.
So whenever she saw Ann, she’d say, ‘Won’t you join us? I’ll take good care of you’—that sort of thing.
“The pay would’ve been better than working as a servant. Why didn’t you take it?”
“Because dungeons are dangerous.”
Ann answered promptly.
Due to the long war preventing the Empire from managing Demonic Beasts, blind dungeons had begun multiplying even near the Capital.
Naturally, dungeon-breaking hunters had multiplied too—all chasing the rumor that even a small dungeon, once cleared, could bring instant wealth.
Even Emil had been drawn by that rumor and tried to become an adventurer, only to be swindled.
So many people rushed in like moths to a flame at the promise that just one success would make them rich.
Despite her title of Forest Keeper, she wasn’t someone who managed ordinary forests—she was a Demonic Beast hunter.
The Forest Keeper had said hired hands weren’t taken into combat, that it was safe, but of course they’d end up caught in the danger eventually!
Ann’s eyes opened wide and clear.
“I prefer safety. I absolutely despise throwing my life away on work that doesn’t suit my station. First comes safety, second comes safety, and third comes honesty, you see? I do love money, but not money that comes with complications. I believe the payment for honest labor is the greatest reward there is.”
Ann rattled off the words in rapid succession as if reciting a well-rehearsed speech, then thrust out her thumb with a snap at the end.
Nadan gazed at her in silence, though his sharp gaze had softened somewhat.
He seemed almost amused, in fact.
Suddenly, Ann recalled the Count’s own advancement history.
Wasn’t Nadan Perneta precisely someone who’d thrown his life into work beneath his station and scored instant wealth in one stroke?
Ann started with alarm, leaped from her seat, and quickly waved her hands.
“N-not that I’m comparing myself to you, my lord! I lack your remarkable talents……. Besides, I’d be the first to die out there, and I have no strength anyway.”
“…….”
“I-I think it’s wonderful when someone with ability seizes success! I truly admire it!”
Ann threw herself into both protest and flattery at once. A flicker of amusement crossed Nadan’s gaze.
Had she soothed his anger? Or did he simply not believe a word she said?
It was impossible to read her employer’s mind. Ann jutted out her lip.
“……Really, I mean it.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
He replied in an unaffected tone.
“A wise decision. Had you followed the Forest Keeper, you’d have been dead within days. Better than those fools who don’t even understand themselves.”
Was that a compliment? Ann blinked rapidly.
“But someone capable of such judgment should know better than to meddle in things they shouldn’t.”
The tone was gentle, yet unmistakably a warning.
Ann found herself asking before she could stop herself.
“You suspect me?”
At that question, Nadan smiled—rarely, softly—but offered no answer.
No, wait. There was a way to check.
Ann turned her attention inward, recalling the Favorability display.
[Favorability: ♡♡♡♡♡
He is highly suspicious of you. You may need to make more effort to maintain a good relationship with him.]
He’s definitely suspicious!
But Nadan, betraying not a trace of doubt, returned with his smooth, composed face and opened his mouth.
“Then you’ll be my Dedicated Attendant from now on. Things will get rather tedious for a while, so I count on your service.”
“…Of course!”
The foundation of social life is a smile.
Ann answered with a bright grin.

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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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