The Status Effect Count - Chapter 14

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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 014
The woman who had abruptly burst through the ceiling was dressed much like Ann, who had just fled the room.
But covered as she was in dust and dressed so haphazardly, she looked like an entirely different person.
‘No wonder Belentche flinches every time she sees Perna.’
Nadan clicked his tongue, recalling the head maid who always raised one eyebrow at the mere sight of Perna. Neither of them would give an inch.
On the surface, Perna was the Earl’s maid, but in truth she was his Knight. Protection and intelligence gathering were her primary duties.
Even knowing this, Belentche seemed utterly unable to accept Perna’s carefree manner.
“Why are you restraining someone who isn’t even a Knight like that?”
Perna asked flatly, her eyes still on the door. At her question, Nadan leaned back against the bed.
“Was it excessive?”
“Very much so. You sounded like a petty tyrant.”
Her clothing was another matter, but her manner of speech would need correcting.
Nadan let her insolent tone slide as the thought crossed his mind.
His Knights had spent their previous lives in such hardship that they possessed an excess of freedom.
“You know exactly how much you hate that, sir. Superiors throwing their weight around with unreasonable orders.”
“Did you find who’s behind this?”
“Changing the subject now? Embarrassed, are you?”
“Perna.”
Nadan called her name in a low voice, and Perna shrugged.
“As you know, the suspects are endless. Everyone’s been talking about you everywhere these days.”
‘Nadan Preneta is dead!’
“Whoever’s behind this will be disappointed to learn I’m still alive.”
Nadan spoke in a toneless voice.
It had been barely a year since the war ended, and everyone watched the footsteps of the war hero.
Waiting to see whose enemy and ally he would become.
“The Marquis can’t afford to hire a Sorcerer. Robert—the exiled prince—has lost all his limbs. Those who come and go from the Capital are all just Fortune Tellers serving as jesters for the nobles’ wives.”
“What about the territory?”
“That’s being managed by Hayden. The most likely scenario is still an inside job.”
“Eqqeum?”
“You’ve caught on.”
Perna exhaled deeply.
“Yes. As it turns out, Eqqeum was a tool of House Everett. I’d encountered her several times before.”
“The Duke probably hasn’t reached the point of wanting me dead yet.”
“If he’d wanted you dead, he would have planted a more skilled assassin. Eqqeum was likely nothing more than a spy.”
Then was it mere coincidence that when she caused that commotion, Nadan had suffered a seizure and nearly died?
Or perhaps she’d simply been ready to flee Preneta Manor at a moment’s notice.
Nadan pressed his brow and sighed. Deep exhaustion weighed upon him.
The war was over, but Nadan’s enemies were countless.
Rivals, those bearing grudges, the envious. And those who refused to acknowledge his achievements.
Yet nearly losing his life was something that had happened for the first time just two days ago.
He bore the epithet “the Deathless Reaper of the Winter Forest.” He had always survived death’s threshold.
So both Nadan and his Knights had grown careless.
“What on earth could it be? I’ve never heard of such an illness. Every Sorcerer I’ve consulted during my investigation turned out to be a complete charlatan.”
“I’ve no idea.”
“Is this really your problem, sir?”
At Nadan’s response, Perna struck her chest with exasperation.
Compared to the countless threats he had faced before, this seemed pitiful, yet it had methodically threatened his life.
This time, he’d truly nearly died.
Suddenly Nadan spoke.
“What about the girl?”
Perna immediately understood whom he meant.
“The dedicated maid? There’s been nothing particularly suspicious in her movements.”
“Her siblings.”
“You’re expecting far too much when you’ve only given me a day to work with.”
Perna grumbled, but soon rattled off the maid’s family circumstances in an even tone. Her background was unremarkable as well.
Yet something nagged at him.
“She’s hiding something.”
Nadan murmured, rubbing his chin with his fingertip.
That maid harbored some secret she refused to reveal. But what it was, he couldn’t begin to guess.
He’d put her through various tasks and been troublesome about it, yet the thoughts playing across the woman’s face were so transparent it was almost laughable.
She probably thought she was hiding it well.
“I don’t think so.”
“Have the two of you grown close?”
Nadan raised one eyebrow.
“We’ve crossed paths a few times during shifts, that’s all. But I can tell.”
At her confident tone, Nadan’s eyes narrowed to slits.
Perna was his capable hands and feet.
None could match her nimble movements as she crawled between walls and gathered intelligence from every corner of the manor.
Had she confirmed something, then?
“Your evidence?”
“Women’s intuition?”
Hm.
A sigh escaped Nadan’s lips, sending his hair dancing in its wake.
“Go.”
Nadan turned on the bed and lay back. Perna muttered in an aggrieved tone.
“I’m telling you the truth.”
“What about Hayden?”
“On his way up. He’s usually late, but he’ll make it on time for this.”
“Then go and look into the noble houses’ movements instead.”
“You’re always making me work.”
Perna grumbled, then snatched the snacks sitting on the side table and rose to her feet.
With a soft click, Perna vanished through the ceiling, and the room filled once more with quiet darkness.
Anne Marita.
With his eyes closed and his vision plunged into complete darkness, the image of a woman who had strangely occupied his thoughts of late came to mind.
Soft, flowing hair and round eyes.
Except for the color of them being black, she was no different from any ordinary maid.
Then why did she keep catching his attention?
‘Because she keeps doing strange things.’
Yet he couldn’t tell whether it posed any real threat to him. The timing alone was certainly suspicious…….
It was true that his health had improved remarkably over these past few days she’d been at his side.
And with a personality like that, she could hide something massive from him?
She had an expressive face and was honest to a fault. With those round eyes wide open, her thoughts were laid bare the moment she spoke—’Really? Again?’—he’d never seen someone quite like her.
Yet she would try to hide her feelings anyway, quickly changing her expression and breaking into a childlike smile as if nothing were amiss.
Watching that face, a peculiar mischievous impulse kept rising unbidden—for reasons he couldn’t fathom.
As Perna had said, he’d never acted on such impulses before.
‘Because it’s suspicious.’
If he watched her a bit longer, the maid’s true purpose would surely reveal itself.
Nadan closed his eyes quietly.
And he waited in silence for the maid to return, gasping for breath, trying hard to conceal her irritated face.
* * *
Anne walked unsteadily, her legs trembling beneath her.
As someone from the countryside, she’d always been confident in her stamina, but that confidence had grown murky by now.
No. It’s because of the Count.
Anne shook her head. Just then, Peter, passing by, spotted her and waved enthusiastically.
“Anne! Over here!”
His voice was unnaturally bright.
Anne approached Peter with a reluctant expression.
“You’re really staying here?”
“It’s quite comfortable.”
Jack, who was with Peter, tapped the seat beside him.
Originally, the main house of Preneta Manor—where only the master and his attendants went—and the annex used by servants were quite far apart.
But after the manor’s doors closed, Head Attendant Belentche summoned all the remaining household staff to the main house.
This too was a kind of “compensation,” but…….
“Have you been into your room yet? I haven’t had the nerve to go in.”
“Whatever’s in there, I’m probably the cheapest thing in it.”
“Look at the furniture. One scratch and who knows how much compensation you’d have to pay.”
As Peter and Jack spoke, Anne smiled bitterly.
The household staff remaining in the manor had been assigned rooms in the main house that had belonged to senior servants and attendants.
Those who until recently had been trainees or bottom-rung workers didn’t have the courage to step boldly into such rooms.
‘I understand. I also panicked at my new room and ran back to my hideout. But…….’
Where had they slept last night? Had they retreated to that cramped servants’ quarters?
No.
Charitably speaking, the servants were young; less charitably, they were reckless—and they’d made an inspired choice.
They’d claimed the hallway just inside the first-floor kitchen.
“I mean, even if a room feels too awkward, this is quite the bold move—taking over a hallway like this…….”
“It feels like the outdoors, doesn’t it? And at least it’s not as cold at night!”
Peter laughed brightly.
Several layers of patchwork cloth had been arranged in a circle along the hallway floor.
Worn tables, old crates, and discarded odds and ends had been pressed into service as makeshift beds and chairs.
If one looked carefully enough, it almost seemed respectable.
But still…….
“Looks like a pirate’s den, doesn’t it?”
‘More like a children’s game.’

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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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