Jared returned home after visiting Luzer, and Olivier, who had returned to the Main Family Residence, also came back, naturally leading to dinner.
When nobles dine, conversation is kept to a minimum to emphasize etiquette, but that’s not the case at this mansion.
Hannelore enjoys conversation, so everyone naturally talks a lot about what happened and what they did that day.
Pfeil, of course, joins them at the dinner table, as does the maid, Trane. While it’s the rule of this mansion to do what one can themselves, Trane has been proactively doing many things. Jared recalled hearing before that this was because she wanted to care for them not as staff, but as family.
Conversation flows freely, centered around Hannelore. Even Pfeil now joins the casual chatter with a smile, making Jared realize how much he’d changed since living in this mansion.
“I’m sorry, I’m late.”
At that moment, Rosa appears, wearing a cute apron with frills and her uniform.
Jared had seen her like this once before, so he wasn’t as surprised, but the others were.
Yeny, in particular, who saw Rosa as her rival, widened her eyes.
Olivier and Trane were speechless, while only Almeida, Rio, and Hannelore remained unfazed.
“…Rosa, I have a mountain of things I want to say, like why you’re strutting around the mansion as if it’s yours, or why you’re living here, but first – stop coming back dressed as a waitress, alright?”
“I am so sorry. My work ran late today, so I was in a hurry. I will be more careful from now on.”
The image of Rosa serving them doesn’t quite register.
As Jared holds his head, Trane, regaining her composure the fastest, prepares a meal for Rosa.
“Excuse me, Rosa… May I ask something?”
“What is it, Yeny?”
“Are you really serving in that uniform?”
Like Jared, Yeny couldn’t imagine Rosa serving and asks with genuine curiosity.
However, Rosa tilts her head, then looks at her attire and says with a strangely satisfied expression,
“Isn’t it cute?”
Jared wanted to exclaim, “That’s not the point,” but he stifled his words.
He shifts his gaze from Rosa to Pfeil, who was looking at his colleague with an unreadable expression. Their eyes meet, and they both sigh.
“Putting aside how cute your uniform is, Rosa, there’s something I wanted to ask you. Is that alright?”
Olivier, who had been stunned, asks, changing the subject.
“What is it?”
“Wahash is still in the Capital City, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he’s in the Capital City. Hannelore-dono kindly invited not just me, but my Father to stay at the mansion as well, but I declined as I thought it would be too awkward.”
“…Mother, you invited not only Rosa but also Wahash?”
“Oh, was that a mistake?”
“No, it’s not that I meant it that way…”
Seeing her troubled look, Jared offers an ambiguous smile.
Jared was surprisingly calm about Wahash claiming to be his grandfather.
He was surprised, and there was a part of him that didn’t want to accept it. However, if Wahash, the leader of Waalthe, was truly his grandfather, he might be able to uncover the truth about his mother’s death using his power.
He would have to confront Wahash eventually. But for now, he didn’t feel ready.
“So, where is that Wahash now?”
“I haven’t heard the details, but he said he’d be staying at a friend’s mansion.”
“…He had friends?”
“What are you implying… Did you think my father, or rather, your grandfather, was someone who had no friends?”
Rosa asks with exasperation, but Jared had never imagined the head of an assassination organization having friends.
Aside from having children, perhaps he had met people and loved them, but he gave off an air of someone who didn’t have many friends, so Jared had assumed it.
He wasn’t interested in what kind of friend it was, but he figured they were probably of a similar ilk, as they say birds of a feather flock together.
However, Jared didn’t even know what kind of person Wahash was.
Thinking back, Jared didn’t know much about his deceased mother either. He had heard stories about her recently, but before that, he only remembered her as a Former Court Mage who was kind and cheerful to him.
He supposed it was because she died when he was young, but it made him a little sad that he didn’t remember his own mother very well.
Perhaps that was why. He wanted to know the truth behind his mother’s death.
However, he hadn’t thought about what he would do after finding the culprit who poisoned his mother. Whether to seek revenge by killing them or to make them atone for their sins, he hadn’t decided on anything.
But – why did his mother have to die? He thought that if he could just know that, perhaps the emptiness he felt in his heart regarding his mother might be filled.
But if he found the culprit and new emotions were born – he wondered what he would do then.
“Jared, is something wrong?”
Lost in thought, he had stopped eating and wasn’t participating in the conversation, so Olivier asked with concern.
Smiling as if nothing was wrong at his attentive Fiancé, he pushed the thought of his mother’s death away and resumed eating.
