Chapter 7

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

“………”

Quite the proper letter came in comparison to the haste. While thinking so, Cordelia looked inside the envelope once more. When she did, there was a flower with not many petals pressed as it was, a rose bookmark that was a beautiful pink in colour inside.

“How pretty!”

Once again, Cordelia said in a small voice. When she did, Verno laughed.

“That guy, Gyl, he was considerably worried about it. Saying that actually, he wanted to write a more proper one. But well, I didn’t say that, though.”

“I don’t dislike such letters as well, you know?”

The truth was she liked this more than the letters that went on and on, but as to be expected, she wouldn’t say that much. After all, for Cordelia, it was not possible that she was used to this kind of writing style. That’s why Cordelia fooled him with a smile. Verno as well, showed a smile similar to the one of this Cordelia.

“If you don’t mind, try writing one just like Gyl’s. If you do so, it’ll make him worry somewhat less, I think.”

“I understand.”

“……Delly is really strange, aren’t you? This kind of writing style, even if I try to using it, I probably wouldn’t be able to. Would you?”

“I intend on living by adapting to circumstances, you see.”

Cordelia asked Emina to bring her writing papers. The writing paper that Cordelia had was not as unusual as Gyl’s, but she had several kinds of lightly coloured writing papers. From among the writing papers, Cordelia immediately chose a sky blue coloured one. It had a slight picture watermarking, and was one of her favorite sheets. It was the same colour as the sky the day they went to the town. She chose dark blue for the colour of the pen’s ink.

(……As expected, I’m a bit nervous, since I’m not that good with the writing the letters)

She has been making great efforts to write beautifully, but it seems that no matter how much she tries, her natural disposition was not suitable for writing the characters. However, from now on as well, writing the letters would become necessary throughout her whole life. It wouldn’t do not being able to write them.

It seems that even Verno had the spirit of respecting privacy, and didn’t look like he was going to peep in. He busied himself with the sweets and black tea.

Confirming this, Cordelia puffed out a breath, and started to run the pen with spirit.

First of all…… who really was the one who ought to reflect?

“Thank you very much for the wonderful bookmark. I’ll use it with care. As Verno-sama told me to hurry up, I’ll be leaving out the formality as well.

If you had said something cheeky, then excessive reflection is not good either. In the first place, even though I had given you frank advice at that time, it isn’t like all of what I or Verno-sama said was correct. Rather, I believe I had said a bit too much. I don’t have the courage that you have. That’s why, the action of going out in front of the girl and protecting her like you did was impossible for me. That and, to the girl that was helped, I believe that for sure, you were reflected just like the prince from fairytales, very cool. If I were her, I believe I would have thought so. Nonetheless, I can certainly imagine that if calm judgement was added to the courage of the current Gyl-sama, there is no doubt that you will become an even more amazing man.”

Mixing in the half-lie that it was because Verno had told her to, Cordelia…… thinking to rewrite it as she thought it might have been a bit too honest, she folded the letter that she had more or less written up small. Putting that aside, intending to write the letter anew, she was about to drop the ink on a fresh paper, but—— she caught sight of a disturbing hand at the edge of her sight, and stopped it with her left hand.

“Verno-sama, could you please pull back this hand? This belongs to me.”

“It isn’t as if you have…… miswritten, right?”

Cordelia objected to Verno with what was most likely the best smile she could make, however, Verno too returned it with the most dazzling smile he had.

“I have miswritten in it, so I’d be troubled if you were to deliver this.”

“No, no, it is precisely because it is the letter you have written first that it has meaning, and holds your true feelings…… or so said my father.”

“Wasn’t it that you don’t often listen to the Marquis-sama’s stories, Verno-sama?”

If others saw them, both of them had splendid smiles on, but it was apparent to each of the two of them that there was a fox and a tanuki in that face of the other’s. Normally, Verno shouldn’t have been Cordelia’s natural enemy, but Cordelia also does think that he can be enough of a natural enemy in a field unrelated to their existence.

(In the first place, Verno-sama’s thinking abilities are not those of an 8 years old child. ……I wonder if this is what a child prodigy is like)

However, more importantly, the thing that has become a problem right now is that single discarded letter.

Both of their hands trembled as they refused to pull them back even one bit. If this was already 10 years into the future, the difference in strength would probably be clear, but there was still no difference in their physique right now. But…… there was already a difference in their physical strength.

There was a difference between Verno, who was training his physical strength since young, and the Young Lady Cordelia.

“Hey, Verno-sama!!”

“I won’t look at the contents. I don’t plan on being unrefined to that extent.”

“……It’s plenty unrefined as it is.”

Watching Verno, who had already put it away in his breast pocket, Cordelia sighed. Even if she tried grabbing for it, she wouldn’t be able to get it back, and she couldn’t just as well show him the appearance of a flustered Ojou-sama. In the first place…… the phrasing was a bit strong, even if she were to write it again, it wasn’t as if the content would change a lot.

(Or as if it would be like that, as I though, I better rewrite it)

Cordelia coughed once. In other words, she had to get the letter back first.

“Verno-sama, please put it in this envelope at least.”

“Envelope? Oh, you have a point.”

“Ahh, but before that…… I forgot to put something in, so please give the letter back here one more time. I’ll be putting it in.”

“If it’s necessary, add it in one more sheet.”

“……It’s fine after all, I guess.”

It’s unfortunate, but glossing over the recovery of the letter was rejected too quickly. As expected, this guy, he’s sharp. His disposition is bad. That’s what Cordelia though in her heart. But there probably was nothing more promising than that, as the next head of the Frantoheim House.

Cordelia gave up, and handed Verno an envelope of the same colour as the writing paper. Even in a pure sense, she was in the middle of writing a paragraph, but let’s blame that too on Verno, shall we?

Just as Cordelia thought that, Emina appeared carrying tea and sweets.

“It’s chocolate cake today.”

A beautifully cut up chocolate cake was arranged on a simple plate. On the top of the cake, it was decorated with a small amount of gold leaf, and coupled with the pure white whipped cream, while simple, it looked very pretty on the plate.

“As always, the sweets here look so delicious, huh. Sweet things rarely come out in my house.”

“Does the Marquis-sama not like sweet thing that much?”

“It’s not Father, but Mother who doesn’t like them. It seems that she hates them because they make people grow fat, so she becomes displeased instantly when I or Father eat them.”

It appears that even in this world, diet is the eternal theme for ladies. Adult women have corsets, so she thought that they probably won’t eat that much, but…… the temptation was probably larger than they could resist. However, if that was the case, someday might come when detoxification herbs as well will be useful…… Yes, Cordelia made a note of that in her mind.

“Oh, that’s right!”

“Is something the matter?”

“Delly said that the Earl was your type of men, but are knights your type?”

What was it, all of a sudden? So Cordelia was suspicious, but that was probably because it was a pure question asked by a child. It might be because of the thought that he wanted to learn from the coolness of adult men. In that case, answering with her preferences alone would probably be slightly off what he expects. Thinking that…… Cordelia thought of thinking about a typical lady’s preferences.

“Let’s see…… Say, Emina. I think that typically a knight would be liked by ladies. What about you?”

However, Emina who was suddenly brought into the subject by Cordelia’s remark couldn’t not have been surprised. But although she was surprised, she didn’t show a big reaction. She gently answered Cordelia.

“Let me see. I think that there is no mistake that knights, with the dignified air, martial prowess, and courteous manners combined, are a lady’s dream.”

“I also agree with Emina. ……That is to say, Verno-sama. Men who are knights are admired even by adult women like Emilia.”

When she said this, Verno said “……No, I didn’t really want to hear the general opinion”, but decided that Cordelia was most likely embarrassed and didn’t mind it. And, “Well, if you are going to say your personal preferences, I think it is preferable that you don’t lie about it, as a principle,” he said. Not all lies were bad. Cordelia herself was also of the opinion that “smooth words make smooth sails”. That’s why, she doesn’t think that all lies are bad, but lies should still be kept to a minimum. In the first place, if there was a need to tell lies, then she believes that it is best if they are told from the very beginning, to the best of one’s abilities—— or there is such a thing as well as a result of such way of thinking, but above that, the condition that there is a possibility of dying when being made to dance to the lies of another, makes one think so. Having the skills to see through lies is a responsibility of Cordelia herself. However, more than seeing through them or not, if they do not lie, then that would be most appreciated.

However, there was no need to say that much, so Cordelia intended to answer him in a way that was not offensive, but…… was it her imagination that Verno was slightly puffing up his cheeks? While thinking this, Cordelia was about to get herself some black tea, but she accidentally extended to the bookmark from Gyl, which she had been looking at until just a while ago. As she thought, it is pretty no matter how many times she saw it.

“……That, did you like it that much?”

“Yes. Roses are lovely, aren’t they?”

She loved roses even in her previous life, but ever since she was born as Cordelia, she felt them all the more likeable. The roses planted in the Earl’s house were very beautiful. However, more than the impression that they were pretty, what Cordelia felt when looking at this garden was a sense of calmness. A space where she could relax…… she felt that strongly.

That’s why she thought as such.

(……One day, I’ll make rose essential oils as well. But…… for a drop of essential oil, 50 rose petals would be needed)

This was a conversion from her previous life, so she can’t say that it will be the same even in this world, but if she thought about making rose essential oils, then a very large amount of petals would be necessary. For example, even with lavender whose oil extraction rate is lower than peppermint, about 1kg of essential oils can be obtained per 100kg. However, roses need about 20 times that amount of flowers. If it was only for her own personal use, then a bit less amount would be fine, but nonetheless, that’s not saying that she was fine with only a single drop as well. Moreover, the problem was the variety.

In her previous worlds, there were two kinds of essential oils in roses. One was rose otto, obtained by the steam distillation method, and the other was the essential oil known as rose absolute, which is extracted using a method known as the solvent extraction. Both are expensive essential oils, but otto is the more expensive essential oil.

(TN: Actually, here it says that absolute is the more expensive one, but from my search on the net it said in more than one place that absolute was the less expensive one due to the higher yield than otto. Or it may be just my misunderstanding of the original sentence.)

Damask rose (Rosa damascena), which is said to be the most fragrant even from among 20,000 breeds, is used for rose otto. For the latter, rose absolute, a flower named cabbage rose (Rosa centifolia) is used, and this one again has a resplendent fragrance as well.

Based on this information, Cordelia searched in various books, and even asked her tutors in order to obtain them, but…… she hasn’t been able to find the roses in question yet. She has even recently started to think that maybe those same roses do not exist in this world.

However, if she was searching for other breeds of roses, then there was a high probability that she would need to gather various breeds of roses in an amount of a few hundred kilos to 1 ton. Moreover, otto aside, the extraction method for absolute will change…… in which case, as to just how much petals will be consumed in the experiments to produce the equipment alone, to be honest, even Cordelia couldn’t imagine it. Even if it was not exactly the same, if there were flowers suitable for strongly fragrant essential oils, then there was nothing better, but—— there was still a long way to even just think about that.

Although it would be good to at least find flowers with strong scents as soon as possible.

“Why are you making a complicated face?”

“No, ……since sooner or later I’m going to be needing a large amount of roses, I was thinking I should make a rose garden.”

“Roses? If it is roses, then I think I’ll be able to get quite a bit if I tell Gyl.”

Cordelia tilted her at Verno who said that.

“……Is Gyl-sama someone knowledgeable about flowers?”

“Ah…… no, rather than saying it’s Gyl, it’s Gyl’s mother who is rather knowledgeable. Since she should be focusing all her power on improvement research as well, she also has flowers that are not on the market.”

“Flowers that are not on the market? ……I do think that that is very amazing, but if that is the case, then I cannot say that you would be able to obtain some.”

It would be different if it was the person himself, but as it was his mother’s then having her hand over her research phase’s material would probably be difficult. It wasn’t as if she was that close with Gyl, so she would also hesitate to ask this of him.

In the first place, it was quite unlikely that to have been cultivated in large quantities during the research phase, and it was unknown whether she could test them out or not.

However, Verno, as if not caring about such a thing, “That’s exactly why if Delly said that you wanted them, I don’t think there would be any problems with the spirit of the possibility of you raising it yourself” said something that Cordelia didn’t understand very well.

“What kind of roses, and how many do you want of them?”

“Let me see…… The quantity is about a few hundreds to a thousand kilos, I guess. What I want are roses with strong fragrance rather than colour.”

“A few hundre-……!? What are you going to use it for, such a quantity……”

As Verno, who appeared to have become slightly stiff, said that, “I as well think that it is quite the amount. After all, I don’t know how much the cost will turn out to be” Cordelia continued.

“I am researching the components of flowers.”

“……Ah, you, you even came to magic tools shop. Are you going to tear off the roses?”

“I won’t tear them off, but I will separate the petals.”

Verno groaned when Cordelia said that.

Meanwhile, she felt that there was a voice saying, “As I thought, what Delly wanted was something like that!” mixed in, but Cordelia purposely didn’t interject. Thinking that anyways, it was Verno’s solitary talk after all.

“……Well, it might be difficult in a year, but if the breed you want was found then it probably could also be increased, I guess.”

“But if you say that it is being improved, there was nothing that could be done about increasing the breed I want, right?”

To Cordelia, the important differences in roses were in their fragrance and the amount of essential oils they contained, rather than their appearance. If they were being improved, their colours and shapes should change as well, and Cordelia thought that it would be difficult to specialize on the aspects she herself thought important. However, pointing that out, “……Well, there is no problem” came a reply she couldn’t understand very well again from Verno.

“……You have been saying that there will be no problems for a while now, but why are you trying to help me this much?”

Moreover, getting Cordelia caught up with not Verno’s, but Gyl’s surroundings. Verno then laughed with a smirk, saying “Can’t you guess?” provocatively, and lightly glanced at the bookmark in question.

The conclusion that Cordelia, who saw that, gave was the “……An apology?” possibility.

“If you are feeling sorry, I just followed Verno-sama’s instructions, so it is nothing big enough to worry about.”

“That’s not it…… Well, never mind. I’ll try asking Gyl. Whether they have any breeds with strong fragrance.”

“It’s true that it will be a huge help, but……”

Somehow, she was unsettled and didn’t feel at ease. Even though she didn’t intend on selling favors, did she end up making a grand debt? If that was the case then, she would be grateful…… or rather, to the contrary, she would be troubled. Cordelia, who felt that there was no need to hide those feelings, turned her face towards Verno as it was, but he didn’t seem to be concerned about it in the least.

“By the way, by when do you want them, Delly?”

“……If possible, by a period of 6 to 7 years, I guess. Although if earlier, then the earlier it is the happier I’ll be.”

It is natural that if you were going to start a research, the sooner it is, the better.

However, at least at the moment, she almost doesn’t have any use for them. Various good effects can be obtained from perfumed oils, but if you are not careful of how you use them, negative effects can result from too much effect. Especially more so for a young body. Even if Ronnie’s analysis was still not yet finished, Cordelia knew that as knowledge. That’s why, there had no problems with leaving the objective of completing rose essential oils until after she became an adult.

It’s just that, if possible, Cordelia wanted to have her debut when she became an adult at the age of 16. As that would be the place at which she would be at the center of attention, she thought she should greet them with her favorite…… and, the scent that she would like to leave a lasting impression of her. Besides, the “Cordelia” inside the game had an appearance that looked good with roses. No matter what her personality was like, there was no doubt that she existed with the appearance that was most suitable for them.

That’s why, if possible, with regards to roses, Cordelia thought she wanted to make a fragrance that was only for the sake of herself, and not for the sake of spreading around.

However, Verno titled his head at that answer.

“Since you were saying that you wanted it, I thought that you would be in a bit more of a hurry, but you sure are taking your time…… Well, if this is the case, then we just might be able to do it somehow.”

“However, Verno-sama, I’m by no means asking for it impossibly. I plan to look for them even if by myself, therefor please don’t say anything unreasonable to Gyl-sama.”

“I have no plan of saying anything unreasonable. Ah, I don’t need a refill of the tea. Since I also finished my business for today, I’ll be going back.”

“Oh my, that’s so soon, isn’t it?”

Those words from Verno, who always stays for a long time, were surprising for Cordelia. Every time, he would at least have a refill of the tea before going home. The new tealeaves that she had just procured today seemed to suit Verno’s tastes, but he never commanded Emina, who was about to make a second cup, before. How rare.

It seems that Verno also realized it from the gaze of Cordelia, who thought that, as, “I have to bring this back to Gyl, who’s really looking forward to it, even while being a good kid, you see” he declared. ……It might be true that he’s going to meet with Gyl, but Cordelia felt that it seemed appropriate to say so. Of course, she didn’t say anything, though.

“Come to think of it…… What kind of person is Gyl-sama?”

“Eh?”

“I, don’t really have many interactions yet with people from my generation, you see. Is he Verno-sama’s friend…… or could he be a relative?”

At Cordelia’s question, Verno opened his mouth, and closed it once. Then, after letting out the idiotic sound “Uh……” he said the words “Friends, I don’t think that’s wrong, but……” ambiguously. It was a very suspicious attitude. Compared to the usual attitude that suits his age, she had a feeling that right now, he was slightly more like a panicking elementary school student. That was extremely suspicious. It was an appearance that wasn’t Verno-like.

Looking at the appearance of such Verno, Cordelia was suddenly struck with the feeling that Verno might be hiding something outrageous. For example……

“……Could it be, is Gyl-sama perhaps…… a lady, or something?”

“Eh?”

“Perhaps it was the middle of a rendezvous with a noble girl dressed as a boy in order to avoid standing out……”

It is normally an unbelievable story, but if the other party was Verno, who planned for children to go around incognito by themselves, it wasn’t so unbelievable…… perhaps. It was only an idea she had, but once she gave voice to it, Cordelia had a feeling that it was the most fitting. So that was it, if you were with the one you love, you might not want to say it. You would probably feel embarrassed.

But just as she thought that, in contrast to Cordelia, Verno gradually twisted his face.

“Don’t joke around! Gyl is, without a doubt, a man!”

“Oh, my…… is that so?”

“I admit that he does have an androgynous feel to him, though.”

After leaving the words “Well then, see you again!” behind, Verno who with a haa~ gave a sight, left.

“……He dodged it really well, huh.”

In the end, the information she got from Verno were only Gyl’s gender and that he was Verno’s friend, and so in the end she didn’t get to know just what his identity was. However, being from the same generation, there exists the possibility that they might meet again, too, and she might not need to place such importance on the matter. It’s just that she was concerned as to why Verno would hide Gyl’s identity to this extent.

(By no means did he look like a bad person, though——)

Was he someone she should be a bit careful around? While Cordelia was thinking about this, she gave an order to Emina to call Ronnie. And then, she gave a small sigh in the room that she has become alone in.

It was, by no means, that she hated Gyl, but no matter what, she couldn’t help but be cautious.

(It’s not that I want to doubt him, though)

It is at such times that Cordelia feels strongly. That, she was tired of that even though she is who she is right now because of the memories of her past life, it was because of those memories that she couldn’t honestly face someone. However, it wouldn’t do to just cast away those thoughts.

In the first place, in the beginning she thought about evading her own death, but if she didn’t evade her own death, then that would invite the fall of the Earl House as well, after all.

(Because I’m the one who will become the trigger, saying that I would protect it is an excessive thought, though——)

She didn’t know what she might get caught up in and loose her path. No matter how much she thought that she should be careful, there was no way she could live without ever doubting anybody.

“But then again, indeed, I can’t deny the present that I’m enjoying right now, though……”

Well then, this was a problem. While thinking so, Cordelia smiled bitterly.

In no way did she have the intentions to amuse herself with a game of seesaw. However, being in the same space as the important people around her felt comfortable. That’s exactly why she should live her life every day to the fullest. For her to keep on living in this space. And for her to become a beautiful lady.

“That’s right. That’s why…… first of all, I have to check Master’s glass containers.”

Most likely, for the first time since coming to this world, Cordelia put back the tableware cart with her own hand. She can’t say that she wouldn’t get lost. However, she had no intentions of stopping.

Because she thought that, Cordelia stopped thinking about Gyl. That’s why, other than “someone whom she should a little bit careful about”, she couldn’t think of anything.

I’m terribly sorry for the delay in the release of this chapter.

Even I, myself, didn’t expect the translation to take this long.

Well , you see, college started again, and it just killed me. In a lot of different ways.

I promise to try and release the next one faster, so please stick with me…

On another note, the rest of Act 2, the first 40%~ of which were translated by mojotranslations, is here~

Check it out if you like..