Chapter 3

The Marquess Family's Magic Genius - Chapter 3 (3/324)

3

Eternal Friend of the Spirits.

As soon as she saw those words, a thought flashed through her mind.

‘...This is amazing.’

Just as the name suggested, it was a talent that was far from ordinary. It was one of the top-tier talents related to spirit magic.

‘Ersiel.’

At that moment, as she looked at her.

A memory surfaced.

The face of Kail, chatting and drinking with some obnoxious noble boys, came to mind.

"Let's go to the slave auction?"

"Yes. I know a place with good water. I think you'll like it, Lord Kail. It's a place with excellent merchandise."

"Really?"

The topic of conversation between Kail and the noble boys shifted to the slave auction.

‘Damn.’

This was a memory from when he was ten.

Anyway.

These guys were rotten from the start.

As Kail showed interest, the noble boys, who seemed to be of lower rank, started to talk excitedly about a place that was secretly operated and had very clean water.

In this memory, Kail's emotions and thoughts were also felt.

It was a slightly different way of replaying compared to when only the scenes were shown before.

Soon, this good-for-nothing started to visit the place, drunk and accompanied by a noble and his bodyguards.

The slave auction.

"The item I'm showing you now is quite a high-quality one! From the southernmost part of the Alton Empire, the Hellaim Marquess Family! I introduce to you, their third daughter, Ersiel!"

First-person perspective.

In that view, a girl appeared, her eyes trembling with anxiety.

She looked about the age of a first-grader.

It was an amazing worldview.

If something like this happened in the modern world, she would be immediately put in handcuffs.

In the game, it was just something to be accepted, but thinking it was real, it wasn't a pleasant sight.

While watching the scene,

Kail's emotions started to come through.

It seemed that the emotion this guy was feeling was a sense of kinship.

A girl who had been sold after her family fell into ruin.

And a good-for-nothing who was ignored and mistreated in his own family.

Both were in similar dire straits.

Soon, the fat noble boys, wearing masks, started to sparkle with excitement as they looked at the girl.

"Fifty gold!"

"Seventy gold!"

"Hundred gold!"

As the auction heated up,

"Ugh. Three hundred gold."

A voice, slurred as if drunk, was heard.

At the same time, the eyes of the bodyguard standing behind him furrowed.

Even if he was the son of a wealthy marquess, three hundred gold was not a sum to be spent lightly.

Perhaps this good-for-nothing was imagining all sorts of things he would do with the young girl after spending such a large sum.

After winning the bid for Ersiel,

Kail, who was trembling, smiled and said in a slurred voice.

"I don't really have any plans to do anything, so don't tremble so much~"

"......Yes? Yes, sir..."

"Leonhardt."

"Yes."

"I want to make this girl my maid."

"But her background is uncertain..."

"Ugh. Her background? The seller guaranteed it, didn't he?"

"......Why are you suddenly doing something you don't usually do?"

"Just... because I feel sorry for her? It's a tragic fate for a fallen noble's daughter."

"......That doesn't sound like you, sir."

Leonhardt.

He was the direct bodyguard assigned to this good-for-nothing.

Young and already at a considerable level, he had been loyal to the family since childhood.

His position was quite solid.

One of the few knights who could give a stern warning to the good-for-nothing, thanks to the marquess's trust.

That's why this good-for-nothing couldn't do anything about it.

"Isn't it annoying to always pick at me?"

"You should be treated according to your actions."

"Hmm... Anyway, I've made my decision. I'm taking her with me."

"Surely the head of the family will..."

"Nonsense. Do you think my father would care about such a thing? Just assigning a maid. Her name is Ersiel, right? Will you come with me? I'll let you go if you want."

Perhaps out of sympathy in his drunken state, Kail's tone sounded quite gentle.

Ersiel's face showed great relief.

"......I'll go."

The memory ended there.

‘The high affection is because of this.’

In this harsh world, assigning a maid position in a prestigious family, providing regular meals and salary to a child with no connections.

It was understandable that her affection was 30.

Or, in other words.

‘Even after showing such kindness, her affection is only this much? That's quite something.’

Perhaps because he only refrained from physical abuse but often made verbal attacks, her affection might have continuously decreased.

Maybe because of Kail's memories?

Even though they were practically strangers, for some reason, she felt familiar.

I glanced at her and asked.

"Ersiel."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you ever thought about spirits?"

"...Spirits?"

"Yeah, spirits."

"No. Why spirits all of a sudden...?"

"No."

Seeing her puzzled expression, I could guess that she probably didn't know about her talent at all.

‘She would have continued living as a maid then.’

I almost missed the gem right in front of me.

Anyway, was it because I broke through the barrier with mana?

I was incredibly hungry.

I needed to eat something first.

"Hey."

"Yes, sir."

"I have something to talk about, so can you wait a moment?"

"Sure."

"I'll talk after I eat. I'm really hungry."

"Yes."

Maybe because her affection was 30,

She was showing a rather friendly attitude.

After eating the food frantically for about ten minutes,

I put down the empty plates.

"......Um."

"Yeah?"

"Does it suit you?"

"Yeah, it was delicious. Did you make it?"

At my answer, Ersiel's face brightened.

"Yes."

"You're a good cook. These too?"

She nodded.

"A few of them."

"Thanks. It was delicious."

At my thanks, she smiled quietly.

She's a very well-mannered girl.

Do ten-year-olds in this neighborhood act like this?

Even with Kail's memories mixed in, it was still unfamiliar.

In Korea, this would be the age to play and have fun without knowing anything.

Her gaze then turned to the empty plates.

"You seem different from usual today."

"What's different?"

"......Everything..."

Seeing her hesitant expression, I smiled.

Ersiel.

Not an enemy, with some affection, and with an outstanding talent.

‘It would be great to raise her well.’

She would be perfect as my subordinate.

To stop the villains who would appear one by one, the more capable people, the better.

Isn't there a saying?

Even a white sheet of paper is better when held together.

Especially for such talent.

To gather such talented people, I needed to show some vision.

At the very least, I needed to shed the good-for-nothing title.

"Over the past few days, I've been thinking. From now on, I want to live more seriously."

"......Yes?"

"I want to live longer than twenty. To do that, I think I need to change from now on."

Survival.

There was no better motivation for this good-for-nothing to change his attitude.

If someone says they want to live hard because they don't want to die, no one would think it's strange.

At that moment, as I finished speaking,

Her eyes turned sad.

"......"

It was as if

She was looking at a terminally ill cancer patient who struggles to fight the disease but has almost zero chance of survival.

A blocked channel.

Since it was treated like an incurable disease here, it was a natural reaction.

But it didn't matter.

‘It's not hard to overcome.’

Mana construct.

With this, it was possible to remove this characteristic.

Don't worry, kid.

You'll see me so much that you'll get sick of it.

Looking at Ersiel, I said,

"Since we've eaten, I want to go outside a bit."

"......Outside?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd take a walk."

If Kail's memory is correct, this was a separate building.

Why was this guy locked up here for three days, just drinking?

It was because of the house arrest imposed by his father, the marquess, as a punishment for his past behavior.

"......But the head of the family..."

"I want to breathe some fresh air. I don't plan to cause any trouble."

Of course, that was just what I said.

There was a real reason I wanted to go out.

The number of mana particles floating outside the window was much greater than inside the separate building.

Outside was like a golden El Dorado.

‘Waiting until the house arrest ends would be crazy.’

If the period wasn't too long, I might have waited, but unfortunately, it was indefinite. If I just sat and waited, I would be trapped in this separate building for at least a year.

Given the situation, I needed to quickly build my strength before the villains started to appear.

So, I decided to just close my eyes and go out.

If things went as I planned, I could continue to go out regularly.

"So, can you guide me? As you know, I'm a bit frail."

"......Yes."

She didn't refuse my request.

She didn't have the position to refuse.

After leaving the room, I started to follow her.

The mana particles in the corridors.

I had no intention of letting them go.

Absorbing the particles as I walked, I started to see people in the separate building.

Most of them were maids or servants.

And they all had one thing in common.

‘Damn.’

Their affection was far below zero.

Out of dozens of people, how could there not be a single one who wasn't negative?

I didn't even hope for a positive, just a zero would be nice.

Naturally, my gaze turned to Ersiel's head. It seemed I had been thinking wrong.

Affection 30.

I thought it was low, but it wasn't.

This was a number that only his parents could show to this good-for-nothing.

* * * * *

This spacious separate building.

Just as I was about to open the door to the first floor,

A voice was heard.

"You are not allowed to go out, sir."

A deep, resonant voice.

Naturally, my gaze turned to the source, and I saw a knight in a well-fitted full-body armor.

Leonhardt.

This skilled knight was spending a lonely day in the separate building due to his unfortunate master.

That's why his affection was at -50.

"I just want to take a walk."

"Have you forgotten the head of the family's words? Ersiel, what were you thinking, bringing the young master here?"

"......"

Seeing his stubbornly closed mouth, it didn't seem like persuasion would be easy.

‘His personality is still the same.’

I knew this guy very well.

Leonhardt was one of the most famous characters in Fantasy Defense.

After the marquess family fell,

He started wandering as a free knight and became hireable.

Thanks to his high potential and the trait of not betraying, he was a top-tier knight in the hiring rankings.

‘He's the same as before.’

A guy with an expressionless face.

Actually seeing him in person was a bit intimidating.

But I had no intention of backing down.

I was about to persuade this stubborn bodyguard for my outing.