Chapter 77

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As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

"Y-Young Master! That, that!?"

"Yes, it's the Nether Spider I received from Hyouren-sama last night."

Rottenmayer, whose eyes widened behind her glasses, pointed at the insect cage by the pillow and retreated down the hallway, acting unlike herself.

"Rottenmayer, you're afraid of spiders...?"

"I, I can't stand any kind of insect...!"

"Really? I didn't know... I'm sorry. But Tala isn't a bad girl, you know?"

"T-Tala...?"

"Yes. Tala, short for Tarantula. She can produce beautiful threads when given magic power."

"Is that so..."

After that, last night, I tried to see how much magic power I needed to give Hyouren-sama to produce a certain amount of thread. The result was that a tiny amount of magic power, enough to create a small fireball, produced enough thread for one spool. Low consumption, hooray.

During the process, I found out that Tala has intelligence similar to a dog, can understand some of what I say, and can express herself.

When I explained this, Rottenmayer seemed to understand, even though she kept her distance.

"If you limit the breeding area, it should be fine to let her roam there..."

"Yeah, it would be too sad to keep her in the cage all the time."

"There is an unused sunroom in a separate building. I will have it cleaned."

"Is there a sunroom?"

"Yes. It was used by your late grandmother, Kise-sama, but your mother didn't like it and had it closed off."

"I see. I'll help with the cleaning, so I'll use it."

"Understood."

So, we decided to clean the sunroom. After breakfast, while having tea, I told the three elves about Tala, the gifts from the princess, Igor-sama, and the second son.

"A spider from another world as a tailor...?"

"Raising a monster...?"

"Ugh, I can't look at your status, it's too scary!"

Mr. Romanov and Lala had distant looks, while Viktor looked exhausted.

Utsunomiya-san timidly raised her hand.

"What is it, Utsunomiya-san?"

"Well, actually... when I woke up, there was a strange object by Regulus-sama's pillow."

Encouraged, Regulus-kun showed a scroll and a rainbow feather quill, similar to those from historical dramas in my previous life.

"Did you check the contents of the scroll?"

"When Utsunomiya tried to touch it, it gave a tingling sensation."

"That's right, when Utsunomiya tried to touch it, it hurt!"

Oh my.

Taking the scroll, the string that sealed it came undone. Inside, there were elegant, short words written.

"It says, 'Chick, help your brother with his studies and sword practice.'"

At the end of the message, there was a lotus flower pattern in ink, just like the one on my and Regulus-kun's foreheads, revealing the sender.

The princess must have entrusted it to Hyouren-sama, who then placed it by Regulus-kun's pillow while he was sleeping.

When I told Utsunomiya-san this, the scroll made a cool sound and disappeared.

Handing the remaining feather quill to Regulus-kun, he happily tried to put it in a familiar-looking pouch.

It was a chick-shaped coin purse with a string, and it didn't seem big enough for the feather quill. When I tried to stop him, the quill slipped smoothly into the purse through the chick's beak.

"Regulus-kun, that...?"

"I got it on my birthday from Chenche!"

There are so many teachers.

Actually, I was so focused on my own birthday that I didn't even ask what Regulus-kun received or thank him.

"Thank you, teachers. I will thank my father on his behalf."

"Not at all. I gave the chick magic bag, Lala gave..."

"I thought it was time to teach him archery, so I gave him an elf archery set."

I knew I received a paper knife made by a dwarf craftsman from Viktor-san, but Regulus-kun also received gifts from the two of them and was able to properly thank them.

"He said, 'Thank you, I will do my best,' clearly."

"Yes, he spoke without stuttering."

What a surprise, even though he just turned four, Regulus-kun...

"Is he a genius?"

"Given this older brother, it's fitting to have this younger brother, you know. I can't even look at Raitan's status, it's too scary."

"Ugh, it makes me sound like some strange creature."

I pouted at Viktor-san's words, but Mr. Romanov and Lala nodded, and Rottenmayer wouldn't even meet my eyes. Why?

We spent the morning like this, and after our stomachs settled, Rottenmayer led us to the unused sunroom in a separate building.

Thinking it would be dusty, Elise and Utsunomiya-san prepared mops, buckets, and rags, while I got a child-sized broom.

When Rottenmayer opened the long-closed door with a key, the stale air and dust inside flowed out.

We all coughed, and Viktor-san, who also coughed, snapped his fingers, and the wind blew the dust away without touching us.

After the dust was cleared, the floor, which had been hidden, was revealed.

The tiles were arranged in a mosaic pattern, depicting a field of flowers with butterflies flying around, creating a space suitable for a noble lady.

"I've blown away the dust, but we still need to wipe and sweep, right?"

"Thank you, we'll do the rest by hand."

After thanking Viktor-san, Mr. Romanov filled a bucket with water from Elise.

Taking the wrung-out rag, Regulus-kun also took one, and looking around, Lala and the others also had rags and mops.

I didn't expect to do a major cleaning at the start of the year, but with a decent number of people, it went quickly.

Before long, everything was wiped clean and looked much better.

Taking the curtains out to wash, the sunroom, true to its name, was illuminated by the rainbow light from the stained-glass skylight.

Narrowing my eyes at the warmth of the light, I felt a tug on my shirt. It was Regulus-kun pointing to a large frame leaning against an empty bookshelf.

"Big brother, what's that?"

"I wonder..."

Curious, Regulus-kun and I approached the frame and wiped the dust off with the rag. We then turned the large frame around to face us, and there was a portrait of a noble lady, covered in dust.

"Same color as big brother..."

"Yes... her hair and eyes..."

With a dignified presence, strong will in her large eyes, a straight brow, flowing black hair, and rose petal-like lips, she radiated a combined brilliance.

"She used to say, 'In my youth, I was called the fairest lady of the Qifeng Empire,' but even in her old age, she was truly beautiful..."

At Rottenmayer's nostalgic voice, everyone's gaze focused on the portrait.

"Indeed..." someone whispered.

"Then, this is my...?"

"Yes, the previous Countess, Kise Kikui. Your grandmother."

Where did the beautiful genes break?

I was the only one who gave a sidelong glance.

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