Chapter 2

The happiest things were getting my own room, not the workshop, and receiving a salary. Oh, and the days off too. Until now, I had always slept and lived in the workshop, sewing all day long. No matter how much I sewed, my family would add a few stitches to finish the items and take them somewhere. I didn’t know if they were for sale or if they were custom orders, and of course, I never received any allowance or salary... and there were no days off.

I was taught about the value and use of money. For the first time, I bought fabric that I could sew freely. When I was being raised, a private tutor had taught me various things, but it was mostly focused on basic manners and etiquette, and I had never handled money before.

I sewed proper clothes for myself and made sachets for the people in the mansion using the main fabric I bought. Of course, I sewed protective charms into the lining. I wanted to give these as gifts to the first people who had been kind to me... to the people for whom I wanted to sew protective charms, I infused the spider silk with magic...

My first attempt at sewing protective charms... turned out to be something extraordinary.

"Wha—"

The spirits who had been helping me with the protective charms gathered around... and the threads glowed in various colors. Of course, without saying... the protective charms were probably incredibly powerful. If they hadn’t been sewn in invisibly, there would have been quite a commotion, wouldn’t there?

Additionally, the potpourri inside was filled with the residual power of the spirits, who had lain down and hidden in it. For men, it had a fresh, soft lemon scent; for women, a sweet, floral scent. I thought it might be a bother for the cooks, but they happily accepted them, saying they wouldn’t carry them on their days off.

I don’t know how effective they are, but they will likely protect the health and mental well-being of their owners significantly. The reason I was able to survive on a meager diet was that I had been eating food that the spirits had touched and infused with power. If I had been living on such a poor diet for five years, I would have gotten sick and died, but I was just very thin.

I sewed with even more enthusiasm for the head of the household, who had practically rescued me from that house.

"Lord Rodan"

"What is it, Ulde?"

Rodan, who rarely changed his expression, stood up at the sight of Ulde, his childhood friend, a beautiful woman in men’s clothing, and one of the head butlers, looking anxious. On the tray in his hand was a small bag.

"What is that?"

"It’s a sachet, Lord Rodan, made for you by Lady Yui."

When it was handed to him, he realized it was harmless and took it, sniffing it. The refreshing scent of lemon seemed to wash away the fatigue from his paperwork.

"Almost everyone in the mansion received something similar. She said she was happy to be treated kindly, so she used her first salary to buy materials and make them."

"Is there a problem?"

"I checked the contents of the one for Lord Rodan... I think you’ll understand when you see it..."

Rodan followed the instructions and turned the sachet over onto the paper laid out on the tray. Dried herbs with a lemon scent fell onto the paper, infused with the power of the spirits.

"Did she pick herbs inhabited by spirits?!"

In the special gardens of the royal palace, these herbs are grown in small quantities, and they are difficult to manage. When picking them, the spirits must offer the leaves themselves for the power to be infused. Dishes and teas made from these herbs have detoxifying and health benefits. They are almost impossible to find on the market and can only be tasted at tea parties hosted by the royal family.

"Lord Rodan, these are herbs that Lady Yui processed after getting permission to prune overgrown or excess plants from the garden."

"...What?"

"The bigger problem is the bag itself. Please look inside."

Following the instructions, Rodan peered into the bag and gasped, freezing.

"These are genuine protective charms, on par with those made by the founder of the Nier family."

"Wait, wasn’t it said that she couldn’t sew protective charms?"

"...She is young and not well-versed in the world... but she has a healthy and proud spirit. She may have sewn them secretly to avoid causing trouble if her family found out... or she may not know that her protective charms are on the level of the founder... or she may not even know about the founder..."

Rodan recalled Yui’s small, ragged appearance when they first met, at the age of fifteen. It was noted that she hadn’t spoken to anyone for several years. Her awkward greeting made her seem like a child, and it was possible that she didn’t know the value of the protective charms, or even their effects.

"Also, my husband Schur has a report..."

Hearing that it was a report from Schur, Ulde’s husband and another childhood friend who was also a head butler, Rodan’s back straightened.

"What is it?"

Schur was the head butler in charge of Rodan’s duties at the royal palace. He had a rare ability to see spirits, a magical eye, which made him highly sought after as a magician’s apprentice. However, he chose to marry into Ulde’s family, learned from the previous head butler, and now served Rodan. He usually traveled between the royal palace and the residence, rarely visiting the mansion, as Ulde was the head butler in charge of the mansion. When he did come home, he sometimes helped Ulde, but Ulde was generally the better butler. If Schur had a report, it must be related to the spirits.

"Right now, I’m talking to Lady Yui about giving a gift to one of Lord Rodan’s important friends, and I’m observing her surroundings. I think we should report her skills to the royal palace... apparently, the mansion is currently under significant protection from the spirits. The cause can only be her."

A few minutes later, Schur returned with a report on why the number of spirits had increased, and Rodan and Ulde were even more astonished by the content.