Chapter 10

“It’s time.”

Early morning.

At those words, the maids helping with Belinda’s morning preparations, led by Mary, all withdrew their hands and stepped back.

Soon, the door adjoining Belinda’s room opened, and Leo, dressed neatly in Terry’s coordinated outfit, came out hesitantly.

He looked incredibly adorable, wearing a beret with a brim tilted askew and fidgeting with his hands inside the short cape worn for warmth.

The maids, who were unconsciously giving a standing ovation in their hearts, quietly bowed their heads when they saw Belinda glaring at Leo with a fierce look in her eyes.

“Everyone except Ratchet, leave.”

The maids glanced at each other for a moment before silently withdrawing.

They had no choice but to ignore this tense training session that had been going on for some time now.

The maids didn’t know what was happening inside the room where only Leo and Belinda remained after all the employees had left.

They only knew that Leo’s appearance was a mess when he emerged from Belinda’s room after a brief private audience of about 5 minutes.

The maids closed the door after giving a pitying look at Leo, who was tensely hunching his shoulders.

Finally, alone with Leo, Belinda slowly stretched both arms forward.

And with a gloomy expression, she muttered as if warning:

“Ratchet.”

“Ye-ye-ye-yes!”

“Come here.”

Leo’s face instantly turned bright red.

The child carefully walked as if treading on thin ice and stood in front of Belinda.

Then Belinda knelt down on the floor and hugged Leo so tightly as if to crush the child’s body.

“…!”

This had become a sort of morning ritual for a week now, but Leo still couldn’t get used to it and stiffened up every time.

Nevertheless, Belinda didn’t give up on hugging Leo for 5 minutes every morning.

It had become their routine to hug tightly without a word, then give words of encouragement while thoroughly messing up Leo’s hair.

Belinda hugged Leo tightly and loosened her grip when the child’s tension began to subside.

“Ratchet, try to struggle like a bug today as well.”

Just as Belinda was about to let go of the child after fiercely delivering what was meant to be an encouraging message for the day.

For the first time, Leo’s small hands awkwardly wrapped around Belinda’s back.

“Lady Be-Belinda, have a good day too.”

Touched by the response from the child who didn’t even know how to receive affection, Belinda hugged Leo tightly once more.

It was slow, but a big first step.

* * *

As a member of the Five Nations Council, Genos was founded after the Seal Stone War 700 years ago.

As a result, it was an inviolable country where neither invading other countries nor being invaded was allowed, and thanks to this, the kingdom had enjoyed peace without experiencing a single war since its founding.

Except for the northern Baluasten territory, known as humanity’s gatekeeper.

I stuck out my tongue as I looked at the vast Baluasten territory marked on the map, which occupied 1/4 of the kingdom.

‘Although it’s a trip to enjoy winter, there’s probably no need to go all the way to the northern territory.’

I boldly deleted the north from my mind.

My gaze wandered busily over the map, looking for a suitable winter travel destination.

Although Leo’s stress levels were stable, considering the previous incident, I was planning a month-long winter trip to broaden the child’s horizons.

The royal capital wasn’t a region with heavy snowfall, so Leo said he had never seen a landscape covered in snow.

So, I was looking for a region with beautiful snow scenery, but I couldn’t find a travel destination that quite caught my eye.

Giving up on seeing snow, I considered going to the warmer south instead and examined the remaining inheritance.

But something seemed off about my vault balance.

‘Surely Sybel didn’t embezzle my money?’

Thinking he couldn’t be that petty, I immediately checked the expense receipts from the past, only to confirm the bitter truth that I was the thief myself.

‘But it was spending without regrets.’

Besides, there are plenty of ways to make money.

I have information from the future, capital to invest anywhere, and even fairy luck!

It was time to mercifully forgive that thief’s sins.

“Lady Belinda, finally… I’ve completed it!”

Vivian, who burst into the office, reverently presented something placed on a velvet cushion to me.

An entirely black body.

Complex magic circles entwining the handle and barrel like vines.

And delicate gold decorations on top of that.

It was closer to a piece of craftsmanship than a gun.

I carefully grasped Vivian’s creation.

It had considerable weight, but not so much that it was difficult to hold with one hand, and above all, I liked how it fit comfortably in my grip.

“You seem skilled at holding a pistol.”

Terry, the spectator who had scurried over at some point, remarked.

Well, I’ve seen it countless times in movies and dramas, so striking a pose while holding it isn’t that difficult.

The problem is my shooting skills, but for now, there wasn’t a suitable place to practice.

I fiddled with the gun, tried pulling the trigger, and nodded with satisfaction.

“I should give a reward.”

Then I took out a contract from the drawer that I had prepared for Vivian long ago.

Showing it to Vivian, I pointed to the signature line and said,

“Sign here.”

Without a word, Vivian took out a magical pen from her bosom and signed the contract.

“Vivian.”

“Yes?”

I called her with a deep sigh, but she just blinked her eyes, seemingly unaware of what was wrong.

“Why did you sign just because I told you to?”

“Well, because you told me to sign…”

Vivian mumbled, then belatedly checked what she was holding in her hand and nodded as if she had figured out the answer.

“Ah, I shouldn’t sign a contract with a magical pen, right?”

“….”

“Um… Is my signature too crude?”

“….”

“If not that… should I use premium ink when signing contracts?”

“….”

After her consecutive wrong answers, I tapped the contract’s clauses with my neatly trimmed nails and gave her the correct answer.

“Why did you sign without checking the content of the contract? I could have included a toxic clause to exploit you like a slave.”

I spoke more coldly than usual out of concern, but for some reason, Vivian grinned instead of being intimidated.

“It’s, it’s okay. If it’s you, Lady Belinda… you can even exploit me!”

“…!”

Oh, you foolish human!

Even after being treated so badly by that garbage mentor, you still haven’t come to your senses!

“Butler.”

“Yes.”

“Teach this incompetent bug the bitter taste of the world.”

“Leave it to me. Now, now. Miss Pure Lamb untainted by the world, shall we learn about the real world together?”

“No, that’s not what I meant, I just trust Lady Belinda with anything…”

“Yes, yes. Save your excuses for me.”

Vivian tried desperately to say something, but in the end, she was dragged away by Terry.

After receiving an intensive lesson from Terry about fraudulent contracts prevalent in back alleys, that child probably won’t carelessly sign contracts without knowing how scary the world can be.

I carefully put away the contract Vivian had signed, then shifted my attention to the newly acquired weapon.

It would be good to practice shooting regularly, even if only to prepare for dangerous situations that might arise later.

However, I wondered how much help target practice with stationary targets would be.

‘Isn’t there a suitable place where weak, low-level monsters roam around?’

As I was pondering, my eyes suddenly caught sight of the daytime moon outside the window.

A pale crescent moon.

As soon as I saw it, something occurred to me.

“Ah!”

There was a place full of harmless and insignificant monsters!

Moreover, it was near a famous tourist spot, making it perfect for a winter trip.

‘It might even help improve Leo’s stats.’

<Hirome> was an amazing game where you could explore dungeons and hunt monsters.

Monster hunting proceeded as a turn-based game where you and the enemy took turns attacking each other amicably, and if you won, there was a chance your stats would increase.

As I was calculating the date of the full moon, I noticed a group of maids crossing the garden, laughing cheerfully.

Come to think of it…

“Before leaving the mansion, I should deal with those rats first.”

I muttered that unconsciously, then startled, touched my lips.

There was no one around, so Belinda’s translator wasn’t active.

Yet, Belinda’s manner of speaking came out so naturally.

“This is why they say habits are scary.”

It seems that after focusing so much on speaking like Belinda, her way of talking had become ingrained in me without realizing it.