This is my second day in the capital. In other words, the day I go to make my equipment. The sun is sitting near the top of the sky. It was just past noon.
I was with Patrick and Eleanora, riding in a horse-drawn carriage. The destination was the Archiam residence.
Eleanora was in a good mood because she was going to see her friend for the first time in a long time. I was the opposite.
“Haaa.”
“Yumiela.”
“No wonder we are so technologically underdeveloped.”
“Yumiela!”
Looking out at that loathsome clear sky, Patrick calls us back to the carriage.
I wasn’t in the right mindset to be visiting a nobleman’s mansion that reeked of trouble.
Patrick had given me some information about Count Archiam, but most of it was just brushed aside.
Even if I wanted to do it right, it’s difficult with my current motivation. To borrow the words of someone who lowered my spirits in the morning, it is “technically impossible.”
It is motivationally impossible to prep for Count Archiam. Ah, it’s a world without dreams and romance.
“Sorry. I didn’t pay attention.”
“It’s my fault, too, for starting the conversation with the origins of the Archiam family. Here’s where we are now.”
Patrick looked at the stack of papers in his hand. It was put together by someone who works at the Ashbaton estate in the capital. Neither he nor I knew much about Count Archiam, so we relied on the information network of the frontier count.
The fact that they have a person who specialises in gathering information in the capital reminded me once again that the Ashbaton family is very large.
He flipped through the paper and skimmed over the text.
“This… is something they didn’t put a lot of effort into investigating. Guess being away from the Ashbaton territory and not involved in it didn’t help.”
“I’d be grateful if you can get me out of here right away.”
“Since the fall of the Duke of Hillrose, he seems to have avoided any conspicuous activity. He is a central aristocrat, but goes to his domain a few times a year. The tax rates on his estates are reasonable, but he is rumored to be extravagant.”
“There are people like that even in the extremist faction.”
Given my experience with the worst-case scenario of a non-central noble who never stays in his domain, takes his taxes to the limit, and spends too much, Count Arkiam is a decent noble.
Only the last part of his extravagance bothers me, but that’s the way all the nobles living in the capital are.
“From the residence to the tea cakes, it seems that they have to be better than the other nobles of the same rank in everything they do.”
“Oh, that’s moderate…. Do they have enough money?”
It’s fine to stick to what you like. But if you have everything better than the rest, there won’t be enough money to go around.
Patrick looked at the paper in his hand, reviewing the financial situation that had been bothering him.
“There it is, this is it. There are rumors that they are plagued with debt, but the truth is unknown.”
“They’re in debt, aren’t they? Spending more than the rest of us, but having about average income, right?”
“I’m sure they are. The territory itself has a decent size and is famous for its lumber.”
“The tax revenue is being boosted by the profits made by the Archit Trading Company, the architectural firm that is now taking care of you?”
“I would think that a business started by a lord would be profitable….”
“Ah, I see. Maybe it’s just someone else with a similar name.”
Then I remembered the Archiam territory where I went to carry logs, and it made sense to me. Except for the trading company, it didn’t seem that prosperous.
If there were a mine or something controlled by the lord, he would be incredibly rich, but he doesn’t seem to have anything like that either.
My current assessment of Count Archiam is that he isn’t a bad person, but he is a vain central nobleman. The only concern is that he is in debt.
I have no personal information about the Count personally. Oh, Eleanora must be acquainted with him.
Shifting my gaze from Patrick, sitting across from me, to her next to me, I say.
“You have met him before, haven’t you, Eleanora? What is Count Archiam like?”
“The people there, including Dorothea-san, work very hard on their hobbies. Dorothea-san has a lot of lovely dolls.”
What kind of dolls are you talking about? Since they are expensive even in this world, it only strengthened my impression of them as a noble family with a rough spending habit.
However, I don’t think they will ask me to lend them money. Relying on me would be a very last resort, even from their point of view.
What kind of trouble might arise? When I turned my head to the front, Patrick shook his head and said, “I don’t know either.”.
Patrick looks worried, but I’m not sure why.
Eleanora is going to visit Count Arkiam because she wants to see her friend, but there is no reason for her to pay attention to the Count, whom she has never met before. There was no need for her to seek his advice, nor was she obliged to take on his request.
“I’m sure it will be fine. You can just say no no matter what he says.”
Can you say no?”
Patrick said and shifted his gaze to the side. Checking to see if something was wrong with Eleanora, it was the moment she poked her head out of the carriage window. It’s dangerous.
“We’re here!”
The carriage comes to a gentle halt.
We had already arrived at the Count’s residence. The gates, which had remained closed yesterday, were open and ready to receive us. We were invited into the residence
◆ ◆ ◆
We walked down the hallway of the mansion, greeted by Kevin, Count Archiam’s retainer. I whispered in Patrick’s ear so that the old man in front of me would not hear.
“That’s the man who came in the morning.”
“He’s the one who yelled for Miss Eleanora?”
“Yes. He seems calm, but be careful.”
Upon entering the estate, I found out. Count Archiam’s vanity is considerable.
From the outside, I thought he owned a large estate for a count. However, the inside is outrageous.
The hallways of the Archiam mansion are like a museum. Countless paintings, antique vases, imported folk crafts, beautifully decorated plates, and this is a mansion model.
Not only were the items arranged in high density, but they were also excessively decorated, from the lighting to the doorknobs. The royal palace and the now-gone Eleanora’s home were also substantial, but not to this extent.
Even in the nobleman’s sense, it was overdecorated. Patrick was also looking at them with a baffled look on his face.
Walking down the hallway, Kevin stopped just as he reached the stairs. A maid was waiting in front of the stairs leading to the second floor.
“Eleanora-sama please come this way. Lady Dorothea is waiting for you.”
Will it be all right if it is just me and Patrick who will speak to the Count? Eleanora is here to see her friend. We will go our separate ways from here.
Patrick whispered as he watched Eleanora’s back as she did as she was told.
“Isn’t it dangerous to let her go alone? What will Eleanora say….”
It is a bit worrisome.
Eleanora is mentally invincible. During our school days, no matter how much I repeatedly responded to her with an attitude, she would still come on to me without doubting that she was well-liked.
But I’m still worried. I’ll go with her.
“I’ll go with you.”
When I come forward, Eleanora turns and says happily.
“Yes! Dorothea-san’s dolls are lovely, so you should come, too, Yumiela.”
The Count will have to wait a bit, but that’s not a problem.
When I turned to face him for confirmation, Kevin nodded, smiling.
“Miss Dorothea will be delighted. Just don’t stay too long….”
“I know. I’ll hear what Count Archiam has to say.”
Afterwards, Patrick declines to go upstairs because it is a gathering of ladies, and Eleanora and I are escorted to the room where Dorothea is waiting.
Just before I climbed the stairs to the second floor of the estate, a girl’s voice was heard.
“Is it true that Eleanora-sama is here?”
“Miss—”
“What do I look like—”
“Miss! She’s already here.”
Ah. The staircase was a blind spot, so only the maid leading us could be seen.
The voice alone doesn’t ring a bell, but it is probably Dorothea. Hearing the voice, Eleanora passed the maid and climbed the stairs. I followed.
“Dorothea-san! It’s good to see you looking well. It’ s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“I’m glad to see that you haven’t changed either, Eleanora-sama.”
I looked at Dorothea, who was awkwardly staring at me, and I gradually began to remember her.
Her long hair, which used to be tied in two when she was at school, was cut off around her shoulders. However, her self-confidence or timid demeanour hadn’t changed, and my impression of her as a person remained the same.
As the fourth or so of Eleanora’s followers, I had the impression that she was still a good person. Better than the others who control Eleanora to their advantage.
Dorothea was someone of few words. She didn’t spew anything to Elenora, she didn’t give her opinion, she conforms to her surroundings. No malice, no good intentions. With or without her, there is no change.
“The doll’s room is fine with me.”
Elenora had been here many times. She was going the familiar way, but Dorothea stopped her.
“Yumiela-sama is here, too….”
“It’s alright!”
“…Okay.”
Oh, Dorothea doesn’t seem to want to go to the doll room or whatever it is called. She keeps glancing at me anxiously.
While I understand the reason for not wanting to bring someone into their hobby room, that logic doesn’t hold water in front of Eleanora.
Eleanora took the lead and went forward, stopping in front of one door. She then turned to Dorothea to enter first.
She relented and put her hand on the door, saying something to me.
“You’ll be surprised.”
I wonder what awaits me. Looking into Dorothea’s hobby room, I suppress the scream that is about to come out of my mouth.
“It’s… amazing.”
“I know, right? Their faces and clothes are all so adorable, I like them too.”
The dimly lit room was lined with dolls. Would you call them “dolls”? They were dolls in the Western doll or antique doll style.
That alone would be girlish and adorable. The number of dolls was unusual. In a tall showcase by the wall, dolls were lined up on four shelves.
The curtains were closed even though it was daytime.
Why are the curtains not open?”
“I keep them closed because the sunlight can damage them.”
Dorothea said this as if it were a normal thing to say and walked into the room. Eleanora followed, looking amused.
I stepped into a room that looked like it belonged in a horror game.
There are dolls on the desk with dismembered limbs, and a larger doll sits on a chair quietly. It was a room dedicated exclusively to dolls.
Dorothea bows her head, looking nervous that the doll might start to move.
“I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t scare you.”
“No, not at all. Are the pieces… being repaired?”
“They are in the process of being made.”
“Dorothea makes her own dolls.”
I was surprised to hear Elenora’s additional explanation. Is this something that can be made?
When I looked closely at the dismembered doll with admiration, I found that one of the eyes was missing. The eye-like glass ball is supposed to be inserted in the hollow of the eye, but it’s still scary….
I was taken aback by her overly serious attitude towards her hobby.
“Huh… you made it yourself?”
“There are so many dolls. I even made them myself. Am I being weird?”
With that said, Dorothea’s face is shadowed.
Eleanora is a rare species, still happily looking around the room. Normally, she reacts like me, which is why you didn’t want to alert her.
Having a hobby that is hard for people to understand, I don’t want to deny other people’s hobbies. It was shameful of me to pull back and say that it was a hobby I couldn’t understand.
“No, you’re not. I used to make these things myself.”
“Dolls?!”
“It’s humanoid, but it looks a little different than what you have here.”
In Japan. I had a hobby like that. It was made of plastic, but it was basically humanoid, and you could have safely called it a doll. Plastic models of humanoid mobile weapons were practically dolls.
Mistaking me for a like-minded person, Dorothea suddenly closes the distance between us.
“Really? I wish I had known that when we were in school. What kind of dolls did you make?”
“The main focus is on the cosmic era.”
” Did you dress them up?”
“The exterior was green or red. Sorry, I wasn’t that serious about it. I used markers for painting.”
Although I prefer to airbrush the paint, I couldn’t bring myself to do that much. It would be nice to paint the red fuselage with candy paint, but it would take too much time and skill. The quality of recent kits is good enough, even if they’re unassembled. I’m not trying to use plastic models to get through this, so I don’t want to be bombarded with questions.
The conversation is clearly not engaging, and the Dorothea side doesn’t seem to understand what I’m saying, yet it continues.
“There are many difficulties when you are making something, aren’t there? Did Yumiela-sama have any trouble?”
“It’s hard to make them stand up on their own when you display them. “
“It can stand on its own without a stand? That’s amazing!”
“Without a pedestal or stand, they tend to fall back.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to find the right balance.”
“The more extravagant the variety, the more difficult it is.”
“I know, right?”
What’s going on? Are we having a conversation?
We were talking about how they would fall over backwards if they were carrying a heavy armament on their backs….
The tension, which Dorothea had never seen at the school before, pointed to a doll that was in the process of being made.
“I haven’t decided on a name for this child yet. Please give her one.”
“Um, what about Nightingale?”
“Nightingale. That’s a nice name. It ‘s lovely.”
It got accepted. That’s better because it still sounds like a person’s name.
Considering it’s a plastic model, I can accept it as normal. No wonder I want to collect many of them and put them in a row.
After getting permission, I touch the arm before attaching it to the torso. This spherical joint is like a plastic model’s hip joint. The ability to move freely is revolutionary, unlike elbows, which can only move in one direction.
Fearing that I might break it if I touched it too much, I gently put my arm back on the desk.
When I looked at the quiet Eleanora, she was looking carefully at the lined-up dolls, one at a time. As I moved my gaze, my eyes met Dorothea’s.
“Until now, it was only Eleanora. Yumiela-sama is the second person. When Eleanora said it would be all right, I thought it might be, and she was right.”
Eleanora was the only person who understood this hobby. It’s amazing how accepting she is of everything.
I have a feeling that she said it was okay to include me because she didn’t think anything of it.
Watching over Eleanora, who is engrossed in the doll while making a face.
“You know how good Elanora is.”
“She is wonderful. I have always liked Eleanora-sama since I was a kid.”
“Oh, we live together now.”
“Thank you.”
Huh? I bragged about living with Elenora, and she thanked me.
Dorothea’s face fell again, and she continued sadly.
“‘Eleanora-sama has been good to me, but I couldn’t give anything back to her. There was nothing I could do for Eleanora-sama, who treated me well both when I was little and when I was at the academy.”
“Well, I’m just as guilty.”
Knowing the situation Eleanora was in, I left her alone as well. I only ended up taking Eleanora by accident because I got caught up in the commotion caused by Duke Hillrose.
I couldn’t blame Dorothea for saying she couldn’t do anything.
“I don’t think so. Ever since meeting Yumiela-sama at the academy, Eleanora-sama has changed.”
“I don’t think I did anything special during my time at the academy.”
“…It’s a stretch to say you didn’t do anything.”
During my time at the academy, I thought I was being discreet and quiet. The same was true when Eleanora was following me. I took care not to get into a corner with the Duke’s daughter.
Aside from Count Archiam, there is no need to be wary of Dorothea herself now. Now it seems safe for her to be alone with Eleanora.
I’ll call in early to hear the request, and then I’ll just say no and get the hell out of here.
After a word to the two remaining people, I leave the room.
That was wholesome. I’m not a fan of those dolls, but someone who can make them is impressive. No need to sh*t on their hobbies
Thx for the chapter!