Moving forward

'The curtains are going down...'

I nodded my head and praised Ralph for his quick actions, as well as prayed for his soul to rest in peace after he got caught by Ranger, as I strolled towards the building.

There was a small room on the far end of the right wall of the mansion. It isn't connected to the main hall, but instead to a staff room on the second floor, which has separate doors that lead to the young master's bathroom on one side and to the kitchen on the other side. There was another door on the left side of the building. There were made to help the maids clean up the inner parts of the family people's residence without disturbing them or when they are absent.

It is often used by servants to go up to the second floor to clean up, and also for emergency usage. It was not a hidden door, but not many people knew about or used it. Of course, not many people even have the key to open the door or the inner door to the young master's bathroom, and even if they have the keys, they can't use them as they want. They are entering the young master's room after all, even if it's just a bathroom.

'And that Alaric banned the servants from using these passages to his room...'

Well, he was obviously scared of his sister.

As I want to use that passage to go up to the second floor, I had to walk past the mansion until I reached the end of the right wall. The first floor was where the dinner party was being held, so I would clearly be seen passing by if the curtains were up. As for the excuse I would give to Ranger if Ralph got caught... I'll think about that later.

"If my little brother is sick, I can attend the party in his stead. Instead of taking so many risks by sending Alaric there and probably putting his life in danger, I could go instead. He is still sick and needs to rest to regain his health. I should at least help my family in such situations."

As I got closer to the windows, I could hear the chattering of the people inside. The young lady's words were the first thing I heard, which made me chuckle.

'Your patience has finally reached its limit, huh?'

Instead of her usual methods, which were plotting behind the scene without showing her true colors outside, she was not openly saying that she wanted to go to the empire instead of her brother.

'Well, not that the count doesn't know what kind of person she is.'

The reason why she wasn't caught or punished for her actions yet is mainly that the count is scared that his wife might leave him if he punished their dear daughter. There is also the love a father has for his daughter... and also the fact that the girl has never done anything too obvious to be caught.

'Well, it's obvious how she will be turned down-'

"You are such a considerate person, sister!"

"...."

I froze in my tracks upon hearing that cheerful voice.

"HYAP!"

At that moment, a kid jumped out of the window and landed in front of me. Ralph jolted up after sensing someone beside him in the dark, but his frightened expression soon eased after noticing that it was me.

"Brother Ian-mmph!!"

"Shhh!"

I covered the kid's mouth and pulled him away from the window. His shoes made some rustling noises while he was dragged on the grass and he once again had a panicked face. I hurriedly lowered my head and whispered to his ear.

"Run and get out of here as quietly as you can if you don't want Ranger to catch you before you get to eat your cookies. Remember, eat them before Ranger catches you or neither you nor I will ever see those cookies again!"

"...."

The kid's eyes widened a little bit before he nodded his head hurriedly as a sign of understanding. He started to run towards the residence as soon as I let him go. That was when I heard another voice from inside the building.

"Elaria, that's not right to say those words-"

"Sister is right!"

The count's words were cut off by Alaric's still cheerful voice.

"This is what family is for, right? Isn't it right that she helps me out in my moment of need? Sister Elaria is indeed kind-hearted enough to offer me such support!"

"...."

What bullshit is this dude saying?

"Alaric, we've talked about this before. Elaria can't take part in that ceremony. She is not the future hair of the family."

"Then, why don't you make her the future hair of the family?"

The hall went into silence. As if not affected by the heavy atmosphere he had created, Alaric continued to talk.

"She is my older sister. She has the right to be the head as much as I have. I don't want her to lose her chances of succeeding only because of her gender. I've heard that there are other noble families that chose their hair based on the person's ability, not their gender or age. Why can't we do such a thing?"

"Alaric, what's the meaning of those words?"

Although I couldn't see his face, I knew that the count was probably about to burst from anger judging by his voice.

"I'm afraid now that I've lost my memories, I'm no longer able to manage the tasks of the county properly. I don't know when my memories will be back but until then... Who is going to take care of the tasks I handled? If this takes a long time, the county won't be in a good condition. Father is busy with the overall matters of the state so I don't think he can take care of my job as well."

I walked closer and closer to the window while listening to young master Alaric. His words were reasonable and made sense, but the point he wanted to reach with those words... Were making me scared.

"So, why not do as sister wants?"

Alaric's sound was soft, calm, and without any hints of malice in them.

"Until I recover from my memory loss, can't sister be in charge of the duties of the county?"

"...."

"...."

"...."

'That fucking idiot!'

I screamed inwardly, holding myself back from smashing the window and rushing inside the hall to beat the crap out of that bastard young master of mine.

'What the hell does he want to do?!'

I wanted to grab his collar and shake him until he answered me. While imagining how I could beat the shit out of my young master, I heard the count talk.

"Alaric, that..."

"Then, you can decide on who can be a better hair to the county."

"Alaric!"

"Aren't I the next head of the family? I think as a future hair, I have the right to pass my position to someone else!"

SLAM

"Alaric!"

'Oh shoot! He's mad!'

"I won't allow you to do such a thing, nor would I agree to what you just said!"

"..."

The young master was silent for a few seconds before I heard his low voice once again.

"Then, I have no choice but to reveal my condition to the public."