(None of the horses, dogs nor crows are talking and no one knows the real truth.
However, Mariel had ăcreatedă the truth by herself using only her previous words. Thus, there canât be anyone who wonât believe in Marielâs words and will actually listens to what Aragon has to sayâŠ)
Earl Mathrius was surprised by Marielâs great performance.
Sheâs certainly a smart girl, but by the end of the day, it was only within the scope of ăa daughter from an ordinary nobleă, and the Earl did not think that the horsesâŠâŠ, not the ăsoldiers who are riding the horseă but instead the ăhorses themselvesăâŠâŠwould be connected to the Goddess.
Or rather, this matter wonât come into oneâs mind normally, nor does it seem to be possible in the first place.
If there is someone who can foresee such a thing, then he/she is not a normal person. Even if his/her prediction is on point, that is.
(Mariel has always been better than what I have thoughtâŠno, no, no, no!)
Earl Mathrius shakes his head in panic.
No matter how smart the person is, connecting with the Goddess is not something that a normal person can do and that said person could even command the horses as well⊠then that meansâŠ
(No! You canât lose your common sense! You canâtâŠ)
And there lies the Earl hanging his head dejectedly while looking at the horses, dogs, and flying crows who seems to have surrounded them.
In actuality, the Earl himself did not believe that much in Marielâs words. However, there is no doubt that this is an event which is beyond human knowledge.
And that ăirregular who does something beyond human knowledgeă is clearly on Marielâs side, and such existence can not be anyone else other than Goddess Celestine. That is what the Earl along with the people here judged.
The crowdâs enthusiasm was surging like a big wave in the face of an extremely huge event, whether it was a miracle or merely the girlâs vengeance.
When the Earl saw it, he thought,
(Thereâs nothing I can do except going along with this Big Wave!)
Mathrius: âAragon, just accept itâŠâ
However, Aragon was bad at knowing when to give up.
No, itâs not as if he will be let off if he admits his sins. Itâs only natural for him to struggle until the end due to the fact that he canât escape from the incoming capital punishment as itâs not a matter where he can be just deprived of his noble title.
Aragon: âW-what, what do you mean by accepting it? The one we must after is this little girl who has become the Goddessâ enemy and a terrible sinner as she has joined hands with the devil, committing a terrible sin of killing her own parents, and trying to rub that sin on her uncle by using the devilâs followerâŠâ
The Earl had a ăYikes, that will hurtâŠă face when he heard it.
Mathrius: âAragon, youâŠ, are you misunderstanding something?â
Aragon:Â âHuh?â
Earl Mathrius continued talking to Aragon after he cut off his words prematurely.
Mathrius:Â âDespite being a father figure, I cannot selfishly do anything to other nobles unless Iâm directly harmed. Hence, there wonât be any meaning to try to explain or persuade me, you know?
Even His Majesty can not punish nobles without proof. If he does that, there would be an uprising from the nobles!â
Aragon:Â âOh! then-â
Aragon showed a joyful look when he knew that Earl Mathriusâ goal is not trying to condemn him. However, the Earl hasnât finished what he wants to say.
Mathrius:Â âOnly the head of a noble family can punish his/her nobles freely whether thereâs an evidence or not.â
Aragon: ââŠâŠâŠâŠeh?â
Aragon turned his neck in a movement as if it made a screeching noise, and looked towards Mariel.
And what reflected on his eyes was Mariel who had been showing her broad smile at him.
Mariel originally thought that she, as a child, wonât be taken seriously by the other party when she tries to complain. That is because the familyâs heir was her elder brother in the first place. Hence, Mariel did not receive the education of becoming a feudal lord and instead she received the ladyâs education which doesnât include on how to become the lordâs shadow, that is, the authority to dispose of oneâs family members freely.
But now, Mariel had studied and learned everything of what she could do since she has decided to get a revenge on him.
Mathrius: âMariel doesnât need any evidence nor witnesses to punish you. ăOpposing the headă and ăBringing shame to her noble family which she considers it as a public humiliationă. Those arbitrary verdicts is enough for you to be stripped of from your nobility, staying in prison for a lifetime, or even⊠a capital punishment.
That is to say, Mariel purposely went through all of this to raise Reifell Viscountyâs honor by showing the evidence of her parentsâ real murderer so that she can tell the crowds that her parents werenât killed by mere bandits.
If the little girl who is the successor of her family and is supported by the Goddess can overcome the crisis of becoming a fallen noble, her family would be safe under the protection of Goddess Celestine as long as the kingdom is in peace.
âŠâŠwho wants to meddle with her? With a noble household where ăThat ladyă, yes, ăThat ladyă, Goddess Celestine has lent her hand to? If by chance, there happens to be such an idiot, I would like to see him by all means.â
Ignoring Aragon who had fallen to the ground, Earl Mathrius asked Mariel.
Mathrius:Â âWhat are you going to do with him? Wonât it be painful for you to keep him alive and always look at his face? If youâre not good at handling him, how about I give a punishment for him right here instead?â
However, Mariel shook his head.
Mariel:Â âThank you for your kindness, however it would make more sense for me as the family head to settle my familyâs dishonor with my own hand. Itâs already sufficient when the Goddess has lent her hand.â
Mathrius: âI seeâŠ. Yeah, that is certainly trueâŠâ
It might be more effective when the rumor flows among the nobles and ends up inside the royal palace. That is, a sudden rumor that tells how a Viscountess severely and gallantly dealt with her parents and brotherâs enemy until the end and is favored by the Goddess herselfâŠ.
The Earl was only nodding many times when he thought so.
***************
Kaoru: ââŠWell then, I will now do a final confirmation about the contents of the contract.â
The event ended safely without us tearing down our facade.
After that, the servants tied up Mariel-sanâs uncle, Aragon and took him to the dungeonâŠ..as expected, thereâs one after all, huhâŠ?
Mariel then returned after talking with her father figure, that is to say, the Earl for a while as it is up to the client to confirm the completion of the work that has been done.
Ah, Ed and the others were taken back home by Emile and Bell, while the crows and dogs dispersed immediately. All of them looked disappointed as they deemed that this was a profitable job for them. Even though I have said to them that âI will call you again next timeâ, I donât think there will be another vengeance work like this again.
Well, this is only me slightly considering the possibility of it.
Oh, of course, Carlos went directly to this placeâs stable without the mask on as I have received some money from Mariel with the same amount as when I bought him.
âŠâŠBecause Iâm not doing charity, you see. The expenses have to be paid exactly, excluding the retaining fee.
Kaoru: âI have received the retaining fee and the necessary expenses. Whatâs left would be the remuneration for the extrasâŠ
As I have mentioned before, the crows and dogs who have cooperated for this case, will be permitted to ask this house for help once when they donât have any other way for treating their injuries or illness. If a weak dog or crow comes into the premises of this house, protect it and take care of the treatment and diet. In addition, keep a record of those patients so that you can drive away those who come back for the second time. The same treatment will apply to the ones who only pleading for food.â
Mariel & Butler: âââŠâŠâŠââ
Arya~ such a doubtful face you are making now, Mariel-san and Butler-sanâŠ.
Well, they can freely give the service for the ones who come for the second time, though⊠That is because at the end of the day, the contents of the contract say that you only have to do it once.
Mariel: ââŠ.excluding the dogs, crows are indistinguishable, you know? No matter how many pictures there are, it would stillâŠâ
Ah.
The butler also nodded in agreement due to Marielâs sharp intuition.
GunununuâŠ..!
Kaoru: âT-that kind of thing can be done if you earnestly do itâŠâ
When a crow is injured, most of them will likely die on the spot to begin with. I donât think that there will be so many of them who can reach here. Okay, letâs leave all the decision-making to the people from this residence! Yes, leave it all to them!
Alright, case closed. The first request, ăAnimal Doctoră, the additional request, ăInterpreting the horsesă, and the final request, ăHelping their vengeanceăâŠ.
The case about revenge is a request from Carlos, but since there were various additional requests, I have concluded a new ăcontract of additional itemsă for Mariel as well.
âŠIf I donât do that, the crows and dogsâ food expenses will be mine to pay instead of Carlos, right?
Kaoru: âWell then, we will be leaving nowâŠâ
Mariel:Â âPlease wait!â
I was stopped by Mariel-san when I was about to leave with Francette following me from behind.
Kaoru: ââŠis there something else?â
When I stopped and asked, Mariel and the butler stood from their chair and kneeled on the floor with the servants behind them while lowering their head as well.
Mariel: âI would like to give my utmost gratitude for your help, and if possible, I would like return this favor to you if thereâs a chance in the futureâŠâ
Ah~ thereâs no need for that as it will be troublesome, thoughâŠ
But, it would be bad if I say something like that to Mariel-san, huh?
âŠsigh, canât be helpedâŠ
Kaoru: âAlright, if thereâs a chanceâŠâ
If I say such empty promise and try to withdraw this time, then I can-âŠ..hmm? One of the servant girl is making a worried face.
Kaoru:Â âWhatâs wrong?â
Servant Girl:Â âN-n-n-n-no! Thereâs no problem at all!â
Well, they would always answer it like that, right�
Kaoru:Â âSpeak!â
Servant Girl:Â âHIIIIIIIIIHH!â
No, you donât have to be that frightenedâŠwait! My eyes!? Was it because of my eyes!?
No no, my eyes should be drooping eyes that are forced like so with adhesive and is currently disguised with makeupâŠ
âŠâŠthen, what is it!?!
Kaoru:Â âSay it quickly!â
Servant Girl: âY-y-y-y-y-yess! U-umm, I wonder if was it alright to call the crows and dogs who help us are Goddessâ angelsâŠ? Angering Celestine-sama this time surely would beâŠâ
Ahh, itâs about that, huh? Itâs natural for her to be that worried when she sees ăa girl who were merely blessed with an ability to speak in animal languageă and think that sheâs using the Goddessâ name without permissionâŠâŠthe reason being is that, itâs because itâs Celes, you seeâŠ
Kaoru: âItâs fine. Celes wonât get mad from this, and she wonât even complain about what Iâm doing as well. Itâs becauseâŠâ
Servant Girl:Â âBecause?â
Kaoru:Â âItâs because Iâm Celesâ friend!â
Yeah, there were some other servants who seemed a little uneasy about it, so I can say this much to reassure them. That is because all of the servants were told nothing about me from the start and were fiercely ordered by Mariel-san to go along with it.
And so, I withdrew from Reifell Viscountyâs residence leaving behind the dumbfounded servants and Mariel as well as the butler, who had lowered their heads without showing their perplexed expression whether they had it in the first place or not.
Alongside Francette who was dissatisfied at first with how I merely went along with Mariel-san at the last event and is now smiling brightly as her mood had been fixed when she saw me being worshipped by them.