I continued walking for a while, and when I came to the entrance of the mansion, one of the young butlers approached me.
Laughing, he also looked down at me.
ăMadam is so troublesome. You canât go out by yourself. Can you please not add to our workload?ă
In short, he wanted me to stay in my room because it is too much trouble to take care of me.
However, now that I am not that timid mistress who does what sheâs been told, I had no intention of accepting his request.
I tilted my head deliberately and asked the butler.
ăAra, why? Why does the mistress of the mansion need a butlerâs permission to go out?ă
The butlerâs eyes widened at the unexpected comeback, but he seemed unwilling to obey the person he disdained.
ăJust stay indoors, as usual. We are busy. Weâre busy, and if you insist any further, Iâll tell the Master.ă
ăDo as you wish.ă
The butler grew irritated with my refusal to listen to him.
ăAre you sure you want to be separated from the Mercure family? Your familyâs support will also be cut off!ă
ăI donât mindïœă
First off, Ram Mercure has no good memories of her parentsâ house.
Similarly to the Countâs household, she had been mistreated in her baronial family.
Her subservient and timid personality was already deep-rooted before she married.
Ram, the frail eldest daughter, was treated as a bad debt in her family, and compared to her gorgeous younger sisters, she was a simple girl with little to look forward to. Her hair color was not the bright flaxen of her other sisters, but an unusual shade of light green. Who did she take after?
Because of this, they had difficulty finding someone to marry herâŠ
With a tiny bit of magic power flowing through her veins, her parents sold her to the Mercure family as the Countâs second wife.
It just so happened that the condition for marrying into the Countâs family was that she had to have magical powers, and it was currently rare for a daughter to be born with magical powers.
Although she couldnât perform much magic, she married the Count, and her parents were provided with continuous financial support.
(I was always abused by my parents and sisters at home, so I donât have any special feelings for them.)
Despite being the eldest, Ram wore only hand-me-downs from her sisters.
In a way, she was quite lucky to have been married into the Countâs family and leave that house.
Magic has eight attributes: fire, water, wood, lightning, wind, earth, light, and darkness, and those who possess magical power are good at handling one of them.
They can use other attributes, but they are only half as powerful as their strongest attribute.
(I was frail, because I didnât know how to manipulate magical power and wasnât adept at circulation. I can handle it now.)
Ram can use ăLight Magică. But she wasnât talented and could only work up a few lights.
Since the Countâs former wife was able to use multiple Fire Magic, she was disregarded by his family, saying, ăSo his second wife only has one magic. And a crappy one at that.ă
(Light Magic is useful, though, isnât it?)
In my previous life, I was also a user of light magic.
Light magic can be used for more than just lighting. It has a much more versatile use.
(For example, burning down an entire area with high-powered light.)
In addition, if one can circulate magic power well, he can gain benefits such as ăstrengthening his poweră and ăstrengthening his physique.ăIt was this power that blew away Laâcryma, the head maid.
So now I have nothing to fear.
ăYou can tell my husband. If he wants to divorce me, go ahead.ă
I donât care what happens to my parentsâ house.
From day one, it was because my parents were incompetent and had been trying out new businesses in failures.
And yet, their daily living remains lavish. Their current circumstances are meant to be.
ăYouâre too cocky, Madam! Better get back to your room!ă
The butler roughly grabbed my arm and started moving.
This behavior is unthinkable, even for a useless Countess.
My tightly gripped arm hurts.
(Itâs fine for me to just simply shake him off, rightâŠ?)
I firmly strengthened my arm and stood stably.
ăYouâre persistent. I told you to go back, didnât I?ă
ăEnough of this! Worthless piece ofâŠWahhhhâŠ..!ă
ăHuhâŠ?!ă
I swung my arm, and the butler was hurled away with a bang.
He crashed into the wall and crumpled to the floor with a thud, just like the maid.
ăAraâŠIâve taken another boring one to task again.ă
Just as I was about to leave the obstructive butler and move on, the entrance door of the mansion opened.
The butlerâs face lit up when he saw the person who appeared, as if to say, ăHelp has arrived.ă
ăM-Master!ă
I also looked at the entrance.
A tall, cold-looking gentleman was handing a luxurious coat to a chambermaid.
He had straight silvery-white hair that flowed down his back, and scarlet eyes as beautiful as jewels.
Shar Mercureââ
Ramâs husband, who is five years older than her, and the current Count of Mercure.
He is a ruthless and brutal man who is touted as the strongest user of âLightning Magicâ in the history of the Mercure family, and is in charge of all magic-related work in the country.
Perhaps because of his busy schedule, Shar rarely comes home to his mansion, and when he does show up, he doesnât pay attention to Ram and quickly heads off to his study.
The reason he married Ram was definitely because he was so annoyed with the people around him that he bought a bad debt of a baronial family, which was neither poison nor medicine, with money.
Ramâs parents had no complaints as long as they got paid, while she was a timid, reclusive, and biddable wife.
(That must have been very convenient for you.)
I moved to leave, giving Shar a cold stare, but the butler came up behind me and told him of my misdeeds. He was ranting about me being violent or something.
(What a poorly disciplined butler, telling off a harmless Countess to a busy Count.)
Shar glanced at me.
ââŠYouâre here?â
I greeted him formally, ăWelcome back.ă
The usual Ram would have been intimidated by Shar, averting her gaze and stammering, but Iâm not afraid of this little kid.
It is true that Shar is a powerful wizard, but he has no shards of interest in his wife, so he doesnât harass Ram for trifles. He is, in a sense, the safest person in the mansion.
ăStay away from trouble.ă
He cautioned me nonchalantly, and the butler smirked at me. Itâs disgusting.
ăWith all due respect, your butler grabbed my arm roughly, and I just shook him off. I donât think itâs appropriate to complain to the master of the house about every little thing.ă
Presently, Shar holds authority over the servants in the mansion, but the servants have been let off the hook because of his too busy schedule, so they behave as they please.
The pampered behavior I just described is probably part of that, but the butler takes it for granted.
ăItâs the Countessâs job to manage the house as well as disciplining the servantsâŠă
As if wanting to get out of here as soon as possible, Shar imposed the responsibility on me.
It sucks, but I appreciate it.
ăWell, so youâre entrusting me with the house? Iâll do my best then.ă
The corners of my lips curled into a smile after getting his word.
(I did it! Iâve officially gained control of the mansion!)