I, Susanna Randall, known as Larna Smith, had just finished reporting to the Ministry and helping out the family of my subordinate Dewey Percy with moving to a new home.
I made my way to the quarters of Jeffrey Stuart, my fiancé and main supporter and collaborator.
I knocked on the door, and he told me to come in with his usual nonchalant tone.
“It’s me,” I called out as I entered, finding him behind his desk face to face with stacks of papers. Contrary to what one may think due to his casual attitude and apparent lack of motivation, he was a fast and effective worker.
There were many people who thought he was the most fit candidate to succeed the king, but he had no interest in taking the crown.
“I finished my report on the matter I told you about earlier,” I explained, handing the document to him.
“Hmmm,” he commented once he had quickly skimmed through it, “this seems to be more or less what you told me earlier. Still, I feel for Lady Katarina. She is involved in the worst kind of incidents with such regularity that you would think she is cursed.”
“Quite so. Not that she seems to notice, or care.”
Katarina remained happy and fearless despite the tremendous number of misfortunes she was subjected to, including, for example, the recent Dark Magic run-in near the orphanage. I could not help but worry about her, and I imagined that her many loving friends were at least as worried.
“For the time being, I gave her a magic tool to call me for help. I also instructed her to rely on her Dark Familiar, but whether she will follow that depends on her,” I continued, referring to the beast that lived in her shadow. It could transform into a giant wolf, making for a very powerful ally. Unfortunately, she had come to see this creature of darkness as a cute little pet, therefore forgetting about its usefulness in battle. It was a terrible waste, albeit unsurprising considering her personality.
“We should look into having someone keep watch over her from the metaphorical shadows then. However, it would be better to consult with Duke Claes first, as he may have already hired someone to do just that,” Jeffrey replied, handing me back the report. “I must say… It seems you weren’t as coolheaded as usual this time,” he added. A trace of concern appeared on his face.
“Yes, I’m fully aware of that.” I knew very well that using magic on a civilian was not something to be done lightly. However, when I had Dewey’s father in front of me, I could not help myself. “The way that man treated his children as tools got under my skin.”
Only two things were able to elicit emotional responses from me: the mysteries of magic, and parents who used and abused their children. The latter was probably because of my own upbringing.
My father, Marquis Randall, was a man who was exclusively interested in his social advancement. Wives and children were but tools meant to turn a profit and aid the achievement of his own goals. Love was not part of the equation.
He had chosen my late mother as his wife because of her high social status, or so I had heard, and as soon as illness overtook her weak body, she was relegated to a guest house, where she passed away without ever seeing her husband again.
As a child, my remarkable intelligence allowed me to fulfill my father’s wishes, to the point that I was eventually chosen as the prince’s fiancée. However, once my mother died, I realized that I no longer wanted to live as a puppet in the marquis’s hands, and I started defying his orders. This led to him hating me so profoundly that he wanted to have me disposed of, something which he could not easily do because of my engagement to Jeffrey.
Even now, in his constant quest to be rid of me, the marquis kept suggesting to the prince that he marry one of the other Randall daughters instead. Having been raised by such a man, I had no tolerance for parents who behaved in similar ways, and it took active restraint on my part not to kill them on the spot.
“I cannot blame you for that,” Jeffrey, who was privy to my situation, replied with a shrug.
“Right after that, it didn’t take much digging to uncover just how terrible those ‘parents’ were,” I explained.
Dewey’s mother was just as despicable, giving birth to child after child, leaving them in the care of their older siblings and enjoying her life without a single worry. While her husband’s means of entertainment seemed to be gambling and drinking, her main pastime was one enjoyed while laying down in a bed—I was not sure how many of those children actually belonged to the man they called father.
“The children lived for each other, devoting themselves to helping their siblings,” I continued, thinking back at Ronnie’s attempt to protect his younger brothers and sisters. “Unlike me.”
I had a few half-siblings born of a different mother, but I barely knew anything about them. All I could infer about them was that they were treated even worse than me, since being born of a concubine surely made them less valuable in the eyes of our father.
Owing in no small part to Jeffrey’s collaboration, I had considerably expanded my power in the past few years, but I was yet to reach the point where I could openly oppose the marquis. As such, I felt I could do nothing to help my siblings.
“I can’t do anything,” I muttered, looking down at my hands.
The sound of my younger half sister crying how she wanted to live by her own means echoed in my memory. I felt sorrow, something I was not used to. At that moment, Jeffrey gently pulled my head toward him and against his chest.
“Maybe now you can’t, but you just need to become more powerful. Isn’t that what we’re working so hard for?” he said gently, hugging me.
The warmth and smell of his large chest healed my dejected heart.
“You’re right. Thank you,” I answered, and he started caressing my hair. I stood still, enjoying his embrace a while longer.
★★★★★★★
“Welcome back, Sarah.”
When I returned, still disgruntled because of Katarina Claes, my master greeted me. I replied with a bow, but I couldn’t help but keep my eyes on the man standing next to him.
“It’s been a while, huh?” the second man remarked with a smile, noticing my glance. “Now you even go outside by yourself? That’s unusual. I’d like to hear what brought about this change.”
I looked away from him. I hated the way he looked at me from the darkness, as if I was an animal on which he was ready to experiment.
“There has been no change, and I have nothing to tell you,” I replied tersely.
“Don’t worry, it won’t take that long.”
He ignored my absolute rejection, and then my master intervened.
“I would like to hear your report first,” he said to the man. “And you, Sarah, may leave. It is your day off after all.”
Relieved, I quickly left the room. I knew that I should have reported about finding Katarina, but I was too exhausted to do so. I lay down on my bed, curled up, and soon fell asleep.
★★★★★★★
After my very eventful day off, it was time to go back to work. When I got out of my carriage and walked past the Magical Ministry’s gates, I noticed Dewey and Sora walking together. It was normal for newcomers to come to work early, but I’d never seen just the two of them together like that, so I curiously approached them.
“Good morning, Sora, Dewey.”
“Morning,” Sora answered with his normal curtness.
“Good morning,” Dewey replied with a huge smile. I was happy to see him smiling after all he’d been through the previous day. “Thank you so much for yesterday,” he then told me, lowering his head.
“Not at all. I didn’t do anything,” I demurred, but he shook his head.
“The things that happened only did so because of your help. My siblings and I are all grateful.”
Being thanked so openly had got me blushing, and Sora, noticing that, was silently sneering at me.
“It’s rare for the two of you to walk to work together,” I observed, trying to change the topic.
“Sora helped me with moving yesterday, and today I went to his room to thank him, so we decided to come to work together,” Dewey explained.
“You moved already?”
Dewey had already told me that he would eventually move in with the rest of his brothers and sisters, who now lived in a proper apartment, but I hadn’t expected for him to leave the Ministry dorm so soon.
“Not yet. I was just preparing. Sora noticed me having trouble packing all of my things by myself, and he offered to help.”
“I mean, I could tell you weren’t used to that kind of thing. It’s not like I did anything huge. You’re really polite though, going out of your way to thank me for something like that,” Sora commented.
“Oh, I owed you as much.”
Sora, even though he could sound harsh at times, was actually a very kind guy, and Dewey seemed to have quickly taken a liking to him.
“So you’ll move in with the rest of your family soon. Have you seen their new place already?” I asked Dewey.
“Yes. It’s a clean, nice house, and all the neighbors are also from the Ministry, which makes it extremely safe. I cannot thank Miss Larna enough,” he replied enthusiastically.
That’s a huge step up from that shack they were living in… I’m so glad for them.
“Good morning, everyone!” a cute voice greeted us from behind.
“Oh, Maria! Good morning,” I responded, and Dewey and Sora quickly followed.
She was always as beautiful as you’d expect from a game’s protagonist, but today she looked particularly radiant, possibly because of how things had gone with her dad on the previous day.
“I’m glad to be able to see all of you so early in the morning.” Her smile was so adorable that if I were a man I’d already have been on a knee asking for her to marry me.
Dewey’s red face hinted that he was probably thinking the same thing. As for Sora, I couldn’t really tell. He looked the same as usual, but that didn’t prove anything since he was so good at hiding what he really felt.
While I looked at my two male friends, I noticed that Sora gave Dewey a slight slap on the shoulder.
Hm? What was that for?
“M-Maria, thank you so much for yesterday,” Dewey started speaking. “My siblings and I are all grateful.”
He said the exact same words to me, but this time it feels…different. His eyes look twice as wide…and kind of moist too. That’s not really like him at all…
He then went on to say something that he definitely had not said to me.
“I-I would like to take you out to eat as a way to thank you when you have the time.”
What’s this?! He’s asking her out?! Who are you and what did you do with Dewey?!
Sora, noticing how I was staring at Dewey with my mouth agape, whispered something into my ear: “I also taught him how to ask older girls out yesterday.”
“How dare you taint pure, sweet, innocent Dewey like that!” I whispered back.
“I just gave him some advice. He told me he’s got a crush on an older girl.”
“But he’d never act like that on his own!”
“I know, so I told him that looking all cute and defenseless works wonders with older girls. He’s got that sweet face, but he didn’t know how to use it right.”
That’s like a straight punch to a girl’s maternal instinct… Maybe Sora is a bad influence on him… Now I wonder if it’ll work on Maria though. She looks surprised…
“Yes! I would love to.”
She said yes?! They’re going on a date?! Maria’s going on a date ALL ALONE WITH A BOY?!
I was happy to see Maria finally get involved in romance, but at the same time I couldn’t shake away a certain kind of loneliness.
“Then we shall decide the date,” she continued with a smile. “When are you free, Lady Katarina?”
It took me a moment to process those words. “Huh?”
“Oh, did you not hear that? Dewey offered to take us out to eat. When would you be available?”
“I, um… I’ll have to check my schedule. Do you mind if I get back to you later?”
“Of course. We could discuss it further during lunchtime,” she replied.
I couldn’t find the courage to tell her that the “you” in Dewey’s “take you out to eat” was a singular “you.” The poor misunderstood boy was visibly saddened, while Sora was laughing with pretty much no restraint or respect.
I’m sorry, Dewey…
We all kept walking together, and, when we reached their department, we split up from Maria and Dewey, promising to meet again at lunchtime. Dewey still looked quite sad.
“That girl can be pretty thick too, huh…” Sora chuckled to himself.
Wait… Too? Who else is supposed to be thick?
Left with that mystery, I decided to warn Sora not to give Dewey any more questionable advice.
The weather’s really good today. All right. Let’s get on with work!