“Defi...”
“That’s my decision, Lady Agnes, so...I look forward to our time together.”
“Yes, yes. Of course, you’re welcome here.” I nodded at Defi with a smile, then looked up at Lord Nazel and Prince Leonardo and shared my opinion with them. “Um, there’s something I’d like to tell you...” The two of them quietly waited for me to continue. “Well, up until now, Defi’s life has been decided for him as someone with release magic, and he only spent his days doing what he was told. That’s why he’s so confused now that he’s suddenly free. I don’t know how long it will take, but I want to take responsibility and watch over him until he finds something he wants to do of his own volition and acts of his own will.”
He’d been finally given the chance, so I hoped that he would slowly discover a new way of life for himself, just like the many people we’d taken under our protection and employed in the estate. Of course, I was aware that my way of thinking was totally idealistic. But at the very least, I wanted to help the people within my reach, just like I’d been treated well after being disowned.
“Very well. If that’s what Defi himself wants and Lady Agnes has no objections,” Prince Leonardo said with a hint of regret as he reluctantly gave up on recruiting Defi.
“Don’t focus only on Defi,” Lord Nazel said in his beautiful, alluring voice as he took me in his arms again; that statement had come out of nowhere.
“Nazelbart is usually outstanding, but he loses his mind whenever Lady Agnes is involved.” Prince Leonardo shared a very reasonable impression as he watched Lord Nazel about to take me away.
Next, he gave a cold look to Master Robin, who was pointlessly making a fuss.
“Robin. You will be imprisoned in the Sempli Convent again, since there are no other suitable locations where women are prohibited. However, you will be under stricter surveillance than before.”
Upon hearing his verdict, Master Robin started struggling frantically, like he was making his last stand. However, the soldiers captured him since he couldn’t use his magic and forced him onto a mountbeast for his return.
“No mountbeeeaaasts! Put me in a carriage!” He kept whining until a soldier told him to shut up and knocked him unconscious. It immediately became quiet after that.
“Thanks for everything, Nazelbart. I will repay you later,” Prince Leonardo said.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Lord Nazel flashed him a pressuring smile.
“Urk...” Prince Leonardo was pale as he bid us farewell and left Sutrena.
With Robin in tow, the rest of the prince’s entourage also left for the capital, and calm everyday life returned to Sutrena.
And so, our estate got a new member: Defi. But what I hadn’t expected at first was that he apparently wasn’t the kind of person to just sit around doing nothing now that he was free. He helped with odd jobs around the estate, like carrying objects, cleaning, or gardening. I was grateful since we were short on male laborers, but I was worried because it felt like Defi was moving further away from his original objective of finding something he wanted to do.
Even today, Defi had been absorbed in pruning garden trees since morning. The gentle morning sun shone down on his light-colored hair that stuck out of his hat. It was actually sunny today, an unusual occurrence in the rainy season.
I called out to him from behind.
“Um, Defi? You aren’t our servant, so you don’t need to work like everyone else. We aren’t even paying you...” At first, I’d thought that it was fine if Defi did what he wanted, but he worked so hard that I’d gradually started feeling guilty.
However, Defi knitted his refined brows and objected.
“But you’re letting me stay here for free, so I won’t be able to calm down if I don’t do at least this much.”
“It feels like we’re exploiting your labor, so as the margravine in charge of the estate, it bothers me. Setting aside the expectations of Lord Nazel, who has his eye on your magic, I didn’t invite you to our estate to work you to the bone.”
“What... I don’t dislike playing around with trees, though. I’ll go water the field next.”
“H-Hold on a second.” Nothing would change like that. I racked my brain for an idea. “Defi, if you want to work that much, how about working as our butler or gardener until you find what you want to do? We’ll pay you a good salary, so how about saving for the future?”
“But...”
“If you don’t want your activities to be restricted, I can pay you on a piecework basis with deferred payments. For now, how about I pay you for the work you’ve already done?”
“You don’t really need to do that.”
“Let me pay you.”
“If you insist, Lady Agnes, I don’t have any objections...”
“Then it’s settled.”
I made a promise with Defi, albeit kind of forcefully. It seemed that he hadn’t found his own objective so far. However, he was more lively than when I’d first met him. I wished that his future would be filled with hope.
And so, Defi became our estate’s provisional butler. He was very popular with the maids, perhaps thanks to his attentiveness and good looks. Thanks to his experience as a spy, he easily adapted to life in our estate. I was looking forward to seeing how Defi’s life would change from now on.