301 I Wish To Be Independent



I went to school as usual today because the lich problem was solved so Mother rescinded her previous instruction of needing several servants accompanying me at all times. In fact, the need for Katsuki to accompany me was also removed so it was back to normal for me.

Well… As normal as it could be now…

One thing that was different was the fact that I suddenly had quite a lot of female students approaching me throughout the day, all of them asking me about the scent that I had.

They thought I was using some kind of perfume to smell that good.

One good thing was that they simply thought I smelt really nice and did not react like how Delmare and Lisa did. The other good thing was that because of the girls crowding around me, the boys stayed away after being intimidated by them so I didn't need to deal with any marriage proposals from them in school anymore.

One other odd thing that I noticed today was the fact that a lot of homes caught fire last night, most of them belonging to noble families.

The timing of the fires were too close for it to be a coincidence, which means there was most likely an arsonist or even several of them around.

That got me worried a little about the security of the city, but I don't think they would be able to target our house anyway.

But still, what would make someone want to go around burning houses down? And how did they get through all the security that those noble families had?

Well, this was something for the guards to worry about so it had nothing to do with me~

Right now, I'm just happy that I didn't need to deal with those marriage proposals in school for the foreseeable future~

Which was why I was quite happy despite going home alone again today.

I was still returning to the manor instead of the mansion for now since there were still some nobles keeping an eye on me so we were keeping up the facade that this place was my home to throw them off.

"Mistress, I was told to inform you that the problem with the assassin had been taken care of."

"Ah, umm… Thank you, Katsuki," I replied, needing a little time to realise what she was referring to since that was the first thing she told me after I came back from school today.

If I'm not mistaken, she should be referring to the assassin that was using Umbramancy to shoot needles at me at school.

Mary must have found the culprit behind it after all and it only took her one day to do it.

"So who was it? Was it someone that the lich hired or something?" I asked.

"According to our sources, it had nothing to do with the lich's ritual and it was simply an assassin hired by a noble."

"Eh? Is it that… Umm… What family was it again?"

"If Mistress is thinking about the noble who tried to attend your party uninvited, it was the Cildragon Family, Mistress. But no, they were not related to this incident."

"Eh? Then who else would want to hire an assassin to kill me? I don't think I made any enemies of anyone?"

Katsuki inclined her head slightly, "This may come as a shock to you, Mistress… But not everyone in the school is happy about your presence."

I blinked at her, "Why? I don't think I've done anything to anyone though? Wait… Don't tell me they're jealous or something?"

The look that Katsuki gave me confirmed that that was pretty much the case.

I groaned, "It's not like I'm doing anything to them right? Why are they so upset?"

"Mistress, in most cases, people generally do not like to see other people being better than they are in any way… Although for this case in particular, I believe it has more to do with the parents."

I tilted my head, "Their parents? What do you mean?"

"It's the parents of these children who are jealous of you, Mistress. The children themselves generally do not have a problem with Mistress but their parents do not like Mistress being better than their children."

Ugh… It's one of those 'my child is the best, therefore no other child should be better than my child' kind of thing I see…

I sighed, "But why do they even want to kill me? Last I heard, weren't more of my peers motivated to do better just to try and surpass me?"

"That is the issue, Mistress. The likelihood of anyone surpassing you is so low that it's practically impossible for anyone to surpass Mistress within these few years, if not ever. The students themselves are not able to see it but their parents are able to see it quite clearly."

"But why would they choose to do this now after I was revealed to be a noble? Isn't it better for them to do this if I was a commoner?"

She shook her head, "It is precisely that they know Mistress is a child of a noble family that they need to eliminate you as soon as possible. If Mistress was a commoner, they would not need to worry about Mistress undermining their authority. The most that Mistress might achieve was to attain minor nobility within this generation which would not be enough to threaten their position."

I grimaced, "But now that they know I'm a noble… I could inherit the family name and rise up through the ranks?"

"That's one reason, Mistress. You could also be married to their rivals and boost their prestige as well, which is why we believe some of the families who had sent you marriage proposals also secretly engaged with assassins to target your life."

Ugh, this is why I hate politics. You could meet someone who might be smiling in front of you while shaking your hand but will not hesitate to stab you in the back the moment you turn around. I'm just glad that I did not need to worry about succeeding Mother's House. I'd hate to be involved in all of that…

"Do you think any of my classmates are also plotting against me?"

"There were a few, Mistress."

I did not miss out the fact that she said it in a past tense. Maybe I should not ask how they managed to convince them to give up on plotting against me…

That's it, when I graduate from here, I'll make sure to hide my identity at all costs and make sure no one knows about my connection to the Nilm family! It's really more trouble than it's worth!

For that, I need Mother to help me with something…

"Where is Mommy?" I asked.

Katsuki gestured to the side, "The Madam is in the dining room waiting for Mistress as usual."

I nodded my thanks to her before making my way to where Mother was.

"Mommy!!" I cried out the moment I entered the room.

"Ara, ara? Welcome home my little one~ Did you have a good day today?"

"I did! Everyone liked my new smell~ Ah, that's not it! I need Mommy to help me with something!"

"Ufufufu! Whatever my little one wants, Mama will be happy to get it for you~ What do you need?"

"After I graduate, I want to be independent! That means Mother shouldn't have our servants watch over or escort me anymore! Let me deal with my problems myself from then on!"

"Ara? Ufufufu~ Mama understands~ My little one certainly has grown up! Besides, my child shall be the Conqueror of Stars one day so Mama shall not hold my little one back anymore~ But in return, let Mama spoil you lots before you graduate and whenever my little one comes back home, ok?"

"Unn… Ok, Mommy."

"Ufufufu~ My dearest child certainly is the cutest~"

I then poke my fingers together, "Umm… Could I also ask… What happened to those nobles that were plotting to assassinate me? Do I need to worry about encountering more assassins?"

Mother smiled at me, "My little one doesn't need to worry~ Mama has already taken care of them~ Even the assassins they might have hired were dealt with too~"

"Did you… Err… Burn their houses?"

"Ufufufu~ So my little one already knew? Yes, we did~"

I thought so!! 

When Katsuki told me about them being dealt with, I felt the timing of it could not be just a coincidence! The fires were all caused by my family!

I already knew that we're not a completely 'clean' family and the fact that Mary and the other servants all had the Assassination skill told me what kind of activities they might do in our Family's name, but it's another thing to see evidence of it myself!

I heard at least thirty or so homes were burned down yesterday, you know?! Including four full sized mansions!! How much manpower do you need to get through all that security and burn down those houses within a single night?!

No wait… I think Mary might have been able to do all that on her own too…

Why are our maids so scary?!