WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Malfoid

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Don't Need a Family ◈

Episode 18

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“L-L-L-Lady?”

The servants from the main house, who had come storming in at sunrise the next day, stood with their jaws hanging open.

The Lady of the Annex, who should have been sitting blankly on her bed, stood rigidly at the entrance to the annex, lightly waving her fan with an expression of displeasure.

They must have been flustered. Under normal circumstances, they were supposed to forcibly separate the lady from me, load her into a carriage, and send her off to the countryside.

Perhaps expecting me to put up fierce resistance, they had brought nothing but burly servants known for their strength.

They must have assumed they could easily overpower the young women under my care.

They could act this way because they did not think Vivette would get angry over a little roughness.

Vivette had been too kind. To her family and the servants alike.

But all those plans had been derailed by a single person.

Lady Fadde, who was supposed to be vacant-minded, was more clear-headed than anyone else present.

The servants looked as though they had seen a ghost.

When Lady Fadde sharply raised an eyebrow, they quietly averted their eyes.

Lady Fadde’s infamy was legendary in the main house, and even those grown men could not have been unaware of it.

‘Now then, what will they do?’

I watched the scene with interest. Then,

“Miss Vivette! What in the world is going on?”

Apparently frightened of the stern old woman, one of the servants redirected his attention to me, who had been standing quietly.

So I looked easier to deal with.

The servant annoyed me, but I feigned ignorance and asked,

“Is there a problem?”

“N-no! You know, Miss. We were supposed to escort the lady to Velmaden today...”

The shaggy-haired servant scratched his head, unable to hide his discomfort.

“This puts us in a difficult position too, Miss.”

Honestly, what did they expect me to do?

What did they want me to do?

There was nothing I could do in the first place.

What was I supposed to do about Lady Fadde regaining her senses?

‘Vivette spoiled the main house servants. She was always busy being considerate and cleaning up matters she did not need to handle. Tsk.’

Naturally, whenever a problem arose, they came looking for Vivette. Like a child pushing their own mistakes onto their mother.

That must be why they instinctively complained to me this time as well.

But there was something they had briefly forgotten.

Lady Fadde, who had heard our entire conversation.

“From what I hear, my recovery seems to be causing you considerable trouble. Why? Did you want me to meekly be loaded into that wretched cargo wagon?”

The old woman’s high-pitched voice rang sharply in my ears.

“N-no, Lady! That is not what we meant...”

“Step aside. Is that the carriage I am meant to ride in?”

Two horses snorted before a carriage that looked reasonably sturdy.

Honestly, it looked cheap even from a distance. Very cheap.

It certainly was not a carriage fit for a noblewoman, much less the wife of a duke.

Especially not for House Ashwilt, the rulers among mages.

“Ha!”

Lady Fadde looked the worn-out carriage up and down.

“It has been a long time since I last saw a carriage pulled by living horses rather than mana. Where did you even find this?”

She was genuinely dumbfounded.

Horse-drawn carriages were rare in Erenston for sanitary reasons.

If horses roamed the streets in large numbers, they would inevitably leave them filthy with dung.

That was why mages usually rode mana carriages, and House Ashwilt did not even keep a single horse.

The Duke had personally procured horses for the lady’s final journey. How thoughtful.

‘Now I understand why they dragged this out instead of immediately sending her to the countryside. A house like Ashwilt would not need even a day to pack and prepare.’

The reason was obvious.

Making her ride in a horse-drawn carriage rather than a mana carriage, even on her final journey, meant they would not treat her as a mage.

People here seemed to have an enormous sense of superiority about being mages.

Could there be a more aristocratic insult than that? Especially toward someone not in their right mind.

But while they arrogantly took their time, the lady recovered completely.

‘If they had hurried even a little, she would have woken up in the countryside.’

They had now lost their chance to drive her out with their own hands forever. Serves them right.

Lady Fadde spoke to the servants in a chilling voice, like a predator.

“Are you mocking me as a half-mage?”

‘A half-mage?’

As I wondered whether she meant someone of mixed mage and ordinary-person blood, the air before me flashed.

“Cough, cough!”

“Hk, hhk!”

Dense red mana scattered everywhere. Its intensity was about ten times greater than when she had lost her temper before me yesterday.

The servants gasped for breath in agony. I was unaffected, protected by my magic resistance.

‘Was that why she tested my magic resistance in so many ways yesterday?’

She had clearly been trying to raise the mana to the very limit of what I could endure without feeling even the slightest discomfort.

“Madam?”

Even so, was this not too intense? That servant was nearly fainting.

When I looked at the lady, her eyes gleamed coldly. They were clearly burning red, yet she looked colder than anyone in House Ashwilt.

Now I understood. The maids had not called her more frightening than the Duke for no reason.

That was right. Half-concealed beneath aristocratic dignity, Lady Fadde had as fierce a temperament as Duke Ashwilt.

In fact, when it came to mercilessness, she might surpass him.

‘Well, anyone would turn out that way after living in this house for twenty years. How could they not be furious?’

Still, I made a token attempt to stop her. The servants sprawled on the ground, clutching their chests, looked up at me with pleading eyes.

“Madam, that is enough.”

Perhaps she was not that angry to begin with, because she soon withdrew her mana. The red haze lingering in the garden gradually faded.

Unlike our now-settled situation, confusion spread throughout the estate.

“Attack! A magical attack! Find its source!”

“It came from over there, Head Steward!”

The entire estate erupted over the sudden magical attack.

Believing they had been attacked from outside, maids and stewards from the main house came rushing over.

Head Steward Greg hurried over with a speed-enhancing spell cast on them and shouted at the servants sprawled across the dirt.

“What is the meaning of this? Was there an attack? Where is the intruder...?”

“I did it.”

At the cool voice, the head steward, who had been shouting in agitation, slowly turned around.

I could hear Greg swallow from here.

“Ah... Madam. Have you awakened...?”

The head steward was quick to read the situation, at least. After briefly exchanging looks with the servants lying in the dirt, Greg lowered their head.

“I see.”

Greg was far more respectful than when speaking to me.

They must have bowed before her status as the former Duchess.

Lady Fadde looked down at the head steward, whose fighting spirit had vanished.

“Head Steward, I imagine you have quite a lot to say to me.”

“It was all His Grace’s command. Why would I have any ill intentions in giving such orders?”

“You allowed a precedent where elders of the family are driven out as soon as they fall ill?”

“My apologies, but among the family members, no one opposed His Grace’s wishes. ...Except for Miss Vivette.”

“So I am still treated as an outsider, even after all this time. They must have thought there was no need to treat me as a member of the family.”

The head steward silently lowered their head, but their eyes showed displeasure.

‘You brought this on yourself,’ they were probably thinking.

After saying that, Lady Fadde strode up to the head steward.

“Head Steward, do you know why I willingly entrusted you with my authority as the sole mistress of this household?”

“Th-that is...”

“It was partly because of what I had done, but also because I had no complaints about your abilities. But what is this? The servants of the main house have not even learned to respect their superiors and behave with shocking rudeness. And supplies meant for this child have never arrived on time.”

Lady Fadde gestured toward me.

“What a fine state this household is in. I should never have stepped down from my role as mistress of this house.”

“Ah, did Miss say that? That she has been treated unfairly by the main house?”

The head steward looked at me with injured eyes. I could see despairing emotions in them, including betrayal and resentment.

And I...

“Yes.”

I utterly shattered Greg’s expectations.

What had they done right that they expected anything from me? The head steward’s mouth fell open.

“Miss! How can you say such hurtful things? The children of the main house have treated you so well!”

“If you were going to say that, you should not have let yourselves get caught speaking ill of me behind my back.”

“W-well, they say people even curse the king when he is not around. We would be grateful if you could understand, Miss.”

“Those servants did it right in front of me.”

“Th-that is true? You bastards!”

The head steward awkwardly scolded the servants standing in a row with their heads lowered.

It was obvious to anyone that this was an act meant to soothe me. There was no way we would not know.

“Quiet! If my granddaughter says so, then that is how it is. What gives a mere steward the right to interfere?”

Lady Fadde shouted.

“There is no need to drag this out. Quietly follow me to the main house. I will cut out every rotten part of you at the root.”

The head steward had no grounds to resist.

Lady Fadde had kept herself hidden for over a decade because of me, but she was the former Duchess.

With the Duchess’s position vacant, she was originally the one who should have overseen this household.

If she declared that she would reclaim her authority, even the Duke would have no choice but to give way.

She possessed both magical power and rightful authority.

Lady Fadde led the head steward and the servants out of the annex.

Today, an unbearable purge would sweep through that enormous, arrogant main house.

Of course, no actual blood would be shed. There would merely be a long line of dismissals.

As I tried to follow, the lady looked back at me and gave a small smile.

“You need not involve yourself. I will handle this much, so go pack your things.”

In contrast to before, her smile was deeply affectionate, and I stopped without thinking.

“We are leaving today.”

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