WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Malfoid

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◈ I Don't Need a Family ◈

Episode 3

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Unless something unusual happened, Ashwilt Estate was generally quiet.

For one thing, the estate itself was enormous, and the family members all lived separately.

Vivette was not the heir, so she stayed in the annex. Harris lived in the West Wing where his father had spent his childhood.

Gillian, the designated next Duke, lived with the Duke in the main house. But the main house was not a single building and was vast in itself. Neither of them was particularly talkative, so they never made small talk.

The one person who disrupted that atmosphere was Vivette.

Whenever she heard that someone had returned to the estate, she would hurry over like a lark and warmly strike up a conversation.

With Harris, whom she found comparatively easy to approach, she would even link arms with him and say, “Let’s go see our brother,” before boldly storming into the study where the frightening Gillian worked.

Everyone found her bothersome when she begged them to spend time with her, but there was no denying that Vivette was the one who brought life to the household.

So when Vivette changed, everyone whispered about how strange the suddenly quiet atmosphere felt.

The main house maids were the first to notice something was wrong.

“Young Lady Vivette has been quiet lately.”

“Right. She’s not someone who would just let a gloomy birthday pass.”

“Did you know she hasn’t shown her face anywhere near the main house lately?”

Hadn’t she worn down the threshold by coming in five or six times a day, saying she wanted to see her father or keep her brother company?

“But she hasn’t appeared at breakfast or dinner for days…”

“She lives in the annex. That could be why. Young Master Harris doesn’t show his face either unless the Duke calls for him.”

“Is Young Lady Vivette the same as Young Master Harris? Young Master Harris is busy. He has to prepare to enter the Academy…”

A maid from the annex, who attended Vivette, was there as well. She openly frowned at the remark that disparaged Vivette by comparing her to Harris.

Vivette was a good mistress, but working as her maid often brought moments like this.

Erenston was fundamentally a society that valued ability above all else. Magical ability was especially prized, so its class system was clearly less rigid and more liberal than elsewhere in the Empire.

That was why many people looked down on Vivette, who had high status but no magical ability.

On top of that, Vivette was gentle and kind, making her an easy target for cruel maids.

“Hey, Young Lady Vivette attends the Academy too!”

Unable to hold back, the annex maid shouted. The main house maid gave a mocking snort.

“But she’s on break. It doesn’t look like she has anything to do these days.”

It was natural for a noble lady in the Empire not to have much to do. Embroidery, letter writing, and other small pastimes were considered proper.

But in Erenston, where people of both sexes worked and studied regardless of status, anyone who idled about without work was bound to be mocked as lazy and useless.

The annex maid knew that well, and she trembled with anger.

Still, she could not bring herself to say anything. If she earned the resentment of the main house, which handled the estate’s affairs, even trivial matters would become difficult for her.

The annex maid simply rose sharply and left.

* * *

Several days had passed since I had cut myself off from the main house.

I was focused on recovering Vivette’s memories.

While small, unfair incidents involving her family flashed through my mind, I sorted through memories that might be useful when I moved out.

There did not seem to be many useful ones, considering she had lived as a noble lady.

“Young Lady, you’ve become so quiet…”

Lola muttered as she watched me spend the day lost in thought.

I exercised as I had learned during physical therapy and searched through useful books, but even that was a quiet life by Vivette’s standards.

Today, as usual, I had finished my twice-daily exercise and was about to spend some time revisiting memories.

“Young Lady!”

Just then, Lola rushed into my room in a panic.

“What is it, Lola?”

“The head steward from the main house is here!”

What? From the main house?

I did not know what this was about, but it was surely something bothersome.

The thought alone exhausted me, but I gestured anyway.

“Tell the head steward to come in.”

The head steward, Greg, delivered an unexpected message.

“You want to do what?”

“His Grace would like everyone to have dinner together at the estate to celebrate Young Master Harris’s acceptance into the Academy and your birthday.”

“My birthday was a long time ago.”

More importantly, were they planning to deal with my birthday by lumping it in with my younger cousin’s acceptance party?

‘Is this their way of saying they’ll save face for me, so I should take the hint and tag along?’

“Of course, your birthday has passed, but His Grace wishes to celebrate it even now.”

“…”

“H-He also said he would give you a birthday present in celebration… Young Lady?”

He had been so furious the day before and on my birthday. And now, without even a word of apology?

It was quite infuriating.

Still, I did not want to watch a third party struggle because of their awful master, so I decided to let it go without arguing further.

“All right, so?”

“If there is anything you would like, please tell me. Anything at all.”

It was an insincere offer, one that said he would not even put thought into choosing a gift.

Just what I expected from the Duke.

So I gave an equally insincere answer.

“Cash.”

“Pardon?”

“If I want something, I’ll buy it myself.”

He was still a Duke, so he would probably give me a generous allowance. I intended to put the money to good use as funds for my eventual independence.

“D-Don’t you want anything right now?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“I said no. Why do you keep asking?”

“Well… because that can’t be true.”

The head steward pulled out a fluttering sheet of parchment and began reading a list of gift options he had prepared.

‘So it wasn’t an open-ended question. It was multiple choice.’

Apparently, there was an answer they wanted.

“How about a glowing staff?”

A glowing staff? A flashlight?

I searched Vivette’s memories and recalled the inefficient magical device.

No matter what, I did not want a flashlight for my birthday.

“If not, how about a functional mana stone bracelet?”

At best, “functional” meant it improved magical efficiency or raised magic resistance for protection.

It was useless to Vivette, who could not use magic.

Yet for some reason, Vivette had mana stone bracelets. A lot of them. Her jewelry box was crammed full of mana stone bracelets.

“I have plenty in my room.”

As I rejected each option, the head steward tilted his head.

“That’s strange. I am certain these were things you repeatedly asked for. No, things you practically sang about wanting…”

“Did I?”

From the traces of Vivette’s life, she seemed fairly unpretentious. I could not believe someone like her had begged for jewels and magical devices.

Besides, there was not a single thing on this list that Vivette had sincerely wanted.

When she asked him to buy something, the Duke, a father who had nothing but money, would buy it without much thought. Vivette seemed to have felt loved because of that.

The Duke found spending money more convenient than giving time or affection. These were gifts entirely centered on the giver.

“Personally, I recommend a cembalo. Hasn’t it been a long time since you last played?”

I could not play the cembalo. I could not even play the piano. I shook my head again.

“Y-Young Lady.”

“What?”

“Forgive me for saying this, but as you know, His Grace has been very sensitive lately because of the situation in the capital.”

“And?”

“I was thinking that you might practice a new piece on the cembalo you receive and play it for him.”

“…”

“I am sure he would be pleased.”

Vivette did not enjoy playing instruments.

She had only practiced hard because it was a hobby the Duke wanted her to have.

He must have thought an elegant keyboard instrument suited a lovely daughter without exceptional ability, and that it would not embarrass him when he bragged about his daughter elsewhere.

‘More than anything, none of my siblings are good at music. No one would compare me to them. I could receive nothing but praise.’

“I hate playing instruments.”

“Pardon?”

“I quit the cembalo.”

“S-So suddenly…”

Perhaps because Vivette had never expressed dislike for anything, confusion appeared on the head steward’s face.

With the head steward pressing this hard, the safest choice would have been to accept the cembalo.

But I did not want to. And seeing a shiny new instrument that looked like a piano might make me cry.

The head steward did not ask why I had quit. They only worried about their own work.

“T-Then what gift would you like?”

“I said I want cash. Or figure it out yourself.”

“Do you dislike everything on the list?”

When I stared at the head steward, they stopped asking questions and hurried away as though fleeing.

I glared after him, then dropped onto the sofa. Dealing with people from the main house was exhausting.

‘Now I have a pointless appointment.’

A dinner with the ducal family. Just thinking about it made me feel indigestion coming on.

And since it was dinner, there would surely be heavy, greasy dishes that looked difficult to digest.

Maybe it was because my stomach muscles had weakened when I lived as Choi Eunseo, leaving me frequently indigested.

I still could not bring myself to eat meat, and mostly ate vegetables and light soups.

I wondered if there would even be anything on the table I could eat.

“Young Lady! Young Lady!”

I was taking a short rest when I heard Lola’s voice again. I had sent her out of the room.

“What is it, Lola?”

“Young Master Gillian’s maid has come. Shall I let her in?”

I let out a deep sigh.

‘This time, it’s Gillian.’

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