[V13C28] The Modest Happiness He Protected

Monica returned to her Sazandol residence in the morning, one week after the Sage Induction Ceremony.

She opened the door and said, “I’m back,” but there was no reply. She had asked Nero to look after her house while she was in the capital, but her familiar was nowhere to be seen.

He had probably gone out for a walk or to get food. Perhaps he was loitering at Lana’s shop again.

Monica opened all of the windows for ventilation, then returned to her room to unpack.

Once she finished sorting out her clothes, she reached for the book she had bought from the bookstore on her way home. Then, she sat on her bed and opened the book on her lap.

The title of this book was ‘The Wonderful Life of Lady Barloc.’

Lady Barloc was the wife of a count and renowned as a beauty expert in many social circles. This book contained the secrets behind her beauty, and the wonderful lifestyle she led to enrich her mind and body.

Monica had never been interested in these sorts of books, but Melissa recommended it while they were in the capital.

According to her… “The path to becoming a true lady is never easy. Read this and put some real effort into trying. Okay, Monica-chan?”

Melissa’s phrasing was not very ladylike, but she was absolutely correct.

Monica believed that she had learned a lot during her classes on manners and dance at Serendia Academy. Apparently that was not sufficient for a true lady.

She read through ‘The Wonderful Life of Lady Barloc’ as seriously as she read books on magecraft.

The book mainly contained beauty secrets, which didn’t interest Monica much. However, she was very impressed by Lady Barloc’s attitude toward beauty.

Beautiful people write beautifully as well. Your personality is reflected in your handwriting and choice of words.

What makes a room beautiful? You can fill it with as many gold and silver treasures as you want, but it’s just a warehouse once it gets covered in dust.

A cup of herbal tea helps you wake up to a beautiful morning. Maintaining such habits is important for changing your view on beauty.

Monica turned through the pages as she contemplated what was written.

Clearly, she would have to change her lifestyle to become a true lady. Otherwise, she would be reliant on her disciple forever.

After finishing the book, Monica stood up and pulled out the apron she hardly ever used.

“First I need… a beautiful room!”

Monica picked up her broom and recalled the words of Lady Barloc. Even a room with expensive treasures is reduced to a warehouse once covered in dust.

She had been out for a while, so everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. She wanted to welcome Nero and Isaac into a beautifully clean house instead.

＊　＊　＊

Isaac Walker departed the capital and arrived in Sazandol about a day ahead of schedule.

He was excited at the chance to finally spend leisure time with Monica, so he ended up rushing through the rest of his tasks.

This time, he had also brought Wildianu, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give the hard-working spirit a vacation.

Isaac got off the carriage and headed towards Monica’s house, resisting the urge to rush.

Currently, he was wearing a simple set of clothes and using his original face with the scar above his right eye. This way made him less conspicuous, which was convenient for the trip from the capital to Sazandol.

Isaac patted his pocket and called out to Wildianu before stepping onto the crowded street.

“Wil, I don’t want my face changing midway. Can you take a bit more of my mana?”

“Understood.”

To maintain the face of Isaac Walker, he needed to keep his mana below half capacity. Transferring some mana to Wildianu would allow him to maintain this face for the rest of the day.

Then, after changing to Felix’s face tomorrow, he would greet the neighbor lady and discuss the operation of carriages with Clifford.

While mentally arranging his schedule, Isaac quickly arrived at Monica’s house. It was a little past the time for afternoon tea.

Monica was probably home already. If so, he wanted to have tea with her. He wondered if they still had enough tea and snacks for two?

He was already thinking about to spend time with the woman he loved.

“I’m back, Monica.”

Isaac opened the door to find his dear master sitting on a chair inside a neatly cleaned room. However, she was collapsed over the table and unmoving. There was a splatter of tea next to her face.

Poison? Isaac felt all the blood drain from his body.

“Monica!?”

Isaac rushed over to the table. Upon closer inspection, her fingers were still twitching.

Monica slowly raised her head. Her face was pale and a few drops of tea spilled from her lips.

The teacup next to her contained a deep-brown liquid, too dark to be any normal tea.

“Ike… ugh…” Monica muttered, covering her mouth with a nauseous expression.

Right as Isaac was about to order Wildianu to rinse out her stomach, Monica continued in a hoarse voice.

“I-I’m sorry… I tried to make… herbal tea…”

“Herbal tea?”

“I’m usually fine with bitter stuff… but this is way too much… It’s just nasty and sour… Ugh…”

Apparently, her teacup contained a failed attempt at making herbal tea.

Isaac wondered how this could have happened.

Monica sometimes misinterpreted recipes, but she was not the type to make adjustments to them. She had always been faithful to the listed quantities and cooking time.

The same applied to preparing drinks as well. Monica hardly ever made mistakes with coffee or tea.

So why did Monica end up with this heavily modified recipe of herbal tea?

“The book said to ‘come up a blend just for yourself‘… So I tried making a tea that would wake me up in the morning…”

“Seems like it knocked you out instead.”

“Ugh… my beautiful morning is ruined…”

Isaac was curious as to what kind of book she had been reading, but he quickly cleared the table.

Then, he told his groaning master to “wait a moment” as he headed into the kitchen.

There he found a small pot on the counter, with several herbs sunken into the bottom of a dark liquid.

Apparently, Monica had been boiling herbs in this pot rather than a teapot. That would certainly explain why it tasted so bitter.

Isaac was reminded of the medicinal brew Monica had made for him, thinking he had a cold. That had also been extremely bitter. Perhaps Monica considered herbal tea as something similar to medicine.

After reminiscing about those memories, Isaac began preparing a hot milk with plenty of honey.

They had fresh milk in the kitchen, so Monica had likely gone grocery shopping recently. It couldn’t have been Nero, because he only ever bought snacks for himself.

(And… the house is clean.)

There was no way Nero would ever do cleaning, so Monica must have done that too.

Considering when Monica left the capital, she probably returned this morning. This meant she had been cleaning and shopping before the afternoon tea. Was she preparing for guests or something?

(If she did this for me, then… I might get a little excited.)

As Isaac stirred the milk pot, the white lizard Wildianu emerged from his pocket and climbed onto his shoulder.

“Master, please allow me to prepare drinks in your stead.”

“Don’t worry about it, Wil. This is fun for me.”

Once the honey had fully melted into the milk, Isaac poured it into a cup imprinted with the drawing of a black cat. This was part of the set Monica had bought.

Each of the cups had a different design. Monica used the one with a black cat frolicking among flowers, Isaac used the one with a black cat chasing butterflies, and Nero used the one with a black cat curled up and sleeping.

——I bought them with Lana. Which one do you want, Ike?

Isaac still remembered the elation he felt when Monica asked him that question. The simple fact that he had a cup at Monica’s house made him so happy.

They still had a few spare black cat cups. Perhaps he could suggest giving one to Wildianu as well.

Previously, Isaac had left Wildianu behind to take care of his domain of Erin. However, he now had a system where things ran smoothly in his absence.

Furthermore, the business of lending ships gave him a legitimate reason to stay in Sazandol.

“Wil, feel free to do whatever you like here. Consider it as a sort of vacation.”

“Vacation?” Wildianu asked, sounding genuinely troubled. “Master, what does one do for a vacation…?”

Perhaps this was Isaac’s fault for always asking too much from his overly loyal spirit.

In contrast, Cyril’s ice spirit Ashelpikeh seemed to be the exact opposite, a little too free.

“…How about taking a stroll around?” Isaac suggested.

“Very well, I will go for a stroll.”

“Let me know if you find something interesting, okay?”

“Understood.”

The white lizard slithered along the wall and disappeared through the window.

Wildianu was simply following Isaac’s suggestion of taking a stroll, but hopefully, he would be able to find something that interested him in this lively city.

Once Isaac was finished pouring the milk, he returned to the living room.

Monica was still collapsed on the table and groaning.

“You can cleanse your palate with this.”

“Ugh… Thank you…”

Monica took a few sips of the hot milk and murmured, “It’s delicious…” with a faint smile. Seeing her smile made Isaac happy as well.

Isaac savored this small happiness from the other side of the table.

After emptying half of the cup, Monica finally made a full recovery. She fixed her curled-up back, then faced Isaac and smiled again.

“Welcome back, Ike.”

“I’m back, Monica.”

This simple exchange represented everything that Isaac Walker had worked to protect.

“You arrived a bit earlier than scheduled,” Monica continued.

Isaac didn’t want to explain that he had hurried his way back, so he simply nodded and said, “I guess so. Is Nero out?”

“Yes. He’s probably walking around the city, or maybe at the food stalls or Lana’s shop… I hope he’s not bothering Lana again.”

If so, Isaac would hear Clifford complaining during his meeting tomorrow.

Freeloader #2 is being annoying again. Hurry up and take him back, Freeloader #1… or something like that. Isaac could already imagine it.

“I brought Wildianu with me this time,” Isaac said. “I hope he can enjoy walking around as much as Nero.”

“Oh, I see… Ah!”

Monica suddenly went silent and covered her mouth, as if recalling something.

Perhaps she was not a big fan of spirits? Isaac had forgotten to consult her beforehand because Monica was always so understanding. This was a mistake he needed to reflect on.

Meanwhile, Monica lowered her hands to her knees and straightened her posture, facing Isaac with a stern expression.

“Ike, there’s something important I have to tell you.”

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