Don't Trust the Heroine

CHAPTER 9

"Madenna, you're being rather unprofessional right now. You're clearly distracted – what might you be thinking about?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mother!"

"Is anything worrying you?"

"No, it's nothing. I guess I was just a little tired and dazed."

Madenna felt embarrassed since she was scolded instead of Farren.

However, she couldn't help but miss her mother's scolding. Hearing her mother's admonishment made her feel like she was truly at home.

Beside her, Farren, full of concern, was checking up on her.

Perhaps the phrase 'tired' caught his attention.

Madenna quickly added to assure him, "I think I'll be fine if I take a bath and get some rest later. Speaking of which, I heard you came back earlier than originally scheduled due to local business circumstances, Mother. Were there any accidents?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it an accident..."

Luciola explained the situation briefly.

She was going to visit a southern city called Retti Shire to broker a deal. However, the bridge connecting to the city collapsed, and the accident delayed her plans.

"If it were just people, I could use a boat to traverse, but we had to transport goods to the town as well. It's impossible to fit a large supply of goods on a small boat."

"You couldn't use an alternate route?"

"Retti Shire is a city bordered by mountains and rivers, so there's no easy passage for the carts to follow except for that bridge."

The city is large enough to be self-sufficient, but its economy will probably suffer due to this incident."

"Oh, no. How soon will they begin the reconstruction?"

"Maybe in a month or two at the earliest. Our items are mainly used in the spring, so it'll be difficult to make a profit if we miss the timing. We're in trouble."

She rubbed her forehead in distress.

A heavy silence fell upon them. Luciola eventually raised her head, "Oh, originally I wasn't going to talk about this. I am sorry to bore you, Farren," she apologized.

"No, I don't mind," Farren, who had been quiet, responded politely.

"Come, let's eat. The chef said he paid special attention to these dishes. You should eat a lot."

"Yes, Countess."

After the gloomy matter was buried, the dinner carried on placidly. Luciola would direct questions towards Farren, of which he answered sincerely, while Madenna listened carefully from the side.

As the dessert was served, Luciola stood up and in an endeavour to change the atmosphere, said, "Madenna, it was your choice to choose Farren, and I respect that. I dislike the recent trend of considering the sponsored as an ornament, I understand you didn't choose this child with such intentions."

"Yes, Mother."

"But even so, you will need to make many investments to nurture Farren in the future, which come from our family assets that I've acquired. Therefore, I'd like to test him beforehand.

Looking up at Luciola, Madenna took a deep breath to calm her agitation. As she knew what her mother was going to say.

She interjected, "Mother, it's-"

"I'm going to ask Farren a question. Madenna, you stay still," Luciola resolutely broke off her daughter's words and turned towards Farren.

"The reason Madenna brought you here is that you're a mage. Farren, can you prove your talent as a mage?"