Chapter 276

When Rosemary arrived at the spot where she had been attacked by the Abnormal Bird, what appeared before them was Karina, struggling fiercely in combat with the Abnormal Bird.

“Why is Karina here…?”

“No! That’s not the important part!”

The members who arrived at the scene were shocked at the sight of Karina battling the Abnormal Bird.

Especially Count Astram, who had lived a life far removed from combat, spending his days at a desk, had an extremely intense reaction.

He had never seen such a fierce battle where it seemed like life and death were on the line, and to see his only daughter helplessly in the middle of it sent him into a panic.

“Ro, Rosemary! Please save Rosemary! She’s my only daughter! I’ll do anything as a reward…!”

So, Count Astram immediately turned to Kurt, who had come with him, forgetting his noble title and desperately pleading.

No, he tried to.

But

*Boom!*

Where Count Astram turned, there was no Kurt, only a massive crater resembling a giant’s footprint and the sound of a huge explosion.

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.

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After Kurt arrived at the battlefield, it wasn’t even a fight.

It was an objective fact that the battle ended one-sidedly.

The charge of someone who had reached the level of a master was beyond just speed; it was like a massive physical force, akin to a weapon of mass.

It was more like a traffic accident than a battle.

Just as Count Astram’s eyes had flipped upon seeing Rosemary in danger, Kurt also felt anger seeing Karina in peril, and that anger turned into mass as he struck the Abnormal Bird.

And with that, the situation was over.

The Abnormal Bird, which had given Karina and the soldiers such a hard time, died without even a proper scream.

It was an anticlimactic ending considering how much everyone had struggled.

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.

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With the situation resolved, everyone on the scene began the cleanup.

Fortunately, none of the four soldiers had died, so they were first hospitalized at a clinic in Astram, and after dealing with the Abnormal Bird’s remains, they were able to return to the mansion.

Upon returning to the mansion, Rosemary and Count Astram embraced each other as if they were long-lost family members, sharing a touching reunion.

However, that didn’t mean Count Astram was unconditionally lenient.

After the emotional reunion and once his emotions had settled, Count Astram immediately scolded Rosemary with a stern face.

It was only natural.

This incident was an unpredictable accident caused by a series of coincidences: the Abnormal Bird, having lost its leader and strayed from its group, had wandered near Astram, and Rosemary’s group had encountered it.

If anyone had anticipated such a situation, Rosemary, despite being Count Astram’s only daughter, would never have been allowed to sneak out to the outskirts of Astram with soldiers.

The soldiers had also judged that no such dangerous monsters would appear near Astram, so they had reluctantly followed Rosemary, thinking it would be a good change of pace.

But that didn’t negate the fact that Rosemary bore fundamental responsibility for the entire incident.

Even if it was an unpredictable accident, the series of events wouldn’t have happened if Rosemary hadn’t sneaked out with the soldiers.

“What on earth were you thinking, causing such a mess!?”

“Uh… Ah… Well…”

“Do you know how many people were mobilized and how many were injured because of your reckless actions? Can you still call yourself a noble of the Astram Count’s family!?”

Thus, Count Astram, not as a usually caring father but as an adult and parent, scolded Rosemary with genuine anger.

“Um… I also bear some responsibility for Rosemary sneaking out of Astram, so please don’t scold her too harshly.”

“Yuri! Right! Your words were definitely the decisive reason Rosemary went out!”

“Ugh…!”

Yuri, unable to bear the harsh scolding, intervened.

In fact, Yuri felt a deep sense of guilt, knowing that her argument with Rosemary had triggered her to go to the outskirts of Astram, and it was uncomfortable for her to see Rosemary being scolded alone in such an atmosphere.

But Count Astram, already fully enraged, paid no heed to Yuri’s plea.

“But even so, what you said wasn’t wrong! Astram is indeed several times more dangerous than other cities, and it’s impossible to maintain its defense with just soldiers! Rather, Rosemary, as a noble ruling Astram, denied this fact and acted arrogantly!”

“But, but anyone might have done that once…”

“That much? Rosemary not only talked big but also took the mansion’s private soldiers out without permission, putting them all in danger! The mansion’s private soldiers are not just our family’s soldiers but also citizens of Astram! A noble of the Astram family, who should govern and earn the respect of its citizens, instead endangered them! Can you really describe that as just ‘that much’!?”

“Well, I guess it’s not just ‘that much.'”

But Count Astram’s resolve was too stubborn for Yuri to break, and she was completely overwhelmed by his logic and determination.

“Sniff… Kurt, please help me…”

Thus, Yuri, cornered, decided to ask Kurt for help.

But

“No. Count Astram is right. That child needs to be scolded severely.”

“Huh?”

Even Kurt, whom she had hoped would help, coldly refused with a stern expression.

Kurt, who rarely got angry over trivial matters, was unusually displeased this time, likely because Karina had nearly been seriously hurt due to Rosemary’s reckless actions.

Kurt, rarely showing his discomfort, instead supported Count Astram’s scolding.

“I, I’m fine though…”

“No! Karina could have been seriously hurt!”

“Right! Why are you defending her when you’re the victim?”

And it wasn’t just Kurt; Mari and Serena felt the same, leaving Yuri as the only one in the mansion defending Rosemary.

“Now, explain yourself. Why did you do such a reckless thing?”

In the atmosphere resembling an interrogation, Rosemary stammered as she began to explain the reason for her actions.

And the reason, as had come up in her conversation with Yuri, was dissatisfaction with adventurers.

Specifically, the recent excessive actions of adventurers wasting Astram’s administrative resources.

However, one thing Count Astram hadn’t considered was the more fundamental reason behind Rosemary’s dissatisfaction.

He had thought her dissatisfaction stemmed from a lack of responsibility as a noble and an overblown sense of privilege, but that wasn’t the case.

“I was worried about Father, who overworks every day because of those adventurers… That’s why I hated them.”

“So all those actions… were out of concern for me?”

Count Astram, who had thought his daughter’s actions were merely childish, was taken aback, forgetting his anger upon realizing they stemmed from concern for him.

“Yes. You’ve been working late every night, and recently, because of various issues, your work has been even later, past midnight. And most of that work is related to adventurers… So I thought the adventurers were tormenting you…”

“Such thoughts…”

“That’s why I was sharp with the adventurers who came to the mansion.”

“But we’re not like those adventurers!”

“Right! We don’t fight or cause accidents!”

At those words, Count Astram could no longer stay angry and closed his mouth, but this time, Mari and Serena, displeased at being lumped with lowly adventurers, got angry.

And in response to their reactions, Rosemary bowed her head apologetically.

“That’s right. You’re definitely not like them, but I unfairly treated you with prejudice. I’m really sorry.”

“Mm. Mm. Now we’re talking.”

“Looks like you’ve learned something today!”

Thus, Rosemary sincerely regretted her actions, and Mari and Serena, satisfied with her attitude, nodded.

They, like Kurt, had been dissatisfied with Rosemary for endangering Karina.

Of course, Karina said she didn’t mind, and since the accident was ultimately a coincidence and stemmed from concern for her father, she didn’t seriously get angry, but she still wanted a proper apology from Rosemary.

So

“Right. You’re completely different from those adventurers who increase Father’s workload. Unlike those unscrupulous adventurers who keep messing around in the Ruins of the Ancient Empire!”

“…Huh?”

“What… adventurers?”

Until Rosemary continued speaking.

“Recently, Father’s workload has increased because adventurers keep entering the recently discovered Ruins of the Ancient Empire. Not long ago, a group of adventurers got stranded there and nearly died, yet traces of them entering the ruins keep appearing, causing problems.”

“I, see.”

“That kind of thing… happened.”

“Because of that, even the mansion’s private soldiers have been mobilized to guard the ruins, but traces of intrusions keep appearing inside, and recently, bloodstains were found, suggesting fights, causing a big issue. So, we’ve had to form investigation teams to check for hidden backdoors, wasting a lot of budget and manpower. Of course, to allocate that manpower, Father had to pull all-nighters to secure the budget.”

At Rosemary’s words, the two subtly averted their eyes.

“Why do they keep ignoring the warnings and entering despite the clear danger, causing trouble for innocent people… Of course, this has nothing to do with you!”

“Ahaha…”

“R, right…”

“And recently, there have been reports of habitual fraudulent requesters at the Adventurer Guild, who take on requests beyond their rank by asking higher-ranked adventurers to take them on, leading to a crackdown that’s using up more manpower… And when accidents happen, it’s our Astram Count’s family that gets blamed!”

“Ahem, ahem!”

“But even if there are some unscrupulous adventurers, that has nothing to do with you. I’m sorry again for causing you trouble with my stubbornness.”

“Ahem, ahem! Thinking about it, Rosemary seems to sincerely regret it, so maybe we should forgive her?”

“That’s right! Who could have expected to encounter an Abnormal Bird on the outskirts of Astram?”

“I said I was fine from the start.”

“R, right! People can make mistakes when they’re upset!”

“Everyone…”

Thus, Rosemary bowed her head again, sincerely apologizing, and Kurt’s group in the dining room, feeling uncomfortable in a different way than before, accepted her apology.