#Chapter 75
—
The blood of Bayern stirred.
To be exact, it was the blood of Jeannie, devoured by the Bayern blood.
‘What is this? Why suddenly Jeannie’s blood?’
Arthur tilted his head in puzzlement at the thought.
Something tickled his ankle.
‘Grass?’
Without him realizing, the grass beneath his feet had shot up and was tickling his ankles.
Yet the grass anywhere else had not grown at all.
‘Only the grass where I’m standing… grew tall, just like when Jeannie touched the flowers.’
With that thought, Arthur narrowed his eyes.
He turned his gaze toward Undine and Gnome.
\[Huh?]
\[… What’s going on?]
The boy and girl tilted their heads.
But in the blink of an eye, the boy and girl had grown tall.
The girl into a woman.
The boy into a man.
The suddenly grown Gnome and Undine looked at each other in bewilderment.
‘They evolved. From intermediate spirits to advanced ones.’
Arthur let out a gasp of awe at the thought.
Could it be that the change he had just felt was what caused Gnome and Undine to evolve?
‘…But does this even make sense? How is this possible?’
Normally, spirit affinity could not increase in a single stroke.
In fact, talent-based spirit affinity simply had no known way of increasing at all.
‘Of course, that doesn’t apply to me. If I use the Bayern bloodline to absorb a lineage superior to Jeannie’s blood… then I can obtain greater spirit affinity.’
But right now, he had absorbed no bloodline.
Then why had his affinity with spirits increased?
Arthur froze in realization.
“Jeannie?”
Startled at being called, Jeannie also muttered in surprise.
“Sir Donn?”
The two blinked at each other—then both recoiled in shock.
“How…?”
“From intermediate to advanced…?”
While they stared at one another, Arthur suddenly recalled something.
‘Could it be… Jeannie’s bloodline ability has grown?’
Turning over the thought, Arthur nodded.
‘That makes the most sense… Jeannie’s bloodline ability grew, and now she can command advanced spirits.’
He didn’t know why her bloodline ability had suddenly advanced, but considering that her lineage was that of the extraordinary race called “Elf,” it wasn’t impossible.
‘They say she has an ancestor who made a pact with the Spirit King, after all.’
But then—why had his own bloodline ability also grown when Jeannie’s had?
‘Could this be… what Whitebeard meant by the Bayern bloodline?’
Arthur shook his head.
‘No. I doubt it’s that…’
It was a remarkable change, yes, but there was no way that devilish black sorcerer had helped him for the sake of such a trivial ability.
‘That means… something happened to Jeannie, and my blood reacted in response, perhaps…’
This time, he nodded.
Given the circumstances, that seemed more plausible.
‘The detailed reason will need more time to unravel… since this is an ability I never experienced in my previous life.’
With that thought, Arthur turned his gaze to Jeannie.
‘For now… I’ll need Jeannie close by.’
After a moment’s thought, Arthur spoke.
“Jeannie. Do you have a place to go?”
Jeannie blinked.
“A place… to go?”
“Yes. If you don’t have anywhere in mind…”
Her eyes widened at his next words.
“How about staying at my house for a while?”
—
—
“Sir Donn’s… house?”
“Yes. You’ll need to find a new place eventually, right? Until then, why not stay with us?”
“I mean, I don’t mind that… but I can’t just live for free…”
At her words, Arthur snapped his fingers.
“Then how about working for our household?”
“……”
“That way, you’ll earn money and have a place to stay. Two birds with one stone, right?”
Jeannie frowned faintly.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
“…Then can you tell me why you’re suddenly making this offer?”
Arthur smirked.
“To be honest, I’m curious.”
“…Curious?”
“Yes. About why the two of us suddenly became advanced spiritists, and whether we can continue to grow. That’s why I’m making the proposal.”
Jeannie’s eyes widened.
‘Wha—he’s actually persuasive?’
She had never expected this madman to give such a rational answer, and muttered in genuine surprise.
“Well… you’re not wrong. Why did we both suddenly advance, I wonder?”
“To figure that out, don’t you think it’s best if you stay with us?”
“…I wouldn’t mind that, but… if I ‘work,’ would I have to serve as a maid?”
Arthur tilted his head.
“Oh, you don’t like maid work?”
“N-no, that’s not it…”
“Then?”
Jeannie averted her eyes.
“It’s just a little awkward… to serve someone I know personally.”
“……”
“It wouldn’t matter if it were another household… but serving someone I know is a little…”
Arthur blinked.
‘Hmm… so Jeannie gets shy about things like this.’
Stroking his chin, Arthur asked,
“Then working in our house itself is fine?”
“I don’t mind working. The problem is—”
“The problem is?”
Jeannie’s eyes glimmered.
“Money.”
“……”
“It’s all about how much you’ll pay me. With the right pay, I can do anything.”
Arthur chuckled.
“Now that sounds like the Jeannie I know.”
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
“A money-grubbing miser?”
Jeannie’s face twisted.
“You really do say the harshest things so casually.”
“No need to sugarcoat it, right?”
Arthur stood up.
“Anyway, just stay here a bit longer and think about it. I’ll discuss the pay with Anna and settle it.”
Jeannie hesitated.
“You really mean for me to stay here?”
“Yes.”
“…Even with me around?”
Arthur tilted his head.
“Why not? Is there a problem?”
Jeannie shook her head with a sigh.
“…I really don’t get you, Sir Donn.”
“I don’t get you either, Jeannie.”
Jeannie laughed softly and made a proposal.
“Then how about this, Sir Donn? I’ll just help you with your work instead.”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
“My work?”
“Yes. Whether mercenary work… or things like this recent incident, I’ll help you whenever you need me.”
“……”
“Wouldn’t that keep things simple? It gives me a valid reason to stay, and it’ll feel more natural.”
Arthur let out an impressed whistle.
“But I thought you said you’d quit mercenary work?”
“That’s true. But…”
She trailed off, turning her gaze away.
“You did help me… and honestly, that’s the field I’m best at. If you ask me, I’ll have to help. And more than anything…”
Jeannie turned back to look at Arthur.
“I don’t like owing anyone a debt.”
“Oh…”
“So until I repay you for helping me today, I’ll help you with anything. How’s that for a deal?”
Arthur smirked.
“Perfect. No reason to refuse.”
“Great. Then we have a deal?”
Arthur nodded and held out his hand.
Jeannie clasped it, then teased,
“So… should I start calling you Young Lord Arthur Bayern?”
Arthur shrugged.
“Call me whatever you’re comfortable with. Anyway…”
He smiled brightly.
“Welcome to the Bayern family, Jeannie.”
—
—
The next day.
Arthur explained the situation briefly to Anna.
“…So Jeannie will be staying with us for a while, Anna.”
Jeannie shuffled awkwardly beside him and bowed.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Anna. I’m Jeannie… Davern.”
Anna smiled.
“So, Young Lord, does this mean Miss Jeannie is now officially one of us?”
“Well… for now, yes. She’ll be staying for a while, but since she doesn’t want to live for free, we should give her some work, Anna.”
Jeannie nodded beside him.
Although their agreement yesterday was just to help Arthur with things occasionally, she couldn’t stand the idea of freeloading.
‘Better to just find some excuse and work than live awkwardly.’
As long as it wasn’t being his maid, she could handle anything. After all, she’d done nearly every job imaginable in her ten years in Arcane.
Jeannie spoke confidently.
“I have no intention of living here for free. Please give me any work, Miss Anna.”
“You don’t need to, you know. You could just relax.”
“I couldn’t possibly. I do have pride, after all.”
“Hm… that’s fair. Then how long will you be staying?”
Jeannie froze.
‘…Now that I think about it, how long *am* I supposed to stay?’
A week? A month?
Or until they discovered the reason for their sudden advancement to advanced spiritists?
Unable to answer, Arthur spoke up.
“For as long as Jeannie wants.”
“…?”
“She’ll stay as long as she likes. So treat her well, Anna.”
Jeannie’s eyes widened, while Anna smiled contentedly.
“In that case, I’ll start teaching her some suitable tasks, Young Lord.”
“Please do.”
With that, Arthur stood and left the house.
“I’ll be off, then. If I dawdle, I’ll really be late.”
Anna waved, and Jeannie, caught off guard, waved too.
As Arthur departed, Anna turned to Jeannie.
“Miss Jeannie.”
“Yes?”
“Would it be alright if I spoke to you more casually from now on?”
Jeannie nodded.
“Of course. Please just call me Jeannie.”
“Alright then… Jeannie.”
“Yes?”
“What exactly is your relationship with our Young Lord?”
The sudden sharp question left Jeannie speechless.
Anna hid her excitement at the reaction while Jeannie rubbed her brow.
“Mm… for now, we’re just friends.”
Anna smirked.
“I see. It always starts with friendship.”
“…?”
“So how did you two become friends? You don’t attend Arcane University, right?”
Jeannie tilted her head.
‘Uh… this conversation’s taking a strange turn.’
She had expected to be asked about her skills or what work she wanted to do, but answered anyway.
“We have a mutual acquaintance who introduced us, and we grew closer that way.”
“A mutual… acquaintance?”
Anna swallowed dryly.
‘Was it Prince Leon Madrid who introduced them?’
That would make sense.
‘C-could this be a love triangle?’
If her guess was right, the Young Lord might end up unhappy.
‘Usually the second male lead’s ending… isn’t good.’
In romance, it was common: he devotes himself to one girl, only for her to end up with the protagonist.
Of course, Anna knew reality didn’t always follow such patterns.
‘But that just means things *can* turn out differently… which means I need to work hard here!’
Anna smiled brightly.
“Our Young Lord is really a wonderful person, isn’t he?”
“…?”
“Even if he sometimes says or does odd things, at heart he’s kind. Don’t you agree, Jeannie?”
Jeannie blinked.
‘Kind-hearted? Arthur Bayern?’
The Arthur she knew was less kind-hearted and more heartless—a lunatic.
She couldn’t agree, but she also couldn’t contradict Anna, his loyal attendant.
“Y-yes. He is… kind-hearted, I suppose.”
“I knew you’d think so too! And he’s tall, handsome… I don’t know why he doesn’t have a girlfriend yet!”
“…True, he is tall, and he does look good.”
Which only made the disconnect sharper. With such fine looks, why did he always act like a madman?
But Anna, oblivious to Jeannie’s thoughts, smiled in satisfaction.
“Hehe… Feels like the perfect time for a little girl talk, don’t you think?”
“Girl talk?”
“Yes! To get closer, we should chat and have tea together! Just wait—I’ll bring some tea and snacks!”
Humming, Anna bustled off.
Jeannie blinked as she watched her go.
‘…So even a maid of a noble house takes pride in her master like this, huh.’
It was impressive, in a way—serving Arthur Bayern, yet still showing such loyalty.
Thinking that, Jeannie carefully sat down on the sofa in the parlor.
“……”
A gentle breeze and warm sunlight streamed through the window.
Perhaps because of it, the house felt warm and comforting, and her body and mind both relaxed.
“This is nice…”
Jeannie smiled.
At first, the mansion had only felt uncomfortable. But now that it was her place of stay, everything seemed different.
And she suddenly thought,
‘If I keep staying here… maybe my dream will come true.’
The thought made her chuckle softly.
‘Never imagined my dream would come true this way.’
But it didn’t feel bad.
With a smile, Jeannie realized—she was enjoying happiness for the first time in a long while.
—
First 😂 Great work mate!