I left Ms. Anne to Mr. Ekenhart

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“I am quite sure that the people already trust you enough.”
“Well, if you say so, Mr. Takumi. Your opinion is worth trusting. Isn’t that right, Claire?”
“Don’t bring me into it. But well, Mr. Takumi does have a different way of viewing things. And so it is nice to hear of his opinions.”

The only places I knew of outside of the mansion were Ractos and Range village.
And while I did want to see more of this world, it could wait until after I had succeeded with the herbs fields.
As far as I was aware, the duke was trusted by his people.
There were exceptions like Deam. But someone like Mr. Hannes would not have come all of the way to the mansion if he didn’t trust the duke.

I didn’t know what the count was like, but if a noble was oppressive and untrustworthy, then villagers would not be likely to visit them.
Because they probably wouldn’t even be let through the gates.
But at Mr. Ekenhart’s mansion, they were given food and even a room to stay in.

“Of course, it really should be me who talks to Anneliese like that… So, I’m sorry you had to be troubled.”
“No. I don’t even know if it was the right thing to say… That being said, I do think it might be more effective when I say it.”
“Why is that? Is it because she wants to marry you?”
“That’s not what he means, father. But anything you say is the words of a duke and fellow noble. Mr. Takumi is not a noble, and so his words would mean more to her. Isn’t that right?”
“Haha, yes. As Ms. Claire says.”
“You two really do get along. Well…that is a good thing. Still, indeed. What I say, I say as a duke. And she might see me as a rival, and will not accept everything without doubt…”

I didn’t know if she saw Mr. Ekenhart that way. But the duke was currently doing very well, while the count…not so much.

“Hmmm…in that case… Perhaps it will not be the best idea to take Anneliese back to the main house? If she listens to Mr. Takumi, perhaps she should just stay…”
“That is completely unacceptable, father!!”

As Mr. Ekenhart started to entertain the idea of not taking Anneliese to the main house, Ms. Claire suddenly reacted very strongly, and objected.

“Why? While she was entrusted into my care, if someone else can do a better job of leading her down the right path, then it should be fine.”
“Perhaps… But, NO! It is much too dangerous… Yes, the royal family gave you the responsibility. And so it is out of the question to push that onto someone else.”
“Well…I suppose…”
“Besides…I think Ms. Anne…would listen to you as well?”

I added in order to support Ms. Claire.
After all, I did not want to be forced into the role of becoming her teacher.
That was likely not something the royal family expected to happen. And I would not be able to do a good job.
It wasn’t like I hated Ms. Anne. And I wished her well. But I was much more interested in succeeding with this herb business.

Perhaps it would be rude to call it troublesome…but I would be very busy… And considering how I wanted to live leisurely with Leo and Liza, it was best to object to such ideas quickly.
…Little by little, my personality was changing so that I could say no to others… Well, it might also be that I knew Mr. Ekenhart well enough now, and had seen the way that Ms. Claire dealt with him. So he was more like a friendly older man, I suppose.

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World