Chapter 255 - Left in the attic
The soft glow of lanterns cast dancing shadows across the leather-bound tomes lining the Hartford mansion’s library. In a secluded corner, Scarlett sank deeper into a plush armchair, her eyes poring over an old text. A teacup, filled with half-steaming brew prepared by Garside, sat within easy reach on the crowded table before her as she pulled a thin pelt tighter around her shoulders to ward off the evening chill.
Her head was weary after a long day. Her morning had been consumed by practicing magic and the tedious reviewing of Evelyne’s usual workload, which was tiring enough. The afternoon hadn’t afforded her much rest, as she found herself swept into a smaller forum called by Count Knottley, where local nobility and influential figures gathered to discuss current events.
In truth, the forum held little direct relevance for Scarlett. The Count had delivered some impassioned speeches advocating for unity and collaboration, but nothing she listened much to. His updates on the empire’s state of affairs also hadn’t offered her any particular new insights. Even the discussions of monster attacks and the potential of them appearing more here in the southwestern reaches of the empire didn’t affect her much, since she’d already confirmed that things were good in her own fief.
The other nobles and representatives had at one point started debating defensive strategies and organisations, which did capture more of her interest, but it had hardly been enough to warrant the others seeking her input. The Hartford barony barely had its own retinue, consisting of only a handful of guards at the Freybrook mansion and a small unit at Stagmond Keep. Only when whispers of her recent extensive purchases of goods and grains reached some people’s ears did she find herself the subject of some curiosity, but that was all.
Throughout the proceedings, Count Knottley himself had shot her the occasional look, though he approached her only once to inquire about Evelyne’s condition. In general, the forum felt largely pointless to Scarlett, and as it dragged on, she only found herself increasingly frustrated and tired from having to skirt around topics. But the prospect of returning home to face a mountain of paperwork hadn’t exactly lifted her spirits either. This included both the work left over from the morning and what had likely accumulated during the day.
Technically, the seneschal was supposed to manage most of this work, and he did. But for some stupid reason, Scarlett found herself shouldering more responsibilities than necessary now that Evelyne was unavailable. Whether this was due to pride or some other stubborn quality of hers, she wasn’t quite sure. She just knew that she regretted it.
That’s why she had been more than just pleasantly surprised to find, upon her return, that Lady Withersworth had spent the entire day and more familiarising herself with—and subsequently overseeing—the relief efforts and associated business matters. This included even those initiatives Evelyne hadn’t fully gotten off the ground yet.
A brief meeting with Lady Withersworth was all Scarlett needed to recognise that her fears of a long night poring over reports had been unfounded. Though she’d already suspected as much, the older woman proved to have extensive experience in managing all kinds of ventures, which shone through in their discussion. Though this particular venture was new territory even for Lady Withersworth, it seemed she had no issue adapting her skills—and probably connections, given enough time—to the task at hand.
And since Scarlett actually trusted the woman’s judgement more than her own in these matters, she found herself more than willing to relinquish control this time. This turn of events afforded her the luxury of an evening devoted to her own pursuits, which was a plus. Because she felt drained from the day’s activities and had been pretty moody in general these last few days, she had opted to focus on simpler tasks that didn’t require her to think as much about complicated matters or the state of the empire.
Still, as she surveyed the array of books before her, Scarlett couldn’t help but question whether she’d been successful in that goal. The volumes sprawled across the table varied in topics, but none could really be considered ‘light reading’. They included tomes on magical theory, placed alongside research texts delving into the intricacies of Zuverian civilisation, which were in turn interspersed with her own notes collected from the Veiled Library, scrawled in Zuverian or other obscure, dead languages that were only decipherable through Thainnith’s legacy.
She was starting to wonder if she hadn’t unwittingly become a workaholic.
Her current task involved cross-referencing her notes from the Veiled Library with personal observations and comments about the game, aiming to confirm and expand upon the information while identifying potential areas of future interest. The contemporary Zuverian texts served as both reference material and a more updated perspective on the information she was investigating.