Hoping for My Death - Chapter 10 - Things Keep Getting Complicated

The day of the vassals’ arrival at the castle was rapidly approaching.

Up until then, Sylvia’s concerns were not limited to just preparing the banquet hall.

From the drinks and food for the guests at the banquet, to the repairs of the lounge and guest rooms, everything needed attention.

Thelma and the servants were full of enthusiasm, exclaiming, ‘Madam’s first banquet!’

Sylvia, by their side, was caught up in their excitement. Oh, it’s getting hot.

Furthermore, the preparations for the banquet included the attire of the head of the family and his wife.

It wasn’t just about the castle.

“Your Grace, for this banquet, how about wearing this dress? Since His Grace’s evening attire is also silver gray…”

The dress designer cautiously suggested.

Sylvia turned her body towards the mirror with an unenthusiastic expression.

‘Anyway, I will still look beautiful.’

It might sound arrogant, but as the subject was Sylvia, they couldn’t refute it.

As she expected, Thelma and the maids applauded quietly with delighted expressions.

Their Madam’s face soon became the pride of Belfort Duchy.

‘It’s fine.’

Reflected in the mirror was a slightly shimmering silver gray dress.

The overall flow of the dress followed the lines of her body, gracefully cascading down, neither constricting nor stifling, yet exuding an elegant charm.

Above all, she liked that it was the same color as Randall’s evening attire.

No matter what the underlying circumstances were, they would appear harmonious on the surface.

“If you feel a bit cold, you can drape this shawl around you.”

The designer added.

Sylvia nodded and, with the help of the servants, changed back into her everyday attire before leaving the room.

“Is there anything else to be done?”

“There are no additional instructions. The guest rooms have been tidied up as well, so it should be sufficient to just take an overall look around.”

‘Hooray.’

Sylvia clenched her fist inwardly.

Finally, the end of this arduous schedule seemed to be in sight.

Technically, there were still guest receptions and the main banquet to come, but it meant she had overcome the biggest hurdles.

Once this is over, I will definitely wander outside and accidentally die.

With a rather grim thought in mind, Sylvia walked around the castle to take a look.

As she surveyed the hall and guest rooms, and stepped outside to examine the garden and courtyard, it happened.

While turning a corner of the castle, Sylvia’s eyes were drawn to a sight that made her freeze in shock.

‘… A corpse?’

The sun was warmly shining on the courtyard.

On the neatly manicured grass laid a person sprawled out.

Scattered around them were papers densely filled with something, haphazardly strewn about.

Sylvia asked Thelma with a serious expression.

“Thelma.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“Could that… be a person?”

“A person?”

Thelma turned her gaze in bewilderment.

Spotting the figure sprawled on the grass, she was taken aback and hurriedly approached.

“Oh my goodness! Of all places, he went there!”

“Wait, Thelma…”

Startled, Sylvia called out to Thelma.

If Sylvia were to directly confirm the body, given her age, it might not be good for her health.

However, the unfolding scene was far from what Sylvia had expected.

“That damn human! Didn’t I tell him not to lie down just anywhere like that! You’re driving me crazy! Our Madam was startled!”

“Arrgh!”

Thelma slapped the corpse on the back, matching the force of her words.

Suddenly, the seemingly lifeless body jerked and twitched, coming back to life.

Only then did Sylvia realize that the person was, in fact, Auston.

“Ah, damn! Old bag, you’re uselessly strong! Can’t you wake me up a bit more gently?”

“Who would think to gently wake up a human who sprawls out just anywhere and startles people?”

“‘Just anywhere’? Do you think I, as delicate and picky as I am, would sleep just anywhere? Everything is meticulously planned…”

“Yeah, good for you.”

Thelma snorted as if this wasn’t the first or second time something like this had happened.

Auston, still appearing somewhat disoriented, slowly got up, mumbling to himself.

The sound of papers rustling could be heard as he rose, having apparently been lying on them.

Unlike her treatment of Auston, Thelma smiled kindly at Sylvia.

“Don’t worry, Madam. I’ll take care of this.”

“W-What? This? You see a person and you’re calling me ‘this’?”

“… Wait a moment.”

Auston exclaimed in anger.

Meanwhile, Sylvia raised her hand as if to gauge something, her eyes narrowing in thought.

The lighting, temperature, humidity…

‘Perfect.’

Sylvia admired silently.

The spot where Auston had collapsed was truly a perfect haven for sleep.

Gentle sunlight, cool breeze, just the right amount of shade from the trees.

She understood why Auston had fallen asleep there, as if he were a lifeless body.

‘But if I were to bring a bed over here, everyone would be shocked.’

After pondering, Sylvia gave up on the idea of moving a bed to that spot.

Instead, with the intention of taking a short rest in that spot, Sylvia smiled softly.

“It’s been a while. Since we’ve met like this, and it’s fate, would it be alright if I sat here for a moment? I won’t disturb you if you have something to do.”

“Well, do as you please. After all, this place isn’t mine to begin with.”

Auston spat out his words with a hint of sarcasm and then nodded curtly.

Sylvia’s sudden attempt to be friendly was quite unsettling, but now was the time to focus on the task at hand.

Auston gathered the scattered papers from the ground and then leaned his back against a nearby tree, plopping down to sit.

Sylvia shook her head in response to Thelma’s offer to bring a parasol and a mat, then she sat down on the grass.

Auston glanced away from his scribbles on the paper to observe the scene.

‘… Surprisingly. I thought she’d be repulsed.’

His brown eyes narrowed slightly in guarded assessment.

The house of Fleurette was considered a respected noble family.

She was a noble lady who had grown up surrounded by luxurious and expensive things from birth, but she had a very modest attitude.

Auston stared at Sylvia with a scrutinizing gaze.

‘Go ahead and watch….’

Sylvia felt the stare but shrugged it off as she drifted into a world of half-sleep.

Well, it was true that Sylvia Fleurette’s appearance was pleasing to the eye.

Broadly speaking, it was a face that helped the peace and mental stability of humanity.

Meanwhile, with one watchful eye on Sylvia and the other scribbling down a formula on a piece of paper, Auston’s hand slipped.

He screamed, realizing a moment too late that he had accidentally smeared ink across the neatly written characters.

“Ahhh!”

“…?”

“I’ll have to rewrite it now… This can’t be happening… My time and money…”

Auston, who had spent several nights refining the formula, mumbled absentmindedly, his mind partly elsewhere.

He was so focused on something else, and he had written the numbers so closely together that he couldn’t even tell where the lines were drawn.

Of course, if he were to go through the calculations again, he might be able to identify the error, but he had been repeating the same process for the twenty-seventh time over the past few days.

Furthermore, the sheet of paper he had been working on just before was the thirty-third page of the total formula.

That means he has to start over and solve the first ten pages of the formula to find the error.

Indeed, what destroys humans is the repetition of trivial misfortunes.

Causing Auston Dorsler’s downfall was the looming deadline and the evaporation of his extra pay…

“I’ve gotten it all wrong. All that remains for humanity is destruction…”

As Auston dramatically proclaimed the destruction of the world, Sylvia’s curiosity led her to shift her gaze to the paper he was holding.

Seeing the densely filled calculations on both sides of the paper, her eyes widened.

‘… Is this a magic formula?’

The formula seemed familiar, and upon closer inspection, it appeared to be based on the magic formula she had developed, a protective barrier magic.

‘It looks like they’re trying to strengthen the barrier.’

Sylvia pondered thoughtfully.

A few days ago, when Chik Hetla came to visit, she felt so pissed off that she wanted to sneakily strengthen the barrier to secure additional security for the merchant groups.

But now, several days had passed.

The urgency of that moment had faded, and Sylvia had regained her composed state of mind, her resolve to remain cool-headed.

If Auston succeeded in reinforcing the barrier, the knights’ reaction to the distortions would be faster.

And if that happened…

The likelihood of her meeting an accident or dying would decrease!

‘Let’s do this.’

Having reached a simple and straightforward conclusion, Sylvia smiled brightly and snatched the bundle of paper from Auston’s absent-minded hands.

Auston, who had been looking at the world with unfocused eyes, was taken aback and turned to look at her.

Sylvia spoke naturally, with a touch of pride.

“Take a look.”

“…You’ll do it, Madam?”

“Why, surprised? Even though it might not seem like it, my father is the vice dean of Alvarez Academy.”

“But Madam, I’ve never heard that you attended the academy.”

“The books in the Fleurette Mansion are from the academy. Even if I didn’t attend classes, it’s not like I haven’t seen or heard anything. I’m a bit of a genius, you see.”

With an attitude that was almost close to reality but would appear quite arrogant to others, Sylvia made an excuse and picked up the pen that had been rolling on the grass, scanning through the paper with her eyes.

Shortly afterward, her expression turned serious.

‘It’s already bad?’

Her plan had been to subtly complicate the calculations when Auston wasn’t looking.

The formulas written on the paper were subtly off the mark.

Furthermore, scattered throughout were additional calculations that served no real purpose, only serving to needlessly complicate the work.

‘According to Thelma, Auston is evaluated to be the second person after me who can rightfully bear the title of Archmage.’

Still a long way to go, quite a long way.

Sylvia absentmindedly clicked her tongue and unconsciously drew cross marks on the meaningless calculations.

‘… Ah, not here.’

It had become a habit from her days as Allysa to overturn her colleagues’ research data.

As Auston let out a scream and swiftly snatched the paper from her hand, Sylvia jolted slightly in surprise.

“What are you doing right now! I need to salvage at least half of it!”

In his eyes, it seemed like an ignorant person randomly drawing lines.

Auston hastily checked the paper.

Even if some lines obscured the numbers on a few lines, the rest had to be salvaged.

However, as he continued his calculations swiftly from where he left off, he blinked.

‘Huh?’

Certainly, the area above and below the lines Sylvia had drawn should have resulted in incorrect calculations.

Even excluding the part she had erased, the calculations flowed smoothly.

Perplexed, he quickly flipped through the paper and checked other sections, but it was the same.

‘This is…!’

Auston might not have been a genius like Allysa, but he was undoubtedly in the ranks of the exceptionally gifted.

Excluding all the parts marked with a cross by Sylvia, the length of the formula was reduced by half.

Moreover, after removing unnecessary portions, it became clear what he had been doing wrong and which direction he should take.

Auston held the bundle of paper to his chest with both arms and knelt on the grass.

His eyes were filled with gratitude and respect for Sylvia.

“Madam…”

“As expected, an ignorant person should not rashly meddle. I’ll take my leave now.”

Sensing a foreboding, Sylvia quickly stood up.

In Auston’s eyes, it appeared as a gesture of modesty.

“… And don’t mention that I had a hand in it unless absolutely necessary. Understood?”

She glanced uneasily at Auston, who was still on his knees and had no intention of getting up, and then hurried away.

In Auston’s eyes, it appeared as an incredibly grand gesture of modesty.

To successfully improve the barrier magic was a remarkable achievement that would go down in the annals of magic history.

Even though she could have easily boasted that she had helped, she kept pretending to be ignorant.

Even though he was busy being wary and suspicious of her…!

“Madam-!”

Auston fell to the ground and wailed with emotion.

Ignoring the sound of his weeping that echoed behind her, Sylvia hurriedly fled to her room.

＊ ＊ ＊

That evening.

“… Auston.”

“Yes?”

“… What happened to your face?”

Randall asked Auston with a puzzled expression.

Auston’s cheeks were swollen as if he had been punched by someone, while he came to submit a report.

Nevertheless, Auston replied nonchalantly.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Please review the report.”

“No, it seems like something happened…”

“No, it’s really nothing.”

When Auston denied it again, Randall reluctantly accepted it and lowered his gaze to the report.

While Randall was reviewing the contents of the report, Auston muttered to himself inwardly.

‘Crazy bastard. No matter how blinded you are by money, that woman is a Fleurette. She’s from the most trusted noble family by the current king. How can one not boast about this matter to everyone? Is she an angel?’

Slap.

As his thoughts veered in another odd direction, Auston raised his hand and slapped his own cheek.

Startled by his action, Randall stood up abruptly and exclaimed, ‘Physician! Auston has gone mad!’ The outburst caused a minor commotion.

As a result, for the next few days, Auston had to wander around the castle with both cheeks swollen from the impact.

Randall couldn’t hide a sigh, muttering that another strange person had appeared in the castle.