Hello, Liz. How’s Parisier? Did you arrive safely? Is the Baroness treating you well?

I didn’t know it would take so long from school to my house. I guess it felt shorter last time because I was with you.

Throughout the journey, I was bored to death, and Betty gave me a book to read. Isn’t that too much? After reading books all semester, she wants me to read even in the carriage?

When I said only someone like you who loves books could do that, Betty reluctantly agreed.

I asked my elder brother, and it seems our family might be able to visit Parisier this summer.

By the time this letter reaches you, the Baroness will probably be reading the letter sent by my mother. I’ve always wanted to go to Parisier, so this is great.

My parents were honestly hoping you’d come with us again this time. But of course, you have your own precious family, so you naturally have to go home for the summer vacation.

So wouldn’t it be perfect if both families meet and play together? It’s my idea, but I think it’s truly genius.

You know what? I heard there’s big trouble in the Kinia village where Betty’s younger brother is.

The nettle pouches seem to be withering, maybe because they’re sick.

Originally, there were so many you couldn’t pick them all, but now this mountain today, that mountain tomorrow is drying up, so the residents are terribly worried.

Still, it seems the Kinia villagers think among themselves ‘it’ll get better soon’, but there’s no wage to give Betty’s younger brother. So he came back to his home. It’s exactly the situation you were worried about before!

Betty seems flustered too. Betty’s been working at our house for a long time so her salary is high, but in this situation, she has to almost single-handedly support her hometown.

Moreover, there’s one more mouth to feed now?

I told my elder brother to send some consolation money, but that’s, what was it? That word you use well… Right! A one-time solution, isn’t it?

I think it’ll be fine if a lot of nettle pouches grow again, but Peony says it’ll be difficult. Even if a lot of nettle pouches grow again, the Kinia villagers will be cautious for a while and won’t hire outside workers much?

Peony said something similar happened in her hometown, and for a long time the local economy? was constricted? Is this expression correct? Anyway, people in that area stopped formally hiring workers.

They handled most labor among their families, and only hired day laborers when they really couldn’t manage.

You’re smart, so you can guess. Actually, I’m telling you this in detail because Betty asked me to. You talked to Betty before the summer vacation, right? About whether you could introduce someone skilled in growing medicinal herbs.

She says the wage doesn’t have to be much. Just feed them, give them a place to sleep, and pay even a little wage. She says if it’s a job you introduce, it should be trustworthy.

I don’t know where the job you mentioned is, but if that employer is still looking for someone, let Betty know. She’ll send her younger brother right away.

It would be nice if he could find a job within Letorn again, but it seems after seeing the Kinia village situation, people in other villages are also hiring fewer workers.

I have so much I want to tell you. You only came to our house last vacation, but somehow the house feels empty without you, you know?

Betty says so too. We used to see each other every day at school, but not now.

Do you know what news I heard as soon as I got home? Uncle Sibna, who was exiled, had sneaked into the territory.

He stole a horse from our land and ran away, but since he’s riding a horse with the lord’s brand, it stands out, right? Apparently, he used that to go to another territory and gamble using my father’s name.

So someone at the gambling den who found it suspicious reported it, and he was caught.

The lord of the territory where the gambling den was held contacted us, saying he can’t leave unless someone proves his identity. Since my father said he doesn’t know such a person, he’ll probably stay in jail.

It seems like it would work if elder brother Nualan proves his identity, right? Since it’s his father? But do you know where that Nualan is actually?

Oh my, this isn’t certain, but it seems he was taken to an illegal mine soon after being exiled from our territory. I heard once you go to such places, you can never come out for life.

Honestly, more people know Nualan’s face than Uncle Sibna’s. I heard Uncle Sibna was someone whose only virtue was being kind, but it turns out he wasn’t even kind.

So in that family, Nualan always dealt with guests and handled merchant group work, and it seems he borrowed a lot of money while doing so. Even from some suspicious people!

People who want that money repaid even came to our father.

They say they all lent money after seeing our father’s face. Father and elder brother called a lawyer and are discussing how to repay the ones who really lent money after seeing father’s face, and how to handle the others.

Father and elder brother say they’re sick and tired of blood ties and all that. I think the days of having to play with relatives forcibly are over now!

You know, it turns out the situation of the pharmaceutical department that Uncle Sibna was in charge of was worse than we thought. It seems they were just in debt and not making money at all. Half of the employees were strange people too.

Do you know who our elder brother recruited?

Well, you probably already know. It’s Miss Morrie. Elder brother praised her as an extremely smart person. Miss Morrie gets along well with Betty. They both have many siblings and send money home, so they understand each other a lot.

Right, do you know what a guest who came to our house this time told me? The Marquis Likeandros and Marquis Kendal had a big fight in the Imperial Capital. You know why, right?

When I said I’m a first-year at the Academy, the guest said ‘Then you’re in the same year as their daughters’ and told me about it.

I’m so curious about how you’re doing, Liz. Do you like your room? Are there friends to play with there too? You’re smart, so are you studying something there again?

My heart wants to go to Parisier before your reply arrives if possible, but mother says that’s not allowed. She says it’s rude to visit like we’re barging in, so we need to discuss thoroughly with the Baroness and set a schedule before going.

I want to see you as soon as possible.

In case you’re too busy to buy stationery, I prepared new stationery. The paper in the same envelope as this letter is that. You must reply in detail quickly!

No, you can write briefly if it’s bothersome. Anyway, reply. I think that’s better than not sending a reply because it took you a long time writing in detail.

Stay healthy. Let’s meet as soon as possible!

From Diane, who likes you so much] [This is the timeline separator] [Diane,

The letter you sent was already thick, but you sent so much stationery too, the person delivering the letter thought it was a package.

When I received your letter, the Baroness was also there, and she said she’d never seen such a thick letter envelope before.

When she asked what the contents were, I vaguely said it was recent news, and she asked if it was news from a family of about twelve people.

That’s not wrong. You wrote about the recent news of quite a few people together, right? So I just told her it wasn’t twelve people.

Thank you for worrying about my life. Actually, I’m living very leisurely.

It’s true that I’m reading books though. The Baroness of Parisier has graciously allowed me to use the library of this castle.

But when the Baroness shows off the library to guests, I would be a disturbance, so at those times, I’m strolling in the surrounding forest.

I think coming to Parisier for a summer trip is an appropriate choice. This place is really beautiful.

I thought the lake at school was beautiful too, but the lake in Parisier is as clear as a mirror, so you can see all the way to the bottom.

It’s not shallow either. They say if you go in just a little, it’s deep enough that you’d need to stack more than a dozen adult men on top of each other.

People here told me that while enjoying a boat ride, you might unconsciously want to touch the bottom from the boat’s edge and stretch out your hand, and you’d fall right in, so it’s better to be careful.

The Baroness likes our mother, so I’ve gone on boat rides a couple of times too, and even though I know in my head that it’s deep water, I can understand why you might want to stretch out your hand carelessly.

In the shallower parts, you can see each individual grain of sand on the bottom.

Behind the lake, there’s a forest that’s perfect for walking, and behind that, there’s excellent scenery with gently sloping mountain ridges drawing curves.

It’s not hot even in summer. Perhaps because of that, several noble families are already here for summer vacation. The ‘guests to whom the Baroness shows off the library’ that I mentioned earlier are such people.

I should first reveal myself that among those guests, there are some whom we met at your mansion during the last festival.

You know, those three elderly ladies who seemed particularly close? It seems they decided to tour Parisier together this summer.

Thanks to that, I don’t know how rumors about me have spread, but sometimes the noble ladies give me sweets.

Which rumor do you think is more prevalent? The one about me being hit by elder brother Nualan, or the one about me being your friend? If it’s the former, I think they’d just avoid me, so it’s probably the latter.

The Baroness seems to be a good person. She takes good care of our mother who has no experience as a lady’s maid, and has given us, mother and daughter, a nice room where we can stay comfortably.

When I thank her, she smiles and says ‘Of course we should treat Elandria family members well’, but I think she’s just saying that to make us feel comfortable, given that she knows we’re distant relatives from a branch family anyway.

The Baron and Baroness don’t have children yet. Perhaps because of that, the Baroness looks at not only the guests’ children but even me with adoring eyes.

The other day, she gave me a picture book as a gift, saying I seemed to like books. It wasn’t even a special day.

I guess she doesn’t know what kind of books people our age read. When I opened it, it was a book written for young children. But the pictures are very pretty, so I’m looking at it gratefully. I’ll show it to you if you come.

Please tell Betty that the offer I made before is still valid.

I don’t know the exact details of the job, but I think the wage comes out separately from food expenses, and a quiet house is provided during the work period. But it seems they need to be able to take responsibility for all the work alone.

It seemed like a position that would give sufficient compensation if Betty’s sibling works diligently. Tell her I’ll look into the details and get back to her.

I read your letter with great enjoyment. I’m worried my letter won’t be as interesting.

My daily life doesn’t have much change, and even if I tell you news about the people here, you probably won’t be interested. I’m glad Miss Morrie has settled in well.

I’m grateful that your family thinks of me that way. Please send my regards and let them know I’m doing well.

The housekeeper of this castle is calling me. She says if I want to send a letter, I need to do it now as there’s someone leaving Parisier.

Everything here is good, but outside news doesn’t come in well, and news from here doesn’t go out well either. Once someone comes in, they stay all summer and leave, and once someone leaves, they don’t usually come back until the next summer.

If I miss this opportunity, I’ll have to wait until next week to mail a letter, so I’ll end here. See you next time.

Neris]