Chapter 27: Baronet (2)

From ancient times, there were five ranks of nobility in medieval Europe, such as Marquess and Count.

A Baronet was a hereditary rank, even though it was not included in the five ranks.

In other words, even though it was the lowest, it was still a noble.

‘He’s giving me such a title?’

Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.

As someone who knows this world, I know how difficult it is for a commoner to become a noble.

“May I really accept this?”

“Of course. Honestly, I wanted to give you a barony, but that’s the territory of the imperial family, so this is the best I can do.”

“Oh, no. This is enough. More than enough.”

If I had received a barony, I would have refused.

It’s too much of a burden, and it could cause problems by arousing the envy of other commoners.

“Sign there.”

I read the certificate carefully.

There are some differences from the certificate issued by the imperial family.

-This Baronet shall become a vassal family of the Muelia Duchy and has the mission to assist the Muelia Duchy.

If I sign this, I can no longer escape from the Muelia Duchy.

The only way to escape is to abandon the baronetcy, but that would be a crazy act that ignores the Duke’s favor.

Someone might think of it as bondage, but as someone who wants to stick to Emily’s side no matter what….

‘Isn’t it rather good?’

After reading all the way to the last clause, I signed.

The name Rachel entered next to the Muelia Duchy.

From now on, a new surname will be added in front of this.

My heart was pounding.

‘What surname will it be?’

I’d prefer a name that sticks to the tongue.

Delkarmen Muelia, who checked the signed contract, gave me three choices.

“Harus, Arcane, Diain. Choose one of these three.”

All three are not bad surnames.

I don’t know what they mean, but at least they wouldn’t have a bad meaning.

After thinking for a moment, I chose the middle one.

“I’ll go with Arcane.”
“Good choice. Arcane means wise in ancient language.”

He wrote ‘Arcane’ in the blank space on the document and handed it to the butler. Then he chuckled.

“Welcome to the Great Duchy. Arcane Rachel.”

“….”

It’s a strange feeling.

Arcane Rachel.

It’s been almost four months since I transmigrated here.

In the first month, the name Rachel was awkward, and in the second and third months, I was busy saving Yona.

The name Rachel, which I had become accustomed to, had a strange surname in front of it.

A noble.

‘I’ve grown.’

It’s ambiguous to call this growth, but I definitely took a step forward.

It feels strange.

Someone might think that I only received the lowest noble title.

But I know.

The difference between a commoner and a noble, no matter how low.

The butler said some of the benefits.

“From now on, you will receive 10 gold coins every month from the Duchy for dignity maintenance. Baronet Rachel.”

1 gold is about 4 million won, so 10 gold is about 40 million won. It’s a huge amount of money.

“In addition, you can no longer work at the library. As it is related to dignity maintenance, you will soon have a mansion inside the Duchy.”

I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t work as a librarian. I was starting to enjoy it.

But I can go to the library anytime, so it’s okay.

‘Where will the mansion be assigned? I hope it’s close to the library.’

Unfortunately, a baronet does not have a separate territory because it is not included in the five ranks. So a baronet lives like a guest in a certified upper family.

In the first place, there is no change because it is a class given to a commoner who works in an upper family, but I am different.

‘The Iron-Blooded Duke wouldn’t have given me a baronetcy simply because I saved Yona. It’s probably because of the title of the heir of the Medicine King.’

From now on, I will have to act as the heir of the Medicine King, not as a librarian.

Perhaps he might give me a mansion near the alchemy workshop, meaning that I should spend a lot of time there.

“In addition, the benefits that Baronet Rachel can receive are….”

There were more benefits to becoming a noble than I thought.

“You can follow me to the mansion you will be assigned to.”

I looked at Emily, who remained in her seat.

Delkarmen Muelia had already left because he had something to do, and Liela had also left to complete the medicine.

The only one left in this place is Emily.

“I’ll go with you. Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

I stood side by side with her and followed the butler.

Contrary to my expectations, the place we arrived at was a two-story mansion near the library.

The size was not very large.

About 1/5 compared to Yona’s mansion. Still, it was quite large for me to use alone.

“This is the mansion that the Baronet will use. The interior is still being cleaned, so you can move in about a week.”

“Then, should I stay at the library until then?”

“Yes. The approval from the imperial family will also come around that time.”

The interior of the mansion was worse than I thought. I could see broken floors, and there were traces of aging overall.

But this is a world where magic exists. It won’t take long to fix it.

“I’ll be on my way now.”

The butler bowed and left.

It felt strange to have someone older than me bow.

“It seems that Rachel likes reading, so I deliberately chose a mansion near the library. Do you like it?”

“Yes. I like that it’s close.”

“And it’s close to my house.”

“Pardon?”

I couldn’t hear the last words because they were muttered in a small voice. When I was about to ask again, Emily shook her head.

“Then I’ll be going too. I have some things to take care of regarding the territory war. I’ll have a housewarming party with Yona in a week, so you can look forward to it.”

Emily smiled and left.

So I was left alone.

Grrr.

I was hungry.

When I looked at the clock, it was already the end of lunchtime. I guess I can’t have lunch.

“Let’s just eat bread and coffee.”

Since I have to work as a librarian for a week, I sat at the desk as usual and drank coffee.

Evening when the sun has set. Now that the moon has hidden its appearance in the fog, people wearing black robes moved.

Taking advantage of the darkness, they entered a secret room where no one’s eyes could reach.

“Everyone must be here.”

“The 5th Elder hasn’t arrived yet. Let’s wait.”

After a while, the 5th Elder arrived.

Six people gathered at the round table.

They were all old men with gray hair when they took off their masks.

But their identities were by no means ordinary.

They are all six of the seven elders of the Muelia Duchy.

They have the power of the Duchy, although not as much as the Duke, and they are more powerful than most Marquises.

Six of them gathered. Avoiding the Duke’s eyes.

“Did you hear the news? I heard that Miss Yona’s illness has been completely cured.”

“I already heard that news. What are we going to do now? We can’t shake the Duke with Miss Yona anymore.”

“Sigh. This is a problem.”

They know how much the Duke loves his daughter.

So when Yona said she was sick, they deliberately encouraged the Duke to step down from the Duke’s position.

It is the heart of a father who wants to be by his daughter’s side when she is sick. They used that.

The benefits gained in that way were more than I thought. So they hoped that Yona would not be cured.

The sicker Yona is, the more shaken the Duke will be, and if she dies… he might collapse.

But the disease that she had been suffering from for several years was cured in a short period of time.

Now, she has regained her vitality and is said to be running around the mansion.

“Who the hell cured her?”

“I heard that a person related to the Medicine King came and cured her.”

“The Medicine King? Why is that old man’s story coming up here? I heard that he no longer intervenes in the world.”

They sighed because they could no longer easily shake the Duke.

Even without that, this Duke has good public sentiment within the family due to Emily’s political power.

If he only focused on the battlefield, they could grow their power in the meantime, but it is impossible because of Emily.

“In the end, do we have to carry out that work?”

“Let’s wait for now. We don’t like the imperial family either.”

“Yeah. There’s no way those crazy guys from the imperial family would have made a proposal for no reason. They must have an ulterior motive.”

They continued to think about ways to defeat the Duke and eat the family.

But the answer did not come easily.

In the end, this meeting ended without any conclusion.

They wouldn’t know.

That they are already on Delkarmen Muelia’s blade.

A week remained until I became a baronet.

During that time, I worked as a librarian and an alchemist.

In order to act as the heir of the Medicine King, I had to be able to do basic alchemy, so I learned from Liela from time to time.

“Should I put it in now?”

“Yes. You have to put it in now.”

I put the medicinal herbs in the place where purple steam was coming out.

Alchemy requires following the recipe exactly to get the right result. A slight mistake can result in a completely different potion.

So I concentrate all my nerves when I do alchemy.

So a week passed and finally the day of moving came.