I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again! Volume 1

  Prologue

  My name is Chelsea. I’m the elder twin daughter of Baron Eucharis, and I’m called a failure.

  In the pitch dark of the morning, before the sun arose, I got out of my crude bed. I put on my tattered old clothes, and exited the run-down shed on the outskirts of the manor. Making sure not to make a sound, I got to cleaning the manor.

  I would think that the daughters of lesser noble families would help clean, but my family wasn’t that poor. The other members of my family had personal maids who took care of them, and even their own chefs. They wore nice clothing, ate delicious-looking food, and had fun.

  Why was it that even though we were all family, I was the only one wearing rags, being starved, and made to clean?

  Once, I tried asking my mother, and she gave me a twisted smile before responding, “You’re an ugly failure, unfit for the house of Eucharis. You’ll never get married off to anyone, so I’m having you learn how to be a maid early. You didn’t even know that? I’m going to have to get even stricter with you.”

  Ever since then, I had been told to call my mother “Lady Medisina” and my younger sister “Lady Margaret.” I also began getting whipped as punishment for the slightest mistake. In addition, it had been years since I’d seen my father. He was frequently away on work, only returning every so often. Even when he was home, Lady Medisina would order me to stay in my shed, so we never saw each other.

  Since the manor had been built in a period when my family was very wealthy, there were a lot of rooms. It always took me until near noon, when the sun was high in the sky, to finish cleaning them all. After finally finishing my cleaning, I headed straight for the kitchen. Because I’d been working since before dawn without anything to eat, my stomach was growling loudly. But though the chef was there in the kitchen, he shook his head at me.

  Lady Medisina had ordered the chefs not to make me any food. They used to make me a little something in secret, but I was punished when she found out. The chefs couldn’t bear to see me being punished alone, so they stopped making me food altogether. Instead, they would give me anything that was left over. That way, they wouldn’t be making things for me, so I wouldn’t be punished.

  What the head shake meant was that there were no leftovers today, which meant I wouldn’t eat at all. Haah... I’m so hungry... Sighing to myself, I drank water until my stomach was full and left the kitchen.

  “Eww, what are you doing in here!?”

  As I walked through the halls, I heard a hysterical shriek from in front of me. It was my younger sister, Lady Margaret. She was staring at me like I was garbage.

  Lady Margaret had inherited Lady Medisina’s slightly curled fiery red hair and eyes. Her skin was pure white, with not a scratch on it. She had told me that people likened her eyes to rubies. But in comparison as her elder twin sister, my hair was originally pale pink, but just looked grey through all the filth and grime. My eyes were big, buggy, and purple, while my skin was rough and covered in bruises, cuts, and scars from the whip. I was also a full head shorter than her.

  Lady Medisina’s personal maid and chef had told me that twins were supposed to look similar. Lady Margaret and I were twins, but we looked nothing alike. Why? Were we really twins? I wanted to ask, but I was too afraid of the whip to let myself.

  “Oh, you’re right. What is this hideous failure of a baron’s daughter doing here?” Lady Medisina walked out into the hall, seemingly after hearing Lady Margaret’s voice.

  I immediately moved to the edge of the hallway, kneeling on the floor. I was never allowed to look up at Lady Medisina. If our eyes met, I would be whipped.

  “Ah, that’s it. You, weed the garden. My lovely little Margaret and I will be in the sunroom studying manners,” she told me, before heading there with Lady Margaret. She seemed to be in a good mood today, because I wasn’t whipped. I was honestly relieved.

  I felt worse and worse as I peeked up at their backs. According to the maids, chefs, and the old gardener, I wasn’t as ugly or useless as Lady Medisina said. But my sister Lady Margaret was treated like a proper noble, while I was worked like a maid.

  Why just me? I knew that if I asked again, I’d just get whipped without getting an answer.

  Biting my lip to stop myself from crying, I headed to the garden. The weeds were out of control. There had been an old gardener up until last year, but he died during an epidemic. He’d taught me lots of things that he said I’d need to know to survive.

  Using the same scythe he’d used, I started carefully cutting the weeds near the gate. As I eventually reached near the entry hall, I heard footsteps and hid behind some bushes. It seemed that we had guests. There was a woman in a white robe with a blue stole, and a man wearing the same robe with the hood up. There were also four knights, each with a short yellow cape on one shoulder. They were heading from the gate towards the hall.

  The hooded man stopped in his tracks, looking towards the bushes where I was hiding.

  “Garbage like you should never dirty the eyes of guests.” Lady Medisina had always told me that. I knew from experience that I’d get whipped even worse than usual if I was seen.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, clutching my hands in front of my chest in prayer. Please, don’t see me... As I prayed, I heard a woman’s voice, and fading footsteps. Opening my eyes, I could see that the hooded man wasn’t looking my way anymore.

  The group made it to the door, while I breathed a relieved sigh. The woman adjusted her robes before knocking on the door.

  The knock was immediately answered by Lady Medisina’s personal maid, “May I ask who you are?”

  “We’ve been sent by the Royal Research Institute as per the Lady’s request.”

  “Please wait one moment while I confirm with Lady Eucharis.” The maid headed back into the manor before appearing a moment later with Lady Medisina.

  “Oh, we’ve been expecting you! Please, come in,” she beckoned the guests inside, plastering her best smile on her face.

  What did they mean by “her request?” I wanted to know, but I couldn’t go inside. I just kept on weeding, since I’d be whipped for slacking off otherwise.

  Finished with around the entrance, I moved towards the manor itself. Since the guests would probably be brought to the parlor in the east wing, I decided I could probably work unseen if I started by the sunroom in the western wing.

  But just as I started on the weeds near the sunroom, I saw the guests moving. Wondering why they were going to the sunroom instead, I quickly hid behind another bush.

  I managed to conceal myself, but I could hear everything they said from my hiding spot. If I was found, I’d definitely be whipped for eavesdropping. But since I couldn’t hide anywhere else now, I just tried to stay as small as possible.

  “Thank you all so much for coming all this way from the capital. I am Medisina, the wife of Baron Eucharis,” Lady Medisina introduced herself. You could tell from her voice that she was nervous. The guests must have been quite high in rank. “This is my daughter, Margaret. She just turned twelve.”

  “Hello, my name is Margaret, daughter of Baron Eucharis.”

  I sighed to myself. It was like there was only one daughter. Lady Margaret is my twin sister, and Lady Medisina is our mother... We’re related by blood, but I’m treated as if I don’t exist. I could at least give up if she hadn’t been my birth mother...

  “Congratulations on your twelfth birthday. I am the Aide, Adeline, and this is the nationally-recognized Appraiser, Lord Glen.”

  I peeked between the leaves to see inside as Lady Adeline gave a proper noble introduction. Following her, Lord Glen just gave a nod, s
till not lowering his hood. I could see the corner of Lady Medisina’s mouth twitch, while Lady Margaret looked very obviously annoyed.

  After all the greetings, the four sat down on the sofas, with the knights standing still behind the two guests. Lady Medisina’s personal maid nervously began setting out tea and snacks on the table between them. There were six guests in total. If there are that many, then there might be leftovers after! My empty stomach gurgled at the thought.

  “Allow me to explain things for your daughter,” Lady Adeline began, completely ignoring the tea and snacks.

  In our world, every person awakened to a special ability known as a Skill at age twelve. There were all sorts of Skills, ranging from useful to useless. The useful ones were divided into four categories—Martial Arts, Magic, Technical, and Unique—before being further divided by five levels. The higher-level the Skill, the harder it would be to control. Without special training, users would run the risk of harming others by unintentional use or rampage.

  To avoid such incidents, each child’s Skill would be appraised as they came of age, and they would be sent to the Royal Research Institute for special training if necessary. Because nobles usually awakened to higher-level Skills, having their Skills appraised by a nationally-recognized Appraiser was mandatory.

  “Now that explanations are out of the way, we’ll have you appraised,” Lady Adeline said, pulling a thick book and a ledger from her bag before giving Lord Glen a nod.

  Giving her a small nod back, Lord Glen tented his fingers, staring straight at Lady Margaret. After a while, he tilted his head slightly, whispering something into Lady Adeline’s ear. She nodded, and began flipping through the ledger.

  The only sound you could hear was the flipping of the pages. I could see Lady Margaret getting more impatient by the second, while Lady Medisina watched excitedly.

  Unable to wait another moment, Lady Margaret leaned forward, asking Lord Glen directly, “Ahem, excuse me! What is my Skill?”

  “Your Skill is Upper Level [Fire Magic]. You must go through special training,” he answered curtly.

  Hearing the results, both Lady Medisina and Lady Margaret’s eyes widened in shock, before turning to each other in glee. The reason why they were so happy was because being sent for special training at the Royal Research Institute was a status symbol for nobles. But while they rejoiced, Lady Adeline furrowed her brows, pointing something out to Lord Glen in the ledger. After waiting for them to calm down, she gave them a blank look.

  “It seems that you have another daughter who just turned twelve as well,” she said.

  The moment the words left her mouth, Lady Medisina and Lady Margaret grimaced at the same time.

  “Lord Glen tells me that his Appraisal lists Lady Margaret as the second daughter of Baron Eucharis. We also have records of the existence of an older twin sister who has yet to be Appraised in the Noble Registry,” Lady Adeline said, holding out the ledger that she had shown Lord Glen. “Noble births and deaths must be reported within ten days. Any fraudulent information will result in punishment. Has the elder daughter passed away in the last ten days?”

  “N-No... My other daughter is very sickly, and cannot leave her room,” Lady Medisina replied, shaking her head.

  Your other daughter is actually hiding outside the sunroom in the bushes...

  “Could it be that you do not realize how much information an Appraiser can see?” Lady Medisina’s face went pale at Lady Adeline’s cold words.

  Did that mean he could see that I wasn’t given food or clothing, was being worked like a maid, and also being whipped? Lady Medisina seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she was staring off into the distance.

  “Where is your other daughter?”

  “...It’s out weeding the garden,” Lady Medisina replied, looking away.

  Lord Glen stood up, exiting the sunroom through the door to the garden, while Lady Adeline and the knights followed. It seemed that Lady Margaret was tagging along too.

  They’re gonna find me... I didn’t have a chance to run. Lord Glen walked straight towards the bush where I was hiding, stopping right in front of it.

  “I know you’re hiding in there. You can come out,” he said in a gentle voice.

  I was told never to be seen because I’d dirty guest’s eyes, so I couldn’t come out. If I did, I’d get whipped badly. My hands and feet would be bound, and I’d get hit in the spots where it hurt most. It’d keep going, no matter how much I cried or screamed, and I wouldn’t be able to move the next day. I never wanted that to happen again.

  I was scared. I hugged my knees close to my chest, shaking.

  “It’s okay. Come on out.” His voice was even gentler this time, but I was too terrified to move.

  But then, he pulled his hood down, so I could see his face from between the leaves. He was smiling softly, more beautifully than anything I’d ever seen. His hair was dark as the night sky, and his eyes were so blue they sucked you in. His features made him seem like an angel from a storybook.

  “...Pretty.” The word left my mouth before I could stop it.

  While I sat still, just staring, Lord Glen slipped his hands under my arms and lifted me from the bush before putting me back on the ground. Then, he put a hand on my head, whispering, “...Clean.”

  Suddenly, my body was shining. The filth coating every bit of me dripped off onto the ground, disappearing.

  “That was magic to make you all clean. Since it isn’t a Skill, anyone with mana can use it if they practice enough,” Lord Glen explained when I tilted my head in confusion.

  Holding my hand out in front of me, I saw that while I was still covered in cuts and bruises, I was clean. My hair had even gone back to its true light pink color.

  “Thank you...” I murmured as I bowed. He patted me on the head in response.

  That might be the first time anyone has ever patted my head!

  While I stood there blinking in shock, Lady Adeline came over to me, kneeling so we were eye-to-eye. Why did she look like she was about to cry?

  “May I ask what your name is?”

  I could hear the tears in her voice, so she might have cried already.

  “I’m Chelsea.” Since I didn’t know how to respond like a noble, I just lowered my head, like the old gardener used to.

  After looking between me and the Noble Registry in her arms, Lady Adeline gave Lord Glen a nod.

  “I’m Glen, a nationally-recognized Appraiser. I’m just going to check out your Skill, okay?”

  After giving me a kind explanation, Lord Glen stared at a spot just above my head. Is that where his Appraisal showed up?

  “Chelsea’s Skill is [Seed Creation]. She can create any seed she wishes for.”

  Lady Adeline’s eyes went wide when she heard the Skill name as she opened the thick book and looked through it. After a while, she shook her head. “It isn’t in the Skill Dictionary.”

  “Didn’t think so.” Lord Glen nodded.

  “Yes, it seems to be a new Skill.”

  Kneeling down like Lady Adeline, Lord Glen took my hand. “Please, would you allow us to examine and research your Skill at the Royal Research Institute, for the sake of our country?”

  At a loss for words, I just nodded.

  “I can’t believe this!” The moment Lady Adeline closed the Skill Dictionary with a thump, Lady Margaret screeched, rushing at me. “Garbage like you shouldn’t be allowed to attend the Royal Research Institute!”

  I flinched as she raised her hand, closing my eyes as I waited for impact, but...it never came. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Lord Glen had caught her by the wrist.

  “Are you saying that I, a nationally-recognized Appraiser, am lying?” His quiet voice seemed to echo through the garden.

  Frowning, Lady Margaret took her eyes off me, turning towards Lord Glen. But instead of complaining more, she looked shocked. It seemed she was just as surprised by his appearance as I was.

  “Oh, Lord Glen, you’re so h
andsome...” Lady Margaret covered her cheeks with her hands, glancing back at him. Rather than surprised, she might have been in love. Sighing, Lord Glen let go of her wrist.

  “P-Please excuse Chelsea’s carelessness...” Lady Medisina finally hobbled out towards us, apologizing.

  “Chelsea didn’t do anything. It was your other daughter,” said Lord Glen with another sigh.

  “Margaret?” Confused, Lady Medisina looked between Lady Margaret and me.

  “Chelsea will also need to go to the Royal Research Institute, so make preparations.”

  “Her too...!?” she screeched, baffled.

  And so, both Lady Margaret and I were instructed to go to the Royal Research Institute in the capital. I’d never left the manor grounds before in my life. All I knew was what I could see from the garden. The old gardener told me that the capital was where the King lived. It was a place where all the roads were paved for the carriages, with lots of streetlights and stores... He said that it was bright, bustling, and fun!

  I couldn’t believe that useless trash like me could ever go there! While part of me was excited, the rest of me was scared. I might still be whipped for mistakes there. I hope it’s at least better than here at the Eucharis manor...

  1. My First Carriage Ride

  The next morning, a pair of carriages had been sent to the Eucharis manor for us. Two four-seated carriages, painted in ways I’d never seen before.

  Lord Glen and Lady Adeline were there, and with Lady Margaret, me, and the four knights, that made eight. I thought that was why they needed two carriages, but apparently, the knights were riding on horseback to guard us. That meant that two people would be boarding each carriage.

  Why not just take one, then? When I tilted my head in confusion, Glen gently patted my hair.

  “We’ve got luggage, after all,” he said with a smile.

  While all I had was a small bag with a change of underwear, Lady Margaret brought two large bags, prepared by Lady Medisina.

  I nodded understandingly, and Lord Glen pet my head again.

  “Chelsea gets to ride with me,” he announced, gently pushing me inside the carriage.