The story of the black silk female knight

"Can't you just sincerely compliment her on how beautiful her black stockings are?"

"...Yes, yes, Miss, your black stockings are amazing!"

Melina's expression was even more helpless, yet also indulgent:

"Miss, you look best in black stockings... Whenever you appear in black stockings, all men and women are drawn to them, and even I can't help but feel my heart flutter!"

"...Hehehe, I like Melina the most."

Valensa was finally satisfied.

Just now, as Melina praised her black stockings, she really felt a warm current flow into her body out of nowhere, which restored some of the reserves in her heart.

"Sister Melina, please praise me more... I want to hear it."

In order to quickly recover her depleted mental strength, Valensa started to act coquettishly again.

"...Yes, Miss, your black stockings are really beautiful..."

With a "I can't do anything with you" expression, Melina complied with Valensa's request.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to some decay mechanism, Valensa could clearly feel that the effect of Melina's praise was getting weaker with each praise, and by about the tenth time it was almost completely ineffective.

...Hopefully this decay mechanism has a cooldown period, rather than being permanent...I'll try it again tomorrow morning.

With that thought in mind, Valensa finally ended her whining for the night and went to sleep with Melina.

Early the next morning.

"Sister Melina~~ Sister Melina~~ Do my black stockings look good?"

As soon as Melina opened her eyes, she saw her young mistress's black-stockinged legs lying in front of her.

...Again?

Melina was quite helpless and a little worried... The young lady had been acting strangely since last night. Could something have happened to her during the treasure hunt?

"You're overthinking it, Melina."

Valensa keenly noticed Melina's worried look and quickly explained:

"This is actually related to a new ability I've acquired... Your sincere praise can help me gradually become stronger and accelerate my recovery."

Although this completely idealistic power might have no effect if spoken aloud, Valensa didn't want Melina to worry.

"So that's it..."

Melina breathed a sigh of relief, but being a clever woman, she immediately realized why Valencia hadn't mentioned these things last night:

"If you just say it now, will it be less effective?"

"I don't know, this is just my guess... We'll have to try to find out."

Valensa shook her head, then swung her legs twice again, her voice carrying a hint of allure:

"So, Melina... do my black stockings look good or not?"

"Beautiful, Miss's black stockings are the most beautiful."

Melina's expression immediately became serious, even as devout as a praying believer:

"Even the most magnificent treasures and the finest works of art cannot compare to one ten-thousandth of the allure of the young lady's black stockings in my eyes!"

"Huh~~"

That was such an exaggeration that Valensa herself couldn't help but blush a little.

But the effect was obvious; her heart, which was still a little short of being able to fill with power, was visibly fuller in an instant.

Clearly, Melina's praise last night wasn't particularly sincere; it was more of a doting compliment. This morning's praise, however, was truly heartfelt.

"Phew... How was it, Miss? Did it work?"

After giving the praise, Melina took several deep breaths before regaining her composure.

"I was just in the same state of mind I would be when I'm praying to Goddess in church."

"Of course it works, and the results are fantastic!"

Valensa smiled happily, then contentedly pulled her leg back and extended her hand to Melina:

“Let’s go, Melina… We still have two things to do in Klar City today, then we can head back to Sergin Town.”

"Ah."

Melina smiled and took Valensa's hand, using it to sit up from the bed and begin to get dressed.

"and many more."

Seeing Melina casually reach for the Adventurers' Guild uniform, Valensa quickly stopped her and personally brought out the Baldr family maid outfit:

"I'll have to ask Melina to wear this today... I can't help it, since this down-on-her-luck young lady only has you, Melina, now. There are some things I can only do to save face for me."

"...This is my responsibility, and also my honor."

Melina's smile became even brighter.

After getting dressed and washing up, the two went to the Nora Chamber of Commerce together.

This time, Valensa was visiting as a noblewoman, not as an adventurer.

She only reached a verbal agreement with the person in charge of the store last night; the specific formalities have not yet been completed.

Valencia was an aristocrat, and in matters like this, she would usually only make the decisions herself, leaving the specific details and execution to her servants. Doing it herself would be beneath her status.

Although Valensa often bought groceries and cooked for herself while living in Serkin, the people around her were ordinary folks who didn't care about such things at all.

Dealing with people like the manager of the Nora Chamber of Commerce's Klar City branch is a no-go... The higher the status of a person, the more they care about etiquette.

That's why Valensa wasn't in a hurry to ask for the reward last night, so that she could bring Melina back today.

Although she only had Melina left as her maid, Melina was a noble maid in the capital, whose manners and abilities were impeccable, and whose aura far surpassed that of ordinary merchant guild employees.

A maid's abilities often reflect her master's strength. The branch manager, who already admired Valencia, became even more friendly after meeting Melina.

Everything went smoothly, and Valensa finally received the beautiful blue evening gown. Preparations for the banquet to be held in Sergintown two days later had already begun.

Chapter 51 Rumors about Mother

"Hey hey, Melina, you're amazing!"

After leaving the Nora Chamber of Commerce and walking onto a less conspicuous path, Valensa immediately abandoned her aristocratic lady persona, clinging to her maid's arm like a spoiled younger sister:

"The staff at the Chamber of Commerce were all stunned by you... They probably have no chance to leave this border town in their entire lives, and they've never seen a maid as amazing as you, Melina, have they?"

"I'm glad I could help Miss."

Melina was also smiling, and seemed to be in a very good mood.

"This doesn't mean my previous training has been wasted... Unlike ordinary maids, I've always received training as the head of the household's assistant."

"Huh? The head of the family's assistant? This is the first time you've mentioned it, Melina."

Valensa blinked, somewhat surprised:

“You’re my personal maid, and you’ve received training as the head of the family’s assistant… Could it be that Father still intends for me to inherit the family headship? But didn’t he plan to have another baby brother with Mom…”

"But when it comes to having a child, it's not as simple as just wanting a boy and having one."

Melina laughed and said:

"If that's the case, then you should be the eldest son instead of the eldest daughter... So the Earl made two preparations back then. If the third child is also a daughter, then as the eldest daughter, you must take on the responsibility of being the heir."

"Actually, I really hope that the third child is a younger brother, so that the family business and such would have nothing to do with me. As long as I can find a way to escape the arranged marriage, I can live a free and unrestrained life."

Valensa shrugged:

"And I think... the probability of the third child being a boy is quite high... after all, Mom has already given birth to two daughters in a row, so statistically speaking, she should have a son by now, right?"

"Logically, that's correct, but..."

Melina suddenly stopped, looked Valensa up and down for a long time, and then sighed:

"Before that incident, Miss, you were always carefree and playing with Second Miss. After that, Miss, you were always struggling to survive, so there's something I've never said... Now it's time."

"What's so mysterious about this?"

Valensa became increasingly curious:

"Could it be that, Melina, you, like those so-called regents, have received some secret entrustment from Father?"

"That's not..."

Melina chuckled and shook her head:

"It's just a baseless rumor... I didn't believe it at all until that incident happened... Maybe there's some connection between the two."

"It's actually related to the matter of Father's sacrifice?"

Valensa frowned:

"What exactly are these rumors, Valencia?"

"It all started with the fact that Madam gave birth to two daughters, you and Miss Elena. I always thought it was a rival family member spreading rumors in secret."

Melina sighed:

"Rumor has it that... the lady carries a cursed bloodline and is unable to bear sons... no matter how many children she gives birth to, they will all be daughters."

"Does Mom carry a cursed bloodline?"

Valensa's heart skipped a beat.

She thought of the previous behavior of the owner of the Dimensional Hardware Store.

Upon learning that Valensa's new power was mental power, the owner of the Dimensional Hardware Store was clearly surprised, saying that he thought it would be negative energy or holy light.

After three years of repeated interactions, Valensa realized that every word the owner of the Dimensional Hardware Store said was not unfounded.

It would say that, most likely because Valensa possesses a talent for negative energy or holy light.

The power of holy light is easy to understand, after all, the ancestors of the Baldr family were radiant swordsmen, and the heads of the family have always had close ties with the Church of the Sun.

But negative energy... Could it be the so-called cursed bloodline in my mother's body?

Could this be related to the cult attack that changed his life?

Valensa's mind raced as she began to recall details about her mother's origins.

After thinking for a while, she realized that she didn't know much at all.

Unlike the Badr family, which was large and had many relatives, Valensa's mother seemed to be all alone. Valensa had never met any of her mother's relatives or old friends growing up.

Even when Valensa occasionally inquired with great interest about her mother and father's love stories when they were young, she always received similar answers.

In short, Valensa's father once rescued Valensa's mother, and the two fell in love and got married, just like many romantic love stories.

As for what kind of heroic rescue it was, Valensa was naturally curious and asked.

Unfortunately, her mother always said she was too scared to remember, while her father would always say, "You're too young, I'll tell you later," and then change the subject.

...emmm

Valensa stood there for a long time, unable to come up with a solution... Even though she suddenly heard some information from Melina, the current intelligence was still too little.

However, we finally have a general direction for the investigation... If there is an opportunity in the future, we can first investigate my mother's background and the incident of her heroic rescue of the damsel in distress back then.

But all of this will have to wait until we return to the capital; there's no use worrying about it now.

huh~~

Valensa quickly took a deep breath to compose herself, and once again flashed a sweet smile. She ran to Melina's side and hugged her arm.

"Thank you for telling me all this, Melina... I will make good use of this information, but let's move on to the next thing now."

"It's good that you know what's going on, Miss."

Melina smiled indulgently, yet also looked somewhat puzzled:

"But we should have finished our business in Klar City, right? Where are we going next? Do you have any new plans, Miss?"

"Yes, it was something I thought of on the spur of the moment yesterday, but it won't delay the original plan, don't worry."

Valensa smiled and then took Melina's arm, leading them towards their destination.

"It's still related to my new ability. I want to do an experiment... but the place for the experiment is the same as the Nora Chamber of Commerce, so I need Melina to support me."