Clemencia was staring outside again, seemingly lost in thought, but in truth, she wasn't really thinking about anything. She was staring outside but didn't seem to be seeing; her eyes were slightly blurred, as if she were trying to remember something but failing.
"Young Miss, are you okay?" the maid in charge of her that day asked.
"...Huh? Ah! Yes, I'm fine, Lira, I'm just...thinking a little..."
'Thinking certainly isn't the right word for what's been happening to you lately.'
The maid who had been caring for Clemencia for almost 10 years almost blurted out what was on her mind, but managed to hold back, seeing that her mistress wouldn't respond otherwise, and so she focused on her task of helping her.
Once outside, Lira went to the kitchen where other staff were already waiting for her.
"So, how is the Young Miss?"
"She keep insisting she's fine, just thinking."
Lira and the other maids could only sigh with mild irritation at the same response they had been hearing for days.
After her mistress and what was left of her convoy returned from visiting her cousin, the first thing the master of the house did was wrap her in his arms and hold her close for nearly an hour.
The second was to organize an extermination squad to find the base of the bandits who attacked his daughter and dig deep to discover who was involved in the second ambush. Both actions were effective, and from a business perspective, things couldn't be better for the household.
The bandits who had attacked Clemencia and her convoy were from a particularly notorious group, with a considerable reward for the capture or death of all its members. Especially their boss, a former aspiring knight named Osted, a hybrid of bergantar and human.
Once promising, Osted was expelled for his violent temper, inability to follow orders from his superiors, and having attacked several female academy staff members while still a student. After the explosion, he stole all his family's money and killed everyone who had ever angered him, including his own father. The bounty on his head alone was 10,000 gold coins.
Besides the boss, several members of the group were despicable in varying degrees. Unfortunately, all were competent warriors, and all were capable of using body-reinforcing magic to enhance their speed, making capture or elimination difficult.
With a combination of strength, numbers, and mobility, the Osted bandit group had been causing trouble for the kingdom for nearly ten years, accumulating infamy, fear, and wealth.
As such, their hideout held far more treasure than several "honest" merchants, and far more than any other bandit group in the kingdom.
As for the second ambush, it was unexpectedly easy to uncover, especially since those responsible had lost all contact with the group they sent, and the last message received categorically stated that they were preparing to attack Clemencia's convoy.
The master of the house was quick, efficient, decisive, and terrifying. According to some maids, he personally went to the house of the main organizer of the second ambush and left with his fists soaked in blood. Whether this was true or not, Lira didn't know and didn't want to know.
"And what about the others in the convoy? How are they?" Lira asked the others.
"The knights have recovered well and have already returned to duty, including Miss Amanda. But some of the servants who went with they.…"
Understandable; even a knight trained to withstand the stress of being nearly killed could very well succumb depending on how close he was to the woman. Expecting a better reaction from a civilian with no experience with violence was a vain hope.
"What about the benefactor who saved you and the others? Any news about him?" the youngest of the maids asked with a girl's typical curiosity about epic and romantic stories.
"Do you really believe that? I'm sure it must have been some animal that smelled the blood and scared off the bandits," the older woman replied dryly.