Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 588

"What's wrong? Why are you so surprised?"

"N-no, Father. It's just that I was sad to see Lord Rid off, so we were talking for a while."

"Fara is right. The door suddenly opened, so we were just startled..."

While we hurriedly tried to explain, Kiel and Mel were turned away from us, their bodies shaking.

Wait, wasn't what Fara just did a 'kabe-don'?

Kiel, you must have gotten that idea from some book or something, but why did you have to teach Fara that?

I couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

Father glanced around at everyone present and nodded, saying, "Well, alright."

"However, no matter how sad you are to part, this isn't the place to do such things."

"Y-yes. We apologize."

As Fara and I bowed our heads, Mother cleared her throat, as if to reset the atmosphere.

"Dear, where have you been all this time?"

"My apologies. It's about that matter Nanalie proposed. The preparations took a bit longer than expected."

"Is that so? And has the person in question arrived yet?"

"Yes. I thought it would be good to introduce them to everyone properly."

"My, how wonderful."

Hearing Father's response, Mother smiled happily.

That matter, introducing everyone properly...?

Huh, what could it be?

As I tilted my head in confusion at their exchange, two maids appeared from behind Father, bowing respectfully.

On the right was Diana, and on the left was Nina, pushing a four-wheeled cart.

By the way, Nina is a maid who serves the Baldia household alongside Danae.

She has long brown hair tied slightly on both sides, with the rest left loose, and her sharp eyes and blue pupils give off a strong-willed impression.

In reality, Nina is indeed a bit strong-willed, but she's very caring and well-liked by Mel and the members of the Second Knight Order.

And between the two of them, an unfamiliar maid stepped forward, bowing her head.

Huh, I feel like I've seen her somewhere before, but who is she?

As we all tilted our heads in confusion, the maid suddenly lifted her face with a bright smile.

"Former knight of the Baldia Knight Order, wife of the hero Cross, and now a widow. I have been granted the great honor of serving as Lord Rid's guard and overseer by Lord riner. I'm back as a maid with a child in tow. Nice to meet you!"

Tink placed her left hand on her hip and stuck out her right hand in a peace sign, flashing a bright smile as she said, "Vee!"

"Uh..."

I wasn't the only one left speechless.

Everyone here, except for Father and Mother, was stunned by Tink's words and actions, their eyes wide and mouths agape.

"Ah, did I mess up the introduction?"

Tink scratched her cheek awkwardly, while Diana shook her head with a sigh, and Nina shrugged her shoulders.

"That 'Vee' was a bit much, don't you think?"

"Indeed. You should have at least stopped at a smug face."

"My, you two are harsh."

As the three of them chatted amiably, I snapped out of my daze and shook my head.

"Wait, hold on. Father, what do you mean by Tink being my guard and overseer?"

It's true that Diana was relieved of her duties as my guard and overseer due to her pregnancy.

But I was told that the replacement would be Dinas, the knight commander currently in the Foxkin territory.

I hadn't heard anything about this.

"Y-yes. I hadn't heard anything about Mother taking on such a role either."

As Tis stepped forward to continue, Father cleared his throat.

"Nanalie and Tink said that if we told you two in advance, you'd oppose it. So we kept it a secret until today."

Father glanced at Mother and Tink, and the two of them nodded.

"Rid, Tis. I'm sorry for keeping it a secret. Actually, I was the one who suggested Tink as Diana's replacement."

"Mother did?"

As Tis and I exchanged looks, Mother smiled gently and explained.

After Diana became pregnant, she became Mother's personal attendant, but during that time, she expressed concerns about who would take over as my dedicated guard and overseer.

Then, Mother said, "I have a good idea," and after getting Father's approval, she immediately contacted Tink.

When Tink heard the details from Mother, she declined, saying, "It's a great honor, but I don't think I'm up to such a responsibility."

But Mother insisted, saying, "Actually, this is a private matter, but..." and informed Tink that Tis would soon be visiting the Foxkin territory.

On that occasion, Mother asked Tink to accompany me as my dedicated guard and overseer, while also attending the meeting with the Grandork family as Mother's representative.

Since I would be attending the meeting between Amon and Tis as Father's representative, the Baldia family's honor would be maintained.

But Mother thought that alone wouldn't be enough.

Indeed, having Tink, Tis's biological mother, attend the meeting as Mother's representative would leave a much stronger impression on the other party than just me attending as Father's representative.

Tink was surprised by Mother's proposal, but after being persuaded by Diana, who was also present, that attending the meeting as 'Mother's representative' would give her significant influence and authority, she agonized over it before finally accepting.

"...And that's how it happened."

"I was surprised at first too, but I was a bit worried about Dinas being your overseer. Besides, you're in a position where you're being targeted from various directions. Therefore, I decided that a guard like Tink was necessary."

"Ugh..."

Whether he knew it or not, Father's words struck a chord.

Just moments ago, I had caused a misunderstanding with Fara over that very issue of being targeted from various directions.

I slumped my shoulders and let out a sigh.

"Understood. But, if I may ask, how capable is Tink exactly?"

"No need to worry about that."

Father nodded without hesitation.

"Tink is a skilled individual who once served as a knight in the Baldia Knight Order. Just to be safe, she's been undergoing training to regain her edge. There's no room for error."

"I-I see. Is that so?"

I had heard that she was once a knight in the Baldia Knight Order, but I didn't know the extent of her abilities.

But Father isn't one to be swayed by emotions, so Tink's skills are likely genuine.

Still feeling a bit skeptical, Diana chimed in, "Lord Lidd, rest assured."

"Lady Tink taught me how to handle various weapons and fight. She will undoubtedly be of great help to you."

"Eh, really?"

Diana is one of the top fighters in the knight order.

If she was Tink's student, then Tink's abilities must be considerable.

When I glanced at her, Tink scratched her cheek sheepishly.

"I wouldn't say I'm worthy of being called a teacher. Diana just worked hard to stand by her husband's side. Right?"

"Ugh...! Lady Tink, that was unnecessary!"

Diana's face turned red as she shot Tink a sharp look, but Tink just smiled and playfully apologized.

It seems the two of them have a master-disciple relationship.

"Ah, but what about Claude?"

When I suddenly asked, Tink smiled warmly.

"Don't worry. Thanks to Lord Liner and Lady Nanalie's arrangements, she'll be taken care of while I'm on guard duty for you."

"W-well, it's Lord Liner and Lady Nanalie's orders, so it's part of the job. It's not like I volunteered because the baby is cute or anything."

Nina said this, then pouted and turned away, embarrassed.

Amused by her behavior, Claude, who was in the stroller, let out a happy laugh, causing Nina to quickly break into a smile.

Seeing this, Father cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention.

"Rid, this is a done deal. Also, I've prepared a letter for Dinas. Make sure to deliver it."

"Ah, yes. Understood."

I accepted the envelope Father handed me and carefully tucked it into my pocket.

Glancing at Tis out of the corner of my eye, I saw her smiling happily.

"Lord Ridd, it's almost time to depart. What would you like to do?"

"Ah, right. I'll be there soon."

Responding to Ellen's voice from outside, I took one last look around at everyone present.

"Well then, I'm off."

"Lord ridd, take care."

After saying goodbye to Fara and the others, I set off once again for the Foxkin territory with Tis, Citri, and the rest.