Prologue

Inside a tower illuminated by a pale half-moon, Prince Rivage Myzahn was currently testing out new magic. The walls were made of timeworn stone, and the flames of torches placed across the room swayed, casting the shadows of the people inside.

While Rivage was using magic, his older brother, the king, sat on a wooden chair across from him. The king’s expression looked a little weary, since he’d come here after finishing his official duties. He wasn’t wearing his royal garb that included a heavy mantle and jacket, but light clothing; even Rivage rarely saw him dressed like this.

The king had grown up in an environment surrounded by treacherous relatives, and Rivage was the only person he could trust. Myzahni royalty lived in a dog-eat-dog world from the moment they were born. Everyone aimed for the throne, and those who failed to take it were eliminated. Rivage had lost his mother at an early age and found himself in an unfavorable position in the royal palace; he’d only survived until now thanks to his older brother. Under normal circumstances, two princes wouldn’t cooperate with each other, but the king was an exception and supported Rivage.

As a result of their cooperation, Rivage’s older brother had become the king by taking the position from their father; a common occurrence in Myzahni history. Rivage helped his brother, and by working together, the two of them had maintained the barren desert country of Myzahn to this day. The king looked similar to Rivage but also possessed a powerful presence. Rivage had always idolized his half brother. If he so desired, he could even obtain a saint’s magic and invade Polpystan. Rivage didn’t trust another soul, but his brother was the exception.

Everyone else had been ordered to leave, so the two of them were currently alone in this room. After Rivage finished testing out various things with magic, he turned to his brother.

“How is it, elder brother? Apparently, this is the psychosomatic purification magic possessed by Robin, the one said to be ‘close to a saint’ in Desnim.”

The king was going along with Rivage’s magic experiment.

“Hmm, it’s certainly genuine. I feel my body being purified. The mental recovery magic you used earlier was also good for me. I could feel some of my stress being alleviated.”

Rivage’s lips curled into a tiny smile when he saw his brother looking so satisfied.

“Now then, it’s possible that Robin’s magic really is similar to a saint’s, although there are some differences. His personality seems to be the furthest from a saint’s, though.” Rivage had complicated feelings as he remembered Robin’s behavior from when they’d met.

He was a terrible person. Although the same was true of most Myzahni royalty, Rivage had never met someone quite as selfish as Robin. At first, Rivage’s plan had been to bring Robin himself to Myzahn, but leaving him in Desnim had definitely been the correct choice. No one could control that man. Rivage could easily imagine Robin causing huge problems in Myzahn.

The king looked at his brother curiously and continued their conversation.

“Even though it’s similar to a saint’s, this magic is lacking in power and is far from almighty. It’s a valuable magic that can soothe the citizens, but it’s not what we’re after.”

“Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. It’s not one of the famous types of magic used by saints, like healing wounds, purifying poisons and illnesses, or creating barriers. I ran various experiments and tried using it in different ways, but I only ended up with psychosomatic purification and mental recovery.”

“But depending on how it’s used, it can become a powerful weapon. The original owner of the magic devised a clever way to use it: intentionally putting others in a dazed state.” Just like the king said, although this magic didn’t suit their purposes, it deserved praise for being able to affect people’s minds, even temporarily.

“Making direct contact with Robin was worth it just for stealing this magic. If I use it, I should eventually be able to bring out different effects than Robin did. Magic that affects the mind has rarely been reported, even tracing back through history. That alone proves how powerful it is,” Rivage said with a subdued smile.

The king turned a grim expression toward his brother.

“Incidentally, no one knows about your true magic, do they?”

Rivage nodded deeply.

“I’ve made certain of that. Everyone else should believe that I possess sealing magic.” Rivage’s magic was only effective when it was kept hidden; he understood that very well. That was why he’d asked his brother, the king, to help with his experiments. He hadn’t even told his subordinates about his true magic; they believed that he possessed sealing magic.

“I see. Sealing itself is powerful magic, so it works as good camouflage for your other kinds of magic.”

“Yes, I doubt anyone would imagine I’m hiding two other types of magic.”

“If you include your original magic, you currently have four different kinds in total,” the king pointed out.

“Indeed.” Rivage nodded.

“In any case, your duplication is really convenient magic.”

“I’m not as knowledgeable as the original owner when it comes to magic that isn’t my own. In addition, even if the owner is an incredible user, it’s uncertain whether I can use their magic with the same power.”

“Well, that’s true, but the opposite can also happen.”

Just as Rivage’s brother said, there had been cases where the original owner had been incompetent at using their magic, and Rivage had actually learned to use his copied version more effectively than the original owner ever had. Robin fell under this latter category.

“I need to practice this mental recovery a little more. It’s surprisingly complex, and I need to research its uses,” Rivage said.

“Your earnestness is one of your good points. Whoops, it’s almost time for my next duties. I will excuse myself now. I’m entrusting that matter to you.”

“Of course, elder brother. Please leave the rest to me.” Rivage stood up, bowed, and saw his brother off with a cheerful smile.

After the king left, the room was enveloped in silence. Rivage thought back to an exchange that had taken place in Desnim a short time ago.

That was a very unpleasant visit... Because of his subordinate’s blunder, Rivage had needed to go all the way to Desnim for a conference, take responsibility for the incident, and even give compensation. The king’s brother and the Margrave of Sutrena wrung me dry... But Rivage had endured. Everything had been for the sake of duplicating Robin’s saintly magic and making it his. I managed to quietly get close enough to touch Robin without anyone noticing, so I achieved my goal.

Just like the king had said earlier, Rivage could duplicate up to three kinds of magic. If he wanted to duplicate a new type of magic, he’d need to erase one of the existing three for the new one to take its place. He could erase any magic he’d duplicated at will. Although Robin’s magic had been different from what Rivage had expected, it was unusual and interesting. In addition, it seemed that Robin’s mana was low, while Rivage’s was higher than average, so it was likely he’d be able to use the magic more effectively than its original owner.

“I never expected to end up losing Defi, but such is life.”

Defi had been an outstanding and sensible subordinate. He had a special kind of magic which could release the seal on other people’s magic. However, that was all there was to it. It was an inconvenient magic without much utility. Rivage had kept Defi around because he’d been convenient for undoing seals Rivage had placed. Rivage’s duplication was limited to three kinds of magic, so he didn’t want to waste one of those slots on the largely useless release. Therefore, he’d thought it would be better to just have Defi nearby. Now Rivage had someone else who could use release magic at the ready in Defi’s place. However, that subordinate wasn’t as good at their job as Defi had been.

In addition to accomplishing his objective, Rivage had decided to avoid directly interfering with Defi and had given him a chance, out of respect for his past devotion. However, since Defi had helped Robin escape, it was hard to imagine that he’d be able to live comfortably in Desnim. He’d probably be saddled with full responsibility for the escape and be punished accordingly.

In any case, Sutrena is an area worthy of caution. Rivage had felt that keenly during his visit.

Rivage took a seat and thought about the land he’d been to. After his trip, he’d assigned subordinates exclusively to the task of uncovering Sutrena’s vulnerabilities. Said subordinates were merchants in Desnim and made every effort to learn the weaknesses of the Margrave of Sutrena. Rivage had many such pawns in other countries. But unexpectedly, the Margrave of Sutrena was frighteningly guarded.

I knew that Nazelbart was an outstanding individual, but to think that his only weaknesses are his wife and son... I was hoping for more evidence of wrongdoing or something connected to a scandal.

But Rivage’s subordinates had uncovered no such information, and the people of Sutrena all had nothing but praise for the margrave and margravine. Even when Rivage had tried sending spies to spread malicious rumors, not a single person in Sutrena had reacted. Far from it, in fact: they’d admonished the spies and called them wrong. The lord and his wife were close to the people and regularly interacted with them, so there was no room for ill rumors to creep in.

As proof of the above, there was a wide variety of statues of the margravine erected all across the main town. When the spies had asked about the statues, they’d learned that the margravine hadn’t ordered their construction, but the sculptors were making them voluntarily. In fact, the margravine apparently felt embarrassed and was opposed to their construction. Even though she’d only moved to Sutrena a few years ago, it seemed that she was terrifyingly popular.

As for Nazelbart, he’d once been a prince consort candidate, and possessed exceptional practical skills. He also had a good relationship with the current King of Desnim. He’d once fallen into Robin and Mia’s trap and gotten exiled, but the rumors surrounding that incident had now been rewritten, and his reputation continued to improve year after year.

There are no openings to take advantage of. It looked like a more detailed investigation into Sutrena, and by extension Desnim, was in order.

“It would be useful to have an excellent spy like Defi at a time like this. But there’s nothing I can do since things with him ended up like that; I’ll need to find someone else. I have to live up to my brother’s expectations too.” Rivage let out a long sigh in the empty room.

Chapter 1: Everyday Life in Sutrena and a Sudden Letter

“Goo! Gaaah!” Using both arms and legs, Solis effortlessly crawled across the manor’s floor. His plump limbs moved without showing any signs of fatigue. The white marble corridors procured by the previous margrave were smooth, so they seemed very easy for my son Solis to move across.

Solis had turned one this year. He could now walk on his own two feet, though his steps were unsteady. For now, he could still move faster by crawling, and it looked like he preferred it as he didn’t walk much. His soft silver hair had also grown out.

At the moment, Mrs. Holly—Solis’s wet nurse—and the maids assisting her were chasing after him. I was also anxiously running along with them.

“Wait up, Solis! Please stop!” I cried.

“She’s right, Lord Solis. There are stairs that way, so it’s a big no-no. Let’s get you changed first,” Mrs. Holly added.

“Goo!” Solis replied cheerfully, whether he understood us or not. But despite that, he didn’t stop moving. Rather, he was even speeding up. But then, someone suddenly stood in his way.

“Lord Solis, you aren’t allowed to go any farther.”

“Goo? Gah?!”

Kelly stood before the stairway with her arms spread, blocking the way. She’d arrived at the perfect moment. Solis was caught off guard and seemed to realize he was at a disadvantage, losing his earlier momentum and crawling slower.

“Now come, let’s return to your room.” Kelly caught Solis and picked him up. He looked resigned and relaxed his whole body; he must have given up on escaping.

“Thank you, Kelly,” I said, running up to her. She was always reliable.

“Please don’t mention it. I’m glad I could protect Lord Solis.” Kelly gently handed Solis over to Mrs. Holly.

Mrs. Holly thanked Kelly and returned to the nursery with Solis and the maids. I stood there, watching over everyone.

“It seems that Solis ran away because he didn’t want to get changed,” I said.

“When his diaper is being changed, he often scurries off when he finds the opportunity. Perhaps this is an extension of that,” Kelly replied.

By the way, Mrs. Holly’s son was also in the nursery, but unlike Solis, he obediently let himself get changed. I’d never seen him run away.

As I looked at Kelly, I noticed that she seemed to be unusually deep in thought. She had emotions like everyone else, though their exact nature was incredibly hard to discern.

“Kelly? Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing,” she replied after a short pause.

“That’s fine then, but if there’s something troubling you, you can come talk to me anytime.” I was concerned about the uncharacteristically hesitant way she’d replied.

Defi came walking from the other end of the hallway, so our conversation was interrupted for now. He had light blue hair, gray eyes, and tanned skin, which were unusual looks for a Desnimer. He’d once worked as a spy for Prince Rivage Myzahn. After a lot of twists and turns, he was now under our protection as a guest of our estate. He wasn’t employed as our servant, but he’d taken the initiative to help with work, and before I knew it, he’d taken on a role like a butler. Although he’d declined before, we were currently considering whether we should officially hire him.

Defi was very competent at his job and possessed the rare magic absolute release, a very powerful kind which could nullify the effects of all magic. Just like me, he kept his magic a secret, and only a select few knew the truth about it, myself included. Everyone else thought his magic was just the ordinary kind of release. Regular release magic was rare but useless in everyday life, since it could only undo the seals placed by sealing magic, which rendered people unable to use mana.

“There you are, Lady Agnes.”

I stopped when Defi called out to me and examined him. His expression had become a little softer than before. I’d be happy if that was thanks to his life here in Sutrena.

“What’s the matter? Do you have business with me?” I asked.

“Yes. Lord Nazelbart sent a message that the final stage of the levee repairs should be completed ahead of schedule.”

Defi was talking about the levees along the river at the southern part of Sutrena. Our territory was often hit by storms, so naturally, levees had been constructed on the river that ran along the southern border. They were valuable structures, so they were inspected periodically and were also repaired or improved as necessary. However, parts of the levees had been damaged during the recent major storm, so those areas were currently being repaired one by one. Repairs along the embankments of the small river near town had already been completed. The current repairs concerned the large river along the border. Once work there was done, the next step would be to reinforce the levees along the ocean.

Looking over each embankment is hard work, but we can’t just leave them as they are.

The ocean levees hadn’t shown any serious damage up to now, but after the recent storm, they had been scheduled for a safety reevaluation. The levees had been designed while taking into account the location and necessary durability. Things like height, width, and shape had been discussed at the fortress in advance, and repairs had already been completed, so it seemed that the only step left was for me to reinforce them with my magic. This was an important duty for me and my absolute reinforcement.

If I just use my magic once, the levees should no longer take any damage. My absolute magic was a secret, so everyone thought my magic was actually just matter reinforcement.

“After this, Lord Nazelbart will apparently return to the estate. Do you think you will be able to leave with him?” Defi really was working like a skilled secretary. If he was okay with it, I’d like to employ him as our head butler.

“Yes, I will. After the damage from the previous storm has been repaired, I just need to apply the finishing touches with my magic. I’ll do my best.”

As I was talking to Defi, I heard Dunk loudly neighing outside the window. She was as full of energy as usual.

“Oh, speak of the devil. It sounds like Lord Nazel has returned. I’ll go and welcome him.” I raised the skirt of my casual dress, ran down the closest staircase at full speed, and dashed into the garden through the rear entrance. This is poor etiquette for a noblewoman, but it’s fine since only Kelly and the others are watching!

When I reached an open area, I saw Dunk slowly descending with Lord Nazel on her back.

“I’m home, Agnes.” Lord Nazel’s gentle, refreshing, beautiful voice drifted down.

“Welcome home, Lord Nazel,” I replied.

Lord Nazel smoothly jumped down from Dunk, came up to me, and spread his arms wide.

I-Is he waiting for me...to jump into his arms? In the years I’d spent with Lord Nazel, I’d come to clearly understand what his gestures meant. Right now, he was smiling widely with his arms spread open. He wasn’t going to move until I went to him. Lord Nazel could be a little mean when it came to things like this and he secretly enjoyed seeing me nervous or embarrassed.

Ugh, it’s embarrassing, but I have to go to him. I timidly walked up to him and jumped into his chest with a “Hup!” Lord Nazel caught me properly and hugged me tightly. He smelled nice, like soap.

“Haaah, you’re adorable, Agnes... I missed you. I’ve been low on Agnes particles since early morning.” I’d also gotten used to the incomprehensible things Lord Nazel sometimes said. I was certain he must have gone crazy with stress from how busy his work had been.

“You seem tired, Lord Nazel.”

“Aaah, you smell so nice,” Lord Nazel said, sniffing me. He stood still with his face buried into my hair; I was speechless.

“Um, Lord Nazel?”

“Wait a little longer. Let me get my fill of you.” Lord Nazel’s behavior became bolder and bolder by the year.

It’s good that Lord Nazel has an environment where he can act selfishly, but...being sniffed is still embarrassing. I felt flustered in his arms.

“Oh, that reminds me. Just earlier, Defi informed me about the levee repairs,” I said.

“Yes, the schedule has been moved forward. Sorry.”

“It’s all right. All the commotion around the school recently ended too.”

“In that case, I want to bring you to work every day. I believe that I will make better progress at my work with you in the same room.”

“That’s impossible,” I replied after a pause.

As a matter of fact, the fortress employees had also told me things like, “Lord Nazelbart is in incredibly high spirits when you accompany him, Lady Agnes, so whenever you have the time, please come with him.” They always gave me a warm welcome whenever I visited the fortress to bring them refreshments.

But on the other hand, this means that Lord Nazel no longer keeps up appearances even in front of his subordinates, right? He’s completely put his “animated doll” nickname behind him. But going there every day would be too much. I had to refuse for the sake of Lord Nazel’s honor too.

“Let’s depart soon, Lord Nazel. We need to go all the way to the river at the border, after all.” I pushed Lord Nazel away with all my strength, but he didn’t budge an inch since he trained regularly.

With her work finished, it seemed that Dunk had gone to eat some grass; she’d disappeared before I knew it.

“Geni, Charite!” I called the two wyverns.

Charite was the purple wyvern Lord Davier had once ridden. She and Geni shared mutual love and lived together in our estate’s garden. The ever-curious Geni and the calm and gentle Charite got along truly great, and they were always together lately. Even when we went out, they came as a pair. According to a field guide I’d found in the manor, wyverns were animals with strong mating bonds, so I did my best to keep them apart as little as possible.

The wyverns must have heard me, because I heard multiple loud footsteps approaching from the back of the garden. Before long, I saw their pink and purple figures happily running up to me. Both of them were a darker color than usual. When wyverns fell in love, their skin changed color.

“We’re going out!”

The two wyverns cried happily and came close to us before stopping, looking curiously at Lord Nazel and me clinging to each other. I had no idea why, but Geni copied Lord Nazel and started embracing Charite with his wings. Perhaps the two of them thought it was some kind of game, as they seemed to be enjoying themselves; the sight was heartwarming.

Lord Nazel—who’d been sniffing me this entire time—seemed to have finally calmed down. He moved his handsome face away from my hair and had started regaining his composure. His red hair falling over his cheeks was captivating.

“Can we leave now, Lord Nazel?”

“Yes... I feel soothed.”

“All right, then please get on Geni. I’ll ride on Charite.” Charite had once been Lord Davier’s mountbeast, but she’d gradually grown used to me. She even let me ride on her back now.

It seemed that Lord Nazel had wanted to ride together with me, but he also understood Charite’s wish. He looked a bit lonely as he got on Geni’s back. Geni was happy to go on an outing and flapped his wings wildly.

“Heave-ho...” I also climbed atop Charite and took the reins.

Our destination was the river along the border. Since the embankments stretched out over a long distance, we’d have to visit several locations, starting with the areas that required repairs more urgently. Some areas had been flooded during the previous storm, but the damage had been less than anticipated. If there hadn’t been any levees, there wouldn’t have simply been floods; many houses would have likely been washed away. The thought itself was terrifying. It also seemed that the repaired levees had been built taller than before. I decided I should properly reinforce them with my magic.

Geni and Charite flapped their wings vigorously and gently soared straight up into the sky. Their flight was simply superb.

Charite flies more safely than Geni. Looks like a wyvern’s personality also comes out in the way they fly. If I had to describe it, Geni’s flying would be acrobatic. He flew freely, doing things like rotating depending on his mood or ascending suddenly. They’re both cute. Wyverns in general are cute... I rode across the sky with a smile on my face.

Wyverns were fast, so we flew past Sutrena’s central town in the blink of an eye, and the forest stretched below us. Once we passed the forest, we’d reach the river in a heartbeat.

Oh, there it is. The large Sutrena River flowed along the border; no one called it by its official name. It apparently had a different name in Polpystan.

“Charite, can you land in front of that river?”

Charite replied with vigor and started descending at a steady speed. Next to us, Geni performed a nosedive while rotating.

***

The embankments along Sutrena River had already been completely restored. People with magic useful for repairs and ones with great physical strength must have worked really hard.

I heard that the sculptors assisted too. Constructing levees also required work to improve safety, such as improving the ground underneath and installing foundational structures.

It was currently the middle of the dry season, which would make it early summer in the capital. Everyone worked hard to finish the job before the rainy season. It looks like we’ll make it with time to spare.

Lord Nazel’s plants covered the levees, improving the strength of the structures and preventing erosion caused by rain or the river’s water. There’s a new type of plant besides the usual vines. Cute white flowers with a sweet smell are blooming...

After I got down from Charite, I observed the area around me. Lord Nazel had also alighted from Geni. Even though Geni had descended so rapidly, Lord Nazel looked completely nonchalant.

Lord Nazel performs everything flawlessly, just like usual. If I had been in his shoes, I’d probably be stumbling around right now.

“What kind of plants are those, Lord Nazel?” I asked while pointing at the new plants covering the embankments.

“Those are jasmines. It’s a plant that can be found from Sutrena to Polpystan, though it’s relatively rare in Sutrena. I selectively bred these with my magic to make them grow well in this land too. They’re beautiful plants, so I thought I’d make it so they can be in bloom all year round.”

“They’re pretty and also smell nice.”

“I’ve heard that combining unfermented tea and shade-dried jasmine flowers makes flavored tea. It’s apparently a high-class product in Polpystan.”

“Could we make it using these flowers?”

“Most likely. However, we don’t cultivate tea leaves in Sutrena, so we’d have to procure them from elsewhere or develop tea trees that can grow here.”

“We purchase black tea from other territories... Should we sell the flowers, grow our own tea trees, or organize a joint venture to try and make flavored tea?”

“I’ve allowed the people of Sutrena to freely pick these flowers for personal use. I don’t know whether there’s a demand, but they bloom all year round and their quantity is massive.”

“They still smell great even if you don’t make them into tea. Maybe I should also take a few home with me.”

“Is that so? If you like them, let’s plant some in our garden too.” Lord Nazel was as soft on me as usual.

I stood before the levee and softly touched its stone wall with my hands. It was time to get to work. I activated my magic while imagining the embankment becoming harder and tougher to break.

“Get stronger!”

Perhaps because I’d been using my magic more frequently, I could now use my absolute reinforcement more efficiently than before. The types of things I could reinforce and the ways in which I could reinforce them had gradually increased.

I reinforced a wide area of the levee in one go. With the exception of the jasmines, which I’d intentionally excluded from my magic, both the inside and outside were now significantly tougher. Even with my magic applied to the structure, Lord Nazel’s vines and other plants could grow normally on it; that was the amazing thing about the plants he created with his magic. Incidentally, because they were difficult to care for, Lord Nazel had added a growth-suppressing trait to them during the selective breeding; he really could do anything.

“All right, I’m done! Let’s move on to the next spot.”

I was going to use my magic to reinforce the embankments, starting from the areas where there was a higher risk of damage. I’d just finished using my magic in an area where the river zigzagged a lot. Now that the most worrying part had been taken care of, I could relax a bit. Other areas prone to flooding included the spots where the river got narrower or where multiple smaller streams converged. When it came to topography, lowlands, basins, and alluvial fans were also flood-prone.

“Let’s head to the most upstream part next,” I said. I got on Charite again and flew upstream.

Eventually, a large waterfall came into view ahead of us. From high above where we were flying, a huge amount of water was sliding down the rock surface, accompanied by a thunderous roar. A large, curved rainbow also hung over the area lit by the sun. Even though we were still some distance away, cool water splashed at us.

“Wow!” I cried in surprise.

“Is this your first time seeing a waterfall, Agnes? This is the water flowing down from the mountains to the east of Desnim,” Lord Nazel explained as he flew near me.

“I see! It’s truly impressive!”

Geni and Charite also seemed to enjoy looking at the waterfall as they let out cries of joy.

I wanted to see the view from the top of the waterfall, so I had Charite land at the top of the cliff. When I looked down, I saw the water flowing next to me dropping into the basin below with incredible speed. The tiny droplets of water that danced around like mist felt pleasant. Lord Nazel also landed next to me and looked down at the waterfall basin with me. Geni and Charite, now free of their passengers, started playing together, flying around the waterfall.

“Is there a levee here too?”

“Yes, a little farther downstream, where the river becomes narrower. We plan to gradually adjust the river’s width to make it match its surroundings, but the work hasn’t caught up yet.”

“Ah, I see. It would be great if we had someone with suitable magic for the job.” If we couldn’t find anyone, we’d have to rely on pure manual labor. Torre’s magic should be a little useful, but it would take a long time if he worked alone, and we couldn’t have him permanently stationed here to work on the project.

There are many boulders around the river and the ground looks hard too. Even if I reinforced Torre’s arms with my magic, he wouldn’t finish the job right away. For now, we’d have to start with what we could do.

I looked at Lord Nazel, who seemed to be enjoying the coolness at the waterside. It was a truly picturesque scene; I continued watching over him. He can’t relax much most of the time, so I want him to at least take it easy now.

I slowly walked up to a nearby large rock, sat down, and talked to Lord Nazel.

“This is a pleasant location.”

“Yes, very much so.” Lord Nazel came and sat down next to me; time flowed quietly and leisurely between us.

At some point, Geni and Charite started splashing water at each other inside the waterfall basin.

“Heh heh, how cute. Lord Nazel, I wish I’d also brought my swimsuit.” I spoke what was on my mind as I looked at the wyverns.

Lord Nazel nodded.

“Yes, you’d be cute even in the basin, Agnes. You look adorable in your swimsuit, after all.”

“Hmm?” I somehow felt like we weren’t on the same page.

However, Lord Nazel nonchalantly continued.

“You’d be like the goddess of the waterfall. When we get home, I think I’ll personally ask the sculptors for a ‘Statue of the Waterfall Basin Goddess.’ How about displaying it at the fountain in our garden?”

“This isn’t about me. I was talking about how cute Geni and Charite are.”

“Of course, they’re also cute, but you’re number one in my eyes.” Recently, Lord Nazel had also been unreserved with his words, not just his actions.

“Thank you. Y-You’re also number one for me, Lord Nazel.”

“Can you say that again?” Lord Nazel’s request made me feel embarrassed.

“You’re my number one, Lord Nazel... Um, you’re really dashing. I love everything about you—both your looks and personality,” I replied hesitantly.

Lord Nazel hugged me tightly.

“Ah, I’m so glad to be alive!” he replied in an exaggerated way. Even so, I was happy Lord Nazel thought that way. “Now then, we’ve rested a bit, so I think it’s time to head to the next location.”

It looked like the wyverns had also had their fill of playing in the water, so we decided to depart for the nearest levee. Both of them were shivering and flapping their wings, splashing water around them. Then they flew back to the top of the waterfall. Lord Nazel and I got on their backs again and we flew off from the waterfall and along the river.

Polpystani territory stretched out on the other side of the river. The area close to Sutrena was also covered in forests, and people lived farther to the south. Both the forests and settlements fell under Duke Masroono’s jurisdiction.

“It’s right there, Agnes.” Lord Nazel pointed below from atop Geni.

When I followed his finger, I saw an embankment covered in jasmines. I instructed Charite to descend and she started slowly landing. Next to us, Geni once again swooshed down vertically.

Will they be okay? Lord Nazel was a rider who was fine no matter what happened, so Geni just did as he pleased.

Charite shot her partner a disapproving sidelong glance as she elegantly flew down and landed. Her movements were impeccable and beautiful.

The workers in charge of levee repairs were resting under the shade of nearby trees.

“Oh, Lord Nazelbart has come!”

“Lady Agnes is also with him.”

When they noticed us, they hurriedly stood up and came to greet us.

“Hello, we’ve come to reinforce the embankment!” I greeted them back.

“Ooh!” the men cried happily.

“You’re always such a great help, Lady Agnes. Your matter reinforcement magic is indispensable. It’s incredible that you can reinforce the levees.”

The people of Sutrena only knew about my magic vaguely. They didn’t have much interest in magic to begin with and were the type who didn’t sweat the small stuff, so they also unknowingly helped in covering up the truth behind my absolute reinforcement.

“I’m happy I could be of assistance to all of you.” I stretched out my arms toward the jasmine-covered embankment and lightly used my magic just like before. “Get stronger! Maybe I should also strengthen the jasmines a bit while I’m at it...” When I tried that, the jasmines’ stems grew thicker, and even their petals somehow became more resilient.

I’d had my magic make the jasmines harder rather than make them grow faster. Lately, I’d become able to freely make such adjustments to my magic. Apparently, magic needed practice for one to become used to it. Of course, I’d also made the inside of the embankment much sturdier.

“How about this?” I turned around and saw Lord Nazel and the workers nodding approvingly.

“It’s perfect, Agnes! Thank you!” Even though we had an audience, Lord Nazel hugged me like usual and thanked me in high spirits.

“I still have lots of strength to spare. I can reinforce much more than this.”

After that, Lord Nazel and I visited various locations where I reinforced the levees. At times like this, when I could be of help to others, I felt truly glad that I had this magic.

***

It was already evening by the time we returned from reinforcing the levees. We’d leisurely moved along the river, and it seemed that the time had passed before I even knew it.

Lord Nazel had alighted from Geni and stood in our garden with his arms spread wide. I jumped down from Charite’s back and into his embrace.

“Good work, Agnes. Thank you for everything you did today, truly.” Lord Nazel caught me in his arms and started spinning around.

“I’m glad I could be useful. I also want to thank you for constantly making every effort for everyone’s sake. I know I’m repeating myself, but please take care of your health.”

“Agnes!” Lord Nazel stopped spinning and hugged me even tighter. “Haaah, you’re such a kind woman. You always worry for me.”

“Lord Nazel, you always put yourself last. If it seems like you’re pushing yourself too hard, I’ll force you to rest.”

“I bet you’d also be cute when making me take a break. That might be fun in its own way.”

“Lord Nazel... Are you really not tired if you’re saying things like that? Please go back to your room and sleep tonight.” I pushed Lord Nazel’s back and urged him into the manor. Behind us, Geni and Charite lumbered back toward their stable.

Once I entered the manor with Lord Nazel, Kelly noticed our arrival and came over.

“We’re home, Kelly.”

“Welcome back, Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes.”

I was a bit concerned about the way Kelly had acted this morning, but she was now talking to Lord Nazel in her usual nonchalant manner.

“Master Ryuk has come from the fortress regarding the research topic you requested, Lord Nazelbart. He mentioned that he’d like to discuss the results of his research. For now, I’ve shown him to a small drawing room.”

“Ryuk is here? Very well, I’ll see him right away.”

Ryuk was a Polpystani noble—the third son of Viscount Simble—and Paul’s classmate at Masroono National School. He was well-versed in history, and even when he’d just been a student in Polpystan, he’d been so talented that he’d been allowed to visit the school laboratories where specialized research was conducted in various fields. After graduating, he’d come with Paul to Sutrena where they worked together as government officials.

Since Ryuk was so studious, Lord Nazel had entrusted him with research on big hoppers: manabeasts that polluted the earth with their mana. Since the biological investigation into them had come to a standstill, Ryuk was now conducting historical research to determine if something similar had happened in Sutrena in the past.

He’s most likely made some progress.

Big hoppers had caused huge damage inside Polpystan in the past. They were green manabeasts that closely resembled grasshoppers. They normally lived in grasslands and occasionally damaged crops, so farmers treated them like pests. However, they exhibited polyphenism that changed their color to black with orange stripes and made them ferocious. In that state, they ate all kinds of vegetation they could find, and in the end they even attacked humans. They also unconsciously leaked mana from their bodies which turned their surroundings into barren land.

Manabeasts were animals that possessed mana inside their bodies. The way they utilized that mana differed from species to species. When it came to humans, we could deliberately use our magic and its effects for good or ill. It would be a catastrophe if Lord Nazel created poisonous plants or ones that ate humans. Master Robin was a case of someone maliciously applying their magic; he’d been able to cause harm by exploiting the absent-minded state people fell into during his healing magic. Humans considered those kinds of uses harmful magic.

But things were a little different for manabeasts. For example, wyverns or granis could deliberately use their mana to fly or create barriers to block the wind. However, big hoppers’ mana unconsciously overflowed from their bodies and into their surroundings, polluting the earth. This was also a different scenario from when I’d unconsciously used my magic to reinforce something I hadn’t intended to.

Big hoppers probably didn’t realize that they were expelling mana, nor did they realize they were using magic; they weren’t particularly intelligent manabeasts to begin with. As a result, they contaminated their surroundings just by being alive. In the Duchy of Masroono in Polpystan, big hoppers had polluted the earth and made it impossible for ordinary vegetables to grow there. That was a state similar to the one Sutrena had once been in.

Thanks to Lord Nazel’s improved crops, the food situation in the duchy was getting better these days. Even in the rest of Polpystan, there was currently an effort to combat the food shortage with Lord Nazel’s cooperation. For now, we’d started exporting vegetables that could grow even in barren land. Apparently, the Polpystani had gone through the second harvest of the sunchokes we’d given them previously. We’d also sent over improved varieties of crops such as groundnuts—which were originally native to Polpystan—that Lord Nazel had selectively bred here in Sutrena. Ultimately, the best-case scenario would be for the land itself to be restored from its barren state, but no solution had been found yet.

In short, the northern part of Polpystan is in the same situation as Sutrena.

As research on big hoppers and contaminated soil progressed, perhaps Polpystan and Sutrena would one day return to being lands where ordinary crops could grow. Ideally, the land would become the kind where crops grew big and healthy without magical intervention from Lord Nazel and me. I hoped that day would come soon.

It would be nice if we could also get closer to solving the mystery of the manabeast rampages on new moons. After the big hoppers polluted the land with their mana, manabeast rampages like the ones in Sutrena had also occurred in Polpystan. Perhaps there was some kind of connection between the barren land and the manabeasts’ behavior. But that’s just speculation on my part; I don’t have any concrete evidence to back it up.

When Lord Nazel and I entered the drawing room, we found a tense Ryuk inside. Although he was impeccably skilled, he lacked self-confidence and was a bit timid.

“Hello, Ryuk. I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” Lord Nazel said.

Ryuk shook his head vigorously.

“No, I should be the one to apologize. I was in a hurry to tell you my new discovery... Besides, I was told that you went together to work on the embankment repairs. You were working for everyone’s sake, so it would be unthinkable to blame you for this.”

Ever since coming to Sutrena, Ryuk had escaped from his family, which emphasized strength above all, and gotten livelier. I felt relieved watching him conduct research peacefully.

“Now then, can you share your discovery with us?” Lord Nazel asked in a gentle voice once we had all taken our seats.

“Yes, sir!” Ryuk responded with a vigorous nod and spread out the documents he’d brought on the table.

Are these copies of other documents? The letters on them were different from the ones we normally used. Perhaps they were a foreign or archaic script.

“I’ve actually discovered that Sutrena may have also suffered damage from big hoppers in the distant past! One of the townsfolk had a written record from one of their ancestors in their home! It took a lot of effort to decipher it, but according to it...” Ryuk pointed at the documents. “Before the founding of Desnim, manabeasts similar to big hoppers appeared in the land that’s currently Sutrena. There are similarities with the biography we examined back in Polpystan. It’s possible that a similar event is described here.” He pointed at the part he’d just talked about, but I couldn’t read a word of it.

Lord Nazel is silently gazing at the documents. Based on his expression, I think he can partially understand them. This was Lord Nazel we were talking about. There were few things he couldn’t do. There was a high chance that he would master this mysterious script in the future.

I can’t read this text, but I remember the biography we saw in Polpystan. If my memory served me right, the book had talked about the current desert region in the southern part of Polpystan. Around a century ago, an outbreak of big hoppers had caused that entire region to become completely barren; a fact that was still true to this day. Before that, the climate in the south had been similar to that of northern Polpystan or Sutrena.

“Sutrena suffered from the big hoppers long before Polpystan did. The fact that some plants naturally grow here—even if they’re all inedible—suggests that nature is regenerating with time,” Ryuk explained.

Lord Nazel and I nodded.

I thought the same back when I saw that biography in Polpystan, but it seems that really is the case. We’d gained conclusive evidence thanks to Ryuk’s research. Crops necessary for human survival couldn’t grow here yet, but hardy species of wild plants did just fine. It seemed that the land’s regeneration was starting with the tougher plants.

“Well, this is only my conjecture, though,” Ryuk said timidly. “Unlike other manabeasts, big hoppers might not have existed long ago...”

“What do you mean?” asked Lord Nazel as he blinked curiously.

“Polpystan is at the forefront of biological research on the continent. Remains and fossils of various species of manabeasts have been discovered in many different locations.”

“Yes, there were some famous discoveries that became known even in Desnim.”

“However, big hoppers first appeared in Polpystan around a century ago, during the events that caused the desert in the southern part of the country. They’re now a common pest—excuse me, manabeast—but there’s no evidence that they’d existed in Polpystan before that.”

The desert in the southern part of Polpystan was barren. According to history books, it had once been full of greenery, but right now, it wasn’t showing any signs of recovery, just like the current Sutrena.

“Perhaps the big hoppers came from outside. They were apparently in Sutrena before that.”

“It’s possible. They hadn’t received much attention until now, but research on them has picked up rapidly since the recent incident. It’s still ongoing.”

“Have results started coming out?”

“Yes. I don’t know how to put it well, but the way big hoppers show up is unnatural, unlike other manabeasts. This is the current hot topic in Polpystani laboratories... There’s also a hypothesis that they’re a mutant species.”

My mind went to the ordinary locusts that ravaged fields.

Hmm... Maybe those locusts suddenly got bigger and turned into big hoppers? No, that sounds like a bit of a stretch... They aren’t Torre.

“Hmm... No, that’s probably wrong...” I muttered.

Hearing me, Lord Nazel turned my way.

“What do you think is ‘wrong,’ Agnes?”

“Eep?! Oh, it isn’t a big deal or anything. I was just imagining that maybe locusts had gotten bigger just like Torre does with his magic...” I wanted to apologize for interrupting the flow of a serious conversation with my weird imaginings. To begin with, even if ordinary locusts had grown bigger, they probably wouldn’t attack people or start leaking hazardous mana.

Ryuk leaned forward as he saw me shrink into myself.

“Excuse me, Lady Agnes. That might actually be a very high possibility.”

“Huh?! But ordinary locusts aren’t manabeasts, so they don’t possess any mana.”

“No, I mean, for example... What if there was someone who could manipulate and selectively breed insects, just like Lord Nazelbart can do with plants?”

“Ah...”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if someone with magic that could transform insects once existed. Though, if that were the case, I have no idea why they would have created those things.”

When big hoppers expressed polyphenism, they became vicious and attacked humans, while also turning the land barren with their mana. In addition, areas devastated by big hoppers had a high probability of being assaulted by manabeasts on the night of a specific new moon once a year.

“If the theory about the magically transformed locusts is true, it would be outrageous. Like, what kind of monstrosity was created here?” Ryuk said.

I was sure that everyone who lived here would think the same. After all, the people of Sutrena had been troubled by poor harvests for years upon years.

“Thank you, Ryuk. This is good to know. I want you to inform me of any new developments.”

“Of course, Lord Nazelbart!” Ryuk flashed us a bright smile, like a flower in full bloom, and his eyes were filled with motivation.

Incidentally, Kelly, who’d brought tea for all of us, also nonchalantly praised him, which made him even livelier. Good for him.

As we were all relaxing, I heard the maids loudly screaming from the garden, along with voices calling Solis’s name in a panic. Hearing our son’s name, Lord Nazel’s expression turned grim. I was also assaulted by anxiety and probably had a similar look on my face.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Lord Nazel told Ryuk before rushing out of the room and hurrying toward the garden; I followed after him.

I hope nothing happened. I ran to the garden, my chest tight with anxiety, splitting up with Lord Nazel as we hurriedly searched for Solis and the maids. Looks like they aren’t this way. They aren’t on the terrace or near the mountbeast stable either. That leaves... I started running toward the field.

“Solis!”

As I made my way to the tuber field, I saw the wet nurse Mrs. Holly and the maids next to it. Mrs. Holly was tightly holding Solis, who looked very much dissatisfied.

“Is something wrong, Mrs. Holly?” I asked.

Mrs. Holly turned to me in surprise.

“Lady Agnes! I’m so sorry. Lord Solis escaped from his room again. And unfortunately, a door leading to the terrace was open, so then...”

“He crawled outside through there.”

“Yes! He came out into the garden during the brief moment I took my eyes off him to prepare his bath. I ran after him as soon as I noticed, but Lord Solis used his magic to move the ground underneath him and started traveling at incredible speed...”

“Solis used magic?” It seemed that was the moment when I’d heard those earlier screams. Mrs. Holly and the maids looked exhausted, probably because they’d chased after Solis full tilt.

But in any case, this was really surprising. Solis was still a baby, yet he actually used his magic voluntarily.

“The ground surged like a wave and carried Lord Solis here. I was truly startled...”

“I can imagine. I didn’t know he could use that kind of magic either. I’ve only seen him alter the soil a bit.”

“Well, about that...” For some reason, Mrs. Holly looked at the field awkwardly. “It seems that by the time we arrived, Lord Solis had altered the field’s soil with his magic...”

“The tuber field’s soil? From what I can see, nothing seems to be different, but I’m still a little worried. I’ll discuss this with Lord Nazel.” Our garden’s field was also a test site for the new vegetables Lord Nazel created. Any vegetables that grew well here were spread across Sutrena so that the people could also grow them. This led to improving the food problem in this barren land.

While we were talking, Lord Nazel arrived too. He’d been searching for Solis elsewhere, but he returned after he’d finished looking through the backyard.

“There you are, Agnes. I’m glad you found Solis without incident.”

“He apparently escaped from his room again. He traveled by moving the ground with his magic and also altered the field’s soil...”

“He’s quite the rascal.”

“I hope he didn’t affect the tuber field.”

“Let’s speed up their growth to check, Agnes.”

“Sure thing! Get stronger!”

Lord Nazel’s vegetables had been growing well recently. I hadn’t needed to use much magic on them, but activating my absolute reinforcement like this made the vegetables grow faster. The nearby sweet potatoes started growing, their vines coming out.

“Hmm? What’s going on?” Their leaves and vines kept growing thicker and thicker. These sweet potatoes had thick leaves and vines to begin with, but this is a bit much... The leaves and vines kept growing without end, encroaching on neighboring plots and piling up high... They were messy beyond belief.

“Is this excessive vine growth?” Lord Nazel muttered with a distant look in his eyes as he stood before the tangled green mass.

Excessive vine growth referred to a phenomenon where only the vines and leaves grew properly, while the most important part of the plant—the sweet potatoes themselves—remained small. This could be caused by something like an imbalance of nutrients in the soil. Solis’s magic had probably increased the amount of nutrients responsible for the growth of the leaves and vines, while reducing the nutrients responsible for the growth of the roots.

“Oh my.” Mrs. Holly seemed befuddled too.

“I’ll try to do something about it now, but I wonder how far the damage has spread,” Lord Nazel said.

I picked up one of the overgrown vines.

Come to think of it, vines are edible, aren’t they? I’d once read that the soft parts at the end of the branching vines were edible. They were apparently high in nutrition too. But I’d also read that the preparation was difficult since you needed to wash them and peel the skin... I’ll ask Mather if it’s possible to make vine dishes that aren’t too burdensome to prepare. It would be a great shame if the sweet potatoes Lord Nazel had finally planted went to waste.

The remaining mess of leaves and vines would probably be cleaned up into the gluttonous Dunk’s belly within the next few days. She happily ate everything, even weeds or vegetable scraps.

“Mrs. Holly, please take Solis inside for now.”

“All right.” Mrs. Holly hurriedly took Solis back into the manor. He was covered in mud, so she’d probably give him a bath next.

In any case, I can’t believe he can move the ground to transport himself... I pondered while watching Mrs. Holly take Solis away in her arms. It seemed that we needed to establish even stricter measures to prevent his escape.

***

Valen frowned to himself as he looked at the gray, withered trees and the empty earth, devoid of even a blade of grass. He could hear the roar of a large manabeast in the distance.

The barren land caused food shortages for people, but also for manabeasts and ordinary animals too. Polpystan’s arable land had been decreasing over the past few years. This desert occupying the southern part of the country was, of course, barren, but the northern lands had only recently started showing damage, with nothing being able to grow there anymore.

The cause had been unknown—until around two years ago. When the Margrave and Margravine of Sutrena—the Desnimer territory bordering Polpystan to the north—had been visiting the Duchy of Masroono, a plague of polyphenic big hoppers had caused large-scale damage in the territory. It had thus been discovered that the mana leaking from those manabeasts had been the cause of the barren lands.

After the big hopper plague, damage caused by other manabeasts had continued occurring in various places. Many of those cases had involved manabeasts attacking humans because of a lack of food. Besides that, there had also been a number of attacks caused by manabeasts turning ferocious during a night of the new moon once per year.

My head hurts. Although Valen had learned countermeasures from Sutrena—which was in the same boat—the situation remained harsh. How many years will this continue for?

At the moment, only a few types of crops could be planted in the barren lands, including the special sunchokes they’d received from Sutrena—the ones Nazelbart had personally created through magical selective breeding.

Relying on foreign countries for all of our food makes me uneasy... It would be great if Polpystan could do something about the situation on its own, but that was difficult at the moment.

And that wasn’t the end of Polpystan’s problems. There had been some suspicious activity from Myzahn recently. Relations between the two countries had always been tense, but the situation had gotten more disquieting lately. It felt like things could erupt into a crisis. Valen’s father and older brother were currently focusing on countermeasures on that front, but Valen also had his role to play.

I need to go to Desnim and secure their full cooperation. It was Valen’s job to travel here and there in place of his older brother, who couldn’t leave the palace much.

I think I’ll leave the school’s management to Duke Masroono for the time being. The duke was also the school’s founder, so whenever Valen was busy, he often asked the duke to take his place as chairman.

Latriche’s sons would be having their second birthday party six months from now, so Polpystan planned to send someone to Desnim for the occasion; Valen could very well be that person.

I guess I’ll stop by Sutrena first. It’s on the way to the capital, after all. There were many things he wanted to discuss regarding crops and manabeasts. If possible, he’d like to acquire new types of crops too.

Sutrena was thriving despite suffering the same kind of damage as Polpystan. Polpystan hadn’t found anyone who could use special magic like Nazelbart, but Valen wanted to find hints for any countermeasures they could implement here as well. That was the reason they’d been focusing so heavily on the big hopper research.

Come to think of it, is Lady Agnes doing well? Although Valen had occasionally exchanged letters with Agnes, such as the time he’d sent her a gift to congratulate her on giving birth, they hadn’t met again ever since she’d visited Polpystan. I’d like to see her...

Agnes, the Margravine of Sutrena, was a kind, honest woman. Valen felt soothed just by being with her. He was also very interested in her magic. She seems to be hiding its true nature, but I’m sure her magic isn’t just matter reinforcement.

Matter reinforcement magic wasn’t particularly unusual. After meeting Agnes, Valen had contacted several people who possessed that magic and had them reinforce blades he’d hastily created with his magic. Valen’s metalworking magic allowed him to create anything as long as he had the raw materials available. For starters, he’d asked all of them to reinforce the blades with their magic. The exact results varied, but none of them could measure up to Agnes’s magic.

They could only make the blades a little less difficult to nick... None of them managed to turn them into weapons that could cut through the ground, like what Lady Agnes did with her magic. Just what was that? The mystery only deepened.

The shortsword Agnes had reinforced was now Valen’s favorite weapon. However, he had to be careful when using it because it was practically too powerful.

Still, I don’t want to worsen our relationship with Sutrena at the moment. I’m interested in Lady Agnes’s magic, but I’ll refrain from bringing up the topic while I’m there.

Even if Valen were to investigate Agnes’s magic, it would be a bad move to do so openly on the other side’s home turf. Nazelbart wouldn’t simply sit on his hands either. He was someone you should never make an enemy of. It was much better to have him as a cooperative ally.

Now that everything’s decided, I should start with preparations. There are many things to do in the next six months. Valen hurried to his mountbeast and headed straight home in order to get ready.

Chapter 2: Madam Bumpkin Versus Family

It was around six months after Solis had caused the incident at the tuber field. Maid volunteers were gathered in the manor’s kitchen, peeling the sweet potato vines. Ever since that day, Solis had gotten a taste for escaping, and he often made his way to the field, where he altered the soil every time. The changes he’d caused to the soil’s properties with his magic never reverted on their own, so the soil had to be prepared again from scratch. The most difficult part was consuming the massive amount of sweet potato vines that had grown out of control.

Solis keeps going after only the sweet potato patch. It might be because it’s the closest one.

Vine dishes required lengthy preparation, and things had gotten to the point where our chef Mather and her assistant maids could no longer keep up on their own. Solis was causing trouble for all of the kitchen staff. I obviously felt terribly guilty, so I’d also joined everyone and diligently peeled the vines. Lord Nazel was next to me and was also hard at work. Peeling the surface of the light green vines with a knife required concentration. I wasn’t particularly dexterous, so I was struggling to peel them properly.

“I peeled the vine too deep and it ended up really thin...” The thin insides of a vine were the only thing remaining in my hands.

When I peered next to me, I saw Lord Nazel holding the thick, plump insides of a vine, after he’d skillfully peeled only a thin layer of the skin. Lord Nazel is as deft as usual. He’s even good at peeling!

Mather was going to turn the peeled vines into delicious dishes.

“Agnes, our guest should be arriving soon.”

“Oh, you’re right. Let’s get ready.”

The maids smiled as the two of us got up.

“Take care, you two. You can leave the rest to us.”

Lord Nazel and I nodded, then went to greet our guest. Kelly and Defi joined us along the way. It seemed that these two capable individuals were going to support us.

Defi isn’t even one of our servants, though. Perhaps because of the hardworking habits he’d developed during his time in Polpystan, he kept helping out with various tasks around the estate.

As we passed through the manor’s front entrance and walked to the estate’s gate, we saw Prince Valen approaching the estate atop his gray pegasus, which was dashing through the sky. The second prince of Polpystan was today’s guest. His medium-length, light-purple hair fluttered in the wind as he waved his hand enthusiastically. Meanwhile, his pegasus kept rapidly getting closer to the estate and elegantly landed, passing through the open gate. Several people, who I assumed were the prince’s guards, were also behind him.

After Prince Valen alighted from his pegasus, Lord Nazel walked up and greeted him.

“Welcome to our estate, Your Highness.”

“It’s been a while, Nazelbart. Your assistance was invaluable during the big hopper incident and with obtaining provisions afterward.”

“I’m glad I could be of service.”

After Prince Valen finished his short exchange with Lord Nazel, he casually turned toward me and smiled.

“It’s been a while, Lady Agnes.”

“Greetings, Your Highness.” I returned Prince Valen’s smile and greeted him as he approached me.

“I’ve missed you for so long. Your smile is as soothing and lovely as always.” The prince suddenly held out his hand.

Is he offering a handshake? Thinking that, I also held out my hand. Prince Valen took it in his own, brought his face close, and was about to kiss it...until Lord Nazel stopped him by pulling me back and separating me from Prince Valen.

Kissing the back of one’s hand is a Polpystani greeting. That took me by surprise. I knew it was a formal greeting from a man to a woman, but since it wasn’t common in Desnim, I’d been a bit bewildered. Lord Nazel seemed to be in the same boat, as he furrowed his brow while staring at the back of my hand.

Prince Valen seemed to have anticipated Lord Nazel’s reaction and remained nonchalant.

“You never let your guard down, Nazelbart. By the way, Lady Agnes, how about we take a walk around town togeth—”

“Your Highness. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t so shrewdly invite my wife out on a date. I can accompany you if you’d like to tour Sutrena.” Lord Nazel pulled me farther away from Prince Valen.

Perhaps understanding Lord Nazel’s intention, Defi stood next to him protectively.

“Oh? Who is he?” Prince Valen looked at Defi curiously.

“A guest of ours.”

“He isn’t a Desnimer, is he? He looks like a Myzahni.”

Myzahnis tended to have somewhat darker complexions than Polpystanis, so they were easy to tell apart. The situation had gotten tense. Polpystan and Myzahn had been hostile with each other for a long time, and even now had a standoff along their shared border.

Defi looked at Prince Valen a bit awkwardly—a former aide of the Myzahni prince and a Polpystani prince. Although Prince Valen was unaware of Defi’s true identity, the two of them were in complicated positions.

Hmm, I should change the topic. There was no need to reveal Defi’s background. I decided to tell Prince Valen something I’d been thinking for some time.

“Your Highness, we’ve actually founded a school here in Sutrena. I’d like to hear your impressions.” I wanted to know his opinion as the current chairman of Polpystan’s Masroono National School.

Prince Valen’s expression relaxed in response.

“Oh, of course, Lady Agnes.”

“Thank you very much.”

“The two of us can take our time touring the school you built.”

“The three of us,” Lord Nazel interjected. I also thought it would be better that way. Lord Nazel had been wary of Prince Valen for a long time, so I didn’t want to make my husband worry.

“Let’s go with all three of us, Your Highness. Oh, should we call Paul and Ryuk too? I’m sure they’d like to see you,” I suggested. With this and that, we’d soon decided to tour Sutrena’s school with a rather big group.

“Come to think of it, how has the soil in the Duchy of Masroono fared since our visit, Your Highness?” Lord Nazel asked.

“There haven’t been any major changes; the land is still barren. It should take much longer for it to recover. Although we’re currently looking for solutions we can implement even in Polpystan, we don’t have anyone like you with vegetation magic, so there are many challenges ahead of us. We also have tensions with Myzahn, so I’d like to resolve the problem as soon as possible.”

“Myzahn, huh?”

“Yes, things have gotten tenser than before. It seems that the Myzahni side is plotting something. The reason for my visit to Desnim is to ask for support.”

I remained quiet and listened carefully to Lord Nazel and Prince Valen’s conversation.

I’m sure that’s why Queen Latriche married into the Desnim royal family.

Desnim didn’t want to get directly involved in the conflict, but without Polpystan acting like a breakwater, so to speak, Myzahn could reach Desnim directly; it was quite the conundrum. Sutrena was located in the southern part of Desnim, so it couldn’t remain unrelated to all this.

I’m also worried.

Matters with Master Robin had long since been resolved, but one thing after another kept cropping up.

“You two will head for the capital soon, right? Could you please put in a good word for me with King Bertrand?” Prince Valen asked.

“I doubt Desnim intends to take direct part in an attack on Myzahn...but since Queen Latriche has married into the royal family, Desnim should be planning on offering support. There shouldn’t be any need for a good word from the Margrave of Sutrena.”

“It would be reassuring to have your help, Nazelbart.”

“You can leave assistance with food up to me. Lately, Sutrena has been thriving not only in stock raising but agriculture too.” Lord Nazel was being noncommittal. The final decision was up to King Bertrand, so Lord Nazel was unlikely to intervene directly unless Sutrena was facing a crisis. In fact, he already had his hands full with his own territory’s problems.

“I’ve also heard that a Myzahni helped Robin—the former princess’s partner—escape...”

Defi flinched at Prince Valen’s words and quietly averted his gaze. I casually hid him behind me.

“K-Kelly, get ready to welcome our visitors from Polpystan...”

“As you wish, Lady Agnes.”

“Defi, I’d be happy if you could help Kelly.”

“Of course. I was already planning to.”

As Kelly quietly returned to the manor, Defi discreetly took his leave with her.

Good, Defi wasn’t exposed, I thought as I watched the two of them leave. The whole incident around Master Robin was set aside for now. After checking on Prince Valen, I felt relieved.

With that settled, the welcome party for Prince Valen and his entourage was held without any issues.

***

After Prince Valen arrived in Sutrena, Lord Nazel and I kept busy giving him a tour of the school and showing him around the territory. After all, we were being visited by the prince of the neighboring country, so things ended up getting a bit grandiose. Paul and Ryuk, who’d once studied in Polpystan, also joined us, and they happily exchanged updates with Prince Valen on the recent state of affairs. The prince was the chairman of the school the two of them had once attended, so they were all acquainted.

A few days passed, and Lord Nazel and I, along with Prince Valen and his guards, were finally going to head to the capital to celebrate the birthday of Queen Latriche’s sons. She’d given birth to twin princes around six months before I’d given birth to Solis, and their birthday was celebrated nationwide every year. A celebratory ceremony would be held at the castle again this year. Nobles from across the country would gather for it and offer their congratulations to the two princes.

A birthday celebration had been held for the princes last year as well, but since we’d had a lot on our hands with me having recently given birth, Master Robin’s escape, and the upcoming storm and manabeast rampage, we’d been unable to head to the castle personally. But since things had calmed down this year, we could visit the capital just fine.

We can’t take Solis with us yet, but I want him to join us once he’s a little bigger. In her letters, Queen Latriche had mentioned that she’d like our children to meet once they were older, and I felt the same. It would be nice if our kids could get along like we did.

Lord Nazel and I—the rulers of Sutrena—were headed to the capital accompanied by my head handmaiden Kelly and guard Torre, as well as Prince Valen’s group. We all got on mountbeasts and started our journey. Lord Nazel and I rode on Geni, Kelly on Charite, and Torre on his pegasus. Dunk just decided to tag along. Our Polpystani guests were all riding on pegasi. They moved with coordination, lined up in an orderly formation. Solis would be staying at home with his wet nurse, Mrs. Holly, and the handmaiden Liliane looking after him. I was worried about his habit of escaping, but I could leave him in their care with peace of mind.

“Agnes, it’s a bit of a distance to the capital, so let’s take proper breaks along the way.” Lord Nazel had put our travel plans together, and it seemed that he’d planned for breaks during the trip. “Mountbeasts can travel quite fast, but let’s stop for one night on our way to the capital. We have Prince Valen with us, and more importantly, I don’t want to push you too much.”

“Lord Nazel...”

“Besides, I also want to enjoy my trip with you.”

I was happy that Lord Nazel felt that way, so I gently leaned on him as he sat behind me. Lord Nazel smiled as he softly hugged me with one arm and kept steering Geni with the other.

After flying for over half a day and taking sufficient breaks, we landed in front of an inn close to the capital. It was a large, clean building with a splendid red roof, suitable for nobles to spend the night. In fact, it seemed that other nobles heading to the capital were staying here too.

“Let’s spend the night here.”

“All right, Lord Nazel.”

After moving the mountbeasts to their designated area, we went inside where we were met with a luxurious staircase. It seemed that the dining hall was farther in the back, while the rooms were upstairs.

It should be satisfactory for Prince Valen to stay here.

Kelly and Torre were also getting ready for our stay. Just like I’d noticed the other day, Kelly seemed to be feeling somewhat down lately.

All right, I’ll go with a forceful approach, otherwise Kelly will probably just bottle everything up. I need to be firm. Kelly was very likely to never confide her worries to anyone out of consideration to those around her.

I quietly approached Kelly and spoke to her.

“Kelly, could you come with me for a second?”

“Of course, Lady Agnes.” She obediently followed me, probably thinking this was just regular business.

I led Kelly to an empty room to make sure no one could hear us. The room had a calm atmosphere and didn’t seem intended for nobles, but it was still perfectly clean. The lamp’s orange light was dimly reflected off the stylish crimson curtains. After closing the door, I started speaking in a low voice. It was time to execute my forceful approach.

“Say, Kelly? You’ve looked kind of down lately. Is there something worrying you?”

“Huh? No, not really...” Kelly had thought this was about work, so she was startled when the conversation suddenly turned to her. Her expression didn’t change much, but I could tell. She let her guard down a bit only in front of Lord Nazel and me.

“I’ve asked before, but is there something troubling you? Please tell me now, or I’ll be so worried about you I won’t be able to relax. I can’t just turn a blind eye to my dear Kelly feeling worried. Knowing you, you were going to keep everything bottled up and never tell anyone, right?”

Kelly said nothing in response. It seemed that I’d hit the nail on the head—that was the kind of impression her silence gave.

“Maybe I can help you solve your problems, and even if I can’t, you’ll feel better after letting it all out.”

“I apologize for letting my emotions show during work.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. In fact, only Lord Nazel and I have noticed. But it pains me to watch you suffer.” I was probably the person closest to Kelly. I doubted she would discuss her problems with anyone else, so I was the only one who could get her to talk right now.

After spending a moment in thought, Kelly slowly started to speak.

“I feel ashamed of coming to you with my personal problems.”

“You can tell me anything.” Kelly was always helping me out, so it was now my turn to be of use to her.

“I’ve been exchanging letters with my parents lately. A marriage interview for me came up in one of those letters.”

“A-A marriage interview?!”

“I never had any intention of returning home, so I thought there was no reason to go out of my way to tell you and thus kept quiet about it.”

The marriage interview had most likely been suggested by Kelly’s parents. She wasn’t interested in romance at the moment and wished to continue working for the House of Florescruz. Starting with my brother Paul, many younger men were captivated by her, but she hadn’t noticed their affection, and didn’t seem to view men as a whole as romantic partners.

Everyone has their own values. I wanted to respect her wishes.

Perhaps urged by my momentum, Kelly explained her current situation little by little.

“To begin with, I’ve been estranged from my family.”

“Yes, you’ve told me.”

Kelly had shared a bit of her circumstances with me before. Ever since she’d gone to work in the capital at a young age, she’d barely had any contact with her family.

“And yet, after all this time, my parents suddenly sent me a letter about a marriage interview. I don’t understand their intentions and feel at a loss. I naturally turned them down, but it seems that my parents haven’t accepted my refusal... They’ve been persistently sending me more letters.”

“I see...”

“My family knows where I work. I’m dealing with things on my end, but depending on the circumstances, they might cause trouble for you all, Lady Agnes. I’ve been worried over what to do about this.”

“Oh dear! You don’t need to worry about us. Please take care of yourself first.”

Kelly had already told me a little about her family. She was the eldest daughter of a large farming family, and ever since she’d been little, she’d grown up doing housework and babysitting her many younger brothers.

I need to rely on Mrs. Holly for raising my only son. I couldn’t even imagine how difficult it must have been for Kelly to look after several children on her own. Not to mention that she had been a child herself back then.

Kelly’s family life had obviously been a burden on her. That was why she’d left home one day and started working in the capital. Her life had been full of ups and downs. After a series of twists and turns, the exceptional Kelly had ended up in the employ of the royal family. Then Princess Mia had poached her to be her stylist, but since Kelly was a commoner, she’d been held responsible for certain problems and fired. When I’d first met Kelly, she’d been working as a maid for the House of Florescruz, Lord Nazel’s family. And even after Lord Nazel had taken me under his wing, she’d accompanied us all the way to the frontier territory of Sutrena.

I can’t even describe how reassuring Kelly’s presence was at the time. I was always grateful to her. I now thought of her as an older sister or close friend. At the moment, Kelly was the head handmaiden of the House of Florescruz. If there was anything troubling her, now was the time to help her out.

“Kelly, even if something happens with your family, it won’t be a problem for us. If your family tries to force a marriage interview on you, rest assured that I’ll be firmly against them. I’ll be happy to send you off if that’s what makes you happy, but if not, I’ll resist to the end!” I wasn’t going to tolerate anyone making Kelly suffer.

Kelly looked a little conflicted, but then slowly nodded in understanding.

“Thank you very much, Lady Agnes. I’m against a marriage interview from the bottom of my heart. Besides, I doubt any marriage interview my family is recommending would be good for me.”

I nodded back at Kelly. I had no idea what her family was aiming for by bringing up this marriage interview. Were they worried about their daughter being unmarried forever, or did they perhaps have some other goal?

But what Kelly herself wants is the most important. If her family ignores her wishes, I intend to firmly stand against them. I wanted to respect Kelly’s choices, just like she’d done for me up until now.

“Don’t worry, Kelly! If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll use my authority as the margravine. That power is meant for times like this.” I clenched my fists, determined to protect my precious Kelly. I didn’t care if I was criticized as a selfish margravine who used her power to trap her handmaiden and prevent her from quitting.

I’ll do it!

As Kelly saw how motivated I was, her lips curled into a modest smile. I was worried about her since she was a strong-willed woman who hardly ever complained.

“Come to think of it, your family lives around here, right, Kelly?”

“They live in a small town in the capital’s suburbs.”

“I’d like to go and convince your parents to give up on their matchmaking efforts.”

“Lady Agnes...” Kelly’s eyes flickered quietly. “Thank you very much for worrying about me. In their letters, my parents told me to go home for a bit, but I don’t want to get you involved.”

Be that as it may, Kelly’s family still insisted on trying to bring her back, so if their letters weren’t effective, there was a chance they would come to our estate in person. Up until now, I’d sheltered many noblewomen in our estate who’d suffered at the hands of their families. I’d seen many families, my own included, where differences in opinion had led to problems. Countless self-proclaimed guardians and people involved with the former noblewomen we safeguarded had barged in to try and take them back. Every last one of those people had been completely unreasonable and only tried to impose their own opinions on others.

Maybe Kelly’s family isn’t like that, though. In any case, I need to talk to them. I believed this was where I should sternly convey what Kelly wanted to her family—as the margravine! I’ll firmly protect Kelly’s wishes like a sturdy levee!

Perhaps sensing my inner determination, Kelly swiftly spoke up.

“Excuse me, Lady Agnes, but I truly am all right.”

“I want to worry about you. Besides, your family home is close to here, so this is the chance to properly convey your intentions to them.”

“But we’ve come here to celebrate the princes’ birthday...”

“We’ve arrived ahead of time, so it will be fine for only me to take a detour. I’ll need to come up with an excuse to give to Lord Nazel...”

“Excuse me for a moment.” Kelly suddenly walked up to the door.

“Hmm?”

Next, without saying a word, she quickly threw the door open, revealing Lord Nazel, who was standing there like he wanted to say something. I was left completely slack-jawed.

“I’m sorry. I came here to call you two to dinner, but Agnes was loud, so I could hear your conversation.”

“O-Oh no...” I had meant to be quiet, but I’d gotten emotional before knowing and raised my voice. I covered my mouth with both hands and stood stock-still. “I-I’m sorry, Kelly...”

“Please, don’t worry about it. I’m the one who noticed him but kept quiet.” Kelly was as kind as ever...

“Thank you, Kelly. Let’s all go have dinner then.”

However, my attempt to trick Lord Nazel ended in failure. He was looking at me with a very pressuring smile.

“So, Agnes? What kind of excuse were you planning to give me?”

“Eep!” I started retreating toward the wall and was about to say, “It was nothing!” but Lord Nazel walked over and captured me before I could say anything. I was caught between Lord Nazel and a hard wall—there was nowhere to run.

But I don’t want to reveal Kelly’s personal circumstances without her permission. What should I do? Though I figured he’d already heard most of it.

“Well, um, you see...”

As I was chewing on my words, Kelly shut the door again and spoke up.

“Things will likely become confusing if I keep this secret, so I’m going to reveal everything myself. You see, my family has been sending me letters...” Kelly promptly gave Lord Nazel the same explanation she’d given me earlier. Thus he unexpectedly came to know the details surrounding the marriage interview, and his reaction was similar to mine.

“I see. Even though you turned them down, they keep attempting to force you into a marriage interview. They sure have some nerve trying to forcibly take away Sutrena’s valuable head handmaiden.” Lord Nazel’s anger was quiet, but definitely present. “So that’s how it is. I understand Kelly’s family situation to a certain extent now. It seems that there’s something behind her parents’ unyielding attitude. The person they want you to marry might have offered your family something.”

“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but your reasoning makes sense. The first letter politely suggested the marriage interview, but as I kept refusing, the tone of the letters got harsher and harsher, and the contents shifted to trying to force me into the marriage.”

According to Kelly, the latest letter had included threatening words such as, “You would disregard your parents’ kindness? What a coldhearted daughter,” “Don’t you care about what happens to our lives at all?” and even “There will be consequences for this, you heartless girl.”

“Therefore,” Kelly continued, “I’ve been worried that sooner or later, someone from my family will come to Sutrena and cause trouble for the House of Florescruz.”

If Kelly hadn’t told us any of this today, she would have probably continued being stressed over her family all on her own. This time, meddling in her business was the correct choice.

It seemed that Lord Nazel was also seriously considering how to deal with Kelly’s marriage interview. However, his arms were still gently keeping me in place.

“Agnes, are you planning to go meet Kelly’s parents?” he asked.

I replied with a vigorous nod.

“All right. In that case, I’ll go with you. I’m Kelly’s employer and the head of the House of Florescruz.”

Although Kelly was always with me, Lord Nazel was her actual employer. She held the high-ranking position of head handmaiden in our estate and had served us longer than any of our other servants. It wouldn’t be strange for Lord Nazel, the head of the household, to go meet her parents...I supposed.

“Will that be all right with you, Kelly?” I thought I should check with the person in the center of this, just in case.

Kelly hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.

“I sincerely apologize for all the trouble my family circumstances have caused you.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re always a huge help to us. Right, Lord Nazel?”

“Of course. You always put yourself last, so I’d like you to let us help you at least at a time like this.” It seemed that Lord Nazel and I were of the same mind.

Kelly was the only person who’d accompanied Lord Nazel and me to Sutrena, back when we’d had no idea how things would unfold. She was important to both of us.

“I’ll talk to Prince Valen. Now then, let’s go actually have dinner this time,” Lord Nazel said.

Kelly and I both nodded in response.

***

The next day, we headed to Kelly’s hometown in a suburb near the capital. Our guard Torre was also with us. Prince Valen and his entourage had left for the capital first.

Riding my mountbeast, I looked down at Kelly’s birthplace from the sky. It was a town of houses with orange roofs surrounded by vast fields. It seemed that they were cultivating a wide range of vegetables, with no restriction to the varieties. There were also many fruit trees—I presumed—planted around the area.

“That is the town I was born and raised in. The majority of the residents engage in agriculture, and it only has a small inn that doubles as a diner, as well as a small temple. Most of the crops harvested here are transported to the capital,” Kelly explained as she rode on Charite, right next to Geni.

“I see. Unlike Sutrena, vegetables grow well here,” I said.

Different kinds of crops were planted in each field. Apparently, even if one field suffered from disease or pests, there was less chance of the damage spreading to adjacent fields if they had different crops in them. Perhaps because the soil was good, the vegetables and wheat here seem to grow quickly even without the use of magic. The situation here was like the polar opposite of Sutrena—it made me a bit jealous.

“So where is your house, Kelly?” I asked.

“It’s the residence over there, on the eastern end of town.” Kelly pointed at a large building standing alone on the outskirts of town. You could tell at a glance that it belonged to a farming family: There was an empty lot around the house and a shed in a corner for storing tools.

“Our mountbeasts should be able to land in that empty area,” I suggested.

Wyverns were large, and the wind pressure from the flapping of their wings was also intense, so they needed a spacious area to land—and we even had two of them today. People could land wherever they wanted in Sutrena, but that wasn’t the case in towns or cities like the capital. Mountbeasts had to land at designated stops which offered plenty of space. In that respect, the area around Kelly’s home was ideal. There was plenty of landing space for Geni, Charite, Dunk, Torre’s pegasus, and even more. The four mountbeasts each descended in their own way: Geni and Dunk were forceful, Charite was elegant, and Torre’s pegasus was smooth.

Several people rushed out of Kelly’s home, probably surprised by the sudden arrival of our mountbeasts.

They have the same hair and eye color as Kelly. Are they her younger brothers? They look older than Paul.

When they noticed us, they started making a ruckus.

“Dad, mom! There are huge manabeasts outside the house!”

“It’s big sis! She came home!”

Two more people came out of the house; there was no end to them... The latest arrivals were a middle-aged man and woman with light brown hair, who looked like they were Kelly’s parents. They seemed truly startled from their first encounter with wyverns, but I couldn’t blame them. Some people in the central town of Sutrena out in the frontier were used to wyverns, but mountbeasts like them were seldom seen in the capital and its environs. Even I had never come across a mountbeast in my time under the House of Evantail. I’d first seen a wyvern when we’d met Geni’s parents back in Loa.

Kelly’s family was making a fuss in front of their house, but they seemed scared of the mountbeasts and kept their distance. Therefore, we’d have to go to them. As usual, Lord Nazel caught me as I came down from Geni, while Kelly slid down from Charite. Charite was a good, considerate girl who’d lowered her body to make it easier for Kelly to get down. As we stepped onto the dry ground, the wind rushing over the plains ruffled our hair.

Kelly’s family consisted of her parents and six younger brothers. Kelly had been twenty-two years old when we’d first met, but she was twenty-six now. Her brothers—who looked like they were all pretty close in age—were also rather grown up. By Desnim standards, they were already adults.

“I knew that you have many brothers, Kelly, but seeing them all together is a bit overwhelming. Do you have any brothers who’ve left home?” I asked.

“No, that’s all of them. None of my brothers are independent yet,” Kelly replied.

“Huh? Oh, since they’re farmers, the more workers there are, the better, right?”

“No, they’re just parasites in the house for no reason. Fortunately, the family has a field, so they have something to eat thanks to growing the bare minimum amount of crops. The oldest of my brothers is one year younger than me, while the youngest is eighteen years old, but all of them are single and have no intention of getting married. Other than doing the least amount of farmwork necessary, they just laze around at home.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes. I can understand why no woman has married into this family. No one would want to babysit a bunch of grown men in that house.” Kelly practically spat the words out; her tone was very harsh for someone so kind. But even so, I couldn’t criticize her.

She must have suffered a lot for many years. After all, she’d taken care of her parents and brothers alone ever since she was little.

I knew the gist of Kelly’s past. Her parents had never done any housework and only idled around the house. Her mother had constantly been pregnant and couldn’t move around much, but the number of her high-maintenance sons had kept increasing. Kelly’s brothers had only played around and acted like it was natural for someone else to take care of them. They’d never even thought of helping their sister to take some of the burden off her. Her parents had also taken her work for granted, and whenever her brothers had caused any trouble, they’d held her responsible for everything.

The burden of housework and babysitting had weighed heavily on the young Kelly’s shoulders. Until she’d run from home at ten years old, she’d been unable to even talk to other kids her age and had been forced to keep working as a second mother—or more like a housekeeper.

As I watched Kelly looking hurt by her own words, I spoke to her.

“You always worked hard, Kelly. Ever since you were little, you’ve thought things through and fought alone, and earned a place to belong with your own strength. That isn’t something just anyone can do. Be confident in yourself.” And right now, Lord Nazel and I were on Kelly’s side. Lord Nazel was especially reliable, so she could feel free to entrust everything to him.

“Yes, Lady Agnes.”

Kelly’s family stayed confused for some time. But perhaps after finally calming down, the father timidly spoke to us.

“Excuse me, but who might you be?” His tone was very polite. He didn’t know who we were, but he must have realized we had a certain status based on our clothes and the like.

“I’m Nazelbart Florescruz, the Margrave of Sutrena. This is my wife Agnes. As Kelly’s employer, I have come to speak with her parents. I believe I sent a messenger yesterday...”

Kelly’s family was shocked to hear that the margrave himself was visiting, but then one of her brothers shouted.

“Ah! Last night, someone brought over a fancy letter! Oh no, I forgot and left it on my desk!”

It seemed that Kelly’s family hadn’t learned about our visit, and they all started panicking; Kelly sighed as she watched them.

“It looks like they’re the same as ever. I apologize for my family’s behavior,” Kelly said, then turned to her parents. “How much longer do you intend to keep the margrave and margravine standing outside for?”

Hearing Kelly’s words, her parents got even more flustered, like they’d just now realized.

“But, well, the inside of the house isn’t exactly in a condition to show to people...” one of them said.

Kelly’s youngest-looking brother nodded in agreement.

“It’s hella messy. There’s nowhere to sit,” he said.

Kelly stood quiet and stone-faced.

“I-It’s all right, Kelly. We’re used to being outside,” I said.

“No, that is unacceptable. Please wait a moment, Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes. If they’re in the same place as before, there should be...” Kelly swiftly walked across a gravel road and promptly made her way to the shed. She came back with several old wooden chairs that looked like they were used for work. “I apologize that these are the only ones available. Please have a seat if you’d like.”

“I’m sorry that you had to go out of your way for us, Kelly.”

“No, making the two of you stand would be outrageous.” Kelly glared at her parents and brothers with quiet rage. She appeared expressionless at a glance, but that was the emotion in her eyes—I could tell.

In any case, our visit to Kelly’s family led to us all talking while sitting on chairs lined up outside the house. The weather was good and it was warm, so spending time outside was pleasant.

“Will you let me do the talking, Agnes?” Lord Nazel asked from the seat next to mine.

“Y-Yes. Please go ahead.” I hurriedly nodded. It would be easier for Kelly’s family to listen to us if the explanation came from Lord Nazel, the margrave and Kelly’s employer.

“Now then...” Lord Nazel straightened his posture and started explaining the purpose of our visit to Kelly’s family. They all just listened to him, overwhelmed by the refined nobleman before them. He had an air of class about him even while sitting on an old, wooden chair out in the open.

Since Geni and Charite were pretty conspicuous, people from around the neighborhood had come over and seemed to be observing us from afar, but they were too afraid to come close.

“We came here because we heard about Kelly’s marriage interview. She said she’s against the idea, but if you have a reason for recommending it, I would like to understand it as her employer.”

As they listened to Lord Nazel, Kelly’s parents and brothers were visibly shaken and stood up.

“At the moment,” Lord Nazel continued, “Kelly is employed as the head handmaiden in the estate of the Margrave of Sutrena. She’s indispensable to both my wife and me. If Kelly herself wished it, I would gladly send her off, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, so I’d like you to drop talks of the marriage interview.”

Kelly’s entire family looked rattled.

“Th-That...” Kelly’s father took a step forward. “That would be a real problem for us! If that were to happen, we would...” His expression was one of distress and he looked at Kelly with imploring eyes. “Kelly, our very livelihood is at stake here! If you care about your family, you have to accept!”

“Your livelihood?” I said, feeling puzzled.

It seemed that this was also Kelly’s first time hearing any of this, as she looked at her parents with questioning eyes behind her expressionless face. Apparently, none of this had been included in her parents’ letters.

Kelly’s father fell into an awkward silence, and her mother started talking in his place.

“My husband and our stupid sons have accrued debt. When they were in a bind with no way to pay it back, a kind gentleman appeared. He offered to pay off their debt if he got Kelly as his bride.”

“So that’s how it is. Incidentally, what kind of person is this prospective husband?” Lord Nazel asked.

Kelly’s brothers answered one after the other.

“He was a rich-looking man in his fifties.”

“He specifically said he wants our sister as his wife. He could be after someone to be his caregiver in the future. Oh, but then, there will be no one to take care of our parents in their old age. Let’s make sure our sister comes over to our place too.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

How had they come to such a conclusion?

Why are Kelly’s brothers one-sidedly deciding her future? I was left slack-jawed. Every word that came out of their mouths was selfish; they weren’t thinking about Kelly’s feelings in the slightest. We couldn’t communicate properly, or it would be more accurate to say that they had no intention of listening to our side at all.

I don’t even know where to start commenting. So Kelly grew up surrounded by these kinds of people. I can only wonder how tough her life must have been. If Kelly’s entire family was the same, she must have had no one on her side. During my time in the House of Evantail, I’d also been alone with no one supporting me, so I was very familiar with the pain of living helpless and isolated.

Actually, since Kelly lives in Sutrena, it would be impossible for her to take care of her parents because of the distance, right? Since the rest of her siblings still lived at home, wouldn’t it be better if they all just worked together? In any case, I understood that they still intended to rely on Kelly.

“If you don’t mind me asking, could I know the reason behind your debt?” Lord Nazel remained composed even at a time like this. In comparison, my mouth was hanging half open.

“Gambling,” one of Kelly’s brothers replied without even a hint of guilt.

“Huh...?” I muttered unconsciously. The debt isn’t because of necessary expenses but gambling? I didn’t see that coming. My mouth was about to stay hanging open again, but I forced it shut with sheer willpower.

“The other day, we visited the capital with our dad for the first time in a while. A stranger approached us saying he knew a fun game and took us to a gambling house. We were all winning until halfway through, but then we lost big at the very end.”

At the end of the day, gambling was designed so that the house always won...or so I’d once read in a book at the manor. It also said that letting guests win up to a point was a strategy used by gambling houses.

They must have been easy targets. But why should Kelly have to go through a marriage interview to pay off debts they accrued through gambling? Why was this family trying to push its own mess onto Kelly like it was perfectly normal? She had nothing to do with this. Kelly is diligently working in Sutrena. This is just wrong.

I peeked at Lord Nazel. After listening to the end, he nodded solemnly.

“I understand the situation. However, I can’t hand over our valuable head handmaiden if that is the reason.”

“Wha—” Kelly’s parents and brothers gasped.

“But I can offer you a job instead. It depends on the amount of debt, but if some of Kelly’s brothers take this job and work diligently at it, you should be able to pay off your debt, even if it takes some time.”

Lord Nazel’s suggestion sounded like a good plan. Some farmers lived without using currency and relied on bartering, so they had little cash at hand. Kelly’s family was probably the same. From what Kelly had told me, her family only did the bare minimum amount of farmwork required to make a living; they weren’t growing many vegetables to ship to the capital. It would be better for them to split up, with some people working different jobs and the remaining ones tending to their field, instead of everyone focusing on planting crops to sell. That way, they should be able to earn money while maintaining their current lifestyle. There were many of them, so dividing the labor would be more efficient.

I’m concerned about Kelly’s gloomy expression, though. Her expression hadn’t changed even after Lord Nazel had proposed finding a job for her family.

I looked up at Kelly, who was standing next to me.

“Are you okay?” I whispered to her. “You should sit also if you’re feeling unwell.”

“No, I’m all right. You don’t need to worry about me, Lady Agnes... I’m worried for a different reason.”

“What kind of reason?”

“Although Lord Nazel has made them a very kind proposal, my family will probably turn him down. It hurts to watch.”

“What do you mean?” I was curious, so I asked Kelly to explain.

But Kelly’s father spoke up before she could reply.

“Instead of going to all that trouble, it would be easier if Kelly just got married!”

“Huh?!” I said unconsciously once more.

“He’s right. Even if we work, it will take years for us to pay off our debt!”

“Are you not worried about your family, sis? How heartless. Are you going to abandon us?!”

I wanted to throw those words right back at them. I was gradually approaching my boiling point.

I can’t hold myself back anymore. Just who do these people think Kelly is? Their slave?

With my fists clenched, I stood up to speak in place of the silent Kelly. Lord Nazel might be able to smoothly calm things down even if I didn’t do anything, but I couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

“What’s wrong with you people?! You dare call yourselves Kelly’s family?! Don’t you love your daughter, your sister? Kelly did enough for you when she was little.”

Lord Nazel looked at me in surprise.

“C-Calm down, Agnes.”

“How can I stay calm?! These selfish people are trying to force my precious Kelly into a marriage interview with some rich stranger for their own benefit!”

It clearly wouldn’t stop with just a marriage interview. If things continued like this, Kelly would end up getting married to some old man she’d never met to pay off her family’s debt. I couldn’t allow that; it went against her wishes.

“I’m categorically against a marriage interview! Kelly wants to focus on her job at the moment. And if she were to get married, I wouldn’t approve it unless it was someone better. Someone who wants to buy his wife is out of the question!” I shouted, panting by the end.

Lord Nazel placed a hand on my shoulder from behind.

“Let’s calm down, Agnes. I know the depth of your love for Kelly. Besides...” Lord Nazel paused for a moment, then looked directly at Kelly’s family. “I agree with my wife. Even if you’re Kelly’s family, we won’t let you have her.”

Kelly’s family bent back in shock.

“How can you be so cruel? Are you saying it’s fine for our family to end up on the street?” Kelly’s mother said. But Kelly wasn’t included in their “family,” was she?

Kelly’s brothers followed suit.

“She’s right! This is too much!”

“If we can’t have our sister, give us some money! You’re nobles, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah! And besides paying off our debt, we need living expenses, and entertainment expenses...”

These people were truly awful. They refused to work, depended on their estranged sister, and demanded money from people they’d only just met.

But the worst part is how everyone in this family thinks it’s perfectly normal to sacrifice Kelly. She wasn’t a tool for them to abuse. She was a kind, gentle, and strong-willed woman, not someone they should use for their selfish reasons.

“I apologize for making you go through this terrible experience, Lady Agnes,” Kelly said.

“You have nothing to apologize for. You are the one going through the worst experience here, aren’t you?” I said.

Lord Nazel nodded.

“By the way, can you peek into their feelings, Kelly? I’d like to know if they’re feeling any remorse.”

“Yes, I can use my magic to identify how they’re all feeling. It doesn’t consume a lot of mana, so I can see several people’s feelings at once.” Kelly activated her magic right after.

I quietly waited for her to finish using her magic.

“I have finished,” Kelly said only a moment later.

“Huh? Already?”

“Yes, that’s how my magic is. Just as I expected, I couldn’t see any remorse in my parents or brothers. They’re only thinking of getting a handout from you, Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes. I could see their unhidden ambition and expectation clearly.” If Kelly said so, it had to be true. She wouldn’t lie in a situation like this.

“Uh-huh. They show no remorse despite racking up all that debt.”

From looking at us, Kelly’s family must have realized what she’d just done; they started making another racket.

“Kelly, I hope you didn’t use that magic of yours!”

“You’re as creepy as ever. We told you not to use that power in front of us!”

“Milord and milady of Sutrena, you shouldn’t trust our sister. She could be telling you different things than what she actually saw with her magic.”

“Yeah, what he said. Looking into people’s hearts is a dreadful power. If only she had something like my weather forecast. Our sister’s magic isn’t just useless, it makes everyone around her hate her.”

I looked at Kelly’s family in shock.

Don’t tell me... Had Kelly grown up constantly listening to those kinds of comments? She’d never spoken in detail about her family’s relationship with her magic. But from what I’d just heard, her magic might have been part of the reason behind her mistreatment. The rest of her family seemed to have the same opinion on her magic.

“Kelly’s magic is very valuable. It has helped me as well. I don’t think it’s right of you to insult her like that just because you have something to feel guilty about,” I snapped back.

“Then you’re saying that you’re fine with our sister peeking into your heart whenever, milady?” one of Kelly’s brothers asked.

I nodded.

“Of course. I just need to not think anything bad, right? I would be fine with Kelly doing that, though she wouldn’t peek into my heart for no reason.”

To begin with, Kelly’s magic could only faintly understand people’s emotions. She couldn’t read people’s detailed thoughts, but only roughly distinguished between good and bad intentions. As long as someone wasn’t harboring any malice in their heart, they didn’t need to be very cautious of her magic. And in my case, Kelly had helped me a lot by seeing through the malice of those around me in advance.

Lord Nazel stood up in a dignified manner and looked at Kelly’s family.

“You were hoping to get some charity out of us, weren’t you?”

Everyone in Kelly’s family nodded shamelessly. When she saw their reaction, she turned to Lord Nazel and quietly spoke to him.

“Lord Nazelbart, if you give them anything once, they will consider it the norm and come back for more and more. If you subsequently turn them down, they will likely hold an unjustified grudge. Please, don’t give them anything.”

These words had come from their very own daughter and sister. I found these people pathetic. Their attitude earlier during the conversation had often made me think that Kelly really was right about them. I didn’t know if Kelly had been giving them any money. Perhaps this family had relied on Kelly’s labor when she had been little, and also the money she’d sent home after becoming independent. It looked like she wouldn’t be sending them money anymore, though. Kelly’s family thought it was natural for her to work for their sakes, and they threw a tantrum if she refused. I could easily imagine things playing out the same if we gave them any money now.

Just like Kelly said, it would be better not to simply try to solve this with money.

Lord Nazel also smiled to reassure Kelly.

“I agree. Irresponsibly handing them money wouldn’t benefit them. I’ve decided against it.”

“Wha— Come on!” Kelly’s parents shouted.

Lord Nazel continued speaking to rein them in.

“In exchange, if you are interested in a steady job, feel free to talk to me anytime. I’d be happy to give you that kind of assistance.”

“You have to be kidding... Are you fine with us falling into destitution?!”

Even this late in the game, the people of Kelly’s family were still saying such selfish rubbish. Not a single one of them was showing the slightest intention to work.

Kelly’s mother appealed to Lord Nazel with a pitiful expression.

“Y-You’re putting us in a bind. Besides, we’ve already given our consent for Kelly to marry that gentleman.”

“Huh?” I muttered. Consent? What did she mean by that? No one had mentioned this until now. “Did you arbitrarily consent to Kelly’s marriage?” It seemed that they’d told the other party the marriage was decided without getting Kelly’s approval. That was why they’d gotten desperate and kept sending letters to Kelly, who’d refused the marriage interview.

“What is this gentleman’s name?” Lord Nazel calmly asked Kelly’s family.

“Bill from the Shipish Company. He said he primarily sells products imported from abroad.”

According to Kelly’s family, it was an up-and-coming trading company that had suddenly started expanding its business into the capital lately. But why did a man from that company have his eye on Kelly? She was neither a noble nor from a wealthy merchant family—just an ordinary farmer’s daughter.

A rapidly growing trading company should be more likely to arrange a marriage for political gain. Kelly normally lived in Sutrena, so there was no way he’d fallen in love with her at first sight either.

“Hmm... I’m going to look into this Bill fellow. If he comes to your house again, I’d like you to tell him about me,” Lord Nazel declared as Kelly and I watched. “He might know that Kelly is the head handmaiden of the House of Florescruz and is trying to press her into marrying him.”

Lord Nazel’s words made things in my mind click.

“So this Bill guy is trying to establish contact with Sutrena through Kelly? Perhaps in order to gain a connection with you, Lord Nazel?” I suggested.

“I don’t know his goal, but I believe that’s the most plausible theory at the moment,” Lord Nazel replied.

“Oh no...” Perhaps Kelly’s father and brothers had already been targeted the moment they’d visited the capital. It’s also likely that they’d intentionally been led to a gambling house in order to set up this marriage interview with Kelly.

“The reason Bill went after Kelly’s family instead of talking to her directly was likely because it was easier that way. He probably didn’t want Agnes or me to find out about Kelly’s marriage because he knew we’d be opposed to it.”

“He can’t come to Sutrena directly because he must have something to hide!” His approach had definitely been on the sly side. “That’s all the more reason not to hand Kelly over to such a sneaky man.”

“Yes, that’s exactly right, Agnes.” Lord Nazel nodded deeply, then turned to Kelly. “You have nothing to worry about, Kelly. I’m actually sorry I brought you all the way here. You must have felt awful.”

“Yes, I’ll be the intermediary from now on. I won’t let them meet Kelly.” I took a stance to protect Kelly from her family and resolutely stood between her and them.

“Lady Agnes,” Kelly muttered.

I stared at Kelly’s family while supporting her.

“Now then, you’ll have to excuse us here,” I said.

Kelly’s family chased after us in a panic.

“Please wait! Are you going to just leave us like this?!”

“My husband already explained everything. We’re taking Kelly with us. We won’t leave her with a family that would sell her off! We have a duty to protect her! Farewell!” I spoke loud enough so that the neighborhood people—who’d come to secretly examine the situation—could hear me. I wanted to stop them from spreading any untoward rumors, such as that we’d opposed a marriage Kelly wanted and taken her away by force.

While Kelly’s family was still panicking, I had Kelly get on Charite and fly away. They couldn’t follow her up in the sky, after all. Lord Nazel and I got on Geni next, and Torre—who’d come along but hadn’t spoken a word and simply focused on his guard duties—also got on his pegasus, and we gently took off. Kelly’s family seemed too afraid of the mountbeasts to get any closer; they stood frozen in place, looking up at the sky with dumbfounded expressions. The crowd of people from around the neighborhood that had gathered near Kelly’s family home also looked up at us.

“All right, time to depart for the capital.”

Flying above the vast suburban town, our mountbeasts started flapping their wings toward the capital. Kelly’s hometown gradually appeared smaller and faded into the distance.

Kelly seemed to relax a little as she talked to us.

“Excuse me, Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes...I’d like to thank you once again. Without you, I imagine that talks of my marriage would have progressed against my will. I’m not sure I could have resolved this on my own. Furthermore, I would like to apologize for my family’s discourteous behavior.”

Thanks to our mountbeasts’ barriers, I could hear her even up in the sky. Flying mountbeasts could create a barrier using their mana to protect themselves and their passengers. Otherwise, humans would struggle to breathe while riding on mountbeasts flying at high speeds.

Kelly’s expression was the same as ever, but she seemed grateful.

“Originally, we should have already arrived at the capital by now, but because of me...”

“As I already told you yesterday, you have nothing to apologize for. Both Lord Nazel and I are doing this because we want to. You’re precious family to us, Kelly.” The House of Florescruz was a large family now, but Kelly, someone who’d been there from the very beginning, was special among everyone. Even if our standing was different, I considered her a close friend.

“Agnes is right. You don’t need to apologize, Kelly. In fact, I’d prefer it if you relied on us more.” Lord Nazel’s opinion was the same as mine.

“Exactly. If more pressuring letters come, don’t hesitate to tell me.” As Kelly’s intermediary, I was going to protect her.

For now, we need to look into the man who proposed to Kelly. He’s apparently a famous merchant in the capital, so we might be able to gather some information on him while we’re at the castle.

Even as we were having our conversation, our mountbeasts continued flying smoothly, steadily progressing through the sky, and we reached the airspace above the capital before long. Although we’d taken an unplanned detour, we were still on schedule.

We had Geni and the others land at a mountbeast station, and we took a carriage to the palace. The mountbeasts would be carefully tended in an animal pen at the station, so we would be parting ways for a short time.

We would be staying in guest rooms in the royal palace. The dispute between the former queen’s faction and the current king’s faction had calmed down, so Lord Nazel and I could now confidently spend the night at the palace. The two of us were given a room fit for nobles, while Kelly and Torre would be staying in servant guest rooms.

The mountbeast station was close to the palace, but most nobles took carriages the rest of the way to avoid any trouble. Things would be different if we were traveling incognito, but right now, we had been formally invited to the palace. Lord Nazel and I smiled at each other in our neighboring seats, the carriage shaking along the way. Kelly was sitting across from us, while Torre was in the driver’s seat. He’d declined sitting inside the carriage, stating that his build was too large. I didn’t particularly mind, but it might be easier for him to act as a guard outside, so we let him do as he wished.

While we were still en route, my mind drifted to the king and queen’s sons.

The princes are turning two this year. I wonder how big they’ve gotten. Queen Latriche had given birth to twins around six months before I’d given birth to Solis. I couldn’t wait for our children to meet.

I should review the birthday proceedings in my head. Celebrating a prince’s birthday in Desnim went as follows: First, only the family went to a church to offer a prayer for the kid’s birthday. In Desnim, two religions were technically mixed together, but prayers for celebrations were the role of the same churches that performed appraisals. Next, a banquet for royalty and nobility was held inside the royal palace. We would be participating in the latter event, where we would be giving the princes presents and our congratulations. At the same time, commoners would start festivities across the city, which would expand into a major, nationwide event. Various stalls were already lined up across the capital, and preparations for stages with attractions were underway. The bustling atmosphere was a sign of peace.

I felt delighted as I looked at the city’s scenery through the carriage window. The carriage proceeded along the beautifully paved street, passed through the large palace gates, and gently stopped at a station inside the palace grounds.

“Looks like we’ve arrived,” Lord Nazel said. He led me by the hand as we slowly got off the carriage, with Kelly following after us.

Here in the capital, it was currently the start of winter, so naturally it was a bit chilly. It made me miss Sutrena, where it was warm all year round.

After we left our carriage, guides from the palace approached us to welcome us inside and take us to our rooms. Torre had also come down from the driver’s seat, so the four of us followed the guides. Whenever I came here, I felt nervous walking through the historical palace interior.

A very luxurious double room had been prepared for Lord Nazel and me. A private dressing area was also properly provided in the adjoining room. Furthermore, several maids were also in charge of our room. They would be temporarily under Kelly’s command to care for me. When they came to greet us, they were overwhelmed by how handsome Lord Nazel was up close.

I understand exactly how they feel. Lord Nazel’s charm was in a league of its own; I’d also been dumbfounded during our first meeting. I’d grown more used to him now, but I still got nervous often.

Once the greetings were finished, the palace guides, maids, Kelly, and Torre each left the room, leaving me alone with Lord Nazel. After inspecting the room, I opened the window and looked outside. Because of the season, the garden wasn’t exactly filled with numerous flowers, but it was still neatly arranged. It looked like they’d prepared a nice room for us.

As I looked outside, I thought about the princes’ birthday party again.

The party is tomorrow. I need to work hard to make sure I don’t mess up... After all, the last time I’d visited the palace, I’d failed to conduct myself properly and ended up in a world of trouble.

I don’t have many good memories in this palace to begin with...do I? During my first visit here, I’d attended an evening party in my Lady Bumpkin attire, and ended up getting engaged to Lord Nazel as a punishment. During the second one, the former queen’s faction had been condemned during Princess Mia’s newborn party, and Master Robin had sexually harassed me. During the third one, I’d come to meet the new king and queen and gotten attacked by people from their rival faction.

My marriage to Lord Nazel had brought me endless joy, and I was glad that the former queen’s faction had been arrested for all their misdeeds. However, during my first visit, I remembered crying because of my own worthlessness.

I believe I’ve grown a little since the last time, but I need to brace myself. I tensed my whole body and exhaled with determination. I wouldn’t let my negative emotions get the better of me.

As he watched me, Lord Nazel came up next to me with a confused look on his face.

“What’s wrong, Agnes? You have a very gallant expression.”

“I’m firing myself up.”

“Are you perhaps nervous? Don’t worry, you’re adorable wherever you are.” That sounded both right but also a little wrong.

“As your wife, I will do my best not to embarrass you.” I braced myself once again.

“I don’t think you need to worry that much...” he said with a pensive look.

While we were talking, there was a knock on the door, and King Bertrand and Queen Latriche showed up. Prince Valen, who’d arrived at the palace before us, was also standing behind them. Queen Latriche and Prince Valen were siblings, so they resembled each other a lot when they stood side by side. Their hair color and aura were identical. I had a feeling that King Bertrand was being intimidated by the pressure emanating from Prince Valen.

“His Majesty may be showing consideration for his brother-in-law,” Lord Nazel whispered low enough that only I could hear.

That makes sense. That’s the result of Prince Valen’s strong love for his sister. Perhaps the prince was the kind of person with an excessive attachment to his sister.

Even amid all this, King Bertrand gave us a powerful smile.

“Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes, thank you for coming from so far away.”

Lord Nazel and I bowed together.

“We would like to thank you for the invitation. Congratulations on the princes’ birthday,” Lord Nazel said.

“Last year must have been tough for you, since Lady Agnes had also recently given birth. I’m happy to see you two looking so healthy,” King Bertrand replied.

Queen Latriche walked from King Bertrand’s side over to me.

“I’ve missed you, Lady Agnes! We have been exchanging letters, but seeing you in person is the best. I also want to visit Sutrena, but going out is difficult when I have two sons.”

“I’ve also missed you, Your Majesty! When Solis gets bigger, I’m going to bring him here.”

“The two of them are so cute it’s a feast for the eyes,” Prince Valen said with a smile, looking at us holding hands. Lord Nazel and King Bertrand just stared at him.

“Oh dear, my brother-in-law is such a handful. I’m shaking in my boots here. But I’ve burdened Latriche a lot in the past, both when the former queen still held power and when I first took the crown, so I can’t say anything back to him,” King Bertrand said.

“I can tell that Prince Valen treasures Her Majesty,” Lord Nazel replied.

“Yeah...”

“And that he fancies my wife too.”

“He does?! How terrifying... I imagine he’ll suffer if he makes an enemy out of you.”

“Indeed. But, well, Agnes is completely indifferent to him, so I can rest easy. She’s the best.”

I didn’t really get it, but I was happy that Lord Nazel seemed to trust me.

“Yes, your wife is so devoted to you that it’s clear even to an outsider like me,” King Bertrand said. Apparently, I was such an open book that even he could notice. I felt a bit embarrassed.

A short time later, there was another knock on the door, and Queen Latriche’s handmaiden pushed in a stroller carrying the two princes.

Here come King Bertrand and Queen Latriche’s kids. I was surprised since I thought I’d only get to see them at the party.

“We wanted the two of you to meet them in advance,” Queen Latriche said; King Bertrand nodded in agreement.

“I’m so happy I can see the twin princes up close like this. They’re adorable.” I carefully observed the two toddlers. Lord Nazel also looked very interested in them.

Prince Valen smiled and looked fondly at his nephews.

“Their expressions are just like Latriche when she was little.”

A warm atmosphere enveloped the room.

A short time later, a retainer came calling for Prince Valen.

“Your Highness, regarding tomorrow’s schedule—”

“Come ooon. Why did you have to call for me now? I don’t want to go.” That said, Prince Valen couldn’t exactly disregard his duties, so he reluctantly left the room.

He’s here as Polpystan’s representative, after all. He must be busy. I sent him off with a wave of my hand.

The two princes were still asleep. They had the same hair color as King Bertrand. They were showing no signs of waking up even in front of so many people. The palace was full of handmaidens and maids, so maybe they were used to being around others.

“Is your Solis also in good health, Lady Agnes?” Queen Latriche asked.

I nodded.

“Yes, he’s healthy. The other day, he used his magic in the garden and made the sweet potatoes’ vines grow much longer than normal. It was quite an issue.”

“He’s only one year old yet he can already freely use his magic?” Queen Latriche said after a short pause. “What frightening talent.”

“Yes. He’s been able to use his magic since he was even younger, but he’s gotten quite naughty recently. He keeps running away and causing trouble for his wet nurse and maids.”

“If I’m not mistaken, his magic is soil manipulation, right? We received an official report from the church. It’s similar to Nazelbart’s magic. Sutrena really can’t be taken lightly.” King Bertrand had a serious expression.

“Exactly. That’s why we’d like you to keep Solis’s magic a complete secret. His magic can guarantee an abundant harvest regardless of the soil used,” Lord Nazel reminded King Bertrand.

“Yes, of course. First Lady Agnes, now Solis... To think so many talented people in need of protection would be gathered in Sutrena.”

“I plan to publicly announce that Solis’s magic can move the earth. Even that on its own is an incredible kind of magic, after all.”

“Indeed. Being able to freely manipulate the earth is already incredibly convenient. It can even change the terrain itself, so it’s useful for civil engineering projects.”

“Well, we’ll announce it on a smaller scale.”

“That would be a wise decision...”

King Bertrand and Queen Latriche gazed at the empty sky with distant looks. They often made that kind of expression whenever we met.

“Come to think of it, have you looked into the princes’ magic yet?” I asked Queen Latriche.

“They can’t use it yet, but we’ve gotten them appraised. The elder has disappearance, while the younger has transfer.”

“What rare magic. They’re similar to their parents’ magic, but also not quite...” I said.

King Bertrand possessed storage magic, while Queen Latriche’s magic was substitute. Storage was a convenient magic which allowed its user to take things in and out of an independent space. His Majesty had once used his magic to pose as a merchant. Meanwhile, Queen Latriche’s substitute could create an identical copy of herself to act as her double. She’d helped me with her magic in the past. However, the substitute couldn’t perform complex movements, so it had to be used with caution.

“I’m happy that my sons have useful magic, but I feel like they’ll be a real handful once they can freely use their magic. One of them can vanish at will, while the other can move anywhere he wants... I doubt I’ll be able to supervise them both,” Queen Latriche said. That really sounded daunting. If the princes turned invisible or moved to some strange place, no one could catch them if they escaped like Solis. “I’m seriously considering having their magic sealed away until they’re old enough to understand things better.”

“It’s quite the problem when you take their safety into account,” I said with a nod. Perhaps it would be better to also have Solis’s magic sealed for a while. I’d like to avoid that if possible. But it might be something to consider depending on how Solis behaved from now on. There’s a risk of him wiping out all the vegetables and fruit trees in our garden. We’d be in serious trouble if he left the estate and started heading for the people’s fields.

In Desnim, if a child was discovered to have powerful magic they couldn’t control, it was permissible to temporarily seal their magic for their own sake. Normally, a report would be sent to the country through the church, and if the petition was accepted, a person with sealing magic would be dispatched. When those children grew up and reached an age where they could properly handle their magic, another petition would be sent to the church, and a person with release magic would be sent out. People with sealing and release magic most commonly worked in managing criminals, but there was also this kind of demand for them. After all, there was an infinite variety of magic in this world.

Sealing a child’s magic is a rare occurrence, though. The adults around them usually deal with it.

Time passed by in a flash as we talked with King Bertrand and Queen Latriche, but they had to leave since it was time for the princes to eat. They were still sound asleep.

I hope I can see them awake tomorrow, I thought as we saw the royal family off.

Chapter 3: Madam Bumpkin Comes Back to High Society

The young princes’ birthday party was being held in a banquet hall during the day. The palace interior was kept warm through the use of stoves and various kinds of magic.

I was wearing a slightly mature peach dress that Lord Nazel had prepared for me. Kelly had put a lot of effort into getting me ready, like styling my long hair into an updo and giving me accessories with sparkling, transparent gems.

“You look ever more beautiful today, Agnes. Subdued outfits suit you well too.”

“Do I look like a reliable, capable margravine?”

“Of course. You look like a wonderful, grown-up woman, so you can relax.”

“Thank goodness...” I apparently had an air suitable for a representative of Sutrena.

Lord Nazel and I held hands and entered the banquet hall that was already full of people. I always felt nervous in these kinds of gatherings.

“Relax, Agnes,” came a gentle voice. When I looked next to me, I saw Lord Nazel smiling at me tenderly. He was always graceful and composed no matter the circumstances.

“All right...”

“You don’t need to be so nervous. Everything will be fine,” Lord Nazel told me, his face full of conviction. He seemed to understand something that I didn’t.

Without knowing what that something was, I observed the nobles gathered in the hall. Then I noticed that the people here today were different from before.

That’s right, the people invited to this event are different. Some of the former queen’s supporters and neutral parties have clearly been wiped out... Only nobles loyal to King Bertrand and Queen Latriche were here. None of the mean-spirited people I’d met during my previous visits to the capital were here. The power structure of high society has changed. It was difficult to perceive it when we lived on the frontier, but now that we were here, there was a clear difference.

Naturally, none of the women who’d criticized Queen Latriche before were here either. That alone was proof of how much King Bertrand’s influence had grown.

So this is the result of the factional dispute... I shuddered as I continued observing my surroundings.

Then an unfamiliar man who was standing nearby called out to us.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Lord and Lady Florescruz.”

It seemed that Lord Nazel was acquainted with him, as he welcomed the man with a smile.

“Greetings, Lord Pierre. It has been quite a while.”

In my mind, I thought back to the Noble Directory I’d worked hard on memorizing back at the manor. If I remembered correctly, Count Pierre was one of the nobles who lived near the palace and served the royal court. He was a noble who’d maintained a neutral stance; he’d neither been swayed by the former queen nor sided with King Bertrand. When Lord Nazel had been engaged with Princess Mia, he’d often spent time at the palace, so apparently he’d gotten to know Count Pierre.

“It seems that Sutrena is going through some remarkable growth at the moment. All of it is owed to the efforts of someone as outstanding as you, Lord Nazelbart. I also heard that you have a son now—there couldn’t be any happier news.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Even your demeanor has mellowed out. It seems that Sutrena has had a positive influence on you.”

“That’s true, but my wife’s influence is the biggest factor.”

I’d been nonchalantly listening to the two of them up to now, so I was surprised when I suddenly became the topic of the conversation.

Even in a place like this, Lord Nazel is still his usual self. Lately, he’d been bragging about me everywhere, to the extent that even I could notice.

“Heh heh heh, the close relationship you two share is famous even in the capital. Rumors have reached my ears too.”

How well Lord Nazel and I got along was already common knowledge in Sutrena, but I never imagined it would be a famous topic here too. Rumors were terrifying. This made us sound like a couple who were constantly fawning over each other, and it was a little embarrassing. It...was still the truth, though.

“Yes, Agnes has a pure heart, and she’s gentle, cute—”

“L-Lord Nazel, let’s leave it at that for now.” It would be terrible if the impression people had of Lord Nazel as a capable margrave took a strange turn.

But other people besides Count Pierre had gathered around us. They surrounded Lord Nazel and me and started talking to us.

For some reason, the two of us are really popular. This is the first time this has happened outside Sutrena. I was glad that no one was being cold to us, but I had my hands full trying to deal with all the nobles coming to speak with us. Was I replying in a way befitting Lord Nazel’s wife?

“Come to think of it, I happened to hear that the Shipish Company has been really popular in the capital lately.” Lord Nazel was casually trying to get information on the man who wanted to marry Kelly. “I’d like to buy my wife a present, but I’m a little unfamiliar with the trends in the capital...”

All the nobles who wanted to talk to Lord Nazel scrambled to give him the information.

“Yes, that company has been flourishing recently. I’ve heard that they carry many foreign products. With that momentum, they might even start catering to the royal family,” said one of the nobles.

“I’ve actually been there,” another one added cheerfully. “It was apparently a small company at first, but they recently opened a luxurious store in a prime location. I live in the capital, so they even deliver their goods directly to my home.”

“Yes, it seems that more ladies have been frequenting the store lately. The rare gems from Myzahn are particularly famous. I heard that the owner himself trades with Myzahn.”

The noblewomen living in the capital had a reliable information network.

“You say the owner trades with Myzahn? How very interesting.”

“By all means, I would recommend checking out the store at least once.”

Once the conversation had calmed down a little, I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

“Elder brother, elder sister!”

I turned around to see Lord Nazel’s younger brother, Lord Julian, dressed in elegant formal attire. We hadn’t met in quite a while. He’d grown taller since I’d first met him and had become a reliable, adult nobleman.

“Lord Julian!”

Lord Julian presently held the title of Duke Florescruz. During a series of events that had taken place in the capital, it had been discovered that Lord Nazel’s father and older brother had been complicit in the former queen’s crimes, and they’d consequently been arrested. However, Lord Nazel, the second son, was already the Margrave of Sutrena. As a result, it had been decided that Lord Julian would succeed the ducal house. He’d continued working hard and was doing an admirable job in his duties as the duke. While he’d once retained features of a boy, he had now transformed into a masculine young nobleman.

My Paul also got really brawny in a short amount of time. Kids their age grow up in just a few years.

Lord Julian looked happy to see Lord Nazel, and Lord Nazel was equally fond of his brother.

“Long time no see, Julian.”

“Likewise! I’m glad to see you doing so well!”

“You’ve grown up well. Has King Bertrand been pushing you too hard here in the capital? Let me know if anything happens, okay? As your brother, I’ll firmly protest His Majesty’s actions.”

“I-I’m fine. It’s not a situation that would trouble you, so please don’t do anything so terrifying!”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

Back when Lord Nazel had been all alone, he’d been forced to give up on many things. Living in the frontier had made him tougher. The way he was now, if he were to find himself in the same circumstances as before, I was sure that he’d be able to get through things without any trouble.

“Please come visit our house again, elder brother.” Lord Julian also seemed busy dealing with the nobles who’d come to greet him, and left while looking like he’d rather talk to Lord Nazel more.

We also went back to conversations with the nobles around us. As I was nervously replying to everyone in the best way I could, the hall suddenly fell completely quiet. It seemed the king and queen were about to appear. A musical fanfare signaling their entrance followed. I felt a little relaxed now that the crowd around us had thinned out.

“Phew...”

“Well done, Agnes.”

“Lord Nazel, we are quite popular in this gathering, aren’t we? In the past, we were usually in a very delicate position.”

“Everyone wants to form a connection with us now. Sutrena is among the most powerful territories at the moment, and we both have King Bertrand’s trust. We were also the ones who helped him the most when he took the throne. In addition, those who were too reserved to speak to us before can move freely now that the former queen’s supporters have diminished... That about sums it up.”

“The power structure of high society really has been rewritten, then.” It was just as I’d thought. King Bertrand and Queen Latriche are steadily growing more powerful.

The king and queen, wearing matching, formal white attire, walked down the stairs at the end of the banquet hall, each holding a prince in their arms. The gathered nobles cheered in response. The two princes were awake, and I could see them waving their hands around even from far away; they looked full of energy.

Everyone rushed to greet the two princes. We’d gotten to see them yesterday, so we decided to wait and head over once things had calmed down. After this, some time would be dedicated for the nobles to hand over their presents, so the king and queen seemed quite busy. Naturally, they couldn’t keep holding their children forever, so they moved the princes to a twin crib. Although this atmosphere was hectic, it was overall a positive change for King Bertrand and Queen Latriche.

“I’m happy the two of them have more allies now, Lord Nazel.”

“Me too,” Lord Nazel said with a wide smile on his face, and I responded with one of my own.

After that, we continued talking to the nobles who’d come to greet us, calmly gathering information about the man who’d tried arranging a marriage with Kelly, and once the dust settled a little, we headed to the king and queen.

“Once again, we would like to congratulate you on the princes’ birthday, Your Majesties.” Lord Nazel and I offered our blessings together.

The people around us were casually observing us. I felt a little worried, but Queen Latriche smiled at me and said the same thing that Lord Nazel had.

“It’s all right, Lady Agnes. They want to have a positive relationship with us, so they’re only looking for a way to start a conversation. Unlike before, both Bert and I have become influential. And your House of Florescruz is one of our faction’s primary members, not to mention the exceptional Nazelbart is the head of the house. All of the nobles who’ve kept their distance until now are trying to get closer to us. You should also be confident.”

“Confident...”

“After all, you’re one of the leading figures responsible for Sutrena’s growth.”

“Huh? I am?”

“Yes... So you really were unaware? Even though you’ve done such excellent work that your territory is full of statues of you?”

“The margravine statues are just the result of the local artisans being a bit too enthusiastic.” Sutrena’s sculptors were a formidable force. After all, they’d seen through my disguises when I was incognito and turned even those into sculptures.

At first, there hadn’t been much demand for statues, so sculptors had made their living by crafting things like stone tools. But with Lord Nazel’s encouragement, they’d started making statues of me everywhere. Now, even people from Hihime—where crafts thrived—had joined in, and their skills improved with each statue they sculpted. I’d heard that some of them had been recognized for their ability and started working in other territories. No one could stop the sculptors anymore.

“You have loyally helped Nazelbart with your magic and are also praised for building a school in your territory. Your statues are apparently tourist attractions in Sutrena.”

“Tourist attractions? They certainly stand out, but I have mixed feelings as the person the statues are modeled after.” I’d desperately tried to stop these statues for some time, but I’d been unable to rein in the artists’ passion no matter what I’d done. Now, I’d given up on preventing any more statues from being built. They were apparently a bit useful as landmarks and meeting spots for the people of Sutrena.

“In any case, there should be many noblewomen wanting to talk to you from now on. I won’t let you suffer like before again.”

“Your Majesty?”

Queen Latriche’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“The last time you came to the palace, I couldn’t protect you from those three noblewomen. Instead, I relied on you, despite your inexperience, and ended up dragging you into Davier’s coup. After that happened, I...”

After that incident, Queen Latriche had spent time eliminating any nobles from the palace who were loyal to the former queen and hostile to the new king and queen. Despite Lord Davier’s downfall, it seemed that nobles supporting the former queen had stubbornly remained in the capital and kept opposing the new king and queen. However, Queen Latriche had continued dauntlessly fighting as the queen in social settings, and as a result, all hostile individuals had soon been expelled from the palace. Apparently, only noblewomen who were friendly toward her, meaning they were from the new king’s faction or the neutral faction, came to visit her at the palace now.

“Therefore, I’d like you to feel free and visit the palace anytime, Lady Agnes. Your son is also more than welcome, of course.”

“Thank you very much. Like I said yesterday, once Solis is a little bigger, I’d love to bring him here.”

“Yes. I’d be happy if he gets along with my sons. To tell you the truth, I’ve discussed with Bert that if you ever have a daughter, I’d like her to get married to one of them.”

“You really talked about something like that?!”

Lord Nazel had been chatting with King Bertrand, but he swiftly reacted when he heard that.

“Is that true, Your Majesty?”

“Uh, well, yeah. We want to further strengthen our ties with Sutrena.”

“You can’t have my daughter!!!”

“Nazelbart... You don’t even have a daughter, do you? Why do you always lose your composure when it comes to Lady Agnes and your children?”

“Even if I end up having a daughter, the answer will still be no. I want her to live a comfortable, cheerful, and free life.” To Lord Nazel, the royal palace was far from comfortable. It was understandable that he wouldn’t want our daughter to go to a place like that—even if we didn’t actually have one.

He must have gone through terrible things here. Lord Nazel didn’t speak much about his time as a prince consort candidate, so I’d avoided asking him about it. I didn’t want to do anything to remind him of that painful past. All I knew was that Lord Nazel had frequently visited the palace after becoming Princess Mia’s fiancé, and he’d spent all his time on various studies and work. He’d shown no emotion and indifferently fulfilled his duties, earning him the “animated doll” nickname.

I also wouldn’t want our daughter coming to the palace, unless she desired it herself.

Unfortunately for Queen Latriche, after seeing what Lord Nazel had gone through, I had my concerns about the relationship of a couple resulting from a political marriage. Of course, I understood that King Bertrand and Queen Latriche’s relationship was nothing like the one Princess Mia had with Lord Nazel, but it was still unclear what would become of a child entering a political engagement. Both Lord Nazel and I were satisfied with our lives in Sutrena, so we harbored no ambitions for our daughter to become the queen. If possible, I’d like for our children to get married to people they loved, like Lord Nazel and I loved each other.

“Nazelbart, Lady Agnes, could we also have some of your time tomorrow?” King Bertrand asked in a subtle, low voice. Lord Nazel and I didn’t have any problems with that, so we nodded. “You have my gratitude. We shall meet later then.”

The king and queen gallantly departed.

I wonder what that was about.

Queen Latriche seemed to want to talk to me more. She kept turning back toward me, looking reluctant to leave.

***

The princes’ birthday party came to a close once the present-giving was over. After the royal family had left, Nazelbart took the beautifully dressed Agnes’s hand and also departed the hall with her. Before he knew it, it had started getting dark. If they stayed at the hall, they might end up having to talk to other nobles until morning. Nazelbart could have somehow managed that on his own, but he didn’t want to drag Agnes into such an ordeal.

It was great that more people were becoming friendly toward the House of Florescruz, but Nazelbart was a bit annoyed at the nobles who’d started cozying up to him as soon as the tide had turned in the royal palace. They really were quite the opportunists. He was sick of dancing to their tune. After all, he wasn’t the compliant animated doll anymore.

Haaah, I want to go home to Sutrena. It was an irreplaceable haven to Nazelbart.

“Lord Nazel?” As she walked by Nazelbart’s side, Agnes looked at him with worry. He felt a little embarrassed that she’d apparently been able to notice his emotional turmoil.

“It’s nothing,” he replied, smiling at his beloved wife.

Agnes was his precious, irreplaceable person. She was always kind to Nazelbart, with no exception.

“Agnes, after we finish talking to the king and queen tomorrow, let’s visit Bill’s store. We heard a lot of interesting things about him today.”

“Of course. I learned a lot from the way you gathered information. Maybe I’ll try it myself next time.” It seemed that Agnes had been paying close attention to Nazelbart’s conversations with the other nobles. The way she tried her hardest was simply adorable, but...

“You don’t need to imitate me, Agnes.” Nazelbart was happy that his cute Agnes was becoming more and more capable, but he didn’t want her to push herself. Just the thought of something happening to her made him lose his cool.

I need to pull myself together. A man who’s always on edge is unfit to be Agnes’s husband. Nazelbart never made the mistake of letting anyone realize how he truly felt—with the exception of Kelly, thanks to her magic—but he found himself getting more emotional than usual whenever he was in the capital. This was true even though he was no longer the animated doll that always did as he was told, nor the weak Lord Villain who’d lacked the strength to protect the people important to him.

When Nazelbart had been little, he’d been mischievous just like Solis. He’d used his magic to fill the estate’s garden with flowers or mushrooms, and kept pulling pranks that shocked the people around him. Thanks to his mother’s magnanimity, his magic hadn’t been sealed—some would call it a miracle. He’d had a healthy older brother, and even though he’d been outstanding, he was only the second son, so he’d been raised with considerable freedom and a hands-off approach—until he’d gotten engaged to Princess Mia at the age of ten.

After that, Nazelbart’s circumstances had started slowly becoming complicated. As he’d continued showing his exceptional talent to those around him, his older brother had grown jealous of him, and his previously indifferent father had started harboring reckless expectations and making unreasonable demands of him. In addition to his prince consort education, which kept him confined in the palace, he’d also been dispatched to the knight order at his father’s request. Even there, Nazelbart had continued his rigorous training and work, and showed great results. Nowadays, he might have decided to cut corners, but the earnest Nazelbart of back then had given it his all and nonchalantly completed every task given to him. And so, he’d become the future prince consort, nicknamed the animated doll.

There’s no point in thinking about it. I can’t change my past, but now I have Agnes, Solis, and everyone at the estate and fortress. Nazelbart straightened his back as if to shake free from his weak self. He could feel the warmth from Agnes’s hand as he held it in his. It’s okay. He tugged Agnes’s hand and embraced her sturdy body tightly.

“Wh-Whoa, what’s wrong, Lord Nazel?” It was only natural for Agnes to be flustered by his sudden hug.

“I just felt like clinging to you.”

“You always cling to me as much as you want, don’t you?” She was right; Nazelbart always desired more Agnes.

“Since we’ve finished our tasks for the day, let’s relax in our room.”

“Sure!” Agnes also looked happy for a chance to rest, so she cheerfully walked toward the guest room that had been prepared for them, holding Nazelbart’s hand all the while.

***

After returning to our room and catching my breath, I looked up at Lord Nazel, who was close to me.

“What’s the matter, Agnes? Let’s rest today in preparation for tomorrow. You must be tired after talking to so many people.”

Kelly had arrived the moment we’d returned, and she was currently talking to the palace maids near the entrance of the room. It seemed that they’d brought us dinner and drinks.

Kelly really is amazing at her job. I want to follow her example more. The palace maids entrusted Kelly with the rest and left the room.

Around this time, the other nobles might be having a lively dinner together. But both Lord Nazel and I appreciated having our dinner brought to our room, since we could relax better like this instead of dining with a large crowd.

“Let’s have dinner, Lord Nazel.” If we finished our food quickly, Kelly could also dine early.

“All right, Agnes.”

We moved to a round table in the room and sat across from each other.

“Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes. Regarding tomorrow’s audience with the king and queen, as their schedule is full, it will take place in the evening.”

“Very well. Thank you.”

“You two were very busy today as well.”

We were also planning on staying here tomorrow, so the meeting time posed no problem. With that in mind, I looked at the food we had been served.

“Oh, that’s an unusual juice.” My eyes were drawn to the beautifully colored bottles on the serving cart Kelly had pushed over.

“That’s alcohol, Agnes. But it does look very similar to juice.”

With fluid movements, Kelly swiftly poured some actual juice from the cart into a glass for me.

“I’ll bring some additional juice.”

“Th-Thank you, Kelly.”

After she finished serving us our food and drinks, Kelly quickly left the room to fetch more juice. She must have been worried about me drinking. Before I knew it, Lord Nazel had also moved all the alcohol out of my reach.

I have mixed feelings about this, but they’re being considerate of me. I could feel their kindness. I’d once gotten drunk and practically assaulted Lord Nazel. I’d pressed myself on him, embraced him, and even forcibly kissed him! It had been a blunder most unbecoming of a proper lady.

At least I didn’t do anything beyond that. I was apparently the kind of person who clearly remembered what happened even while drunk. Whenever I happened to recall my actions at the time, I became flustered. I can’t repeat a faux pas like that again—ever!

Moreover, the day after I’d assaulted Lord Nazel, he’d been in a rather good mood...and requested I do the same things from the previous night, but sober this time. As a result, I’d gotten much, much more embarrassed. Ever since, I’d decided to abstain from drinking. If I got drunk and lost control of my actions, I’d suffer greatly for it. Lord Nazel didn’t have a high tolerance for alcohol either, but it seemed that he was fine as long as he didn’t overdrink. That time he’d gotten heavily drunk had apparently been because he’d consumed countless glasses of wine in his despair.

“If I reinforce my internal organs with my magic, perhaps I will be able to drink alcohol too,” I suddenly spoke a thought that came to mind.

“Hmm, I wonder about that. You can detoxify other people, so maybe...”

“I see.”

“But let’s hold off on that. If your magic fails, and you end up drunk again, and come on to me... I don’t think I’ll be able to restrain myself anymore. I can’t do anything indecent to you in the palace.”

“Indecent?” My face got flushed as I said that.

“You’re always attractive, after all.”

“Lord Nazel...”

“Agnes.”

We touched each other’s hand at the same time, and then...

“My apologies for keeping you waiting.” Kelly returned with the juice. She worked fast.

“Th-That reminds me, Kelly. We’re thinking of going to see Bill tomorrow,” I blurted out, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“We should be able to make it in time for our audience, so it will work out fine. The Shipish Company is inside the capital, so we can return quickly,” Lord Nazel added with a calm nod. I always thought it was incredible that he could remain so confident no matter the situation.

***

The next day, we followed through on our decision to go into the city in order to visit the Shipish Company and see the man trying to get married to Kelly. I had on a beautiful purple dress that had been prepared for me to wear when going out into the capital. Lord Nazel escorted me to the carriage station on the palace grounds.

“You look absolutely lovely, Agnes. Both your dress and hat look amazing on you.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Thank you for gifting me this dress, Lord Nazel.” I was happy to be wearing a splendid outfit that wouldn’t look out of place even in the capital.

“And I’m glad to see you so happy. I’m currently torn between wanting to show off my wonderful wife and wanting to keep her locked up for myself.”

“You also look dashing dressed for our outing, Lord Nazel. Of course, you always look dashing.”

“Thank you, Agnes.”

A large carriage that had been prepared for our outing was parked at the station, so we got on it. Here, nobles didn’t walk around the city unless they were incognito. When one acted in one’s capacity as a noble, one typically traveled through the city by carriage to avoid coming into contact with commoners and frightening them.

Sutrena is just an exception... Nowadays, we had more opportunities to walk around Sutrena, but when we’d first moved there, we would also travel by carriage, and I used to go into town disguised as a maid.

Now then, what kind of person is the man who wants to arrange a marriage with Kelly? According to what we’d learned at the party, Bill was a merchant who had been staying in the capital for some time now. We’d sent a messenger the other day to inform him of our plans to visit him. We were going to meet him and tell him to please not take Kelly’s parents at their word. We also wanted to learn why he had his eyes set on Kelly. Bill had come from a different territory and had recently opened his store in the center of the capital. It was apparently very popular.

We need to get to the bottom of this.

I turned to Kelly, who was riding with us.

“Wait in the carriage while Lord Nazel and I talk to the merchant. We don’t know what kind of person he is, but you might go through another unpleasant experience.”

Kelly shook her head from side to side.

“No, this matter concerns me personally. I should go with you and settle this once and for all.”

“You don’t need to worry about that...”

“I also want to know what he’s thinking. I’m curious to see why he sought a marriage interview with me. I might also be of use to you by looking into his heart with my magic.” Once she’d decided something, she wouldn’t waver.

Persuading her seemed impossible, so I simply nodded.

“Very well. If you say so, let’s all go together.”

Lord Nazel also nodded, seemingly in agreement.

Before long, our carriage slowly came to a halt on the cobblestone main street. Before us was a brand-new, excessively luxurious store. The windows near the entrance were decorated with jeweled ornaments. It was a refined, luxurious space. The large glass walls allowed people to see inside clearly.

There were many employees. Men who I assumed to be guards stood on either side of the door, and inside the store, there were many young, beautiful female employees in matching uniforms.

The store’s interior is sparkling. Many luxurious outfits were on display farther in the back. It looked very likely that the store was doing well.

We all went inside together, including our guard Torre.

“Please rest assured. If anything happens, I will turn giant and destroy the store! Ha ha ha!” Torre had just said something really scary like it was a perfectly natural thought. Well, our people back in Sutrena did sometimes ask him to demolish old, vacant houses...

Lord Nazel pacified Torre with a wide smile.

“Now, now, you shouldn’t be so hostile from the start. Let’s keep that as a last resort.” In the end, they’d apparently agreed that destroying the store was on the table...

Perhaps because we’d contacted them in advance, one of the employees came up to us as soon as she noticed us.

“Welcome to our store. You must be the Margrave and Margravine of Sutrena,” she said.

“Yes, we are. Is the owner here?” Lord Nazel asked.

The employee’s expression became slightly clouded in response.

“You have my sincerest apologies. The owner had to step out some time ago due to some urgent business...”

“What kind of business?”

“Well...” The woman looked strangely uneasy. It was kind of suspicious.

“Did he actually run away? At this point in time?” Lord Nazel muttered quietly.

“No, according to my magic, she’s lying. It seems that she’s hiding something,” Kelly replied. She could discern other people’s emotions, so if she said so, it had to be true.

“Eep!” When the employee was called out on her lie, she visibly averted her gaze.

Things are getting more and more suspicious.

I quickly started asking more questions.

“If he isn’t out, is Bill hiding somewhere in this store? From the looks of it, he doesn’t seem to be on this floor. Is he serving customers in a private room, perhaps?”

“No, he isn’t. He’s left the store,” the employee said.

“That is a lie,” Kelly objected again. “He’s probably somewhere in the store and only pretending to be out.”

Torre rolled up his sleeves.

“Everything will be resolved if I demolish the building and expose everyone inside it.”

“Stop, Torre. I already told you this was the last resort. Let’s check farther inside the store first,” Lord Nazel said.

“Th-That would be a problem! You can’t simply go in there without permission,” the employee said, breaking into a panic.

“Then we’ll have him come out here himself. Torre...”

“Very well! I shall call the shopkeeper as loud as I can! My voice is well-known for carrying far!”

“If you can, please let him know the reason for our visit.”

“Understood!”

Torre filled his lungs and let out a deep, roaring voice from the depths of his stomach. Although he didn’t have any magic like voice amplification, he could naturally shout with equivalent volume.

“Excuse me! Mister Bill! We have come to visit you regarding the matter we contacted you about! To be more specific, about you using your money in order to pressure a certain woman—young enough to be your daughter—into an arranged marriage with you! We’d also like to know why you got in touch with her parents instead of her!” Torre explained the situation clearly, just like he’d been asked to. He also said some things that would have been better left unsaid. He didn’t mean any harm, though; he was just honest to a fault.

As one might expect, a commotion began inside the store. Then, Kelly pointed to the back of the display shelves holding accessories and whispered to Lord Nazel and me.

“I found him. He’s probably the person behind that shelf.”

“Huh?”

“He’s completely lost his composure. My magic can’t discern the fine details, but compared to the other people here, he seems to be feeling much more shame, panic, and confusion.” It seemed that Kelly had used her magic to look into the fluctuations in everyone’s emotions.

Lord Nazel promptly nodded.

“I see. Thank you, Kelly, that was well done,” he said before he started gallantly walking toward the display case. The next moment, a man’s high-pitched yelp came from the same direction. “Could you please come closer?” Lord Nazel asked the man.

The display shelves led to a dead end, so there was nowhere to run. A plump man with slumped shoulders appeared from behind a shelf. With a look of resignation on his face, he timidly made his way toward Lord Nazel.

“Are you Bill, the representative of the Shipish Company?” Lord Nazel asked for confirmation.

“Um, er...what are you talking about? I’m just an ordinary employee.”

The man denied being Bill, but Kelly mercilessly pointed out his emotions from behind Lord Nazel.

“I can feel lying, panic, and unrest.”

“Mm-hmm, it seems that you are indeed Bill. Just like we communicated in advance, we have something to discuss with you.”

Bill was a small, plump, middle-aged man who’d started approaching old age. He looked older than Kelly’s father. He was using a handkerchief to wipe the rivers of sweat pouring down his face—perhaps he was panicking because his lie had been exposed. He seemed restless and fidgety.

Since I heard that he’d approached Kelly’s family offering them money, I’d expected a more confident man. He looks afraid of Lord Nazel. I understood that he was feeling awkward since he’d tried to forcefully court Kelly, a handmaiden under Lord Nazel’s employ, but was that enough to make him behave like this? It seemed that there was another factor at play here.

“Can we talk for a moment, Bill? I don’t mind having our conversation right here. What would you like to do?”

Lord Nazel’s smile carried undeniable pressure, so Bill yelped timidly once more.

“P-Please come farther inside.” Perhaps accepting that he couldn’t fool us, Bill hung his head dejectedly and led us to a drawing room deeper in the store.

I know how he feels. It’s impossible to disobey when faced with the pressure of Lord Nazel’s smile.

We followed Bill into the drawing room, which was as luxurious as the rest of the store. I could feel the Shipish Company’s ostentation.

But their taste is a bit... I’m not sure how to put it. There are many gaudy, mysterious ornaments like the ones that used to be in our manor in Sutrena.

We each sat down on a high-quality leather sofa, and an employee brought us tea. Even the teacups were flashy. Kelly and Torre stood by behind us, ready to move at any time.

Once the employee left, Lord Nazel started the conversation.

“Now then, why did you try to arrange a marriage with Kelly? Not to mention it was in a forceful way which involved her family.”

“Well, it was love at first sight...” In his panic, Bill gave a wrong answer right at the beginning.

His eyes gleaming, Lord Nazel immediately questioned Bill.

“She has been working at our estate in Sutrena for the past several years. I don’t believe you would’ve ever had a chance to see her. Kelly also said she isn’t acquainted with you.”

“Urgh...” Even more sweat poured down Bill’s face and his eyes wandered.

“Why did you approach Kelly’s family?” I asked him. “Why did you specifically try to get married to Kelly, who lives so far away? You obviously knew she’s my handmaiden, didn’t you?” Was Bill after a connection with the House of Florescruz? But I have a feeling that’s not it. Anyone thinking about it logically should realize that this was a bad method to get in contact with our house. It would only end up antagonizing us.

“No, I had no idea that the woman for my marriage interview was your handmaiden. I wanted to help her family since they had financial troubles...”

“Lady Agnes, what he just said also seems to be a lie. I sense that he’s trying to deceive us,” Kelly whispered.

“I see...” Kelly’s magic was very reassuring. I continued questioning Bill. “Did you intentionally get in contact with Kelly’s family? When they visited the city, they were lured into gambling and racked up debt, then you offered them a helping hand. I feel like the timing is a bit too convenient.”

“I have done no such thing. Your words are highly insulting.”

“He’s lying again, Lady Agnes. I feel deception and panic. The truth is likely the exact opposite of what he said.” In other words, he’d intentionally approached Kelly’s family and trapped them.

“Wh-What has that woman been on about all this time?! She seems to be your servant, but she keeps calling me a liar; her disrespect knows no bounds!” Bill pointed at Kelly, evidently perplexed. “That woman” was the person he was trying to arrange a marriage with, though.

Wait, has he not noticed? What a careless proposal he made.

Lord Nazel let out a short sigh, perhaps thinking the same thing I had.

“She’s our house’s handmaiden. Her magic can see through people’s lies.”

And it wasn’t just lies; it could broadly identify emotions too. Kelly was an outstanding individual. Thanks to her magic, we’d learned that Bill had been lying, was feeling frightened and anxious, and had been trying to deceive us. He was extremely suspicious in many ways.

“Incidentally, I heard some rumors that your company has been doing really well recently. Apparently, you’ve been making profit by trading with a foreign country,” Lord Nazel said.

“Eek!” Bill screamed again. It seemed that something in Lord Nazel’s words had frightened him. He clearly had some shady dealings going on with a foreign country.

“Is that country Myzahn?”

“Eep! S-So what if it is?” Bill started shaking like a tiny animal. Even though Lord Nazel had only asked a leading question, it was like Bill had confessed to doing something. His initial actions in pursuing Kelly had been bold, but he was thoroughly timid at heart. That was the sort of impression he gave me.

At first, it seemed that he was trying to pretend to be out for our visit. He didn’t look like the type to do anything particularly outrageous, I guess. But then why had he gone out of his way to approach Kelly’s family? That kind of behavior didn’t seem to fit a person like him.

“Were you planning on doing something to the House of Florescruz through Kelly?” Lord Nazel’s tone was gentle, but he wasn’t letting up on the questioning. “Or were you planning to use her as a hostage to blackmail us? Kelly is our precious handmaiden, so I imagine Agnes would try to rescue her no matter what. And I would be unable to turn down a request from my beloved wife. Maybe you intentionally tried to get Kelly to come to her parents’ house since you couldn’t do anything to her in Sutrena. Did you think it would be difficult for us to keep an eye on her there?”

At this point Bill’s eyes were darting all over the room. The handkerchief he’d been holding this entire time was now drenched in all the sweat he’d wiped with it.

“Agh! Aah, it’s all over... I-I can’t tell you anything!” Bill seemed unwilling to share any more with us; perhaps someone had ordered him to keep quiet.

His lies are easily exposed and he’s also a terrible actor. He didn’t seem particularly skilled. His business must also have been flourishing thanks to Myzahn’s influence.

To our surprise, Bill jumped up, looking terrified, and tried to run out of the room. Did he actually think that was possible?

“Haaah, you don’t know when to give up. Robin’s magic would be really useful at times like this.” Lord Nazel sounded exasperated.

“I agree,” Kelly added, nodding with a composed expression.

Master Robin’s magic could cause psychosomatic purification and mental recovery, but since the latter allowed him to ask someone questions while their mind was vulnerable, I believed it would be useful in this kind of situation. It would be easy to make someone confess.

“This is the only thing I can do with my magic.” Lord Nazel sighed again and used his magic to block Bill’s path with plants. Vines suddenly sprouted from the walls, starting to grow thick to cover the door.

“Whoaaa! Plants suddenly came out of the walls!” The horrified Bill fell on his backside, his face growing pale.

Torre immediately broke into a sprint, shouting, “Got him!” as he leaped upon Bill and pinned him to the floor. Bill was helpless against an attack from someone as strong as Torre, so he simply fell down onto his back.

“Now then, Mister Bill! Be honest and confess everything you’ve done so far! Otherwise, we’ll charge you with treason before Myzahn can act!” Torre’s booming voice filled the room. He was exaggerating a little, but his threat seemed to have an immediate effect: Bill opened his mouth, trembling all the while.

“I-I’ve done nothing wrong! At first, I was just approached with an ordinary business proposal! I had no idea things would turn out like this!”

“What he just said seems to be the truth,” Kelly quietly said as she watched Bill’s confession.

I turned to Kelly.

“Is that so? Then how did things develop to lead to a marriage interview with Kelly?”

“Answer Lady Agnes’s question!” Torre coerced Bill; his words had a lot of impact.

“P-Please forgive me! I was only having ordinary business talks with Myzahn. But during discussions, they suggested that I become family with a handmaiden or servant of your estate in order to learn the House of Florescruz’s weakness. They told me that if I could forge a connection with the House of Florescruz, they would sell me goods on favorable terms, so I just...”

“So you set your sights on Kelly’s family?”

“There were many other candidates I contacted, but that handmaiden’s family was the easiest to get close to. They seemed more than willing to give me their daughter in exchange for money. That’s why I decided on them; that’s all there is to it.”

Bill was right. Kelly’s family only ever thought about using her for their convenience.

“Hmm, so Myzahn is meddling in Desnim, huh? I see,” Lord Nazel muttered in a disquieting tone. “After helping Robin break out, they tried to lay hands on our handmaiden and picked a fight with us. Myzahn has a lot of nerve.”

“Lord Nazel, if Myzahn is trying to get a hold of Sutrena’s weakness...”

“Yes. Depending on the circumstances, they might be planning on heading north to Desnim after conquering Polpystan. Or they might want to avoid our involvement in their fight against Polpystan—like they’re telling us not to interfere. It might very well be both.”

Bill was caught in Torre’s full nelson and looked like he might pass out at any moment.

“In any case,” Lord Nazel continued, “I will contact His Majesty about this information. It concerns the entirety of Desnim, after all. And regarding your proposal to our handmaiden...”

While Lord Nazel was still mid-sentence, Kelly suddenly walked toward Bill and bowed.

“I will have to decline the marriage proposal you brought to my family. I intend to continue working under my lord and lady.”

As Bill listened to her, still pinned down by Torre, he looked up with a start.

“Huh? Don’t tell me y-you are the handmaiden?!”

“Yes, I am Kelly, head handmaiden of the House of Florescruz.”

Kelly’s words were like the coup de grâce for Bill, causing him to collapse face down in exhaustion.

Thus, the exchange between the Shipish Company’s Bill and Myzahn came to light, King Bertrand was informed of everything, and Bill was temporarily detained. I felt sorry for him since he had a company to run, but his massive success had originally been built upon Myzahn’s support. He’d probably been so terrified because he was aware that he was betraying Desnim.

Evening came and Lord Nazel and I headed to our audience with King Bertrand. During yesterday’s party, he’d asked us if he could have a bit of our time.

I’m glad we could come back just like we scheduled.

King Bertrand was waiting for us in the audience chamber, looking even more tired than yesterday.

As expected, he must have been terribly busy. A king’s job looks difficult.

Queen Latriche was also by his side. The princes were apparently under their wet nurse’s care, so they weren’t present.

“I apologize for making you wait until evening, Nazelbart, Lady Agnes. Thank you for making yourselves available,” King Bertrand said.

“Please, you have nothing to apologize for,” Lord Nazel replied. “You look tired, Your Majesty.”

“Regarding your earlier report, I never expected the Shipish Company to be colluding with Myzahn. I already have a lot on my plate, and it’s gotten even worse now.”

“There might be other parties similarly connected to Myzahn.”

“Yes, the palace’s people are questioning the arrested Bill to see if he has any accomplices. It would be great if I could have looked into the Shipish Company’s activity in advance, but I’ve been so busy with government affairs lately that I haven’t even been able to walk around the city in disguise. My subordinates are also busy filling the gaps left by the former queen’s faction... I regret that we were caught unawares.”

“It’s the same everywhere. There’s a lack of skilled manpower.”

It looked like the royal palace was facing the same problem as Sutrena. We had also been short-staffed after the former queen’s supporters who were hostile to Lord Nazel had been wiped out—no, even before that. The people who’d gotten fired had never worked properly to begin with and had only pushed their work onto others. If new work was added on top of that, things would inevitably end up chaotic.

“Right, Sutrena also has a labor shortage. I’m so busy on my end I’d even welcome Davier’s help. Although he was part of the former queen’s faction, he’s brilliant and lacks ambition.”

Lord Davier had been the head of the ducal House of Addamsgomes, major supporters of the former queen. He was a very talented individual and was said to be the only person who could rival Lord Nazel. In the past, he’d been pressured by those around him and schemed to turn Princess Mia and Master Robin’s son into the new king, but he’d been exiled to Peppel Island when the plan failed. However, he apparently hadn’t harbored any ambitions himself and had only stepped up as the faction’s leader out of a sense of responsibility.

The forces that had surrounded Lord Davier were now being arrested one after the other, losing their influence and decreasing in number by the day. It was a waste for such a talented person to remain imprisoned on an island, all the more if he’d never had any desire to rebel himself. It was understandable for King Bertrand to think that.

“But Davier would hate leaving the island. According to our reports, he seems to be enjoying his life there like he’s in a resort. He also apparently gets along well with the islanders.”

Lord Nazel nodded.

“I see. I believe Davier could escape the island with his magic, but he hasn’t shown any signs of trying to leave... But that’s fine since we don’t need to keep a close eye on him.”

We were at odds with Lord Davier. He’d once kidnapped me for the sake of his objective, but that had only been because of the position he’d been in. He was actually a kind, gentlemanly person. His wyvern Charite was also fond of him, so he probably wasn’t a bad person.

“Couldn’t you just sneak him out? Ah, but the former queen and Princess Mia are also on the island, so that would be difficult...” Lord Nazel made a random comment. “Incidentally, Your Majesty, this isn’t the only thing you wanted to talk about, is it?”

As King Bertrand nodded, Lord Nazel’s eyes shone sharply.

“Urk...you’re right. You didn’t see Prince Valen during yesterday’s party, did you?”

“Yes, I’ve been wondering about that. Did some urgent business come up?”

I’d also thought it was strange that I hadn’t caught sight of him.

“There was an emergency in Polpystan, so he gave us his present and headed straight back home. It seems that their neighbor, Myzahn, has invaded.”

“Myzahn made its move? They’ve been acting suspiciously for a while, like with the whole incident with Robin.”

“I’d like our country to remain neutral, but— Ouch!” King Bertrand suddenly shouted. When I checked to see why, I saw Queen Latriche gripping his arm tightly. She was a fighter, so she had high grip strength.

“Hey, Bert. You aren’t planning to abandon Polpystan, are you?”

“As you can see, Latriche is on edge,” King Bertrand, looking rather weak, replied in a cowering manner.

“Yes, I understand how both of you feel,” Lord Nazel said, waiting for King Bertrand to continue.

“Well, we were also inconvenienced because of Robin’s escape. Moreover, it would be a problem if Polpystan is defeated, since it’s right between Desnim and Myzahn... Therefore, we are currently considering sending reinforcements.”

“It would be ideal if Myzahn simply gave up quickly.”

“Indeed. The fact that they took action now probably means that there’s some reason they’re confident in their victory. I don’t know what that reason could be, though.”

“Polpystan has recently been suffering from poor harvests because of the damage caused by big hoppers. Other manabeasts have also been very aggressive. Perhaps Myzahn has evaluated that the country is growing weaker,” King Bertrand speculated.

“Yes, Sutrena has been exporting food to aid with the shortages, and so have other territories. It isn’t surprising that Myzahn has perceived this need for food imports as a sign of Polpystan’s weakness.”

“Whether you decide to send reinforcements during this incident or not, I believe it would be best to investigate the situation in more detail.”

“Davier’s magic would be really convenient at times like this.”

Lord Davier’s magic was certainly suited for investigations. I’d heard that it was a rare type of magic, so there was probably no one else who had it.

“How about just giving it a try and contacting Davier? Before, the Myzahni Defi trespassed into Desnim via the ocean. There’s no guarantee that Myzahn won’t interfere with Peppel Island, so Davier should hate the idea of his peaceful life being ruined. We might be able to find some common ground.”

“Yes, that’s right. So, Nazelbart, could you please get in touch with Davier?”

“I beg your pardon?” Lord Nazel said after a moment. His displeasure was evident on his face.

“Well, I have a mountain of work to go through, so I’m stretched to my limit. Besides, Davier wouldn’t react if I sent someone inept, would he? You’re the one I can trust the most, right?”

“I understand what you’re getting at, but on that island...”

“Yes, I know. Naturally, the former queen and Mia are also there.”

“If I went there, I feel like I would only provoke those two.”

I anxiously listened to Lord Nazel and King Bertrand’s conversation before suddenly raising my hand.

“Excuse me! Lord Nazel is in an awkward position, so I’ll go in his place!”

King Bertrand and Lord Nazel simultaneously looked at me in shock. Why were they so taken aback?

“I’ve met Lord Davier, so I can recognize his face. I believe I will also provoke Princess Mia and the former queen less than Lord Nazel would. They’ve only seen my true appearance once since I married Lord Nazel, so they might have even forgotten my face by now!”

“Th-That’s certainly true, but Nazelbart’s expression is scaring me...”

“Huh?” When I looked up at Lord Nazel next to me, he smiled gently at me. “But Lord Nazel has the same kind expression as always,” I said, feeling confused.

King Bertrand and Queen Latriche looked at me with concerned expressions, like they wanted to tell me something.

“Is that all right with you, Lady Agnes? Nazelbart’s expression changed in an instant—no, never mind.” I didn’t understand the intention of Queen Latriche’s question.

“Did I say anything strange?” I asked King Bertrand this time.

“Yes, your husband— Hey, Nazelbart, stop it. Don’t glare at me.”

When I looked at Lord Nazel again, sure enough, he had the same gentle smile as always.

“Agnes, you don’t need to worry about what Their Majesties are saying. And you said you will go meet Davier, but what are you planning to do? There’s no guarantee he’ll listen to you.”

“I’ll get on Charite and fly to Peppel Island! She used to be Lord Davier’s wyvern, so I think they’d both like to see each other!”

“Aah, you’re so kind, Agnes. But Peppel Island is a dangerous place where criminals are imprisoned. I can’t recommend going there.” Lord Nazel looked at me with a slight frown, but he didn’t dismiss my proposal. He worried about me, but he always gave me freedom.

I conveyed my intentions clearly to avoid troubling him.

“I will be fine! I will have Torre with me as my guard.”

King Bertrand nodded, looking a little shaken.

“In that case, I shall entrust the task to Lady Agnes. The ship that periodically takes provisions to the island will also depart at the same time you do, so you can go with the crew. According to our reports, things on the island are currently calm, and most inhabitants are easygoing. I doubt any major incidents will take place.”

“Understood. You can leave it to me!” I replied with spirit.

Lord Nazel looked like he also wanted to come along.

“Um, Lord Nazel? I will take care of this job. You’re already terribly busy as it is. And I think there are still many things you’d like to discuss with His Majesty. Besides, if we let things be, there’s a risk of other incidents like Kelly’s taking place. If there’s a chance we can resolve things quickly, I’d like to do what I can...”

“Yes, that’s true...”

“So please just leave everything here to me.”

“Agnes.” Lord Nazel embraced me gently. “You’re a truly kindhearted woman. But if you intend to go, you have to take more guards than Torre. I will feel nervous with just the two of you going. You need another fifty, no, eighty people...”

“Come back to your senses, Nazelbart!” snapped the king. “If you also add the ship’s crew, it will be a massive group! It would be strong enough to invade Peppel Island!”

I also pulled on Lord Nazel’s sleeve.

“Um, Lord Nazel? I would feel guilty making so many people guard me when Sutrena is so shorthanded. So please keep my guards to a minimum and leave the rest at their usual posts, taking care of the territory’s security and handling manual labor.”

“But Agnes...”

“I’ll be all right. I’ll secretly reinforce Torre and all the guards.”

“Their conversations are scary,” King Bertrand muttered as he listened to us.

Queen Latriche also nodded.

“And it’s not just Nazelbart—Lady Agnes is quite a wild card too. In a sense, they’re the perfect couple.”

For some reason, the king and queen spoke to us awkwardly.

“We will inform you if there are any other developments regarding Polpystan. Sutrena is located at the southernmost part of Desnim, so this matter isn’t unrelated to you. If possible, I would like you to talk to Defi too. That will be all.”

We bowed to the king and queen and left the audience chamber.

The situation is worse than I thought. I hope Myzahn decides to withdraw quickly. The key was to have something that made them think it was impossible to win. However, Polpystan was currently weakened from all the calamities it had suffered.

We should also increase the food aid. Sutrena had no intention of directly doing anything to Polpystan or Myzahn, but I couldn’t ignore all the starving people who’d gotten dragged into this conflict. It all depended on how Lord Nazel decided to approach this, but I’d like to at least help feed the hungry people.

I looked up at my reliable partner.

“Don’t worry, Agnes. You should just carry on like you always do. I’m worried about you going to Peppel Island, but I don’t plan on restricting your actions. Well, I’d actually like to keep you locked up somewhere. But you’ve achieved many great results so far, so I want to support you too.”

My actions had been recognized by Lord Nazel, someone who was active on the front lines. I was simply overjoyed.

“I’ll do my best!” I replied, my chest puffed up with pride.

Chapter 4: Madam Bumpkin Goes to Peppel Island

Riding on my wyvern’s back, I flew across the sky, rapidly passing the clouds. I’d left the capital to go and meet Lord Davier.

I was on Charite, a female wyvern, with Kelly right behind me, riding double. Perhaps Charite had realized something a while ago, because she sounded more excited than usual. Maybe she had sensed the presence of Lord Davier, her former partner, with her manabeast intuition.

As we kept flying like that, a loud voice came from behind us.

“Lady Agnes! You’re going too fast! We’ve already passed the provision ship! The plan was for us to reach land together, but we’ll arrive first at this rate!” called Torre, who was riding his pegasus behind us.

“He’s right, Lady Agnes. Not everyone can rush through the sky like you can. Whoa! H-Hey, Geni, stop rotating so suddenly!” Behind Torre, Defi was riding on Geni.

Geni had recognized Charite as his mate, so he’d insisted on accompanying her. He was probably worried; the bond between mates was strong. Therefore, Defi, who could ride a wyvern, had been hastily chosen from among the estate’s staff. We’d contacted him while he was house-sitting and he’d come to the capital in haste. Kelly could also ride mountbeasts, but she usually rode the well-behaved pegasi. When it came to wyverns, she could only ride the particularly docile ones. When Geni was in high spirits, he did rotations mid-flight and suddenly increased or decreased altitude at high speed, so any inexperienced rider would get nauseous. I could have ridden Geni, but since we wanted to have Lord Davier see Charite, we’d decided that it would be better if I rode her instead.

Below us, the regular ship to Peppel Island was riding the waves and advancing smoothly. This ship visited the island periodically, transporting necessary provisions and checking on the islanders’ lives. Peppel Island was surrounded by complex ocean currents, so it was impossible to leave the island using ordinary ships and navigation techniques. Anyone trying to carelessly escape would find their boat or raft grounded. This was exactly why it had been chosen as a penal colony. The regular ship was big and sturdy, and all the crew members had magic suitable for steering the ship. It was thanks to them that the ship could come and go between Peppel Island and the continent Desnim was on.

At present, public order was maintained on Peppel Island and the inhabitants were living peacefully. There should be little chance of any danger while I contacted Lord Davier.

Lord Nazel is hard at work at the royal palace. I will also fulfill my duty properly! As I pumped myself up, a small island came into view. That’s Peppel Island! The island was covered in thick greenery and surrounded by rugged gray rocks.

Charite cried in excitement again. I gently patted the nape of her neck.

“Yes, Lord Davier is close. I’m sure you’ve missed him.”

The closer we approached, the bigger the island looked, and I started spotting what appeared to be houses. It seemed that people waiting for the regular ship had gathered at the beach. Before long, the large ship skillfully avoided the rocks and dropped anchor in a cove. We also descended from the sky and landed on the vast, sandy beach.

The islanders started screaming when they saw our mountbeasts.

“What the heck?! A-Are those manabeasts?!”

“They’re huge!”

“Wait, those are mountbeasts. But why did they come to Peppel Island?!”

“Aren’t there more sailors than usual on the ship too?!”

A big group of young islanders gathered, all of them looking very curious. I heard a familiar voice among them.

“Charite?” came a calm, deep voice. Its owner—Lord Davier—came running across the sandy beach, which had driftwood scattered here and there. I hadn’t expected to meet him so soon.

When Charite noticed him, she cried in joy and also started running across the beach with her wings spread, her footsteps echoing loudly.

I’ve never seen Charite so lively!

And then, Charite vigorously tackled Lord Davier. She was moving very aggressively, like a completely different person—or rather, different wyvern—from when she was at the estate. Lord Davier was pinned under her, but he still looked happy to see her—he had a gentle smile as he broke free of her embrace.

When Lord Davier noticed me, he walked up to me, looking a little surprised. While he’d once been a duke, he now wore the same kind of clothes as the islanders, looking great in them. Just like Lord Nazel, he looked refined no matter what he wore.

Princess Mia and the former queen didn’t seem to be here—I was a little relieved.

“It has been a while, Lord Davier. I apologize for the sudden visit... I’ve come to discuss something with you.”

“Yes, it’s been a long time, Lady Agnes. Thank you for bringing Charite here. I’m happy to see her doing so well.”

“She lives in our estate now. She also has a mate.”

“A mate?!”

Behind Charite, Geni flapped his wings assertively. Lord Davier realized everything once he saw that.

“I see, so it’s Nazelbart’s wyvern... No, Charite is free to choose whoever she wants as her mate. I won’t say anything more than that.” Was it out of parental love? Lord Davier wore a somewhat conflicted expression.

“They’ve both grown a darker color too, so she might lay an egg before long.”

“An egg... What joyous news. In any case, you said you wanted to speak with me, Lady Agnes?”

“King Bertrand has entrusted me with a letter for you. Here you go.” I handed Lord Davier the letter I had been given back at the capital.

“A letter, you say...”

The letter contained a secret request from King Bertrand, summoning Lord Davier to the palace. Normally, it would have been my job to read the letter out to him, but loudly announcing the letter’s contents in a place with so many people was a bad idea, so I decided to let him read it himself.

“Did you come here as the king’s representative, Lady Agnes?”

“Truth be told, he ordered Lord Nazel at first. But having him come here would be kind of...”

“There would certainly be a lot of problems with that. First of all, the former queen and princess wouldn’t stay quiet.”

“Yes, so I thought that we could avoid any commotion if I came instead.”

“Thank you for your considerate judgment. May I look over the letter here?”

“Go ahead.”

Lord Davier quietly stared at the letter and soon covered his face with his hand.

“Haaah, how terribly selfish.”

“I-I know.” I understood how he felt.

King Bertrand and Lord Davier had been part of opposing factions from the beginning. King Bertrand had been trying to solidify his position as the king, and Lord Davier had stood against him as the head of a ducal family that allied itself with the former queen. King Bertrand’s faction had ultimately emerged victorious from their power struggle, and as a result, Lord Davier had been exiled to Peppel Island. And now, King Bertrand was asking Lord Davier to lend him a hand because he was shorthanded; it would only be natural if Lord Davier turned down such a self-serving request.

“Please give me your reply and I will deliver it to King Bertrand,” I said. “However, it’s true that the royal palace is understaffed and incredibly busy. Furthermore...”

“Yes?”

“Our relationship with Myzahn is poor. Conflict between them and Polpystan broke out the other day.”

“Something like that happened in the outside world while I was peacefully living on this island?”

Peppel Island certainly felt like a tropical island and was the very definition of peaceful. I’d been on guard before departing the capital, but now that I was here, my impression of it had changed. Even now, the locals were innocently gathered around our mountbeasts. When I looked over at them, Lord Davier started explaining things.

“Oh, they aren’t criminals but people born on the island. That’s why they’re very interested in things from the outside world... When the regular ship comes, they always gather like that. This is probably the first time they’ve seen a mountbeast.”

“So that’s how it is.”

People born on this island would have basically no opportunities to leave it.

I feel so sorry for them. They aren’t allowed to take a step outside the island even though they’ve done nothing wrong. Can’t anything be done for them? But since Peppel Island had to fulfill its role, people couldn’t simply be allowed to come and go from it unless a more organized system was put into place.

“Lady Agnes, I have a reply to the letter.”

“Oh, yes. Please go ahead!”

“I’m thinking of accepting, but I have conditions.”

“Conditions?!”

“Yes, and though I understand it’s presumptuous of a criminal like me to say this, I’d like the island’s sanitation to be improved and for the children born on the island to be given the opportunity to work outside of here.”

“So you’re asking for better sanitation and permission for the island’s children to travel outside it?”

“At the moment, treating serious injuries or illnesses is difficult with only Peppel Island’s current medical facilities. And even though the children born here aren’t criminals, they’re stuck on the island for life. I’d like some way for them to leave here.”

I also agreed with Lord Davier on that.

“Very well. I will be sure to pass the message on. Sutrena would welcome the children born here, but...this isn’t something I can decide on my own, so I’ll discuss it with everyone else first.”

“Thank you very much, Lady Agnes. If my requests are met, I will go to His Majesty. I’d like to avoid any danger coming to Peppel Island, after all.”

“Understood. Do you have a request for your means of transportation to the capital?”

“If I use my magic, things will somehow work out. But, well...given your circumstances, a ship or something will do fine.” Although Lord Davier didn’t mention the method, it seemed that he could escape the island with his own strength, just like everyone had suspected.

“Then we’ll decide on the transportation.” I nodded firmly.

“Incidentally, is that person...a Myzahni?” Lord Davier asked while looking at Defi.

“Well, yes. But he has nothing to do with Myzahn’s recent actions. We have no intention of involving him in the conflict between countries.”

“I understand; so you’re protecting him. I don’t know the details, but that decision is typical of you all.” Lord Davier smiled gently.

I explained the situation to the ship’s nearby crew members. One of them apparently possessed communication magic, so they directly conveyed our conversation to another person with communication magic who was on standby at the palace.

Communication was a rare, special magic, and as the name implied, it allowed its user to communicate over long distances. However, they could only send messages to someone who also possessed this magic, though they somehow knew who else had communication magic. Depending on how much mana someone had, the range in which they could find people to send messages to varied, but this crew member could reach all the way to the palace, so they likely had quite a bit of mana. A number of people with communication magic were permanently stationed at the palace. They received messages from other users of communication magic in various places and constantly gathered information.

The crew member quickly received a magical reply from the palace. According to what I was told, it seemed that King Bertrand had accepted Lord Davier’s conditions.

“Lord Davier, I’m told that His Majesty has accepted your conditions. Would you please come to the capital with us?” I asked.

Lord Davier nodded quietly.

“If I’m going, I think I’d better leave right away. If I dawdle too long, certain people might start making a fuss.”

I more or less understood what Lord Davier meant.

He must be talking about the former queen and Princess Mia... There was quite a gathering at the beach, but I hadn’t spotted those two yet.

When Lord Davier noticed that I was looking around, he smiled with a slightly troubled expression.

“Those two should be in the middle of a nap. It seems that they’ve fully adapted to life on the island... Our departure will get delayed if they find us.”

“I-Is that so? They’re napping...” I hesitated over how I should respond, but it sounded like the two of them were living fine on this island, which I believed was a good thing. “Then let us depart, Lord Davier. I will lend you Charite, so please get on.”

“Are you sure? I could simply run away using a mountbeast.”

“If you really wanted to run away, you would have done so long ago, wouldn’t you? Besides, Charite would hate to leave Geni’s side.”

“That’s certainly true. Very well, thank you for your consideration.” Lord Davier walked toward Charite, who happily flapped her wings.

I got on Geni with Defi.

“Agh, I can’t believe I’ll be riding with Lady Agnes. Lord Nazelbart will surely have some cutting remarks for me.”

“Don’t worry; Lord Nazel is kind. He’ll understand once I explain the reason.”

“He’s only kind in front of you, Lady Agnes.”

And so, I escorted Lord Davier back to the palace without incident.

***

I’d returned to the palace with Lord Davier. As soon as we entered the audience chamber, Lord Nazel rushed over to me. It seemed that he had been waiting for me together with King Bertrand and Queen Latriche.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting, Lord Nazel.” I was happy to see him, but I was a bit surprised to see him so uncharacteristically flustered.

“Aah, Agnes! I’m so glad you made it back safely. I was beside myself with worry!” Lord Nazel hugged me much tighter than usual. I also hugged his warm body back.

“I’m all right. How were things over here while I was away?”

“Apparently, the conflict between Myzahn and Polpystan has grown more violent, with Polpystan being in dire straits. According to the latest reports, there’s someone who can use magic like Robin’s. Many soldiers are left absent-minded, throwing the Polpystani forces into chaos...”

“Master Robin’s magic is faint mental recovery and psychosomatic purification, right?”

“Correct. It was originally a magic that could help people, but depending on how it’s used, it’s also a dangerous magic that can throw people into a daze or make them confess by asking them questions while their mind is unguarded. Nonetheless, Robin’s magic is extremely rare. You wouldn’t be likely to find a second person with it, so I doubt that some Myzahni has the same magic as Robin. I’m suspecting a different possibility.”

As if he’d read Lord Nazel’s mind, Lord Davier joined in.

“Are you thinking of the possibility of someone with duplication magic, Nazelbart? That’s also an awfully rare kind of magic, but it’s also considered among the more troublesome ones. Since it’s so rare, people who have it often become targeted, so they tend to hide it. It’s appeared in Desnimer royalty in the past, right?”

“Indeed. During Robin’s escape incident, a Myzahni may have gotten close to him without anyone noticing. If that person used duplication, they would have been able to copy Robin’s magic. But it’s been a really long time since someone with duplication magic appeared.” King Bertrand looked toward me and Defi, who’d also come with me. His Majesty knew that Defi had formerly worked as a spy, so he may have found Defi suspicious during this conflict.

I softly interjected.

“Excuse me, but I don’t think that Defi knows anything. If he did, he would have told me.”

Defi had once worked under Prince Rivage Myzahn, but he was keeping quiet about my magic. I trusted Defi and I believed we had a good relationship with him. I doubted that Defi had been intentionally keeping quiet about Master Robin’s magic being duplicated until now.

“I don’t know who duplicated Master Robin’s magic or when, but it wasn’t Defi or the other people who’d aided in his escape. None of them had high status, so it’s possible that they were intentionally kept in the dark,” I added.

Defi spoke after me.

“There’s a high chance that important information about magic is kept secret even from allies. There’s a risk of spies being captured like I was, so information is usually kept from them on purpose. Myzahn’s top brass is secretive, so back then, I was only given the necessary information to bring Robin back.”

Lord Nazel nodded. That was an acceptable reason for a country to keep secrets about magic.

The same is true about my magic too.

Finally, Lord Davier also spoke up in agreement.

“Let us trust Lady Agnes’s words. On the way here, I also talked to Defi himself, and I believe it’s clear that back in Myzahn, he stuck strictly to his role, following instructions and working without being informed of any secret details. That’s true for most spies.”

“Precisely,” Lord Nazel agreed too. “In the past, Robin exaggerated both his magic and quantity of mana. In order to justify their own actions, the former queen and princess deliberately didn’t publicize Robin’s true powers, instead spreading rumors about it being ‘sacred’ magic. Myzahn made its move believing that information. Every country would want saintlike powers.”

King Bertrand also joined in the conversation.

“To tell you the truth, Robin doesn’t actually have a lot of mana, and he wasn’t necessarily using his magic skillfully either. However, if someone with duplication magic appeared who could perfectly utilize that man’s magic, I believe they would be a threat.”

All three of them stayed silent with grave expressions on their faces. All of the trouble involving Master Robin’s escape had been kept to a minimum because he didn’t have all that much mana. His magic could cause no end of problems, but its effective duration and range were short.

“Just like Davier said, if we assume there’s someone with duplication magic, can we find out how many kinds of magic they can copy?” King Bertrand asked.

“According to historical records, past duplication magic users could copy at most three kinds of magic. If three really is the number, then aside from the user’s own duplication magic...we have Robin’s two kinds of magic, as well as one more duplicated from someone else. Since they expressly duplicated it, it’s most likely a convenient, powerful magic. That said, we can’t rule out the possibility that they can duplicate more than three kinds,” Lord Davier replied.

“That’s a problem. We’re currently gathering information, but we haven’t received any noteworthy reports.”

“Is this everything we need to discuss?” I asked, looking up at Lord Nazel.

He walked up to me, knitting his brows, and spoke gently. His handsome countenance always took my breath away.

“His Majesty also wants to send reinforcements, but I’m staunchly against going.”

“That’s...a conundrum.”

King Bertrand had likely been unable to withstand Queen Latriche’s pressure. And so, he must have consulted Lord Nazel about dispatching troops from Sutrena, since it was the closest to Polpystan. Lord Nazel was naturally opposed to it, so it seems that they’d argued back and forth. I could somewhat deduce what had taken place.

I’m certainly worried about Prince Valen and his people, but we can’t interfere carelessly and sow the seeds of trouble. This is a difficult position to be in.

Under the circumstances, we also needed to reinforce Sutrena’s defenses. Given our positions as the Margrave and Margravine of Sutrena, Lord Nazel and I had to first think about our own territory. But those same positions meant that if King Bertrand gave an order, we had to obey him.

After thinking deeply for some time, I spoke.

“We just need to help Polpystan, which is being pushed back, and put a stop to the fighting. Once Myzahn has lost its will to attack...”

Queen Latriche, who’d been quiet all this time, leaned forward.

“No, I won’t be satisfied until we’ve thoroughly crushed Myzahn!”

How extreme... Polpystanis held intense enmity for Myzahn. I’d once met Duke Masroono; he was also quite radical. Defi had shrunk into himself.

“Calm down, Latriche.”

“But Bert, my homeland is struggling as we speak.”

“I know. It’s our problem too. The matter of Robin’s magic is Desnim’s responsibility. That’s why I...”

Lord Nazel spoke first as King Bertrand hesitated.

“I don’t want to get involved in a foreign conflict. But as you know, Myzahn schemed behind the scenes, using the Shipish Company’s Bill to try and get close to our head handmaiden. That was a provocation against Sutrena. I’m extremely displeased about it.”

“Mm-hmm...”

Through Bill the merchant, Myzahn had tried to get a hold of Kelly, the person closest to Lord Nazel and me. We couldn’t easily forgive the forceful method they’d used to try and approach Kelly.

Do they take a woman’s marriage for some kind of tool? Now I was fuming again.

“It’s outrageous that they tried to use Kelly. I was astonished when I heard about it,” Queen Latriche said in a low voice. Kelly had formerly served King Bertrand and Queen Latriche, so they both knew her well and held her dear.

King Bertrand looked forward with a thoughtful expression.

“In any case, we can’t leave things like this. You might be reluctant to do this, but...Nazelbart Florescruz, Margrave of Sutrena, I order you to dispatch troops to Polpystan.”

Lord Nazel stared fixedly at King Bertrand. He had a doll-like face that didn’t let anyone read his expression.

“Understood.” That was the only answer he could give. I couldn’t say anything here.

Lord Davier looked like this didn’t concern him.

“Of course, I don’t intend to force everything onto you. I’ll go too.” King Bertrand stood up.

“I don’t think there’s any need for the king to personally head to the front lines,” Lord Nazel commented sensibly.

King Bertrand responded by shaking his head from side to side.

“I’m only going because it will be the easiest that way. Military expeditions come with many expenses, you know... If we simply needed military strength, I could have sent Leonardo.”

I wasn’t familiar with the details, but Prince Leonardo’s magic was apparently suited for combat. King Bertrand’s magic, on the other hand, was storage. He’d said that his magic was at an intermediate level, but it could actually store quite a number of goods. He’d stored all kinds of things in the past, like manabeasts, furniture, and even Queen Latriche.

“Oh, so you meant to come as a substitute for our carriages,” Lord Nazel said.

King Bertrand didn’t say a word in response. Lord Nazel looked much angrier than usual, surely because of multiple causes. I could tell that much even though I’d only joined the conversation halfway through.

Chapter 5: Madam Bumpkin Comes Along to the Desert

Many soldiers were scattered across the desert where dry winds blew. There was currently chaos along the border between Polpystan and Myzahn.

Valen was on the battlefield in place of his older brother, who couldn’t leave the palace. He shielded his injured body and ordered his soldiers to retreat, his mind full of disbelief. The wound on his side was shallow, but the bleeding hadn’t stopped for some time. His arms and legs were also covered in grazes.

What’s going on? Our soldiers are getting their magic sealed one after the other. He couldn’t read the state of the battle because of all the unexpected events taking place one after another. Some Polpystani soldiers were magic troops who possessed magic specialized for combat. Magic troops were supposed to be pivotal to armed conflict, but they’d been rendered completely dysfunctional. For now, we need to retreat and release the seals on their magic.

“Shit... If only I had magic more specialized for combat,” Valen cursed, irritated by the intense, scorching sunlight. Unfortunately, his metalworking magic was completely useless in a situation like this. At best, he could provide his soldiers with good weapons and armor.

The shortsword I made with Lady Agnes is frighteningly sharp and useful, but that’s about it.

“I’m terribly ashamed, Your Highness,” one of the retreating magic troops told Valen. He was visibly exhausted and also covered in wounds.

“We need to quickly remove the magic seals. Call a sealbreaker. Do you know the details of the current situation?”

“Yes, sir. My mind suddenly blanked out during the fight, and when I came to, my magic had been sealed. The same happened to the other magic troops.”

“You blanked out?”

“We fell into an absent-minded state despite being in the middle of combat. This has to be the work of enemy magic. Some of our comrades were also killed while they were in that vulnerable state.”

“Who used magic on you?”

“It took everything I had just to escape, so I couldn’t grasp that much. However, I was fighting against Prince Rivage Myzahn’s army, so the magic user is probably among them.”

“I understand. As I expected...”

Valen thought about this troublesome magic. It sounded like the magic of Robin, Desnim’s former prince consort, that he’d heard about before. When that magic was used on someone, it left them in a trancelike state. However, Valen had never heard of Myzahn possessing that kind of magic. Robin’s magic had been rumored to be the second coming of the saint. Although it was a different magic, it was said to have some similarities. Could there really be multiple people like him? Of course not.

Come to think of it, there was a report some time ago about Robin escaping in Desnim. He was apparently recaptured right away, but I also heard that Myzahn was involved. Could something have happened back then? If that’s true...then this is Desnim’s fault!

Polpystan’s defensive lines collapsed, and Myzahn took advantage of it to press the attack.

All of Prince Rivage’s forces are here, so I think that Duke and Duchess Masroono, who are fighting elsewhere, should be fine, but... Argh, damn it all! Valen tore his hair out in frustration and looked upward. Up there in the cloudless sky, he spotted a tiny white dot. Hmm? What’s that? The dot seemed to be gradually approaching and got bigger at an alarming rate. That’s a mountbeast!

Valen quickly realized what he was looking at and ordered his soldiers to be on alert. The aforementioned mountbeast—an unfamiliar white pegasus—made a sudden descent. Its coat was smooth, shiny, and beautiful. Valen couldn’t see clearly because his subordinates were in front of him, but the rider appeared to be a commoner, a man resembling a merchant with his hair tied up high on his head.

“You have a delivery!”

“Who goes there?!” Valen’s subordinates shouted threateningly at the man.

However, as the man got closer and Valen recognized his face, he hurriedly held his soldiers back.

“Stop, don’t attack. He...he’s...my brother-in-law...the King of Desnim!” To Valen’s great surprise, the king himself had appeared. “Your Majesty! What are you doing all alone?! It’s too dangerous!” Valen raised his voice, casting aside all propriety. “If something happens to you, Latriche will be devastated.” It seemed that Valen’s younger sister Latriche hadn’t come this time.

I would have gotten mad at him if he brought her to such a dangerous place, though. In any case, I can’t believe King Bertrand came here himself. Valen wanted reinforcements, but he hadn’t asked the king himself to come.

“Now, now, elder brother. I’d like you to calm down. I’m not alone, after all,” Bertrand said and suddenly used his magic to create a door in front of Valen. Then, Bertrand called out to the door with a somewhat bitter tone. “Hey, we’ve reached our destination. Goodness, you people work your king to the bone.”

The next moment, two wyverns and a rare mountbeast called a grani, all with riders, jumped out of the door.

“Whoa! What’s going on?!”

Next, several pegasi followed after the wyverns, flapping their wings. Soldiers riding on flightless mountbeasts and horses, as well as infantry also came running out.

So that was his storage magic. In any case, just how many people are in there?! Valen wondered.

The King of Desnim’s magic wasn’t particularly well-known. According to rumors, it wasn’t a particularly rare magic, and both his skill and mana were average. But storage was already a valuable, convenient, and wonderful magic, and Bertrand’s storage clearly boasted extraordinary capacity. Since he was a secretive man, there was no doubt that he’d falsified his magic’s type and power.

He looks unreliable, but my brother-in-law is shrewd.

Even more people kept coming out of the storage magic’s door right before Valen’s eyes. Just how many people had been crammed in there?

Because of this incident, Valen’s subordinates now knew about Bertrand’s magic. He must have come here at Latriche’s request, despite that risk.

The people who’d come out of the door looked confused at the sudden change of scenery. They made a fuss, loudly wondering where they were.

Did he just stuff them in there, no questions asked?!

Bertrand addressed the confused people.

“Just like you were informed before, we’re at the border between Polpystan and Myzahn. Mobilize according to plan.”

As expected of professionals, even though they were confused, Desnim’s knights and soldiers quickly sprang to action, falling into formation under the orders of their respective commanders.

While Valen was observing the soldiers, Nazelbart landed close to him, riding a pink wyvern.

“Your Highness.”

“Nazelbart! So you came.”

“By the king’s decree...” Nazelbart looked reluctant, but it was reassuring to have him here. Behind him, the soldiers of Sutrena also appeared. Perhaps because they regularly fought manabeasts, they clearly exuded the air of fearless warriors.

“Ah, Your Highness!” This time, Agnes descended, riding on the large black grani.

“Even Lady Agnes?! Why did you come to such a dangerous place?!”

“Eh heh heh, I’ll be providing combat service support.”

“That’s dangerous! Wasn’t Nazelbart opposed to this?”

“He was. So I rode Dunk together with Defi, plunged into King Bertrand’s storage magic, and came along by force.”

“Ah... No wonder Nazelbart looks like that.” It was like reluctance was seeping out from every pore of his face.

The remaining, purple wyvern didn’t come down. It circled the sky in order to investigate the surrounding area. For some reason, a large number of small birds and winged manabeasts had gathered around the purple wyvern.

Who is that? Valen wondered. In addition to the rider himself, there were also manabeasts that resembled rats and small squirrels atop the wyvern. Valen wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but that man was very popular with animals. It was hard to see clearly, but the man—and he alone—was surrounded by a heartwarming scene like something you’d see in a picture book.

What is that person doing in such a dangerous place? While Valen was lost in thought, the purple wyvern flew off by itself in the direction where the Myzahni soldiers were gathered. I have no idea who that is, but isn’t he a bit too free-spirited? Is it fine to let him act alone? However, neither Bertrand, nor Nazelbart, nor anyone else seemed to have any intention of stopping that man.

“Whoa there, I can’t be sitting idly by here either.” Myzahni soldiers were attacking at this very moment. Valen also had to return to commanding his forces. “Bertrand, Nazelbart. Just like we informed you before, the enemy has someone with magic similar to Robin’s. Many of our soldiers were done in.”

“Yes, that person probably possesses duplication magic. Desnim is to blame for that,” Nazelbart replied, looking as reluctant as before.

“It seems that the duplication user is among Prince Rivage’s forces...”

“I see. So that’s why he went there.” Nazelbart looked in the direction the purple wyvern had flown in, like none of this concerned him. “It looks like he is gathering information there, so we should have a detailed picture before long. For now, I will hold back the attacking Myzahni soldiers. That’s my role in this.”

While Valen and Nazelbart were talking, loud war cries rang out from the soldiers of Sutrena, mainly from one of Nazelbart’s subordinates.

“Oh my, Torre is getting fired up.” Agnes was smiling cheerfully; she really had nerves of steel. She was acting a bit carefree, just like always, but that was one of her good points.

Torre, one of Nazelbart’s subordinates, took command of Sutrena’s forces.

Oh, looks like Paul is here too. Paul was flying around Torre. And as expected, Ryuk doesn’t seem to be here. Did they leave him back in Sutrena? Valen was the chairman of the school Paul and Ryuk had graduated from, so he knew their personalities well. Ryuk was a very timid person. Paul can fly higher than before. He was happy about his student’s growth. He just wished he didn’t get to witness it in a place like this...

As Valen observed his surroundings, next to him, Nazelbart created vines with his magic and constructed one barricade after another.

“Oh, they’re just like the levees. Then I’ll also reinforce them.” Agnes moved next to Nazelbart and assisted him with her matter reinforcement magic. But was her magic really just that? It was terribly suspicious...

Even so, they’re all reliable. Valen was grateful to the people who’d come rushing to their aid, including his brother-in-law, Nazelbart, and everyone else.

***

I—Agnes—was currently at the border between Polpystan and Myzahn. I believed that an ordinary noblewoman would have to stay back at her estate and hold the fort at times like this. Despite that, I’d been unreasonable and tagged along with everyone else, because I’d felt that there would be many cases where my magic would be useful. I didn’t want there to be many casualties, for both allies and enemies, so I’d like the two countries to quickly reach an armistice. My magic should be useful to that end.

I stayed quiet and carefully listened to Lord Nazel and Prince Valen’s conversation. They were talking about Master Robin’s magic being duplicated and utilized here.

Master Robin’s magic really was duplicated by someone back when he escaped. And that person is now using that magic to toy with the Polpystani soldiers. From what I heard, the soldiers had suddenly blanked out, and their magic was also sealed when they came to.

According to Defi’s information, Prince Rivage possessed sealing magic. If Master Robin’s mental recovery magic and Prince Rivage’s sealing magic were being used in succession, the person who’d duplicated Master Robin’s magic should be right next to Prince Rivage.

At the moment, Lord Davier had gone to assess the situation. It was a rare kind of magic in Desnim and ideal for investigating from various angles, making it extremely useful for gathering information. From what he’d told me before, his magic worked on animals up to a certain size—magical or not—and allowed him to communicate with them, move them, and even share senses like sight with them. This was all he’d told me, but it seemed that there were other things he could do that he just hadn’t mentioned.

Charite was happy to have her dear Davier on her back. I’d secretly reinforced both of them with my magic.

“Now then, I’ve finished reinforcing Lord Nazel’s barricades, so what should I reinforce next?”

As I rolled up my sleeves, full of motivation, Lord Nazel let out a long sigh. He looked dashing like that too.

“Agnes, you can’t go any farther. You ended up coming along with us in the end, but you aren’t used to the battlefield. Let’s see... How about you go to the horses and mountbeasts in the rear and reinforce th...eir equipment? To, uh, make sure they don’t get injured.”

“All right, I understand! I don’t want to get in your way, and I’d feel terrible about the mountbeasts getting injured. I’ve reinforced all the ones from Desnim.” I nodded obediently. “Please be careful, Lord Nazel.”

“I will. I love you, Agnes. Could you give me a kiss before I depart to raise my morale?”

“Huh? Um, s-sure.” I was awfully embarrassed since so many people were watching, but this was an important moment. I wanted to fulfill Lord Nazel’s request. I stood on tiptoe and gave him a firm kiss on the lips.

“Aaah, thank you, Agnes.” Lord Nazel hugged me tight and kissed me all over the face while he was at it.

“U-Um, Lord Nazel, please be really careful. Don’t do anything reckless.”

“Yes, don’t worry. I know from past experience that if I do anything reckless, you will follow suit.”

“Urk...”

“However, Prince Rivage’s army will likely come to seal my magic. An encounter with the person who copied Robin’s magic might be inevitable.”

“In that case, well... I know. Please take Defi with you. He strained himself to come all the way here with us.”

Defi was a former Myzahni spy who’d accompanied us all the way to the border, perhaps because he felt responsible for Master Robin’s magic being duplicated. His magic was absolute release. Ordinary release magic could only be used on people being affected by sealing magic. However, Defi’s absolute release not only made him impervious to magic, it could undo the effects of any magic, not just sealing. For example, let’s suppose that Lord Nazel was targeted by Master Robin’s mental recovery magic, leaving him in a trancelike state. If Defi was by his side, he could immediately undo the magic, allowing Lord Nazel to recover in an instant.

Defi wasn’t officially one of Lord Nazel’s subordinates. I figured he couldn’t raise a blade against soldiers from Myzahn, his homeland, so I’d intentionally brought him along without putting him among the soldiers. Defi was a Myzahni, so he was wearing a bandana to cover his face at his own request. But if he was helpful with his absolute release, even the Polpystanis, who were at odds with his people, should eventually come to trust him.

“Is Defi himself okay with that?”

“Yes, I’ve already talked to him about this. I told him that going against his former comrades would be difficult, so he should stay in Sutrena and do nothing, but he really feels responsible for Master Robin’s escape and said he wants to help with just auxiliary tasks. Also, it seems that he wasn’t particularly fond of his previous workplace.”

“Ah...” It looked like Lord Nazel also more or less understood where Defi was coming from. From the start, it seemed that Defi had been working as a spy out of habit, so he spoke the truth.

I called out to Defi, who was among the soldiers from Sutrena.

“Defi, could you come here for a moment?”

Defi quickly noticed my voice and hurried over.

“Lady Agnes? Is something the matter?”

I nodded.

“You see, I’d like you to accompany Lord Nazel.”

“Huh?!”

“If Lord Nazel falls prey to Master Robin’s magic, you’ll be able to help him, right? And if you can afford to, I’d also like you to release any other people under the effects of Master Robin’s magic.”

“That’s fine by me since that’s why I came here, but you sure work people into the ground.”

“I’ll lend you Dunk. She has a lot of stamina and is fast to boot. She’s also very tough thanks to my magic, so she shouldn’t get injured. I also used my magic on you before we came here, so I don’t think you’ll get wounded easily either.” I whispered the second half to make sure the nearby Prince Valen didn’t hear me.

“Yeah... I carelessly bumped into a boulder earlier and it cracked.”

“Oh dear, I’ll adjust the strength a little. But just because I’ve reinforced you doesn’t mean that you should rely on my magic more than necessary. If you’re in danger, please don’t hesitate to flee. Lord Nazel has collapsed from poison before, so be careful... Oh, I’ve also used magic to make you resistant to poison, just in case, so I think you should be fine on that front now.”

“Anything goes with you, Lady Agnes.” Defi blinked, looking somewhat astonished.

“Now that everything’s decided, would you come with me, Defi?” Lord Nazel asked.

“Yes, Lord Nazelbart.”

Lord Nazel got on Geni, while Defi got on Dunk.

“Goodbye, Agnes. Make sure not to do anything dangerous while I’m gone.”

“O-Okay! Take care, Lord Nazel. You too, Defi.”

“Yeah, see you.”

The two of them got on their mountbeasts and rose into the sky. Geni revolved in the air as he flew, just like usual. He always followed the beat of his own drum.

“All right, I also need to go reinforce the Polpystani mountbeasts.” I greeted King Bertrand and Prince Valen and was about to leave, when Prince Valen suddenly lost his balance and fell to his knees near me.

Huh? What just happened? He was acting kind of odd. He was holding down his chest and was struggling to breathe.

I rushed over to Prince Valen.

“Your Highness, are you all right? Does it hurt to breathe?”

“Lady Agnes...” Prince Valen said in a faint voice, looking up at me feebly—his face was also pale. “It seems that I was exposed to a slow-acting poison in the fight earlier.”

“Poison?!”

“Yes. I suffered many small injuries while I was fighting on the front lines...and one of them was probably poisoned.”

“Oh no!”

The battlefield was currently in chaos, so even if we called a Polpystani doctor, it would take some time before they arrived. It would be simple if someone with detoxification magic was nearby, but no one like that seemed to be here. There was also the possibility that other people had been poisoned, and any doctors were busy dealing with them.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty...” I turned to King Bertrand, who’d fortunately stayed behind. He nodded and quickly called a team of doctors he’d brought from Desnim. The doctors had just come out of his storage magic, so they were still nearby.

“Counteract Prince Valen’s poison,” King Bertrand ordered.

While the doctors were treating and looking after Prince Valen, I watched over them from a short distance away. I had psychological trauma when it came to poison because of the time Lord Nazel had nearly died from it...

While I’m waiting, maybe I should reinforce Prince Valen too. If he gets hurt, Queen Latriche, Paul, and Ryuk will be sad. Besides, I can’t just sit by and watch someone I know well get hurt.

I stealthily approached Prince Valen from behind to make sure I wasn’t spotted. I looked a bit suspicious sneaking around like that, but fortunately, everyone was bustling about so no one paid me any mind.

Get stronger... I silently prayed as I cast my magic.

A short time later, the doctors started making a commotion.

“Huh? Wait, is the poison going away?”

“You’re right. There was definitely a reaction earlier.”

“And it was even the vicious, powerful venom of a manabeast known as the toxic desert centipede... To be honest, even we would have needed some time to counteract it, so it’s a godsend that it wore off so quickly.”

“What’s going on here?”

King Bertrand seemed to have noticed something and was staring intently at me.

“Heh...heh heh...” I gave an ambiguous laugh to evade the situation, then quickly left to go and use my absolute reinforcement on the mountbeasts. King Bertrand would surely sidestep any questions and keep my magic secret. I believed he would.

***

Rivage, younger brother of the King of Myzahn, felt a sense of discomfort as he watched over the battlefield. Of course, he didn’t let this distract him from using his magic to support his allies. As he rode across the battlefield atop a ribbon lizard, a type of mountbeast that could run swiftly on sand, the scenery around him changed rapidly.

Ribbon lizards were large, light brown manabeasts with ribbonlike bumps on their heads. They inhabited deserts and moved at great speeds to capture their prey. They were one of the most suitable species of mountbeast to use on sandy terrain. Their body color was normally the same as desert sand, but it changed to green in grasslands and gray in rocky areas. In the desert, flying mountbeasts were also convenient since they could move fast, but they stood out a lot, so they became easy targets. This ribbon lizard was the ideal mountbeast for Rivage in this situation.

I need to use my magic secretly—without anyone noticing. This military operation was going well thanks to Rivage’s mental recovery and sealing magics locking down the enemy’s movement and magic. His psychosomatic purification wasn’t particularly useful. At most, it could maintain a healthy environment for his allies. But in order to duplicate Robin’s magic, he’d needed to get both of his two magics as a set; it had been impossible to duplicate just one of them.

Rivage’s duplication magic had this restriction: If the person whose magic he was duplicating possessed multiple magics, he had to duplicate all of them together. Powerful kinds of magic often came with such restrictions. Probably only the legendary saints could use such magic without any limitations. This time, Rivage had wanted extremely rare magic that affected the mind, so he’d duplicate two kinds of magic from Robin.

But his magic is convenient on the battlefield. I may yet replace it with other magic in the future, but it’s really useful now.

Rivage was honestly confident that he was making better use of this magic than Robin ever had. During his time as the prince consort, Robin had been praised for his “sacred” magic, but his mana was lower than in the rumors. In fact, Rivage had heard that Robin hadn’t put much thought into using his magic, as he’d only managed to slow down people by using his mental recovery to briefly daze them. But Rivage could use mental recovery on a larger scale and prolong the dazed state. Being distracted on the battlefield was fatal. And thanks to Rivage’s mana reserves, he could use mental recovery and sealing on multiple people at once. With these two magics, he was invincible.

Polpystani soldiers retreated one after the other, so Myzahn seized this opportunity and stayed on the offensive. Rivage felt determined. But a short time later, the state of affairs started to change. His allies were gradually being pushed back.

What’s going on? Did something happen on the front lines? It feels like our forces are withdrawing. A cloud of dust rose beyond the crowd of soldiers. Small desert rats were running under their feet. Did a new magic user appear over there? Rivage moved forward quietly and smoothly atop his mountbeast. Amid the soldiers’ roars and the hot wind, he headed toward the place he’d sensed the abnormality.

Despite the perilous situation, small birds were flying overhead.

Of all times, the scouts I sent earlier haven’t returned. If Defi were here, he would have handled this with skill... But Rivage wasn’t lenient enough to keep someone after they’d committed a blunder. Even without Defi, Rivage could somehow handle this by himself. There was no need to regret losing a subordinate of such low caliber. To begin with, Defi’s loyalty and motivation had both been low.

As Rivage advanced, one of his scouts came scrambling back on his ribbon lizard.

“Your Highness, it’s an emergency!”

“What happened?”

“We were driving the Polpystanis back, but it seems that Desnimer reinforcements suddenly came to their aid.”

“I see, that’s why our allies are in such disarray. How pathetic. I’ll head out there once more...”

No matter who the enemy was, if Rivage used that magic, he should be able to quickly recover the situation. He was confident in their victory, so he left the scout behind and advanced. The nearby soldiers followed suit. Their morale was still high as they advanced after Rivage on their mountbeasts and horses. A short time later, a large, unfamiliar army appeared before Rivage.

Th-That’s the coat of arms of Desnim’s House of Florescruz. Which means those soldiers are from Sutrena?! Their territory was close to Polpystan, so they had likely been ordered to sortie. Does that mean that Nazelbart is also here? Nazelbart, the former prince consort candidate, was a dangerous foe, but if his magic was sealed, he would cease to be a threat. If I just hold Nazelbart back, the rest is just an unruly mob. They won’t stand a chance against us. Rivage was already in a triumphant mood, but an unbelievable scene entered his vision soon after.

“Wh-What’s wrong with those soldiers?!” A group of enemies before Rivage was doing the unthinkable: Even though the Myzahnis were landing their attacks, the enemy soldiers kept calmly advancing. Furthermore...

Our soldiers’ weapons are breaking?! For some reason, whenever a Myzahni soldier’s weapon made contact with the body of a soldier from Sutrena, its tip would break and go flying. The enemy soldiers were wearing some armor, but the tips of the swords and spears were metal. They would normally penetrate armor or pierce through its gaps. And yet they’re unharmed. The hardness of their armor and bodies was simply unthinkable. What’s going on?! Amid the rising cloud of dust, Rivage was overtaken by confusion.

No, it’s all right. With Robin’s magic, I can turn the tables at any moment. However, that was easier said than done. A large shadow suddenly fell upon Rivage, followed by a man’s voice.

“I’ve found him! Prince Rivage is right here! Based on my scouts’ report, there’s no doubt Prince Rivage himself is the one using that magic!”

Rivage was shocked. When he looked up, he saw a purple wyvern ridden by an unfamiliar man with long hair. A pink wyvern also approached. For some strange reason, the wyverns’ skin repelled any arrows fired at them from below.

Sutrena’s soldiers and mountbeasts can deflect and break metal... That’s insane! They’ve gone past being living creatures! Rivage was once again shocked as he witnessed another bizarre scene. This had to be some kind of magic at work. Though I’ve never seen any magic like this... However, he still believed he had the advantage.

As Rivage looked above him, he spotted a red-haired man riding the pink wyvern. That’s Nazelbart! Rivage kept his eyes glued on him. If he just defeated Nazelbart, Myzahn should emerge victorious. The last time we met, he plucked a ton of money and valuables from us as reparations. It’s time to get back at him.

Rivage took aim from below and fired the mental recovery he’d stolen from Robin at Nazelbart and his mount. The magic flew straight at the two of them and hit them dead-on. Robin’s effective range with his magic was unknown, but Rivage could wield this magic from a long distance.

“All right, that definitely hit them!” Now, Nazelbart would fall into a trance, so it was the perfect time to seal his magic. Next, Rivage targeted Nazelbart with his sealing magic, but the pink wyvern abruptly dodged and avoided his magic.

Huh?! How can it move? I hit both Nazelbart and the wyvern with my magic. Rivage’s mental recovery magic had definitely hit the wyvern too.

Nazelbart suddenly looked toward Rivage; it looked like he could move too.

Was my magic ineffective? Rivage used the same magic again, but the result was identical. Both the wyvern and Nazelbart looked perfectly fine. It was clearly strange.

“Why isn’t my mental recovery working?!”

The purple wyvern swooped down and used its tail to knock away the soldiers who’d come to support Rivage. It looked like this wyvern was also abnormal, as the soldiers were sent flying an unbelievably long distance. There was a giant man in the direction the Myzahni soldiers had been sent to. He didn’t worry about their weapons at all as he grabbed them and flung them away, roaring as he did so.

Gigantification, huh? That was another tough magic to deal with. He’s one of Nazelbart’s men. I remember catching a glimpse of him before. This man hadn’t joined the conference in Sutrena, but Rivage remembered him wandering around as the margrave and margravine’s guard.

Rivage tried using his magic on the giant, who stopped moving. My magic worked! It looks like it wasn’t my fault that it failed to affect Nazelbart and his wyvern. However, the giant also started moving right away; he’d paused for only a brief moment. Rivage’s magic should have had a longer duration than Robin’s, yet it wore off in an instant. Something was definitely off here.

Don’t tell me there’s magic that can negate all other magic affecting someone? But I’ve never heard of such a kind of magic. Although there are cases where opposing magics can weaken each other’s effects, fundamentally speaking, the only magic that can be completely undone by another is sealing magic, using release magic. Perhaps Desnim had someone with special magic besides Robin.

Rivage suddenly started getting flustered.

I absolutely want to duplicate both the magic that deflects metal weapons and the one that can negate other magic, but this isn’t the time for that. For now, I need to retreat and think up countermeasures... Rivage turned on his heel and fell back in a hurry. He had no intention of continuing an unfavorable fight.

However, Nazelbart was faster to act. The ground in front of Rivage bulged, and a large, mysterious plant—like a vine or a cactus—sprouted out of the ground.

“Ugh, so that’s his plant manipulation magic.” Rivage managed to barely dodge the plant and urged his ribbon lizard to hurry.

At the moment, Rivage only possessed Robin’s two magics and sealing. He didn’t have any more conventional offensive or defensive magic available. If he fought against Nazelbart in his current state, his chances of victory were slim.

What should I do? Should I duplicate someone’s magic again? If Rivage was going to duplicate something, it might as well be Nazelbart’s powerful magic. However, although Rivage’s magic was convenient, it also came with many restrictions. He had to touch someone in order to duplicate their magic, which would be difficult when his enemy was in midair. He should probably retreat.

Rivage distanced himself from Nazelbart, but this time, there were screams from the direction he was headed, behind the Myzahni soldiers.

What’s wrong? Is there another problem? Rivage wondered, but he soon noticed the cause. A large swarm of creepy, insectile manabeasts was advancing on his troops. They were covering the ground, turning it pitch-black.

“Aren’t those parala scarabs, insectile manabeasts native to Myzahn?! What are they doing in the desert?”

Parala scarabs were manabeasts about the size of an adult’s head that resembled dung beetles. They normally lived under the shade of rocks or in ruins. But unlike dung beetles, they were ferocious carnivores. They were also called “the desert’s piranha.” They had sharp stingers growing out of their tails. Moreover, parala scarabs didn’t roll dung, but special spheres filled with paralyzing—not quite poisonous—fog imbued with mana. The spheres’ surface was covered by a hard membrane made of saliva, which the scarabs pierced using the stingers on their tails. The paralyzing fog was designed to affect only the parala scarabs’ prey, not them. From there on...they were just like their moniker suggested.

What is a massive outbreak of such dangerous manabeasts doing in the middle of the desert? Is this also the result of a Desnimer’s magic?

Myzahni soldiers who used magic fought fiercely against the parala scarabs, with magic such as gluing, whirlwind, and stone throwing. But as they had their hands full dealing with the manabeasts, they couldn’t spare the time against the Polpystani and Desnimer armies. Then Nazelbart caught up with Rivage, scattering the Myzahni soldiers with his plants. Ordinary soldiers didn’t stand a chance against Nazelbart.

“Your Highness, I’m telling you for your own good: Surrender at once and withdraw from Polpystan.”

“You’re very tenacious.”

Rivage fired his magic at Nazelbart again.

I need to achieve results! For His Majesty!

Although Nazelbart stopped for a moment after getting hit by the magic, he quickly went back to normal. Rivage suddenly turned his attention to the person flying behind Nazelbart. It was a suspicious man who was covering his face with a bandana.

“Are you all right, Lord Nazelbart?” the man called out. “That’s unmistakably Robin’s magic! I’ve used release on it before so I can tell! I’ve always thought that Prince Rivage’s magic was sealing, but his actual magic is undoubtedly duplication!” It seemed that the man had figured out Rivage’s magic. He had been flying on his mountbeast close to Nazelbart for some time now, so he might have been able to examine the magic’s effect up close. And there was no doubt that he was the one nullifying Rivage’s magic.

Now that the mystery was solved, Rivage only needed to deal with this problematic individual.

“Aim for the man behind Nazelbart! Do that and we can win!” Rivage ordered his nearby subordinates. Next, he used his mental recovery on all enemy soldiers besides Nazelbart at once. How about this? Even if this suspicious man could nullify Rivage’s magic, it would likely be difficult to nullify it on such a large number of people.

Just as Rivage expected, the enemy soldiers fell into disarray. The man with the bandana couldn’t nullify the magic on many people at once, perhaps because he didn’t have all that much mana.

I see now. If I cast my magic at Nazelbart with all my strength, I might be able to overpower that man’s magic. If we both simultaneously used our magic at full power, I would come out on top... In that case, Nazelbart will also be affected by my mental recovery. In short, Rivage just needed to exhaust his enemy’s mana. With victory once again within sight, a faint smile curled on his lips.

Very well. I’m going all out! Rivage raised his hand toward the approaching Nazelbart. However, Rivage was unable to use his magic, because a large flock of birds suddenly descended right in front of him.

These are...satie condors, birdlike manabeasts that live in deserts? These were incredibly ferocious manabeasts that attacked anything that came close, be it man or manabeast. They were also carnivorous. But they shouldn’t be the kind of manabeast that moves in flocks... Between the parala scarabs earlier and now these, something’s wrong.

Rivage just barely avoided the satie condor flock. Right after the manabeasts passed him by, the purple wyvern appeared at point-blank range.

“Wha—”

Rivage’s subordinates quickly fought back but were easily brushed away by the man with the blue hair riding the wyvern.

He’s strong even though he isn’t using any magic?

Furthermore, as if acting in concert with the blue-haired man, the satie condor flock charged at Rivage. The birds were moving like they were trying to hinder Rivage and his men and help the Desnimers. Parala scarabs were also gathering at Rivage’s feet. Fortunately, since he was riding a hard-skinned ribbon lizard, he wasn’t injured at all and didn’t come into contact with the scarabs.

Many manabeasts with extremely unpleasant traits had gathered. Even if we try to exterminate them, all these manabeasts are difficult to aim at because of their small size.

“Are you a subordinate of Nazelbart, the Margrave of Sutrena?” Rivage asked the blue-haired man.

“You must be joking,” he replied with a disgusted expression. “I don’t have a specific job at the moment. I was living a quiet, reclusive life on a tropical island, until you got in the way.”

Rivage didn’t really understand why, but this man seemed to be bearing a heavy grudge against him. It was incomprehensible...

Ugh, dealing with Nazelbart, the man with the blue hair, and the one with the bandana all at the same time is really difficult. Rivage’s reliable subordinates were busy fighting with the parala scarabs and satie condors. At some point, snakelike and centipede-like manabeasts had also appeared. They’ve shown up in a very unnatural way. This must also be the result of someone’s magic.

Even those among Rivage’s men who could use powerful magic such as flamethrower, sand diving, envenom, or stone throwing couldn’t use them to much effect since Sutrena’s soldiers were simply invincible. What on earth was up with those invulnerable soldiers?! Not even poison worked on them! The people of Sutrena were not to be underestimated. They were definitely all under the effects of some kind of magic.

I want to learn the cause! But cutting my way through this place comes first.

Rivage ordered all of his men to retreat. They couldn’t fight properly like this. The other Desnimer forces, besides the ones from Sutrena, had firmly fortified the rear lines, so invading farther into Polpystani territory seemed unlikely now. With Desnim’s appearance, Rivage’s original plan had completely gone out the window. He’d sent spies to Desnim in advance to investigate the situation there, in order to quickly notice if they sortied and either obstruct the movement or prepare for it. However, there had been no sign of a massive army like this one approaching. No one had noticed them crossing the highway or moving en masse atop their mountbeasts.

Just where did they appear from? The mystery only deepened.

“Am I right to assume you are the one in charge of this assault?”

As Rivage was running away from the purple wyvern, Nazelbart circled in front of him on the pink wyvern.

“Nazelbart!”

“I have no interest in your conflict with Polpystan, but I can’t turn a blind eye to you trying to mess with our handmaiden. I’m ending this worthless fight, Your Highness.”

“Ugh...” Rivage prepared his mental recovery magic. This time he would surely send Nazelbart into a daze and seal his mana, then escape from here. “Eat this!” Rivage’s magic flew straight at Nazelbart and hit him directly. As expected, the man with the bandana nullified his magic from a short distance away, but Rivage’s output was stronger.

I can do this! But at that moment, the ribbon lizard Rivage was riding lost its balance. Plants were rapidly growing under its feet, blocking Rivage’s path like a thick, tough embankment. They blocked the space between Rivage and Nazelbart, interrupting his mental recovery magic. I was so close. The plants started multiplying to surround Rivage. He didn’t have any magic he could use against this.

I’ll be in trouble if this continues. Results, I need to achieve results, I... As Rivage grew anxious, parala scarabs gathered by his side. As if to deliver the coup de grâce, they all used the stingers on their tails to open holes in the spheres they were rolling. Paralyzing fog was released from the spheres, enveloping Rivage along with his mountbeast. This feat would be impossible for a single scarab, but their power was unimaginable in such a large swarm.

I can’t move. Even without him inhaling the mist, Rivage’s entire body became paralyzed just from contact with it.

“That will do,” Nazelbart said in a somewhat satisfied tone at the same time as Rivage lost consciousness.

***

After secretly using my magic on Prince Valen, I went around reinforcing the Polpystani mountbeasts. It would pain me to see them get hurt by being dragged into a petty human conflict. When I finished using my magic, many of them went to the battlefield along with their riders.

Things are calmer now than when they were under attack by Myzahn. But everyone was still busy. I worked in a corner to avoid getting in anyone’s way.

The Polpystani army was gathered on a small hill, so I could also see the state of the battle. It seemed that our side had gained the advantage ever since Desnim arrived as reinforcements.

Incidentally, on the surface, I was using my magic under the pretense of reinforcing the mountbeasts’ equipment, such as their reins. That way, it wouldn’t look unnatural for me to be using matter reinforcement magic.

After I more or less finished my work, I took a short break. As I looked up at the southwestern sky, I saw Geni and Charite happily whirling around.

They look uninjured. Thank goodness. It looked like Lord Nazel and Lord Davier were moving while working together. They were once enemies, but they might even be the strongest when they join forces. It was a bit reassuring.

King Bertrand was hard at work commanding his forces, standing in a safe place farther in the back than Lord Nazel.

As I was steadily watching everything, Prince Valen—who’d been lying down and undergoing treatment until a short time ago—walked up to me.

“Your Highness, are you all right walking around on your own? Your condition is...”

“Yes, I’m fine now. Lady Agnes, I heard that you’ve been reinforcing the mountbeasts’ equipment.”

“I have. I wanted to help in some way.”

“Thank you. Your magic is convenient at times like this. You also reinforced my shortsword before, and it’s surprising how it always stays sharp.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” As things were going, I thought Prince Valen might ask me to reinforce more weapons for him, but he ended the talk about weapons there. As I felt puzzled, he smiled, perhaps guessing what was on my mind.

“Nazelbart will likely scold me if I work you too hard. Besides, your magic isn’t exactly the kind you’d like to make public, is it?”

“Huh?”

“For some reason, the poison has completely vanished from my system.”

I froze in shock.

“That was thanks to the doctors’ antidote, wasn’t it?” I tried feigning ignorance, but it looked like I wasn’t convincing Prince Valen.

He smiled gently at me.

“I was unable to move, but I was still conscious. I kept my eyes moving and observed my surroundings so I’d be ready to take command at any time, no matter what happened. Then I saw you whispering ‘Get stronger.’ That was your magic, wasn’t it?”

“Wh-Whatever could you be talking about?”

“The doctors were also shocked at my sudden recovery. I felt an abrupt change in my health after you left. It looks like you aren’t limited to only reinforcing objects, Lady Agnes.”

“I don’t have detoxification magic.”

“There are several people with detoxification magic on this battlefield, but there’s no one among my subordinates or Desnim’s team of doctors who can detoxify powerful poison in an instant. That makes it all the more curious that the poison affecting me suddenly disappeared.”

I was a terrible liar, per Lord Nazel’s expert evaluation, so I held my tongue to avoid saying too much. However, Prince Valen continued.

“Moreover, not only did the poison disappear, I feel in great health too. It’s like my entire body has been reinforced. When I bumped into a rock earlier, it—”

“I-It’s thanks to the doctors’ skill!”

“Heh heh, then let’s just leave it at that. At any rate, I wanted to thank you. I have no intention of doing anything to you, so you can relax. Oh, looks like Nazelbart and the rest have returned.”

Following Prince Valen’s voice, I looked ahead and saw the two wyverns circling around in midair. I could see some kind of green mass at Geni’s feet. I couldn’t quite make out what it was because of the distance, but it was quite big.

“It looks like he’s carrying something...”

“What could it be? Did they capture some kind of manabeast?” Prince Valen wondered, clearly confused.

In the meantime, Geni’s and Charite’s shadows rapidly got bigger. It looked like the two of them spotted me, as they came flying right this way. Dunk was also flying behind them, with the disguised Defi on her back. Turning against his homeland must have been difficult, but he’d helped to protect Lord Nazel and his men. Defi himself had said that he was doing this to continue living comfortably in Sutrena and that he didn’t have any family in Myzahn, but I was still thankful to him for assisting us.

Defi’s true magic wasn’t public knowledge, but his absolute release had been a major help to everyone from Sutrena. Myzahn’s troublesome magical attacks had stopped thanks to him, but our allies had probably interpreted it as the enemy using too much magic and running out of mana. Everyone thought that Defi had accompanied Lord Nazel purely to release the seals on our affected allies. From what I’d been told, people with sealing magic besides Prince Rivage had appeared on battlefields, making them a major nuisance for soldiers who used magic. Because of such past cases, our allies hadn’t been suspicious when Defi, someone with release magic, had accompanied them.

While Prince Valen and I were observing the situation, Geni, Charite, and Dunk arrived above us and slowly landed on the ground in front of us. A soft breeze blew away the sand at their feet. Since they landed so gently, Geni’s cargo also seemed intact.

Lord Nazel quickly jumped down from Geni’s back.

“Agnes!”

“Lord Nazel! Thank goodness, you look unharmed.” I carefully observed him from head to toe.

“I’m fine, Agnes.”

“I’ve been worried this whole time.”

Lord Nazel didn’t have a single scratch on him—his hair was just a bit disheveled from the flight. The mountbeasts all looked fine too. Dunk had even decided to start eating a nearby cactus’s flower. I felt relieved from the bottom of my heart.

“It was a bit difficult, but I’ve brought Prince Valen a souvenir. I hope he’ll buy it for a high price.”

By “souvenir,” Lord Nazel was referring to the green mass. When I took a closer look, I realized that something was wrapped up in his magical vines. Lord Nazel had a bright smile even in this kind of place, although now it looked kind of malicious... It was the kind of expression he had when squeezing everything out of someone at work. He mainly showed this expression to King Bertrand.

“Um, Lord Nazel? What’s this souvenir?”

“You don’t need to see, Agnes. It’s dangerous, so hide over there with him.”

“Huh... Are the contents that dangerous? Is it perhaps really a manabeast like Prince Valen said?!”

“No, it isn’t a manabeast.”

In any case, it looked like Lord Nazel didn’t want me to stay here. I didn’t want to get in his way, so I withdrew along with Defi.

Oh, the shade under that rock looks like a good hiding spot. I moved behind a large rock and beckoned over Defi, who seemed like a bad fighter.

“This way. Let’s hide together.”

Defi nodded quietly, removed the bandana from his face, and quickly came over. I tugged at his clothes and hid him in the shade of the rock.

“Hold on, Lady Agnes. If we’re too close to each other, Lord Nazelbart will be terrifying later.”

“Don’t worry. Lord Nazel is bighearted, tender, and gentle...”

“The fundamental difference in our perception hurts...”

There was a cleft right in the middle of the rock we were hiding behind, so we could peep at Lord Nazel and the rest through it. Since it was a small opening, I doubted anyone could see us from the other side. I crouched down and Defi stood up, lining us up vertically, and the two of us peered through the gap to see what was going on. At that exact moment, Lord Davier came down from Charite and walked up to the mysterious “souvenir.” Lord Nazel undid his magical vines coiling around it, and a tall, slender man with glossy black hair came rolling out. Defi gave a short gasp when he saw him.

I feel like I’ve seen this man somewhere...

Even though the man had been released from his restraints, I couldn’t see any signs of him moving. Was he unconscious? We could hear the others’ voices from this distance, so I kept watching carefully.

“Who is he?” Prince Valen looked at the unmoving man in surprise.

“The younger brother of the King of Myzahn,” Lord Nazel answered.

My eyes opened wide in shock; I now realized why Defi had reacted earlier. He had always been by Prince Rivage’s side, so he’d recognized his former boss even from a distance.

“So you mean that this man is Rivage Myzahn. According to rumors, he’s a cruel, ruthless man. He isn’t moving a muscle. Is he all right?” Prince Valen looked at Prince Rivage warily. It seemed that while the two of them knew about each other, they had never met.

“He’s alive. Davier paralyzed him.”

Lord Davier’s magic couldn’t paralyze anyone, but since he could control small animals of all kinds, one of the creatures under his command had probably possessed that ability.

“Davier would be the former duke...no, I won’t dig too deeply into it. So that’s why he can’t move right now. I see, this is certainly a wonderful ‘souvenir.’ I’m indebted to you two. That’s yet another favor I owe you. With him here, an armistice should be possible,” Prince Valen said.

“I’m not so sure about that. Myzahn as a whole has a rigid way of thinking, and that applies to this fellow too,” Lord Davier said as he stared at Prince Rivage.

That’s true. Prince Rivage easily abandoned Defi. But in the end, coming to Sutrena had been a positive for Defi. If the Margrave of Sutrena had been a cruel man, Defi might have been killed back then. Defi himself said that it was better than being killed outright, though... That was the decision that Prince Rivage had once made. I personally found him an indifferent and scary person who talked about “getting rid of” people like they were objects.

“Defi, are you okay?” I whispered to Defi so that the others couldn’t hear us.

“Yes, I’m fine. I can’t get over it easily, but I’ve somewhat come to terms with it. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about how Prince Rivage will be treated. But I can’t do anything as I am now. It’s also my fault that he got captured, and I helped Sutrena knowing it would come to this.” It looked like Defi was blaming himself.

“Don’t worry, Defi. I doubt Prince Valen will impose an extreme punishment. Given what Prince Rivage has done, he probably won’t get off lightly, tho— Ah, I’m sorry! Why did I go and say that?!” As I was finishing my sentence, I realized I wasn’t comforting him at all.

“It’s exactly as you say, Lady Agnes. I’m fine. But perhaps we should have informed Polpystan better about Prince Rivage’s sealing magic. Also, I didn’t know that Myzahn would start its invasion so soon. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more useful.”

“You’ve done more than enough.”

“I foolishly believed that Prince Rivage’s magic was just sealing. I didn’t notice anything despite being close to him for so long. I should have known that given his position, he wouldn’t trust anyone other than his older brother the king. I could have considered the possibility he wasn’t being truthful with me.”

“Defi...” My heart ached for him when I watched him being so hard on himself.

“Because of my misunderstanding, it became difficult to arrive at the possibility of Prince Rivage possessing duplication magic. The mayhem in Polpystan is my fault, because I provided incomplete information...”

“However, you nullified all of Prince Rivage’s magic.”

“Yeah, but still.” Defi hesitated but continued speaking in a quivering voice. “If I had observed my surroundings more proactively from the beginning, maybe something would have been different. Back then, I was only following orders out of habit.” He regretted his past.

“Your inner struggle is easy to imagine. Even so, I still think that you were a great help this time. Thank you, truly,” I told Defi while looking up at him gently. “I’m really happy that Lord Nazel and everyone else made it back safely.”

“Lady Agnes...” Defi still looked depressed, but his eyes wavered a little. “Your words always help me out.” Defi looked to be on the verge of tears. I wanted to comfort him properly, but since we were hiding right now, I was limited in how I could move.

The two of us felt kind of embarrassed as we continued observing things in secret. On the other side of the rock, Prince Valen was about to speak with Prince Rivage, but Lord Nazel warned him.

“It’s dangerous to get closer to Prince Rivage than that. He was the one using the magic that threw the soldiers into disarray. When Robin escaped in Desnim, Myzahn was pulling the strings.”

“Yes, I heard the summary when I was in Desnim. Myzahni spies helped Robin escape.”

“Prince Rivage’s magic is duplication, and he most likely has Robin’s magic. Robin’s magic is mental recovery and psychosomatic purification, but depending on how it’s used, it can temporarily daze people. Magic that affects the mind is very rare, but also truly dangerous.”

“What? Then that disturbing magic...”

“Was Prince Rivage’s. He was using his magic to sow chaos into the battlefield.”

Prince Valen looked convinced.

“So that’s how the soldiers ended up like that,” he said.

“Prince Rivage’s magic is duplication, an extremely rare kind. According to old records, a high-level user can possess multiple kinds of magic at once. It’s unclear how many kinds of magic Prince Rivage has at the moment, so we mustn’t be careless.”

“After our soldiers temporarily blacked out, they all had their mana sealed. It’s possible Prince Rivage also has sealing magic.”

“Yes, that’s one of his magics.”

“In that case, we need to have a Polpystani mana sealer seal Prince Rivage’s mana. We can’t approach him carelessly.” Prince Valen ordered a nearby subordinate to call for a mana sealer. One was likely nearby. Apparently, in addition to providing an advantage in combat, mana sealers were often dispatched to battlefields to seal the mana of prisoners of war.

Some time later, a Polpystani mana sealer appeared and sealed Prince Rivage’s mana. Now he couldn’t use Master Robin’s magic, his sealing magic, and any other kind of magic he might have, so we could rest easy.

“Now then, we will keep Prince Rivage under our custody until the armistice negotiations. I don’t know what the outcome will be, but we will treat him with courtesy.”

Several of Prince Valen’s subordinates picked up the immobilized Prince Rivage and carried him away. After they left, Defi and I sneakily came out from behind the rock; we didn’t need to hide anymore.

“Please don’t blame yourself, Defi.”

“Lady Agnes...”

“Like I said earlier, everyone was safe thanks to you. Thanks to cutting short this pointless conflict, there were significantly fewer casualties for both enemies and allies. I thank you as the Margravine of Sutrena. You did an excellent job and contributed greatly during this incident.”

The soldiers summoned here hadn’t gathered because they wanted to fight; many had been conscripted against their will. Some of them were here because it was their job, but excluding the ones who had come for the money, even they should want to avoid conflict. So there was no reason for them to get injured and die.

“It would be best if wars fought for the convenience of those in power disappeared. If they want to fight, they should go to some deserted island by themselves and squabble without dragging everyone around them into it.”

To begin with, the battle between Myzahn and Polpystan was rooted in historical reasons. Neither country had any particular problems making a living at the moment. Polpystan had its struggles, like a food shortage, but thanks to Desnim’s help, the Polpystanis could continue living the same way. Myzahn also faced the hardships typical of being near the desert, but it wasn’t a completely inhospitable environment or anything. To be blunt, their circumstances were much better than the Sutrena of the past. And yet the two countries were still fighting over a long-standing grudge that had been born from a conflict over the desert region. Getting dragged into that kind of conflict was nothing but a nuisance for ordinary people living in the present. This wasn’t something royalty and nobility should be doing.

Defi still looked unsettled and worried, but he nodded at my words.

“I might have fallen in love with you if you weren’t married, Lady Agnes.”

“You’re exaggerating.” I vigorously slapped Defi on the back. “Okay, everything has been resolved, so let’s all go home after we watch the conclusion.”

“Yes, let’s do that, Lady Agnes.”

When I surveyed the battlefield from atop the hill, I saw that the Myzahni army was retreating, having lost Prince Rivage. Negotiations would likely take place soon after this.

***

Subsequently, amid the battle’s aftermath, Lord Nazel and I were led to a tent for married couples. Everyone else was also provided with their own places to rest. King Bertrand and Prince Valen would be staying here for a few days, in fact.

The Polpystani tent was quite spacious and there was still space left even with the two of us lying down. Torre, Defi, and the rest were also in nearby tents, while the mountbeasts were resting in their own designated area. Lord Davier was apparently staying together with King Bertrand.

Rugs were layered on the floor, with bedding stacked on them. It wasn’t hard or anything. Lord Nazel and I were receiving special treatment as a married couple. We’d provided a set of plant residences developed by Lord Nazel since the allied army had seemed short on tents. The residences were useful even in this kind of place!

“Did anything happen while I was out fighting, Agnes?”

“No, nothing really—” I suddenly realized that something had happened! “Um, Prince Valen...”

“Did he do something to you?!” Lord Nazel’s expression changed.

“No, he discovered what my magic is.”

“Huh?”

“You see, after you all left, Prince Valen collapsed from poison. It looked like it would take him time to recover, so I used my magic on him to save him. Ah, I believe King Bertrand was watching too.”

“Hmm... I understand your kindness well.”

“When Prince Valen discussed my magic, I made excuses to dodge the subject, but I’m a terrible liar.”

“That’s true.”

“Fortunately, he didn’t question me, but I think he probably realized that my magic isn’t ordinary matter reinforcement. I’m sorry.”

“So that happened. Prince Valen had been vaguely aware of something for a while now. It doesn’t seem like he plans to make a big deal out of this like Duke Masroono did, but I’ll give him a warning just in case.”

“Ugh, I’m so useless.”

“Don’t make that kind of face. Thanks to you, everyone made it out of this unharmed. Your magic protected everyone. And Prince Valen too.” Lord Nazel hugged me tight. “You even made an ally out of Defi, who can use absolute release. You really are my Goddess of Fortune.”

“You’re exaggerating!” I might be useless, but if I’d managed to avoid getting in Lord Nazel’s way and was of at least some help, I believed it was a good thing that I’d accompanied him this time.

While we were talking, the tent gradually got colder and colder.

“It seems that there’s an extreme shift in temperature, perhaps because we’re in the desert. It looks like it will get much colder as soon as the sun sets,” Lord Nazel said. The sky outside was currently transitioning from evening to night. “I could technically bring out a plant that can keep the room at an appropriate temperature...but there’s an issue with it.” He looked unusually troubled.

“What plant would that be?”

“I tried enlarging a plant called a skunk cabbage; it’s in the same family as taros.”

“Oh, I can tell what the problem is.” The name gave it away. Skunks were beasts that lived in Desnim. When they were cornered, they sprayed an extremely foul-smelling liquid from their tails. In other words, the problem with the skunk cabbage was the odor. “Let’s keep that for emergencies only.”

“Agreed. They’ve left us a few blankets, so we can use those and also...” Lord Nazel embraced me. “If we sleep side by side, it should be relatively warm.”

“Yes, it should.” I clung closely to Lord Nazel. It really is warm, and reassuring to boot... Sleeping side by side is a good idea.

Lord Nazel smiled as he stuck closer to me.

“That reminds me, they said that they would bring us dinner here,” he said.

“We can eat at our leisure then.”

“King Bertrand also brought a lot of ingredients, so we shouldn’t have any food shortage. His magic sure is convenient.”

“I appreciate it.” Logistics for an army were complicated, and in cases where supply lines couldn’t keep up, food had to be sourced locally, such as through hunting.

A short time later, our dinner was brought to us, just like Lord Nazel had said. Our meal had been cooked properly, with vegetables, fruit, bread, cheese...it was quite lavish. There was even wine.

“Wow, how luxurious.” This was a much more proper meal than the ones we’d had when we’d first moved to Sutrena.

“It seems unlikely we’ll get food poisoning this way,” Lord Nazel commented.

“Food poisoning?!”

“It sometimes happens in unhygienic environments...” Lord Nazel had gone on expeditions during his time as a prince consort candidate, so he might have seen that happen. But these ingredients had probably been brought over by King Bertrand, so they were safe.

“Let’s dig in!” I started eating with no hesitation.

“You’re so fearless, Agnes.” Lord Nazel smiled as he also ate dinner next to me.

“This stew is rich in spices and delicious. Since they brought us wine, maybe I should try some.”

“Let’s not, Agnes. If you really want to drink, you should only do it when we’re at the manor.”

“Okay...” I decided to obediently drink the water they’d brought us.

After our meal, we relaxed in the tent since we didn’t have anything in particular to do. Lord Nazel went out from time to time and chatted with everyone. When I said I’d also go out, he stopped me, saying it was dangerous for a woman to walk around in the dark. Since the tent had also gotten dark, I left the lamp on and lazed under the blankets. When Lord Nazel came back and found me like this, he also crawled into the blankets. I could feel his warmth right next to me. As usual, I felt both relieved and restless.

“This isn’t my first time sleeping in a tent with you, but when we’re together, I can feel at ease anywhere,” he said.

“Me too. I feel relieved when I’m with you,” I replied.

I could hear the buzzing of insects and the whinnies of mountbeasts from outside, along with the occasional voices of people who were still awake. When I reached out and turned the lamp off, I noticed the faint moonlight illuminating our surroundings. I didn’t feel cold thanks to the blankets and Lord Nazel.

“Good night, Agnes.”

“Good night to you too, Lord Nazel.”

I gently joined hands with him and closed my eyes. I was spending the night in an unfamiliar place, but before I knew it, I had fallen sound asleep like usual.

Chapter 6: Madam Bumpkin Returns Home

After being captured by Nazelbart on the battlefield, Rivage had his mana sealed and was transported to the royal capital of Polpystan over the course of several days. The capital was a city located right in the middle of the country. Rivage had been brought here from the desert through meadows, and the capital had abundant trees and a tropical climate.

I held His Majesty...my brother back. How could I have done such a thing?!

Rivage had acquired Robin’s magic and used it in combination with his own to throw the enemy into disarray. He’d prepared plenty of mountbeasts suitable for the desert, and even gathered talented magic users. He’d launched an invasion Polpystan only because he’d met all those conditions. He’d also considered the possibility of Desnim interfering, but he’d still believed he could succeed.

But Desnim—and especially Sutrena—had been abnormal. Desnimer reinforcements had suddenly appeared out of thin air. No weapons had worked against their soldiers. Rivage’s magic had been nullified. Hordes of strange manabeasts had rallied against him. It had just been a series of incomprehensible events. Who could have predicted all that? Not even the careful Rivage could have imagined all those things.

I wonder if I’ll be able to return to Myzahn. Myzahn was a strict meritocracy. Especially in the capital, there was no place for useless people, even if they were royalty. That was why Rivage had gone to such great lengths for his brother up to now. He was keenly aware of the danger he currently faced. If he were the one making the decision, he’d immediately cast away a subordinate who’d made such a grave error, just like he’d done with Defi, a man who had served him closely.

During the incident surrounding Robin’s escape, Rivage had caused losses to his country because of all the reparations they’d had to pay. That mistake had been forgiven because gaining Robin’s magic had created the possibility for Rivage to defeat Polpystan and turn things around. But if he lost that too...

What should I do? I need to achieve some kind of feat, anything at all. Otherwise Rivage would lose the place he called home.

As he was filled with anxiety and fear, Valen, the second prince of Polpystan, appeared before him. He had been in charge of the enemy army in the recent battle. Rivage was currently held captive in a building somewhere in the capital, and although he wasn’t physically restrained, he was confined to his room. His weapons had been taken away, so he couldn’t even resist.

Valen stepped into the room surrounded by guards. He was a lukewarm prince from a lukewarm country, driven by emotion. Just like Rivage, he would one day become the king’s brother, but Rivage could find nothing to relate to in this man.

“Hello, Prince Rivage. I haven’t seen you since the battlefield.”

Rivage remained silent.

“We’re planning on returning you to Myzahn. We will do everything in our power to ensure you have no discomfort in your time here.”

“I wish those words could remain true forever...”

Valen couldn’t fully comprehend—or even imagine—the severity of Rivage’s situation. That was why Rivage felt extremely irritated when he saw Valen. The Polpystani prince had definitely not experienced an environment where failure wasn’t permitted, faced the threat posed by younger siblings, or dealt with the existence of subjects who eagerly waited for the opportunity to overthrow the royal family.

Rivage focused on a nearby flower vase.

If I at least retaliate here...will the situation change? With zero hesitation, Rivage knocked the vase to the floor to shatter it, snatched up one of its broken pieces, and aimed for Valen’s neck. The guards frantically tried to stop Rivage, but he still reached Valen’s throat. However...

“Wha—” The shard in Rivage’s hand shattered, while Valen’s neck remained unharmed. Even as the guards rushed to subdue Rivage, all he could do was stare dumbfounded at the uninjured Valen.

“Yeah... This is convenient, so I negotiated to keep my body like this,” Valen said.

“Is that magic?!” Then Rivage remembered. Nazelbart and his soldiers had similarly been impervious to weapons.

“I can’t tell you the details.” Valen was evasive and left the chaotic room.

The next day, Polpystan received a reply regarding Rivage’s treatment from his older brother, the king. Unsurprisingly, he’d refused to take Rivage back. As the intermediary, Valen delivered the news to Rivage, who was greatly shaken even though he had kind of expected this. Rivage’s brother was one of the few relatives he was close to, and he’d believed that they’d always cooperate hand in hand, so this farewell was shockingly abrupt.

“I also have this for you.” Valen handed Rivage a separate letter his brother had sent. It stated that the invasion of Polpystan would be abandoned for now, and that one of Rivage’s younger brothers would be promoted to replace him.

No...

The King of Myzahn had other half brothers besides Rivage. Rivage was the oldest and had proven very useful, so he’d been allowed to serve directly under the king for a long time. But Rivage’s brother had plenty of potential replacements for him.

I don’t know which of my younger brothers has inherited my position, but I’m no longer necessary. Frustration, resignation, and a bit of anxiety overtook Rivage.

Will His Majesty be okay from now on? Whichever younger brother had succeeded Rivage definitely wouldn’t care about their older brother as much as Rivage did. His other siblings felt no affection for the king and acted out of pure self-interest—even more so than Rivage. Still, Rivage could do nothing after his brother had rejected him.

Valen looked at Rivage with sympathy, but this was none of his business. He doesn’t understand a thing.

Even after the Polpystanis left the room, Rivage remained agitated.

But several days later, some unexpected news arrived. When Valen came and told Rivage, the Myzahni prince reflexively lost his cool and started shouting.

“That isn’t possible! Civil war broke out in Myzahn?!”

“Well, I had the same thought and confirmed it over and over again, but it looks like your older brother and younger brother really are fighting, Prince Rivage. Apparently, the brother who succeeded you as the king’s right-hand man harbors ambitions for the throne. The king is being cornered.”

Rivage was astonished. His worries had become reality.

“If I was there, I would have prevented it.” Rivage could have acted like a bulwark, but his older brother had cast him away himself.

“This is a problem we can do nothing about. Polpystan was just invaded, and we can’t involve our precious citizens in another country’s civil war. We mustn’t carelessly poke our nose into Myzahn’s affairs.”

“Prince Valen, no one has asked you to mediate.”

“I see. That’s what your expression was telling me, so I just assumed.” Valen’s words left Rivage confused—just what kind of expression had he been making? “Well, since all that happened, a final resolution to your status has been put on hold. We’ll have you stay here for a while.”

“Haaah...” Polpystan was probably also having trouble deciding what to do with Rivage. If they carelessly had him executed, it would give Myzahn an excuse to invade. Although Polpystan had captured him as the leader of the recent conflict, the country seemed intent to emphasize that he was being treated humanely.

After that, Rivage continued being imprisoned in Polpystan. The eccentric Valen dropped by from time to time to discuss all sorts of topics. His friendliness must have been proof that he had been raised properly and with care. That would never happen in the royal palace of Myzahn, where backstabbings were an everyday occurrence.

“Polpystan seems to lack the kind of conflict among family you’d find in Myzahn.”

“Yes, we all get along well.”

“How enviable.” When Rivage realized what had casually come out of his mouth, he froze. I get it now; I was jealous of Prince Valen. He has no problems in his familial relationships, has people he can reliably trust, and can act free from worry.

But Rivage had no right to think that way. Just like his older brother, he’d abandoned countless allies in the past, merely because they hadn’t been able to act like he’d wanted them to. It had always been that way; that had been his normal environment. This time, Rivage’s older brother had abandoned him. And Rivage’s younger brother had forsaken their older brother the king and begun fighting against him. It was a never-ending vicious cycle that Rivage had ultimately been unable to stop.

“A coup d’état seems unlikely to happen in Polpystan,” Rivage said.

“That’s true. If someone tried to pull one for no reason, they would probably be taken down by their family and the citizens. However, even in our country, if the king was a tyrant, I believe there would be people willing to stage a coup. But looking back at history, someone has always acted before things got that serious, putting a stop to the misgovernment.”

Polpystan was a country with flourishing education. The Duchy of Masroono had large research institutions. Myzahn had similar institutions, but they kept pulling each other down. Even if someone achieved results, if they didn’t align with the wishes of the higher-ups, they were shut down.

Our two countries are polar opposites in every single aspect. They didn’t see eye to eye.

“Come to think of it, you were researching magic, right, Prince Rivage? Even I have heard rumors that you’re quite enthusiastic about your research.”

“I studied various kinds of magic to exploit for my own magic.”

“Would you feel like continuing your research in this room? We’ve also started putting effort into researching magic.”

“Why...would you save your enemy when they’re down on their luck? And since my mana is sealed, I have no intention of researching magic I can’t even use. It would only irritate me.”

“Yeah, I figured.” This prince was endlessly lukewarm.

Rivage might one day be handed back to Myzahn, but that day also might never come—the latter was far more likely. Yet he felt surprisingly at ease in this place, no longer constantly bound by stress like he’d been in Myzahn. This was true even though he was a captive limited to a single room.

***

After leaving the building where Rivage was being confined, Valen headed straight for the royal palace. As a matter of fact, Rivage was being held in a room in a tower located a stone’s throw from the palace. This way, he could be kept under strict surveillance.

As Valen was walking through a palace corridor, Duke Masroono, his uncle, also arrived. The duke usually resided in the Duchy of Masroono, but he was still staying in the palace to deal with the aftermath of the recent war. The duchy was in his wife’s capable hands, so there shouldn’t have been any problems.

“Hello, Your Highness. You look busy.”

“You too, Your Grace.”

“I will be returning to my territory soon. We have many problems, but I feel more relaxed in the duchy.”

“I also like the Duchy of Masroono, as well as my position as chairman.” Valen was normally the chairman of Masroono National School; that job suited him well. While he was away from the school, Duke Masroono would take over as temporary chairman. In his absence, the duchess was acting as his substitute.

“Yes, yes, please come back soon. Incidentally, did you go see Prince Rivage earlier?”

“Yes, I did. It’s great that the border conflict has settled down, but then Myzahn fell into a civil war. Both my father and brother are unsure what they should do with Prince Rivage.”

“The situation in Myzahn is an issue... Until things calm down over there, it would be better to keep him confined here. I wouldn’t want us to execute him and give Myzahn a pretext for making the conflict worse.”

“There are many things we need to do, so I don’t want to cause any unnecessary problems. Earlier, I tried asking for Prince Rivage’s collaboration in magical research, though he flatly refused.”

“I’d actually have been surprised if he’d agreed. You’re quite the curious one.”

“Wouldn’t it be reassuring to have someone talented as an ally?”

“I respect your charisma. This time looks like it will be difficult, but I wish you the best of luck.” With these parting words, Duke Masroono continued down the corridor and left.

“Charisma, huh? I still have a long way to go. There’s always a bigger fish.” Valen knew what true charisma was.

She... Lady Agnes was once again incredible. After all of the confusion had been cleared up, Valen had conducted various investigations and discovered the shocking truth. Agnes’s power had largely been responsible for leading Polpystan to victory in the border conflict.

First, there was Agnes’s own mysterious magic. Second, she had solicited the help of Davier Addamsgomes. He’d lost a power struggle and been exiled to Peppel Island, but had apparently temporarily joined forces with the king to lend his power. Thanks to his help, the Myzahni army had been thrown into great confusion. Furthermore, there was also the young Myzahni that Valen had met before, Defi... Apparently, he’d also been recruited by Agnes and now lived in her territory. He’d accompanied Nazelbart on the battlefield, and strangely enough, Robin’s magic and the sealing magic hadn’t caused any damage near him. The specifics were still under investigation, but there was a strong possibility that Defi had done something to help.

It was likely also Agnes’s doing that the Polpystani mountbeasts had been reinforced just like Valen had been. After the fight, Valen had cut a deal with Nazelbart: In exchange for Valen keeping quiet about Agnes’s magic, she wouldn’t undo the magic she’d placed on him.

Lady Agnes’s magic may truly be that of the saint’s, just like Duke Masroono said before. They might not be strictly identical, but the saint herself was a vague existence to begin with. Just like Robin’s magic—no, even more than his—Lady Agnes’s magic was undoubtedly very similar to the saint’s.

But I’ll keep quiet about it. Valen would never make an enemy out of Sutrena. Nothing good would come of it. That territory had countless people and mountbeasts whose bodies had been reinforced by Agnes’s magic, just like Valen had been. There were also Nazelbart and his powerful magic, the mysterious Defi, and the formidable Torre and Paul. Fortunately, we have a friendly relationship. Let’s keep getting along as we have until now. This would ultimately benefit Polpystan.

In any case, Lady Agnes was as soothing as ever. I’m so glad I met her. As a bridge of friendship between our two countries, I’d like to visit Sutrena again to hang out—ahem, to inspect it. Valen looked northward from the palace corridor, a faint smile on his lips.

***

I—Agnes—had returned to Sutrena from Polpystan with Lord Nazel and everyone who’d accompanied us. I really felt relaxed here. All of the estate’s staff and Solis were in high spirits and welcomed us home.

Incidentally, Lord Davier was currently staying with us. Sutrena was closer to Peppel Island than the capital was, so he’d return from here. He hadn’t been in the outside world in a long time, so I thought he might want to stay free for longer, but he looked like he really just wanted to return to Peppel Island. He seemed worried about Charite, though. Perhaps she’d also sensed that they’d be parting soon, because she clung to him.

As I looked at Charite, I suddenly noticed a change in her.

Huh? Isn’t Charite’s color an even deeper purple now?

Geni and Charite were mates. When wyverns fell in love, their color got darker, but Charite was now an even darker shade of purple than ever before. Something was strange.

“What’s wrong, Charite?”

She gave a cry and suddenly made a run for the mountbeast stable, followed by Geni. I hadn’t seen the two of them act like this before.

What should I do? Maybe visiting Polpystan stressed her out. As I fell into a panic, I muttered, “I’ll go take a look,” and followed Charite and Geni. Lord Davier and Lord Nazel came after me. I ran through the garden to the stable and found Charite curled up atop a straw bed. Geni was by her side, anxiously encouraging her.

“Charite! Are you all right?!”

We ran up to her, and then...she let out a cry and started shaking. There was a thud, and something fell onto the straw.

Huh? What...?

Geni started flapping his wings and crying loudly. He seemed kind of happy. Charite stirred and moved as she was buffeted by the wind, revealing an unfamiliar object underneath her. It was smooth, round, and a bright emerald green. I shouted when I laid eyes on it.

“Is that...an egg?! Charite, you were laying an egg!”

Charite gave a short cry, nodding in affirmation. Geni nestled close to her. Lord Davier also approached her, and she craned her neck to rub her face against his hand.

“Congratulations on your safe delivery, Charite. I can’t believe I was present to witness such a scene,” he said, earning a cry from her in response. “Thank you for showing me your egg.”

Charite happily flapped her wings. She stirred once more and moved to keep the egg hidden and warm.

“I will pray for a healthy wyvern to be born.” Lord Davier gently caressed Charite. She seemed satisfied that she’d shown him her egg.

After witnessing Charite’s delivery, Lord Davier returned to Peppel Island the next day. The two wyverns spent all their time and energy on the egg, so it was decided that Lord Davier would take a pegasus to the coast, then reach the island by ship. Lord Nazel and I got on Dunk and saw him off to the coast.

“Lord Davier, thank you for all your help this time. Thanks to you, Lord Nazel was also safe.”

“No, no, you also helped me a great deal back there, Lady Agnes.” He smiled with profound meaning. “Besides, I’m also glad I got to see Charite.”

“After her baby is born and can fly, I’ll come to Peppel Island with Charite to show you.”

“Agnes, you made that decision on your own again...” Lord Nazel looked a little troubled. “Davier, I would also like to thank you. Your magic was a great boon.”

“I worked exactly as promised, so I’d like my demands to be implemented promptly.”

“The medical facilities should be prepared quickly. With regard to the islanders’ employment, Sutrena will welcome them if King Bertrand gives his permission.” Increasing Sutrena’s population would actually benefit us greatly.

Lord Davier nodded and got on the ship, which slowly drifted away from the coast and started advancing toward Peppel Island.

After seeing Lord Davier off, Lord Nazel and I returned to the estate, where Kelly greeted us.

“Welcome home.”

“We’re back, Kelly. I feel like we can finally relax,” Lord Nazel said.

“Things must have been hard for you too, Kelly. Everything’s fine now,” I added. The whole kerfuffle relating to her marriage interview shouldn’t come up again.

“Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes. I truly appreciate everything you did in regards to my marriage interview. I was helpless on my own, so I’m very grateful for your assistance.”

“You’re the type to bottle up all your worries inside you. I need to keep a close eye on you,” I said. Kelly would likely never be able to ask for advice on her own accord. I’d really like for her to tell me everything, though. But considering her personality, that still looked difficult.

“If you’re approached about an unwanted marriage interview again, tell me right away, okay? I’ll go and obstruct it.”

“Yes, Lady Agnes. Thank you very much.” Kelly looked a bit awkward and had a blank look that...was kind of like a smile? Yes, it was incredibly hard to tell, but she was smiling.

“Marriage interview?!” came a shout from nearby. I turned to look and saw Paul rounding the corner, coming straight toward us.

“Oh, Paul. You were here?” I asked.

“I’ve come to deliver documents from the fortress to Lord Nazelbart. More importantly, what was that about Miss Kelly’s marriage interview?” Paul leaned forward impatiently.

I felt a bit sorry at seeing my brother so desperate, so I quickly explained.

“Don’t worry. There was a proposal, but we put a stop to it.” As soon as I said that, Paul was visibly relieved. “Thank you for bringing the documents, Paul. You may rest in the manor if you’d like.”

Kelly moved to guide Paul, who looked delighted.

I’m happy for you, Paul. It was honestly uncertain whether their relationship would progress. I continued secretly rooting for my brother.

Next, we came across Defi, who was walking down the hallway looking gloomy. I exchanged a glance with Lord Nazel before talking to Defi.

“Oh dear, what’s wrong?”

“It seems like a civil war is taking place in Myzahn. We received the report while you two were away from the estate...”

“A civil war? But Myzahn only just attacked Polpystan.”

“In Prince Rivage’s absence, a fight broke out between the king and another of his younger brothers. It’s a very irritating sibling quarrel that has involved the whole country.”

“Oh my, to think even bystanders got dragged into it. That’s not a proper way for adults to act.” What a troubled country. “All of these terrible events one after the other must be hard on you, Defi. Please take some time to rest. You played a very active role in Polpystan, so you must still be tired.”

“No, I’m fine. My stamina has recovered and I’ve put a lot of my past behind me, though I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. It’s all thanks to you, Lady Agnes.”

“Really? I’m happy to hear that.”

“I’ve been your guest up to now, but...I’m seriously thinking about working here as a butler. That way, I could openly be with you wherever.” Defi smiled widely and nimbly turned around. “With that taken care of, I’m off to help the maids! I’m glad I was able to assist you all in Polpystan!” he said before running off.

We stood still and watched Defi leave.

“I was worried, but I’m glad Defi is doing well.”

“Me too, but as your husband, what he said was a bit concerning.”

“Hmm? Should we also head to our room?” I quickly held Lord Nazel’s hand, but he looked confused.

“Agnes, isn’t your hand hot? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, I’m fine. I do feel kind of sluggish, but I thought it was only because I’m tired...”

Lord Nazel immediately noticed the change in my temperature and became extremely worried. But this time, my symptoms really were mild.

“O-Oh no! Someone call a doctor for Agnes!”

“Whoa! Lord Nazel, please calm down!”

“I can’t! Let’s go to our room. You need to rest right now.”

“I’m not seriously ill.”

“We’ll also have a doctor take a look at you just in case.”

I hurriedly tried to let go of Lord Nazel’s hand, but he gripped me tight and wouldn’t let go.

He isn’t holding back!

And so he slowly carried me to my room. In the end...it turned out that Lord Nazel had been right. Some time later, the elderly doctor who’d come to examine me in my room smiled at me as I lay on the bed.

“Congratulations on your pregnancy, Lady Agnes.”

Huh?! I’m pregnant?! Unexpectedly, my second pregnancy came to light, even though Solis was still only one year old.

“I’ll have to excuse myself now. Please take care not to push yourself too hard, like you did on your recent trip to Polpystan,” the doctor admonished me before leaving.

As I got up, Lord Nazel’s eyes met mine as he was crouching right next to the bed.

“Thank you, Agnes.”

“I didn’t imagine it could happen this soon. I was honestly shocked.”

“I’m overjoyed that we’ll be having our second child.”

“M-Me too...” I replied, though my surprise was currently greater.

“You always bring me joy and good fortune. You also helped me several times during the campaign to Polpystan.”

“I only insisted on tagging along...”

Everything I did was glorified in Lord Nazel’s eyes. I’d actually just forced my way into the group and helped out with various tasks, like reinforcing the mountbeasts and overall providing a bit of assistance here and there. Lord Nazel was unmistakably the one who’d captured Prince Rivage and put an end to that pointless conflict.

“Without you, the soldiers from Sutrena would have gotten injured, and Prince Valen might not have made it out alive. With Robin’s magic duplicated, Prince Rivage would have likely had his way with us too.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“You might not be aware of it yourself, but you accomplished incredible things, Agnes. Though when it comes to your magic...it seems that both Prince Valen and Davier realized the truth. They’re awfully sharp, after all.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I should be apologizing that I couldn’t keep it secret for you. But it looks like the two of them are staying quiet for now. Besides, if something happens, I swear I’ll protect you. I’ll exterminate any scoundrels who dare lay hands on you.”

“Huh?!” The way he’d said that was ominous, but I believed that he was just trying to reassure me. His words were powerful and made me think that everything would really be all right.

“Now that we’re having our second child, I need to work even harder. There are a lot of issues at hand, like the big hoppers.”

“Um, you don’t need to work harder than you are now, Lord Nazel. Otherwise you’ll end up collapsing. And if something happened to you, I’d have to push myself too hard.”

“I...won’t work too hard then.” Lord Nazel was quick to change his attitude. I also loved that about him.

I reached out both hands and hugged my dear husband with all my strength.

Side Story 1: The Former Duke’s Return

Davier had suddenly disappeared, then just as suddenly returned by ship. Mia heard the news from the islanders right after she’d finished lunch. She rushed out of her house in a hurry.

I wonder if Davier is okay. I was worried when he suddenly vanished. While Mia and her mother had been taking a nap, Davier had left the island on a wyvern. Apparently, someone had come for him on the king’s orders. He’d apparently left Peppel Island and headed to Desnim, but no one knew the details, so Mia had been constantly concerned about him. What if that atrocious brother of mine gave him a new punishment and hurt him? Curse you, Bertrand! You’ll pay for this!

Mia wasn’t a good runner, so she was out of breath when she reached the beach. However, Davier nonchalantly disembarked from the anchored ship. He didn’t look hurt in any way—in fact, he had new clothes and overall looked neat and tidy. Mia looked at him in astonishment.

N-No fair! I also want new clothes! And to think she’d been so worried about him! How can he be so casual about this? Mia demanded an explanation.

“Davier! What’s the meaning of this?! You left without telling me a thing...” Mia shouted as she ran across the sandy beach. And yet, Davier remained calm.

“I have just returned, Lady Mia. You look well.”

“Where were you and what were you doing until now? I was shocked when you suddenly went missing!”

“I see you were worried about me. Oh, here’s a souvenir.”

“My, what beautiful silverwork— No, forget that! I was wondering what that blackhearted king might have done to you after taking you away...” Mia was unable to contain herself.

“I was negotiating to improve the island’s sanitation and have medical facilities installed. I also secured outside employment for the children born on the island.”

“Is that all?”

“Besides that, I gathered a bit of information and dropped by Polpystan.”

“Just what have you been doing...?”

Davier dodged the subject, using vague phrases like, “It’s fine.”

“I’ve brought some sweets you can only find over there, and plenty of tools too. I got enough for the rest of the islanders. Bertrand summoned me and worked me hard. Even if he’s the king, I had to receive my due compensation.”

“I’m not a kid anymore. You can’t entice me with sweets,” Mia said, feeling relieved. I’m glad Davier didn’t just get taken advantage of. In fact, she wished he’d given Bertrand and Leonardo even more trouble.

“So you don’t need the sweets, Lady Mia?”

“I do! All of those sweets are mine!”

Davier had always been quick to spoil Mia and try to butter her up, and she was very weak against him.

The goods Davier had brought back were unloaded from the ship one after the other. This afternoon on Peppel Island was a little more elegant than usual.

Side Story 2: Solis’s Great Adventure?

Just like usual, Solis had run away from his wet nurse Holly. He’d taken advantage of the opening created when she’d gone to get him a fresh diaper and crawled out through a gap in the door. An inexperienced maid was on lookout duty today, so he’d escaped easily. He crawled through the manor, wondering where to go. Fortunately, no one had noticed his escape yet. The key was how far away he could get before Holly returned.

“Goo! Gah!”

Feeling the cold marble underneath him, Solis psyched himself up and moved his arms and legs. His destination was the garden. Toddling down the stairs was a tough challenge for a baby. It seemed that Holly had returned to his room with the diaper, because he could hear her calling for him. His absence had been discovered, but he’d already made it to the bottom of the stairs. Even if they started searching for him, he should be able to make a run for it without anyone finding him for some time. Holly and Kelly were the two people he had to look out for—they were pros at capturing Solis. If Kelly in particular found him, it would all be over.

Solis moved away from the stairs for now and looked for an exit to the garden.

“Uuuh...”

Solis had successfully escaped in the past, but he’d since forgotten the path he’d taken and was now blindly moving forward. At some point, the floor changed from marble to stone.

“Bwah?”

Solis slapped the stone floor; it was rough and felt unpleasant to the touch. Moreover, there were vegetable scraps scattered around. He found it odd, when he heard his mother Agnes’s voice nearby.

“Hmm, it looks like we’re almost finished with the dishes made from that large quantity of tuber vines.”

“Yes, we should finally be able to use up all of the vines. It’s been nothing but vines dishes day after day, so I’ve gotten tired of them. My repertoire was getting pretty limited...”

“That’s true. I’ve also had my fill of the vine dishes. Oh, I’ll help you peel the tuber skin.”

Solis listened to the adults as he moved forward, until he found a small open door. He quickly toddled down the steps and made it outside. His wish had come true.

“Dah!”

There was soil outside. Solis loved soil—it moved exactly as he wanted it to. He moved through the garden by using his magic the same way as before. The soil surged like a wave, carrying Solis to the field he wanted to reach.

“Wah! Gah!”

This was a fun place with many plants, and the soil was soft and pleasant.

“Wah! Wah!”

Solis was exhilarated. While he was at it, he used his magic to dig up the soil and change its properties. He was still having his fun when he heard someone calling him from the manor.

“Lord Solis! There you are!”

“Ah! He damaged the field again!”

It was his wet nurse Holly and his mother Agnes. Solis used his magic to try and get away, but he was suddenly lifted off the ground.

“Capture complete,” said Kelly, the head handmaiden, calmly.

“Abuh! Gah!”

Solis had been captured again. Thus, he was handed over to Holly and ended up having his diaper changed. Having his diaper changed and being given baths were his number one and two most hated things in the world.

Meanwhile, Agnes was using her magic to make the tubers grow in order to check for damage to the field. The spot that Solis had affected with his magic was now covered in overgrown vines. The field had been afflicted with excessive vine growth once more. Unbeknownst to Solis, his mother Agnes and head chef Mather started racking their brains trying to come up with new tuber vine dishes.