Chapter 41
News of Hadem's downfall spread across the entire continent in an instant.
Hadem was trash as a lord, but no one could disregard his strength as a warrior.
He was one of the strongest men in the Empire, having even won the Sacred Martial Festival held on the Emperor's birthday, and his knights were considered strong enough to rival the Golden Knights in terms of frontal charge power alone.
The downfall of such a powerful man, who had been toyed with one-sidedly without even having the chance to fight back properly, was more than enough to attract the attention of countless lords across the continent.
Many factions had been watching House Kron's growth.
But they had viewed it as nothing more than a recently risen house—a lucky newcomer that had become a grand lord.
The extent of Kron's power had remained unknown, and they had judged that it was not enough to influence the outcome of the Game of Thrones.
Yet, as if to mock that judgment, House Kron displayed its strength.
Through schemes that toyed with Hadem, the martial power to subdue him, and the political skill to prevent other factions from getting involved by acting under the Imperial Prince's orders, Calix displayed overwhelming ability that was difficult to attribute to a young lord in his twenties.
Naturally, the news was reported to her as well.
In the capital, Novaresia, at the Imperial Princess's Palace, the Second Imperial Princess, ‘Selenia Lily Novarens,’ was reading a report on Hadem's downfall in bed.
“To bring down Hadem…Calix, you're quite something.”
The most entertaining news to her these days was news about Calix.
Unlike the predictable, greed-filled reports about other lords, the news about him always surpassed her imagination.
It was almost like something out of a fairy tale she had seen as a child.
However, this news was somewhat disappointing.
That was because he had chosen to attack Hadem under the Imperial Prince's orders.
“If Lord Calix attacked Hadem under my brother's orders…does that mean we should consider him to be on my brother's side?”
Selenia spoke while reading the report in bed with a sullen expression.
Her right-hand woman, ‘Lumiell,’ the head maid, adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses slightly and spoke.
“It does not seem that way. Princess Selenia, Lord Calix has continued to maintain a close relationship with Lord Jeras, and he sent us a letter through Rana asking us to understand that he had no choice.”
Calix had conveyed through Rana that he had no choice but to act this way.
If he had truly joined the Imperial Prince's faction, there would have been no need for him to use such a difficult method.
But Selenia did not like Calix's actions.
“His political skill is impressive, but…he's basically testing the waters!”
“To put it bluntly…yes, Princess Selenia.”
Calix's actions could be seen as evidence of tremendous political skill, but they also meant that he was testing the waters.
People said that refusing to choose a side until the very last moment was a way to increase one's value, but Selenia found it extremely irritating.
She had even sent her cherished Rana to him, yet he was still testing the waters this thoroughly. She could hardly believe it.
“Calix still hasn't touched Rana?”
“Yes. According to Rana, he has not touched her since the kiss they shared as the result of a bet.”
That was what Selenia found most unbelievable.
Calix still had not touched Rana.
It was remarkable.
Because, as far as she could remember, Calix was the first man who had not touched the gift she had sent him.
“Sigh…Lumiell, has there ever been a lord who did not touch the gift we sent him?”
“Not that I remember…Princess Selenia.”
Some lords refused the gifts she sent because of her position in the Imperial Prince's faction, but there had never been a lord who accepted one and then did not touch it.
Yet Calix had accepted her gift without touching Rana.
It was not as if he treated Rana poorly, either. He treated her extremely well.
Judging by the emotions conveyed in her letters, Rana could practically already be considered one of Calix's people.
“What is this? Could Lord Calix be impotent?”
Her first thought was that he was sexually incapable.
If Calix did not possess sexual ability and that was why he had not touched Rana, it would make sense.
“According to Rana, he showed signs of arousal in the morning and expressed interest in her. Judging by that, he appears to be heterosexual.”
“Then why is he putting up such a wall? He's so guarded that the story can't move forward!”
If he touched Rana, Selenia could use that as the starting point to coax him over to her side.
Selenia had properly learned from her mother how to wield a woman's weapons.
Yet the target had stopped right in front of the trap and was merely watching, making her feel as though she would go mad.
At her words, Lumiell thought carefully before speaking.
“This is only my guess, but Lord Calix seems to have the disposition of a ‘devoted husband.’”
“A devoted husband?”
At the unfamiliar word, which she was hearing for the first time in her life, Selenia's eyes widened.
Lumiell calmly explained.
“Yes. I have heard that men like that occasionally exist. They are men who remain faithfully devoted to the woman they marry, refusing to take concubines and focusing only on the woman they love.”
“Is that like Jeras?”
Selenia thought of Jeras Sila.
He was the lord who had been happiest about the Imperial Princess's gift.
He had been so happy that, despite opposition from the elders of his family, he had taken Ain, whom Selenia had sent, as his primary wife.
Although it had begun as an arranged marriage, it had ultimately turned into true love, so it was difficult to say whether the circumstances were the same, but Lumiell nodded for the time being.
“The circumstances are somewhat different, but I think they are similar.”
Lumiell's words seemed to help Selenia organize her thoughts.
In other words, Calix valued his honor tremendously and did not want to tarnish it by touching a maid before marriage.
Putting it that way, she felt she understood both Calix's actions so far and why he had not touched Rana.
If that was the case, how could she win over a lord who valued his honor so highly?
As Selenia pondered that question, an idea occurred to her.
“Hmm…then what if we arrange a match for him?”
“You mean matchmaking?”
If a man only loved the woman he married, then all they had to do was get him married.
As it happened, she had heard that Calix Kron was single.
Then the solution was simple.
“Right. We'll arrange a betrothal between Calix and the daughter of a lord from our faction. I heard Calix is unmarried, so wouldn't that make him our ally all at once?”
“Certainly…”
Lumiell could not hide her surprise at Selenia's words.
The princess occasionally came up with solutions like this that Lumiell had never even considered.
If the princess arranged a match for him, Calix would find it difficult to refuse, just as he had been unable to refuse Rana.
Of course, he had free will, so they would need to find him a partner he actually wanted, but the Imperial Princess's Palace received information about every beauty in the Empire.
They would surely be able to find a partner who appealed to Calix.
“With that approach, it certainly seems possible to bring Lord Calix to our side.”
“I knew it! Please proceed, Lumiell. And keep in mind that I should handle this personally.”
“You will handle it personally, Your Highness!?”
Lumiell was startled to hear that the princess would take a direct role.
Although Selenia was proactive about recruiting talented people, she rarely involved herself personally.
If she did, most lords would find it difficult to refuse her requests because of her position as an imperial princess, but if she failed, her reputation could be damaged at the same time.
“Calix seems worth that much…so prepare carefully!”
“As you command, Your Highness, Princess Selenia.”
Lumiell resolved to make this succeed by any means necessary.
She vowed to somehow arrange Lord Calix's marriage and ease the burden weighing on Princess Selenia's heart.
* * *
Shiver-!
I had just felt a chill run down my spine.
Was it killing intent? No—it was a hostile presence aimed at me, but it was different from killing intent.
When I touched the back of my neck, where I had felt the chill, Noah, who had been working with me in the office, spoke.
“My lord, are you all right?”
“Ah…I’m fine, Noah. It seems a slight breeze blew through.”
At my words, Rana raised a question mark over her head and began checking the windows and doors.
After checking every door, Rana said to me,
“That is strange. All the doors are locked.”
At Rana's words, Azel stared intently at my face from beside me.
Azel really was every bit as beautiful as Rana or Noah.
After examining my eyes, Azel spoke.
“You seem very tired, my lord.”
“Do I? Well, you may be right.”
I had been busy dealing with everything before and after the battle with Hadem.
It was only natural that fatigue I was unaware of had accumulated.
I decided to finish my work early for the first time in a while.
“How about we go to 『The Red Tavern』 tonight? What do you all think?”
Now that Sharen had fully settled in Kron, she had taken up all sorts of activities.
One of them was brewing alcohol.
Sharen said that she had traveled through various regions and learned brewing techniques.
However, she had never settled down anywhere until now, so she had had no use for those skills. Here in Kron, she made alcohol for the first time and asked us to taste it.
The alcohol Sharen made was extremely delicious, so I used my personal funds to establish a tavern for my people and me.
That was Sharen's tavern, 『The Red Tavern』.
Noah, Rana, and Azel answered happily.
“Sounds good!”
“I am always ready.”
“Wherever my lord goes, I will go!!”
I asked Hart as well.
“What about you, Hart?”
“I am getting on in years and tired, so I will turn in early.”
Hart said this while looking fondly at me and the girls.
He looked just like a grandfather gazing at his grandchildren.
Hart quietly added to me,
“Have a good time with the others. You do not have to come back to the castle tonight.”
“H…Hart!”
With those words, Hart left work.
I headed to Sharen's tavern with everyone.
Night was falling, and I could see lanterns being lit here and there.
Compared to when I had first become Calix, Kron had grown extremely prosperous.
Yet I could still feel a warmth that could only be found here, and I liked it.
Sharen's tavern was not far from the castle, and many people were already drinking when we arrived.
“My lord!”
“Aila, is Sharen here?”
When we arrived at the tavern, Aila welcomed us.
Aila was the mother in the mother-and-daughter pair Sharen had rescued, and the two of them had settled in our domain.
She was essentially in charge of running 『The Red Tavern』.
“Lady Sharen went to help at the medical center and has not returned yet. She should be back very soon.”
“Mom! I’ll go get Lady Sharen!!”
Aila's daughter, Ryla, ran outside to find Sharen like a bolt of lightning.
Ryla's movements seemed to grow quicker by the day.
Maybe it was because she was young.
We took our seats on the second-floor terrace, which had effectively become our private area.
From there, we could look down and see everyone drinking and making merry, and the sight was pleasant simply to behold.
“To our lord!”
“To him!!”
Men who appeared to be workers raised their glasses to me and shouted.
I did not dislike it, although it was a little embarrassing…
Just as the drinking party was being prepared, a sound came from the second-floor window.
Knock- Knock-
When Rana opened the window, Sharen was there, having flown over with flight magic.
“Lady Sharen, you're here.”
“It has been a while, everyone!”
Sharen entered the second-floor terrace through the window.
Right on cue, wine, bacon, and other snacks were brought up, completing the drinking party.
“You must have been in quite a hurry to fly here using flight magic.”
“Of course! How long has it been since we had a drinking party like this? I couldn't miss it.”
I learned after coming here that Sharen was a heavy drinker.
She loved alcohol and tried to drink whenever she had the chance.
Since I liked alcohol as well, we naturally became drinking buddies.
Cheers-!
We clinked our glasses lightly, and the drinking began.
After a few drinks and some conversation, everyone was soon completely plastered.
I learned after coming here that they all had the same drunken habit.
They would cling to me.
“My lord…please do not go anywhere.”
“I am not going anywhere, so do not worry.”
Noah had the lowest tolerance for alcohol, and whenever she got drunk, she crawled into my arms and dozed off halfway.
Rana clung to me from behind.
“You may go wherever you wish, but please take me with you.”
As Azel was an escort knight, she did not drink very much.
However, whenever she came to the tavern, she followed me more openly.
“I must follow my lord wherever he goes. That is my duty.”
Sharen and I, the only ones who had not gotten drunk by the end, sipped our drinks.
Sharen looked at us and smiled happily.
“My lord, you're popular. Hehe.”
“Not really…it is just that everyone's drunken habits are unusual.”
All of them were women far too good for me.
Honestly, I thought I had already gained everything I wanted in this world.
I had already gained something far greater than my former self could ever have obtained.
Wanting anything more would be pure greed.
I wanted to live peacefully with them here and die here as well.
I wanted to get married, too.
The world was too chaotic for that right now, but once everything was resolved, if I married, I wanted it to be one of them.
Dreaming of such a happy ending, I drank with everyone—or, more precisely, with Sharen, who remained until the very end.
A few days later, while I was still thinking about it, Lord Jeras of the Imperial Princess's faction sent me an invitation.
Something else was about to happen.