The lord’s manor in Marcel, which we visited, was more simple than expected.
Even a baron of a small territory usually builds a grand residence, but this manor’s exterior looked so plain it was hard to believe a noble lived there.
“This house is quite ordinary. I doubt someone living in a place like this would be involved in anything strange.”
“Well, I somewhat agree with you, Saintess, but we shouldn’t judge solely by appearances.”
There were plenty of people in the world who were different on the inside than they appear.
Someone who seemed kind and warm on the outside could be indulging in all sorts of crimes and filthy, depraved desires behind the scenes. Knowing that, I couldn’t afford to lower my guard so easily.
“This way, please.”
When we arrived at the manor, the house guards who had apparently already been informed of the situation received us and led us to the main entrance.
Once there, a guard politely opened the door for us, and waiting at the entrance—
“Welcome, Your Highness the Princess, Lady Duke’s Daughter. Welcome to the Marcel Territory.”
—was a beautiful woman standing with a middle-aged man and a line of servants neatly assembled at the door to greet us.
Her beauty, as if radiating a divine light, made the women in our group instinctively shrink back and take a few steps in retreat. Once they regained their composure, they seemed embarrassed by the fact that they had been intimidated by her looks and acted foolishly. Their faces flushed slightly with a mix of shame and pride.
The woman slowly descended the steps while supporting the man beside her.
Though he appeared middle-aged, his features were relatively youthful; however, his skin was dark and wrinkled, suggesting that he was in poor health; perhaps he was afflicted by some illness.
Only after trembling down the stairs on shaking legs did he manage to reach us with some measure of ease.
It took a bit of time, but no one in our group was so inconsiderate as to complain at a sick man’s pace, so we quietly waited for the two of them to arrive.
“I’m terribly sorry… My husband’s not well… We’ve shown an unseemly sight before such distinguished guests.”
“Oh, not at all! If he’s unwell, I can check his condition right away!”
The saintess hurried to the man’s side and poured divine power into him. Her divine power was as pure as ever, so everyone expected it would surely help the man. But despite her efforts, his condition remained unchanged.
“H-Huh?! That can’t be right…!”
Surprised that her power had no effect, the saintess tried once more, but there was still no improvement in his condition.
“Thank you, Saintess… But this isn’t just any illness… I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless.”
“Is it… a curse, perhaps?”
“Yes… I don’t know the details, but I remember the priests saying it seemed like some kind of ancient curse…”
Hearing the word “curse”, the club members who had come with me looked at the man with pity.
But my eyes weren’t on the man who looked as if he might breathe his last at any moment.
…This is strange.
Even to my eyes, her face was stunningly beautiful.
Her features were a bit sharp, but that only added to her allure, enough to melt the hearts of men everywhere.
Biologically speaking, I was a man too, so I naturally felt my heart begin to race, the blood in my veins surging faster. I could feel it all happening in real time.
“…She’s too pretty?”
Maybe it could be misunderstood, but in my mind, I had uttered those words in a questioning tone.
I wasn’t impotent, and I did have interest in women.
I was a heterosexual guy in the prime of my youth, curious about sex and marriage just like any other.
But the way my body was reacting in front of this woman….it was completely different from my consciousness. My body was reacting on its own.
Thump thump–!
Thud–!
My heartbeat quickened, and my cheeks flushed.
I hadn’t done any hard exercise, nor was I meeting some dream girl I’d always fantasized about, but without any warning, my body began to get excited all on its own.
Hiss, hoo—
I quickly summoned my aura and carefully regulated every part of my body to suppress the involuntary reaction. Only then did the inexplicable pounding of my heart begin to settle.
That woman… is she really my type? No way.
She was beautiful, yes. But that was all.
I could clearly feel my rational mind coldly concluding that she was just an unrelated stranger, which only deepened my confusion about this bizarre phenomenon.
Whirr–!
Whirr–!
Whip!
The problem might’ve been that the women suddenly turned their heads toward me. As if they’d heard my barely murmured words. It was a bit frightening, like something out of a horror game.
More than my body moving on its own, it was the women staring silently at me with those empty eyes that made my heart race.
In other words, you could call it a survival instinct.
“Oh my~ You must think I’m pretty, don’t you~? How delightful.”
She must’ve heard what I said too, as she laughed softly while covering her mouth.
A compliment about one’s appearance is always pleasant to a woman, and her smile bloomed like a flower bud. But the cold gaze I felt, cold enough to freeze and shatter that flower in an instant, made me want to answer with a forced blank expression.
“Hello~ Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Lilia D Marcel, the acting representative of this territory. This is my husband, Baron Marcel. He’s not in good health, so I came along to support him.”
“Ugh… cough, cough!”
The baron, who had been leaning against her with trembling legs, eventually collapsed in a fit of coughing, and we hurried to help him up.
“Hmm… my apologies. Had I known the baron’s condition was this bad, I wouldn’t have asked him to come out…”
“How could we commit such discourtesy before the light of the Empire?”
“I don’t enjoy tormenting the sick. For now, it’s best if the baron gets some rest.”
At the princess’s signal, two servants standing nearby stepped forward toward us.
“I’ll go with him. After all the trouble we caused, the least I can do is help support him, don’t you think?”
“Alright. I’ll leave it to you, then.”
As expected of Pollo who couldn’t turn a blind eye to someone in need, he volunteered to escort the baron to his bedroom. He left with the servants, carrying the baron on his back.
“You’re quite the dependable gentleman. If my husband weren’t ill, I’m sure he would’ve warmly welcomed guests with such heroic qualities.”
“We’re the ones who should apologize for showing up unannounced. There’s no need for you to say sorry.”
The princess, perhaps feeling responsible for the baron’s condition, glanced awkwardly at Lilia who was of much lower status.
“Not at all. The visit of such esteemed guests as yourselves is always welcome. But… may I ask what brings you to our territory?”
“Ah, we forgot to mention something important. Mars?”
“Yes, Lady Lilia. The reason we’re here is—”
“Please, feel free to just call me Lilia~”
“…Alright then, Ms. Lilia. We heard that tax payments from this territory have been delayed recently. However, we also discovered that a few months ago, you submitted a request for military support due to monster-related damage, but that request was accidentally overlooked on our end.”
When we brought up the matter, Lilia’s reaction was slightly different from what we had expected.
Normally, when something like this is brought up, one would expect anger or at least discomfort upon hearing that their request had been overlooked. But Lilia simply stared blankly, as if hearing it for the first time, and then her expression gradually shifted to one of flustered confusion.
“Are you alright? You don’t look too well.”
“N-No, I’m fine… Yes. Now that you mention it, I vaguely recall hearing that we… sent one. Yes…”
“You weren’t fully aware of this, then?”
“Well… I hadn’t been very involved in family affairs before my husband fell ill. That sort of thing was always his responsibility, so I guess I’m just now recalling it vaguely~”
Something was off.
A poor harvest caused by monsters was a problem that affected the entire territory.
It wasn’t just about food for the people; it could also jeopardize the ability to pay taxes. Any competent lord would have surely discussed such matters with their spouse.
But Lilia’s reaction, as if she were hearing about it for the first time, only added fuel to the doubts that had been nagging at me since earlier.
“Steward~ is the monster damage in our territory still severe?”
“…Yes, young lady. A horde of monsters descending from the mountain range in the back hasn’t been dealt with, and the damage remains serious.”
“Hmm? Madam, are you still not fully aware of the current situation in your territory?”
“I-It’s just that… I haven’t been in the acting role for very long… so I’m not fully aware of the overall situation in the territory~ I’ve been prioritizing other administrative duties, so I haven’t had the chance to come up with a proper response to this matter yet…”
With a sorrowful expression, she blamed her own inadequacy. She looked so pitiful that it was easy to feel sympathy for her.
“Then let’s stay here for a while and work on a plan to deal with the monster threat. As for the taxes and other difficult issues, I’ll see if we can arrange for support from the Empire once we return.”
“Th-Thank you, Your Highness! I’ll show you to your rooms. Please relax and make yourselves at home for the next few days~”
Our first meeting ended in a hurry, almost as if something had to be quickly wrapped up.
Just as I was still unable to shake off an uneasy feeling, Her Highness quietly came up beside me and gave me a little tap.
“Hey, Mars.”
“Your Highness? Is something wrong?”
“It’s just that… doesn’t it feel like there are too many men around?”
“……?”
At the princess’s remark, I looked around and realized that all the servants in the small mansion were men.
Normally, one would expect to see at least a few maids or female attendants, but the sight of an all-male staff stood in stark contrast to the state of the territory, where women seemed to be the only ones present.
“Ms. Lilia? May I ask just one more question?”
“Of course~ Ask me anything~”
“Why are there only men here? In most households, there are usually at least a few female staff members, right? And I didn’t really see any men around the territory either.”
“Th-That’s because… well, with vacation time and maternity leaves overlapping, it just so happened that everyone’s away at the moment! A-And the other men went off into the mountains to search for monsters, so I guess that’s why it looks so empty~”
A flimsy excuse, somehow lacking weight.
I stared at Lilia’s beautiful yet undeniably suspicious back for a long while, hoping that this unsettling feeling I had was nothing more than my imagination.
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