I turned 20 years old, and the birthday party I had originally planned was a great success. The proposal of a new wife from Rico has not been successful so far.
I am standing in front of the deer god. I have come to offer the crops of the principality to the Deer God first.
The Deer God is slowly bringing the offered cabbage to his mouth. There was no sign of poison in my evaluation or in Mei's investigation. But I wanted the Deer God to confirm it one last time.
"...Delicious. It tastes good. No poison."
"Thank you."
I immediately go to the palace to report to the Dwarf King. The king's recovery is slowly but surely improving. He is now able to stand, albeit with a cane.
"I see... That's good."
"These are the crops of our newly reborn land. The king will enjoy them too."
I slowly bring the raw cabbage and onions to my mouth.
"...Yum. That's good. Vegetables are supposed to taste like this.
"I am sure we will have more delicious crops in the future. We are growing a variety of crops, and once we are sure that they are not poisonous, we will be able to sell them not only to our people, but also to other countries."
"... I thank you, Marquis Berthaume, from the bottom of my heart."
The Dwarf King bowed his head to me, his body trembling.
"Oh no, please lift your head. It's just the beginning. The restoration of the Duchy of Niza is just beginning.
"Yes."
The Dwarf King looks out the window at the farmland and ponders the future of his principality.
"...I see. It was a great deed.
I returned to the capital and reported to His Majesty about the restoration of the Principality of Niza. Naturally, the Prime Minister and His Highness Weiras were by his Majesty's side.
"That's the Marquis of Bertham. To have restored the Duchy of Niza following Krumfal is a feat of dreadful skill.
"Mm. You have achieved far more than I had expected. I must reward you in some way.
"No, thank you.
"I hear that Lord Rinos has been told by Lycoretto to take a new wife?"
Why do you say that?
Lycoretto told me.
"Oh..."
"Has he already found a new wife?"
No. I have no complaints at the moment.
Your Majesty, the lady of the inner court...
"Your Highness Weiras, I must decline."
"Yes. I would not advise it. Nobles and ladies of the inner court will come to you with open arms if they hear you are to become the third wife of the House of Batham. It's not easy to deal with them.
His Majesty looked at the ceiling and was lost in thought.
"Well, if you don't want me to do it, I have nothing to do with it. I am busy myself.
His Majesty looked at Townsend, whose belly had grown considerably. She has not been publicly accused or attacked, but there are still those who seek to destroy her at every opportunity.
"She will be born in two months. Until then, we must be patient.
"Yes, of course. By the way, as for your reward, Master Linos... Why don't you take some time off?
"Rest, sir?"
Mm. There's a place called Igrek just south of the capital. There's a royal villa there. You can rest there for a while.
I'm afraid that only members of the Emperor's family are permitted to visit the Igrek Palace.
"Mister Linos is my brother-in-law. Lycorette is the daughter of His Majesty the Emperor and the sister of the Emperor of the Heedata Empire. Shouldn't that be a problem?
"And, sir..."
Good. It is good, Vizier Gremont."
"Ha ha."
"Is Krumfalu... under Ricolet's control? Then, while Licolet is away, you may take his place, Weiras."
"I am?
You are in a position where you will eventually have to manage a territory. This is a good opportunity. Go and learn.
"Hi..."
"Well, Your Majesty, why don't we move Mr. Townsett to the Hotel Krumphal?"
"If you want to be on the lookout for the women of the inner palace, it's best to get away from here. The Hotel Krumphal is full of people who used to work for Rico, so I think it will be no problem to take care of Mr. Townsend."
"I see. That hotel may be safe.
"That's good, but will we be attacked when Mr. Townsett moves to Krumfal? And besides... I'm worried about the baby..."
"There is a way to do that. My man Posehay has the art of transference. Using it, we can move in an instant. And they are good doctors, so I'm sure they can handle anything that comes their way.
"Hm. That's a good idea. It's a nice view, good food. Much better than being cooped up in this cramped room. Townsend, you must move to Krumfal immediately.
Townsend slowly bowed her head, working on her large belly.
"I'm sorry I can't visit you until the baby is born, but..."
"In that case, I will make it possible for you to transfer from this room of yours."
"Oh! That's good. I'll get right on it!"
I tell Rico what happened, and we transfer to the Hotel Krumphal. One of the suites is basically empty, so I decide to use it. I also visit the warding village that Posehaye and the others are using as their "headquarters" and ask them for Townsend.
The next day, we moved Townset to Krumfal. Naturally, the room is comfortable with my warding and the temperature adjusted. The three caretakers, led by Quena, were in charge of the room, and everything was set up perfectly. Townsend's face had already changed as he opened the window and let in the sea-scented breeze.
She was going to knit for her unborn child, she sat down on a rocking chair and began to tinkle with a peaceful expression on her face. The emperor had been transferred that night. Apparently, he plans to sleep here every day until the birth of his child.
And we were to take a week's vacation at Igrek's detached palace. I had an image of a large castle, but in fact it was a rather large mansion with a beautiful river and garden.
Basically, meals were prepared by the ladies, but the dining table was located far from our room, so we had complete privacy. The bed and bath were spacious, and the furnishings were first class. It was truly a room that could be called a room of royalty.
"This is an amazing room."
"It's an emperor's villa, so it's only natural that it should be this nice."
"It's out of place for me..."
Rico is calm, but May is completely freaked out.
"Well, it's a reward from the Emperor. We can use the palace without any hesitation. By the way, it's a beautiful garden.
"From what I've heard, seven emperors ago, they used to play the game of releasing and capturing courtesans in this garden."
"Hmmm. Hide and seek. It's a pretty big place, so it must be hard to catch them."
"No. They released the naked women and attacked them one after another."
"...You're a perverted emperor."
"I don't think so, Master..."
"Mei, I don't want to do that."
We went into the room, arguing about such things.
The truth is, I've been working hard all week. I worked so hard that I thought, "What's the point of a vacation? Then we slept on the river and talked about the future. I realized that both of them were thinking about me seriously and not about themselves, and I fell in love with them more and more. I told them how I really feel and I think they understood that.
Meanwhile, in Krumfal, Vyrus was screaming.
"Wait a minute! Wait until I finish reading this document!"
"Didn't you hear the report while you were reading it, Mr. Ricolet?"
"I'm not like my sister!"
"Your Highness, please look over these documents."
"Your Highness, regarding the growth of next year's crops..."
"Your Highness, the opening date of Milaya Krumphal..."
Your Highness, since you're here, I'd like to have a military review...
"Your Highness."
"Your Highness."
"Hey, give me a break. ~~~~~~!!!!"
He lost 5 kg in a week.
But neither I, nor his Highness Weiras, nor of course Rico and the others know about it now. That there is some political maneuvering going on behind the scenes. And that one of them is about to be set in motion.
"...as I thought, Marquis de Bartham."
...then let's head for the Heedata Empire.
"Will you meet us?"
"We must meet with them and hear what they have to say!"
Two people with a certain determination were about to leave for the Heedata Empire....