Did I hear wrong?
Father?
Mother?
&
“Uh, u-uh... Th-that’s right, I-I’m pleased to meet you too. Eileen Bel...”
“Please just call me Eileen, Father. And speak comfortably. You too, Mother!”
“Huh? Ah, ah... R-right. I’m Drevan Signal...”
At that, Eileen smiled a beautiful smile.
“Oh my, what a wonderful name, Father.”
“I-Is that so? Hahaha.”
Then Mother cautiously opened her mouth.
“I’m... no, I’m Ellasia Signal.”
“Oh my, Mother.”
Eileen said, her eyes wide and round.
“You are so, so elegant. Your beauty aside, your atmosphere and voice are like my ideal that I wish to resemble.”
“I-Is that so? Ohoho. Thank you.”
I wondered what kind of situation this even was.
The problem was that neither Father nor Mother wore expressions very different from mine.
“Unni! I’m Risel Signal. I heard rumors... but they were all lies! You’re way, way prettier!”
“Oh my. Really? Thank you.”
Eileen smiled brightly at Risel.
“Our Risel will be as pretty as this unni in no time? No, you’re already so stunning I’m jealous.”
“Ehehehe.”
What the hell.
What’s her angle.
This villainess.
Right.
If she wants to seize a weakness, she has to wrap my parents around her finger first.
Since she’s even seen the gold mine information, she probably thinks I still have value.
But.
This pace is way too unexpected.
I thought it would take at least a few days no matter what.
I never imagined she could seize the atmosphere to this extent with a single greeting.
Then her knight brought a box.
“Oh my! Of course, Mother. If you try this, I’m sure you’ll look much younger.”
“Ohohoho! So these are the famous cosmetics. Oh my, the packaging alone is extraordinary.”
What came out of it was none other than gifts.
“And Father, how about this? It’s a liquor very popular among nobles these days.”
“Huh! This is!”
“Risel. Look at this. Is this really hard to get?”
“Kyaa! Oppa, this! This is totally amazing! Unni! I love you!”
A few days my foot.
From where I stood, it was already over.
She spent the whole day—not just lunchtime—laughing and talking with Father, Mother, and Risel.
The conversation truly never ended, and the laughter never ceased.
That day, time really flew by.
Before I knew it, I was looking up at the moonlight in the darkened night sky.
“You were here?”
“Ah, sorry. I was so lost in the chaos.”
“I had a lot of fun, though.”
Eileen stood beside me in the corridor and looked at the moon.
And my gaze naturally shifted from the moon to her.
“Thank you.”
Eileen turned her head, looking slightly surprised.
“I thought you’d be upset instead.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because you must think there’s a purpose behind my actions. That’s how nobles usually are.”
I shifted my gaze back to the moon.
“Then please make sure my family doesn’t know of that purpose. Let them believe it’s real. And I’ll be the one to pay the price.”
Eileen’s pupils grew even larger.
Then she burst into a soft laugh and turned toward the moon like me.
“Sorry, but I’m going to let them all know?”
“Huh?”
“Because that’s my goal? What should I do? Huhu.”
A scary woman, as expected.
She’s a master of psychology.
She bewitches people like this and uses pressure to break them mentally, then makes them move exactly as she wishes.
Would it even work if I told her to stop here?
No, it was already over.
Even telling my parents it was all an act and to be careful was meaningless now.
I was already prey perfectly caught in her spiderweb.
*Hoo.*
It was an ill-fated connection with me,
a problem I had to handle.
If I gave her something bigger so she couldn’t use my family, it would be resolved.
The next day.
“Ohoho! No, Mother. I really like it too. This is a pasque flower, right?”
“Oh my~ This is hard to come by in the kingdom.”
I watched with a nervous expression as Mother and Eileen tended the flowers.
I didn’t know when or how she would pressure Mother and break her down.
So I kept my eyes on them without looking away, ready to step in before that could happen.
And after some time had passed?
The two of them still hadn’t stopped laughing.
...
What is this?
This swelling, wistful, strangely suffocating yet regretful feeling.
Suddenly, watching Eileen laughing and talking with Mother, I felt something strange.
And then.
Suddenly Eileen turned around and smiled at me.
*Thump.*
“Uh... Ah, this won’t do.”
Really.
It won’t do.
***
*Splash!*
“A-Are you okay?”
“Why?”
I was extremely flustered right now.
Because she had taken off her shoes without hesitation and entered the paddy field herself.
I thought she’d just watch from the side.
I thought if I explained what I’d found out, she’d nod along and go back.
But she didn’t.
Eileen gathered her skirt, rolled up her pant legs, and stepped into the water nonchalantly.
Even the clothes she was wearing now were the ones Mother wore to move comfortably around the house.
I’d been so flustered when I first saw her in those clothes.
I turned my gaze away for no reason and began showing her what I’d discovered one by one.
Eileen took some of it naturally, as if she already knew, while she seemed to be hearing the rest for the first time.
She too revealed what she and her people had found without hiding anything, calmly.
“I suppose what we need to be most careful about are water temperature, bugs, and weeds. And among them, it’s the water level.”
She murmured, looking down at the submerged seedlings.
“It’s impressive that you identified the water level. We hadn’t even thought of that yet.”
“Our territory’s people found it.”
I glanced once at the people working at the end of the paddy field.
“They’re amazing people.”
Eileen looked in that direction too and smiled softly.
“What I found out was that we should transplant when the seedlings have white roots. And if we combine all of this.”
Her gaze returned to the paddy.
“I think more first-grade rice will come out of it.”
Eileen’s eyes sparkled.
It was obvious she was immersed, intrigued, and enjoying herself.
Seeing that look, I revealed a bit more of what I’d found.
“When it comes to bugs, you have to watch out for the rice water weevil, the small brown planthopper, and the rice stink bug.”
“...”
Eileen looked at me with surprised eyes.
Without stopping, I also taught her how to deal with them.
Having finished there, Eileen and I slowly walked back toward the mansion.
“Why did you teach me?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The bugs.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“You could have saved that to use as leverage later when you want something from me.”
As expected.
She’s a devil, a devil.
You’re right.
Why did I teach her?
I’d blurted it out without realizing it, seeing her work so hard.
I scratched my head.
“Well, um... because you were so good to my parents.”
“Oh my.”
The corners of Eileen’s mouth slowly rose.
“Even though you suspected those actions had a purpose?”
She took a step closer.
“Ah~ A bribe to get me to drop my ulterior motives?”
Eileen wore her characteristically playful, mischievous smile.
“It’s hurtful that you’d see my pure actions that way.”
“...”
“Anyway, I’ll repay you too.”
I wore a puzzled expression because I hadn’t wanted repayment.
“Serena’s Armor.”
She said, looking my way.
“I looked into it. It’s much better than I thought. Honestly, I was a bit surprised.”
She even did a background check.
It wasn’t a huge secret, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel rather strange.
“I’ll promote it for you.”
“Huh?”
“Just because you patented it doesn’t mean it will sell immediately. But if House Belmardian uses it first and says it’s good, the story changes completely.”
She spoke nonchalantly, but the meaning behind those words was powerful.
“After all, it’s something we can make good use of too.”
I was speechless for a moment.
She was right.
Serena’s Armor wasn’t something that would immediately become famous just because a Territory War broke out.
Among countless pieces of equipment, someone would have to luckily survive a few times,
and only then would word spread, and only then would it gain a reputation for being cheap but usable.
At the earliest, a year.
Since the Territory War wasn’t even starting immediately, it would likely take even longer.
But if House Belmardian promoted it directly, the story would change completely.
It wouldn’t take half a year, let alone a year.
“Lady Eileen.”
Eileen, who had been walking ahead, turned her head.
“Seeing how focused you were, I wanted to teach you more without realizing it.”
I stopped and looked at her as I spoke.
“It wasn’t because I wanted to get something out of it.”
Silence fell.
Eileen’s eyes didn’t leave me.
She stared so intently that I nearly looked away first.
“As expected.”
Her low voice seeped through the silence.
“I must achieve that goal no matter what.”
“...”
What the hell is that goal?
Did I say something wrong?
Or did she just finish another calculation?
Her face was smiling, but her eyes were serious.
Scary.
I’m so scared of you.
In so many ways.
***
Eileen said she wanted to look around the village with Risel and went out.
And during that time, Father called me.
“Reyon. Sit down quickly.”
Only then, after three days, was I able to properly talk with Father and Mother.
“What on earth is going on? Eileen... have you made some serious promise with her?”
“Huh?”
“This mother is in favor.”
“Ahem. This father too.”
*Sigh.*
A sigh was all that came out.
“Of course, it’s not simply because she’s from House Belmardian.”
Father said with a face full of genuine admiration.
“She’s very, very pretty, but I’ve never seen such a pleasant noble lady.”
“Exactly.”
Mother clasped her hands and nodded.
“I like her so much too. If possible, I’d love for marriage talks to go back and forth? Ohoho. I want to see my grandchild quickly, too. If it’s a grandchild with such a pretty child...”
“Oh, what are you all talking about.”
I rubbed the space between my brows.
“Surely Lady Eileen wouldn’t take a liking to someone like me?”
At those words, the two of them couldn’t say anything.
Why are you agreeing with that so perfectly?
I’m your son.
At least lie to me.
“We made a deal regarding rice. And she saw Serena’s Armor too. She’s just trying to win me over because I’m a useful person.”
“Our son has made some amazing achievements recently, hasn’t he?”
“They are amazing. Too amazing.”
Father nodded seriously.
“So that’s why even that amazing Lady Eileen has taken an interest in your ‘ability.’”
You don’t have to emphasize it that much.
But Father’s reaction was only natural.
“Indeed, we seem too excited, dear.”
Father cleared his throat.
“What kind of house is House Belmardian? Furthermore, Lady Eileen is called a genius among them; despite being a woman, she is practically designated as the next head of the household.”
Father paused for a moment and added in a low voice.
“There’s no way such a lady would feel that way about someone like Reyon.”
“Dear!”
Mother immediately scolded him.
“What kind of talk is that! Our son is useful too! Though of course he truly cannot compare to Lady Eileen. *Sigh*, it was a delusion, but it was a happy dream.”
You’re outright insulting me to my face.
Still, thanks to that, my sense of reality firmly returned.
Even if Eileen later truly tries to use my family to pressure me,
thanks to today’s conversation, I’ll be a little less shaken.
...Probably?
***
Meanwhile.
Eileen, who had gone out to the village with Risel, was walking down the street buying clothes and various small items.
“Unni!”
“Hmm?”
“Do you like our oppa?”