My lifespan is probably reaching its end in real time, day by day, as I get drained of energy.
It might look like a fantasy to others,
but from where I stand, it's a punishment.
&
Then Marsha approached.
She greeted Father first.
"Sir. Thank you so much."
Father smiled gently.
"It pains my heart as well to see you suffering, married off to a place you don't even want."
The moment those words left his mouth, Marsha's cheeks flushed bright red.
"Th-that means..."
"Huh?"
I immediately cut in.
"Hey, hey, Father. That's not what he meant."
"Haha! Who knows? Isn't it up to each person's interpretation?"
This old man, seriously.
Then he went inside, telling us to talk,
and Marsha was so embarrassed her ears were red to the tips.
"Sigh. Why are you acting like this too?"
"Me too?"
Marsha immediately puffed up her cheeks.
"Exactly! So Lady Eileen and Lady Seraphinlie were the same?"
Damn.
She figured that out right away too.
A woman's intuition was scary.
Marsha brushed her hair back for no reason, then muttered with a face that looked like she was gritting her teeth.
"They are very strong rivals, but... it's okay."
She clenched both hands tightly.
"After all, there are memories between us. Plus, you used to like me before."
Then she spoke as if making a declaration with a very serious face.
"Making you like me again won't be that difficult."
...
It was bewildering, but.
Ahem, she was cute.
I averted my gaze for no reason.
The three of them were all different.
Eileen was elegant,
Seraphinlie was dazzling.
And Marsha was cute.
"But Oppa. How did you become able to do rice farming? That's an incredible thing."
"Ah, I happened to meet someone in the kingdom and talked about rice. And I happened to mention a method I saw in a book, and it seems that was a great help."
There was no need to tell Marsha that I had actually sold the rice farming method.
"Oh, really?"
Marsha nodded.
"Well, people in such high positions do make sure to repay their debts. Then what about the Serena Armor? I was really surprised when I heard about it."
"I had some disassembly work to do while importing iron ore. During that process, I was talking with Blacksmith Redek and saw the armor. It looked pretty decent, so I tried patenting it, and it worked out."
Marsha tried to nod, then tilted her head.
"But why is it Serena's Armor? The name sounds like a woman's name."
"Ah, that."
I explained why Redek had made that armor.
After hearing the whole story, Marsha sniffled.
"What should I do... it's so tragic."
I glanced at her.
"You look down on commoners."
"Wh-what are you talking about!"
Marsha immediately glared.
"I hate insolent ones, not commoners. Hmph."
The retort came out immediately, but I didn't want to press her further.
Many scenes came to mind, but I let it go.
"Marsha."
"What?"
When I called her in a slightly lower voice, Marsha looked at me with wide eyes.
"You don't have to try so hard."
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't even have feelings for me; you're doing this for your territory. And even if things work out between us, I have no intention of advancing into the kingdom. You want to advance into the kingdom, even if it's through a man. So..."
Thud.
"Ugh."
Before I could finish speaking, Marsha's fist hit my stomach.
"Ridiculous, seriously."
Marsha gritted her teeth and snapped.
"Who are you to judge my heart however you want?"
"We never even liked each other. But now you suddenly say you like me, how am I supposed to take that well?"
At my words, Marsha was momentarily speechless.
I swallowed a sigh and added.
"I thought it would be better for you to hear this now. Rather than drawing the line later."
"I know. I know that too."
Marsha immediately shot back.
"I know full well how shameless my actions are right now. After how I treated you all this time. And with this timing too, I know it might not look sincere in your eyes."
She caught her breath for a moment.
Then she looked straight at me with unwavering eyes.
"But that heart, it's been there since before."
"..."
"Of course, it hasn't been that long. But at least it was before you accomplished all these things."
"H-huh... R-really?"
This is really bewildering.
When?
Why?
"Yes!"
Marsha finally raised her voice.
"And I thought about how much you understood me. That's when... I realized! Even if it was late..."
Her face turned red as she bit her lip tightly.
"This is annoying... why am I saying all of this. Seriously."
She looked like she was about to turn her body sharply to hide her face.
"..."
"Apologize."
"H-huh? Apologize?"
"Quickly!"
"Ah, o-okay, sorry."
Why am I getting scolded again?
"So..."
Marsha spoke without raising her head.
"Don't think of me that way."
Only after those words did she slowly raise her head and turn to look at me.
Teary eyes, welling with tears.
In those eyes, fear was deeper than embarrassment.
"This is my choice."
Her voice grew a little smaller this time.
"So... don't you decide my choice for me first. Even if it really doesn't work out later, I'll accept it."
...
"Got it? Hm?"
With those eyes and that voice, how could I push her away coldly until the end?
I scratched my head for no reason.
"Okay. Cheer up... is that a bit weird?"
"Pfft."
The crying Marsha burst into laughter.
"What. Idiot."
Seeing her smile as she wiped what had gathered at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, I realized.
That I hadn't liked her for no reason back then.
***
The Rin family stayed one more day, and in the meantime, I headed for the Bedveriu estate.
After traveling for several days, I arrived at the Bedveriu estate.
Count Trevio looked down at me from his office with an openly displeased expression.
"Yes. Sit."
I sat, but his face didn't relax in the slightest.
"We put forward a very justified cause. Yet I hear the Signal family is trying to make an enemy of us?"
Trevio raised the corner of his lips as if scoffing.
"Fine, so be it. But in this situation, it's not Count Dreban who came, but his son."
At that moment, he sprang up and slammed the desk.
Bam!
"You must think very little of me! You disrespect me too much!"
...
I looked at him without a word.
Trevio, who had been exploding with anger, seemed to sense that my reaction was different from what he expected, and stopped just as he was about to press further.
Then I slowly opened my mouth.
"Count."
Even though they were my own words, my voice was so cold that even I was a little surprised.
"I understand well that you have every right to be offended. That is why I came running myself before the rumors could spread further."
I did not avoid his eyes.
"I'm sure you know as well, Count, that I had already departed before word of this matter spread."
Trevio still wore a displeased expression, but he couldn't deny the words themselves.
I continued speaking.
"I apologize that my father could not come himself. But I am here as a representative."
Taking a breath, I drove the point home firmly.
"Insulting me is no different from insulting my father, and by extension, the Signal family."
In that instant, the atmosphere changed.
Until moments ago, it had looked as if I had taken a step back to come resolve the situation,
but now it didn't.
"Therefore."
I spoke coldly once more.
"If you act that way one more time, the relationship between the Signal family and the Greg family will become difficult to recover."
"What?"
Trevio tried to get angry again, but this time he couldn't push through to the end.
After glaring at me for a moment, he eventually let out a long sigh.
"Tch."
Then he sat back down with an unhappy face.
"Fine. You didn't come empty-handed, did you."
He took the first step back.
I presented the condition of extending the iron ore trade by one more year as if it were compensation for that.
From his position, a territorial war wouldn't be without damage,
so it was a very good condition, and the matter was concluded well.
On the way back to the Brennan estate.
How ironic.
The way I acted today was different in nature from Father's politics.
Honestly, I had intended to act like Father,
but without realizing it, I had acted differently.
This.
It was a bit closer to Eileen's style.
Drawing the line clearly from the start, and when backed into a corner, striking back even colder.
It was a method possible only for her, but fortunately, it worked.
If it had failed, it would have been a huge disaster.
If Trevio Greg had ultimately failed to swallow his pride and had charged recklessly, swept up by his emotions, a territorial war truly could have occurred.
Then our forces would never have been able to handle it.
Of course, I had calculated that it wouldn't come to that.
Even if it did, I had a card I received from Seraphinlie.
Hoo,
I wonder if I did the right thing.
Truthfully, there had been no need to continue the trade with Trevio.
Extending it by one year was a loss from our position.
It was my judgment.
Father had simply told me to come back with an apology.
Even so, the reason I pushed this had to do with something else.
I didn't want this matter to remain as simply something resolved by riding on the backs of Belmardian and de Harmont.
At least on the surface,
the Signal family had to appear to have settled the situation through its own strength.
Only then could we leave the impression that our family itself carried some weight,
not just external power.
These small differences eventually become the family's strength.
Because these things accumulate and ultimately determine your weight class in noble society.
I looked out the carriage window and exhaled longly.
Little by little.
Clearly.
Still, I was moving forward.
***
The Belmardian family.
Eileen Belmardian had one younger brother.
Elkant Belmardian.
Though they shared the same blood, their atmospheres were completely different.
If Eileen was the type to quietly pressure people, Elkant was the type to too easily show that he believed himself to be smart.
"Ha. Absolutely insane."
Elkant looked down at the parchment spread out on the desk and clicked his tongue.
Inside was a summary of Eileen's recent activities.
And among them, a name that particularly caught his eye.
Ian Luchevalt.
"She's meeting frequently with the guy who's a rival to our family?"
Elkant muttered as if scoffing.
"Ah, yes. It's clear now. She'll be bewitched by him and end up handing over the whole family later. Absolutely not. As expected, the head of the family must be me."
Though still young, Eileen had such strong standing that she was already being mentioned as the next head of the family.
That was why Elkant was always desperate.
A weakness to drag his sister down.
He had been striving to find one, and this time he believed he had finally gotten his hands on something certain.
He immediately sent someone to Eileen to request a meeting.
And one week later.
The two sat facing each other in chairs in front of the garden.
"What is it?"
Eileen sipped her coffee without hiding how annoyed she was.
"You seem busy these days?"
Elkant smiled deliberately, pretending to be relaxed.
"Everyone's so pitiful. They have no eye for people. If you were to really become the head of the family... they don't know the family could be ruined."
Eileen didn't bat an eyelash.
"I suppose you've found something?"
"Ha. Very relaxed, aren't you?"
Elkant twisted the corner of his mouth.
"Ian Luchevalt. Well, with looks like that, it's enough to make even you fall for him. But are you crazy? You should know what kind of relationship our family has with them."
Eileen's hand, which had been holding the coffee cup, stopped for a very brief moment.
It was a small change,
but Elkant didn't miss it.
"So?"
That movement and this single word made Elkant even more certain.
He believed he had seized the upper hand.
"If I go over there right now and find a definite weakness, that means you're finished, right?"
Eileen slowly set the cup down.
"...Hey."
Her voice lowered.
"I don't care what you do to me, but don't touch him."
And she added coldly.
"And do you really think someone like you could make a 'deal' with him?"
"Ha!"
Elkant snorted.
"Looking down on me until the end. You have no idea how dangerous your situation is right now? Ah, well. It's your first time facing such a crisis."
At that moment, Eileen rose from her seat.
"Go ahead and try."
She looked straight down at Elkant.
"If you're so confident."
Leaving those words behind, Eileen turned around, and as she walked away, she made an expression that was oddly as if she were holding back laughter.
But Elkant couldn't see that expression.
He merely took that slight flinch to mean that she was flustered instead.
"I'll give her a proper blow."
Elkant ground his teeth.
"This is a battle of time. I have to move before she contacts him."
Without waiting even a single day,
Elkant headed straight for the kingdom.