Early BBYW Vol. 1 Chapter 1, 2, and 3 (NSFW) (Patreon)

Note: This part has not been TLCed yet, and might slightly differ from the public version.  If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write it in the comment. Thanks.    

Translator: Dario

Warning: NSFW

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Chapter 1 - Engagements are Broken so Suddenly

“Dyngir Maxwell!! I hereby declare your engagement to Selena void!!"

“....whaat?”

It all started one afternoon.

I was in the royal academy located in Sairhun, capital of the Lamperouge kingdom. More precisely, I was walking through the academy’s garden, when suddenly I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around to look at the source of the voice and found a young man with flowing golden locks and a familiar face.

“...oh my, to be honored by the presence of Your Highness Prince Sullivan. How may I be of service?”

The abrupt declaration had come from none other than the first prince of the Lamperouge kingdom, Sullivan Lamperouge.

Basically, the heir to the throne of Lamperouge kingdom.

Standing behind Sullivan, as if trying to hide from me, I saw my fiancee, Selena Nommes.

My petite, lovely fiancee was acting just like a small frightened animal: she looked at me with fear in her eyes, while almost hugging Sullivan’s back.

“Your Highness, if I may be so bold, are you not standing a bit too close to my fiancee? I believe it is against the gentleman’s code of conduct to be in such close contact with a woman engaged to another man.”

“You fool!! How dare you still speak of Selena as if she was your fiancee!! Did you not hear what I said!?”

Sullivan started shouting, irritated by my attitude. The prince’s handsome features — very much unlike his character — were twisted beyond recognition.

Since lunch break was not over yet, many of the academy’s students were still in the garden.

Some were sitting on a bench eating, others chatting with their friends: the commotion caused by the prince, however, attracted the curiosity of many of them.

I looked around, concerned by the attention we were drawing, then sighed, making sure Sullivan didn’t notice.

“By ‘what I said’, Your Highness is referring to my engagement with Selena being voided?”

“So you did hear!! Do not make me repeat myself again!!”

“...my apologies, it was all so abrupt, I could not help it.”

My shoulders dropped.

Breaking up an engagement was a very delicate matter, something that should be dealt with privately, but if it was handled openly like this, with witnesses everywhere, it would be impossible to hide.

“My engagement with Selena was formed between the house of margrave Maxwell and the house of Baron Nommes. I cannot thus accept its cancellation by my own accord. I also believe that a member of the royal family, which has no relation to this engagement, has no power to change it, or am I wrong?”

“What did you say!? I have no relation to Selena!?”

Sullivan pulled Selena closer to himself and put his arm around her back.

The crown prince’s sudden action caused the students around us to start whispering.

(..is this guy for real…?)

I felt my facial muscles tense up because of the unbelievable sight before me.

Regardless of whether I accepted the cancellation of the engagement or not, Selena was still my fiancee at the moment.

To embrace someone else’s fiancee so casually was beyond sanity in my eyes.

“Selena and I are in a relationship and will be married soon!! A promise made with some countryside noble like you means nothing before true love!! Just accept that your engagement is no more!”

“Countryside...noble…?”

The provinces ruled by the Maxwell house are located near the eastern borders of the kingdom, that was true. The crown prince was born and raised in the capital, so I probably was a country bumpkin in his eyes.

The Maxwell house had been assigned to such territories because of the trust it earned from the royal family: it was charged with defending the borders, so it had the military power to protect the kingdom from foreign enemies.

The soldiers stationed around the capital might be greater in number, but in terms of individual ability and battle experience, the knights of the Maxwell house were without a doubt superior.

The royal family had nothing to gain by picking a fight with the Maxwell house.

Selena’s house Nommes was a vassal of house Maxwell. Their territories were also close, so if I was a countryside noble, then Selena was too...did he realize it?

“Hmm...for now, I shall pretend I have not heard the slander to my house. Rather, Your Highness, you have said you and Selena are in a relationship?”

“Hmph! That is indeed what I said! It’s time for you to accept reality and withdraw!”

He really admitted it. In public, with so many people around us.

Did Sullivan understand what it actually meant for a crown prince to lay his hands on someone else’s fiancee?

Sullivan was basically using the authority of the royal family to steal a vassal’s fiance.

Did he not realize that such an action would severely damage the trust of the nobles towards the royal family?

“Your Highness, if I may ask, does lady Marianne know of this?”

The name I mentioned was Sullivan’s fiancee.

Marianne Rosais, daughter of Duke Rosais the chancellor of the kingdom of Lamperouge. The noblest young lady in all of the kingdom, she was praised as a lady among ladies in high society.

“M-Marianne...she...”

Sullivan, who had been talking arrogantly from the start, mumbled for the first time.

It was a rather obvious change: Marianne was a proud woman, who valued loyalty very highly.

She would definitely never forgive Sullivan’s unfaithfulness or the treacherous act of stealing a vassal’s fiancee.

“Could it be that Your Highness is planning to take Selena as a concubine?” 

Marianne as a royal wife and Selena as a concubine. It was still more understandable.

Polygamy was not officially recognized in the kingdom, but it was not rare for royalty or certain nobles to take in concubines or mistresses, in order to ensure the birth of an heir. Whether Lady Marianne would approve of this or not was a whole nother story, of course.

“Lord Sullivan!?”

The first reaction to my words came not from Prince Sullivan, but my fiancee Selena.

Selena looked at Sullivan like she couldn’t believe her eyes, so he hurriedly started explaining himself.

“N-no!! You are the only one I love, Selena!!”

“Thus Your Highness will also cancel the engagement with Lady Marianne? Sire, I trust you know what such a thing would imply?”

Local powers tended to have considerable power in this kingdom: not even the royal house had absolute authority.

The Lamperouge royal house was, ultimately, a representative of all noble families, a sort of delegate. The king was closer to the leader of an alliance than an absolute monarch.

To cut ties with Duke Rosais, the most powerful noble family in the central region of the kingdom, signified the loss of a major supporter for crown prince Sullivan to become king.

“N-naturally!! I hereby announce that my engagement with Marianne is void and that I shall marry Selena! She will be the next queen of the Lamperouge kingdom!”

Sullivan turned out to be much more of a moron than I imagined.

Somehow, he still thinks he’s going to be king, even without Duke Rosais backing him up.

“...are you serious, Sir Sullivan?”

I dropped “Crown Prince” or “Your Highness” on purpose, and Sullivan became even more heated up.

“I’ve never liked that woman in the first place!! Always full of opinions, always telling me to fix this and that, to behave like a proper crown prince...always arrogant, always aggravating!! To a member of the royal family!! How dares the mere daughter of a duke order the crown prince around!?”

Taking advantage of the fact that Marianne wasn’t here, Sullivan started saying whatever he wanted.

While Marianne wasn’t here in person, in our “audience” there were people with ties to house Rosais. Sullivan’s words were definitely going to be delivered to Marianne and Duke Rosais.

“What a fine mess this has turned into...”

So I whispered to myself, making sure Sullivan couldn’t hear.

I thought the crown prince would be a bit smarter than this, but evidently I was wrong. Until now, he probably managed to uphold the least authority as crown prince only thanks to Lady Marianne being at his side.

I wondered what fate awaited a man who swore to discard the engagement to Lady Marianne for the sake of “true love”.

“Selena.”

“!!”

I called Selena’s name and she started trembling as she hid behind Sullivan’s back.

She had always been like that: always timid and clumsy, never voicing her opinion. Every time I approached her, she would run away frightened.

She was indeed the complete opposite type from Lady Marianne, thus perfectly suiting Sullivan’s tastes.

“Is this really okay with you? Do you truly wish for this?”

I tried giving Selena one final chance.

Was she going to ruin herself together with this fool, or would she come back to me? The decision was up to her.

“Uh….”

Selena looked confused, glancing left and right, then Sullivan encouraged her.

“Say it, Selena! Don’t worry, I’m with you! I will protect you, no matter what that man may do!!”

“Y-yes...”

Pushed forward by Sullivan, Selena raised her voice and stated her decision.

Her beautiful green eyes looked straight at me. I thought it had been a rather long time since our eyes met like this.

“I, er, I...Lord Dyngir, I am afraid of you. Because you have killed so many people...”

“...........”

You killed so many people. I see, so that’s the reason.

House Maxwell, the kingdom’s guardian, has always protected it against invaders from the east.

I was thirteen when I participated in my first battle, five years ago. Since then, I have fought in many battles and have ended the lives of many soldiers with my hands.

“I became your fiancee because I couldn’t disobey father, but I cannot endure it anymore. Lord Dyngir...I do not want to be with you one second if I can help it...I beg of you, please let me be free.”

“Do you finally understand? It is simply appalling for a murderer like you to be engaged to lovely Selena. Your bloody hands have no right to embrace her. Go back to your province already, you murderous lunatic!”

Murderous lunatic. Sullivan’s words caused me to shake in anger.

I fought on the battlefield ever since I was a child. I fought to protect my household, my province, the kingdom.

I was proud of my bloody hands: not once did I feel any shame in them.

(And this man...dares call them the hands of a murderous lunatic!! A man who has been protected by the nobles fighting on the frontier his whole life…! A moron who has lived with a silver spoon in his mouth, who has never even seen a battlefield…!)

“...the cancellation of the engagement is accepted, for the time being. We shall contact the royal house officially in the near future.”

I desperately held back from reaching for the sword at my waist and uttered only those words.

I turned my back to Sullivan and Selena and walked away. The students who came to see the commotion opened a path for me, scared by the killing intent I couldn’t keep from leaking out.

(I have to endure it, there’s no point in killing him here, I’d turn into the aggressor. Besides...that man is going to ruin himself on his own soon.)

The house of Duke Rosais and the house of Margrave Maxwell. There was no way he could make an enemy of two of the most powerful noble houses in the kingdom and get away with it.

I cannot draw my sword here. If I did, I would bear the name of a traitor…

“Lord Dyngir! May I have a word with you?”

I was walking away silently when a student approached me.

He was a bit shorter than me. The color of the badge on his uniform indicated he was enrolled in a grade below mine. I had seen his flaming red hair and the fierce light in his eyes somewhere, though.

“You are...the second son of the Efreeta house, aren’t you?”

“My name is Luc, Luc Efreeta. It is an honor to speak with you!!”

“I see, so you’re Ladd’s younger brother. What business do you have with me?”

Luc looked around, then continued talking in a hushed tone of voice.

“If you will start a campaign to defend the honor of the eastern provinces, please let me, Luc Efreeta, stand on the frontlines. I swear on the name of house Efreeta that I shall present you the head of that foolish prince, my lord.”

The house of Viscount Efreeta was well known among the vassals of house Maxwell, especially for its military power.

I was moved by his dedication but had to reprimand my hot-blooded junior nonetheless.

“Your loyalty is well appreciated. I have no intention to start a campaign, though...not yet, at least. That fool is going to self-destruct anyway.”

“Understood...but if that time ever comes, please do summon me, Lord Dyngir. May I ask what you plan to do?”

I reflected on Luc’s words for a bit, then replied.

“I must return to my house’s territory first. I have to present a formal protest to the royal house via my father, after all. If the king deals with the matter with integrity, then everything is solved. If he tries to cover for the moron, however...you will have plenty of chances to prove your worth.”

“I am at your service, my lord! I shall report to you everything that happens in the academy. Please rest easy on your way to your home province!”

“You have my trust. It is a joy to have such able vassals.”

When a door closes, another one opens. I had lost my fiancee but gained a trustworthy retainer.

I tapped Luc’s shoulder and he blushed fiercely.

“Y-your words honor me!! I heard from my brother about your battle against the empire five years ago, so I always admired your prowess in battle...my lord!”

“O-okay?”

I ended up being showered with Luc’s praise all the way to the gate leading out of the academy.

That day I learned how both words filled with malice and words filled with respect can wear on you if they continue excessively.

I was feeling fatigued in more ways than one, as I sighed, packed my luggage, and departed from the royal capital.

Chapter 2 - Countermeasures are Crafted in Bed

As soon as I returned to my home province, I reported the whole incident to my father and wrote a letter of protest to the king and Baron Nommes.

His Majesty the king had already been informed about the commotion in the academy, apparently, and immediately sent a letter of apology. Thanks to the proper response of the royal house and the abundant sum included as recompensation, the matter could be said to be resolved, for the time being.

On the other hand, Baron Nommes — Selena’s father — apparently was not aware of the relationship between his daughter and the crown prince: the moment he read the letter, he started foaming at the mouth and lost consciousness.

“M-my deepest apologies!!!!!!!!”

The baron then visited the Maxwell residence and apologized profusely, prostrated on the ground.

He cast away all pride, apologizing while hitting his head on the floor so hard one might worry he was going to open a hole in it. His prostration was so well done, so perfect, that I felt compelled to praise him.

~

Incidentally, Sullivan and Selena went to visit Lady Marianne after thrusting the cancellation of the engagement on me, as it turns out.

The crown prince started by listing baseless accusations of Lady Marianne’s alleged misconduct: bullying Selena, abusing the authority of her family to control the academy, making secret allegiances with enemy states, and more.

There was no way false charges like that could ever work on Lady Marianne, though.

She shot down all of his arguments and harshly chastised his unfaithfulness instead. Her brilliant counterattack would eventually become a hot topic of discussion among all students for a long time.

The final result was that the crown prince bore all responsibility for the events and was demoted from the royal register as the crown prince made a vassal.

“He reaped what he sowed all right.”

I was lying on my bed in my home residence as I read the report sent by Luc Efreeta from the capital. All the above information was included in his report.

One month after the abrupt cancellation of my engagement — I had withdrawn from the academy and returned to my home province.

Even if the crown prince took responsibility for the events, I could not prevent other students from looking down on me.

I wasn’t keen on frequenting the academy anyway, so I chose to return to my province and help my father, in order to prepare to succeed him as a margrave.

Now that the situation was all over, I could say that the cancellation of the engagement was not a complete loss for house Maxwell.

We had received an abundant sum from the royal house as compensation, house Nommes returned the sum we had offered in advance as financial aid in view of my marriage with Selena, and we also raised the interest rates of the debts they owed to the Maxwell house.

“For me, the best outcome is not having to marry Selena, though.”

“Oh my, you did not like Lady Selena, my lord?”

The question came from the woman lying in bed next to me.

The name of the disrobed lady was Eliza. She was the daughter of a house that served the Maxwell for generations and was also in charge of my education ever since I was small.

Eliza, who was five years older than me, was now lying with her head on my chest, exhibiting most of her naked figure, which only grew in sensuality over the years, as she peeked at the document I was reading.

“She was pretty cute, so I did want to make her a woman myself...but she was more troublesome than she was worth. She was always a crybaby, definitely too weak to become the wife of a house in the border provinces. It might have been fun to bully her a bit though.”

“How cruel...I certainly didn’t raise you like that, young master.”

“You most certainly have. It was you who taught me what I know about women.”

The relationship between Eliza and me began five years ago, after my first battle.

I had had my first experience of real fighting and achieved my first victories. Unable to suppress the excitement after our triumphant return, I gave into my instincts and assaulted Eliza.

She pushed me back at first, but ultimately accepted my advances: I thus had my first experience at the age of thirteen.

Our relationship continued since then: whenever I was back in my residence, we would sleep together almost every night.

“Oh, young master...to think you were so cute once. What a devil of a man you have become...as your tutor, I feel responsible.”

“What? I’ve become a healthy and vigorous young man, as you can see, so you should feel proud instead.”

I laughed wryly and shrugged.

I wasn’t the only one to grow big and strong anyway — so I thought while gazing at Eliza’s ample bust.

“It’s a real pity for Baron Nommes, though. Selena and I were both cheating on each other, but because of Sullivan the moron, they received the whole punishment. If they used all my mistresses as the reason for breaking off the engagement, they could have forced us to pay up instead.”

“Maybe they simply do not know of the relationship young master holds with *us*?”

“Hmm...maybe Selena doesn’t, but I doubt the baron doesn’t know anything. I went several times to the red light district in the capital and never did anything to hide it either. It isn’t uncommon for nobles to entertain relationships with multiple women, so maybe he was just pretending not to know...in any case, if Sullivan had at least something resembling a brain, he would have gone to house Nommes first to discuss the matter...and history would have changed.”

“This is my first time hearing about the pleasure district...how cruel you are, telling something like that to me without a shred of apology.”

Eliza pouted and pinched my chest.

Looking at her adorable gesture, in contrast with her mature charm, made me smile.

“I wanted to make you jealous. Men want to see all sorts of expressions from the woman they fell for, you know that.”

“Oh, you make it sound like a nice thing to say...your bad habits with women haven’t changed even in the academy. After all the trouble master went through to register you...”

“Hmph. If he put me in there hoping to fix me, that’d be a real waste. Father must be pretty distressed too, with how things turned out.”

I recalled my father’s reaction when I told him about the engagement cancellation affair and smiled bitterly.

My father, the margrave, had a personality completely different from mine: he was an austere, serious, upright man.

I was prepared to be scolded and preached at for a couple of hours, as it often happened, but after hearing my report, my father reacted in a way I definitely did not expect.

『... just do what you want. I don’t care anymore.』

He then slumped on his chair, as if he was terribly exhausted.

Looking at my father so devastated, even I couldn’t help but feel pain.

Continuing my conversation with Eliza, “In any case...the prince has got to take responsibility for what he’s done.”

“Oh? He was disinherited and demoted to vassal status, was he not? Has he not been punished already?”

Eliza cocked her head to the side, curious.

“Yeah, the royal house has handed out its punishment, but that’s just his responsibility as crown prince, right? He hasn’t paid for humiliating me as a man yet. Nor for insulting the house of Maxwell. He picked a fight with me first: I have a duty to pay him back, till he cries and begs for mercy.”

Sullivan might be finished as a member of the royal family, but that was not enough punishment for that man. Even if he became a marquis or a count, he could still lead a life of freedom and luxury...unless I did something about it.

“He snatched my woman and even dared insult the pride of all soldiers who fight to defend this country, the bastard. I won’t be satisfied untill he fully learns what kind of person he made an enemy of. He had better enjoy the calm before the storm...”

“...you are a man to be feared, young master.”

Eliza then raised her head and kissed me. Our tongues clashed and meshed wildly, then she laid her body over mine.

Thanks to our long relationship, Eliza knew how excited, how frenzied I became before a battle, and how I appeased that drive by seeking female company.

“Take it all, Eliza...”

“Yes, young mas….hnn...”

I switched positions with Eliza and hungrily became one with her, making love to her body, which had become much more mature than the first time, five years ago.

~

In the end, my desire wasn’t satisfied until noon of the following day.

Eliza had gasped, moaned, and shouted through the night, so by the morning she was lying exhausted, unable to move, so I took the newly hired maid who came to announce breakfast was ready and dragged her into the bed.

I listened to her miserable shrieking as I possessed her virgin body, thinking that younger girls weren’t bad either.

Chapter 3 - The Prodigal Son Moves in the Shadows

【POV: Margrave Maxwell】

“...is Dyn still in bed?”

“Yes...he had quite a long night, after all.”

So replied the Maxwell house steward, a troubled tone in his voice.

I pressed my fingers against my temples, trying to subdue the migraine I felt coming.

My name is Dietrich Maxwell, a margrave in charge of the provinces on the eastern border of the Lamperouge kingdom.

Nobles ruling over territories located on the border have much to be worried about. We must be ready at all times for enemy invasions, as well as prevent any foreign ruffians from entering the country or domestic criminals to cross the borders.

My house of Maxwell is also the leader of the alliance of nobles of the eastern provinces. We have the duty to act as a mediator in case of trouble between noble families, as well as negotiate on behalf of local nobles with the royal house or central nobles.

My gravest concern as of late, however, is the attitude of my own son, Dyngir Maxwell.

“He’s been at it every night since he returned...the two years spent in the academy did nothing to mend his womanizing habits, then...”

One month ago, my son’s engagement with the young lady of the Nommes house was forcefully broken by the crown prince, thus he returned to his home province.

I thought that such an event would have brought him down, but had to quickly retract my concerns. Ever since that day, he started taking the female servants he used to frolic with in the past and engaged in indescribable debauchery every night.

“My lord, I do not know what to say...it’s all my daughter’s fault.”

The house steward bowed deeply.

“No, it’s not your fault...I have to apologize to you instead.”

“No, my lord...”

The house steward looked conflicted.

My son had several mistresses, but the “first lady”, for lack of a better term, was the house steward’s daughter, Eliza.

How would a father feel when his only daughter, raised with love and care, ended up sleeping with his master’s son? I was honestly terrified to know, so I never asked.

“Young master Dyngir is...how can I put it, he has heroic traits about him. He cannot be satisfied with a single woman, I suppose.”

“Heroes are amorous, as the proverb says...it does sound nice if you put it like that, but...”

“...as a father, it is an endless source of concern...”

“Indeed...if he was unskilled, I would have gladly disowned him.”

I furrowed my brow and let out a deep sigh.

My son, Dyngir, was what you would call a prodigal son. If you asked me if he was an incompetent idiot, however, I would have to firmly shake my head.

Dyngir showed traits of excellence ever since his infancy. He was an incredibly quick learner in terms of politics, economy, strategy, everything. His martial instructor even said that he had an incredible talent for fighting.

He was very popular among all vassals: the children of other nobles regarded him with respect and affection as a big brother.

Five years ago, he participated in his first battle, a small skirmish with one of our neighboring countries — in which he managed to lead a small battalion to ambush the enemy and even take the enemy commander’s head.

Genius, prodigy, hero that will go down in history — even without my parental bias, I believed such words were meant for him.

The only thing such a formidable son could not resist was the opposite gender.

Dyngir had his awakening at the age of thirteen, by bonding with Eliza, the house steward’s daughter. Ever since then, he has become obsessed with women.

Starting from Eliza, Dyngir has laid his hands on most if not all female servants in the residence. I could not help but feel terrible whenever I saw them.

I honestly wanted to scold him, but all the money Dyngir used on women came from his own pocket.

He used the money I gave him as an allowance to start a small business with other nobles: in five years, the profits from such diplomatic trade doubled.

(Being so successful is what makes him so awful...I had no basis to use to scold him...)

“If only he could get rid of his lust for women, I could let him take over without a single worry…”

“Lord Dyngir’s talents are exceptional, after all...incidentally, he appears to have established new transactions with friends he met in the academy.”

“...I see, so even if he looks like he’s always playing around, he made new connections too...at least he understands what the duties of a noble are...”

“Yes, indeed, though he also visited the pleasure district once a week, so it is also true that he was playing around.”

“.................”

I lost count how many times I had sighed already. Dejected, I slumped down on the table.

Having a foolish son would definitely be a problem, but an excessively skilled one was troublesome too. Especially if he was skillful and foolish at the same time…

“Well, that’s still...with some effort...with great effort, we can overlook that...instead, do you know what happened to the daughter of Baron Nommes after that?”

I changed the topic, also to escape reality for a while.

Baron Nommes was a vassal of house Maxwell: his daughter Selena had been my son’s fiancee.

When I heard that the engagement had been broken by her, I started having cold sweats, thinking that my son’s womanizing habits had been found out...I would have never expected for her to be the unfaithful one, and with the crown prince no less.

Despite looking so timid and meek, she managed to seduce the kingdom’s crown prince of all people...I had to change my opinion of her.

“Baron Nommes appears uncertain on how to punish her too. Her engagement with the...former crown prince was announced in public, after all.”

“Hmm...I don’t know the extent of their relationship, but she could already be pregnant with a child of royal blood...”

“If that happens...it is likely to breed political conflict.”

After the engagement breakup events, crown prince Sullivan was disinherited.

Sullivan was the eldest son, but his mother’s status was relatively low. Without the backup of Duke Rosais, he was unlikely to become king. Having insulted the house of Rosais, such a punishment was inevitable.

Selena’s fate was also most likely sealed. She would end up being used by a faction rebelling against the royal family or disposed of before that. I couldn’t foresee any light in her future.

“If only it all happened behind closed doors, it could have been suppressed somehow. But to expose a delicate problem like the breakup of an engagement in public...I didn’t think of him as such a fool.”

“He was a crown prince, but still a man, after all. When a woman is involved, men become fools...like someone else I know.”

“...is that sarcasm?”

“Of course not, sire.”

I looked silently at the house steward’s eyes, then slowly shook my head.

“...well...it appears that his majesty the king, the baron and I have all raised our children wrong. At least my own fool has decent judgment. I have to be thankful for that, at least.”

“Indeed, sir….sigh.”

“Haah...”

I sighed at the same time as the house steward, then the door of my study opened. Only one person in this residence would ever enter the margrave’s study without knocking.

“Morning, old man. I’ve got something to talk about, you’ve got time now, right?”

“...........”

“...........”

My skirt-chasing idiot of a son, of course.

The house steward and I looked at each other, our expressions turning sour.

“What? Were you both complaining about me or something?”

“...is there something we should complain about?”

“Not that I know of. I’m as pure and honest as they come.”

“Can you say that about your own body too, young master? Though you have spent a pleasant night apparently, that is very nice.”

“Hey, no sarcasm. I took a bath, mind you.”

Shut up already, idiot...can’t you see the murderous intent in the eyes of the house steward? I wish the daggers he’s throwing would actually stab, honestly…

Such thoughts popped up my mind, but I decided to listen to him for now.

“What business do you have? You haven’t come to help with my work, have you?”

“Work? If you mean the western region’s irrigation, I’ve already sent the workers. Same for the bandits around Zess village, the expedition corps are already on their way. The scouts for the eastern fort are leaving tomorrow morning, so that’s taken care of too. Oh, about the horseback bandits in the territory of Viscount Silfis, I’ve got a plan to leave it all to me. I’ll take care of them in the next few days.”

“....you’re a real fool of a son...”

This excellent side of his makes him all the more despicable. I bet I’m the only father bothered by the skills of his son…

“...anyway, what did you come for then?”

“I’ve got a favor to ask, that’s all. Here.”

“Hmm?”

My son handed me an envelope. It wasn’t sealed, so I took out the paper inside and read it, finding that its contents were quite bizarre.

“This is...”

“I want you to send that with your name, addressed to his majesty the king.”

“What are you thinking?”

I looked at my son’s face and found a prankster’s smile on his lips. The same face he showed when he brought me the enemy commander’s head in his first battle.

The last eighteen years had taught me, to a painful extent, how that face meant something nasty was approaching.

“The former crown prince and my former fiancee lady are going to have a bit of a bad time. It’s just a prank, nothing more.”

“Hmgh...”

“When I came back, you told me to do what I wanted, right? I’m sticking to your words, old man.”

I scanned the letter again and felt the headache growing stronger.

◯ ◯ ◯

A few days after crown prince Sullivan was disinherited and the commotion settled down…

A letter from margrave Maxwell was delivered to the royal house of Lamperouge.

It was a very succinct letter:

『I offer heartfelt congratulations for Prince Sullivan’s marriage into the family of Baron Nommes』