Prologue
EVEN BEFORE WERNER WAS APPOINTED TO ANHEIM, the Zehrfeld residence had seen an uptick in visitors so drastic that Count Zehrfeld himself and his wife, Claudia, wore tired, wry grins throughout the day. For better or for worse, the Zehrfelds had become the talk of the town both within and outside the palace.
Werner had never had a shining reputation in the first place, and now it was an even split between good and bad.
Half the visitors were sold on the rumors that he’d been assigned to Anheim, which lay close to the borders, because his talents had been recognized by no less than Crown Prince Hubertus, Duke Seyfert, and Duke Gründing—also grandfather to the second-born princess, the holy woman Laura. Thus, his current position was nothing but a detour from a career that would one day see him returned to the center of the kingdom and ascended to the highest ranks, or so they believed. With all this in mind, there were many nobles who approached the family in unconcealed attempts to ingratiate themselves, or to get one of their daughters engaged to Werner sooner rather than later.
There were also those who took issue with Werner’s supposed penchant for squandering money, which had been gaining infamy throughout the capital. It all began with a rumor that he had been gathering funds to use for his own merrymaking, and now many would furrow their brows at the first hint of news that he was ordering construction materials from the capital to be shipped to Anheim in order to build brothels.
For better or for worse, there was never a shortage of muckrakers in the court, and they were all too happy to drag the Zehrfeld heir’s reputation through the mud.
Not to mention, Lily—the younger sister of the hero Mazel, who had slain a Demon Commander of the Demon army—was now employed at the residence of the Zehrfelds. Many had come to lay eyes on her, and more than a few had designs to take her for themselves. As a result, the entire Zehrfeld household, including the count, countess, and their staff, had to spend ever more of their time dealing with the influx of guests.
And on this particular morning, an especially important figure had come calling, his early visit kept secret by borrowing the carriage of another count. His arrival left not only the master of the house but even the lowest-ranking maids filled with anxiety. While the man himself paid little mind to lapses in manners, the greatness of his name left those around him thinking otherwise.
“You must be Lily. I am Jech Altig Seyfert.”
“Y-yes, I’m Lily Harting.” Lily managed a proper greeting, even if she couldn’t quite conceal her fraying nerves. Seyfert, in Werner’s words, looked like a stubborn old geezer. He had the imposing aura of a military man, with a noble rank that far exceeded that of count. Lily’s reaction received a passing score.
“You may relax. I simply wish to question you about a map recently submitted to me by Lord Werner.”
“R-right.”
“You are the one who drew it, correct?” He took out the panoramic map of the Anheim region that he had received from Werner. The map had left Werner’s father breathless the first time he saw it, and even a veteran of the military such as Seyfert had been stunned.
It wasn’t that panoramic maps didn’t exist in this world, but the ones they had were simply diagrams drawn from atop tall mountains or high towers. They were closer to an artist’s rendering, such as you might find on a folding screen in the capital of Werner’s previous world. While there were such images that depicted towns and famous sights, maps that could capture a territory in its entirety had yet to be invented.
Additionally, it was not just the idea that had been so great; the execution was near perfect as well. Looking at the diagram was like looking down on the whole territory and its battlefields. People of this world also used chess pieces to simulate battles on top of maps, and this seemed like the perfect type to use.
“Y-yes, it was me.”
He grunted. “It would appear that something was first built to aid you in drawing this map. Would you explain how you created this image? You can keep your explanation brief.”
It was a predictable question, given that Werner, in his focus on producing the map, had neglected to explain the process of its creation. His mind had quickly turned to the mystery of why this world lacked any natural disasters, and, in doing so, he’d left the matter of the map without any proper closure. When he had asked Lily to take a few days to create this map, he had prohibited anyone from cleaning the room where the 3D model was being built, but he had not prohibited simply entering.
So Norbert, the family butler, curious about what Werner could possibly be up to once again, had entered the room. He was shocked by what he had found, with Werner none the wiser about the incident. Norbert had brought the matter to Lord Ingo, who quickly made it clear that none in the house were to speak of it. And when the map had finally been submitted to the king, the existence of the 3D model had been kept a secret. This, too, was something that Werner had been left in the dark about. His thoughts had been bent on his appointment to Anheim and the lack of natural disasters, but that didn’t absolve him from his carelessness in this matter.
Seyfert’s question had inspired a moment of uncertainty in Lily that made its way to her face. However, Lord Ingo was also in attendance, and at his nod of approval, Lily answered directly. “First, we had a few men head to the region…”
Several people had been hired to examine the topography of the region from different locations, their knowledge serving as reference for a 3D model, which Lily then turned into a 2D diagram. The big picture was simple enough, but explaining the finer points of the process was difficult. And as Lily tried to simplify the whole thing, Duke Seyfert picked up on something that seemed amiss.