Epilogue
BEING ALONE IN THE MANOR WITH NONE BUT THE knights and servants for company had put Hermine in a dour mood. So, as she always did in these situations, she headed to the training grounds.
Her father, Bastian, had yet to return from Count Teutenberg’s domain. She had received a message from him saying he couldn’t leave the fiefdom as there was no one else to take charge of public order within the domain and its surrounding areas. Her brother, Tyrone, had returned to their domain for a short while for the same purpose, but had just departed once more for the capital, while her sister, Judith, attended appointment after appointment with others outside the manor.
Currently, Hermine was beset with a sense of foreboding that went beyond words, but she was in no position to act on it. Depression overwhelmed her.
She’d only been exercising for a short while when one of her friends called out to her.
“Good work out there, Mine.”
“Annette. It’s been too long.”
The two were close. They abridged typical formalities and brought the topic of conversation straight to the exchange of information. In doing so, they confirmed that multiple knight brigades of noble houses had been sent from the capital to ensure the safety of roads and to exterminate monsters, though the groups of monsters that spawned throughout the lands of the kingdom posed no major threats.
“I heard that Count Jhering returned from his domain just a few days prior.”
“It seems that he has been working to maintain public order as well.”
Mine had also heard that Count Hering and his heir, Anshelm, had led their knight brigade back to their domain and eradicated monsters there. However, she also knew it took much more time for Anshelm to return to the capital than had been anticipated. To be exact, she heard her brother Tyrone curiously ask, “Anshelm isn’t back yet?” once he had returned to the capital.
When she shared this intel with Annette, she appeared to find it odd as well. The house of Count Jhering was a military one, and thus, she couldn’t imagine it would take much time for them to simply wipe out monsters. Still, it was the first she was hearing of this, and thus, she couldn’t offer much of a response. Instead, she took the conversation in a new direction.
“Then your family is well?”
“Yes, my elder brother back in our domain just secured our roads the other day.”
Both Count Fürst’s and his neighbor Count Zehrfeld’s knight brigades had recently returned to the royal capital. Annette informed her that the latter forces had used the terrain to their advantage to successfully purge the nearby monsters while limiting casualties.
The next topic of conversation was Mazel.
“From what I hear, it appears that the Hero who participated in the battle at Finoy defeated the Demon Commander’s army in Lesratoga.”
“I have heard the same.” Mine nodded at Annette’s words, but in reality, they were both behind on intel. Mazel had already entered the Kingdom of Fahlritz to Lesratoga’s south. Faced with Demons running rampant, Fahlritz had readily allowed the Hero’s party into their country with permission to act freely and as they pleased. Their efforts went smoother than even Werner had imagined. As a result, they had been able to not only secretly return to the capital of Wein but even visit Anheim.
Still, Mine wasn’t especially ill-informed. Intel was becoming harder to come by in all countries, not just the Kingdom of Wein. The effects of the Demon Lord’s revival were growing more pronounced and monster attacks more frequent. It had become more difficult for all travelers, including merchants, to move from one location to another. The Wein Kingdom had reacted relatively quickly to this change of circumstance, yet even they had to dedicate a portion of their forces to maintaining the safety of their main highways; there were countries where even traveling to the neighboring town had become infeasible.
“The Hero truly is the pride of our kingdom.” Annette praised Mazel’s efforts with a grin.
Seeing this, Mine was reminded of something. “That’s right. You’re a guard for one of his family members, aren’t you?
“I am. I protect his younger sister.” Annette had always been the serious type, and there was pride in her words. Being entrusted with attending to the Hero’s sister Lily when she went to town was something she considered a great honor. Mine was quite envious of her, but she quickly carried on the conversation to rid herself of such feelings. “What is she like?”
“Hm… Had I been a man, I would have certainly asked her out,” answered Annette after taking a moment to consider her answer. It was rare for her to joke, and for a moment, Mine was stunned. But in the next, she burst into laughter as well.
“I see. If that’s what you think of her, I’m sure she’s a wonderful girl.”
“Yes. She is not without her faults, but on the whole, she’s quite the good girl.” Lily was still inexperienced in manners and customs, but Annette knew that time would fix that. “But recently, we’ve had more visitors asking to see her without prior appointments.”
That had Mine frowning. Those visitors were far too forward. The more word spread of the Hero’s exploits, the more those with ulterior motives would approach his family. Both Annette and Mine understood this, but still, they thought more like knights than nobles, and thus, they couldn’t help but find it disagreeable.
Mine shook her head. “If Count Zehrfeld foresaw as much, he really is quite amazing.”
“He is.”
Even if it was just a pretense, Lily being in the care of a count’s house made it hard for others to lay their hands on her. Annette agreed with Mine, but she couldn’t help but find the fact to be a bit of a shame. Maybe it was because she knew that while Lily lived in Count Zehrfeld’s manor as a maid, she seemed to yearn for his heir, Werner.
She knew that Werner had taken the initiative against the Demon Stampede to protect the crown prince and was well regarded by Duke Gründing for his valiant efforts during the battle to defend Finoy. However, there was a segment of nobles who despised him.
Those nobles spread rumors about him. Talk of how he brought wood with him from the capital to build places for carousing, how he went into debt to hold a banquet, and how he had adventurers carry liquor and foodstuffs from the capital to Anheim to provide for that very banquet, was spreading throughout the capital. There were even those who claimed that they had seen a group of women headed for Anheim, or even lines of carriages filled with jewels headed for the city.
As these rumors found their way to Annette’s ears, she began to have misgivings about the glances people sent Lily’s way. Still, it was true that squandering funds wasn’t rare in noble society. She didn’t think there was a need to inform Lily of such things, and thus, she kept her mouth shut.
Mine, on the other hand, had her doubts and suspicions about the rumors. She often had occasion to speak with Werner, and thus, she had a hard time believing he was a womanizing wastrel. Even if he was, she had an odd sense of faith that he’d be skilled at hiding it and avoid doing anything that might beget rumors. If Werner himself heard all this, he’d certainly be taken aback.
After exchanging information on another two or three matters, Hermine bid Annette farewell and returned to Count Fürst’s manor. There, her butler informed her she had a guest, and a rather surprising one at that. Her elder sister Judith had been waiting for her for quite a long while.
She was instructed to visit her as soon as she returned, so Mine hurried to change before entering the room where Judith waited. She was greeted by a cold stare.
“I see you are as fond of exercising as always.” Despite her words, she held martial arts in high regard, as any woman of Wein would. Her remark was simply the sort of complaint you gave voice to when someone was late.
“My deepest apologies for keeping you waiting.”
“I think little of it. I assume you have not forgotten your manners as a noblewoman?”
“Of course not.”
Judith nodded and casually flung a controversial statement her way. “You are to be betrothed to Lord David, second son of Marquess Cortolezis.”
“Huh?” Mine was at a loss for words.
“I have sent Father a messenger. Ah, that’s right. Once he joins our family, he will be offering his aid to not just the knight brigade of Count Fürst but that of Count Teutenberg as well.”
Mine knew that as a noble, this sort of thing happened. Rather, it was more common for shared interests to be the main deciding factor in an engagement. But just why had her sister been the one to deliver such news?
Mine was still and silent as she swallowed down her doubts.