This Letter First Came from the Empire
The day after I sealed the engagement with House Simon.
Emilie of House Rohan, was it?
Yesterday my father-in-law had told me that Count Henri of the Rohan family wanted to join his daughter Emilie to me.
I’m pretty sure I saw her once before as a matchmaking candidate.
Back then I hadn’t even thought about height-catching, so I never managed a single conversation with her.
But things were different now.
I’m going to become a harem master!
The more the merrier—this was a harem my father-in-law himself had authorized.
Today I would pay a visit to House Rohan.
“Marie! I’m heading over to the Rohan estate!”
My maid poked just her head through the office doorway and asked,
“What about the letter from the Empire? It might be important.”
“Tsk. You’re not supposed to look at that kind of thing before going to see your future wife.”
“Didn’t you just form an engagement with House Simon yesterday?”
“Marquis Simon said the Rohan family wants an engagement with me too. As long as Perrone is the principal wife, he doesn’t mind.”
“Well, House Simon does rank higher, so that works out nicely. Off you go, then.”
I immediately vaulted out the window and flew off.
The moment I arrived at the Rohan manor I asked the butler to show me straight to Count Henri.
“Count Henri, how have you been?”
“All thanks to you, Master Lucian. So what brings you here?”
“I came to discuss an engagement with your daughter.”
“Didn’t Master Lucian say he had no intention of marrying a child?”
“That’s true, but Marquis Simon suggested we could get engaged first and marry later once she grows up, so I formed an engagement with House Simon.”
“Ah, I should have proposed that myself. I never thought of it. Master Lucian will keep his youth for a very long time, after all.”
Sorry, but I didn’t know either.
I wasn’t even thinking about height-catching back then.
“Then would our Emilie become the second wife?”
“If we form the engagement, yes.”
“Excellent. The position of second wife to the Grand Master is more than good enough. With a marquis house holding the first seat, House Rohan’s dignity remains intact.”
He just accepted it that coolly. Real nobles really don’t care about polygamy, huh.
As long as no house ranked below them sits ahead of them, it’s fine?
“Thank you for granting permission.”
“I’m the one who should thank you. I’ve long coveted a Master for a son-in-law, and now that you’ve become the Grand Master, nothing could be better.”
“Since we’re engaged, I’d like to meet Lady Emilie as well.”
“Of course you should.”
Count Henri summoned a maid and instructed her to escort me to Emilie.
“Ah—our Emilie is terribly shy and takes a long time to warm up to people.”
“Understood. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Following the maid down the corridor, I ran into Emilie herself. The instant she saw me she averted her eyes. Just as I’d been told—quite the bashful one.
“Hello, Lady Emilie. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“….”
“I’m Lucian, your fiancé starting today.”
“….”
“How about we talk for a bit?”
“….”
She nodded.
Wow, this is not going to be easy.
She won’t say a single word.
The maid left us. Emilie led me to a reception room, and now it was just the two of us.
Please, say anything at all.
“What do you like, Lady Emilie?”
“….”
“You’re really shy, aren’t you?”
“….”
Patience… I can’t scold a little kid, and she’s my future wife to boot.
“Then would you like to hear my story?”
“….”
She nodded.
She won’t talk, but at least she’s interacting. Thank goodness.
“Great. I was born a commoner, but I’ve been holding a sword since I was around your age…”
I simply told her the story of my life.
Naturally I left out the more brutal parts that weren’t suitable for a child.
“…and that’s how I became a Sword Master at twenty-five.”
“….”
This is hard. Really hard. Not even a flicker of expression.
“Was it boring?”
Emilie squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head vigorously from side to side.
“….”
“That’s a relief, then.”
“…Cool.”
Oh? She just spoke?
My victory, kid. Even if a little one tries to play it cool, this is about the level you get.
Back in Korea I’d worked with communication-disordered lunatics who made this look easy.
“Finally got to hear your voice for the first time.”
And so I played with Emilie until the sun went down, then returned to the manor.
“Aagh, I’m wiped. Looking after kids is exhausting.”
“You’re back late again today.”
“Yeah. Anything happen while I was gone?”
“No. Oh, right—the carriage you requested from the royal family is finished.”
“Ooooh! It’s finally done?”
My private jet is complete at last! A flying camper van!
Now I won’t have to worry about my eyes stinging from air resistance every time I fly.
“Yes. You can go pick it up tomorrow.”
“Great. Now let’s take a look at that letter from the Cardis Empire.”
“Here you are.”
The contents of the letter I received went roughly like this.
Having lost every Master, we seek to raise new ones, yet the Masters who might instruct them are dead and gone, leaving us in difficulty.
Therefore we wish to invite you—the strongest being on the continent and the first Grand Master—to serve as Special Professor at the Imperial Academy.
In recompense we are prepared to conclude a non-aggression treaty with the Arno Kingdom, pay reparations for the previous invasion, and additionally enter into an aid agreement.
“That’s what it says.”
“So Lucian-nim, you’re going to become a professor?”
“No thanks. Why would I bother with something that annoying?”
“But the Imperial Academy admits students at eighteen.”
So it’s like the university of this fantasy world, huh.
“I’m terrible at teaching people. And I don’t want to.”
“If you take the post, wouldn’t you meet plenty of pretty female students you like?”
What—I hadn’t even considered that.
“Damn it!!! Marie!! You’re a genius!! Let’s go! To Cardiiiiis!! Ich bin gross Meister Lucien!!”
A college-girl wife is every man’s dream!
“I want to come too!”
And just like that, it was decided Marie would accompany me.
The next day I flew to the royal palace and went straight to Charles.
“King Charles! I’m here!!”
Charles greeted me with perfect calm, as if he had known I would come soon.
“Yes, I expected you would turn up before long. Have you read the letter from the Empire?”
“Yeah~ They want me to become a special professor.”
“Judging by your reaction, you’ve already made up your mind.”
“Pretty much. Looks like there’s a lot I can squeeze out of them.”
Of course what I’ll be squeezing out is a whole bunch of college-girl wives.
The only thing better than a college-girl wife is more college-girl wives.
“Are you certain? In the Cardis Empire they may treat you as the sworn enemy who slaughtered four Masters.”
“Let them try whatever they want.”
They’d already lost every Master after clashing with me once; they wouldn’t pick that fight again.
I just need the female students not to hate me.
“They started the fight and lost, so what’s the problem? Even if Arno ever gets into real danger I can just fly back in no time.”
Charles pondered a moment, then finally gave his permission.
“Very well, do as you wish. We will handle the negotiations with the Empire on our end, so you may depart whenever you like.”
“Yes, sir~ Ah! And that private vehicle they said was finished?”
“The iron carriage without wheels? I cannot even imagine how it moves, but it is complete. Go see the royal blacksmith.”
Nice. I’ll ride my private jet to the Empire.
I wonder what faces those primitive medieval-land folks will make when they see a metal carriage with no horses and no wheels flying through the sky.
Heart fluttering with excitement, I headed for the palace forge.
“Master Lucian! We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Where’s my carriage?”
“This way, please. It’s in the rear courtyard.”
I followed the blacksmith into the back yard, and there it stood.
My private jet, built exactly to my specifications.
“Ooooh, I’m taking it right now. Good work!~”
“How do you intend to make that thing move?”
“Just watch.”
I stepped straight into my private vehicle and began generating a magnetic field centered on the carriage, lifting it into the air.
“Ooooh!!!”
Enjoying the blacksmith’s reaction from outside, I flew the vehicle back to the manor to pick up Marie.
“Wooow!! A flying carriage!!!”
Marie’s reaction is delicious too.
“Lucian-nim, I want to ride it too!!”
“Sure, hop in.”
Eyes sparkling like a child’s, Marie climbed into my private jet and sat across from me.
Flying really is humanity’s primal dream, after all.
“All right, lifting off. Tell me if heights scare you.”
I raised the carriage until the manor looked no bigger than a fist.
“Wahaha! We’re really flying!”
She gazed out the window, delighting like a little girl.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen that expression on Marie before.
“Lucian-nim! The scenery is so beautiful!”
“You’re even more beautiful.”
“Hah?!…”
Huh? What’s this reaction? She always either answers my shameless straight shots calmly or just ignores them.
Could this be the suspension-bridge effect?
Looking at beautiful scenery can make your heart race, after all.
I can’t let this chance slip. When the heart is shaken, finish it before she comes to her senses.
“Marie, marry me. I sincerely like you.”
“…What are you saying all of a sudden, Lucian-nim.”
Has she gone crazy? How many times have I already proposed, and now it’s ‘all of a sudden’?
“What do you mean ‘all of a sudden’? This is the 6,974th proposal I’ve made to you.”
“What is that uselessly specific number even for? You haven’t proposed that many times to begin with.”
“Then I’ll just propose a lot more from now on. Until you say yes.”
“You’re only supposed to do that with someone you truly like!”
Is she actually insane? I’ve already told her I like her. Does she only hear what she wants to hear?
If I’d had even one percent of a normal person’s emotional capacity I would have been hurt by now.
“I really do like you. I’ll keep liking you even if you reject me, and I’ll keep liking you even if you hate me.”
If you have a human heart, just fall for me already.
“If everyone in the world liked you, I would be among those who like you. If only one person in the world liked you, that person would probably be me. And if not a single person in the world liked you, it would only be because I was already dead.”
“Hwaaah….”
Marie’s face flushed crimson; she let out that soft sound and then spent a long while lost in thought.
“May I… think about it a little?”
Well, for me this already counted as a success.
“As long as you want. Take all the time you need.”
“Yes, thank you.”
It’s only a matter of time before she comes around.
They say no tree falls at the first stroke, but keep chopping and it will fall eventually.
“Then let’s head straight for the Cardis Empire.”
“Yes. But did you tell the people around you?”
“What people around me? King Charles already knows.”
“Your fiancées.”
“Ah, right.”
I’d only just gotten them, so I’d completely forgotten.
With the possibility of marrying Marie now real, and my head full of excitement about meeting future college-girl wife candidates, I couldn’t go and disappoint the fiancées who would one day become college-girl wives themselves.
“Let’s stop by House Simon and House Rohan first. At least say goodbye properly.”