The Fortune of the Belmore Family -1
"Haa…."
Only once she was settled inside the carriage did Elin loosen her clothing a little.
A little was all it was; she remained as neat and composed as ever. Even so, her chest—disproportionately full for her small frame—found a fraction more freedom within the uniform. She undid her collar as well, giving her throat a bit of breathing room.
"Everyone worked hard," she said.
At her words the escorts finally let their tension ease, and for the first time they spoke to her with something other than pure formality.
"Not at all. Guarding you is most of what we do."
"Still, with material this solid, Her Majesty will be satisfied."
Her subordinates were already congratulating themselves, turning over the information they had wrung out of Cassius. To a man, they considered the operation a success.
Elin herself could not quite manage a smile.
"I only hope she rates us more than merely 'satisfied.'"
Every moment of every day, she wanted a better evaluation—however slight.
"Our family has devoted itself to the Empire since my grandfather's generation."
"Of course. If you asked the nobility to name a single commoner house, it would be the Belmores."
"And not purely out of loyalty, either. We do it to become nobles."
Which was why her expression still refused to look content.
"My grandfather fell on the battlefield. My father was wounded there and forced into retirement. My younger brother serves with a frontline strike unit, and my elder brother is one of the Empire's mages."
Every one of them mattered. Every one of them had given themselves to the Empire. All of it was for the sake of becoming nobility.
"But why fixate on a title so badly? In our Empire, being a commoner isn't so terrible, is it?"
For the age they lived in, the commoner class was more than adequate—far better than in other nations. Rights were broadly guaranteed, and the structure did not make it easy for nobles to abuse their power.
"Even so, a noble is a noble."
She adjusted her monocle and continued.
"For one thing, it opens the path to high office. However much real authority an inspector may wield, the post itself is still a junior rank. And then there is the Fruit of the Empire."
Fruit.
Ordinary fruit existed, of course—but the Fruit of the Empire was something else entirely. The fruit that had made the present Empire possible.
"Is the Fruit really that important?"
"It lets those with high mana affinity keep their youth for a long time. It extends lifespan as well."
A noble's span of years was several times that of a commoner's.
"If this assignment goes well… do you think we might finally become nobles?"
They had gutted a powerful provincial house. They had also obtained intelligence on the region itself.
"I couldn't say. The Empire does not hand out titles lightly."
"Still, after all that work, we might as well get a feel for the prices around here…."
A grin.
At last a smile found its way onto her face.
"All right. How about we grab a drink once we reach the next city?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Watching her subordinates light up with excitement, Elin leaned back against the seat. However well the roads were paved, a carriage still jolted and rattled.
Snore….
But when a person was exhausted enough, sleep came easily all the same.
The Inspectorate.
Among the handful of institutions vital to the Empire, the Inspectorate had always answered directly to the Imperial House.
"Your Majesty. Elin Belmore. I have brought the investigation report you ordered."
"Very well."
Yet of the Imperial House, only the Empress herself remained. Every affair of the palace concentrated upon her as never before. Setting aside only that she was a woman, the sovereign of the Empire was more absolute now than at any point in its history.
"Upon investigation, a considerable number of irregularities came to light."
"Continue."
"However, they do not appear to be personal embezzlement. It seems they have been scraping together funds somehow to cover shortfalls from the capital."
Elin rose from her kneeling posture and took a step closer to the Empress, holding out the materials she had prepared. The surrounding guards watched every movement of the sovereign with taut attention.
"I see."
The Empress accepted the documents and, with a casual motion, broke the seal the inspector had affixed. Eyes like amber gemstones skimmed the pages Elin had compiled.
"Oh? Rather bold contents."
"I verified whether any of it was false. It was not."
The report was thick, yet the Empress read only a few pages before passing it to the attendant at her side.
"Confirm this."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Verification was all that was required of her. Her gaze returned to Elin.
"So—corruption is certain, but its purpose is not what one would assume?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You have done well."
The Empress smiled. The expression carried a faintly loaded weight. Even those in the Inspectorate who knew her well could not quite place the meaning of that thin smile.
"I am not unaware of how long your family has labored for our Empire. A gift will be sent to you shortly."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Assuming nothing more than a generous reward, Elin answered and withdrew.
The Belmore family.
Commoners by rank, of course—yet a house that had, since the grandfather's generation, performed work of considerable weight for the Empire.
"Father, I'm home."
Leaning on his cane, the head of the household—Elin's father—came to greet his daughter.
"So. You carried out an inspection by Her Majesty's order. Did you do well?"
"Yes. It will certainly be of use to the Empire."
"Good. Well done."
The entire family had worked, without cease, toward the goal of nobility. No one had been driven to the breaking point, yet all of them were quietly worn down by the effort. The father who now enjoyed a measure of rest had paid for it with a leg that would limp for the rest of his life.
"Her Majesty said she is preparing a gift—in recognition of the inspection's results and of our family's devotion."
"Is that so?"
They went out to receive the procession that would soon arrive.
But unlike previous occasions, it was not dozens of carriages laden with lavish treasure or compensation.
Rustle.
A single man stepped down from a carriage. He carried a banner.
"I stand here in the place of the Empress of the Empire!"
Upon the banner, the crest of the Imperial House streamed gold against a field of crimson. More than anything else, the man was tall, and his voice crushed the space around him. He was, in the most literal sense, a presence sent to stand in for the sovereign herself.
He pressed on, overwhelming all who listened. Even the head of the house set aside his cane and dropped to his knees.
It can't be….
"The devotion the Belmore family has shown across generations has been a precious resource of this Empire. You have proven yourselves worthy of this honor."
In place of hundreds of offerings or chests of gold, a single gift was brought down from the carriage.
Rustle.
"Swallow the Fruit of the Empire, and serve the Empire from greater heights!"
A fruit prepared for the entire household—and with it, a coat of arms bestowed upon the Belmore family.
It was the declaration that the Belmores had, at last, become nobility.
Having said as much, the envoy recited each of the merits that stood in the Empress's name: the military devotion running from grandfather to father to son; the service of the mage among them; and the achievements earned within the Inspectorate—all of it spoken aloud.
"That is all!"
The moment they had longed for, year after year.
And yet Elin Belmore, still prostrate, felt a quiet disquiet stirring in her chest.
Naturally, the household threw a grand feast. Nobles with whom they already had some acquaintance were invited to congratulate the new noble house.
"Surely this is thanks to the head of the family's devotion?"
"Not at all. It is my children who worked so hard."
"The inspection must have earned a particularly high evaluation, no?"
A noble murmured close to his ear.
"Working in the Empress's direct presence, her bearing and manner would have stood out far more."
The closer one stood, after all, the more such things were seen.
"That may well be."
"Still—you must make a decision now."
"……."
On the other hand, the daughter had become a problem.
"You already know what marriage means among the nobility, I trust?"
A wife effectively passed into another household. To prevent interference from her birth family, a woman was expected, in practice, to live prostrate at her husband's feet.
"I had heard that even noblewomen may continue to work after marriage."
"You may as well say it never happens. Once a household subjects her to pleasure—or to a certain kind of training… well. Yes."
They already understood noble culture. But knowing of it and becoming its object were entirely different matters.
"Here—I expected as much, so I brought my wife along."
"Ah… hello…♡♡♡"
Her face was flushed crimson. She was dressed, yet the fabric was so sheer that it concealed nothing of what lay beneath; the clothes might as well not have existed.
"This is the natural state of things."
Drawn to the near-nudity, one almost missed the animal ears. She was a beastkin—of the beastkin houses common in the Empire's eastern territories.
"Sit."
"Y-yes♡"
At the single word she sank down with a lewd smile.
"First impressions matter."
"I am aware…."
"If you fail to marry your daughter to an imperial noble, a newborn house will not get off to a favorable start, I expect."
Squish♡
"Hnn…♡"
Without the slightest change of expression, the noble set the top of his foot against his wife's pussy—she was sitting in the posture of a dog.
"Hyaah♡ Heeeh♡♡♡"
"Something like this, you understand."
Fortune was unmistakable.
But behind fortune, a price was always required.
The person it concerned already knew that perfectly well.
"……."
Elin Belmore sank into thought.
Marriage…?
Even while aiming for nobility, she had always assumed she herself would remain a commoner. But nobility was now the reality.