I Became a Margrave of a Fantasy World
I woke up and found myself a Margrave in a fantasy world.
There had been no warning signs whatsoever.
I had simply attended lectures as usual, finished my assignments, played a few games, then crawled into bed and gone to sleep.
No matter how hard I thought about it, none of those ordinary actions seemed like they could possibly have served as the trigger for becoming a Margrave in a fantasy world.
If those really had been the trigger, then half the population of South Korea would already be Margraves in fantasy worlds by now.
Whatever the case, I was no longer Ha Yujin, a twenty-year-old Korean man.
“Ivan Cluers….”
That was my name.
Fortunately—truly, blessedly—Ivan Cluers’s memories were already inside my head. And they were vivid.
It felt exactly like someone who had suffered amnesia suddenly recovering every lost memory in a single instant.
I even found myself half-convinced that I had actually been reincarnated as Ivan Cluers all along, had simply forgotten my past-life memories until today, and had finally regained them.
In any case, since I possessed Ivan Cluers’s memories, there was no need to pretend I had amnesia.
A Margrave charged with ruling a territory, struck with amnesia? Just imagining it was horrifying.
Especially given the rather special circumstances Ivan Cluers currently found himself in—if I had lacked those memories, my own safety would have been in real danger.
But I had them, so the whole thing was a meaningless hypothetical.
“I’ll be fine…. I have the memories, so I should be fine… right?”
One week had passed since I became Ivan Cluers.
Life as a Margrave… was better than I had expected.
The quality of life wasn’t bad, and the people around me were decent enough.
The Ivan Cluers in my memories had been so cold he never offered even the smallest word of praise to his own people. So when I softened that icy demeanor a little and occasionally tossed out a compliment, I could see them treating me better in return.
As someone who carried Ivan Cluers’s memories, I fully understood his actions and his feelings…. but I saw no reason to keep clinging to that attitude forever.
I was starting to think that becoming a Margrave in a fantasy world might not be so bad after all, if things continued like this.
At least I didn’t have to worry about finding a job.
That was when it happened.
Someone knocked.
“Come in.”
“My Lord Margrave.”
It was the Head Butler.
“What is it?”
Judging by his less-than-pleasant expression, he had not come bearing good news.
Some annoying business, maybe?
If it had been truly serious, even the Head Butler would have lost his composure, so it probably wasn’t critical…. still, just in case, I raised my guard a fraction.
“There has been a problem with the gift that arrived from the Frunhel Duchy.”
“A problem with a gift from the Duchy…?”
Anything involving a ducal house is always a hassle….
Of course, House Cluers was hardly inferior when set beside the Frunhel Duchy.
Still, a duchy was a duchy.
“What sort of problem?”
“Someone not listed on the gift inventory was mixed in.”
Something not on the list? If it’s a valuable item we can just send it back———
“Wait. Someone?”
“Yes, a person.”
I stared at the Head Butler, trying to make sense of the words, when the door he had closed upon entering slowly opened again.
A maid stepped in, leading a girl by the hand.
A girl I had never seen before.
…Wait a second. Don’t tell me.
“This girl…?”
“That is correct. To be precise, she was hiding inside one of the boxes.”
The moment the Head Butler finished speaking, my head began to throb.
Simply because a little girl had been hiding in a box?
No.
Of course, the fact that no one had noticed a child was concealed inside a crate until it had already been carried into the castle was itself enough to make my temples ache.
But that was a minor detail compared to the real problem I was about to point out.
“…Was she wearing those clothes when she was discovered?”
“Yes.”
The clothes were filthy, yet they were far too fine for any commoner. The chance that she was a peasant was vanishingly small.
I was about to heave a sigh at the headache-inducing situation———and then stopped myself.
I had seen the girl standing with her head bowed low, trembling ever so slightly.
…What kind of behavior is that in front of a child.
That’s not what matters right now.
“First, have her washed and change her into clean clothes. Then take her to the drawing room and give her something sweet to eat.”
“Understood.”
The Head Butler answered, then flicked a glance at the maid.
She nodded at once and led the girl out of the room.
Only then did I finally let out a long, deep sigh.
“…Head Butler.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“For now, do not question her about anything.”
“…Will that be all right.”
Ivan Cluers’s common sense was screaming that it was most definitely not all right.
No matter how young she might be, a suspicious person was still a suspicious person.
She needed to be interrogated so her identity could be confirmed. We needed to determine whether she posed any threat to the territory’s safety.
And we absolutely needed to confirm whether she was someone who could harm Ivan Cluers’s rule.
That was Ivan Cluers’s common sense.
But….
“Now that I’ve taken the seat of Margrave, wouldn’t it be fine to change a little?”
Because the me of the present was no longer a being who possessed only Ivan Cluers’s common sense.
“Are you disappointed?”
At my question the Head Butler shook his head.
“I am not disappointed.”
The answer came without the slightest hesitation.
It did not sound like flattery.
“…Gather every scrap of information related to the Frunhel Duchy.”
“Understood.”
The Head Butler left the room.
Silence settled once more.
I closed my eyes.
The image of the girl who had kept her head bowed, unable to meet my gaze, rose unbidden.
“…Haa.”
It bothers me, though.
Figuring that by now she would have finished bathing and would be eating something sweet in the drawing room, I headed there.
“I’m coming in.”
I opened the door and stepped inside. The maid and the girl were both present.
The girl sat in a chair with her head still bowed low.
A plate of cookies rested on the table in front of her.
Nothing was in her hands.
I checked the corners of her mouth.
No crumbs, no sugar dust.
Apparently she had not even touched the cookies.
“…Are you full, by any chance?”
I thought I had managed a fairly gentle tone.
I sneaked a glance at the maid’s face.
From the faint surprise written there, it seemed I really had spoken in a voice so soft that the usual Ivan Cluers could never have imagined it.
“I-I’m sorry! I’ll eat!”
The girl blurted the words in a startled rush and hurriedly snatched up a cookie, stuffing it into her mouth.
…This isn’t going to be easy.
Is she simply afraid of me?
Or is she reading every tiny shift in the atmosphere?
Is there some other reason entirely?
If I carelessly start asking about her circumstances, I might only make her more wary. I want to earn a little trust first….
“You may eat as much as you like, comfortably. If you want more, just say so without any hesitation.”
Well, I said that, but she would probably keep reading the room anyway.
The girl nodded silently.
Then, head still bowed, she began to nibble at the cookie in tiny, careful bites.
It looked as though she was trying with all her might not to meet my eyes.
It would probably be better if I just left.
She was openly showing how uncomfortable my presence made her. If I stayed any longer, I would have no defense against being called an oblivious oaf.
I was about to walk out when a thought suddenly struck me and I spoke it aloud.
“Bring her something to drink as well. Eating only cookies will make her throat dry, won’t it.”
The maid bowed her head at once.
“Understood. I will prepare it immediately.”
She had probably planned to ask what the girl wanted the moment a request was made…. but in a state of hyper-vigilant caution like this, even asking for a drink would have been difficult.
So this sort of thing was something an adult ought to notice and take care of on their own.
I reached for the doorknob.
“…Thank you.”
The girl’s quiet voice reached me.
“It’s nothing.”
It wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
Even though a sudden situation had erupted, certain facts remained unchanged.
Namely, the fact that I was a Margrave.
What did that mean?
…It meant the duties I had to perform as Margrave had not magically disappeared.
“Has any movement from the Ancient Demonic Beast been confirmed?”
“Not yet. It seems this particular specimen is quite a cautious one.”
“Maintain the current posture until movement is confirmed. And make certain the soldiers’ discipline does not slacken.”
“Understood. Then I shall take my leave.”
“Yes. Good work.”
Still, today all I had to do was receive these minor reports, so I was not particularly busy.
It was not a day that required me to ride all over the territory, nor a day that demanded any critical decisions of a Margrave.
This is a pretty leisurely day, all things considered.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.”
The Head Butler opened the door and entered.
…Did I just set a flag?
I didn’t just jinx myself into some urgent crisis that needs immediate handling, right?
“My lord, I have obtained information related to the Frunhel Duchy.”
Fortunately, that was not the case.
Still….
“It must be fairly well-known information.”
Otherwise there was no way he could have gathered anything so quickly after receiving the order.
“That is correct.”
“The possibility that it concerns the girl?”
“If I may offer my personal opinion…. the possibility seems high.”
If the Head Butler was willing to go that far, the odds really were high….
“Go ahead and tell me.”
I prayed with everything I had that it would not be the kind of information that made my head explode.
Please…!!!
“It is information that the young lady of the Frunhel Duchy, Lady Aria Frunhel, has died in an accident.”