Roella's Visit
"Roella?"
At the startled question that slipped from my lips, Roella Amelia strode toward me wearing a triumphant smile. Her pristine white riding habit stood out all the more fiercely against the brilliant golden hair catching the sunlight, and she walked with the swagger of a general returning from a victorious campaign.
A single escort knight stepped swiftly into her path, cutting her off. He planted himself in front of me ahead of her and declared, in a voice that was polite yet edged with steel:
"Leave this to me, my lady."
Without waiting for her reply, the knight turned his attention on me. His eyes were sharp as a hawk's that had just spotted prey.
"We have come to take possession of Seorigol—"
Possession?
While he drew breath for the next sentence, I quickly sized up their arms. This was no ordinary party. Aside from Roella in her light riding clothes, every knight was clad head to toe in gleaming armor, longswords hanging at their hips. Far too heavily armed for a simple escort detail.
"—all the way to this remote place. Ian Darkest, Lord of Seorigol. If you do not wish for bloodshed, surrender every authority over Seorigol here and n—"
The knight's threatening monologue cut off mid-word with a sudden choke. I had a pretty good idea why. Behind him stood Roella, arms folded, saying nothing — yet an immensely sharp, piercing aura was pouring off her in waves.
...Mana? Or just pure presence?
Whatever it was, the crushing force of it left the knight drenched in cold sweat, unable to finish his sentence. So this was the majesty of the one who ruled Loreal City — the city that bore her own name. For a moment, Roella looked different to me. Maybe it even had something to do with that strangely heightened sense I'd been feeling since earlier, as if I were picking up on something just out of reach.
Having dropped the knight to his knees with nothing but a look, Roella finally spoke. Her voice carried none of its usual prickliness; it was the dignified tone of a true fief lord.
"Sir Mikhail."
"...Y-yes, my— my lord!"
"Who exactly said we were invading Seorigol? I simply came to visit an old friend."
"B-but... my lady, you clearly ordered us to arm the elites and head for Seorigol...!"
Roella let out a deep sigh and quietly ordered Sir Mikhail to stand down. Then, still radiating that same lordly presence, she walked right up to me.
"I apologize for my subordinate's rudeness, Lord Ian. It seems there was a slight misunderstanding."
Hearing her — who normally spoke to me in nothing but casual, cutting banter — suddenly switch to the formal speech of a fief lord threw me for a second. I recovered quickly enough, took her hand, and answered in kind.
"Think nothing of it, Lord Roella. You've come a long way; it must have been a tiring journey. But tell me... what business brings you all the way out to this humble place?"
I thought it was a rather solemn, weighty reply.
That is, until Roella heard it, clutched her stomach, and burst out laughing.
"Pfft—! Ahahaha! Oh, that is hilarious! What do you think you're doing? You figure scrunching up your face and dropping your voice an octave makes you a real lord? Oh god, my sides!"
Only then did it hit me. Every scrap of dignity and grandeur she'd just put on had been nothing but a performance to mess with me. This girl. Same as ever.
After laughing herself nearly to tears, Roella wiped the corners of her eyes and slipped back into her usual sharp-tongued register.
"So. I hear you found a mana stone mine? Hmph. Knowing you, you're probably flailing around with zero idea how to manage it — so this big sister came all the way out here to take a special look. You should be grateful, you dummy."
"...Big sister? Since when were you my big sister?"
Roella ignored me completely. She just grinned and jerked her chin toward the bandits groaning on the ground.
"......"
I had nothing to say. When you got down to it, she had just bailed me out.
Roella casually slung an arm around my shoulder like we were old friends and smiled.
"Come on, let's head to the fief. This big sister will kindly walk you through everything. Think of it as a very expensive private lesson, got it?"
...Damn it.
By the time we arrived at Seorigol with Roella in tow, she was beaming as if she were the lord of the place, wearing an expression of pure self-satisfaction. Walking beside her, I was nursing a mental wound far worse than anything the bandit ambush had inflicted.
I owe her now...
I'd always been the one getting teased and jerked around by Roella. Lately, after everything that happened at the Academy, I'd finally started to think I was seizing the upper hand — only to hand the initiative right back to her in the most ridiculous way possible. Sure, she'd half-saved my life, but this was still a painful blunder. Just imagining how much more she'd put me through from here on out made my head throb.
And so we arrived at my office. Or rather, a shabby little room that barely deserved the name.
"Whoa."
The moment Roella pushed open the door, a short, genuinely stunned exclamation slipped out of her.
"Th-this is... your office? You're serious?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm broke. Happy?"
Not a single decent piece of furniture. Cobwebs thick on the walls. A fine layer of dust blanketing the floor. I would bet good money this room was in worse shape than the stables at Roella's estate.
"...Sit."
I offered her the least disastrous-looking chair I had — an old wooden thing that still creaked on one leg. Roella's face went through a complicated series of expressions, as if she were weighing her options, before she carefully lowered herself onto it. I'd half-hoped she'd lose her balance and tip over, but no such luck.
"Ian! You're finally back-nyang! I was so worried-nyang!"
Right then the door burst open with a bang and Anya came flying in. She froze mid-stride, still holding the door, and let out a long, threatening haaaah—! as she bristled at Roella — every inch the fierce wildcat whose territory had just been invaded.
"Easy, Anya. She's a friend. Or, well — today's visitor is more of a business guest, I guess?"
"That thing is the lord's friend-nyang? Anyone can see she's a fox who came to seduce men-nyang! Just look at those shifty eyes-nyang!"
Twitch.
A vivid vein popped on Roella's pretty forehead. I hurriedly made the formal introductions.
"Anya, this is Lady Roella Amelia, Lord of Loreal City. And Roella — this is Anya. She's been serving as acting lord of Seorigol while I was away."
"Hmph. Holding quite a high post for someone who looks the way she does, I see. For. Someone. Who. Looks. The. Way. She. Does."
"Wh-what did you just say-nyang?!"
"As if a little kitty girl like this would know anything about running a fief."
Roella fired back in that signature snide tone of hers.
"Wh-what did you say-nyang?! You arrogant woman!"
Anya snarled right back, refusing to yield an inch. Sparks flew between them — Roella's razor-edged presence colliding with Anya's raw, wild instinct. The air in the room froze solid in an instant. This was genuinely bad.
Before the staring contest could escalate any further, I hastily asked Anya to go fetch some tea. She stomped out of the room, still growling at Roella the whole way.
The moment Anya was gone, I cut straight to the point.
"So. What are you really doing here all of a sudden? Don't tell me you just came because you were worried about me."
Roella cleared her throat once, then answered with a somewhat more serious look.
"I got word that a mana stone mine had been discovered in your territory. Not long after that, rumors started circulating about someone dumping large quantities of high-quality mana stones of unknown origin on the black market. And those rumors apparently reached the ears of some very unpleasant people — the ones they call the Empire's Shadow. So... I came because I was worried. Not about you, of course. About those precious mana stones."
"Mana stones?"
"Yeah. I hear both the reserves and the quality are exceptional. Looking at the samples you sent last time, they were definitely top-grade."
"And?"
"I'm offering to help. The great Lady Roella herself."
Roella straightened her back and thrust out her chest. Translating her words into plain speech—
"You'll sell the mana stones for me?"
"Hmph, isn't that obvious? What would a rookie lord like you even know? You'd get scammed before you managed a single proper sale. So just hand all those mana stones over to me. I'll sell them safely and reliably in your place."
She lifted her chin with aristocratic arrogance.
"And the terms?"
"Even if you tried to develop the mine yourself and compete with Loreal City's mana stones, it'd be like throwing eggs at a boulder. Quality control, distribution networks — you'd manage none of it. So just transfer the mining rights to me entirely. I'll handle everything, and I'll cut you seventy percent of the net profits. How's that for a generous offer?"
"...Seventy percent?"
Honestly, it was an absurd proposal — absurdly good, that is. Terms that were unilaterally in my favor. She'd take full responsibility for everything from development to sales and walk away with only thirty percent of the profits. It was so outrageously generous I almost wanted to drop to my knees and bow right then and there.
"Hmph. Well, looking at the pitiful state you're in... the great Lady Roella of House Amelia is making a special exception. You should be grateful."
Roella muttered it as gruffly as she could manage and turned her head away. But something about it felt off. No matter how hard she pretended otherwise, her eyes were flickering with an anxiety she couldn't quite hide.
I grinned and drove the point home.
"You're actually... afraid of competing with Seorigol, aren't you?"
"...Tch."
Roella clicked her tongue and lowered her head in reluctant admission. Just as I'd thought.