Shadows of Resentment and Blighted Fields
"Haa."
To cut to the chase, I did end up in a marriage arrangement with Elisha Grain. But just as she said, it was purely political. Even if negative feelings flew back and forth at the meeting, as long as the family heads signed the contract to use each other's names, the fiancés' personal relationship didn't matter.
That left my relationship with Elisha as strained as ever. Just looking at how she treated me, you'd think there was no enemy greater than me.
Why? I looked into it.
Her resentment wasn't entirely baseless. Before the engagement, it seemed the Grain family had been stabbed in the back by the Stenman family. The Stenmans had breached an industrial contract first and destroyed the evidence. But it was the family head's unilateral decision, and the Grains suffered massive losses as a result.
That must be why Elisha didn't look kindly on me. Naturally, this was a backstory never revealed in the original story.
At first, I had no idea what fueled her hatred, but knowing this history made it somewhat understandable.
Knock knock knock.
"Master."
It was a leisurely afternoon, and I was relaxing in my room with a magic tome when a calm knock sounded, followed by a visitor.
"It's Eily."
Eily, arriving at an unexpectedly odd hour.
"Come in."
"Pardon the intrusion. Master, I have some news to report."
The door opened at my short reply, and Eily entered with impeccable poise and manners.
"News? What is it?"
"Well..."
She tilted her head slightly, then lowered herself with the precise grace of a stage actress.
"We have a visitor."
She announced the guest's arrival with an unusually solemn and serious demeanor.
"I see."
A visitor at this hour.
"...The Grain family, right?"
This pattern had become all too familiar; I could guess who it was without being told.
"Yes..."
As I predicted the visitor's identity, she whispered softly and nodded.
"......"
Her hands, politely clasped at her waist, clenched tightly, betraying her displeasure.
"Elisha must be here. Got it. I'll get ready."
Eily seemed uncomfortable at the news of Elisha's arrival.
"Yes..."
I didn't know how it spread, but rumors of our exchange at the meeting had circulated the mansion. Eily must have heard them too, and she hadn't taken a liking to Elisha since.
"Eut..."
Even now, she tried to maintain her usual expression, but her displeasure leaked through. Above all, the way she gripped her skirt hem in frustrated anger drew the eye.
"You're not happy about it, are you?"
"I'm sorry, Master..."
When I subtly probed her true feelings, she bowed her head in apology instead of denying it.
She definitely viewed Elisha negatively.
"But... may I ask, Master? Why—"
"Hold on~ Let's talk about that later."
There was the past betrayal I mentioned earlier, but also...
"Elisha—"
"Don't talk to me."
...Elisha's current attitude probably played a part.
"I have nothing to say to you. I'll leave when it's time."
No matter how dutiful it was, Eily couldn't look kindly on someone who visited only to insult her master.
"Seriously... Do we have to follow this stupid custom?"
In fact, since the meeting, Elisha had been visiting the mansion periodically.
"But it's been a while..."
"Don't give me that 'it's been a while' nonsense... I want to leave already."
Of course, Elisha wasn't coming out of any personal fondness. By custom, fiancés had to spend time together at least twice a week. Even if she saw me as an irreconcilable enemy, there were no exceptions, so we had no choice but to meet.
"Hmph..."
Thus, Elisha always came with obvious reluctance.
"Shall I prepare some tea?"
"No thanks. Who knows what you'd put in it?"
She only visited the bare minimum required each week.
"I wouldn't dream of putting anything weird in it."
I wanted to use these occasions to improve our relationship, even a little.
"Someone from your family betrayed ours, and you say that?"
"......"
But like an impregnable fortress wall, Elisha showed no intention of opening her heart even a crack.
"That's got nothing to do with me."
"Hmph, that's what they said at the start of our families' collaboration too."
Like thorns sharply sprouting on a rose...
She refused to let anyone approach.
"Nice weather."
"Hmph..."
Even when I tried starting a conversation first...
She just glared coldly with contemptuous eyes.
"......"
Honestly, it left me feeling a bit frustrated from my position. No matter the facade, denying even one chance felt daunting.
Of course, Arnold's notoriety justified her attitude to some extent. Still, refusing proper conversation felt excessive.
But I had no choice but to accept it... Arnold was a character burdened with all sorts of misunderstandings and slanders.
Besides frustration, the status quo wasn't a big issue. Her hating me was predictable, and for the harem route where I connect the protagonist with all the heroines, her enmity actually made things easier in the long run.
"Heading out already?"
"Sorry, but don't say it like you're wistfully seeing me off."
Then why bother approaching? Honestly, no real reason.
My goal now was the harem route linking the protagonist with every heroine, and Elisha needing to hate Arnold fit that perfectly.
Still... since time was allotted anyway, changing her view from utter loathing to mere dislike seemed worthwhile.
"Young master. The Grain family carriage just left through the main gate."
"Got it."
But seeing her leave without progress every time, the odds seemed slim.
"Haa."
Today, I was rejected as coldly as ever.
"How did it go, Master?"
I was leaning against the wall, gathering my thoughts, when Eily arrived.
"Eh, same as always. Wanted to talk, but not a word exchanged."
I gave a wry smile and shrugged at her question, trying to show it didn't matter.
"I see... As for what I couldn't say earlier, I'm honestly curious. Why are you so desperate?"
Eily asked with the curiosity of a scholar probing the unknown.
"You've made plenty of effort, Master. You try every time to mend things with your fiancée, but she always responds with contempt."
...she said.
"I know it's because of your great magnanimity, accepting even those who shun you...!"
"...Well. This Eily cannot presume to understand your deep intentions. Why approach your fiancée?"
She voiced the doubts she'd harbored, carefully yet courageously.
"Hmm..."
Yeah, I get it... She hates watching her master get scorned every time.
"No big reason."
But I couldn't reveal my true thoughts here—
"Even if it's a formal political marriage... Wouldn't it be nice to get along with your fiancée?"
A bit clichéd, maybe, but a plausible answer.
"......I see..."
A shadow darkened Eily's eyes.
Didn't like the answer?
"Understood... If that's your will, Master, this Eily won't doubt you anymore."
But her concern was brief; the mood grew a touch solemn, yet she accepted it.
"......"
I see.
"Eut..."
So that's what Master is thinking.
As expected of Eily's master, kinder than anyone.
But this foolish maid...
Likes her master yet resents him a little.
Every time I see him approach with a smile despite the hatred.
I resent the fiancée yet envy her.
Yes... Jealousy, in a word.
Refusing so coldly when Master approaches with pure reason.
How brazen, yet sometimes I imagine myself in her place.
If I were born a noble—
Would I even qualify to harbor feelings for Master? I indulge such delusions beyond my station.
So, Master... This silent plea may never reach you.
But if... just if these feelings get through.
Please, keep your distance from Lady Elisha.
"If that's your will, Master, this Eily won't doubt you anymore."
At this rate... I'll only end up too heartbroken—
Lately, I'd heard some intriguing news.
"The Grain family's fields have had crop failures for years now..."
"Yeah... Like they're cursed? I heard ghosts were spotted in their fields at night~"
"Nah, wild animals, right?"
"Nope, apparently it was humanoid."
I'd overheard this from the maids by chance: unidentified creatures spotted in the Grain family fields—Elisha's home.
"Tell me more."
"Y-Y-Young master! W-Well..."
You might wonder what's so intriguing.
"It's become like this..."
"Ho, really?"
But it was one of the events I'd only seen in the original story.
Clack clack—
Inside the top-class carriage permitted only to nobles, the regular clatter of wheels on brick roads echoed.
"Mm..."
I was en route to somewhere on business.
"Master Arnold, this is the Grain family's private land from here."
The destination: the Grain family estate, Elisha's home.
About two hours since departure?
"Yeah? Thanks."
The coachman's words signaling our near arrival drew my gaze to the window.
"So these are the Grain family farmlands..."
Peering out revealed vast fields stretching endlessly.
"......"
But I frowned at the sight.
"Lately, the Grain family's crops have been failing repeatedly, oddly enough."
The fields were in wretched condition for such a massive operation.
"Yeah, looks like it."
You could tell just from the surface: cracked soil, withered crops, rotting plants, and workers with grim, puzzled expressions.
For a family that built its fame on large-scale farming, it was a bolt from the blue.
"Hmm."
The Grain family. Per the original setting, they owned the kingdom's largest farmlands.
A prosperous house thriving on overwhelming tracts of land.
"Just as I thought."
But by the game's timeline, they were on the brink of ruin.
"We'll arrive at the main estate soon, Master Arnold."
The reason? As I'd just seen, endless crop failures.
In the game, the Grains suffered inexplicable bad harvests.
"Yes, as I said earlier, tell the family head I have business with him."
This was a major source of Elisha's suffering throughout the story.
"Aren't you the Stenman family's heir? What business does Master Arnold have with me?"
"If it's about my daughter Elisha, I'll arrange a meeting."
I knew the cause all too well, so
"No. Actually, please keep today's visit secret from Elisha."
"Pardon?"
"Family head, to be direct—"
That was why I'd come to see the Grain family head today: for the solution.