Countess Luimina (1)
Has Selin’s smile ever truly faded from her face lately?
Probably not.
Ever since she began learning magic under Alpha’s guidance, it would be fair to say her face had never once lost its smile.
“Here is your pay for today, Mage.”
“Th-thank you.”
Even if she sat in the Osu Treatment Plant all day casting nothing but Clean spells, an unbelievable sum of money still landed in her hands.
Sewing from dawn till dusk until her fingers blistered would earn her only four or five silver. Yet the coins she held now were ten times that amount. It was actually less than what ordinary mages received, but since Selin had no way of knowing that, pure joy was all she could feel.
The days of going to bed with an empty stomach were finally over.
“Se-Selin… No, you’re a mage now. Should I call you with proper respect?”
And then there were the people who looked at her with open admiration.
It was the first time in her life receiving such gazes. Selin felt as if she could soar straight into the sky.
Thank you, Lord Alpha.
All of this was thanks to his grace.
“Jean. You must listen carefully to everything Lord Alpha says.”
“I know, Mom. I’ll listen well. I’ll work really hard!”
Selin made sure to pass on her gratitude toward Alpha so her son would never forget it. Seeing him nod like the good boy he always was, she smiled warmly.
“Selin? Are you home?”
“Yes! My lady.”
Helen Wagner had come to visit the peaceful little home where mother and son lived so happily.
Selin bowed her head at once.
No matter that she had now learned first-circle magic, it was still nothing more than the basic education most nobles picked up as a matter of course. It could not compare to the prestige of the Wagner Count family. Besides, Helen was the very teacher who had taught her magic.
“It’s nothing complicated. I’d like you to teach literacy at the magic school.”
“Me? I-I?”
“Yes. Doing it alone is becoming too much of a burden. You’ll help, won’t you?”
“Yes…”
“Catch.”
The gold coin spun through the air.
“Th-this is?”
Selin’s eyes widened in shock as she caught the coin Helen had flicked toward her.
“It’s the contract fee for taking the teaching position. Teachers are paid monthly, not daily wages. It should come out to about four or five gold.”
“Th-thank you.”
“No need for thanks. Just work hard. Very hard.”
Helen had always casually looked down on even fellow nobles if she found them stupid, so speaking down to Selin came naturally. Yet there was no contempt or disdain in the way she addressed her—only because, deep down, Helen had come to acknowledge Selin, who had learned to read and reached the first circle in mere months.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
“Yes… Yes. Please take care.”
“No… Wait. Tsk… This won’t do. You’re coming with me. Your son too.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean, ‘huh’? You’re a mage now. If you stay in a place like this and something terrible happens, what then? Stay at my house for the time being. My bodyguard is there, so you’ll be safe.”
Helen could not bear to leave Selin in a house that looked one strong wind away from collapse. She grabbed the woman’s hand and pulled her along.
“Uh… uh?”
“D-don’t bully my mom!!”
“What kind of strength—!!”
Seeing his mother being dragged away, the excited Jean charged forward.
Luzenda wrapped her body in mana to block him, but even she was considerably flustered. Jean had been born with exceptionally strong bones and muscles. Taking his power head-on was difficult even with mana. She could subdue him if she truly tried, but if the boy got hurt in the process, the relationship with this mother and son would be ruined.
“Jean! Stop that!”
“B-but Mom…”
Fortunately, Selin stepped in and gently calmed her son before any real trouble occurred.
“Ahem… You’ll come, won’t you?”
“B-but how could we possibly impose on Lady Helen…”
Helen released Selin’s arm and whispered softly.
“It’s fine. If I left you two here and some accident occurred, I wouldn’t be able to face my master. Since you’re also one of Alpha’s females, I’m sure you understand what I mean?”
“!!”
Selin’s eyes flew wide open.
So Helen was one of Alpha’s females too!
As expected… he really is incredible…
The moment she realized it, her womb—which Alpha had thoroughly claimed before—began to tremble. Selin took her son’s hand and followed Helen to her residence.
“Wow… Become a mage and even a noble comes to pick you up personally. She’s really made it.”
The slum dwellers who watched them leave had sparkling eyes.
Most of them only attended the magic school because it promised dinner after a hard day’s work; they hadn’t studied seriously. But after witnessing Selin’s meteoric rise, they began to think they should actually pay attention in the next class.
The woman who had once shared rotten bread with them in this gutter-like place had now moved on to a world where she no longer needed to do so. Her retreating back left a seed of hope behind in the alleyways.
*
“It looks like we’ll soon have several attribute mages capable of using at least the Clean spell, even if they don’t reach the first circle.”
“Good. Well done.”
The territorial council was little more than a formality now.
With Wellington locked away in prison and Ertia Bicken holding real power, every important matter in the domain was decided in meetings between me and my females.
The training of new mages to replace those who had left was proceeding at full speed. Seeing how passionately everyone had begun to apply themselves lately, it seemed Selin’s move from the slums to a proper residential district had lit a fire under them.
“Also, Countess Luimina Soryu has issued an order to capture you, Master.”
Countess Luimina, who had left the territory, had been summoned back only after we had restrained Wellington and completed all preparations.
No matter how loudly Ertia shouted, she could not become the true lord. It would simply look as if she had stolen her father’s seat. She needed formal recognition—from Countess Luimina Soryu, who held the Bicken family as vassals.
“For attempting to sell the territory and betray the lord to whom he swore loyalty, Wellington is hereby sentenced to death.”
As soon as she returned, Luimina had pronounced Wellington’s death sentence.
And it seemed she had immediately ordered, through Ertia, the capture of the man who had defiled her daughter.
“Then let’s go.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
I felt Leona Montmartre’s soft breasts pressing against my back as I waited for her to bind my hands. Once the ropes were tight, Leona and Ertia stood on either side of me, gripping my arms, and led me straight to the room where Luimina waited.
Unlike Wellington, I would not be executed in public. If word got out that her daughter had fallen for a mere breeding partner, it would be an enormous stain on Countess Luimina’s honor.
That was why I was being escorted in secret by the territory’s two highest authorities—Lord Ertia and Knight Commander Leona—away from prying eyes.
“Oh ho. That was fast. It hasn’t even been a full day since I gave the order.”
“I prepared in advance because I suspected you would say that, Countess.”
“I see.”
Inside Luimina’s chamber, only the countess, Airen Jember, and Elisa Soryu were present. It seemed she had deliberately kept only those who could keep their mouths shut.
“You know why I summoned you, don’t you?”
“I have no idea.”
“…How dare a lowly cur lay a hand on my daughter? Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know.”
“In the end, it was simply a matter between a man and a woman. For the Countess to concern herself with such—”
“Ugh!”
“Silence. Since when does an impudent bastard like you dare speak so freely?”
Luimina forcibly sealed my mouth with magic. Undoing a spell of this level would have been trivial, but I chose to endure it for now.
To teach her the pleasure of falling from grace, I first needed to let her fully savor the thrilling sensation of being able to treat an Alpha Male like me however she wished.
“Well, that’s enough talk. Sir Airen? Execute him.”
“….”
Even though she held the upper hand, she seemed eager to end this quickly. She immediately ordered Airen to cut me down.
“Ah… Countess. It seems you’re laboring under a misunderstanding.”
“What?”
“Why do you assume I only touched your daughter? Release me.”
“Yes!”
At my command, Leona loosened the ropes. I flexed my wrists while pointing at Luimina, who was now speechless.
“No matter what happened to your daughter, if you had simply ignored it, you could have gained an Alpha Male son-in-law. Such a shame. I genuinely wanted us to get along.”
“Wh-what… Sir Airen, protect me—mmph!”
“Would you please be quiet, Countess? Master Alpha is speaking.”
Realizing something was wrong, Luimina frantically ordered Airen to protect her, but…
What a pity.
Airen had already become my female.
“Countess Luimina Soryu. You possess a truly captivating figure.”
“S-stop… Are you planning to humiliate me?!”
“Humiliate? You’ll soon be begging for it yourself.”
I gazed at Luimina’s body, now completely immobilized between Leona and Airen. Her figure was so alluring it was hard to believe she was a married woman; my eyes were drawn to her inevitably.
“Elisa! Have you truly fallen for this scoundrel who seeks to violate your own mother?! Go outside right now and call the guards!”
“Mother. Let’s feel good together ❤︎ Once you taste Master’s cock, you’ll have no choice but to recognize me as the next family head.”
Though Luimina called out to her daughter in desperation, Elisa—who was already my female—simply smiled, seeing this as a perfect chance to show filial piety.