The Price of Negotiation
"No, I'm fine for tonight."
"But you haven't had any in over a week. Are you really sure you don't want me to?"
Vera lifted the hem of her skirt, pretending it was an accident. Her firm, healthy thighs were on full display. "Ahem." Of course I wasn't fine. Under normal circumstances, I would have clung to her and begged her to let me rub myself between those thighs, but the hole in my left arm helped me keep my composure.
"I am truly fine. I would appreciate it if you would leave me be for tonight."
"Oh, no..."
I half-forced Vera out of the room, leaving her flustered by a reaction she hadn't expected. She must have thought I would cave if she went this far. "Whew..." I lay on the bed and organized my thoughts. The comment about calling off the marriage had slipped out half-unconsciously, but the situation seemed better than I’d anticipated. As expected, when negotiating, it’s best to start by demanding the biggest thing first.
Vera cherished Monica deeply. She wanted everything to go well for her daughter, and that included her marriage. That was why she was trying to find a way to soothe my dissatisfaction. She seemed to think that rubbing my body over her underwear was acceptable since it wasn't full intercourse and she hadn't even taken her clothes off. After all, she only wanted to maintain the relationship of mother-in-law and son-in-law with me. Refusing her just now was to break that boundary. I wanted to go all the way with Vera. If I had accepted her offer to relieve my sexual frustration, I would have remained trapped in the existing dynamic. She would have assumed I was the type of man who would be satisfied with just that level of simulated sexual act.
Since I had already brought it up, I needed to play hard to get to raise the stakes. Of course, I couldn't push her away entirely, so I’d settle for just touching her breasts for now. I would take it slow and raise the level step by step.
"Ed, eat up."
"No, I can eat on my own..."
"How can you, with your arm injured? Come on, say 'ah'."
It was inconvenient not to be able to use both hands while eating, but it wasn't as if I couldn't eat at all. It wasn't like I had lost the strength in my left hand. Still, refusing her when she insisted this much would only sour the mood. "Ah."
Mmm, this was much better than the beef jerky and dried bread we ate as military rations. I had felt it before I regressed, but the Rystein family’s chef was incredible. Perhaps because of the saying that even a dog shouldn't be bothered while eating, Monica never discriminated against me when it came to food. If the food had been as pathetic as the rest of the house, I wouldn't have stayed here at all.
The next morning, I asked for my meals to be brought to my room to avoid facing Vera, but she brought it herself. She entered quickly before I could even react, treating me like a critical patient and even feeding me by hand. Since I had no real excuse to refuse, I let her feed me, and I had to admit, it didn't feel bad. Having such a beautiful woman tear up bread and feed it to me from the morning on was a luxury I hadn't even enjoyed during my honeymoon.
"You need to eat your vegetables, too."
Seeing her feed me things I disliked made her seem more like a mother. I wouldn't know, though; I never really had one. While I was lost in that thought, I even licked the bread crumbs off her fingers as she fed me, and I finished the meal in no time.
"You've finished it all? Then now..."
Vera leaned in slightly. It was a behavior she would never have shown under normal circumstances, but she seemed incredibly proactive now that she had a goal. "Ah, I apologize. I have work to do today."
"Work?"
"I haven't been able to swing my sword for a few days, so I need to train."
"What kind of training can you do with your arm injured like that?"
"There are plenty of drills that don't require the use of my arm."
Vera wore a disappointed expression. If she kept looking at me like that, I felt like I wouldn't be able to hold back and would just pounce on her. I needed to keep my distance for the sake of the negotiation. "I was planning to study right after yesterday, but I suppose that won't work."
Fortunately, thanks to Vera backing off obediently, I was able to leave my room safely. I immediately grabbed my sword and began training. "Hup!"
Perhaps the medicine Vera had applied last night was effective; the pain in my arm had almost vanished. Or maybe the recovery rate of this younger body had become monstrous. It hadn't even been a few days since the battle, yet I had no muscle aches and my joints were perfectly fine. Youth is a wonderful thing.
As I was training, a visitor arrived.
"...Sweat smell."
The woman who suddenly insulted me by complaining about the smell was Viscountess Winnie Melbourne. She was the one acting as the lord's proxy in Monica's absence. Like a witch from a story, she was characterized by a pointed hat perched atop her dark navy hair. Her slightly upturned eyes were smiling, but they were filled with annoyance and irritation. Even on this hot day, she was wrapped in a robe, so her figure wasn't visible, but she wasn't very tall. More importantly, why was a woman who usually stayed hidden away because everything was a bother looking for me?
"Viscountess Melbourne, what brings you here?"
"...I came because I had something to ask."
When I spoke to her, Winnie Melbourne replied with a frown. Did I really smell that bad? Well, it was her fault for coming to find me while I was training. Still, I should go to the bathhouse and wash up later.
"...It's about the expeditionary force that returned recently."
Her questions were mainly about the conscripted soldiers. Whether any of the serf-born soldiers had run away, whether any had failed to fight properly. Whether anyone had stood out for fighting exceptionally well. How many were missing rather than confirmed dead. But why was she asking this now?
"Shouldn't you have asked this the moment I returned yesterday?"
"...It was too much trouble."
She looked like she had been sleeping in since the middle of the day; that was quite a reason. "But all of this has already been reported to Countess Monica at the barony."
"...I know that, too."
She replied, looking annoyed again. She was a person who seemed to find everything in the world inconvenient. "...There might have been some who ran away on the way back to the territory."
Was she checking everything twice to be thorough? Since every single serf was essentially property, it was worth checking carefully. Winnie, who had recorded all my answers, pushed a document toward me. "...This is a document recording what you just answered. It's a file regarding unit personnel management, so the person in charge, Sir Edward, just needs to sign it."
Hmm, so she wanted me to sign the report? I had never done anything like this before. Having mainly dealt with barbarians, I had mostly been on the defensive, or when I did go out, I only led a small number of cavalrymen, which was probably why.
As I pondered how to sign it while holding the pen, Viscountess Melbourne grew impatient. "...Just write your name. You know how to write your own name, right?"
Vera had taught me how to write my name just yesterday. As I wrote it in crooked letters, Winnie snatched it away. She turned around without even looking back and walked away. "Hey, I have a question!"
"..."
She didn't even pretend to hear me and just left. I hadn't been able to ask about the red stone this time either. She was being more uncooperative and hostile toward me than I had imagined. Well, I could ask later. About the red stone, or about her attitude toward me.
"...Annoying."
Every time she saw that man's face, Winnie Melbourne felt a fire burning inside her. To think that her Monica would end up marrying a man who smelled like that and looked so stupid! She didn't like that Monica brought up that man, Edward, even when they were alone. Especially a few days ago, when Monica had heard the news of the victory and even said, 'He's useful.'
'I don't need a man like that...'
She wanted to stop the marriage at all costs. She felt jealous thinking that the thunderous fool would see Monica's naked body, something even she hadn't seen. But with Edward successfully finishing the expedition to the barony, there was no longer any excuse to stop it. As if to drive a nail into that situation, the prophecy that had appeared in her dream a few days ago was a scene of Monica and Edward successfully holding their wedding ceremony. Monica had been smiling as if she were happy. Winnie had cried alone the moment she woke up, feeling as if she had been dumped. She had given Edward the most painful medicine among the ones she possessed as revenge for making her have such a terrible dream, but it wasn't enough.
'There's still a chance.'
Prophecies that appeared in the form of dreams were the most frequent, but they were also the most vague and uncertain. It was a future that could easily change depending on how she acted now. She felt like she would only be satisfied if she stopped the marriage by any means necessary, or at least caused some trouble if she couldn't.
I finished my training and returned for dinner. I figured I would see Vera's face anyway, so I just headed straight to the dining hall. I felt like I couldn't hold back much longer, and since I had teased her enough, I planned to spend tonight with Vera. Wouldn't she at least let me touch her breasts?
"Welcome back, Ed."
And so, dinner began. This time, she only served the food and didn't feed me by hand. It had been fun watching her lick her fingers slightly. "Shall we study together in Ed's room after dinner?"
"Yes, that would be great."
Vera immediately sent a signal that she wanted to negotiate. How far had she thought this through?