Little Rock (1)
Blue had adapted to Castle Rock splendidly.
Lady Marlin had thrown a lavish party for us, and we were able to rest properly while drinking fine liquor and enjoying every kind of mountain delicacy and sea-grown treasure. It felt, for once, as though the fatigue of a long journey had finally been washed away.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with me personally stepping outside the line of duty, but in the sense that I could enjoy Castle Rock as though I were on holiday, it was a privilege of sorts.
Kim Hyunsung, naturally, was the exception.
Most of the people here were familiar faces to me already, but in Hyunsung’s case, he had to make the rounds and greet every powerful noble in sight.
He looked exhausted.
Once word spread that I was coming, bishops and nobles from other cities had also begun heading for Castle Rock, which only made things worse.
Over the course of a banquet that had gone on for more than five days, Kim Hyunsung had been forced to memorize every face, exchange pleasantries, and carry on conversation after conversation. He really did look like he was about to keel over.
Unlike someone like me, whose body was built for this sort of thing, it was never going to suit a man who’d made his living by surviving on sword and steel.
And among all of them, the Castle Rock Count had probably been the most exhausting.
As Marlin Castle Rock’s father, he was the person Hyunsung had spoken with the most. The noble gave off more of a hardened military air than that of a civil official, and he seemed to take a genuine liking to Hyunsung.
His actual combat stats were enough to tear apart most free men without even breaking a sweat.
Thanks to that, Marlin Castle Rock sticking to my side all the time had become a rather uncomfortable problem.
“Ahem. It seems my daughter has been rather rude, Your Honorary Bishop.”
“Not at all, Count Castle Rock. Speaking with your brilliant daughter is a pleasure for me as well. In fact, Lady Marlin has given me many reasons to smile lately.”
“I’m truly grateful to hear you say that. Ahem… to be honest, my daughter has always been the type to lose all sense of herself when she gets fixated on something. Watching her lately, I’ve come to think she really does have feelings for Mr. Lee Kiyoung.”
“Haha….”
“This is just between us, but she’s been pestering me to arrange a marriage proposal, and it’s been quite the shock, I can tell you. Ah, this must stay between us and Lady Marlin, of course. Your Honorary Bishop. She asked me to sound you out ever so casually….”
“Yes. I… see.”
So this was what they meant by a dangerous situation.
“I’m embarrassed to admit it myself, but… hrm. I simply can’t win against my daughter’s stubbornness. I’m sorry for bringing this up so often.”
“No, I understand, Count.”
This was already the second defensive battle.
The Castle Rock Count, who had only one child in the world—Marlin—was a complete and utter daughter fool, the kind of father who wanted to grant his daughter anything she desired.
In other words, he was a father who wanted to accept everything about Lady Marlin.
At first he had looked at me like I was a thief who’d broken into the house, but it seemed he’d made his own calculations, because he kept applying this subtle, persistent pressure.
Honestly, I wasn’t exactly an easy man to dismiss. I was the vice guild master of a major guild and also an honorary bishop of the Holy See.
Of course, the imperial faction and the papal faction didn’t exactly get along, but if I could serve as the bridge between them, then my value would shoot through the roof.
He probably thinks there’s a lot to gain.
Nobles were, by nature, a little calculating.
Still, in this Castle Rock Count’s case, that was less true than most. Before any of the calculations, he simply seemed to want to give Marlin whatever she wanted. Personally, I didn’t think there was anything bad about connecting me and Marlin if it benefited Castle Rock.
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard you’ve built some sort of connection with the Mercenary Queen.”
“Yes. A small one, but yes.”
“And with the mage who’s always at your side?”
“Embarrassingly, yes.”
“I see. Hmm… then my daughter, too….”
“She probably knows already.”
He looked as if he were weighing something over in his mind.
I had no choice but to bring it up first.
“Well… Lady Marlin only recently held her coming-of-age ceremony, so perhaps she’s just confused. To imperial citizens, free men can seem rather strange and special, after all. Of course, I’d be honored to take your beautiful daughter as my partner, but I’m worried that one careless mistake on my part might ruin Lady Marlin’s future. Free men have their own lives, and Lady Marlin’s future is still bright, isn’t it?”
“That may be true, but….”
“As Lady Marlin will one day inherit Castle Rock and govern it, I think it would be better not to rush matters. Perhaps it would be best to simply watch over her calmly for now.”
“Ahem.”
“I’ll make sure to speak with Lady Marlin properly myself.”
“In that case, I’d appreciate it if you would. You seem to be a better man than I thought, Your Honorary Bishop.”
Damn… did I score points there?
“Not at all, Count. It’s simply common sense.”
“Haha! No need to be modest. More importantly, would you care to join us for dinner today? A fine bottle of liquor has just come in, and… my daughter is looking forward to it as well.”
“I’m grateful for the invitation, but I have other matters to attend to today… how about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow should be fine as well.”
“Then I’ll take my leave for now, Count.”
“Yes. It was a pleasure.”
The moment I quietly shut the door and stepped outside, I felt drained.
A serious private luncheon with the Castle Rock Count was mostly just this kind of conversation.
Judging by how strained his expression had been, it was easy to see just how much Marlin constantly badgered her father in ordinary life.
As for me, being linked to Marlin wasn’t a bad thing.
That is, if the condition that I wouldn’t have to remain attached to Castle Rock were included.
Strictly speaking, calling free men ordinary commoners was a bit awkward, but marrying into nobility meant you could become nobility yourself.
Even so, if I thought about it a little more calmly, it wasn’t actually something I needed.
I was already an honorary bishop of the Holy See, a position above nobility, and its status rivaled that of a count.
The Castle Rock Count wasn’t speaking with me for no reason.
If, after the Count’s death, Marlin inherited Castle Rock’s authority, then there might be room to think about it. But in the present situation, Marlin was nothing but a burden.
The imperial custom of marriage—this whole idea of joining family to family, group to group—was nothing more than a headache to me.
Managing it only as much as necessary is the right answer.
Thinking of Jung Hayan, Cha Heera, and Lee Jihye, I knew that was the correct choice.
The moment I left the room, Marlin was already coming toward me.
She wore an expression that said she knew absolutely nothing.
It was almost funny, really, seeing that face after she’d designed everything from the start.
“Mr. Lee Kiyoung! How did you enjoy lunch with my father?”
“Count Castle Rock treated me comfortably, so I was able to enjoy the meal at ease, Lady Marlin.”
“I-I’m glad. You didn’t… hear anything else, did you…?”
“It’s a little embarrassing to say, but Count Castle Rock seems to think it would be best to arrange some sort of connection between Lady Marlin and me.”
“Is that really true?”
“Yes. Haha….”
“F-Father really is…. Mr. Lee Kiyoung, please understand. It seems my father has taken quite a liking to you….”
It’s you he took a liking to.
“It seems Count Castle Rock cherishes you very much, Lady Marlin.”
“Yes, that’s right. B-but, then, what a-about the answer…?”
“For now, I said I’d need to think about it a little more. I do have my life as a free man, after all, and marriage is still too early for both me and Lady Marlin.”
“Then that means…?”
“For now, I think it would be best if we got to know each other little by little, Lady Marlin.”
“Ah!! Y-yes… yes!”
“And I told him that we’d postpone today’s meal until tomorrow. I have some work to do… Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Yes, Mr. Lee Kiyoung. If you ever need help with anything, please don’t hesitate to contact me….”
“Yes. I will.”
That was enough for now. I’d enjoyed myself plenty over the past few days, so it was time to get back to work.
As I moved forward with a light step, a different expression from Marlin’s appeared in my line of sight—Jung Hayan’s.
It had only been a short while since I’d spoken to one woman, and now I was meeting another. I really did feel like some kind of scoundrel.
Kim Yeri’s voice rose up in my head for no reason at all, but I ignored it with all my might.
“Oppa!”
“Let’s go, Hayan. You’ve been waiting long?”
“N-no!”
“Did you eat lunch?”
“Yes. With Hyunsung, and Deokgu Oppa, and Yeri, and Heeyoung, and Hyejin, and Jinhyun….”
“Good. Hyunsung….”
“He said he was going to look around ahead of us. He went out to investigate something….”
“Hmm. Got it. Then let’s go.”
“Okay!”
“You brought the documents, right?”
“Yes!”
“You look happy.”
“W-well… it’s been a while since I got to go out alone with Oppa. Hehe….”
“Come to think of it, that’s true.”
She looked a little giddy, as if simply going out after so long had her heart floating a little.
The reason I’d brought Jung Hayan along wasn’t just for protection, though that was part of it.
There were Castle Rock knights secretly guarding me, and there were also the Holy Knights and inquisitors. Security wasn’t the issue.
The real reason for this little outing was to reward her for everything she’d held back on.
In Jung Hayan’s eyes, it was probably my way of thanking her for enduring a few events and situations she would never normally tolerate.
I’ll give you little rewards bit by bit, Hayan.
Like training a dog, I had to make sure the idea stuck firmly in her head that if she endured, she’d be rewarded.
If she suddenly ran wild here in Castle Rock, it would be a disaster.
Lee Jihye knew how to keep the line without provoking Jung Hayan too much, and in Cha Heera’s or Kasugano Yuno’s case, they were much stronger than Hayan to begin with.
But Lady Marlin was just an ordinary person with no power at all.
If she got swept up in the mood and started acting out, there was a real chance she could vanish without a trace.
Thank goodness I got her head straightened out a little after the regression incident.
If I hadn’t corrected her then, the problems would have exploded a hundred times over by now.
“So where are we going now?”
“We’re going to have a little date first, then head to Little Rock.”
“A date….”
“You’ve worked hard all this time, Hayan.”
She nodded quickly, as if even she thought she’d done a good job. Somehow, she looked a little cuter than usual.
“T-then let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
“There seem to be more places to see around Castle Rock than I expected.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
For a short while, we enjoyed something close enough to a real date.
“Oppa! Look at that! The tree looks like a turtle.”
“Ah. Yeah.”
We admired beautiful scenery.
“It’s so cute.”
“How much is this?”
I bought her a pretty accessory we happened to pass by.
“Should we go see a play too?”
“Y-yes!”
We walked a route no different from something you’d do back on Earth.
“There are boats too!”
“…….”
“Let’s go ride one, Oppa.”
“We can ride that later.”
“But I want to ride it now….”
“We’re short on time, so we can come back later. There’ll be another chance.”
Compared to Earth, the culture here was a little underdeveloped, but there was still more than enough to enjoy.
“Hehehe.”
Watching Jung Hayan laugh happily like that made me wonder why I hadn’t done this much sooner.
Of course, I had been busy, but I decided that from now on, I ought to make time for this sort of thing.
If stress builds up, you just let it out again.
“I feel so good. Hehe….”
“Glad to hear it.”
We held hands, hugged now and then, and as evening turned to sunset, I even stole a light kiss.
Was she always this pretty?
To be honest, I’d always known I was gradually, quietly falling for Jung Hayan, but now that I was facing her head-on and seriously, it felt like I was being pulled in even more.
Lately, she’d been acting almost like a normal person, and somehow that made me like her even more.
“Thanks, Hayan.”
“I-I should be thanking you too.”
It sounded insane, but if I were ever going to marry someone, a woman like this wouldn’t be bad at all.
“Then shall we head to Little Rock?”
“Yes!”
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