A Joyful Year's End - 1

I hadn't managed a proper conversation with the Iron Blood Duke since the Room of Truth incident. Not because he was avoiding me—I simply hadn't had time to linger at the castle, what with the Ulken tour I'd been taking with Margeta as my guide.

After three or so days of that cheerfully exhausting duchy sightseeing, the Iron Blood Duke's summons finally arrived. Time to be discharged from the castle, then.

Still, this particular summons didn't frighten me much.

"You've come."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"During official business, titles are fine. In private, call me Father-in-law."

"Understood, Father-in-law."

Whatever rage he'd nursed over his youngest daughter being "stolen" had already been soothed by that same daughter's affection.

Still, wouldn't he like it if I said I was grateful, or that I loved him?

A small suggestion, meant to take the edge off whatever remained of the Iron Blood Duke's temper. Thankfully, Margeta had gone along with it—she'd run straight to him and told him she loved him.

Thanks to that, the look he gave me was utterly calm. Not warm, exactly, and certainly not affectionate—but free ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of hostility, at least. I would take it.

"We'll skip the engagement ceremony. Once Mar graduates, you'll be married at once. There's no need to put the guests through an engagement party for nothing."

The Iron Blood Duke leafed through a few papers as he spoke, his voice low.

"As you say."

Skipping the engagement ceremony. Strange words to hear from a doting father like the Iron Blood Duke—but honestly, it was the normal choice.

Engagements were always modest affairs compared to the main event of a wedding. An engagement was only a promise, after all. Most of the time the parties involved weren't even adults—teenagers, or in the worst cases, little children.

Someone past twenty getting engaged, the way I was, was rare enough. And with the wedding only a year away, as the Iron Blood Duke had said, there was no reason to pour effort into a ceremony beforehand.

"Take this."

At my answer he nodded and held out the documents he'd been handling.

"The dowry prepared for Mar's share."

"...Pardon?"

The question slipped out before I could stop it. Why was he handing over a dowry now? Was that how these things usually worked—before the wedding?

The Iron Blood Duke ignored my stare and jerked his chin. Check the contents already, the gesture said.

Whoa.

And what was written across those mere six pages went far beyond anything I'd imagined.

This is a dowry?

I doubted my eyes. The dowries I knew were furniture, maybe a house if things got extravagant. That had been the common sense I'd brought with me from before the transmigration, anyway.

What the Iron Blood Duke had prepared smashed that common sense to pieces. Several buildings on the capital's main thoroughfares. Territory near the capital on the scale of a barony.

And that land—if my memory served—held an iron mine. The Iron Blood Duke, of all people, the man building a whole military-industry tree, was handing over an iron mine?

So this is how nobles live.

It was terrifying. The carriages, ships, jewels, and gold coins listed after that barely even registered. When a duke loses his mind over his daughter, this is the kind of monstrous dowry that comes flying out.

"I've already married off four daughters. What remains for Mar is on the lighter side."

On the lighter side...

I found myself scanning the papers again. If this was the light package, how much had he shoveled onto the eldest? A few counties, maybe?

"Do you need more?"

"No, Father-in-law. This is already more than I deserve."

"Then take it."

At his indifferent tone I quietly gathered the documents.

I'd meant to protest that accepting a dowry before we were even married was premature. One look at his eyes put that speech right back in my mouth. Don't make a fuss—just take it, those eyes said.

"You're marrying her either way. What's the problem? Don't tell me you planned to stop at the engagement and refuse the wedding."

And I already knew exactly what I'd hear if I tried to refuse. The Iron Blood Duke I'd only just managed to return to neutral could flip straight back into hostile.

"The stewards are competent enough. Keep them on if you like, or replace them with people of your own choosing."

"I'll leave them as they are."

A generous offer that included not only property but personnel. I accepted without a second's hesitation.

Anyone a duke trusted enough to leave in charge was talent you couldn't hire on the open market. If he was offering, you took it. I didn't even know anyone else I could put in their place.

"You may go. Return to the capital if that's where you're headed."

"Yes. I'll pay my respects at the New Year's Audience."

Having nothing further to say, the Iron Blood Duke dismissed me. I withdrew, bowing several times on the way out.

I'd arrived in Ulken braced for dismemberment. By the time I left, both hands were full of gifts.

Thank you...

It would never reach him, but I offered my deepest gratitude all the same. Honestly, just being allowed to live would have been more than enough—and he'd gone and provided for me this lavishly on top of it.

For now, this was Margeta's dowry, so I'd leave it in Margeta's hands. Once I became a count she'd be managing the estate as my wife anyway; might as well start practicing early.

Seeing us off, my future in-laws watched as we set out for the capital—by teleportation mage, naturally.

Thanks to that we reached the capital earlier than planned. Without the visit to Ulken we'd have been traveling from the Academy by carriage, and I'd still be bouncing around inside one. Teleportation really was the best.

"All right. You can breathe now."

The moment we arrived I patted Luise and Irina on the shoulders. Honestly, the biggest casualties of this Ulken trip hadn't been me. It had been the two of them.

I'd been on edge myself—how much worse must it have been for pure-hearted students like these girls? An unscheduled audience with a duke, and not just any duke but the father of the first wife. It wouldn't have been strange if they'd spent the whole time terrified of being roared at to get out of the way as mere concubines.

And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the whole reason I'd been dragged to Ulken was to formalize my relationship with Margeta. In a situation like that, any other prospective wives drawing attention would have been an insult to her. So the two of them had spent their time in Ulken as quiet as mice.

The duchy tour had at least let them catch their breath, but every evening we still had to return to the ducal castle to sleep. If you couldn't rest properly at night, recovering during the day didn't count for much...

"It must have been dull, staying in Ulken. I'm sorry. You both worked so hard."

Margeta knew it too; she gathered Luise and Irina into a gentle embrace. Her juniors had been miserable on her account—she could hardly feel at ease herself.

"Hehe, it's fine. When else would we ever get to tour Ulken?"

"Same here. So please don't worry about it."

Thankfully the two little angels just smiled brightly and soothed her.

"Next time, Your Ladyship should come visit our territory. Planbel's tulip fields are beautiful, you know."

Even so, the apology hadn't quite left Margeta's face, so Irina added the invitation lightly.

"I will. Of course I will."

At that, Margeta seemed a little more at ease, and she smiled.

Still—casually inviting a ducal lady who was bound to be a big spender. Irina had a real talent for commerce. As expected of a Jorun.

"Oh—our territory too! Artini is wonderful for travel!"

"Oh my. Is it? What's Artini famous for?"

Margeta asked with a soft laugh, and Luise answered with perfect confidence.

"We catch a lot of eels!"

That proud declaration drew a quiet snort of laughter out of me. You say it's good for travel and then lead with the specialty product?

"...Eels?"

But something in Margeta's meaningful tone made me glance around.

Strict, serious eyes met mine. Not only Margeta's—Irina's gaze had locked onto me as well.

Hold on. Why are you looking at me right now? Weren't we just having a nice conversation about travel destinations? We definitely were, five seconds ago.

"Let's save the travel talk for later. We should rest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for now. Everyone's tired, right?"

I hastily changed the subject. If I let this keep going, instinct told me the conversation was about to take a very awkward turn.

"Yes. Neither of you has had a proper rest—let's get you inside."

Margeta had been the one whose mood felt most dangerous, but fortunately she went along with the diversion.

Right. What mattered now was letting the girls rest after that mental ordeal. Margeta wasn't the type to lose track of her priorities.

"We can talk about traveling at our leisure later."

"Haha. Let's do that."

I offered an awkward smile at her words. Somehow I had the feeling we'd be making a circuit of the territories sooner rather than later.

...A circuit of the territories?

But the moment the word "territories" crossed my mind, a prickling unease settled over me. I felt like I'd forgotten something, and yet I couldn't name ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what it was.

Well. It would come back to me when the time was right.

Year's end was the season for summing up the Council's work of the past year and planning the next. The same went for the affairs of a count's domain.

So the close of the year was always rather busy. At least the work leaned more toward organizing documents than anything hands-on, which made it manageable enough—

"Your Grace the Iron Blood Duke?"

That manageable year's end was thrown into turmoil by a call from the Iron Blood Duke.

Strange. Contact with the Iron Blood Duke had always been rare, and once he'd delegated most of his authority to the young lord it had grown rarer still. At most we saw each other at the New Year's Audience.

"I trust you've been well."

Even so, I offered the polite inquiry, and the Iron Blood Duke nodded with equal formality. Since he had initiated the call, he would state his business first.

Sure enough, the words that followed made me straighten in my seat. This, it seemed, was the real matter.

My hands tightened of their own accord. A man with whom I had almost no dealings had contacted me out of nowhere—and not through a retainer, but in person.

It could not be anything ordinary. Right before the New Year's Audience, some headache of a problem was about to—

?

Related through marriage?

For a moment I lost the power of speech. Related? I, and the Iron Blood Duke?

But I couldn't keep my mouth shut forever. The Iron Blood Duke was still before me, after all.

It wasn't a joke—that much was certain. A man of his rank, and one who prized his family as the Iron Blood Duke did, would never play such a prank.

And something did come to mind. Lady Margeta's relationship with Karl had grown rather close, hadn't it? My wife had taken a liking to the young lady as well, and the talk circulating through high society already treated their union as a settled fact.

The only questions had been when, and whether she could unseat the Demon Duke to become the first wife.

"Yes—related through marriage. The word simply caught me off guard. It's still unfamiliar."

I opened my mouth in a hurry, and mercifully it was the right answer. I'd nearly revealed myself as a family head who knew nothing of his own child's engagement.

Which I didn't, in fact.

Regrettably, I truly hadn't known.

But what was I to do? I had left marriage entirely to Karl's will and never interfered. So unless Karl told me himself, my information never rose above the rumors circulating in society.

I'd thought that would be enough. The network I'd built over the years could catch wind of nearly any rumor in short order—or so I'd believed.

I never imagined an engagement would go through without the slightest prior sign. An engagement this sudden was a first.

As soon as I ended the call with the Iron Blood Duke, I contacted my wife at once.

To check whether she had heard anything from Karl—and if not, to explain the situation before someone else asked her about the engagement.

Of course she knew nothing either. If she had, she would already have told me.

"His Grace the Iron Blood Duke decided it in haste. They finished the engagement about an hour ago and returned to the capital, so I imagine he simply hadn't the presence of mind to say anything yet."

I did my best to calm my flustered wife.

This engagement had been abrupt and accidental. Hadn't the Iron Blood Duke himself said it had only just concluded?

So Karl simply hadn't managed to tell us yet. No time, and no composure left to spare.

"It isn't something he'd have any reason to hide, either. Even if he tried, the news would spread soon enough. Don't dwell on it too much."

Yes. There was nothing to hide.

Come to think of it, this was the same boy who stayed silent whether he was under house arrest or in confinement. He simply wasn't used to talking about himself.

...Even so, I wished he'd at least mentioned good news of this magnitude.