Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The War Hero Gets Married (7)
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Dawn.
"Ah, this is nice."
"Feels that good, does it?"
Lying in bed staring at the ceiling, I was handed a glass of water by a blonde maid who approached me.
"What, poisoned or something?"
"Should I mix in a love potion?"
"As if, Yuno."
The blonde maid made as if to stick out her tongue toward the water in the glass—actually, she looked like she was really about to do it—so I quickly took the glass and gulped down the water.
"Oh my. What if it really had been poisoned?"
"Then I'd be poisoned. Just like you tried to kill me."
"Jeez, there you go again with that."
"What, mad?"
"How could I be? It's my karma."
"You're mad? Want me to feel your chest?"
"...Isn't that usually the woman's line to the man?"
"But your eyes and hands are honest."
"Argh."
Yuno snuggled into my arms.
"Haa, these firm muscles... Hehe."
"I didn't say you could snuggle, and you had your fun last night anyway."
"That was busy with other stuff... Ah. So, are you really going to get married?"
"Hmm..."
A topic we deliberately avoided talking about during the night.
With only 100 days of happy times ahead, I didn't want to bring it up and sour the mood, but the issue resurfaced anyway.
"Marriage, huh. Not thinking about it right now, and that partner has never even considered the princess."
"Hehe. So you do plan to get married someday?"
"Yeah. By... 35? Or before 40?"
"Pfft. Even as a Grand Master, isn't that too late?"
"Men are fine."
Maybe because I lived in the modern world before coming here, but even by this world's common standards, it was true.
"Young ladies flock to marry old counts in their 50s or 60s, so I'm still young."
"But your partner isn't."
"Tch..."
"Even among us, there were plenty secretly aiming for status recovery... no, status elevation through marriage to you. Not to mention those chased out of this mansion..."
"Sigh. Enough. Still, with about 100 days—no, 99 days until the wedding, I can sort my thoughts out."
"If worst comes to worst, call it off the day before?"
"No law says I have to marry, and it doesn't have to be the Princess Knight."
"Oh? Could it be?"
Yuno smirked, along with the maids who had just finished showering.
"Something to look forward to?"
"Expectations just lead to disappointment, so for now, let's enjoy things as they are. It's only day two since the war ended."
The situation was completely different from the war 12 years ago, so my thinking had to change too.
It was just that an enormous bombshell had dropped on day one.
"I need some time to sort my thoughts."
"Sorting your thoughts, yet here you are again?"
"Morning routines after waking up... Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"No, that familiar mana signature...?"
Knock knock knock.
"It's Robert, sir. Pardon the intrusion, but we have a guest."
"Come in. A guest? At this hour?"
"Yes. Well..."
Robert continued, looking apologetic toward me and the maids hastily throwing on robes.
"Princess Sylvia has arrived."
"Damn it..."
......
"Hah, fine. Escort her to the garden for now."
The caretaker of the Wilhelm Mansion and head butler of the Wilhelm Count's household, Robert, saw Hans Wilhelm as a heroic figure.
The savior of the nation and the benefactor who spared him from execution.
Back when the Wilhelm Mansion had become synonymous with the great traitor Count Steven's family, Robert hadn't held a very favorable impression of this Hans Wilhelm.
A man who became a noble through swordsmanship alone.
He himself had served the count's family for nearly fifty years, yet was destined to end his days as a servant in a noble house, while some peasant from a farm stood out in the war, became a knight, and even rose to nobility.
It was human jealousy.
Frustration with his own situation.
Every time he heard of some commoner rising through merits in the war, his self-esteem hit rock bottom—he, the head butler of Count Steven, who stayed behind badmouthing things and ruining the mood instead of fighting.
—Count Steven was an imperial spy!!
To think that every noble he met spread vibes of defeatism and badmouthed this Hans fellow because he was an imperial spy.
He was bewildered at having fallen for the spy's agitation, but the Grates Kingdom didn't just pin it on one count.
The count's mansion and all his lands were seen as betrayers of the nation.
Because of that perception, Robert and many from the count's household ended up imprisoned.
—I'll take these people under my wing.
He'd endured brutal torture and was on the verge of the execution grounds when Hans Wilhelm stepped in to take on the mansion's staff.
—Can't you just weed out the real imperial spies? If you kill everyone used by spies, who'll be left in the kingdom?
He swung his sword mercilessly when killing was needed, but strove to save lives whenever possible.
—They nearly died for being used by imperial spies, so they won't side with the empire now. As a reward for this battle's merits, take the capital mansion and its servants.
Once he made a decision, there was no hesitation.
Though watching from the side, Robert later learned how much agonizing and care he put into that decision beforehand—but afterward, he took full responsibility for his actions.
The hero everyone praised.
Perhaps because he came from common stock, he treated servants less like nobles and more like contracted employees—staying and working in the mansion based on agreements, like those from merchant guilds or trading companies.
Pointing out injustices to superiors, showing leniency to inferiors, and wielding the sword of judgment against villains—a righteous hero.
Was this hero a flawless, saintly being of perfect nobility?
Robert disagreed.
The hero had one flaw, and that flaw was the biggest reason Robert could pledge loyalty to Hans Wilhelm.
His fondness for women.
Of course, he wasn't trash like Count Steven, who won the war and then forcibly dragged any woman to his bed, tying her up and raping her just because he liked women too much.
He didn't discriminate against women who approached him willingly. He'd sometimes flirt with women at banquets for a night together, or subtly set the mood with maids from the Wilhelm Mansion and invite them to his bedroom.
And Robert came to realize.
His master, Hans Wilhelm, was at Grand Master level not just in martial prowess, but in other vital areas as well.
Even the mansion's maids he'd spent nights with later fought in earnest over who got his bed.
And Hans resolved even those quarrels with a line like, "The bed's big and the night is long"—encouraging them to embrace together—so Robert, as one man to another, couldn't help but be genuinely impressed.
—The count is... Kyaa!
He even overheard some maids sharing reviews, learning just how amazing the count's techniques were.
—How do you send all the maids away like that?
Hmm, butler. First off...
Using those techniques, Robert had revived his long-languishing relationship with his wife and restored peace to his home.
Thus, to Robert, his master Hans Wilhelm was a "war hero with human qualities."
Not some rigid patriot living solely for "this nation alone," forsaking all he deserved for unyielding loyalty.
If he were, Robert might respect him as a hero but couldn't see him as a fellow human.
Thanks to those human traits, managing the Wilhelm Mansion was effortless for Robert.
Basic butler duties plus handling the master's nighttime affairs—women issues resolved themselves since those called to the bedroom were mutual—and no need for threats or bribes to chase them out the back door like the previous count.
Just clean the room with cleaning magic and change sheets periodically.
That was the routine.
Though the incident 100 days ago had kept women out of the bedroom until now, with the armistice ushering in peace, the master resumed his routine immediately.
So—
"No more nights with the master now, huh?"
"Probably not. He'll be heading to the palace."
Even after using cleaning magic to tidy themselves up, the maids sitting at the table eating bread had weary looks in their eyes as they spoke, and Robert's ears perked up.
"What do you think, Head Butler?"
"He said he'd rise to palace chamberlain if needed, but unlike me, you lot won't easily enter the palace."
"Why? Because of this?"
One maid hollowed out her bread, then stabbed a long sausage with her fork and shoved it deep inside.
"Can't deny it."
"But we don't want the master's baby."
"You think that, but the royalist nobles might not."
What did these women, who spent a hot night with Hans Wilhelm until dawn, have in common?
That he saved their lives?
That they gladly met his physical needs?
Or—
"You haven't thought of kids before, but people change. You might want one, or he might try to get you pregnant."
Even as the women handling Wilhelm's nights so far, new possibilities could open up.
"I'd happily serve if one of you became countess, but what about the palace folk?"
"Political reasons to bolt, you mean?"
"Exactly. Especially since he's to become... the Princess Knight's husband."
"Hah, for real."
One maid scowled in annoyance.
"So no more with the master from now on...?"
"Who knows."
Robert pointed toward the garden with a complicated expression.
"Only they know how Princess Sylvia views the master's hobbies."
And then.
"...What did you just say?"
I heard thunderbolt words from Sylvia.
"I mean..."
"Women."
From the morning.
"For safety, for peace, please hold back on women."
I heard some novel bullshit.