Volume 8 Chapter 1 Part 8

Jeremy said, regaining her composure.

「Hmm… 」

Ender suddenly stopped looking at the documents in front of him and turned his sight over to Jeremy, observing her closely. After that, he leisurely played with the abacus and put red ink on one corner of the document.

「In that case, how about joining my inner palace as one of my wives? You are young and have a different charm than the women of Dartania. You are definitely suitable to be one of my consorts. 」

「Eh? 」

Jeremy was stunned speechless for a while. She never expected to be asked something like that in such a way.

「… Ah, uh, I need to take some time to think about that. 」

Jeremi said that, bowed quickly, and left the room so fast as if she was trying to run away.

(Being a wife of a Marquis might not be such a bad thing, but being one of the many queens…?)

She sighed deeply as he quickly walked down the hallway.

Jeremy admires Siluca Meletes, and became a contracted Mage of Earl Theo Cornero because he wanted to be just like her. Using all of her wits and ingenuity, she brought her Lord to many a splendid victories, caused him to make a name for himself as a hero all across the entire continent, caused his rank to increase exponentially and even fell in love with him. All of the above things have caused Siluca Meletes to already become a living legend among the ranks of the students of the Magic University.

(I wanted to be like that too…)

But then he was reminded of the harshness of reality.

(But all hope is not yet lost…)

Jeremy gave himself some words of encouragement.

(…because right now I am also the Earl of Sistina’s contracted Mage!)
Theo Cornero is now an Earl, and the leader of the Artuk Treaty at that. He is also one of the Lords who is currently the closest to becoming an Emperor, and the battle for the fate of the continent between the forces of the Factory Alliance and the Fantasia Union was just about to begin in earnest.

* * *
There was a long line of horse-drawn carriages loaded with household goods.

They are the ones belonging to the Nord people who have abandoned their settlement on the Stark Peninsula and are returning to their homeland. People’s steps were slow and their expressions were gloomy.

(That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone…)

Ulrika, the daughter of Ocean King Eric, Lord of the Nords, murmured to herself as she walked at the head of the column of people.

Even if they return to their hometowns, they’ll have no place to stay.

Nords have one-child inheritance, and all land and property is given only to one’s heirs. The only way for other people to own land is to cultivate the wilderness or steal someone else’s land and make it their own. Therefore, for more than a hundred years, they have ventured into the rough North Sea looking for partners to trade with and lands to settle.

(And I’m solely responsible for that failure.)

Ulrika failed to uphold her rule over Stark, and then she suffered a crushing defeat during what was supposed to be a fast and easy expedition to conquer Haman. And in the meantime, Milza, who was supposed to be holed up in Castle Unicorn in Artuk, was also killed in battle after he challenged Theo Cornero to a duel.
In front of Ulrika, the outer walls of the city of Bertha, the capital of Waldrind, were beginning to be visible. Marine Kraische should be there right now.

「I wonder if they’re going to even let us into the town. 」

Ulrika said quietly.

「Why wouldn’t they do that? 」

The man behind Ulrika asked. It was Flint. He is a Werewolf captured during the Battle of Castle Unicorn. He swore obedience to Ulrika, so she decided to keep him as her personal pet. He has physical abilities that exceed those of ordinary people, which makes him useful in a variety of situations. Ulrika was now abandoned even by her closest aides, but he was the only one who was always by her side, no matter what happened.

「Because Lady Marine will be very angry and annoyed at our failure.
In exchange for Marlne offering the Stark Peninsula as a settlement for the Nords, she requested them to join their campaign in the southern part of the continent. However, Ulrika rejected the chance to go help Dartania’s Viceroy Milza when he needed help the most because she didn’t see him as an ally, but as for her own competition. And now, it was scary for her to even try imagining how furious Marine is going to be towards her.

Although Marlene is quiet and gentle in her personal life, she can be a cold-hearted and even cruel when it comes to the matters of politics, diplomacy, and battle.

「I’m going to check out the city then. 」

As Flint said that, he transformed into a Werewolf and began running at frightening speed. Then he ran to the outer wall of the city and turned back.
「The gate was open… 」

After returning to his human form, Flint reported with a smile.

「And that’s not all. Apparently they are running a soup kitchen for us. 」

Flint reported that tables had been set out in the street and that they were filled with bread, fruit, and drinks on display. In the towns and villages they had passed through on their way here, the residents had closed their doors on them as if a storm was coming, because they were afraid that the Nords will plunder everything from them if they’d allow them in.

「Thank you… 」
Ulrika murmured, but her feelings were still not at ease.

When they entered the town of Bertha, just as Flint had said, various foods and drinks were lined up on both sides of the road. The Nords jumped at the food as if they were afraid that somebody was going to take it all away from them, and whatever they were unable to eat on the spot they loaded up into their luggage. But even so, there was enough food to last for everyone without the fear of it running out.

(This is the rule of Kraische…)

With a single command from the lord, all the people of the Lord moved into action. This may be because of Marine’s continued strict but fair governance.

「Lady Ulrika… 」

As she was walking down the street and chewing on some bread, a girl who appeared to be a maid appeared, and she bowed to Ulrika before coming closer to her. Her face looked familiar. If Ulrika’s memory was correct, she was one of the Shadows that were tasked with protecting and taking care of Marine. The maid then said:

「Lady Marine would like to meet you as soon as possible. 」

The black-haired maid declared in a voice that didn’t contain any emotion in particular.

「Understood. 」

Ulrika simply nodded her head.

To be honest, she was reluctant to meet Marine right now. However, she was asked to do so by Marine personally through her Shadow, so there was no way she could refuse.

Leaving the affairs of the people to the clan leaders, she headed to the palace with the Werewolf Flint alone. When they finally arrived at their destination, Ulrika was taken to Marlene’s private room instead of the throne room.

(So she’s not even going to meet me in public, huh?)

Flint was taken to a separate room by the maid and was told to wait for Ulrika there.

When she entered the room, Marine was waiting for her there, alone. She was still dressed in her mourning black dress. She looked at Ulrika and she smiled kindly at her. And she beckoned her to come closer.

With her head hung down, Ulrika approached Marlene. She couldn’t bring herself to look her in the eyes properly, but then…

「I’m so glad you’re okay! 」

Marine gently hugged her.

「B-Big Sister Marine? 」

That was surprising for Ulrika. She was prepared and expecting to be severely reprimanded for her failure, but there was nothing of the sort. Instead, she gestured her to come sit down on a chair next to her, where tea was already being prepared for the both of them.

Ulrika obediently obeyed.

「Big Sister Marine… I’m sorry… 」

After she sat down with her, she apologized first.

「Because of me, not only Stark was lost, but also Artuk and Lord Milza… I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect them. 」

「It’s not just your fault. The Artuk Treaty did a good job of outwitting us this time. I was never taking them lightly, but I never would’ve expected that they’re going to be such a threat. 」