Chapter 3: Just When We’d Thought It Was All Smooth Sailing...

And so, our political marriage was arranged, and to the public, was staged as a stroke of serendipity. I really wanted to know what sort of karma got me this, but there was no fighting destiny.

Out of everyone involved, Prince Alphonse was probably the one who wanted to ask that same question the most, but with him as my support, I had nothing else to be afraid of.

We’d also finished hunting for our new home quite quickly. After looking at a number of properties, we ended our search on a house that a baron was giving up. It was a bit large for a baron’s mansion, but a little small for a viscount’s estate. It was the perfect size to be called a townhouse.

But really, it was still too small to be considered a royal’s home. Yet when I’d gone over our “wants” list with Princess Sonia just to be sure, she’d said it was no problem.

“I’ve been living in this house for about a month, after all,” she’d laughed, being quite tough for a noble lady. It was true that the house she’d been living in was one for commoners, after all.

And the reason such a perfectly sized house was being sold was...because the baron who had owned it had been crippled in the war and was returning to the countryside.

Yes, it was one of those cheap properties that, in exchange for the price, came with baggage attached.

I’d been sure to explain that to Her Royal Highness, but in reply, she’d said: “If that’s the case, then I’d absolutely like to go with this home. If buying this property allows someone who’s fought so bravely to return home and rest his weary body, then I will gladly deal with a few bad omens.”

When she said that, I’d nearly cried again.

I had heard about her traveling to the countryside, so I had thought she would understand the lives of those who lived out there a bit. But what she said seemed to come straight from her kind heart.

And not just that...

“And you’ll be given a domain to rule over in the near future, so you shouldn’t spend too much money on the townhouse anyway. From what I’ve heard of His Royal Highness Prince Alphonse’s personality, it’s likely that he’ll give you a region that you’ll be so busy with, you won’t be able to leave easily,” she added, very realistically.

“Ah, yes, probably. He absolutely will,” I replied without thinking, nodding.

Really, Her Royal Highness is so perceptive... Or wait, it might just have been her picking up on it from my complaints about him.

In all honesty, I’d done my best not to think about the domain I was getting. Every time I put any thought to it, a chill ran down my spine. So basically, it’d be bad. I knew I was absolutely getting somewhere really bad. And my instincts were usually on the mark about things like that...like a hundred-percent on the mark. And since things were going to be bad no matter what, I decided there was no difference if I thought about it now or not at all, so I struck it from my mind.

Yes, I was running away from the issue, but sometimes in life, retreat was absolutely necessary. Definitely.

And what’s more...

“More than anything, I’m sure that you’ll be able to knock away at least a couple of bad omens, Sir McGuine,” Princess Sonia said with a smile that completely lacked even a smidgen of doubt.

Being a man means never backing down from a challenge, right?

“I’ll pay for this—now. Cash down.”

“Huh, ah, okay?!”

My decisive statement shocked the realtor who’d been showing us the place, but I had quite a lot in my savings! His Royal Highness might’ve worked me to the bone, but he paid well doing it! I’d just never had a chance to actually use it.

Or maybe, the property might’ve been cheap, but buying real estate cash down was maybe a little weird... Laura and Tom were horrified, at the very least.

B-But I bought it, so I’m gonna say it was okay.

And just like that, the details regarding our new home were settled, and I would be moving out of the dorms for single knights that I’d been living in for years.

“Our new home.” That sounds so nice.

And of course, seeing as I had to explain my moving out with the public story we were going with, I got a shit ton of jealousy thrown my way. But taking ’em all out drinking on my dime and getting them wasted was enough to fix that. Most active-duty knights were just like that.

Gale was an outlier, though—he congratulated me properly. He had a strong sense of duty, so apparently he felt he owed me for picking him of all people for a promotion.

Sure, I may be seen as simple for deciding to give Gale a chance to shine at the next possible opportunity. Gale may have even calculated for this, but in the end, he got results, and I was fine to be used for a bit.

So yeah, despite a lot going on, I was moving out on a weekend, feeling nice and refreshed. And then, an unexpected... Actually, a pretty damn obvious visitor came to me.

“What the hell is this I’m hearing about you getting married, Ark?!”

My pops came at me, screaming.

His panic was understandable; here he was, hearing his son—who’d never had even one relationship rumor and always turned down every marriage offer he’d gotten—was getting married out of nowhere. And only telling his folks after the fact!

“What do you mean? I’m just getting married. There shouldn’t be any problem with that,” I argued.

“There are huge problems, you dunce!”

My father’s screams echoed through the parlor of the knight’s dormitory. Couldn’t he turn down the volume a bit, here? I mean, I was the reason he was shouting, but...

“What problems could there be? You’d been worried about me staying single forever, hadn’t you?”

“That is exactly the problem! Here I’d been trying to arrange a marriage for you and you pull the rug out from under me!”

Ah. So that was why.

Up until now, I hadn’t been a very juicy catch for any noble ladies to marry, so I hadn’t got any offers.

“So now that the war is over, you got some bites?” I asked.

“Some?! Do you not understand the position you’re in?!”

His question prompted me to consider the whole situation: I was a single man who’d gone from a mere chevalier to a viscount—entirely through merit—at the young age of twenty-five. Not only that, but I was highly trusted by Prince Alphonse, given responsibility over various jobs, and getting actual results.

I see. So I’m a hopeful stock now, especially in the eyes of lower nobles and count families who’re on the decline.

But thinking about it like that...

“Pops, I think you might be the one who doesn’t understand his position. Or maybe calling you ‘Baron McGuine’ would get my point across better?”

“Urk... W-Well...”

My shot had taken the wind completely out of his sails.

Yep, I’d been the third son of a baron. Since there was little chance I’d ever inherit the family estate, I’d decided to work myself up the rank as a knight, and in the end, I’d managed to outrank my pops and older brothers.

But I wasn’t about to pull rank here. My brothers were both working as civil officials. I knew quite well that it was because of guys like them organizing and preparing supplies that military dudes like me didn’t go starving on the front lines.

And plus, my rise in rank was all because Prince Alphonse worked me half to death and I’d somehow managed to survive it. If I was gonna be proud of anything, it would be my ability to get through things.

With that being said...

“Even forgetting which of us is higher ranked now, I’m a single man who’s been given a peerage, so the fact that they’re even trying to go through you instead of coming directly to me is wrong.”

“You’re right, but the reason why they went to me is because you’ve been traveling so much. They had no way of contacting you!”

Oh yeah, that was true. I’d been on the battlefield for ages, and then headed to the border once that was finished before the whole kerfuffle happened, so I understood that they’d have a bit of a hard time contacting me. I understood, but still.

“So you mean the offers coming are all from people who first reached out while I was uncontactable after becoming a viscount. And if they didn’t want me ’til then, they’re being pretty cocky now.”

“Urk...! Th-That’s... No, it’s because you never go to social events!” Pops argued.

“Well, I can’t deny that. So that means none of them actually fell for me. They’re all a hundred-percent in it for political reasons, and they’re not even attempting to make it seem like anything else. I’m pretty sure I could never end up trusting people like that.”

“Gnnrgh...” After my rebuttal, Pops couldn’t argue any further.

Quite honestly, I knew that living as a noble meant that marrying for politics was par for the course, but the whole reason I’d run away from all that was because I wasn’t good at looking only at money and power. I’d become a knight because I thought that being one meant I might actually be more or less free from it.

If there had been a lady who’d understood my principles and made an attempt at meeting me halfway, then I would’ve thought about it, at least... But for better or worse, I’d never met any ladies like that, so I had no way of knowing how it would’ve ended.

Nowadays, I figured it was for the better, since because of it, I’d met the woman I was destined to be with.

Despite having thoughts like that, I deliberately made a cranky face to hide it.

“And even saying all this, you were all geared up to use me too, Pops. I’m grateful for you raising me and all, so I won’t deny you everything, but this situation is different. You should’ve talked to me before moving anything along.”

“Yes, but... I couldn’t turn down a proposal from a count...”

“What? A count? Who would... No, I see. Viscounts would be in their strikezone.”

Just as I was about to ask, I put some more thought into it. That was exactly what I’d been thinking internally. It wouldn’t be odd for an up-and-coming viscount to get offers from a count’s house.

But that was if a viscount even got those offers in the first place.

“And they made sure to go to a baron like you instead of straight to me... What, did they offer you financial aid or something for this?” I snapped.

“To be honest, that was part of it. But another large part of it was that I thought it would be a good match for you. And as your father, I’m sure of that.”

“If you’d go that far, then I’ll believe you.”

I recognized the strength in his gaze as he looked straight at me; it was the same strength I had in mine.

I had some mixed feelings in really feeling like I was his son at a time like this, but... That would’ve been fine if it wouldn’t complicate things. He really was thinking of me when he started pushing things along. Even if he’d been overeager about it.

“But anyway, His Royal Highness Prince Alphonse is backing up this marriage of mine, so there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Huh? Why would it be that big of a deal?! Ah...” He realized as he spoke, and trailed off.

Yep. He finally caught on that things are going on behind the scenes. I mean, I didn’t say anything about it, so it’s not his fault, but...

“So that’s that,” I said. “Oh, but I wasn’t forced into it or anything. It just worked out, both politically and emotionally.”

“Th-That’s good, then... No, it’s not good at all. The count was all for it. They might try to force it through if you’re still only in the engagement phase.”

Man, don’t say things like that.

It was true that Princess Sonia and I weren’t officially married yet. We were “currently in talks with her parents,” as in ironing things out with Nia’s scholar “father” to get our stories straight. Which is why we’d need to hold off on the wedding for another two or three months or so, but... It seems that might’ve backfired on us a bit.

“Why’re they being so pushy about it?”

Just as the words left my mouth, a theory popped into my mind. If it was that house, then it wouldn’t be impossible.

And unfortunately, I was correct.

“The proposal was from the County of Barracuda. You understand what I’m saying now, don’t you?”

All I could do was nod.

The House of Barracuda was a noble military family. They’d also just taken a massive hit by losing their heir in the war. There were questions about why the hell the heir to a county would die in battle, but in a sense, there was nothing they could do about it. The saying “spare the rod, spoil the child,” was exactly something they would stick to.

Their entire problem this time was the cost of their success. They’d sent both the current count and his heir to a fierce battleground, and the current count survived while his heir did not. So while they were reaping what they’d sown, it was hard to judge them about it since their sacrifice was good for Brigandia as a whole. It was because of their methods that most of the family heads ended up being great men, but this time, it resulted in losing their heir before he could live up to his potential.

So, the end result was that their house was in decline, but...

“Oh, so pardon me tooting my own horn here, but they want to take me in since I showed off my own military prowess. I’m a viscount, but as long as I haven’t been given a domain of my own yet, then I could marry into their family.”

No, maybe they were thinking they could absorb whatever domain I happened to get into Barracuda County.

Most major high-ranked nobles like them were shrewd, even martial houses. No, it was because they were martial houses that most of them were so shrewd.

“That’s about the gist of it,” Pops confirmed. “Since they fought hard enough to lose their heir, it seems they’re getting some land too, so if you added that to what you’re going to get for becoming a viscount, you’ll have quite a large domain for yourself.”

“But that’d be the House of Barracuda’s land, wouldn’t it?” I pointed out. “They’d just be taking me in as a stopgap to mix our blood so that everything would come back to them next generation. They wouldn’t be losing a thing.”

The way they treated the whole family as a single entity might’ve been something specific to noble families who were counts and higher. I might’ve been a noble too, but I couldn’t really relate.

“I see,” I continued. “It’d be hard enough for a newbie viscount like me to rule what I’d be given, so I wouldn’t be able to handle being in charge of an entire county. That’d mean that even if I married into the family, the current Count Barracuda could be a magistrate and keep on running things in my place.”

“You’re right. They would appoint a magistrate, at least until you retired from active military duty,” Pops nodded.

“And I was planning on keeping at that for another twenty or so years. As long as I stayed alive that long, anyway. Oh, damn, now I’m thinking about some awful stuff. Like, if I happened to father them an heir, they wouldn’t even care if I died since they would still reap a huge profit with zero investment required.”

“Th-They wouldn’t be that evil!” Pops snapped. “Probably.”

My father probably couldn’t help his statement sputtering out at the end like that. After all, Pops just being a baron meant that he’d probably barely ever even conversed with Count Barracuda, who you could argue was the top of military aristocratic society. And of course, I hadn’t either, which meant we knew next to nothing about what kind of a person he was.

“Whatever. I’m gonna turn ’em down anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. Or it wouldn’t if I could just do it bluntly...”

Quite honestly, I wanted to just say that I didn’t care about their family situation, but the real pain in the ass here was why I couldn’t.

“Count Barracuda brought up how ‘knights should look out for each other,’ after all...” Pops said.

“Of course he did. And I can’t deny that.”

Pops looked conflicted as he said that, and he really was. I couldn’t just dismiss those words either.

In the countries around us, military folks worked on the philosophy that “knights should look out for each other.” Basically, this meant “If you die, I’ll do something about it, so if I die, you do the same.”

It went without saying that since knights and soldiers risked their lives on the battlefield, they never knew what tomorrow would bring. Almost every soldier experienced laying one of their comrades to rest. They themselves might be the next one to die.

Now, I want you to think about how someone who treated their dead allies’ or enemies’ bodies like shit might themselves get treated. Just getting their corpse stripped and thrown out somewhere would be one of the better possibilities, because sometimes people would use their corpse to get out all of their pent-up anger.

Higher-ups were watched even more strictly, and there were too many cases of knights and nobles who treated their subordinates’ bodies like crap suddenly dying a strange, unnatural death overnight, or finding the corpses of nobles on the battlefield with an arrow stuck in the back of their heads. Even aside from situations like those, morale would be low; soldiers wouldn’t dare risk their lives for a superior who treated them like shit. They’d die easily in battle, or even run away.

This applied to your enemies as well. Or rather, it applied because of your enemies. Whichever was the case, it was an unwritten rule of the battlefield that you couldn’t complain if you got back what you’d given. If you treated enemy soldiers badly, then it could come back to you in the end. That was why you treated the bodies of those you killed as well as you could manage, and would need to be surprisingly gentlemanly to captives. Treating them well would make ransom negotiations go a lot better when it was time to give them back.

The reason the Sylvarian knights who’d helped us in our investigation a bit ago had been so polite and reasonable wasn’t because they thought they’d suffer divine punishment for Sylvario breaking the terms of the treaty, but instead because they adhered to the same military culture we did.

And so, with a culture like that, you couldn’t treat the surviving family of people who’d died in combat coldly. Otherwise, you’d be next, having the family you left behind suffer. Most people wouldn’t want that.

On the flip side, if you knew someone would take care of your folks after you died, then it’d probably help you fight more courageously.

I’d heard before of a country to the south that was known for having a tribe with terrifying warriors who fought recklessly because of the nation’s generous safeguards for the families of those killed in battle, but that might not have actually been a joke.

I was getting off-topic here, but that all was the reason I couldn’t be too rude to House Barracuda.

“First off, I’ll have to meet with Count Barracuda directly to turn him down myself,” I concluded. “But I’m gonna have to talk with His Royal Highness about exactly how much I can explain to him first.”

“Hey, now that I think about it, how much am I allowed to know?” my father asked.

“Ahh... You’re probably okay knowing everything I’ve said today. You’d keep your mouth shut, anyway.”

“Well of course I would. If I blabbed, then it would be off with my head, or I might just ‘disappear’ one day.”

He was just talking hypotheticals, but just thinking of it must’ve put a chill down his spine, because he was rubbing his neck.

Yeah, I get that. His Royal Highness probably would do something like that to anyone who got in the way of his schemes, though it might change based on what degree it went to.

“Other than that, I’ll have to tell... Nia too.”

Since I wasn’t used to calling her that yet, I mumbled it. I was also having to hold myself back from grinning.

The fact that she was Princess Sonia was absolutely top secret, so I’d need to call her by her false name in front of my father. Yep. Part of my job, that. Nothing I could do about it.

“Nia? Is that your fiancée’s name?” my father asked.

“Oh yeah, I hadn’t told you her name yet either,” I replied. “Nia is a smart, beautiful, wonderful woman. You need to make yourself some time later so I can introduce you.”

With everything happening as fast as it had, I hadn’t had any chance to introduce them, and it wasn’t as if I didn’t want them to meet at all. Even Her Royal Highness had wanted to meet them.

Pops was a bit hesitant to agree to my suggestion, though.

“Of course I’d love to meet her, but it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for that to happen before we get this mess out of the way. House Barracuda probably wouldn’t take it well.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

It was bad enough that I was already engaged when they were making plans with Pops to marry me into their family. Him ignoring the count’s daughter and meeting my fiancée instead before we’d settled things would sully their reputation.

While they would probably give up if we had the third prince Prince Alphonse himself mediating things, that would be adding insult to injury. Our culture of always looking out for our own might make that a strike against me. And there was the chance that, if they were really old-fashioned, they’d think it would all be my fault.

“Okay, so first off, we’ll have to talk,” I concluded with a heavy sigh.

◆◆◆◆

The first thing on the agenda was to report to His Royal Highness Prince Alphonse.

I’d vaguely hoped he’d be able to solve this new problem, but...

“Count Barracuda,” His Royal Highness groaned. “I’d really prefer he not know our secret.” For once, His Royal Highness had no ready solution at hand.

Though House Barracuda prided itself on being a family valuing brawn over brain, they were apparently some of the smartest muscleheads around. While they didn’t have any ambitions to overthrow the kingdom, they were greedy, and would shrewdly go for anything as long as it didn’t go beyond their own territory.

“Both the current head and heir of House Barracuda went to battle with zero hesitation. No doubt the other nobles, especially the military ones, would give them a pass right now. And since they just lost the heir to their county to the war, the other houses would have their sympathy as well.”

“Hahhh,” I exclaimed. “Risking their lives profits their houses. I never expected such an outdated parenting style would turn into something like this.”

Thinking that way, their principles could even be considered a variant of those of the southern warrior tribes.

As a military man myself, I could respect risking your own safety for your family and the good of everyone. But I couldn’t give up here.

“Then I’ll do my best to get through this without him finding out our secret. I apologize in advance if I’ll need to let it slip,” I said.

“Count Barracuda is no fool. If you tell him what’s going on behind the scenes, he’ll understand what’s at stake and keep quiet. He’ll just expect payment for his silence,” His Royal Highness said, smiling bitterly. I couldn’t blame him.

From what I’d heard about Count Barracuda, he’d definitely understand the effect that me marrying Princess Sonia would have. I also knew that the kingdom would take a huge financial hit if he found out. Which meant...

“I wonder how much it’d cost to keep him quiet,” I commented. “You know, I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Which is exactly why he can’t find out. Do your best to keep it from him. You can do it. Probably. Maybe.”

“I’d appreciate a little more confidence from you!”

Though I’d quipped back without thinking, I honestly wished he’d cut me a break here—this was a problem that kept snowballing.

But no, this time, it wasn’t Prince Alphonse’s fault...mostly.

“Anyway, make sure to explain things to Miss Nia.”

“Yes, of course. No point keeping this from her!”

My elders had told me that keeping secrets and acting without consulting your partner were the main reasons married couples fought. That was why I was going to talk it out with her and make our marriage a happy one!

With that vow in my heart, I took my leave from His Royal Highness’s office, finished up my work quickly, and went to visit Princess Sonia, who was in the middle of moving preparations.

“Oh my. Then if I may, please let me accompany you when you’re discussing things with Count Barracuda.”

I never expected her to say something so bold with such a big smile on her face.

“You want to come along? But...”

I thought about what she’d said. Count Barracuda wouldn’t know what Princess Sonia looked like, so there was no chance that he’d recognize her. And knowing Her Royal Highness, she wouldn’t let anything slip that would expose herself. Other than that...

“And though I doubt it would happen, just based on what you’ve told me,” Princess Sonia said, “if the count gets physical in any way, I’ll be safe as long as you’re with me, right, Sir McGuine?”

“Yes, of course!”

Princess Sonia said my worry aloud as soon as I thought of it, and so I responded immediately. I mean, if she said it like that, of course I would agree. She even might have said it that way precisely because she knew I would respond that way, but to be honest, it felt so good to be wrapped around her little finger.

I stopped myself before my thoughts went any further. I mean, there’d be no harm in me just thinking it, but she’d be disgusted with me if she ever found out. And I wasn’t sure I could keep it hidden. Her Royal Highness would definitely see right through me. Which was why I needed to keep the door leading to those thoughts closed tight.

“If I happen to be there at the meeting, then I believe there’s a good chance we could clear up this whole mess in one fell swoop,” she continued.

“You’re probably right...”

I couldn’t do anything but nod to what she’d said.

Her being there would put a stop to any speculation that I was just claiming to have a fiancée so I could turn him down. In addition, it would also deter a follow-up meeting if the count didn’t accept my answer by itself and demanded he personally judge who was more suited to me.

“Oh, and I would love it if the count’s daughter also attended the discussions.”

“Y-Yes, that would speed things up...”

Why did her beautiful smile seem so intense?

But it was bold, and bullish. It was as if she was saying that with her in attendance, there’d be no way she’d ever lose in any comparisons.

I mean really, Princess Sonia was at a level where it was questionable if she could ever lose to anybody, but she was right. The only people who might have had a chance against her would be the daughters of dukes who’d gone through the education to become queen consort, or another princess. At the very least, the daughter of a count had no chance of winning against her.

Though to be fair, I might’ve been a bit biased.

Huh? Wait, one second.

“I see. It’s because I don’t think anyone else could ever match up to Her Royal Highness,” I murmured.

“Huh?”

My obvious observation had, surprisingly, shocked Princess Sonia. When I looked at her, her eyes were actually opened wide. I kept watching her—I had never seen her look this way—and as I did, her face slowly turned red.

“Ah, I’m sorry for saying something like that so suddenly. It was gross, wasn’t it? Having someone like me say that...”

“O-Oh, not...at all...?”

I quickly apologized, and she clutched both hands in front of her chest, looking away.

Urk... Now I’ve done it. Lines like that only work when you’re handsome.

Whatever the case, I needed to do something about the weird atmosphere I’d created.

“Um, I mean, I would choose you, Your Highness, no matter what lady came my way, so there wouldn’t be any problem at all if you came along.”

“O-Oh, um, thank you...”

H-Huh? That’s weird. That didn’t improve things. Gotta think of something else to talk about...

“Ah, that’s right. I heard Count Barracuda has quite the scary face. Will you be all right?”

I’d only ever glimpsed him at a distance, but to me, he seemed more like a bandit leader or a pirate captain than a count. It was enough that I wondered how he was a count, but there he was, so...

This is kind of irrelevant now, but seriously, of all the people we could’ve had a problem with, why did it have to be this guy?

While worrying about this all internally, Princess Sonia seemed to regain her composure, giving me the same smile she’d given me before.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve spoken to someone that was like a bandit leader before.”

Did she just read my mind? No, if she had, she’d look disgusted right now. I should be fine. Probably.

Anyway, if she said she’d be okay, she would probably be okay. She seemed like the type of person who would say so if she really couldn’t do something.

So really, there was only one thing I could say. I gave her a nod. “Understood. Then I would love to have you by my side.”

“Thank you very much. Let’s do our best to convince Count Barracuda... Okay?”

She nodded back, tilting her head a little bit when she said “okay” at the end.

And my heart could’ve stopped right then and there.

“O-Okay! Let’s do our best!”

My heart might not have stopped, but my composure was definitely in jeopardy. I felt pathetic as I answered, voice cracking, but since I’d nearly ascended from ecstasy from her words alone, I was probably just a pretty easy guy in the first place.

It was only for her, though!

Only for her!!!

◆◆◆◆

The day of the discussion...

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Baron McGuine. My name is Nia Farquhar. I’m so terribly sorry that it’s taken so long for me to introduce myself to you.”

“Y-Yes, nice to meet you...”

Before our meeting with Count Barracuda, I had decided to introduce Princess Sonia to my pops and hold a strategy meeting between the three of us, but after Her Royal Highness—no, Nia’s—polite introduction, my father barely replied, staring at her face in shock.

The silence lasted for a few seconds.

I really couldn’t leave things as they were, so I shook Pops by the shoulder. “Heeeey, Pops, what’s wrong? If you keep being so awkward Nia won’t know how to respond.”

“Uoargh?! S-Sorry... Wait, Ark! What the hell is this?! How did someone like you, who doesn’t know a single woman, bag a wonderful lady like her?!”

“Wait, why are you getting mad at me?”

My dad had snapped at me, seemingly at a loss for how to react. It miffed me that Pops was scolding me like this, but I knew he couldn’t be mad at her, not one bit. Anyway, I got to see Nia getting all embarrassed about being called lovely, and that was a sight for sore eyes.

“It was by chance, really,” I said. “I helped her out when she was in trouble in the capital.”

“Yes, I had been at the end of my rope before, um, Sir Ark came to help. He really saved me.”

Am I the only one who thought it was cute that she was a little embarrassed to say my name? Princess Sonia... Nia usually called me “Sir McGuine,” so it wasn’t a surprise that she wasn’t used to using my first name. I wasn’t used to it either. Honestly, it was amazing. But I couldn’t let it show on my face. If I did, I’d look suspicious in a number of different ways.

Put on your best acting face, Ark!

“Wow. So it was just a coincidence. Ark, did you use up your entire life’s worth of luck?” Pops questioned.

“Honestly, I think I did,” I agreed.

“Oh, you two are overreacting...”

When my father and I said that, Nia stopped us, fully embarrassed. While I did want to see more of that face, it would’ve been mean of me to keep going. Plus, we had a real problem we were dealing with here.

“Whoops. The count and his daughter will be here soon, so we really need to talk things out now,” I said, trying to change the topic. Nia seemed really grateful for that, which almost distracted me once again before I forced my attention back to the issue at hand.

Anyhow, today, we were having Count Barracuda and his daughter come to talk to us at our new home, Viscount McGuine’s manor, which we’d just barely gotten to look presentable. Of course I was worried.

Laura and Tom were the ones to decorate, and would serve the guests when they arrived. Laura especially had gotten all the tea prep sorted out. Just what you’d expect from a princess’s maid.

But where the hell did she hire an interior decorator? How did she have connections like that?

When I asked her, she just smiled and said it was a secret. She really was unfathomable... But thanks to that, we managed to get the townhouse set up to a point where it’d be acceptable for a count to visit.

In Brigandian etiquette, it was standard for lower-ranking nobles to visit the higher-ranking noble’s home when the two met. But with adjacent ranks like count and viscount, it was more common for the requestor to make the visit. If it was between a count and a baron, on the other hand, then the baron would still be the one to visit.

And so, annoyingly enough, Count Barracuda himself had wished to be the visitor. Since I was going to turn down the marriage proposal to his daughter, etiquette would dictate that I, as a viscount, should have gone to visit him. But the count had flipped it around, saying he wanted it to be not a refusal, but a discussion, and thus would visit me.

I was beyond fed up. Just a pain in the ass. Not the arrangement, but the count himself.

I couldn’t read him at all, and the fact that he was forcing me to suspect everything meant he absolutely didn’t just have muscles for brains. All of this to say that convincing him to rescind his proposal wouldn’t be easy. He was already higher ranked than me too, so it was all way too big a pain in the ass.

Which was exactly why I wanted all of us to be on the same page before the count and his daughter arrived, but...

“Shouldn’t we be fine?” Pops asked. “Miss Nia looks like she’ll have no problem.”

“Pops, no. While she probably will be fine, we still need to get everything straightened out between us,” I sighed. Nia had already rendered my pops toothless.

We had to be ready for the worst-case scenario, and my father and I were much more likely to trip up than Nia was—especially Pops.

And while a supposed commoner like Nia could be expected to make mistakes, it’d be a much bigger problem if Pops and I—the nobles in the discussion—were to slip up.

Anyway, once we’d somehow managed to finish our strategy meeting, Count Barracuda and his daughter arrived. The two of them were both wearing mostly black, most likely still in mourning for the family’s recently deceased heir.

“Oh, I’m so terribly sorry for barging in on such short notice! And to think that I would be the first one to visit you when you’ve only just purchased your new home!” Count Barracuda greeted us.

His strong greeting, the way he doesn’t seem sorry at all... This guy really is a pain in the ass.

Setting aside what he might be thinking, the count was doing a number of things with this greeting. He was displaying that he was trying to get past the death of his heir while smoothly implying—by highlighting, through our bare preparations, how recent my engagement to Nia was—that I still had a chance to call the whole thing off.

Standing in the entranceway where Nia, Pops, and I had gone to greet our visitors was Count Barracuda, a big man with an unshaven face and a messy head of dark brown hair, so overwhelmingly wild it was like a lion’s mane. He had a great physique, comparable to my own, though I’d heard he was in his forties. More than anything, his gait, his vibes... They were proof that he was a seasoned warrior. A bandit leader or a pirate captain, indeed.

Honestly, if the situation wasn’t what it was, I would have loved a duel with him. He’d be a good match for Sir Eisendarque too... I wished all three of us could’ve done a round-robin battle.

Right in front of me was a warrior great enough to make me instantly space out and fantasize about battling him. And he was supposed to be a count—a high-ranking noble.

Or no, Sir Eisendarque had been a count too, hadn’t he? How did such busy guys like them even find the time to train?

Anyway, the guy really was a count, so I had to give him a proper welcome.

“Oh, no, I’m truly honored to have you here, Count Barracuda,” I said. “Your Excellency’s military fame is so great that even an ignorant youngster like myself has heard tales of your deeds.”

“Ha ha ha, I’ve heard about your own deeds myself!” the count replied. “I’m thrilled that I’ll be able to have a relationship with the famed ‘Black Wolf’!”

“Thank you for your kind words, Your Excellency. Though I’m unsure what sort of relationship we’ll end up having...”

Ahhh, dammit! I have to be careful about every single response!

He was talking like we’d be becoming family, when I had no intention of that happening. What’s more, he was saying it in a way that I couldn’t completely shoot down... This is why I was bad with military types who were good at the machinations of high society!

But dealing with the Smiling Iceberg at the center of high society every day had hardened me. I wasn’t going down easily.

Hmm? Did a chill just run down my spine, or am I imagining things?

I rolled my shoulders slightly, attempting to locate the source of the chill, but eventually had to clear my throat and face the count once again.

“Oh, yes. This is my fiancée, Miss Nia Farquhar.”

“I see, so this is...” Count Barracuda began, cutting in so quickly that he nearly cut off my introduction. Dammit, he was really intent on controlling the entire conversation.

But Nia wouldn’t lose to him.

Perhaps the count had been about to introduce his own daughter, stepping forward with a preparatory inhale. Or maybe he’d been shocked at the dress Nia was wearing. Though it was a plain navy blue, the color managed to be both deep and dignified.

Whatever the case was, he’d very literally had his breath taken away, and in the few seconds he’d lost his timing and been speechless, Nia showed him a perfect curtsy. It was comparable to the ones I’d seen princesses and daughters of dukes do from a distance, maybe even better, and it knocked even Count Barracuda off his feet.

And, after using the few seconds she’d gained control to show off her presence, Nia gave him an excellent, ladylike smile.

“Just as Viscount McGuine introduced, my name is Nia Farquhar. Tales of your valor have reached even my country, Count Barracuda, and I am absolutely honored to meet you.”

Her voice was a perfect volume, neither too loud nor too quiet, while her tone was neither too cold nor too friendly, and was appropriately soft.

There wasn’t a single thing for him to find fault with, and as Nia gave a perfect, irreproachable introduction, Count Barracuda was at a loss for words. Not only had she destroyed his timing, but her perfect ladylike attitude stopped him in his tracks. It must have been quite humiliating for him.

But he was only silenced for a few seconds.

“Oh my, I’m touched by your kind greeting! I see, she really is a lovely lady!”

Count Barracuda immediately bounced back, and even showed off his composure by complimenting her. Though was probably freaking out a bit internally, he didn’t show a hint of it.

Such a pain in the ass.

But he wasn’t the only pain in the ass here, which made things even worse.

“But my daughter won’t lose to you either,” Count Barracuda proclaimed. “Emilia, introduce yourself.”

“Yes, father.”

The graceful woman who stepped forward upon her father’s urging looked nothing like the count. Or no—rather, it was the intensity in her sparkling emerald green gaze that showed that they were parent and child. Her softly wavy golden hair fell down to her waist, and every single strand was properly looked after, from root to tip.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Emilia, daughter of Count Barracuda. Viscount McGuine, Miss Nia Farquhar, I’m pleased to see the both of you in good humor.”

And then, she showed that she didn’t just look like a lady. The curtsy she gave us was tremendously refined. It was graceful enough that a duke’s daughter would have nothing on her. In a word, it was superb. I could understand why she hadn’t backed down.

But for some reason, it did nothing for me. She was undeniably pretty. Yet even so—nothing.

“Thank you so very much for such a courteous greeting. It’s an honor to meet you. Now, I cannot leave guests standing, so please, follow me,” I said, taking her greeting without pause and motioning for them to follow me into the parlor. The count’s face didn’t move an inch, but for a split second, Miss Emilia looked shocked.

It must have been incredibly rare for Miss Emilia to find a man who wasn’t affected by her greeting or looks. Most noblemen’s sons she would meet were probably descended from either counts or viscounts. They’d likely have almost never met another lady who could put up a fight with a duke’s daughter. My lack of response, and Nia’s perfect curtsy, must have hit them hard. If I had been the same as I was before meeting Nia, then maybe I might’ve faltered.

But that’s all meaningless conjecture!

We’d managed to sidestep their calculations in the first battle, but they showed no signs of giving up.

As I thought of what had transpired thus far, we made it to the parlor and sat down: Count Barracuda and Miss Emilia on one side of the table, and Nia and I on the other, while my father was in the middle, or rather, to the side.

The look on his face practically screamed “between a rock and a hard place,” but he needed to suck it up for now. It was because he moved things along without consulting me that we were in this situation in the first place.

“Oho. This is quite a good cup of tea.”

Laura had served us all tea as soon as we were seated, and just as I was about to take a sip, Count Barracuda, who’d taken a sip first, gave her an honest compliment.

Thinking to myself that that was just like Laura, I took a drink. It truly was good.

Wait, I’ve never drunk anything like this. Where the hell did she get these tea leaves from?

I gave Laura a look, but all she gave me back was another secretive smile. Did she buy high-quality tea leaves with her own money or something? We shouldn’t have had something like this in our home.

It troubled me a bit to know that Laura’s connections could even procure something like this. I really don’t want to get on her bad side.

“My thanks for the compliment. Laura here is a maid that Nia brought along with her, and she’s incredibly skilled,” I said, introducing her.

Laura gracefully gave them a bow. Since she was originally the daughter of a baron, even her movements were meticulously executed. She wouldn’t lose to a ducal maid either. Neither Count Barracuda or his daughter could complain about her.

But that was just for Laura.

“It’s true that her maid is incredibly skilled. But what of Miss Nia Farquhar herself?” Miss Emilia asked.

“Oh? That’s quite a fine thing to say. Why would you think that?” I asked in reply.

I let a little bit of annoyance seep into my response to Miss Emilia’s sudden provocation. That much shouldn’t be enough to offend her or the count, especially since they were the ones to sass first.

“Well, it’s true that the wife of a newly appointed viscount like you, Sir McGuine, would need to have good manners,” Miss Emilia explained. “But there are other things that are even more important.”

“More important? What would those be?” I asked.

“Knowledge, personal connections that could support you in governing a territory you aren’t familiar with, and a proper education,” Miss Emilia stated, looking proud.

She was right. Those were necessary. Especially the connections—I would need as many of those as I could get for a territory I still had no clue about. But.

“I thank you for your concern, but on the matter of connections, His Royal Highness Prince Alphonse will be assisting me.”

Miss Emilia and her father couldn’t immediately refute my answer. After all, His Royal Highness the third prince had a ton of connections, and if he asked, most houses would probably accommodate him. Of course, when compared to the connections that Barracuda County had built on their own, the connections I was claiming via Prince Alphonse were secondhand, so they would be weaker. But they weren’t so weak that they could be dismissed immediately.

Which was why Miss Emilia started going after it from another angle.

“I see. Connections like that would indeed be reassuring. But what about her education? I’ve heard that Miss Farquhar is from a foreign country, but for example: would she know where to import food supplies if your future territory has issues with food production?”

“You’re quite correct that a situation like that would be worrisome,” Nia replied. “If I were to think of territories to import from...”

In response to Miss Emilia, Nia proceeded to name a Brigandian noble whose territory produced an abundance of grain. And not just one or two nobles, but ten. What’s more, her answer encompassed the entire country in terms of who to buy from. Not only were Count Barracuda and his daughter shocked, but Pops and I were too.

“But there would be problems with that as well. Let’s say, if Viscount McGuine were to be given territory to the east. Do you know what those problems might be?” Nia asked in turn.

“Ghh! Those issues would be the state of the roads and public safety! You would need to implement tariffs and such in the impacted large cities—those would have been raised with the change in viceroys...”

When Nia shot a question back, Miss Emilia immediately replied.

To the east was the border with Sylvario, who we’d only recently been at war with. Those concerns were, of course, plausible, but all in all, Miss Emilia had some good opinions on them.

While I was wondering what the hell was happening, Miss Emilia shot back another question, which Nia answered before posing another question herself. The cycle continued. The two of them were holding a quiz battle, or rather, trying to one-up each other on their knowledge, while the men in the room just watched, stunned.

Nia—Princess Sonia—had actually guessed that something like this might happen. While we hadn’t had much time to gather information on her, apparently Miss Emilia Barracuda was quite prideful. She also had caught onto the fact that one of the supposed reasons I’d chosen Nia was to use her knowledge to help me govern my territory, so chances were likely that in our meeting she’d try to turn things around via a battle of wits.

And then, that actually happened. But...

“Then where are the houses of the Three Families of Ceramics located along the Edith Highway?!”

“That would be House Colorport and...”

Where the hell did you two get local knowledge like that?

I really hadn’t expected things to heat up over slinging around extremely niche information I had no idea how to respond to, let alone keep up with.

Really, the both of them were too good to just be the wives to a viscount. But despite that, they were seriously going all out against each other’s knowledge. I was pretty sure at that point that they’d gone past even thinking about marrying me.

I wasn’t sure whether it had been a half hour or a full hour that had passed. The verbal battle-slash-quiz tournament, which we men hadn’t managed to get even a word into, came to an end.

“I see,” Miss Emilia finally said. “Just what I would expect from the lady that Sir McGuine has put his trust in. Miss Nia Farquhar, you are amazingly well-educated...”

“Thank you very much. But I must say that you are just as educated, Miss Barracuda.”

Miss Emilia held out her right hand as she spoke, which Nia grabbed in kind. They were shaking hands. Their battle was over, and what’s more, they were showing each other that there were no hard feelings over the results. Then, Miss Emilia suddenly grabbed Nia’s right wrist with her left hand, bringing it high into the air.

“Amazing. Though I won’t go so far as to say that I lost, I must acknowledge that it is you who is the most suited to marry Viscount McGuine. Could your meeting have been fate...?”

“Miss Barracuda... Thank you so very much.”

So basically, Miss Emilia had acknowledged Nia’s victory and raised her hand high into the air. At the end of their knowledge battle, it seemed that friendship had bloomed between the two.

The rest of us had been completely ignored.

“W-Wait, Emilia, you’re admitting you lost...?” Count Barracuda asked, shocked, looking as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. Really, judging from Miss Emilia’s personality, she probably wasn’t one to honestly admit when she’d been beat. But with Nia, she had no choice but to accept her loss.

Go Nia!

Wait, no. That wasn’t the important part. I mean yeah it was important, but the problem lay elsewhere.

“Miss Emilia, what exactly do you mean that it must have been fate?” I asked.

I knew from this meeting alone that Miss Emilia wasn’t one to accept defeat so easily. But she had. And, despite all the pressure Nia had put on her, it wasn’t her knowledge, or lack of, that decided the match. Then what did?

“She was quite knowledgeable about the Stonegaze region, which until recently was within the borders of the Kingdom of Sylvario.”

“I see... I see?”

Miss Emilia had given me a precise answer, but my reply to her was evasive. Why would that have been the deciding factor, I thought to myself, but immediately a reason emerged—though, it was only a guess.

“Um, Viscount McGuine, could it be that you haven’t heard about it yet?” Miss Emilia asked, surprisingly timidly when she saw how I had reacted. Judging from the sigh that Count Barracuda let out, it seemed that she’d just either let something slip or had misread something.

All I could do was answer with a guilty smile. “No, I haven’t heard anything yet about which territory I’ll be given.”

“R-Really?!” she replied, shocked. “I thought you surely would have been involved in internal discussions about it...”

“In a meeting the other day, 80% of those present voted for you to receive the Stonegaze Province. We had thought His Royal Highness would have informed you about it,” added Count Barracuda afterwards.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t heard a thing. His Royal Highness being His Royal Highness, though, he probably had a plan... That included just wanting to surprise me.

“No, not a thing. But I see Your Excellency had been in attendance for this meeting regarding the conferral of honors.”

My words were less a question than they were asking for confirmation, and with a guilty nod, Count Barracuda confirmed his attendance. This all explained why he was trying so hard to push for my marriage to Miss Emilia.

If I were to receive Stonegaze Province and then also be married into House Barracuda, they would be able to expand their territory without impacting the other Brigandian noble houses, since Stonegaze was formerly a Sylvarian province. It’d be an enclave, but that would be of benefit to them; they could leave the unstable, newly Brigandian region to me while the current count could keep throwing his weight around as magistrate to their original land even after giving up the title.

Their insistence on this possible marriage might have been because they thought that if they could catch me while I was still in the capital and consummate the marriage before I went to Stonegaze, then they could raise the subsequent heir back in Barracuda County.

They were so damn calculating and crafty. I honestly liked those kinds of people...as long as they weren’t pulling anything on me. Unfortunately, the fact that their entire plan depended on me marrying Miss Emilia meant that I couldn’t go along with it.

Wait. But didn’t...?

“Nia, I’m sure you had no idea, but... Why did you bring up Stonegaze Province in the first place?”

If I remembered right, it was Nia who first brought up Stonegaze. That had ended up cinching her victory, so she couldn’t have pulled it out without thinking about it beforehand.

Nia bashfully smiled in response to my question. Cute.

“Um... From what you’ve told me of Prince Alphonse’s personality, I gathered that he would probably assign you Stonegaze. I’d also figured that the odds of Miss Barracuda knowing as well was about fifty-fifty, so...”

Her answer was quite a bit far off from “cute.” It was more “cool,” maybe? Her forethought was practically godlike.

But Nia was right. His Royal Highness would probably give me the most pain-in-the-ass territory. And I had Nia as the best advisor I could possibly get too.

“Other than that, I’ve actually visited Stonegaze during my fieldwork,” Nia continued. “Miss Barracuda was just so knowledgeable that I thought the only way I could win was to use what I knew from my own experience.”

At Nia’s explanation, everyone in the room understood how things ended up the way they did. Though the cute smile she had on wasn’t really appropriate for what was actually coming out of her mouth... I’d heard some of how she’d been brought up, but the “fieldwork” she mentioned was probably actually her on-site inspections. Since she’d actually talked to a lot of different Stonegaze residents, the quality and amount of her knowledge about the region would of course be different from Miss Emilia’s.

“So it was indeed true that the problem I posed was one that came from someone familiar with the area. I lost because I was supposed to lose,” Miss Emilia said, refreshed and smiling. “You and Viscount McGuine meeting might truly have been fate.”

Not only had Nia known about the province, but she’d actually been there herself—everything suggested that her knowledge made her an overwhelmingly better fit to support me.

Miss Emilia extended her right hand to Nia again. “Allow me to acknowledge and commend your victory. And, if you would be willing... May I refer to you as Miss Nia, out of respect and companionship? I’d like for you to call me Emilia, as well.”

Her completely unexpected request stunned both Count Barracuda and my pops. Me too.

Nobles usually referred to each other by their family names. The use of a first name was reserved for people who you were close enough to call a friend (though members of the royal family were an exception). And here we had a very prideful daughter of a count asking a baronet’s daughter—practically a commoner—if they could be on a first-name basis. Seeing how surprised Count Barracuda was, this kind of behavior was very unlike Miss Emilia.

Nia, of course, probably knew all this, because she grinned and gripped Miss Emilia’s hand back, almost as if she was showing the handshake off to the count. “Yes, of course. It would be an honor, Miss Emilia.”

“Hee hee, thank you, Miss Nia.”

With a firm handshake and a smile, a friendship was born—one beyond social status. The discrepancy between their public statuses and actual statuses was wildly different, but the Barracudas didn’t need to know that.

“Gnnngh... I never thought Emilia would...” groaned Count Barracuda. He seemed to have mixed feelings about the situation; he probably never expected Miss Emilia to lose, let alone have her initiate a friendship with her rival after losing. I didn’t expect that either.

But whatever the case, it seemed that Miss Emilia had given up on me. What’s more, since she and Nia had become friends, Nia wouldn’t have to fear retaliation for her win. All we needed now was to do something about the count, who seemed to understand that he’d lost, but hadn’t quite accepted it yet. And that’s where I probably came in.

“Your Excellency, it seems that your daughter and Nia have come to a consensus.”

“Nnngh... It seems so...”

He nodded, but he also mumbled—deep down, he was still resisting.

“Logically, the issue is decided. But now, Your Excellency, you need to accept it. That’s why I’d like to ask if we can talk, man to man,” I said, punching my right fist into my left palm.

Count Barracuda looked surprised, but once he got what I was getting at, a grin crossed his face.

A man-to-man talk. With our fists.

Normal nobles probably wouldn’t go for something like this, but I figured a martial man like Count Barracuda would. And I figured it would be the best way to make him emotionally accept the conclusion.

“My good Sir McGuine, you understand how this works. Then let us have a good old chat to make you rethink your choices!”

Oooh, that’s a good smile on him! A chill ran down my spine, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Yes, let’s. But...” I started, intentionally pausing. “You might not be able to succeed in that, Your Excellency.” Saying that, I grinned, showing off my canines.

And so, Count Barracuda and I headed to the courtyard to have our fist-to-fist, man-to-man talk. Nia, Miss Emilia, and my pops followed us, but Miss Emilia groaned out a “Men,” while she did. Having been raised in a martial county surrounded by muscleheads, she might have developed an aversion to things like this.

Nia came along, half-worried, half-curious. It was a bit of a surprise, because I had thought she wouldn’t like things like this. If she was okay with it, then I guessed I could fight all I want.

“Now, Your Excellency,” I said, “No balls, no eyes, and no throwing moves, unless it’s to rip the other off. How’s that sound for rules?”

“Hrm. So headlocks and chokes are all right? Just as I would expect from a man like you, Sir McGuine. You truly understand.”

Count Barracuda happily agreed to the rules I put out. Going so far as to make it no-holds-barred would be too much even for us, and since the courtyard wasn’t built for any training, a throwing move might end with one of us slamming our heads on a rock. But making attempts at ripping each other off kept us safe from breaking the rules and ruining all the fun.

These rules were also common for martial arts training drills in the Brigandian royal military, so they were also used for physical talks like this too. And I was sure His Excellency Count Barracuda was familiar with them; he seemed like he’d “talked things out” like this before. It was easy enough to see why he would accept my offer.

The two of us took off our jackets, stripping ourselves down to a single shirt. Just as I’d expected of him, his muscles didn’t look like ones you’d expect on someone his age. His body was also well-balanced, showing how he’d tempered it through training and actual combat. I knew it’d be like this, but it told me that if I let my guard down for even an instant, this fight would be over. But, well, it was good for talks like this to have some stakes.

“Well then. To show my respect, allow me to let you get the first hit in, Your Excellency.”

“Hrm? You’re going to let your guard down for me because I’m older?”

“Of course not. I can’t underestimate you at all—not with your physique. I’m just letting you get a hit in as an apology for turning down your offer.”

“If that’s how you feel, then I guess I’ll take it!”

With a savage smile—one that made me think he might gnaw through my windpipe—Count Barracuda silently lifted both his fists in front of his face and squared off. And I left both of my arms down, taking the hit without guarding. His unforgiving right fist landed a direct hit on my unguarded left cheek, and a loud, dull sound rang out.

“Ghaah... Just like the rumors, Count Barracuda! That hurt...” I said, wiping my mouth.

“Hah! You say that, yet you look completely fine!” commented Count Barracuda, amused, savage smile remaining.

No, but it really did a number on me. His fist was hard, heavy, and painful. He had the perfect straight. But I was trained too, so I wasn’t weak enough that a single punch would take me out.

I shook my head lightly before squaring off with my own fists in front of my face. “May I, Your Excellency?”

“Of course! Come at me!”

“Brace yourself!”

I stomped forward, using the force from my step against the ground as momentum to twist my body and funnel all my strength in my right fist, which hit him right in the left cheek—just like he hit me.

“Gah ha, ha ha ha! Pretty good for a youngin!”

Despite it feeling like quite a good hit, the count heartily laughed it off. It should’ve done a number on him, but adrenaline was probably winning out right now. Well, he was who he was—and it was because the count was like this that he even agreed to this chat.

By the way, this exchange of punches was a common practice meant to gauge each other’s strength. If there was too much of a gap between opponents, then it’d be fine to give up now.

People forcing themselves past their limits—and causing unfortunate accidents—wasn’t uncommon, so rules like these were put in place beforehand to minimize the risk. It showed that these fights weren’t just barbaric brawls, but structured bouts, with actual spoken and unspoken rules.

So, after we’d taken each other’s punches...

“Can we continue?” I asked.

“You don’t even need to ask!”

“Right?!”

The same instant I agreed with his reply, both of us raised our fists in front of our faces and got into fighting poses.

Shockingly, despite the count being in his late forties, our strength was roughly even.

How strong had he been in his youth?

But I was fighting... Or rather, talking things out with the current Count Barracuda, not the past. The man in front of me today was a more-than-fearsome opponent.

“Hrng!” he groaned.

“Shhaaa!” I cried.

Intense, loud slams and thuds rang out as we punched each other. The lack of guarding on either side at the beginning was an etiquette thing. I really would’ve preferred not to have to take his punches, which rang right to my core, but etiquette was etiquette.

After a few punches back and forth, we started wrestling, trying to get each other in a headlock. Though this appeared a simple battle of strength, successfully pulling off a headlock required getting a firm grip on your opponent’s neck while hitting them in the chest, all the while using the principle of leverage to pull at their neck and get them to lose their balance. If you could do that, you could get ’em with your knees or elbows as much as you wanted.

But since your opponent wasn’t going to just let you do that, it became a plain battle of offense and defense, one that needed constant vigilance.

We each took small steps, searching for a more favorable position, and while doing so, kept our center of gravity low—but not low enough that the other could come from above and take us down. From an observer’s standpoint, it looked pretty boring.

From her spot at Nia’s side, Laura suddenly began a live commentary. “Their wrestling is fifty-fifty. Count Barracuda has more experience, but Master McGuine has better reaction time, so they’re an equal match.” She was right on the money. Ah, she’s a pretty good fighter herself, so of course she’d know.

Just like she commented, both the count and I were unable to get each other down in the end. Since it was clear that the fight would stay like this indefinitely, both of us let go and put some distance between us. The fight might’ve been simple, but the back-and-forth took a lot of stamina, and when Count Barracuda smirked, both of us were breathing heavily.

“So ‘the Black Wolf’ nickname wasn’t just for show.”

“Honestly, I don’t really need a fancy nickname like that. It’s a bluff.”

And that bluff didn’t do a thing against my current opponent. What’s more, the sly old fox used the few seconds our little conversation took to get his breathing pretty much under control.

My youth should have granted me better endurance, but the count was getting through it all with his experience and tactics.

He’s seriously a pain in the ass.

“All right, let’s get back to it!” I yelled.

“Okay, come at me!”

Getting all of the etiquette out of the way, we could now use all of our strength to really talk. The two of us took a step and raised our right fists, hitting each other in the face almost simultaneously. We each braced ourselves so we wouldn’t stumble, then went in with our left fists. Those hit not our faces, but our bodies.

I’d thrown a straight near his midriff, while the count aimed a hook near my liver.

Dammit, the way he twisted his arm was so good that his damn hook hit me at almost the same speed as my straight! But... Knowing a hit to my vitals like that would stop me for a second, Count Barracuda then aimed a right upper at my jaw.

I just knew he’d try a move like that, so I used just my neck to dodge it by a hair’s breadth. Then, I took advantage of his arm being raised to use my right fist to throw another straight punch at his body. It was a direct hit, but his left fist got me right in the right cheek too.

Damn, this guy is strong! Not only were we repeatedly attacking and defending, but we were attacking while defending, and attacking while dodging too. Our arms, eyes, and brains were all working overtime. Count Barracuda’s attacks in particular were more desperate than anyone I’d ever fought before, and I knew that if I accidentally took too many of them, I’d get knocked out.

Yes, I said “desperate.” Even though he was so experienced, and acting so calm, he was becoming desperate. That was why his moves were incredibly strong, but also so risky.

He had a lot on his shoulders. Way too much. And of course he did. I wasn’t sure exactly how it had all gone down, but he’d sent his son into battle, where he’d ended up killed. The count might have even seen his son die with his own eyes. Sure, from a military point of view, it all might’ve been incredibly heroic, but... I wonder how he felt as a parent. And still, he had to make sure that the Barracuda County would thrive—all so his heir wouldn’t have died in vain. The stuff riding on his shoulders was way heavier than anything an upstart viscount like me could imagine.

“Nnahh... Punches from a guy with so much on his plate hit real hard!”

That was why I verbally acknowledged it, and by doing so took the pressure off of myself. Yeah, those hits were having an effect, but an effect is all it was; it wasn’t enough to stop me.

“Hah! So you’ve still got enough in you to mouth off!” the count retorted, though his spirits seemed to be very slightly dampened. Me calling out the stakes of this deal might’ve made him think about it.

This all might have been too heavy, even for a man like Count Barracuda. But unfortunately, I couldn’t share his load; it was his cross to bear.

“That’s not all I can do!” I roared. I got a clean hit with my fist, and he wobbled slightly.

As a viscount, my responsibilities couldn’t hold a candle to his. But as a person, it was a different story.

I threw a glance over to Nia. She was worried. But even more than that, she was looking at me with trust in her eyes.

If I lost, I might be forced to leave her. And that was absolutely unacceptable!

Just as Count Barracuda’s fist hit my face, mine hit him right in the solar plexus. It wasn’t something as clean as a counter. It just hit at the same time. But, even though it was just by a tiny bit, I was starting to overpower him.

I’d thought meeting her would be impossible. I thought she was dead. But I did meet her, and completely by coincidence. Here, in Brigandia’s capital. All of it was by chance.

And there was no way I was letting this chance—this miraculous meeting—go to waste.

Because you know what? That woman who’d given up on everything had smiled. Of course I’d want to make her smile even more. Of course I would want to make her even happier. And, if possible, by my own hands. Even if the only thing they were good at was punching people.

My tightly gripped fist hit before his did. I’d tried to time it so we’d hit at the same time... But it seemed mine had been a little bit faster.

“It seems we might be reaching the end soon!” I boasted.

“This isn’t over yet!”

Count Barracuda swung his fist with all his stubbornness, pride, and repressed feelings. It was fast. It was heavy. It hurt.

But it wouldn’t overpower me anymore.

I wanted to make Nia happy. I wanted her to be happy.

The Barracuda house had other options for a groom, right? But the only person who could make Nia happy was me. Only me. I’d decided that. And I hoped that Nia would think the same, if she could.

And that was why I didn’t have time to waste fighting here forever!

My fist—full of all of my power, all of my feelings—hit him in the chin.

“Nuh, oh, ohhh...” Count Barracuda groaned. Then, it seemed he lost consciousness for a moment; his knees gave way, and he fell back, arms and legs spread out.

But I still stayed on guard. I brought my right fist back under my chin, and thrust my left fist towards the count to keep him down. My stance was to show him that I wasn’t letting my guard up and thinking I won, that he was still conscious.

And even a few seconds later, he didn’t show any signs of getting up.

Can I believe I won?

Just as I thought that, Count Barracuda let out a heavy breath. “Fuhahh... Ahh, you got me! I lost!” he announced, still on the ground with his limbs all splayed out around him. And he looked pretty satisfied.

Hearing that, I slowly lowered my fists, and looked up at the sky.

“Whew...” I put pressure on my abdominal muscles, squeezed the ones on my back, and breathed out as if I was pushing all of the air out from my stomach. As if I was letting all of my tension out, yet still keeping myself from going limp. I couldn’t stay in “Black Wolf” mode forever, after all, and I was pretty sure if I relaxed even a little, I’d collapse.

As I breathed out, I brought my attention back to daily life.

Count Barracuda was probably able to let a little bit of the weight off of his shoulders. Maybe, up in the sky, his late son was a little relieved too. The count probably wouldn’t answer me if I asked, but I felt like he’d gotten to process things a little bit.

After my slow breath out, I brought my gaze back down to earth. And the first thing that my eyes fell on was, of course, Nia.

Huh? Her face is red, and she looks teary-eyed. Wait, did the fight worry her that much?! Ah, yeah, it probably did. Especially the end bit.

Seeing a fistfight where we kept hitting each other at the same time might’ve been a bit much for a former princess and a noble lady... Or wait, Miss Emilia looked fine. She must’ve been special.

Laura? There was nothing normal about her, so she didn’t count.

And so, I forced my aching cheeks into a smile, and gave Nia a wave.

And now she’s covering her mouth and looking like she’s about to burst into tears. What should I be doing here?! W-Wait, I should probably be getting Count Barracuda off of the ground first. It’s only polite.

As I was freaking out a little bit...

“Um, Master McGuine. Sir Gale Berdinand has arrived. It seems he has an urgent document from His Royal Highness the third prince.”

“Huh? From Prince Alphonse?”

Tom, who was playing the part of my butler, had come to the courtyard to announce Gale’s arrival.

I was confused. I’d rushed over the past few days to finish all of my paperwork and get time off for today’s battle, which was why I couldn’t think of anything His Royal Highness would need me to urgently get to.

“Whatever. If it’s urgent, it’s urgent. Bring him through.”

I couldn’t leave Count Barracuda outside on the ground right after we’d finished our talk and go inside, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to force him up. Which left calling Gale directly to the courtyard as my only option.

“What in the world happened here, Commander?”

That was the first thing out of Gale’s mouth when he saw the state the courtyard was in.

I know! I know exactly why you’d say that! I would say the same thing!

Count Barracuda had finally recovered enough to sit up, and I was just barely standing myself. Asking us what had happened was obviously the first question he’d ask.

Just when I was about to tell him how there was a reason behind all of this...

“Oh my...”

My ears caught a tiny whisper. When I looked around for the source, Miss Emilia had whipped a folding fan out of nowhere and had it up covering most of her face. When I followed her gaze, which wasn’t hidden, she was looking my way... Or rather, at Gale.

The second I saw it—and the expression on her face to boot—a bolt of lightning shot through my mind. I suppressed and hid my thoughts, giving Gale a bright smile as I took the envelope that was apparently the document Tom mentioned.

“Oh, yeah, Count Barracuda and I were just having a little chat. Sorry for making you bring this all the way here. Since you’ve got the chance, you should greet His Excellency yourself,” I told him.

“Yes? I-I see,” replied Gale, a bit flustered. “It’s true that it would be an honor to be able to greet Count Barracuda himself, but...”

Just as you’d expect from the smartest one of my squad (aside from His Royal Highness, of course) he knew exactly who the count was. I kept my smile up and looked over to Count Barracuda. “Your Excellency, please allow me to introduce my up-and-coming young subordinate Gale Berdinand,” I said, introducing him.

“Just as my captain said, my name is Gale Berdinand.” Gale had given a well-mannered greeting. It was a good one, showing his meticulous personality.

Gale had a head of light brown hair and brown eyes, a prevalent combination in commoners, and was pretty plain-looking. But he also had a well-trained knight’s body, and his smarts showed in his expression—these attributes allowed his sincerity to shine through.

Upon being introduced, Count Barracuda answered with a great smile as well. “Hrm, so you’re Sir Gale Berdinand? I’ve heard many rumors about you. I hear you played an important role in the incident a few weeks ago.”

His expression and tone made it clear that the count knew exactly what I was hinting.

As Gale was trying to gratefully refute Count Barracuda’s praise, I asked him a question I already knew the answer to: “Hey Gale, you’re single, right?”

“What are you asking all of a sudden? You know I am.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. So you don’t have a fiancée or anything either?”

“Of course not. I haven’t had the time to find one... Although saying that to you, when you were busier than me and still able to find a fiancée for yourself, makes me feel a tad conflicted.”

Gale had worked very hard, joining the knights as a commoner and becoming a chevalier. That was how he was in the position he was in now while additionally being well-trusted by His Royal Highness. He worked so hard that he’d had no time for romance, and as a common-born knight, had absolutely no proposals from any nobles.

“Oh, that’s right. I haven’t introduced you to Nia yet. Your Excellency, since we have the chance, would you permit me to introduce him to your daughter as well?”

“Yes, that’s absolutely fine. Emilia, come here,” Count Barracuda said, calling her over, but...her fan couldn’t hide all of the blushing she was doing.

Gale had been focusing on us two, so he was surprised when two beautiful women walked up to him. Of course he’d be surprised. I was fine because I was used to Nia, but Miss Emilia was a real beauty. Seeing her must have been a huge shock to him, since while at work, he saw nothing but men.

I shouldn’t think like that. I would’ve been the same up until a while ago.

“Miss Barracuda, Nia, allow me to introduce you to my most trusted subordinate, Gale Berdinand.”

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Gale Berdinand. I’m sure the captain is just exaggerating, saying that he trusts me the most...”

He must’ve been nervous in front of such beautiful ladies, because he was mumbling a bit. But that didn’t seem to do anything to worsen their opinions at all... Miss Emilia especially.

“I am Sir Ark’s fiancée, Nia Farquhar. And he’s not exaggerating at all. He speaks of you quite often,” Nia introduced herself first—Miss Emilia seemed to have become a bit nervous getting up close to Gale.

“I-I’m slightly worried what he might have told you...” he replied, giving her a safe reply before turning to Miss Emilia.

Hrm, this doesn’t look like it’s going badly at all?

“I-I am Emilia, daughter of Count Barracuda. It’s a pleasure to meet you...”

“Y-Y-Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well...”

The two exchanged greetings, gazing at each other.

I almost felt like I wouldn’t even have to do anything else here. But nobles required a few advantages for any prospective marriage.

“Gale is currently a chevalier, but his achievements a few weeks ago have started discussions on granting him a higher peerage. Weren’t they arguing between baronet and baron?”

“Though I hesitate to call it ‘arguing’... Yes. While I would normally be given the title of baronet, His Royal Highness Prince Alphonse has suggested that I be made a baron,” Gale nodded.

“Sounds right. You did a great enough job to deserve it. Once I’m given territory for myself, it’ll be harder for me to move, so having you become a baron would be helpful in the future.”

For instance, the privileges I’d been given a few weeks ago as a special diplomatic envoy could only be granted to a noble with a rank of baron or above. Since it was so powerful, it was a given that they couldn’t pass out those privileges to just anyone. And if it came down to who to give those powers to in His Royal Highness Prince Alphonse’s Special Battalion other than myself, Gale would be the other top pick.

“Helpful? Wait, would that mean I would be following His Royal Highness’s unreasonable orders as well?”

“His Royal Highness already has you delivering urgent documents to me. Just imagine who would get sudden orders on the battlefield,” I told him.

“That’s, um... It does feel a bit nice to be thought of like that, but...” Gale was a gentle and smart-looking man, but he had of course been whipped up to shape, and knew how things worked on the battlefield, as well as what being considered that way would mean. And, also of course, Count Barracuda knew very well the value of people treated like that, because his great smile deepened.

“By the way, Sir Berdinand. Would you be glad to be made a baron?” the count asked.

“Hrm... If a commonborn man like me could reach that status, then yes,” Gale replied, a bit confusedly.

Normally, being given the rank of baron would be the goalpost for those born as commoners, and there were very few who ever reached it. The fact that Gale had done it while in his twenties showed exactly how hard he worked and how much talent he had. He might’ve been gentle, but he was ambitious—he wanted to rise in the world. If he didn’t, then there wouldn’t have been any chance of him rising up to chevalier.

And that was what was most important to Count Barracuda.

“I see, I see. Then I wouldn’t be averse to backing Prince Alphonse’s suggestion,” he said.

“Huh? Th-That would be absolutely wonderful, but...” Gale had no idea what to do with Count Barracuda’s sudden offer. Of course he wouldn’t, seeing as how he was probably the only one here who didn’t get what was going on.

“Viscount McGuine, what would you say of Sir Berdinand’s skills in combat?” Count Barracuda asked, turning to me.

“Allow me a moment to think. He’s second to me with a spear, but just in regards to grappling, I wouldn’t be able to let my guard down against him.”

“My! For Viscount McGuine to say that much speaks volumes!”

“W-Wait, Captain! Aren’t you exaggerating a bit there?!”

As Count Barracuda praised him merrily, Gale was in a tizzy. But seriously, he really had improved himself to that point.

Lemme give him one more assist.

“No, I’m telling the truth. Oh, but saying you’re second to me with a spear doesn’t mean you can slack off on training with them, you hear me? By the way, how do you feel about strong-willed ladies, Gale?”

“What kind of question is that all of a sudden? I’ve never really thought about my preferences, but with my work in mind, a strong-willed, steady-hearted lady would be desirable,” he answered.

I see. From how he answered, he didn’t have anyone special come to mind. Miss Emilia’s expression brightened when she heard and understood that. It seemed that, personality-wise, they were a good match.

At this point, there was no way Count Barracuda would let him slip away, and the likelihood that Miss Emilia had a happy future ahead of her was high. For you see, while it was very rare, there were cases of commonborn barons marrying into the families of counts in the past. In those cases, there were very few houses as influential as the Barracuda County, but with Gale’s service during the war, along with Prince Alphonse’s and Count Barracuda’s backing, there probably wouldn’t be anyone who could argue against it.

And.

“His Royal Highness knew all of that too, didn’t he...” I murmured.

Gale, Count Barracuda, and Miss Emilia in particular were speaking excitedly, with not a glance going my way. I finally opened the envelope I’d been given as I watched them, and it was a normal-looking document that had “How’s Gale doing?” written in code.

So basically, sending Gale out to deliver an “urgent document” to me was all a scheme by Prince Alphonse.

“Looks like he’s doing perfectly,” I murmured, quietly enough that no one else could hear me, and softly closed the envelope once more.