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Volume 7 Chapter 4 Part 3

Translation by burnt.marshmallows
Editing by Team Foxsunes

Seeing our arms interlocked, the Hero laughed happily, as if he was the one in this situation. With that, he walked towards the mansion in front of him with a spring in his step. We followed behind him. As we got closer to the mansion, the people who were in front of the mansion and looking in this direction quickly formed a line in front of the door. I wondered if they were the servants of the Schtorenvihein family.  

I didn’t know how much they had heard from our conversation, but they were all giving us smiles that appeared friendly. That man had buried his head deeply under his hood and that pitch-black hair of his was hidden. I wondered how their expressions would change when that man took off his coat. Would those kind smiles be distorted by fear? It was a thought that made me depressed just thinking about it. I naturally tightened the grip of my hand that was wrapped around that man’s arm.

「What’s wrong?」

「No, it’s nothing.」

That man asked me in a soft voice, so that the Hero would not hear anything, but I just shook my head. It didn’t seem that that man was satisfied with my answer. He looked like he wanted to say something, but we had reached the front of the mansion before he could say anything out loud. As we reached the mansion, all of the servants bent their waists and bowed down in our direction simultaneously, as if they had planned out the exact timing. There weren’t as many people as in the Royal Palace, but for the mansion of the owner of one region, there were quite a large number of servants being employed. It was quite a view seeing that many people bowing their heads down simultaneously like that. 

However, it seemed that I was the only one who was overwhelmed by that. Both men appeared completely calm. In the case of the Hero, it went without saying that this was natural, given that this was his home. Completely unfazed, the Hero held up one hand and gave the signal, making everyone bow their heads down. 

「These are the two people who will be staying in our home from today onwards. They are both precious friends of mine, so please treat them well. I’m leaving it up to all of you.」

「「「「「Understood, Young Master!」」」」」

As the Hero smiled in response to the lively response given by the servants, he turned to face us again. 

「Shall we go? My father and mother must be impatient having waited for so…….oh, oh yes. I should take this chance to introduce you guys. Daphne, could you come here? 」

As the Hero was about to invite us into the mansion, he suddenly beckoned a single lady from the group of servants who were still lined up in a single line. The lady who was called out responded with 「Yes, Young Master」, as she quietly moved in our direction. WIth her body wrapped in the uniform of a lady-in-waiting, she was an elderly lady with a slender figure. The Hero made her stand beside him and smiled, saying 「I’ll introduce her」

「She will be the lady-in-waiting in charge of taking care of everything for Filmina during this period of time.」

「Nice to meet you. My name is Daphne Hipelcum. Please call me Daphne. Please call me without hesitation whenever you have something you need. 」

With that, the lady bowed down again. I quickly shook my head in a panic. 

「No, please raise your head. Having someone to take care of me is unheard of. Sir Yuri, it is alright. You didn’t have to go through the trouble of assigning a lady-in-waiting for……」

「I was told by both Agedilus and the Princess that Filmina’s 「alright」isn’t reliable, so I won’t budge here. 」

Even though he was smiling mischievously, he said what he did firmly. It seemed that I couldn’t do anything here. But it appeared that it wasn’t only the man who was beside me who said those things. The princess seemed to agree as well. How could this be?

I couldn’t help but look up at the man beside me with spite. Although he had seemed to notice my gaze, he didn’t look at me at all. It truly was a pity. However, while I maintained my stance, I wouldn’t be able to refute even if they said that this was my own fault. Maybe I should just indulge in the Hero’s kindness here. 

「……If that is the case, I guess I will allow myself to be taken care of with gratitude. My name is Filmina Von Lancent. Please take good care of me, Miss Daphne.」

「You can just do away with the honorifics. Also, please do not worry about the way you speak [1. TL Note: Filmina was speaking in a very polite way in the previous sentence.] Madam Filmina, shouldn’t there be something that you should worry about more?」

「What?」

As I tilted my head in confusion, the lady-in-waiting named Daphne smiled cheerfully. 

「Of course, I am referring to the child in your belly. Rather than paying too much attention to me, please place your child as your first priority. 」

「She’s completely right.」

「Yeah, she is.」

「……Yes」

Being told off by three people, I had no way of refuting. I couldn’t do anything other than just obediently nod in agreement. 

And thus, our stay in the Schtorenvihein region had started. 

＊　　　　　　　＊　　　　　　　＊ 

It was a few days after we had arrived in the Schtorenvihein region. Although I was still worrying about the people I had left behind in the Royal Capital,  I was spending my days uneventfully. That man and I didn’t go sightseeing around the Schtorenvihein region. We just shut ourselves inside the mansion. That was only natural. Although we were just a couple who had come for therapy with a change of scenery on paper, in reality, we were in a position in which we had been condemned to confinement indoors. But it wasn’t a mystery as to why I would be bored by it. Without a doubt, that was because the people in this mansion that the Hero headed were going to great lengths in many ways for us. 

Today was yet another day where I was in the guest room that had been allocated to me in the Schtorenvihein house. As usual, I moved a chair to the window side and was about to read the book about handicraft that the Hero’s mother had lent to me. The man I called my husband was not here. At first, he had tried to stay by my side as much as possible, but it seemed that he had noticed that I had gotten used to the environment here in the Schtorenvihein region. Today, he said to the Hero  「My skills are going to rust. Come with me.」and dragged the Hero to the courtyard to practice their swordsmanship.

As the Hero tried to loosen the arm that was trapped, he stubbornly said lots of things like 「I don’t plan to hold a sword again……」or 「I have to care for the field……」, but that man just responded calmly with 「Swordsmanship is something a noble’s son should know right?」and flat out rejected his excuses. THe Hero looked like he was about to cry. The servants all watched over the two of them warmly. Realizing that no one was going to save him, the Hero directed those bright green eyes of his at me, clinging onto me as his last hope, but I answered his pleas by shaking my head with a wry smile. Seeing my response, the Hero hung his head down and let himself get dragged away. 

I’m sorry, Hero. That man is in high spirits from meeting you after all this time. Please play with him to your heart’s content. 

ーI thought that under my wry smile. But leaving that side, because of those circumstances, I was left by myself. However, that didn’t mean that I felt lonely. Everyone in the area was kind and they were all good people. I couldn’t help but think that it was because this was the land that the Hero cultivated himself 

The Hero’s parents, who we were introduced to the day that we arrived on this land, were lovely people. Both the Hero’s father, who was the current head of the Schtorenvihein family and the owner of this land, and his wife, the Hero’s mother, told us to「think of this mansion as our own」. Even the elder, Schtorenvihein house butler, who was in charge of the Hero’s education, bowed his head down to us, looking happy from the bottom of his heart, saying:「Thank you for taking care of our Young Master…… 」

 Ever since we came to the Schtorenvihein region, that man had stopped hiding his hair. A reason for that could have been that he had given up on it out of desperation, and no longer cared what people said about him. No matter what the Hero said, the servants still didn’t treat him very favorably at the beginning. The instinctive fear that people held about the existence that we call Pure Black could not easily be wiped away. I guess the Hero’s parents and butler were just exceptions to the rule. 

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