“If I were to formally adopt you and declare you as my child, I would have to do so before you grow up…”
“If I were to formally announce my engagement and declare them as my future wife, I would have to wait until after the coming-of-age ceremony at the very least…”
“…What?”
“…Huh?”
“…”
“…”
The Northern Archduke’s mouth slowly shut.
An awkward silence lingered between us.
After closing his eyes tightly for a moment, the Northern Archduke finally spoke again.
“Count. Merilda is absolutely out of the question.”
“I have never even considered such a thing. Please, rest assured.”
“Hmmm…”
“…”
The Northern Archduke glared at me with an expression of clear displeasure.
No, I really haven’t had such thoughts.
Why is he so suspicious?
“Tsk… When Vanessa said she was worried about having too many rivals, I didn’t quite understand what she meant. But now I see… I never imagined that those rivals would be little children…”
“Her Majesty said that?”
“Yes. She mentioned that since you are like an impregnable fortress, she wished her uncle could help her out somehow.”
“…Did she, by any chance, also mention that this should be kept a secret from me?”
“I don’t quite recall.”
“…”
No, I’m pretty sure the Empress thought it was obvious that this should remain a secret…
Yet the Northern Archduke just casually spilled everything to me, leaving me utterly flustered.
Should I just pretend I didn’t hear anything and forget about it…?
“In my opinion, Vanessa is overthinking things. The Count isn’t a rational person at all, so a simple approach should be enough to capture him instantly. But Vanessa seems to be overestimating you and only considering straightforward tactics.”
“Excuse me? I am not rational?”
“When it comes to your so-called ‘slaves,’ you repeatedly engage in the most irrational behaviors, do you not?”
“…”
Now that I think about it… he has a point.
“Rather than trying to negotiate for the position of royal consort with political advantages, Vanessa should simply launch a direct assault and force the situation. That would resolve everything easily. Why is she making things so complicated…?”
“Your Grace…”
A direct assault, he says.
That mindset certainly suits a man with ten children.
But now that I think about it, his logic does make a certain kind of sense…
If Empress Sister hadn’t tried to win me over with gifts or political positions but had taken a different approach—
If she had started with a seduction strategy from the beginning—
Would I have already fallen into her trap, unaware, and become the royal consort, buried under an endless workload?
“Of course, considering the Count’s preferences, Vanessa is unlikely to appeal to you. A pity for her.”
“And what, exactly, do you believe my ‘preferences’ to be?”
“You only like children, do you not?”
“…That is incorrect.”
“Well, I suppose it would be disgraceful to admit it so boldly. Though I cannot truly understand it, I shall try to be understanding.”
“I am telling you, that is not the case, Your Grace.”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
“…”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ curses at the Northern Archduke out of sheer frustration!]
The Northern Archduke patted my shoulder with a troubled expression.
Just like that, I was now branded as a depraved man who loses his mind over children in the eyes of the Northern Archduke.
But it’s not that I simply like children—
I prefer to raise untainted, innocent children myself and cultivate them into the ideal bride for my taste.
Explaining it like that would only make me sound even worse, so I decided to abandon any attempt at clarification.
At least Kali understands me.
If not for Kali, I might have exploded from sheer frustration.
“Count. Before you leave, there is one thing I must tell you. Lend me your ear.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Recently, the situation in the Demonic Territory has been… unusual.”
“Are the monsters appearing more frequently?”
“It’s the opposite. They have vanished. Even after conducting deep expeditions, not a single monster has been found.”
“…”
The Northern Archduke delivered the news with a grave tone.
The monsters disappearing from the Demonic Territory…
At first, it might sound like good news, but in reality, it is anything but.
The Demonic Territory has a high mana density, making it a natural breeding ground for monsters.
For the monsters to vanish from such an environment means one of two things—
Either the entire region has become so inhospitable that no living creatures, including monsters, can survive,
Or the monsters have gathered somewhere in large numbers.
…Neither possibility was particularly encouraging.
“We will soon conduct a thorough investigation and report our findings to the Imperial Palace, but I thought it best to inform you in advance.”
“And why is that?”
“As a precaution, just in case. Of course, in most cases, the fortress city should be able to handle it… But in the worst-case scenario, we may have to call upon your power.”
“…”
So, this was confidential information.
I suppose this means I’m being trusted.
Well, considering how I’ve always managed to resolve every crisis with some peculiar trick, it’s not surprising that I’m seen as a hidden ace up their sleeve.
But this time… even I have no idea how things will unfold.
Of course, I had only played a single chapter, so how many of these developments could I have actually anticipated…?
“I will personally deliver the results of the investigation. However, do not let it trouble you too much. The likelihood of this being a minor drought—nothing to be overly concerned about—is much higher.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
I would have liked to deploy a unit from Vermont Security to conduct an investigation.
However, that would stand out too much, so I decided to leave the matter to the Northern Archduke.
Still, I had no idea what could be happening in the Demonic Territory…
Could it be an unprecedented Monster Wave about to break out?
If necessary, I would have to intervene immediately and be ready to defend Ester, the fortress city.
***
‘Yuri’s report card… It’s been a while since I last saw it.’
Before leaving the Imperial Magic Academy, I took the opportunity to meet with the headmaster and retrieve Yuri’s report card.
He seemed to have aged quite a bit since I last saw him…
There wasn’t much I could do for him other than wish him well in completing the remainder of his term.
Now that I think about it, this is the first time I’ve seen Yuri’s report card since her first midterm exams.
I never made it a requirement to review them, after all…
“As expected…”
The moment I opened it, I saw rows of grades neatly filling the columns—predictably, a flood of *A+*s.
Even though she had packed her schedule with both regular and seasonal courses, she still ranked at the top—or at least in second place—for all of them.
I had expected this result, but actually seeing it in person made me chuckle in disbelief.
That said, I heard she had significantly reduced her course load this semester.
It seemed my advice to ease up and not take everything so seriously had worked.
She had been obsessed with becoming as strong as possible, as quickly as possible, and cramming in as much knowledge as she could.
But now that pressure seemed to have faded, and she had begun choosing her courses more selectively.
More free time during the semester meant good news for me.
She would likely visit the mansion more often.
And naturally, I would have more opportunities to see her.
“Hmm? There’s a grade that isn’t A+?”
Not a top rank, not even an A+.
In her first semester, it was an A-. The second semester, a B…
Not exactly a terrible grade, but compared to her usual streak of A+’s, it stood out.
A subject Yuri struggled with…?
Curious, I checked which subject it was.
“Magical Arts.”
It was none other than Yuri’s major.
Her scores in Magical Arts history and theory were perfect.
But in practical application, she had utterly flopped.
So she had no talent in this area at all…
And yet, I was the one who had chosen this major for her.
I suddenly felt guilty.
“Mister Black! Mister Black!”
“…!?”
“You got a letter!”
At that moment—Thud Thud Thud!
Charlotte burst into the room, beaming as she handed me a letter.
Since she called me Mister Black, I instinctively thought it was Yuri for a moment and nearly panicked.
“You startled me…”
“Ehehe! I saw it was from the Academy Dormitory, so I thought it must be a letter from Yuri for Mister Black!”
“…”
With a deep sigh, I took the letter from Charlotte.
This kid… she wouldn’t actually tell Yuri about Mister Black, would she…?
A sudden wave of anxiety hit me.
But it wasn’t like I could take back what had already been said, so I had no choice but to accept it.
– To Mr. Black.
– Mister, I’m sixteen years old now. Well, technically, I don’t know my real birthday, so I’m just assuming I’ve turned sixteen.
– So I’m planning to hold a small coming-of-age ceremony… But I suppose you won’t be attending, will you…?
“H-Huh…!?”
“Mister? Are you okay?”
Reading that shocking news, I nearly lost my breath.
Now that I think about it, in this world, the coming-of-age ceremony is held at sixteen.
And this year…
This was the year Yuri turned sixteen.
The year I had planned to propose to her.
