Volume 8, Chapter 2 “Face-to-Face”
Volume 8, Chapter 2 “Face-to-Face”
Part 1
The prestigious Roseblade family.
According to Deirdre-senpai, her ancestors were recognized as nobles by the kingdom after a great adventure.
After that, they played an active role in many adventures, and now contribute to the kingdom as a count.
They have a long history, and their contribution to the kingdom is incomparable to that of the Bartfalt family.
In contrast, the Bartfalt family is less active as adventurers.
The beginning itself is complicated, as much as I did my best to get Luxion.
Her ancestor took part in the war and took credit for it.
With the reward for doing so, he became a small lord, and has been living modestly ever since.
The Kingdom of Horfalt was founded by adventurers, and when you become an adventurer, you are respected by those around you.
In other words, the evaluation is low if it is established otherwise.
In contrast to the Roseblade family, which has been very active, the Bartfalt family is a family that has continued in a modest way.
The Bartfalt family is approached by the prestigious Roseblade family for matchmaking.
I have no idea what the other side is thinking.
However, the matchmaking gets off to the worst possible start.
“I’m Nix”
“I know. Didn’t you hear the story in advance?”
“―― I’m sorry. I knew it”
“Then, stop with the troublesome greetings.”
It’s a pity to watch this matchmaking, but the boys at the school can’t be broken down by something like this.
Me and Luxion gathered in another room.
Also with us were Ange and Livia ―― and Noelle in her wheelchair.
The five of us are watching a live video projected on the wall, and in contrast to Nix’s nervousness, Dorothea-san’s attitude is quite bad.
She folded her arms and looked at Nix with a measured look, then averted her gaze and didn’t even try to look at him.
“A-Ano, what’s your hobby?”
“――Ha~a, you are a really boring man.”
“I’m sorry”
Even if he talks to her with the standard stuff, Dorothea-san won’t take him seriously as seen here.
I feel sorry for Nix.
Noelle, unable to stand it, shakes her head in disbelief.
“What a terrible matchmaking. The other person doesn’t seem to be willing to talk at all. Isn’t this going to fail without Leon’s help?”
I agree with Noelle’s opinion, but Ange denies it.
“That’s not going to happen. If this is matchmaking, the priority is the connection between the houses. The individual’s wishes are not even a consideration.”
When Ange made a sharp point, Livia looked down sadly.
“When I think about it, I feel sorry for both of them. They don’t even like each other, but they’re bound together for the sake of the house.”
Ange, who seemed composed, was now staring at Dorothea on the screen.
She was also annoyed with Dorothea-san’s attitude, although she said it can’t be helped.
“It’s just that normally people are a little more approachable. The rumors about her being too choosy were true.”
I decided to talk to Ange, who seemed to know something about it.
I wanted to get as much information about Dorothea-san as I could, but I couldn’t watch Nix in the video for any length of time as he seemed to be in pain.
“Rumor?”
“That’s what she looks like. There was no end to the number of men who asked her to marry them, both while she was in school and after she graduated. But all the matchmaking attempts failed. There were rumors that she had a problem.”
She was beautiful, and it was no wonder that many men had proposed marriage to her.
If so, what was the problem that kept her from getting married?
“Does she hate men? Or maybe she’s got her heart set on someone?”
“There’s no sign or rumor that Dorothea has a partner, either opposite or same gender.”
She doesn’t like the same sex, nor does she seem to have a partner in mind.
And yet keep failing at matchmaking?
“Ah, Dorothea-san is――”
When Livia’s voice brought my attention back to the image, I saw Dorothea-san move.
A few moments ago, she hadn’t even looked at Nix’s face, but only now was she giving him a serious look.
“Do you have the resolve to be my pet?”
“Eh, pet”
Ange let out a small sigh, and Livia’s expression disappeared from her face.
Noelle is surprised to hear a clatter from her wheelchair, but knowing the girls at the school, I’m not surprised.
Noelle shakily pointed at the image.
“What did this person say?”
I guess she was hoping that she had misheard, but her hopes were crushed by Luxion.
[She declared that she wanted to make her matchmaking partner a pet. It’s rare for a family above the rank of Count, but Deirdre has also said in the past that she wants to make Master a pet. I guess the sisters like to make people submissive]
“No, that’s no good!”
Livia is a little touched by Noelle’s obvious reaction.
“Normally, that would be true. But the kingdom’s academy is a little bit special.”
As Livia’s expression immediately clouded, Ange tried to reassure Noelle.
“It’s better than before”
From my point of view, it’s not something I’m interested in since I’m free from the marriage hunting life.
But I’m interested to see how much the school has changed in the year we were abroad.
―― Although looking at Jenna in the mansion, I’m starting to think it’s a long shot.
In the video, Dorothea, who has lost interest in Nix, who is at a loss to answer, gets up and leaves the room without saying a word.
When the video cut off, we both let out a sigh at the same time.
Ange tells us the rest of the rumor she just heard.
“Looks like the bad rumors are true.”
Is there something more? I asked for a detailed explanation.
“What rumors?”
“She asks a bad question and presses for an answer, but no matter which answers Dorothea receives, she is not satisfied and leaves the table. If it’s the question she just asked, she’ll give you a disdainful look if you say you want to be her pet, and a disinterested look if you refuse. In the end, she won’t be satisfied with either answer.”
Nix being dumbfounded and unable to answer, is this a disinterested pattern?
She has given him two choices, and she is not satisfied with either answer? If he doesn’t answer, that’s wrong too?
What a bad question.
Luxion makes a few predictions about this question.
[There may be a third answer to this question that has not been provided. Or perhaps the question itself implies her rejection?]
Ange seems to have the same opinion as Luxion.
“I think it’s the latter “
Instead of hating him because he got the answer wrong, she asks this question because she hates him from the start?
Sure, she was troublesome, but I felt better about the situation now.
“But I guess this won’t be a problem even if I don’t help.”
Dorothea-san is not interested in Nix and will pretend that this matchmaking talk never happened.
It’s a relief to know that we accomplished our goal without doing anything.
However, Luxion shows the next image.
[It is because of such carelessness that Master repeatedly fails in important points.]
“What did you say?”
I was about to poke him, but I saw Deirdre-senpai and Dorothea-san in the video.
Deirdre-senpai is rushing to her sister Dorothea-san.
“What are you thinking, onee-sama? This time, even Otou-sama won’t forgive you.”
The servants of the Roseblade family were also around, surrounding Dorothea-san to keep her from escaping.
The person has a face that has given up.
“I understand. I just bet on the last possibility. “
“I want you to stop even joking.”
From the looks of the two of them, it would apparently be difficult to pretend that the matchmaking never happened.
I press my head with my right hand and change my mind, thinking that I have no choice but to do it.
“I guess they’re more serious than I thought.”
I don’t understand why the prestigious Roseblade family would be interested in a weak frontier baron family.
Because I’m here? But I’m a marquis independent from my parents’ house.
The faction, or rather the backer, is the Dukes Redgrave, Ange’s parents’ family.
It would be pointless to try to take us in ―― As I was thinking about this, I noticed Ange looking at me with her hand on her chin.
She seems to be more concerned about my reaction than matchmaking.
“Speaking of which, what does Ange think about aniki’s marriage? Has your family said anything about it?”
I asked, and Ange shrugged and shook her head.
“Nothing. You can do whatever you want.”
I’m grateful that they don’t interfere, but does that mean that Duke Redgrave isn’t interested in my family?
Livia looks at me and looks worried.
“Leon-san, are you really going to do it? I think you should stop it after all.”
“I can’t back down after coming this far. Don’t worry. I’m good at making matchmaking fail.”
I answered with a smile, and Noelle, who didn’t know what was going on, looked at us.
“Wait. What are you going to do? I haven’t heard anything.”
I should have told Noelle about this, but I was hesitant because of this method.
“Actually ―― I’m thinking of imitating Loic.”
“Ha?”
Next to the surprised Noelle who was having trouble reacting, Ange crossed her arms, looked at me, and muttered.
“You should get bitter experience for once.”
.
Part 2
“Is this really okay!?”
I called Nix into the waiting room and explained my plan to make the matchmaking fail.
I smile and give a dog collar with a chain to Nix.
“It’s okay. I’ve seen the most shocking confessions in the Republic. Holding a collar and saying you’re mine will make you out in one step. The other party would refuse to go on the matchmaking.”
The model for this operation was Loic, who kept wooing Noelle in the Republic.
Loic, the target of that second otome game, not knowing what was happened to him, was approaching Noelle with a collar.
He was a man who made me surprised, but in the end, he had changed and become Marie’s little brother.
――Even if he changed, and became Marie’s little brother, what a terrible thing.
Is Marie emitting some kind of signal that attracts the men she’s trying to capture and makes them weird?
Nix gripped the collar with both hands and broke out in a cold sweat.
“It’s just too much. It’s wrong for a person to do such a thing, and it’ll ruin my reputation and our house, right?”
That’s the problem.
Holding a collar and saying, “You belong to me!”, Nix and Bartfalt family would be questioned about their common sense.
But! ―― It was the Roseblade family who was rude first.
Luxion has left a solid video of the matchmaking, so when the time comes, I can complain back.
If Dorothea-san was a normal person, my conscience would have been guilty, but as a younger brother, I would have been angry if she had mistreated my big brother that much.
Let’s get some payback, and this time, they’re the ones who are going to get a bitter experience.
“No problem. Ange told me that the other party has a big problem with the attitude.”
“Really? I’ve seen an advanced class tea party at the academy and it was just like this.”
―― People like Dorothea-san at the tea party are classified as rather decent girls.
That’s how bad the environment was, but getting used to it is a scary thing.
“I think so, too. I’ve been to a lot of tea parties that were worse than this.”
“I understand you’re having a hard time, but this is just awful. I’d question a person’s humanity if they came at me with this.”
I will ask Nix to take such action now.
“So you’re just going to marry Dorothea-san? It’s not just a loveless marriage. Are you going to live the rest of your life being disrespected?”
“T-That’s not what I want.”
After meeting with Dorothea-san, Nix seemed to have guessed that they would not be able to be a harmonious couple like Dad and Mom in the future.
So, for aniki’s sake, I’m going to make this matchmaking fail.
That’s what the collar is for.
“Aniki, if you use this, you’re sure to fail. The other party will tell you they don’t want this kind of matchmaking.”
“I know they will to say it, but my damage is too great, though?”
“You’ll have to accept that”
Nix looks at me and the collar alternately, his cheeks drawn together.
“I guess it’s easier to just tell people what to do.”
“As your brother, I feel so bad for making you do this, aniki!”
“Lie!”
.
Part 3
When Dorothea returned to the room where she had run out, Nix was not there.
There was still some tea on the table, which had cooled down.
Dorothea had returned, and the servants of the Bartfalt family were making a fresh pot of tea.
“The standard is that degree.”
From the start, Dorothea had no expectations of a countryside baron family, but the atmosphere of the mansion and the attitude of the servants did not seem noble to her.
When the object of comparison is her own family, the Count, it is no wonder that the other families are inferior.
Even though she understands it, she can’t help but see it all as a mess.
(If I refuse this offer, otou-sama will probably give up on me, too.)
Dorothea is also aware that her father, the head of the Count’s family, has a soft spot for his daughter.
However, if this talk ends in failure, the father who is lenient to his daughter will change his attitude.
Even Dorothea, who had given him so much trouble, understood that much.
(Life is so boring, isn’t it)
Taking a sip of her tea, Dorothea then crossed her arms under her chest and waited for Nix.
When the waiting time becomes longer, she crosses her legs.
(It looks like I’ve made him angry)
She thought that she had angered Nix and that the talk had failed.
Then the door was opened with a bang.
“Ara, have you come to complain?”
Dorothea’s mocking expression was directed at Nix, whose face was somewhat tense.
He didn’t seem to be in a good mood, as he had been earlier.
Dorothea judged this to be Nix’s anger, but there was something wrong with him.
Nix seems to be very nervous.
“――Why don’t you sit down?”
When she was suspicious of Nix not taking his seat, he seemed to be hiding something with his hands behind his back.
For a moment, she thought he might be hiding a weapon. But it was the Bartofalt family who would be in trouble if he harmed her here.
He doesn’t seem like a short-tempered person.
After some thought, a wary Dorothea prepared herself to run away at any moment and Nix placed the hidden object on the table.
Dorothea was confused when she saw the object placed in front of her with a clattering metallic sound.
“Wha?”
Her voice didn’t come out because of the suddenness of the situation.
In front of her was a collar with a chain, like a dog would have.
She immediately looked at Nix’s face and saw a drawn out smile on his face.
“I’ve got a collar that might suit you. You asked me to be your pet, didn’t you? I’ll give you my answer. You will be my pet!”
After being told in a loud voice to be a pet, Dorothea found herself trembling before she knew it.
She grabs her two arms to hug herself, stands up, and runs out of the room again without seeing Nix.
At Dorothea’s back, Nix laughs and makes a nasty remark.
“Are you running away? You tried to treat people like a pet, but you’re such a small-minded master!”
When Dorothea heard those words, she felt her body heat up all at once.
Even without looking in the mirror, she could predict that she would be red in the face now.
When she ran out of the room, Deirdre, who had been keeping an eye on her, was sitting in the chair provided.
When she sees Dorothea, she thinks for a moment that she’s run away again, and make a displeased face ―― But, she notices that something is wrong and gets up and runs over to her.
“What’s wrong, onee-sama?”
Dorothea turns her moist eyes to Deirdre, who hugs her shoulder.
Deirdre was surprised by her weak appearance.
“What really happened?”
“Deirdre, I――”
.
Part 4
“You did it, aniki!”
As soon as Dorothea-san ran out of the room, I entered the room through a different door.
Nix’s great performance made me laugh, but judging from Dorothea-san’s behavior, I have a feeling that the plan will be a great success.
After all, she was red-faced and furious.
Nix’s was red up to his ears, hiding his face with his hands.
“I don’t want it anymore. Why did I do this――I never thought I’d treat someone like a pet”
“It’s an act, right? You’re worrying too much.”
“She thinks I’m serious! Leon, are you sure that this is okay? I agreed with you, but now I’m starting to get somewhat scared.”
By now, Nix was terrified that he had angered the other party.
But I don’t like to cross any dangerous bridges.
I at least have insurance in case I fail.
“Don’t worry. If there’s a problem, I’ll apologize to Deirdre-senpai later.”
“How does an apology help?”
“No problem. That’s what money is for. Luxion will take care of it!”
I looked over to my right shoulder and saw Luxion floating there, looking at me with one red eye.
[It’s always my job to follow up. If money was the answer to this problem, why didn’t you just pay some money and refuse from the beginning?]
“Wouldn’t it be a waste of money if we paid from the start?”
[You’re still strangely stingy.]
It would be a problem in many ways to be offered a matchmaking and then suddenly pay for it and pretend it never happened.
Luxion turned his red lens on Nix.
[Please be assured. Even if the Roseblade family uses force, I will protect you and the Bartfalt family.]
Nix’s shoulders slumped in response to Luxion’s very reliable words.
“I want you to do something before that happens. I want this to end peacefully before they use force.”
When I see Nix worrying, I think we’re really brothers. After all, I’m a worrywart too.
“It’s okay. I’ll rely on Ange in case of emergency.”
I am grateful that my fiancée is reliable.
But when he raised his head, Nix was looking at me with a surprised expression.
“You ―― Aren’t you embarrassed that you’ve been relying on others so much?”
Nix blamed me for this, but I don’t get it.
“Don’t you think it’s arrogant to try to do everything by yourself? Relying on someone who can do it for you is the right thing to do.”
Nix put his finger on his forehead and was troubled by my words.
“That’s true. But it seems to me that you’ve been stirring things up and then leaving it to others to clean up the mess, though?”
―― He hit where it hurts.
But it’s also a kind of power to have someone you can rely on.
“You know, the right person in the right place “
“It looks to me like you’re just doing what you want to do and letting others clean up after you. You’re really selfish.”
“Aniki is too serious. Thanks to me, the matchmaking failed. Don’t you think you should praise me more?”
“If it hadn’t been for the damage to my reputation and psyche, I could have given you an honest compliment. Now I’m regretting taking the easy way out and letting you help me. She was more shocked than I thought she would be, and I feel bad for her. “
What are you talking about now? As I was thinking this, Luxion comforted Nix.
[You made a mistake with the person you joined hands with. Like you, I am usually made to regret by Master. Master who teaches regret to an AI may be a great man in a sense, though.]
Why does this guy insult me as he breathes out his words?
“I’m glad you’re learning to feel like a human.”
[Don’t you think you should do a little self-reflection? Your lack of empathy for others is also a problem.]
“Some sacrifices must be made in order to achieve a goal.”
[It wasn’t Master who made the sacrifice, though.]
Nix looked embarrassed as he remembered the scene from earlier.
“It’s true. I shouldn’t have relied on you.”
Nix has been embarrassed, but at the cost of his own reputation and psyche, this matchmaking will be a failure.
It took a lot of sacrifices, but the results were worth it.
The rest is fine as long as the post-processing is correct.
.
Part 5
After Leon left for Nix’s room, Ange and the others, three of them who were waiting in another room were talking about the future.
Noelle, her cheeks tightening, seemed to remember the time when Loic had hounded her.
“It looked bad when I was a part of it, but now that I see it, it’s even worse. Isn’t this going to ruin Nix-san’s reputation?”
It ended so badly that Noelle was worried about Nix.
Livia asked Noelle a slightly nasty question.
“Noelle-san, you and Leon-san were connected for a while, weren’t you? But you seemed to be happy then, didn’t you?”
“T-That is !?”
Noelle’s face turns red and she tries to deny it, but she has no excuse and her mouth agape.
She must have remembered the cursed collar placed on her by Loic when Ange and Livia visited the Republic.
It seems that Livia is still holding on to the fact that the way she was playing with Leon using that collar looked like she was flirting with him.
Ange rebuke Livia.
“Don’t be too mean to her.”
“I’m sorry”
Livia is remorseful and apologizes to Noelle, “I’m sorry.”
Noelle was troubled, but accepted the apology, and the conversation ended without dragging on, and they moved on.
Livia was concerned about the response of the Roseblade family and looked worried.
“Nix-san has his own problems, but I’m also worried about Dorothea-san, his partner. I’m sure she’ll report it to her parents since we made her angry.”
The relationship between the Bartfalt and Roseblade families would quickly turn sour ―― or so they predicted.
Livia turns to face Ange.
“Ange, are you sure we shouldn’t have stopped him? The usual Ange would have stopped Leon, right?”
Leon is a man who usually talks like a man of common sense and takes everything in stride, but once he shows his determination, he tends to go overboard.
It seemed to bother Livia that Ange, who was worried about Leon, didn’t stop him from going off the rails this time.
Ange smiled and began to talk about the underlying problem.
“No problem. Besides, Leon should be hurt while he can get it back. And did I mention that Deirdre came to me once to ask for matchmaking?”
Noelle looked up a little and spoke reminiscently while Livia was thinking.
“Eh? This is matchmaking, right? Because, Yumeria-san ―― Are?”
Both Noelle and Livia will understand only when they get here.
The Bartfalt family and Yumeria assumed it was matchmaking, but not once did Deirdre mention that it was matchmaking between Nix and Dorothea.
Ange let out a small sigh and shrugged her shoulders.
“Because formal matchmaking is also a lot of trouble. The higher the rank, the more troublesome the procedures are. There’s no way they’re going to ignore that and go for matchmaking. Even if they did, the Roseblade family would probably remove obstacles in the way of their objective more carefully.”
Noelle leans forward a little and asks Ange about the reaction of the Bartfalt family.
“But Leon and the rest of the family believed it was a matchmaking match, didn’t they?”
With a troubled look on her face, Ange talked about the problems of the Bartofalt family.
“That’s the problem. For better or worse, the Bartfalt family is a countryside Baron family far from the capital. They are not familiar with the ways of the capital. That’s the reason why they misunderstood. This would have been fine in the past, but Leon has risen too high.”
With a sad look in her eyes, Ange felt bad that the Bartfalt family was also involved in Leon’s rise to power.
The Baron family, who used to be peaceful in the countryside, is now in a position to get involved in court disputes.
“Things are not going to go on as usual for Leon and his family. The fact that the Roseblade family has approached us is proof of that.”
Noelle was the first one to get depressed when she heard that.
Noelle was brought from the Republic of Arzel because she is the keeper of the sapling of the Sacred Tree that generates energy ―― a priestess.
She is in a position to manage a tremendous plant that in the future will have no problem with energy.
Leon was the one who protected Noelle.
Noelle seemed to think that she was forcing Leon to participate in a power struggle that he didn’t want to be involved in.
“Is it my fault? Because I am protected by Leon.”
Noelle, who can control the saplings of the sacred tree that those in power would definitely want to acquire, would be taken away to some other country if she were to be released poorly.
Since Leon was the one who was protecting her, she thought she was causing trouble.
However, Ange immediately denied the idea.
“Unfortunately, even before he met Noelle, Leon was destined to be involved in a court battle. Because he was with me.”
(In the first place, my father approved my engagement in order to incorporate him into his faction)
Once you have a Duke’s daughter as your fiancée, you will be part of the power struggle even if you don’t want to be.
Ange’s father, Vince, a Duke, has a soft spot for his daughter, but that alone is not enough to make him the head of a large noble family.
Of course, he allowed his daughter to become engaged to Leon, expecting his power.
It is true that there was a kindness to his daughter, but it was unusual for him to marry the Duke’s daughter to Viscount Leon, who had risen through the ranks in his own lifetime.
He has feelings for his daughter, but he also has his own interests at heart.
“And by the way, the only person who’s getting more attention than Noelle at the moment is Leon himself.”
Noelle was a little confused by Ange’s explanation.
As Ange was about to continue, there was a strong knocking sound in the room.
The knocking sound was loud, and the three of them felt as if the person on the other side of the door was getting impatient.
“You can come in”
When Ange allowed her to enter the room, Yumeria hurriedly rushed in.
“I-It’s serious! The nobleman’s airship has arrived at the port again!”
From how flustered Yumeria was, Ange guessed that it wasn’t the nobles she was usually associated with ―― but a big name like the Roseblade family.
“This is getting complicated. So which house is it?”
Yumeria took out the paper she had written down and said the name of the person’s house.
“It’s Atley’s house.”
When the name of the house was given in a light-hearted manner, as if it were someone from the next door, Ange’s expression disappeared.
“――Claris, huh?”
The person she predicted was [Claris Fia Atley].
She is the daughter of Minister Bernard, who does not hold territory as a court noble, but holds a minister position in the royal capital.
Like Deirdre, she was a young lady from great noble.