Volume 8, Chapter 4 “Collar”
Volume 8, Chapter 4 “Collar”
Part 1
The next day, the morning was filled with tension.
Dorothea-san blushed and looked down, while Nix’s face was red up to his ears as if he was remembering what happened yesterday.
They were both too nervous to speak.
“It looks like a real matchmaking”
We were in another room observing the situation, and watching the images that Luxion was projecting on the wall.
However, the situation is different from the last time.
Deirdre-senpai was getting upset with Dorothea-san’s attitude, which was different from yesterday.
“Onee-sama, what happened to your usual boldness? Last night you made me accompany you to practice the conversation!”
They had been practicing the conversation she would have with Nix late last night. About what topic? What kind of questions will she ask? Because of that, Deirdre-senpai seems to be a little sleep deprived, but she is so excited by her sister’s pathetic appearance that drowsiness is blown away.
Next to her, Claris-senpai, who had been glaring at each other until yesterday, was watching them with a serious expression.
“If one of them doesn’t make a move, nothing will get started here.”
Dorothea-san is ashamed of being different from yesterday.
She looked like a maiden in love, but Nix looked nervous, afraid that someone of higher rank would accuse him of being rude yesterday.
“Aniki is not going to make a move. I understand it as his brother. He’s a pathetic big brother.”
Yare-yare, when I shrugged my shoulders, Ange, Livia and even Noelle looked at me and gave me a surprised look.
They seemed to want to say something, but their current interest seemed to be the two of them not making a move. Livia looks like she’s kind of happy.
“What’s going to happen? I’m hoping they’ll talk to each other.”
In response to Livia’s words, Ange expressed her thoughts with some excitement.
“One of them has to start talking to get things moving. Why don’t one of us take the initiative and start the conversation? I’d be happy to do that?”
When Ange insists on getting in and forcing them to talk, Deirdre-senpai also decides to step in.
“Then I’m the right person for the job. We’re sisters, and Nix-dono and I are schoolmates.”
Claris-senpai seemed to be unconvinced in Dorothea-senpai’s opinion. (Note: Maybe the author mistakenly written, it should be Deirdre)
“You had different class, didn’t you? Even if you were in the same grade, there was no connection. Then how about me, the unrelated one?”
For some reason, I feel that the ladies are more excited than yesterday.
Noelle was sitting in her wheelchair, staring at the screen.
“I can’t take my eyes off of them for some reason.”
I keep my distance from the women who are enjoying themselves and chat with Luxion, who has come along with me.
“It seems they’re preoccupied with love talks.”
[It’s a world where entertainment is scarce, so perhaps it can’t be helped.]
Unlike the world of my previous life, this world is not filled with entertainment.
As a result, many women are curious about the love lives of others.
[By the way, about that pathetic brother comment you made earlier.]
“I saw my brother who was silent without saying anything and just thought so. It’s actually pathetic.”
[I’ve repeatedly advised you to look in the mirror and speak up. In the first place, the people around you recognize that Master is more of a problem than your brother’s patheticness.]
“No, not nearly as bad as aniki.”
When I said that, I looked at the women, and they took their eyes off the screen and looked at me. Livia says to Ange.
“Do you think this is one of Leon-san’s usual jokes?”
Ange answered with a lot of concern.
“I wonder? I hope he’s joking, that’s my wish.”
Noelle looks surprised and denies my words.
“Leon is worse than Nix-san when it comes to romance.”
When I was shocked by the poor evaluation, Deirdre-senpai and Claris-senpai are also talking in a whisper with their faces close together.
“Which one do you think is worse?”
“They’re both terrible, but last night he came to my room and complimented me on my appearance, so I guess Leon-kun wins, just barely?”
“―― Wait a minute. He didn’t say anything to me?”
That was last night.
At the request of a senior, I visited Claris-senpai’s room and complimented her.
I was just keeping my promise, but for some reason, the women’s gazes turned stern.
When I ask Luxion, who is by my side, for help, he makes a dumbfounded voice as he projects the image.
[Did you not realize that praising only one person would cause problems?]
“I don’t think they’d be pleased with my compliments”
[If someone else does the same thing, Master will blame him. It’s not too late to have good self-esteem.]
Why am I being blamed so much?
As I was wishing he would be nicer to me, I saw movement in the image.
“Aniki is making a move.”
.
Part 2
“Do-Dorothea-san!”
When Nix stood up from his seat and raised his voice, Dorothea, who had been looking down, looked up and replied.
“Y-Yes!”
They stare at each other.
But Nix couldn’t stop breaking out in a cold sweat inside.
(She looks like a different person from yesterday)
Previously, Dorothea was a woman with a noticeably cold demeanor who didn’t even want to look at Nix.
But what he sees in front of him now is a woman who looks cuter than her age.
Nix can’t decide which one is the real one.
(B-But I have to say it properly)
He is a man who suddenly became the heir of the Baron family due to circumstances.
He has not received a proper education at the school and is still learning various jobs while helping his father.
He could not imagine that Dorothea, a real lady, would be his wife.
The status was out of proportion, but it was hard to believe that a genuine young lady could survive in the countryside.
“The Bartfalt family is a countryside compared to the city. You will be in a rural area. Dorothea-san, do you want to live here?”
Dorothea was a little puzzled by the different wording from yesterday.
“If I decide to marry, I will live in any place I choose. I-Is that not good enough for you?”
Nix was bewildered by Dorothea’s calm demeanor after she had asked him yesterday, “Are you ready to be a pet?”.
“It’s not that it’s no good ―― but you should seriously consider it. Because if you’re used to living in the city, you’ll find this place boring.”
“E-Etto“
Both of them were confused.
When Nix took his seat and closed his mouth, the conversation stopped once again and a silent moment continued.
This time, Dorothea moved.
“Ano――I have something to tell you.”
What was placed on the table with a clattering sound was a collar with a chain attached.
For a moment, Nix wondered if he had misplaced the collar yesterday――Then he noticed something strange about Dorothea holding the collar.
“Eh?”
(Why does this person have a collar? Yesterday she saw the collar and jumped out of the room and shouldn’t have returned to the mansion from there. And――It’s not the same as the collar Leon prepared, is it?!)
That collar, however, had a collar on each end of the chain.
Dorothea puts one of the two collars around her neck.
Then she offered another one to Nix.
(What’s this? Really what’s this?! Eh, what does this mean? Maybe this is a joke in the city?!)
Dorothea smiles at the confused Nix, her face reddened.
“I’m sorry I ran away yesterday. I’ve been waiting for a long time. Someone to put a collar on me.”
“Eh? That? But there are two collars?”
When Nix was too confused to answer properly after receiving the collar, Dorothea continued.
“To be honest, I’m not interested in a gentleman who would be satisfied with a pet. What I wanted was a partner who would compete with me until the very last minute, when one or the other would take control. Either obey the partner or make obey the partner. A rival who could compete with me was the kind of man I was looking for. When Nix-sama threw down the challenge to me, I already felt fate.”
The expression disappeared from Nix’s face.
Then he realized.
(This person is dangerous. It’s strange when she happily brings me a collar, but I don’t understand why she wants to fight for dominance as a couple. What I want is to be a good couple like my parents. It’s the exact opposite!)
Nix’s ideal is the opposite of Dorothea’s ideal.
Realizing that this would never go well with her, Nix tried to think of a way to refuse. However, he couldn’t help but think of Leon’s laughing face.
(It’s all Leon’s fault that I’m in this weird situation! If he hadn’t done something unnecessary, she wouldn’t have fallen in love with me!)
For some reason, Dorothea has fallen in love.
Nix was happy to have a beautiful woman interested in him, but he was not a good match for her by any means.
But even so, she was a lady of higher rank.
As he was choosing his words to refuse her gently, Dorothea reached out her hand.
She takes the collar that Nix was holding and puts it on him.
Their collars were tied to each other by chains, making for an indescribable sight.
“I just wanted to connect with the man of my dreams like this for once.”
Nix couldn’t stop the cold sweat in front of Dorothea, who said that with an ecstatic look on her face.
(This is definitely a no good persooon!)
Nix was desperately trying to think of a way to get out of this situation, while throwing all the abusive words he had to Leon in his mind.
.
Part 3
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
After the second meeting, Nix had a strategy meeting with me.
The goal is to avoid marrying Dorothea-san in a peaceful manner.
Dorothea-san’s eyes on Nix were passionate as if she were a predator.
I sensed a strong will not to let him go.
“She wants to be a couple who collars each other and cherishes the tension――It’s the exact opposite of aniki’s ideal. Why don’t you just give up?”
In front of Nix, who held up his fists, I raised my hands in a pose of surrender.
“Okay, let’s talk about it. In this case, we can rely on Ange, who knows a lot about noble society.”
I faced Ange and she looked a little apologetic to Nix.
“I didn’t think it would work out this way either. I’d like to do something about it, but it’s difficult when things get this complicated. Perhaps Nix-dono should consider the option of marrying Dorothea, I thought?”
Nix shook his head from side to side several times, strongly indicating his refusal.
“That is impossible!”
“If Dorothea hadn’t been so eager, we could have refused.”
According to Ange’s original plan, if we refused, it would just be a visitation, so it was no problem.
Apparently, if Nix didn’t like it, there was no problem in refusing.
It’s just that Dorothea has gotten serious.
“It’s troubling. Dorothea is going to formally ask for matchmaking with the help of her parents’ family. If the Roseblade family is serious, they’ll do their best to remove obstacles in the way of their objective.”
Apparently, in order to get his daughter, Dorothea-san, married, the Count family will get serious.
The real intention spilled.
“I’m scared of the count family who took it seriously.”
Then Nix grabbed me by the chest with tears in his eyes.
“It’s your fault! Why should I be targeted by the Count’s family!”
“It wasn’t your life they were after, but your chastity.”
A beautiful woman targeting your chastity, isn’t it a reward, I thought so and gave a thumbs up, then he silently choked me.
Livia, who had been watching the exchange between us brothers, put her hand on her forehead and let out a sigh.
“The story has gotten complicated.”
Ange seems to be reflecting on the situation.
“I figured it would be settled peacefully, so I left it alone, but it seemed it wasn’t a good idea. However, this matchmaking is not a bad deal.”
Nix stopped moving when he heard Ange’s story, and I was released.
As I was holding my neck and choking, Luxion approached me.
[You deserved it]
“I was just trying to be funny. More importantly, what do you mean it’s not a bad deal? It seems like a bad idea from aniki’s point of view, though?”
Nix nodded several times without saying a word, and Ange had some trouble explaining.
“Disregarding personal opinions, I’m just saying that it’s not so bad if the families are connected. The Roseblade family are one of the most prestigious family. They have a lot of money and power. If you connect with such a family, you will be free from unnecessary troubles. ―― There are some annoyances to be involved in, though.”
The annoyance, Ange said, was that the Bartfalt family would continue to attract all kinds of people.
In such cases, the name of the Roseblade family is said to protect them from unscrupulous people.
Nix is troubled by what he hears.
“Is it good for the house? No, but ―― to get married for the sake of it is a bit.”
Nix considers marrying to protect his family, but the countryside nobles are not familiar with noble society, for better or worse.
As long as he followed the minimum rules, he was free to do the rest.
I wouldn’t say it’s free of power struggles, but it’s a warm environment for the nobles who are engaged in real power struggles.
He has the idea of marrying for the sake of the house, but he also thinks about his own happiness―― or so I thought, but Nix is different.
“――She’s in love with fake me. If she married me, I bet she’d feel like she got tricked. Marrying for the sake of the family and then being tricked into it without love is awful, right? I can’t let her go that far for the good of the family.”
Apparently, it was Dorothea-san that Nix was worried about.
“Aniki“
I was surprised that he was even thinking about his partner.
Luxion talks to me.
[He’s a great brother. And yet, Master did something unnecessary and troubling him――That was rude to both of them. Why don’t you reflect on that?]
“Don’t poke the painful part! ――W-Well, I’m reflecting.”
It’s true that I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have crossed, hoping that the other party would hate him.
Nix took a deep breath and then forced himself to smile at us.
“I’m sorry I bothered you guys, too. I’ll go apologize. I’m prepared to take a hit, and I’ll ask that the complaints be kept to me personally somehow.”
“Aniki, I apologize too”
“I thought you might get me in trouble, so no. Well, but it’s the fact, you’ve been making moves on my behalf. ―― Just reflect on it. Swear it!”
Even this and that happened, he’s kind.
Family is truly a wonderful thing.
Except for the sisters.
.
Part 4
The garden in the evening.
“In the end, it just bothered my brother.”
I let out a sigh, and next to me were Luxion and Noelle in a wheelchair.
Ange and Livia are accompanying Nix.
When he apologized to Dorothea, she couldn’t do anything too extreme if Ange was there――So it seems.
I even made Ange clean up my mess.
I was going to ask her to move if it became troublesome, but when it actually happened, I found myself thinking a lot about it.
Luxion is dumbfounded by my depression.
[If you don’t want to worry about it, don’t do it. You talk like a big shot, but when a problem arises, you get depressed? The quality is bad.]
“I’ll also reflect on it.”
[I’d like to see you move a little more thoughtfully.]
“That’s absurd advice for a fool. ――In the first place, if I could have done that, I wouldn’t be struggling as much as I am now.”
I’m sitting on the edge of a flower bed in the garden, talking with Luxion, and Noelle is trying to cheer me up.
“Since Deirdre-san has forgiven you, you don’t have to be depressed anymore.”
“I did hurt her, though”
Immediately after that, I told Deirdre-senpai what had happened.
I said ―― the matter of the collar wasn’t what I really meant, I was going to let it fail because I thought it was a matchmaking.
Deirdre-senpai said ―― “I wish you hadn’t put on such a bad act and told me the truth.”
She accepted my apology, but she looked a little sad.
I should have explained this to Deirdre-senpai beforehand.
Ange said, “Let’s make use of this failure next time.”
From the beginning, Ange had thought that I would fail.
She said ―― If I experience a failure, it will be in my bones and I’ll be careful next time.
In a way, it was a move I could make because I was dealing with Deirdre-senpai I knew.
I just don’t think I’ll be able to have a proper relationship with her in the future.
It was too rude to Dorothea-san.
―― Well, either way, Deirdre-senpai said that she would let bygones be bygones on this matter.
Noelle repeatedly tries to cheer me up when I’m depressed, but Colin arrives from the mansion.
“Noelle-neechan! It’s already evening and it’s going to get cold. Let’s go back to the room quickly.”
Colin quickly got behind Noelle and started pushing the wheelchair.
“Wait a minute. I’m still talking to Leon.”
Noelle tried to get Colin to wait, but it was starting to get cold.
After all, it is cold when the sun goes down, so I ask Noelle to go into the mansion.
“Okay. Colin, escort Noelle back.”
“Leave it to me!”
Colin, pushing the wheelchair, is concerned about Noelle.
“Let’s go, Noelle-neechan”
“Sorry for always doing this, Colin”
“Un. I-I like to do it too, so it’s okay.”
As I watched them leave, I noticed that Colin’s figure was larger than before.
“Colin’s growing up, too “
[I judge that he is growing up healthily, both physically and mentally. Why don’t you grow up too, Master?]
“If anyone wanted to grow and could do it, no one would have any trouble.”
.
Part 5
The next day, the port had a strange atmosphere.
“Thank you for taking care of us. I’m sorry it ended this way.”
Dorothea-san bowed to our family and headed straight for the Roseblade family airship.
Dorothea-san, looking down and teary-eyed, gets in without even looking at us, accompanied by the servants around her.
I heard that Dorothea-san was in tears when Nix told her the truth.
The sight of her depressed figure made my heart tighten.
The gaze of the servants and knights of the Roseblade family on Nix was very stern.
Standing next to Nix, I whispered to him.
“Why didn’t you mention my name?”
“A big brother has his principles too, you know. It would be pathetic to have you cover for me.”
With that, Nix saw Dorothea-san off and left the port.
Instead, I was approached by Ange.
“Don’t take this literally. Nix-dono didn’t want to bother you, so he kept Leon’s plan a secret. It seems that Deirdre also heard about it and kept quiet about it.”
“For me?”
“He is a kind brother. It’s the one thing you can’t understand, even if you wanted to. Leon, you should take care of your own family.”
The airship of the Roseblade family leaves the port and moves away.
Deirdre-senpai didn’t talk to me after all, either.
” ―― I lost a lot of things.”
I have lost many things as a result of my cheap actions.
Ange says.
“In any case, if we had refused, we would have ended up estranged. I’m sure they’re aware of that.”
.
Part 6
The airship of the Roseblade family.
In one of the rooms on the ship, Deirdre was comforting Dorothea.
“A coincidence is scary, isn’t it?”
“Yeah”
“It would be useless to tell onee-sama now not to mind it.”
“Yeah”
“There are a lot of men out there as there are stars. Among them, there may be a gentleman who is ideal for onee-sama.”
” ―― It’s enough.”
Lying in bed, hugging a pillow, Dorothea had her back to Deirdre.
Then she talks about her current feelings.
“I’ll stop chasing my ideals forever. When we get back, tell otou-sama to go ahead and use me for a political marriage. If I can’t have what I want, I’d rather have nothing at all.”
Deirdre looked at Dorothea and let out a sigh, thinking that she was seriously hurt.
(How much better it would have been if they had just refused normally)
It was made even more complicated by Leon’s outlandish plan.
In the future, Deirdre believes that the Bartfalt and Roseblade families will never be related.
(That said, we couldn’t be hostile to them ―― and that’s a very troublesome thing.)
The Roseblade family now has no intention of retaliating against the Bartfalt family.
The fact that Duke Redgrave is behind Leon is troublesome, but the biggest problem is Leon himself.
(I’ll advise otou-sama to leave onee-sama alone for a while?)
As Deirdre was about to leave the room, a knight came rushing into the room.
Normally, this would have been rude behavior, but from his panic, Deirdre could tell that it was an emergency.
“What’s the matter?”
“The sky pirates! There are over ten ships heading this way!”
“Ten ships? Why are there so many sky pirates here ?!”
The airship carrying the family crest of the Roseblade family was attacked by sky pirates.
.
Part 7
“Leon-sama, it’s time for you to get back on your feet.”
After seeing them off, I lay down on the sofa in the living room and thought about many things.
Perhaps I looked depressed, but Yumeria-san, dressed in a maid’s uniform, worried about me.
Noelle also sits in a wheelchair, a sapling of the sacred tree freed from its case ―― sapling-chan on her lap.
Apparently, it was being brought outside for a breath of fresh air.
“I know you’re thinking about it, but I think you need to do something about your attitude. Angelica-san was worried about Leon’s depression. “I’ve gone too far.” She said.
Seeing my depressed state, even Ange says she feels remorseful that she went too far.
It was not my intention to worry Ange, who had been watching over me to make sure I got a lot of experience.
“She doesn’t have to worry about me”
“No, of course, she’s worried. In that case, do you want to join this child sunbathing?”
Noelle takes sapling-chan in both hands and holds her out to me.
“Sapling-chan?”
Yumeria-san holds my hands and tells me with a smile.
“Yes! This child really prefers to be outside. But I can’t plant it everywhere, so I sometimes take it outside like this.”
Since Sapling-chan was a sacred tree, it could not be planted anywhere.
I’m worried about it being stolen, but depending on where it’s planted, there may be concession issues in the future.
Therefore, for now, it was being forced to endure in a cramped bowl.
“Let’s find a place to plant the sapling-chan”
Thinking about looking and bringing Luxion since he was free, the mansion started to get hectic.
“What?”
When I got up and walked out into the hallway, I saw that our official, who was usually supposed to be at the port, had arrived.
He is an official who seems to be in charge of paperwork, and in a previous life, he was a man dressed like an old clerk. He is wearing a white shirt and a pair of black arm covers.
He is a slender person who wears glasses and looks weak.
Such a person had rushed into the mansion in a hurry.
Now he’s at the door talking to Dad.
“There are more than ten air pirates?! Is the Roseblade family’s airship safe!”
“Y-Yes! A knight from the Roseblade family crash-landed in the harbor in armor. He seems to be chased by more than a dozen air pirates and is seeking help.”
Dad, who was approaching the official, had a difficult expression on his face as he listened to what was being said.
A countryside baron family like ours has a very small number of war airships.
Even to have one warship, there is a large maintenance cost.
However, the Bartofalt family, which has recently started to make more money, is building up its military strength by adding more warships.
Still, we only have three ships.
It was reckless to take on a foe that was simply three times larger, but it was the Roseblade family who had asked for help.
It’s a bad idea to abandon them here.
I approached Dad, who was being asked to make such a difficult decision and joined in the conversation.
“Just tell me the location and I’ll take the Einhorn to help.”
Dad suddenly spoke up and turned his head to look at me with a surprised look on his face.
“Leon? No, but are you sure you’re okay?”
Dad knows how fast Einhorn is.
But for some reason, he hesitated.
” ―― It’s no good. Anyway, just gather people and prepare for departure.”
“Yes”
As the official ran off, I closed in on my dad.
“Why? It’ll be faster if I go!”
“Why don’t you look around a little bit?”
Dad glanced behind me as he walked out of the mansion.
When I turned around, it was Livia who was there.
“Are you going to fight again?”
Livia, who has a very worried look on her face, is looking down.
“Livia? It’s okay. Luxion is here, and Einhorn can kick the crap out of the sky pirates. There’s also Arroganz, so don’t worry.”
Livia looked up, but her expression remained clouded.
“Didn’t I say you should take a rest for now?”
“But Deirdre-senpai is”
I heard a few footsteps, it was Ange and the others with Luxion.
There’s also Claris-senpai.
Ange was a little out of breath, perhaps in a hurry.
“Leon, don’t leave. There are airships in the harbor, both ours and the Atley’s. There are four of them combined, and with the Baron’s forces, we can manage.”
It seems that it’s not only Ange who doesn’t want me to come out, but also Claris-senpai.
“The Roseblade family are strong. They won’t be easily defeated by sky pirates. The Atley family will lend a hand, so Leon-kun should get some rest.”
” ―― No, I’ll come out. That is faster.”
The Redgrave family, the Atley family ―― And the Roseblade family that is fighting the sky pirates, are all prestigious in the Kingdom of Horfalt.
They’re also putting a lot of effort into their military, and they’re definitely dependable.
But it’ll be easier to clean up if I come out.
“I’ve caused a lot of trouble for Deirdre-senpai and the others. And while I’m at it, as an apology, I’ll come out.”
“Wait, this blockhead!”
As Ange tried to grab my hand, Nix came running down the hallway, grabbed me by the chest and pushed me against the wall.
“Aniki?”
Nix wrinkles his brow and glares at me.
“Leon, lend me your hand. I need your help.”
“Ha? No, I’m leaving now.”
“I’ll save them. I’ll do something for Dorothea-san. I need to borrow your airship.”