Chapter 10

Without any prior knowledge, I was indeed anxious about the engagement greeting, so one afternoon, while looking at the accounts in the office, I asked Camille, who used to be a merchant.

“Hey, Camille.”

Camille, who was writing at the opposite desk, stopped his hand and looked up.

“What is it, young master?”

Camille, with his round face and a merchant-like, friendly smile, asked in return. Stanief, his son, probably takes after his mother. Apart from being short, he doesn’t really resemble Camille much.

“It’s about my fiancée.”

“Oh, Lady Estelle, the daughter of Viscount Miehar, right?”

“Yeah, that Estelle. I’m supposed to go and greet her soon, but unfortunately, I’ve never even heard of her, let alone met her. Do you know anything about her and her father?”

Camille looked a bit troubled.

“Hmm, their character? Since I’ve never met them in person, I can only tell you what I’ve heard...”

“It’s fine. It’s better than knowing nothing. I won’t blame you if it’s wrong, so please tell me.”

Seeming to be reassured by my words, Camille’s expression relaxed, and he began to speak.

“From what I’ve heard, Viscount Miehar, also known as Walsur Krushita Miehar, could be described as an ambitious and capable lord.”

Camille suddenly dropped a rather ominous statement. Not that it’s his fault, though.

“That doesn’t sound very peaceful. Is his reputation bad?”

Putting my own reputation aside, I asked straightforwardly.

“No, as a lord, Viscount Miehar is very competent. He has expanded trade in his territory by leveraging connections with the central government. In agriculture, he was one of the first to cultivate Gifthal wheat, the raw material for white bread, and now it’s said that 70% of the Gifthal wheat in the capital comes from his territory. The reputation among his subjects is also not bad.”

“Wow, quite a capable man. Then why does he have the label of being ‘ambitious’?”

Camille smiled wryly.

“It seems his methods are rather overt. He sends his younger sons to the royal knight corps and the court magic corps to build connections in various fields, and marries off his daughters to influential nobles. While it’s correct for a noble, having five wives and fourteen children to increase the number of pawns for political marriages might be a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

“Whoa...”

I couldn’t help but grimace. It sounds like a harem.

“However, he’s done so much that his influence in the eastern region is now considerable. He’s not just influential among nobles but also among merchants.”

I wonder how much risk my father took to arrange this engagement.

“So, why did this ambitious Viscount Miehar choose to form an alliance with us? Lady Estelle must be an important ‘pawn,’ right?”

As soon as I voiced my question, Camille averted his eyes.

“Hey...”

I feel like I’ve seen a similar reaction recently.

“Don’t look away, look at me. ...So, there’s a reason, right?”

“...You’re sharp, young master.”

No, even someone as insensitive as me would notice after such an obvious avoidance!!

“Could it be that there’s something wrong with Lady Estelle?”

I glared at him with a questioning tone, and the former merchant’s eyes darted around.

“No, I don’t think there’s anything wrong...”

His hesitant response.

“Don’t worry, just tell me.”

Encouraging him to continue, he started to speak hesitantly.

“Well... Lady Estelle, the eighth daughter of the viscount and the same age as you, has a nickname...”

Camille cleared his throat.

“‘The Piglet Princess of the Miehar Viscount’s Territory.’”

What kind of nickname is that?

“...So, she’s plump?”

“I haven’t met her, so I can’t say for sure, but I imagine she is...”

Ah, I see.

I understand the situation now.

Since I’m a rural lord from a border region, I have almost no connection to the so-called social circles.

So, even if my family is all overweight, there are no disadvantages other than health and food costs. However, for a family with strong ties to the central government, like a viscount or higher, the situation is different.

To move in social circles and interact with the upper nobility, one must have an appropriate appearance and demeanor. Of course, this includes body shape.

In other words, being overweight is unacceptable. It would be seen as a lack of self-discipline, and by extension, a lack of discipline in the family.

As a wife of an upper noble, there would be many opportunities to appear in social settings with her husband. It’s unlikely that a noble would want a fat wife in such a situation.

It’s probably because of her body shape that Lady Estelle can’t be used as a ‘pawn.’ If she’s left unmarried, it could damage the family’s reputation. So, they might have decided to push her onto a lower-ranking family.

And that’s where I come in.

Well, the one who actually made the arrangements was Goutoku.

“Got it. She’s plump...”

The excitement I felt when I heard about my fiancée has somewhat diminished.

I don’t have a preference for overweight people, so I’m a bit disappointed.

“Well, I can’t really talk, can I...”

Even though I’m a bit worn out, I still have some flab.

“Alright. First, I’ll try to understand her character. The kind of relationship we build will depend on meeting her.”

...I told myself this and decided to put off thinking about it for now.

A few days later, my father and I got into a carriage and set off for the capital of the Miehar Viscount’s territory, Krus.

We had two carriages, with two drivers, Christoph, three soldiers, and Jairus and Stanief accompanying us.

Why were Jairus and Stanief, who had no direct connection, coming along?

The reason was simple.

I convinced my father to include them in the group.

Hehe☆

Originally, they weren’t supposed to come. But I appealed to my father.

“Father, with your broad and deep virtues and talents, you have excellent subordinates like Christoph and Camille. To become a noble recognized by all, like you, it’s essential to have outstanding subordinates. In the future, when I inherit your position, my main subordinates will be Jairus and Stanief. However, they, like me, are still inexperienced and naive. They haven’t traveled much and think they know the world within their limited territory. I want to open their eyes! I will take full responsibility for supervising them, and I will cover the travel expenses. Please allow them to come along.”

That’s what I said.

Surprisingly, I got an immediate OK!

It seems my father is basically a laissez-faire type as long as it doesn’t affect his interests, and he gave permission without much hesitation.

Perhaps the negotiations I’ve been doing since coming here have improved my ‘negotiation’ skill level, which helped.

I recently checked, and my status has become like this:

Name: Borman Etchgor Darcbalt

Title: The Dragon Son of the Lord

Level: 5

HP: 500/500

MP: 15/15

SP: 20/20

Skills:

- Sword Lv2 (Sword attack power +10%)

- Intimidation Lv3 (Consumes SP 5, reduces enemy SP by 9%)

- Negotiation Lv3 (Negotiation success rate +15%)

Magic: -

Yeah, thanks to Christoph’s morning training, I think I’ve reached a level where I can fight.

Next time, I won’t fall behind a grasshopper!

...No good.

I can’t help but think of that nickname.

The travel expenses were covered by selling various items I had collected from the subjects and by getting as much as possible from my subordinates.

Honestly, I feel quite guilty about using things taken from the subjects, but I don’t have the luxury to be picky.

I’ll return the borrowed items with interest to the people later, but for now, I’ll use them.

There’s actually a good reason for bringing my subordinates along.

I plan to have them work hard during the trip.

I believe this will be important for both their growth and the future of our territory.

The journey to the Miehar Viscount’s territory took about five days by carriage.

We left the Darcbalt territory and headed north, staying overnight twice.

From there, we traveled west on the eastern road and stayed overnight twice more.

We arrived at the capital of the viscount’s territory, Krus, around noon on the fifth day.