Published: January 15, 2026
It had been a month since then. The afterglow of the fierce battle had completely faded, and now my days were filled with lordly duties during the day and studying at night. If Dee were to come back, swordsmanship training would even be added to my mornings. Honestly, I was about to rebel—Dee and Espada, seriously.
Today as well, I was soaking in the bath before bed, trying to soothe my tired body and mind.
“After all, the bath is a cleansing of the body…”
Huh? Or was it cleansing of the soul? I felt like it was obvious the body would be cleaned.
As I pondered this, loud footsteps echoed heavily all the way outside the large communal bath. This was Lord Van’s private bath in the lord’s manor. Why all the noise? Keep it down, please.
Thinking that, I stayed immersed in the tub, gazing toward the entrance. Suddenly, the door burst open and Kamushin rushed in.
“Lord Van!”
“You perverted Kamushin.”
“!? I-I'm sorry!”
When I joked like an innocent maiden, Kamushin panicked and apologized as he hurried back outside. Now that I think about it, Kamushin was a serious person.
“It was a joke! What’s your business?”
I called out beyond the open door, and Kamushin quietly returned.
“…You really scared me.”
For once, Kamushin was sulking and complaining. Sorry about that.
“I told you it was a joke. So, what is it?”
I asked again. Kamushin immediately switched back to seriousness.
“Yes. Just now, the kingdom army’s fast riders led by His Majesty have arrived here.”
“Huh? Fast riders? Another unreasonable demand to renovate the fortress city?”
I couldn’t help but frown and reply. Kamushin shook his head from side to side.
“No, if it had been something like that, I would have sent them away.”
“No, no, no, you can’t do that! It’s from His Majesty, right? When that happens, you have to show understanding while complaining with all sorts of excuses to get through it…”
I began teaching Kamushin about the proper adult response, but he didn’t reply and continued.
“I confirmed the details. Apparently, it was to report victory over the Yelinetta Kingdom.”
“Huh? Victory, you mean in the border battles? Or did we successfully defend fortress city Murcia?”
Surprised, I asked back, and Kamushin shook his head and explained.
“No. The Yelinetta Kingdom side requested a ceasefire, but His Majesty refused. When he declared he would attack the capital city, they offered a conditional surrender. After negotiations, His Majesty accepted.”
“Oh, so they surrendered. Could it be because they had allied with the Shelvia Confederation and launched an offensive but failed?”
Though surprised, I accepted that surrender was a wise decision. If the war had continued, the capital city of Yelinetta Kingdom would have suffered devastating damage, and the royal family and some high nobles would have faced clan-wide executions—a terrifying future indeed.
“All right, let’s go hear the full report.”
I wanted to hear the outcome directly. With that in mind, I left the bath, quickly dried off, and changed.
Til had prepared my clothes, but they seemed deliberately flashy. Recently, with the Mary Trading Company and the commerce guild bringing goods, even the frontier was receiving elaborate outfits. Maybe that influenced Til to stock up on such things.
Though I didn’t like flashy clothes much, they always wanted me to wear eye-catching outfits.
This time it was a truly noble-looking garment—deep blue fabric embroidered with silver.
I couldn’t go outside naked, so reluctantly I put it on and stepped out.
“They’re waiting for you here.”
Guided by Kamushin, I went to the VIP room for visitors. The door was open, and Til was bringing in a serving stand.
“Oh, Lord Van. Have you finished your hot bath?”
“Yeah, the water was great.”
As we exchanged words, I looked back at the person sitting on the sofa in the VIP room and was speechless.
“…Brother Yard and Brother Sesto?”
Calling their names, Yard, arms crossed and scowling, sniffed and narrowed his eyes.