Published: January 12, 2026
In front of the lodging prepared for Panamera and the others, a group of people wearing tattered clothes lined up, looking up at the building.
Their ages varied: there was an elderly couple, three middle-aged men and women, three young women, and five children.
In total, thirteen people. They had risked their lives to escape, believing they could no longer live in their village.
“Wow… to be able to stay in such a magnificent house…”
“It looks even bigger than the lord’s manor…”
“Don’t be stupid. The lord might even want to swap houses, you know?”
At the end, a child said something quite rude.
Heh heh heh, children. It’s not just about appearances. What’s inside is what matters. The lord’s manor has way better furniture, after all.
Thinking about that, I called out to everyone.
“Well then, we’ll have a welcome party. Meet in front of the lord’s manor in thirty minutes.”
“A w-welcome party?”
An old man looked puzzled, but since preparations were needed, I explained briefly and then left the spot.
“Til, Kamushin. Go tell the villagers to prepare for a barbecue.”
“Yes!”
The two ran off, and then Arte, who had been watching, walked over here.
“Um, what will happen to those people?”
Arte was concerned about the residents of the neighboring village.
Ah, Arte is the daughter of Count Ferdinand’s family, isn’t she? It wasn’t exactly hostile behavior, but I might have left a somewhat bad impression.
Still, it was too late now.
“Yes. Those people are from the neighboring village, but it’s on the brink of collapse. They escaped to this village. So, I thought I’d give them food and a place to stay.”
“I see. That’s a good thing. They’ll surely be able to live very well here.”
I gave a vague explanation, and Arte accepted it happily. Well, at ten years old, she probably wouldn’t think much about which domain the neighboring village belonged to.
“Arte, would you like to live in this village too?”
When I asked, Arte blushed slightly but nodded lightly.
“Yes... I think that would make me happier.”
Arte’s words were vague. She had been properly educated, carefully avoiding giving a direct answer.
“It’s okay. I’m not thinking about marriage or anything. We’re still kids. That kind of talk is far in the future.”
When I said that, Arte shook her head left and right with a face like she might cry.
“I do want to get married, but I… um…”
“Huh? You want to get married?”
I couldn’t help but ask again, and Arte came to a sudden stop. Gradually, she turned red as if she were an apple.
“Shall we pretend I didn’t hear that?”
When I asked, Arte lowered her gaze and whispered,
“...Yes.”
As a gentleman, Van-kun would never embarrass a lady like that. I put on a calm face and walked silently.
Inside, the gentleman was giving a victorious fist pump.
“Um, Lord Van… you’re walking strangely…”
“It’s just your imagination.”
I answered Arte’s question very seriously, and she nodded with a troubled expression. I hope at least skipping is allowed. Men get ecstatic when they’re popular.
Thirty minutes later, the party people, now used to barbecuing, finished preparations skillfully and were grilling meat.
“Today, I’m eating mine with salt and lemon.”
“That’s refreshing and good.”
“I prefer it fried, though.”
Recently, conversations like those of nobles had started to be heard, but for the residents of the neighboring village, this must be an unbelievable world.
They stared in disbelief, watching the grand barbecue event.
“C-can I eat?”
A child, unable to wait, came closer. I asked Til to cook the meat.
“Til, could you grill some meat with little fat lightly sprinkled with salt for them?”
“Leave it to me! Come over here!”
Til called the children, who responded with joyful cheers. Smiling at the noisy children running around, I also called out to the hesitant adults.
“Go ahead. Grill and eat as you like. Choose meat from the plates beside you. Season it with either salt or lemon. We also have pepper and ginger, but they’re limited, so only one pinch per grilling, okay?”