Ch.162Victory Commemoration #3

As expected for a competition aimed at commoners with little experience with swords, most participants lacked skill. However, that didn’t mean there weren’t some with talent. Those who could be called geniuses, or at least those with good instincts, stood out.

Such individuals managed to hold their own well, deflecting wildly swung wooden swords even when they lacked the physical build or strength. It was somewhat admirable, in its own small way. With proper training, they could become valuable assets in defending the domain.

“Duke, about that man who just lost…”

“Yes. If you want to recruit him, go ahead. However, I ask that you don’t dismiss anyone hastily, even if they seem unpromising. Even if they don’t become knights, they need to find other paths as territorial soldiers or elsewhere to support their families.”

“Yes, I understand.”

When Holland, who had been sitting quietly beside me, spoke as if sharing my thoughts, Helena readily granted permission without much concern. I was impressed by how she considered the potential issues that might arise from recruiting that man—truly befitting of a lord.

Although our domain suffered the least human casualties, we couldn’t say there were no deaths at all. Both soldiers and knights had died by blind swords, and those gaps needed to be filled. That’s probably why Holland was particularly interested in recruitment.

However, my personal opinion was that even without war losses, we would likely be doing something similar anyway.

“The next match will proceed after lunch. I hope everyone present takes a moment to rest and enjoy the atmosphere.”

As soon as I heard the announcer’s call, I picked up the cloth bundle I had placed beside me and took out a square container I had carefully wrapped. Despite being called a festival, there were no food stalls, so everyone had to bring their own food.

Perhaps because of this, people nearby gathered in small groups and took out their packed meals. Most had brought easily portable items like boiled potatoes, water, and bread.

“Here, Holland, have some. I brought wine too.”

“My goodness! You even prepared a portion for me. Thank you very much.”

I handed Holland a sandwich made with something resembling a baguette, along with a bottle of wine. I had brought wine I’d kept in the mansion to fulfill my promise to share good alcohol with him. Since neither Helena nor I typically enjoyed alcohol, we drank water instead of wine.

“There seem to be quite a few promising people… what do you think, Helena?”

Leaving Holland to enjoy his bread and wine alone, I asked Helena, who slowly opened her mouth after chewing her food. She often did this, following the teaching not to speak while eating.

“Yes. Since most participants do physical labor, they have decent basic fitness and body control. Their stiff movements and tendency to close their eyes in dangerous moments can’t be helped since they haven’t been trained.”

“Would it be too greedy to recruit everyone who impresses us?”

“I think they should at least be good enough to be selected as our representatives… to minimize gossip. Though it’s fine if other knights show interest in them.”

That made sense.

I nodded and took a large bite of my rather thick sandwich.

.

From preparation to conclusion: two months.

Once we started the event, it didn’t feel like enough time, but it wasn’t rushed either. It ended with just enough time to spare.

During that time, the three of us women—myself, Helena, and another—watched from the audience seats, trying not to draw attention, sometimes betting on who would win. Among those bets was one on who would ultimately be the final victor.

We placed the final winner bet on the night after the first round ended, and in the other small bets that occurred, we won and lost in turns.

The winner of a bet gets to have one request granted by the loser.

At first glance, this condition seemed too broad to be appropriate for betting, but it didn’t seem problematic. At least that’s what I believed, and it proved true.

The only issue was that the betting conditions essentially became about having time alone together without interruption.

Because of this, when one woman won, the other two would become fired up and participate in the next bet, creating both a virtuous and vicious cycle.

Until Liam, whom Eve had picked despite being considered the one with the least discerning eye among us, won.

“Liam… won?”

Helena stared in dismay at the man who was raising both arms in triumph on the dueling ground. Perhaps she was thinking she had even less discernment than Eve, who had made her pick timidly, or she was terrified imagining what request the winner might make.

Moreover, Ellen seemed to share Helena’s thoughts, sighing deeply with her head hung low as if trying to bore a hole in the ground.

“Wh-what should we do…?”

“Well. There might have been some overexcitement, but a win is a win. So feel free to speak comfortably. I’ll grant any request as long as it’s not too outrageous. Or at least, I’ll try to…”

I had taken her hand and come outside for some fresh air since she seemed too cooped up, and goodness!

While I thought she had hit the jackpot, her bewilderment was somewhat amusing. Not mockingly, but because she looked cute.

“Hmm… a wish. Actually, you’ve already supported my research so much and given me so much affection that I don’t have much more to ask for… but I should make a wish, right?”

Eve, being the most composed and least greedy of the three, seemed to have difficulty coming up with a wish. Moreover, she genuinely appeared content with her life, making it even harder for her to think of something she wanted.

Still, she seemed to reach a conclusion amid the strangely heavy atmosphere and slowly parted her lips.

“If you insist… I’d like you to help with my experiment. I’ve heard this wish is quite demanding… would three days be acceptable?”

“…Ugh!”

The mention of three days seemed extremely burdensome to Helena, who clutched her chest and wailed. From her reaction alone, she looked like someone suffering from a sudden heart attack. Her expression and throat-scratching voice were so vivid.

Eve, recognizing this, hastily added with a panicked expression while trying to maintain a relaxed tone, as if this had been her intention all along:

“Um, it would be fine if you could help just during the daytime. At night… we could continue as usual…”

Whew.

Upon hearing those words, Helena’s pained expression relaxed, and she exhaled a long breath in apparent relief. Ellen, who was with us, was also wiping cold sweat from her forehead as if she had overcome a crisis.

I knew these two’s obsession better than anyone, but seeing such dramatic reactions was quite novel. And amusing.

“Alright. Let’s do that. But in this case, Helena will have to work alone… is that okay?”

“…It’s fine. Honestly, I feel like I’ve been brought back from the brink of death, so that much work is nothing. If needed, I could even borrow Ellen’s help.”

“With all due respect… would that be okay? I don’t have the knowledge or ability to make decisions about domain administration.”

“They say shared pain is doubled pain. Take this opportunity to understand how the domain operates on paper and learn the framework bit by bit.”

At the mention of doubled pain, Ellen furrowed her brow before eventually nodding with a dejected expression. She seemed to have realized anew that she had no choice but to follow Helena’s lead.

By the way, I wondered how exactly I would be helping with this experiment.

I suppressed the question rising in my mind and stood up. Together with Helena, I moved toward the dueling stage to bless and comfort Liam, who was pouring out tears of joy and long sentiments.

“Gasp! The Duke and Grand Duke are coming down personally…”

While we had planned this all along and had already reached an agreement, Liam was completely unaware and gasped in surprise. His expression suggested he might faint at any moment, which involuntarily drew a bitter smile from me.

“Congratulations. It seems a gem was hidden among ordinary people. Of course, the same goes for everyone else who fought well.”

I took Liam’s rough hand, soiled with dirt and blood, and praised him in the gentlest voice possible. Liam’s face contorted as he began to shed tears, which was honestly quite uncomfortable for me.

“Th-thank you…”

“Haha. You’re more emotional than I expected. Anyway, as the winner, you’ll be on the final stage that will be held in a week. There will be expectations, and also pressure. In a way, you’ll be representing our domain.”

“Y-you’re right.”

It was strange to see such a tall, sturdy man crying like a child and standing at attention nervously. In modern terms, he looked like a tough gangster who suddenly became meek and lowered his head. That’s why it felt odd.

While harboring thoughts I couldn’t share with anyone, I moved my hand from his to his shoulder, patting it to comfort him.

“However, you don’t need to feel too much pressure. In fact, I’d prefer you didn’t.”

“What… do you mean by that?”

“While we’re selecting knights, this is ultimately a festival for the people of the domain, and more broadly, the kingdom’s citizens to watch and enjoy. Of course, I want you to do your best, but don’t overexert yourself or suffer under excessive pressure because of it.”

The time to question a noble using honorifics with a commoner had long passed, and all domain residents accepted it naturally, so no one seemed to find it strange. Liam, too, knowing this, didn’t tilt his head in confusion at my speech pattern. He seemed to be crying tears of emotion, but that much was understandable.

“I’m grateful… for your consideration.”

“Good. I have expectations, but don’t be bound by them. No one knows how far you can go.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

Clap, clap. As Liam raised his head firmly and shouted resolutely, the audience erupted in applause as if they had been waiting for this moment. The applause was so loud it made my ears ring, causing Liam to burst into tears once more. I thought perhaps he had never experienced such a situation in his life, making his emotion particularly profound.

Afterward, we sent the domain residents home, dismantled the dueling ground, and decided to store the remaining materials in various barracks for future use. The materials themselves could be used in various ways, so we couldn’t just discard them. In the worst case, they could even be used as firewood.

“Um… Grand Duke.”

The morning after the representative selection was completed.

I sat in a chair in Eve’s room rather than my usual office, facing her. Since I had given her one of the guest rooms, the furniture and bed weren’t much different, but the various instruments on the large desk were quite exotic.

“Yes? What is it?”

“I was wondering… aren’t you tired from embracing the Duchess, Ellen, and me?”

I nodded at Eve’s question, which was tinged with shyness. Being human, it was natural to feel tired. Even with my physical condition supporting me, staying up almost all night inevitably accumulated fatigue in both body and mind.

“I am tired. But it’s just a slight heaviness in my head, nothing problematic. Even when I visited the monastery, they said there were no significant health issues, so it must be true.”

“That’s a relief, but… you must find it burdensome at times, right?”

“Burdensome? Well…”

However.

This might be hard to believe, but I didn’t find it burdensome at all.

Of course, some might think the voluptuous bodies of Ellen and Helena could be burdensome, but I was certain that wasn’t what she meant. After all, we were discussing bedroom matters.

“You might not believe this, but… I don’t find it burdensome. I think I could die happily in bed.”

“Really…?”

“Yes. It’s similar to how Helena or Ellen show gloomy expressions and say they feel lonely when their stomachs are empty. Of course, I’m not saying I’m to that extent, but I do enjoy the activity nearly as much.”

Like how someone who has tasted meat recalls the flavor more vividly, or how it’s more infuriating when something is given and then taken away. It might be different strictly speaking, but that was my thought.

Anyway, having died in my previous life after only handling women’s bodies as a quack doctor, it was natural for me to be entranced by my first taste of physical intimacy. Even if it had been going on for years and would clearly continue.

“If that’s the case… I’m relieved.”

Satisfied with my answer, Eve stroked her chest and smiled broadly. Perhaps sincerity does get through.

“Still… if you continue like this, it will be more taxing than if you didn’t. Of course, you’re more… virile than anyone else, but…”

Eve, still embarrassed to use sexual terms, stumbled over her words while placing her hands on her cheeks, which were flushed bright red as if about to burst. Compared to when she couldn’t speak about such matters at all, this was a remarkable improvement, and I felt proud of her progress.

By the way, “virile,” huh?

I felt an indescribable pride at that word and straightened my back. Is it childish to feel good about being told you’re strong?

“I… think it wouldn’t hurt to have more strength, just in case.”

“Strength? In that sense? Of course, Eve, you’re right. So? What do you want to do?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m asking… I’d like to inscribe a formula on your body. I’ll try to minimize any wounds, but still…”

So that’s what all the beating around the bush was about.

Thinking about it, it’s understandable that she would hesitate to say she wanted to inflict wounds on my body. Even if we were intimate and close.

“It’s okay. You’re not someone I can’t trust, and you said you’d be considerate… how could I not trust you? I’m not as hardened as those who’ve been through war, but I’m used to pain too. So do as you wish. What should I do?”

“Ah, in that case… please wait a moment.”

As soon as she received permission, Eve rose from her seat and hurriedly went to the wardrobe drawer, from which she took out a clean cloth. She then spread the cloth on the bed and guided me to lie face down on it.

“Um, this requires concentration… excuse me for a moment.”

However, I hadn’t expected Eve to straddle my waist as I lay face down.