Ch.63Love and War #1

“From now on, Ellen will be staying at our mansion. To be precise, she’ll be taking over as Zion’s escort…”

When I went to the reception room at Helena’s call, I heard something completely unexpected.

The conversation had gone on for quite some time.

And judging by the unusual atmosphere in the reception room, it seemed like some serious matters had been discussed.

As a result, Ellen would be staying at this mansion, but it was so sudden that I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.

“My escort? There’s really no need to go that far…”

“There is. Until now, I didn’t want anyone coming between us, so I kept quiet, but once we’re married, that won’t be possible anymore. Even setting me aside, it would be strange for a duke’s husband to not have even a single escort.”

Duke’s husband. As I heard those words, I felt their weight anew.

It felt suffocating, as if the freedom I had as a viscount’s son—not the viscount himself—and as a fiancé who could potentially be jilted, was disappearing.

I had contemplated this possibility before and accepted it internally, but now that the time was approaching, I felt strangely conflicted.

By the way, why was she speaking so casually even with Ellen present?

“Yes. That’s how it is, so inadequate as I may be, I’ve agreed to serve as Lord Zion’s escort. Since you two are always together, I’ll essentially be serving as the Duchess’s escort as well.”

And why was Ellen also speaking in her usual manner, abandoning the formal tone she typically used?

This change seemed more significant than a simple shift in speech pattern.

There had been reasons behind both of their speech styles, and I thought they had been meticulously maintaining them depending on the setting.

But following the conversation I hadn’t heard earlier, their attitudes had changed dramatically.

While I found the situation extremely suspicious, I had no immediate way to find out what had happened.

Besides, I had no reason to object, so this outcome probably wouldn’t change.

I just wanted to ask what had been discussed to satisfy this frustrating curiosity.

“Go home for tonight, and come back tomorrow morning with your belongings. I’ll have a room prepared for you.”

“…Understood.”

As the afternoon began to fade into evening.

Since Ellen’s family needed to be informed about her change in role, and she needed to gather her belongings, she decided to return to her original home.

Starting tomorrow, she would live in the Krauser mansion and serve as an escort, but it was curious that she had volunteered for such an inconvenient role.

Especially since it was such a tiring job, always having to be on alert.

“What happened?”

As soon as Ellen left the mansion and Helena and I were alone, I immediately asked the question.

The curiosity burning inside me pushed me to do so.

“…Let’s go to my room first. I’ll tell you there.”

Sigh. A breath escaped Helena’s lips, and her expression darkened as she carefully took my hand and led the way.

It was clear that this wasn’t the result of something positive. Helena’s downcast eyes seemed to confirm this.

Click. Helena locked the door as soon as she brought me to her room, then we sat side by side on the sofa.

Even though we could have faced each other, we sat looking in the same direction, a habit we’d developed over time that I didn’t mind.

Since we had finished our tasks for the day, there seemed to be no issue with taking this leisure.

“It must be quite serious, right?”

“…Yes. It’s serious. Very much so.”

How serious could it be? Helena looked far more dejected than when I had caused her to fight a duel due to my mistake.

Her hand, placed over mine, was trembling, and the way she turned her head to look at me was far from ordinary.

She looked like a child afraid of having something precious taken away.

“Can you tell me in detail?”

“Yes. Do you want to hear the background first, or the conclusion?”

“The conclusion first.”

I would eventually hear the full story, but right now, understanding the reason why was more important to me.

I thought that was the only way to quench my thirst for the conclusion.

However, the answer that flowed from Helena’s lips was something I could never have imagined.

“She said she wants to be your concubine. So… I had no choice but to allow it.”

Concubine? A concubine?

I blinked with a stupid expression, wondering what on earth this meant. I blinked several times.

That’s how incomprehensible the content was.

Of course, I had made efforts to improve the living conditions of the Dark Elves, but that should have only made me a benefactor at most… why would she want this?

To understand, I needed to hear the background that Helena mentioned.

“What did she say was the reason?”

“She said she fell for you after seeing how hard you’ve worked for them. So…”

Good heavens.

I was gone for a few days, and when I returned, her body had grown dramatically, all due to inheriting the legacy.

I was dumbfounded by Ellen’s transformation, who had risked her life to inherit the legacy in this peaceful world.

Because I felt the strongest shock my mental state would allow.

I had simply moved without much thought, or rather, because I considered it my duty.

I thought she might feel goodwill toward me because of that, but I expected it to stop at an appropriate level.

Or I had drawn a line, thinking it would end with the kind of loyalty Chess showed to the Krauser ducal family.

But her obsession, to the point of risking her life, was truly surprising.

“They say that an elf’s legacy gives immense power to the one who obtains it. That power is said to be like the wrath of nature itself…”

Since I roughly knew what happened when Ellen went berserk, I thought I understood its dangers well.

It seemed unlikely now, but if I hadn’t stopped Helena, the chain reaction would have engulfed the entire continent in a bloody inferno.

In the midst of that, Ellen lost her entire mercenary group except herself, became obsessed with revenge, and obtained the legacy.

And the storms and floods she began to wield afterward were said to be beyond the reach of ordinary armies.

Except for a few strong individuals who could penetrate that diminishing anger.

“Did you know what an elf’s legacy was?”

“I read about it in a book long ago, so I don’t remember clearly… but I know roughly.”

Helena opened her mouth slightly, as if surprised that I had known about the existence of the legacy for some time.

Given that it was information passed down only among elves, and that those who obtained it throughout long history could be counted on one hand… it was natural that humans wouldn’t know about it.

“If you know, then I don’t need to explain further. That’s why I had to accept Ellen’s demand. If not, everyone in this mansion, including you, and everyone staying here would all…”

Helena’s eyes, having witnessed Ellen’s madness, were filled with anger and bitterness.

It was understandable, given that she had lived a life where she had few equals in one-on-one combat.

Even during duels, she had only worried about how not to kill her opponent, taking her victory for granted.

“I understand. If it were just you alone, maybe, but you had too much to lose, so you had no choice.”

“I’m sorry. For making this decision without asking Zion’s opinion…”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Besides, I didn’t know Ellen thought of me that way.”

While listening to what sounded like a child’s complaint to a parent, I gently patted Helena’s back.

Although I felt uncomfortable and sorry about suddenly having to take a concubine, there was nothing I could do now that it had happened.

Given who we were dealing with, there was no way to reverse the decision.

I could perhaps end her life if I found an opportunity, but that wasn’t something I wanted to do.

She wasn’t my mortal enemy, after all.

Above all, I didn’t approve of taking a life so lightly for something like this.

There were many reasons, from my own meager ethics to Helena’s reputation.

Of course, even without those reasons, I wouldn’t have killed her.

“Are you really okay with this? Even if you don’t have aversion to Dark Elves, actually taking one into your embrace is a different matter…”

“I’m more concerned about whether you’re okay with it, Helena. Are you really fine with me embracing another woman?”

“…Just imagining it makes me sick. The thought that someone else might see Zion’s face, which only I should see, in a place I don’t know about—I hate it so much.”

While I could simply accept it as inevitable, Helena couldn’t.

Just looking at her obsessive behavior toward me, knowing what the result would be, Helena was more of a problem.

“But I don’t think that will happen. I presented several conditions in exchange for accepting her as a concubine, and Ellen accepted them.”

“Conditions? What conditions?”

Even when falling, she doesn’t just fall flat.

I suppressed my rising curiosity and asked calmly.

In response, Helena let out a long sigh and gave me another answer that felt like a blow to the back of my head.

“The condition is that if Ellen wants to be embraced by Zion, she must do so in front of me. Moreover, while I’ll acknowledge her as a concubine, I won’t allow it to be publicly known.”

“…Wow.”

I’m speechless. Not even being an official concubine means essentially… she’s willing to be treated as a plaything.

Ellen’s willingness to endure such humiliation just to be by my side was not only surprising but chilling.

However, from my perspective, having to perform such acts in front of Helena was more problematic.

The idea of doing something like that under someone’s watchful gaze seemed like something I could never get used to.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

I held Helena tightly, trying to comfort her downcast mood.

One wife, two concubines, three mistresses, four maids. In the most extreme sense, the saying goes that the more women, the better, and it seems I’m not exempt from that category of human.

The more I mulled over the idea of Ellen wanting to be in my embrace, a faint sense of anticipation did arise.

It’s just that my sympathy for Helena, whimpering in my arms, was strong enough to overshadow that feeling.

“Hic! I’m sorry. I’m really sorry…”

“Helena, you don’t need to apologize. It’s strange for me to say this, but you made the right choice as the mistress of this house.”

Even if I hadn’t been at the mansion, there would have been an immediate crisis, but I decided to bury this ominous assumption in my heart.

Because I wanted to minimize casualties and ensure that those involved could live lives that weren’t unhappy, and if things had gone badly, it would have been devastating in many ways.

◎◎◎

“Hehe…”

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, she thought.

Even as she packed her belongings, Ellen couldn’t stop grinning.

Despite the various uncomfortable conditions attached, it was what she wanted, and the price was worth paying if it meant she could be in his embrace as a woman.

She didn’t mind that her power was mortgaged or that she had taken on the troublesome role of an escort.

The only thing that mattered was that she would soon be embraced as a woman.

In other words, she thought it was rather cheap as an investment for him.

“My goodness. Are you that happy?”

“Yes. So happy.”

Olivia shook her head as she watched the woman rolling around on the bed after packing.

Not only had she discovered an unexpected side to Ellen, but she also hadn’t imagined that what was hidden inside Ellen would be so passionate.

It might have been an unnecessary burden to pass on, but it was better than her dying of depression. Olivia tried to rationalize her actions.

There might be rough winds blowing through the Krauser mansion for a while, but she believed it would eventually be resolved.

Because the man they all acknowledged and trusted was standing firm as the actual master.

So, would he put a bridle on Ellen and ride on her back?

A blatant, dense, and vulgar imagination flashed through Olivia’s mind.

Specifically, it was the image of conquering the protruding bulges while looking at Ellen’s firm, smooth back on a night of conquest.