Ch.87Newlywed Home (1)

The negotiations with Duke Gideon regarding his daughter concluded successfully, and Lael and I returned to the Royal Capital.

Come to think of it, Duke Gideon probably already knew about me.

That makes sense, considering when Lael was making me miserable… or is that not quite right?

Yes, when Lael was making solo efforts to apologize to me, I was promoted from contract professor to full professor by some mysterious influence.

The dean told me there was pressure from the royal family, but…

“The Duchy of Gideon is more impressive than you might think.”

I suspect Lael must have asked Duke Gideon for a favor.

I don’t know how Duke Gideon managed to exert influence on the royal family, but still.

Anyway, now that Lael’s most urgent problem has been neatly resolved, what remains are Derin and Elin.

Since I haven’t heard anything about Derin’s parents, I’ll put that off for later and meet Elin’s parents first.

They took care of me and the students studying Black Magic in the Great Forest, so I should prepare some gifts for them.

With that plan in mind, I opened the back door of the workshop.

“I’m back.”

The air feels quite cool.

As if… no one is here.

As I stood frozen at the back door, Lael, who was behind me, grabbed my waist.

“What’s wrong? Is nobody here?”

“Yeah, it seems like no one’s around…”

“Well, they probably went to the market or something. Let’s go in and wait.”

“I guess so?”

I said that and stepped into the workshop.

Then I found a piece of paper on the table.

It was a note with a brief message saying “Come here if I’m not home” and a simple map drawn below it.

But where is this place…?

I tried to recall my memories of deliveries with Riano, but nothing specific came to mind.

Just then, Lael peeked at the paper and spoke up.

“Huh? This is where that mansion is.”

“Mansion?”

“Yeah, I learned about it while going around with my classmates. It used to belong to a fallen noble family…”

Mansion…

“Come to think of it, Lael, you mentioned before about buying a mansion for a thousand gold coins.”

“Since I’m at the Academy and don’t have much time, I left everything to Elin and Derin… So that must be it! Let’s hurry and check it out!”

Lael smiled brightly and grabbed my hand.

“Yes, let’s go quickly.”

I want to see our newlywed home too.

* * * * *

After leaving the workshop, Lael and I walked along the main road for 30 minutes.

“Turn left here!”

Lael said excitedly, looking at the map like a child searching for treasure.

Following her directions, we turned left and began to see a massive mansion in the distance.

“Is that it?”

“Yes, that’s it. Look, the door is slightly open.”

The door is open?

Looking carefully, I could see that the door in the middle of the wall surrounding the mansion was indeed slightly ajar, just as Lael had said.

Although the door’s original appearance was completely hidden beneath green vines climbing all over it.

The inside is probably in a similar state.

Riano must have left the workshop to help clean up.

Well, can’t be helped.

Cleaning up together might create some nice memories too.

As we walked together and entered through the vine-covered door…

What is this…?

The scene inside the door was completely different from what I had expected.

Given the state of the door, I naturally thought the inside would be a mess too…

Surprisingly, the inside was neatly organized.

What appeared to be a garden had been cleared of weeds, ready for planting anything. The walls showed traces where vines had grown, but the vines themselves were nowhere to be found no matter how hard I looked.

Additionally, a large pond was filled with clear water, as if it had been recently cleaned.

With the inside so tidy, even the vine-covered door seemed different…

The door actually looked atmospheric and nice.

Lael, who was looking around beside me, said:

“Wow… what’s this… I’m surprised. Did they do all this while we were away?”

“Yeah…”

The mansion was unexpectedly enormous, and they had done all this work.

Plus, they must be cleaning the interior of the mansion right now…

It was hard to even imagine how much effort they had put in.

Thinking I should hurry and help with the interior cleaning, I quickened my pace and soon arrived at a large wooden door.

And as I was about to grab the doorknob…

The door suddenly flung open.

Pointed ears…?

The person who opened the door before me had pointed ears. She looked similar to Elin but wasn’t Elin.

For one thing, her chest size was quite different from Elin’s.

The elf looked at me with surprise and said:

“Y-You are…”

Hearing her voice, I was certain.

It was Elin’s mother.

But why is Elin’s mother here…?

Elin might be unusual, but elves rarely leave the Great Forest…

Even if they do leave, they typically don’t set foot in human-populated cities unless they’re on special missions.

Did something happen to Elin?!

I had that thought, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Mother, what’s going on?”

Behind her, Elin was standing on the staircase leading to the second floor.

From her position, she probably couldn’t see my face.

Actually, I couldn’t see her face either.

I just recognized her voice and chest.

As Elin began descending the stairs, her chest bounced noticeably up and down.

Watching this, Lael clicked her tongue beside me.

She probably didn’t appreciate those impressive breasts.

Well, I personally like them all, whether small or large.

Tap, tap-tap-tap.

Elin’s pace down the stairs quickened, and she even jumped over the last ten steps.

As expected of an elf who leaps between trees, her movements were incredibly light.

Though there seemed to be one heavy part of her.

“Elin! How unladylike!”

Despite her mother’s scolding, Elin paid no attention and started running. Then she jumped into my arms with her arms spread wide.

“Crow!”

“Hi, Elin. It’s been a while.”

Elin, who had thrown herself into my arms, took a deep breath and started sniffing me.

As I stroked her head, I shifted my gaze to her mother.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Yes, and I received your gift. It was a beautiful bow. But is Elin always like this when she’s with you?”

Like this…?

Perhaps she means burying her face in my chest and taking deep breaths.

“She’s a bit more intense than usual today. Probably because I’ve been away for so long.”

“I-I see. Though she’s my daughter, she’s quite embarrassing. If we could postpone the wedding a bit, I could properly educate her…”

Before she could finish speaking, Elin hurriedly pulled away from me. Then, holding the hem of her skirt, she curtsied gracefully.

“Crow, Lael. Welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.”

As expected of someone from a distinguished elven family, her movements were quite natural.

But Elin is more charming when she honestly expresses her emotions like earlier.

She’s cute, like an obedient puppy.

If she had a tail, it would surely be wagging vigorously from side to side.

Imagining Elin in an elegant posture with a wagging tail, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“W-What’s so funny?! Crow, why are you laughing?!”

“It’s nothing. Anyway… Elin, I’m back.”

I said that while nudging Lael’s side with my elbow.

You should greet her too.

Lael looked at me with surprise, then reluctantly displayed her ducal dignity.

The action itself was similar to Elin’s, but Lael’s had a bit more grace.

“I’m back.”

“Yes, welcome back. But it seems like we have a lot to talk about, so both of you come inside. The cleaning is mostly done, so let’s have some tea.”

I see, so the cleaning is mostly finished.

I had hoped to help a little, but it seems I’m too late.

No, wait, I almost overlooked something important—Elin’s mother is here.

She probably wants to talk to me about something…

As I subtly glanced at her, Elin’s mother nodded.

“Elin, I need to have a word with your future husband. As regrettable as it is, please chat with the lady over there.”

At her mother’s words, Elin looked at me, and I slowly nodded.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll hear about it from Crow later.”

“I’m glad you understand quickly.”

With that, Elin’s mother said, “This way, please…” and began walking, and I followed her.

We climbed the stairs and opened a door at the end of the corridor.

Inside was a pleasant space where sunlight streaming through the window created a warm atmosphere on the table.

There, Elin’s mother and I sat facing each other.