Chapter 103: Flancia (2)

“How is she doing?”

“She seems to still need some time to adjust at the vineyard. But she’s eating well and is so spirited, I think she’ll adapt quickly.”

Isabel said that, rubbing her head. This was because she could no longer live solely as a noble lady who read books and drank tea. The local dignitaries had handed over full ownership of the vineyard to Isabel under the condition that they would eternally savor pleasure in the basement.

“Evan. My head hurts so much. Hold me quickly.”

From taxes to management, Isabel shuddered amidst the thick books and opened her arms to me. I sat beside her and obediently surrendered my body like a cat raised by gangsters. Isabel rested, closing her eyes while stroking my hair or holding me tightly.

Isabel kissed my forehead and asked.

“Evan. You had a lot of sex on your business trips, didn’t you?”

“It was amazing. I screwed Sylvia, seduced another woman to make her my thrall, and had sex all night in the woods with Lumia and Sylvia.”

“I-in the woods?”

Isabel looked at me, startled by the mention of sex in the woods. I turned my head and looked out the window. Because the image that came to Isabel’s mind when she heard ‘woods’ was the forest sprawling right behind our house. She seemed to think I had engaged in public display right in front of the village.

“I hid away where others couldn’t see.”

“Oh, r-really? Then… Evan, if you ever want to do that with me…”

Isabel couldn’t finish the sentence with ‘I’ll try my best’. Her face flushed crimson as she just shook her head, tapping my arm playfully. I chuckled at her playful antics and skimmed the book Isabel was studying.

“Is this what you’re studying these days?”

“Yeah. But it’s so difficult. I don’t even know how to handle this… I think I might need to hire another manager.”

“Can’t Sophia do this sort of thing?”

“She said she doesn’t know how to do number calculations like this. Besides, even though Sophia is a thrall, aren’t you overworking her? Even if she’s capable, you can’t just make her work that much.”

It was true, so I subtly avoided her gaze. Just as she said, Sophia was so good at whatever she was told to do, that whenever trouble arose, I’d call Sophia first. Yesterday, Elena tried a new dish but got confused by the recipe and called Sophia, which made Sophia snap.

“Hey, I’m from a factory. I don’t know cooking that well. I’m not a refined lady.”

“Oh, r-really? Sorry… I just figured you were good at everything. I thought you’d know this too. S-sorry. Want some snacks?”

“Yeah. I want some.”

Of course, that annoyance was easily resolved when Elena gave her snacks. I chuckled, recalling that incident, turned the pages, and said to Isabel.

“Indeed, it would be good to have a competent manager to run the vineyard. I’ve never done that before, and Isabel, you don’t know much about that side of things either.”

“Maybe Elena would be good at it? Our Elena is great at cleaning and cooking. She might be good at management too.”

“If Elena gets mad, who’s going to cook for us then?”

“You’re right. I guess it’s better if I just study hard.”

Isabel nodded and picked up her pen again. I looked out the window and rested my head on her shoulder. To the sound of the second hand ticking, the pen scratched rustlingly across the paper. The sound of plates moving echoed in the quiet room, and from downstairs, I could hear Sophia yawning as she stretched. The noises seemed to merge and whisper for me to fall asleep.

I lowered my head and closed my heavy eyelids. Just as I was about to fall into a deep sleep

“Evan.”

Isabel called my name. Habitually, I pretended not to be asleep, widening my eyes as much as possible, and answered.

“Ah, yes. Ah, I’m not asleep. Tired… Ah, fuck.”

Isabel looked at me with wide eyes, and I shook my head, leaning back against the chair. It was because a bad memory had resurfaced. The urge to sleep that had dominated my mind moments ago vanished as if washed away.

Isabel poked her lips with her pen and said.

“Evan. I wonder how our Alice is doing?”

“….You don’t want to study, do you?”

My question seemed to hit the mark. Isabel shrugged with a complex expression, then reluctantly nodded and grinned.

“Really… Why don’t you understand a mother’s heart worrying about her daughter?”

But her words were still playful. I pinched her cheek and said.

“Study. Study. That’s how you’ll become a great person when you grow up.”

“Ouch, o-ouch! Evan! Ah, okay! I’ll study!”

As I grabbed and pulled her cheek, she flailed her hands and grabbed my wrist. When I let go of her cheek, her body, which had been pulled up, slumped back into the chair, and she looked back at the book, rubbing her cheek. She pouted slightly as if displeased, then relaxed her expression. Even I thought Isabel had too much to learn right now.

It would take more time for her to truly thrive as a businesswoman. You don’t just throw beginners straight into the field, do you?

I sighed deeply and said.

“Ah, I wish a promising manager would just fall into our laps. Or, can’t we call those local dignitaries now and ask for their advice?”

“Those people can only talk like pigs now. They’ve lost their minds to pleasure. Sophia says it’s better for our mental health not to go near them.”

“Who goes in when it’s time to feed them?”

“Sophia just pushes the food through the hatch below and runs away.”

“Fuck, the source of my power is those scumbags.”

I tried hard to erase the image that kept popping into my head. Under the influence of the magic circle Sophia set up and the brainwashing we applied, they had become human factories, autonomously spewing lust and desire to supply us with power, even managing to feed themselves. I didn’t know what they looked like now, as I’d never seen it, and it seemed I never would.

“Madam! Madam! A letter has arrived from the Flancia main family!”

It was just as Isabel was about to focus on her book again. Elena, who was on the first floor, came up the stairs carrying the letter. Upon hearing about the letter, Isabel put down her pen with a very serious expression. It seemed she really didn’t want to study, so I chuckled inwardly. Sophia, who was downstairs, also followed up with a curious face.

“Let’s see…”

Isabel carefully tore open the envelope and began reading the letter. Sitting beside her, I could confirm the contents of the letter without her reading it aloud.

[To Flancia Isabel. We express our deepest regrets regarding the union forged with the wicked demon Carlson due to our immaturity. Furthermore, we congratulate you on your remarriage and wish you a bright future ahead as a couple.

Flancia Isabel. Prior to your marriage, we request that you visit the Flancia mansion in the capital with your husband. We hope to share a warm time catching up after a long while, as family.]

“What is this? An invitation?”

“Yes. It’s an invitation. It feels strange that they’d invite us so suddenly.”

Isabel said that, shaking her head. Elena nodded and added.

“That’s right, Madam. They’ve never shown concern or offered proper support before. They acted like it was none of their business when Carlson was beating you, so what wind blew them into inviting us now?”

Isabel frowned and said.

“It seems they found out we took over the vineyard. So, I suspect they’re calling us because they want to make some kind of deal with me. People of the Flancia family never lift a finger unless there’s something in it for them.”

“A deal, you say?”

“Perhaps a deal like ‘We’ll give you a manager, so give us a cut of the profits’? It’s too late to meddle in my marriage now. It’s probably related to the vineyard. What should we do?”

Isabel couldn’t easily agree to go. However, I thought we needed to go to the capital together. If Isabel’s guess was right, we could find a manager to oversee the vineyard while she prepared. And if they tried to make unreasonable demands or steal something from us, I could just use my strength to break us out and escape. Besides, a daughter of a noble family couldn’t easily refuse an invitation from the main family.

“If we refuse, can we get away with it?”

“Since they invited us, we should show our faces. After all, unlike me, Alice receives support from the Flancia family. We can’t risk harming Alice… We don’t know what the family will demand yet. We have to go, but I really don’t want to. Asking us to come as a couple, are they trying to insult you, Evan?”

“I’m used to insults. I don’t mind, so let’s go. We can consult Lumia to research ways to hide our magic, and prepare to escape if they try anything funny.”

Isabel nodded with an anxious expression.

And then.

“It’s okay. Your husband is the strongest demon. What are you so afraid of?”

It was a husband’s role to reassure his wife when she was afraid, pretending nothing was wrong.

“By the way, is that woman really useful?”

The Flancia family head twirled his mustache and asked the woman. The woman asked him back with a lewd smile.

“In what way? Her skills at night? Or her appearance?”

“No matter what, Flancia Isabel is the daughter of a noble house. If someone could take her so easily, doesn’t that man have some kind of… incredible technique? What if she falls for him completely? You know what they say, a woman’s heart is like a reed.”

The woman shook her head at the family head’s words and burst into laughter.

“You worry too much. That won’t happen. She was raised as a tool since childhood. They injected her with drugs from a young age to train her not to feel pleasure. Amateurs wouldn’t stand a chance. Just wait. You’ll see her completely drain a man, then put on a flawless act.”

The woman smiled confidently.