Episode 4

    Laila, nestled in Edward’s arms, lifted her head to look at the face of her sleeping husband.

    She never knew she would be jealous even of her frail sister. As much as she hated her sister to the point of death in that moment, her anger subsided after sticking by Edward’s side for a few days.

    With a cool head, Laila thought to herself.

    “…Should I visit the family home?”

    She knew her husband was trying to get close to her family with good intentions. She also knew he wanted to accompany her on inspections.

    The problem was herself. Laila couldn’t bear the thought of someone other than herself seeing or talking to Edward.

    “Even mandatory inspections are annoying enough.”

    Leaving her husband alone while she was in the prime of her youth was unbearable, needless to say.

    Thinking this way and that, Laila briefly considered running away to a far-off place with Edward, but soon gave up. No matter what in this world, Edward wasn’t as precious as family, and above all, even if they ran away, the likelihood of her mother tracking them down, even to the underworld, was high.

    “Sigh.”

    In the end, Laila had to choose a compromise.

    “You can participate in training occasionally. But never do what you did last time. Especially remember, unless we are alone, you should not remove your helmet in front of others. Understand?”

    It was Laila’s words, feeling uncomfortable about spending time with Chris while he worked.

    From my perspective, I tried to get close to her family, not just out of boredom, but it seemed like I might have overdone it based on her reaction.

    Well, I’m working hard, and it must be frustrating for her to be lounging around with her family in the mansion.

    For that reason, today, I ended up joining the training of the knights and soldiers that I had subtly wanted to participate in since last time, as per Laila’s request.

    Fully clad from head to toe in full plate armor as per Laila’s demand, I entered the training ground.

    Then, I heard conversations from the soldiers and knights training all around.

    “This is crazy. I think I have a thing for male knights.”

    “There’s a young master inside that armor, right?”

    “I wish I could see his face, but this is something in its own way…”

    “I want to try wearing leather armor like last time.”

    “What should I do? I’m soaked.”

    “With that amount, shouldn’t it be cheap?”

    These were mostly whispered comments aimed at me.

    I had heard similar things occasionally back in my hometown, so I didn’t particularly feel repulsed. I understood that these vibrant women, fighting monsters every day risking their lives, couldn’t help it.

    As long as they didn’t come up openly to mock or harass, Laila seemed not to formally punish them.

    “You, you, and you. Come over here. I’ll personally train you.”

    Of course, while she wouldn’t publicly punish them, privately, Laila seemed to half-kill those who crossed the line. However, that was necessary to maintain military discipline.

    While Laila was scolding the women who were eyeing me, a knight approached me, bowing politely.

    “It’s my first time properly greeting you, Lord Edward. My name is Sara.”

    It was a name I had heard from Laila before. She had said she was a childhood friend they grew up together.

    “Is Sara going to watch my training today?”

    “Yes. That’s correct, but please speak freely. Not only for Lord Edward but also for Lady Laila and the entire Bell family, you must be aware of your position.”

    It was a humbling statement. Surely, it wasn’t good to be overly humble just because I was the noble’s husband. It wasn’t something to overlook just because it was unfamiliar.

    “Um, got it. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

    “Yes. Then, I will begin.”

    The confrontation began as Sara met the gaze of the opponent.

    “Tommy. Where is Edward?”

    “He went to train with Lady Leila.”

    Christiana, who asked her butler because she couldn’t see Edward in the usual meeting place, sighed and thought to herself.

    “It seems like he made Leila angry.”

    It was not unreasonable.

    Despite being in the prime of their newlywed life, it was natural for jealousy to arise as Leila, busy fulfilling her duties as a noblewoman, spent a lot of time with Edward, leaving Christiana behind.

    “I should reflect on myself too.”

    Even though talking was enjoyable, it wasn’t pleasant for a woman like herself to spend a long time with her younger sister’s husband.

    To others and to herself, it was quite uncomfortable.

    “Should I go back to my room and read a book.”

    Muttering to herself, Christiana got up from her seat, took the book she had brought to lend to Edward, and returned to her room.

    However, she didn’t read the book. She lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, having pushed aside the novel she liked.

    In terms of days, they had only spent a few together. They had returned to normal, and nothing had changed.

    “No, it doesn’t seem right.”

    Someone had said that. You don’t realize their presence when they are there, but you keenly feel their absence when they’re gone.

    To Christiana now, Edward was exactly that kind of presence.

    “Bored. Tired. Miserable. Lonely.”

    There had been a change. Loneliness and ennui had always been part of her life, but when she was with Edward, she didn’t feel lonely or bored. Feeling them again made the experience much more intense.

    “No. It’s awkward. I shouldn’t be thinking like this.”

    To forget the name and face that kept flashing in her mind, Christiana buried her face in the pillow.

    It was futile.

    “Darn it, darn it, darn it, darn it!”

    “L-Loria, p-please stop…!”

    “Shut up!”

    Despite the man begging who she had recently forced, Loria continued to swing her fists.

    Loria, who was naturally violent, had become nothing short of a raging beast since Edward officially became a son-in-law of the Bell family.

    “How dare you! How dare you try to take Edward away from me! I’ll definitely kill that woman!”

    Today, once again, Loria turned another village man into a wreck, boldly standing up.

    Nothing seemed to calm her down. Knowing that common village men couldn’t quench her thirst, she seemed even more furious.

    “Aaaaaah!”

    The village trembled in fear at Loria’s scream towards the sky. Since Edward, the only one who could restrain her, had disappeared, the village had turned into a nightmare.

    Afraid of sparks flying, the villagers hurriedly closed their windows, but Loria didn’t care.

    She didn’t care about others’ reactions. All she could think about was bringing Edward back as soon as possible.

    Otherwise, she felt she would truly lose her mind.

    She might have already lost it.

    “Veronica!”

    With a forceful push, Loria entered the place where Veronica was, a shelter located on the outskirts of the village for traveling merchants.

    Among the merchants who recoiled in horror at seeing her face, there was a woman sitting alone, sipping alcohol with an indifferent attitude.

    Covering her face with a deep hooded robe, the woman sat there as Loria approached.

    “That thing I mentioned last time, it’s still here, right?”

    “…You can’t talk about that so openly in a place like this.”

    “It doesn’t matter! Tell me if it’s there or not!”

    Hearing that it didn’t matter, Veronica smirked.

    That eerie smile made even the restless Loria momentarily pause, but that was it. When urged again, Peronica took out a small pouch from her bosom and placed it on the table.

    “It’s good to think carefully. Once you touch this, you can never go back to how things were.”

    “Hmph, you’re being kind.”

    “We clearly make contracts unlike humans. You guys thinking this is kindness is strange.”

    The merchants who had been eavesdropping on their conversation looked at each other. At a moment when Loria thought the conversation was flowing strangely, she grabbed the pouch on the table.

    “Can this really help me defeat that noble lady for sure?”

    “I didn’t say anything like that. Still, we won’t fail as miserably as last time.”

    Loria’s face contorted grotesquely upon hearing Peronica’s words.

    She took out all the money she had and handed it to Peronica.

    Immediately after, Loria swiftly put the black bead she took out of the pouch into her mouth.

    That day, within the Bell Viscount domain, a village was massacred by an unknown entity.

    “Humans truly are despicable beings.”

    As Loria began her slaughter, Peronica, who had left the village, removed her robe.

    Hidden within the thick robe were small horns protruding left and right. Hearing faint screams in the distance, Peronica smirked.

    “I did lead them here, but I didn’t expect them to fall so easily.”

    Of course, she hadn’t expected a mere creature like that to destroy the esteemed Bell Viscount lineage recognized even by past Demon Lords.

    The original purpose was chaos. It roamed freely, needing only to cause enough havoc.

    “Hmm. Setting that aside, is the improvement of Mahwahwan reaching its limit now? The professor will be disappointed.”

    Mahwahwan was the name of the bead Peronica was selling. It was a bead concentrated with demon energy that could turn non-demons into demons when consumed.

    To be precise, it was made to transform. She had fed it to various races, but the compatibility with Mahwahwan was consistently low.

    “Is it just not suitable for sturdy individuals? Perhaps it varies depending on innate constitution.”

    Thinking about various possibilities for a moment, Peronica soon shook her head. Research and contemplation were not her concern.

    Her job was to report what had happened and to fight.

    As she licked her lips while imagining the imminent battle, someone approached her from behind.

    “Peronica, the Demon Lord has ordered your return.”

    “What? Why?”

    As Peronica, whose body was burning with thoughts of wielding her sword, asked in surprise, her subordinate demon continued speaking.

    “He wants you back to devise a plan against the potential alliance of human nations in the Dweir Kingdom.”

    “Just me?”

    “That’s unlikely. The same order would have been given to the other two generals as well.”

    Upon her subordinate’s words, Peronica sighed. For them, the Demon Lord’s command was absolute. Sadly, she felt like giving up on the conquest she desired.

    “Ugh, really. Just when I found an opponent that seems truly interesting this time.”

    “Shall I relay that to the Demon Lord as is?”

    “Kill them?”

    Setting aside her regret, Peronica hurried back with her subordinate.

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