“The wealthy Kydland regularly helped exterminate the monsters in Grunwald, which was short of manpower, as well as ordinary soldiers.
Then, one year later, Kydland was surprised to find that the monsters attacked the lord's palace.”
“And at this time the lord was attacked by a monster?”
"probably."
Kidland cannot be held responsible for the accident, because he was helping wealthy people exterminate monsters for free.
Since then, Grunwald has been collapsing even faster.
'This is not the truth I know.'
I stared at the palace beyond the grounds.
"So, Dale, how do we buy the land?
Do I just pay the lord?"
“No, the owner of this land is not Lord Grunwald.”
“Then who is he?”
Dale pointed behind him, beyond the palace.
“Lord Kydland.”
* * *
‘How can the land of Grunwald belong to Lord Kydland when he is not even a Grunwald?’
But this was not strange, given the power structure in the empire that was corrupted by the previous emperor.
The hierarchy of the imperial family and the aristocracy was upside down until the current emperor, a hero, took the throne.
In order to attract people, the former emperor allowed the nobles who agreed to buy land in other regions with money.
I returned to the wasteland the next day and looked at the palace.
abandoned.
It looks incredibly deserted.
'Not that I want to disparage the palace, but the walls are dilapidated and if I said that, anyone would be convinced to say, 'Yes, it is!'
But there are people living there.
Lord Grunwald and his grandson.
And the crook who sold me Dale's house...
In addition, a butler, an accountant, a civil affairs manager, and an assistant.
The situation in Grunwald was understandable, as there were not enough men to run the palace.
'I wonder how they pay Dale?'
I glanced around the wasteland.
“There is the palace.”
“Next to it is an orchard.
And the line between Grunwald and Kielland.”
Finally, the quality of the land's soil.
When I held the dirt in my hand, it scattered.
I smelled the scent of the earth's soil
‘This soil doesn’t smell like Grunwald’s soil.’
There's something else mixed up.
My sensitive sense of smell told me.
I ran my fingers through the dirt in the ground.
“Aha!”
Then I dug with all my might.
It didn't happen.
When I dig the ground hard with a shovel I will surely know.
“Hmph!”
“That is it.”
When I found what I was looking for, I threw down the shovel and jumped for joy.
The soil smelled very different.
Fresh soil rich in microorganisms from the land beneath the Gonia Mountains.
“It smells different.”
This was the land owned by Duke Hexagon in the original novel.
He also grows herbs.
“I also grow herbs and use them.”
But Duke Hexagon would never do it himself.
He just commissions people to cultivate them.
“And here too.”
The good guys are exploited, and the bad guys are cunning and know how to get rich.
It was no different in this world.
“Kidland.”
I thought of the name of the viscount.
* * *
Dale was the first to arrive home.
“Who taught you to cook, Dale, aren't you very good?”
I was impressed by Dale's cooking skills.
Every evening when he came home from work, he would prepare me a delicious meal.
Tonight dinner was meat.
The meat was oozing juicy with every bite.
He was as good as the duke's chef.
I could have made a living as a chef instead of as a mercenary.
Pasta dishes, meat dishes, seafood dishes and vegetable dishes!
“That's very good, you're amazing!
Who did you really learn from?
Tell me.”
“I didn’t learn to cook from anyone, it’s just a skill I picked up on myself when I was younger.”
"Really?
You're really good at that."
"Thanks."
He looked at me with a gentle smile.
He looked embarrassed.
Dale was very giving, always giving without asking for anything in return.
I felt like I knew him vaguely.
'He learned to cook because there was no one to feed him when he was younger.'
It was not the habit of him to cook for himself when he was a child.
"Do you want me to do that?
I feel like Dale is feeding me."
“I love to cook.”
He smiled and cut into the carrot cake he had made for dessert.
How does he know what I like?
Maybe it's just a coincidence, but Dale's menu always had my favorite foods on it.
He cut off a piece and placed it in front of me, and I couldn't take my eyes off the cake.
“I am a husband who gets money from his wife every day, so I will be loyal to Enya every day.”
“Then can I have another piece?”
"certainly."
I took a bite of the carrot cake and admired it.
“This marriage, I think I made a good choice.”
At that moment Dale stopped.
His eyes fluttered open and the silence prolonged.
Dale looked at me with a red face.
“You were dismissive, but now you're not, are you?”
“What?
Me? ……When?”
“Oh…….”
For a moment, Dale's face went pale.
He covered his mouth, stood up, and headed toward the table.
"I'm sorry."
“Okay, it's okay, you're confused, sit down.”
His attitude was strange, as if he had committed a major crime.
“No, I just…….”
Dill was confused, grabbed a towel and wrinkled it.
“I was afraid I might not be Enya’s ideal type.”
He lowered his head and arranged the tools with a red face.
“We're contractually married, so my taste doesn't matter.”
Dale's face darkened sharply.
He put the towel away and looked at me in disbelief.
“Oh, I didn't mean to say that Dale wasn't my type, I just meant that I had no choice but to marry anyone I wanted just to avoid the Emperor.”
Oh!
“…….”
I just heard something breaking, what is it?
I looked around, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
“I proposed to Dale because I really liked him.”
“……!”
“”
“…….”
“Shouldn't you hate me?
Because I didn't tell you that the Emperor was after me.”
I looked at Dale, who was washing the dishes.
"This is good."
He thought about something for a moment and then spoke.
“I also have a secret that I haven't told you, Enya.”
“But is it okay for you to tell me that there is such a thing?” “It's a secret, isn't it?”
Dale looked a little hesitant.
But I was prepared not to be surprised.
'Because the dressing room on the second floor is kind of weird.'
There were three rooms on the second floor.
One bedroom, a large dressing room, and the other is a study.
When I saw the locker room, I was really surprised.
“Dale!
“The room is full of clothes!”
The dressing room on the second floor was filled with dresses for every season and every occasion.
There were riding clothes, ranch clothes, everything.
There were shoes and accessories.
“I used to live with my sister, but she left home, and she doesn’t need those things anymore, so you can use them as you please.”
This was great, but it left me confused.
There was no sign at all that anyone had worn clothes.
It seems as if everything was bought not long ago.
And all sizes fit me perfectly.
‘Is his sister’s size the same as mine?’
But for the room that was used, it was very clean.
When Dale introduced it as his sister's room, his expression was a little…
'It was nostalgic, wasn't it?'
‘Could it be his ex-girlfriend’s room?’