by Funa
The chance to marry a young lady who was in line to inherit her own title did not come by just every day.
First off, there were very few family who had no male heirs. Second, among the families that did have only daughters, how many of these young women could be eldest daughters of marrying age who were not yet engaged? If such a girl existed, young people everywhere would probably come crawling out of the woodwork.
“It really is quite the miracle that Lady Mile has yet to find a fiancé… Actually, I bet you her parents decided on the excuse that she had to choose her fiancé herself so that she would not be inundated with proposals and then they made it impossible to meet with her! I see, I see…”
Based on what he had observed, the Marquis had no trouble coming to this conclusion.
“Well, she may have a title, but that’s not the real gem here. If all she had was her inheritance, then there would have been no reason to practically spit in the face of the Austiens like we did. Here we were the ones to extend the proposal, and we acted in such a shameless manner, hurting even Lady Mavis… Yet Lady Mile is wise and knowledgeable. She has skill with the sword and with magic as well. We must induct her into our family. We need her abilities in our bloodline! Plus, of course, that wisdom of hers could help us develop our territory, her swordsmanship could be passed on to our elite troops, and she could help direct the mages… Blessedly, Lady Mile does not appear to dislike you either. Judging by the way she was with you last night and this morning, there’s no worry of that. I wonder if that’s because of my title, or because she’s never been courted by a man before and so is weak to any attention…”
“Father, you could at least say that it’s because of my charm!”
“Ha ha, let’s say that it is, then!”
“Honestly, you two…”
“Wahahahahaha!”
Not once did the thought ever cross the Woitdeins’ minds that Mile might turn down the proposal they were planning to make.
***
“Think it’s about time, then?”
“I’d say it’s about time.”
Just as Reina and Pauline weighed in with their predictions…
“Pardon me.”
The Marquis and his family arrived at their room, escorted by an employee of the inn. Apparently, once it was known that one was dealing with a marquis, there was no question with checking in with the commoners being asked after to obtain their approval. The Woitdeins were simply brought in on the spot.
“Lady Mile, it is truly inexcusable for me to launch into this talk so suddenly, but won’t you marry my son, Jusphen?!”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!” the three girls cried out, their hands clasped to their mouths in shameless acts of surprise.
“B-but Sir Jusphen was going to marry Miss Mavis…” Mile pointed out.
“The proposal has already been dissolved,” the Marquis replied, a bit guiltily. “So there’s no problem now!”
“There’s a big problem!” Mile cried back. “I would never steal someone away from my dear friend and party member! You don’t expect me to betray Mavis, do you?!”
“No, but, we already got approval to retract the proposal from both Count Austien and Lady Mavis. Everything’s fine!”
“Even if you don’t have a problem with it, I still do! A huge one! Don’t you realize how horrible that would make Mavis feel?! Plus, I’m only thirteen years old! I have no intention of getting married right now!”
Marquis Woitdein was shaken by this unexpected reaction. She had shown no signs of disliking Jusphen, and even if he was the second son, he was still the son of a Marquis. With the backing of the main family, their household could hold as much power as a count’s. Plus, she had already heard the night before that Jusphen was poised to inherit the title of viscount. So it should have been clear to Lady Mile that they were not gunning for her simply because of her title. Considering all this, he had not expected her to refuse.
Even if he was a man of some years, the Marquis was still a noble, and thus had assumed that the notion of Mile choosing a spouse for herself was little more than a means of pest deterrent, never supposing that a viscount’s daughter might possibly refuse a proposal from the son of a marquis.
The daughters of nobles married for the sake of their households, and even if she herself was the one to inherit, having a father-in-law, and then a brother-in-law, who was a marquis—even if it was in the peerage of another kingdom—wo uld raise her own household’s status immensely. In the distant future, it would be quite the boon for her second son.
If her parents were present, they would have been certain to welcome this talk. With Lady Mile’s abilities, it would not have been at all strange for proposals to come even from the offspring of a count, though according to the previous night’s conversation, there were still few in her own country who were aware of the extent of her skill. It seemed that they would have to get an agreement from the girl herself. With this in mind, the Marquis pressed even harder.
“Well, of course, we would certainly need to meet your parents first and make an official proposal. If your parents were here, I’m sure they would…”
“But I haven’t any!”
“What?”
The Marquis was dumbfounded at Mile’s objection.
“I’m telling you, I haven’t any. Neither parents nor grandparents. They’ve all moved on to the next world. Therefore, not only am I the successor of my family’s title, but I have already succeeded them. I am the rightful head of my family. My family’s lands are under the governance of the offices of his Majesty, the King, until I come of age.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!”
Not one bit of it was a lie. After all, to lie about one’s rank was a grave felony, punishable even by death.
“Therefore, I have the final say in who I will take as my companion. And furthermore, I have no intention of stealing away the fiancé of my comrade and dear friend. I will swear that to the Goddess!”
All the color drained suddenly from the Marquis’ face.
Swearing to the Goddess was an absolute oath. Excluding extreme circumstances, that was a promise that one would not break, unless it was a matter of life or death. Naturally so—if one dared break one’s promise and incur the Goddess’s wrath, one had better be prepared for the divine punishment that would follow.
They had now lost all chance of Mile ever agreeing to the engagement.
“Please excuse us!”
The Marquis took his still-dazed wife and son by the arms and hurried out of the room.
And then, after a beat, Reina announced, “Let’s roll out!”
“All right!!”
“F-father, where are we going…?”
“To the Austien residence, obviously! We’ll get them to reinstate the engagement, even if I have to grovel in the dirt!” said the Marquis.
“………”
Did he really think that was going to work? His wife’s and son’s expressions were dark.
After they arrived at the Austien estate, following a rushed carriage ride, a butler guided the Marquis into an inner room where he bowed his head deeply to Count Austien.
“I’m sorry! You may redress me as harshly as you like, and if you would like me to get on my knees and beg, I shall! But I’m pleading with you! Please ignore everything that I said before, and let’s continue discussing the engagement as planned…”
As the Marquis pleaded desperately, Count Austien made a pained face and pulled a single slip of parchment from his breast pocket, which he handed to the Marquis. Upon the paper was written the following:
I’m going on a journey for a while to heal my broken heart. Please don’t look for me.
—Mavis
Surely, she would be traveling with her companions, so there was no need to worry about her. However, that did not temper the Count’s rage toward the Marquis—particularly when the man had the impudence to offer up his proposal a second time. That was more than the Count cou
ld endure.
“You will pay a dear price for this,” said the Count, with a voice that rang as though from the depths of hell.
The Marquis fell to the floor on his knees. He had not yet dropped into a full grovel, but it was still a pose that no Marquis should ever have to take in front of a Count.
“I understand,” he said, groveling. “Not only will you receive a great sum as my apology, but any reports or proposals that you submit to the higher-ups, I will back. I will concede to those of your faction and any other thing you wish! I can never truly apologize for the harm done to Lady Mavis, but please, is there any way you can forgive me…?”
Even the Marquis, shrewd in the world of politics as he was, could only beg for an apology for wounding another family’s daughter so badly that she would run away from home. After all, he had daughters of his own.
“Very well,” said the Count. “What’s done is done. We shall furnish your food and lodgings for the night and will discuss this further later. However…”
“However?”
“I will have to insist that you be the one to explain the circumstances of the situation to my three sons when they return home. Whatever punishment they see fit to give you, I expect you to sit obediently and take.”
“I concede to your whims, good sir.”
***
“Pauline, you’re amazing! I can’t believe we managed to break up that proposal safely without doing anything but being ourselves! Plus, since they were the ones to break it off, that keeps my father out of a bad position. On the contrary, I think they’ll owe him a favor now. Just what sort of magic did you use?”
After reconvening at their agreed-upon location, the Crimson Vow were now heading back toward the capital.
The other three grimaced at Mavis’s question. Even Mile, for once, had fully grasped the circumstances of the situation. Mavis appeared to be the only one who did not understand. In order to keep Mavis, who was bad at keeping secrets, from slipping up, Pauline had informed her only of her own role, not bothering to illustrate the full shape of the plan.
However, now that everything was over, and because it would be troublesome for Mavis if their stories did not align the next time Mavis returned home, she decided this was finally the moment to spill the beans.
“What? You’re saying that the reason the proposal was broken off was that Lord Jusphen had his eyes set on Mile, and he wanted to go for her instead of me…?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Thus, the Woitdeins were the ones to break off the proposal. Mile does give off a very similar vibe to the portrait of you from your younger years that your third brother showed us. Given that Lord Jusphen was smitten with that version of you, we thought that might be enough to attract him. Plus, she comes with a title, and there’s the chance of her passing her sword and magical abilities on to her offspring… Furthermore, she has unique knowledge, and people find her pleasant. Honestly, she’s got you beat hands down!”
“Wh…?”
“Ah, of course, we never lied to them, so this wasn’t an entrapment. I mean, he’s not necessarily a bad person, but the fact is he was taken with you after only seeing you one time, a long while ago, which means that he made his decision based only on your appearance, not because he liked you for your personality or anything like that. So really, he’s a plain old garbage hound dog excuse for a man who judges women only by their looks!”
By now, Pauline had grown fed up with the disgusting men who could only stare at her chest when speaking to her, so she was critical of any man who would judge a girl’s worth from her looks alone.
“Plus, we can assume that what they were really thinking about was the fact that you are the daughter of a count; that you are a skilled swordswoman who has made a name for herself; and that, since they are part of a martial line themselves, you would be valuable as the wife of their son. Right? All they care about is status and what abilities are most convenient for their own ambitions, don’t they? Lord Jusphen was never smitten with Mavis, the woman herself, but with the abstract ideal of a woman who would be of practical value to him. And so, once we got his eyes to wander toward Mile, who has even more value to him, then hooking him was easy. He isn’t the sort of person who would ever worry about your feelings or regret his actions.”
Mavis seemed to be growing increasingly depressed, so Pauline tried to emphasize the fact that it was the Woitdeins, not Mavis herself, who were the bad ones, attempting to ensure her friend had no feelings of regret. However…
“You’re saying that I have less value than Mile as a marriage prospect? So much less value that someone would toss me away, just like that? That I am so much lesser than Mile, with her youth, and her height, and her body, and that vacant stare, and that complete lack of common sense?”
Mavis stopped in place, clutching her head in her hands. She looked as though she was about to cry.
“M-Mavis, don’t let it bother you! They don’t know anything about either you or Mile as people! If they got to know each of you a little better, it’s obvious who he would choose!” said Reina.
“That’s right! It would…be…you…” Mile began to add, eager to comfort Mavis, when she suddenly realized just what the pair had been saying about her. “W-w-w-w-wait just a minute! What was all that about?! Just what is it you all think of me…?”
Mile was incredibly indignant.
“Come on! Answer me!”
“Errrr…”
“Mile, Mavis is in a delicate place right now. You need to leave her be!”
“Let’s hear it from you then, Reina! Just which one of us is garbage on the inside?! Which one of us is the boor who no one would ever wed?!”
“I-I didn’t say all that…”
“You didn’t have to!”
“Now, now…”
Even with Pauline’s mediation, it would still be quite a while until Mavis could recover, Mile’s rage could subside, and the party could start moving again.
Chapter 62:
The Moment of Truth
“Now then, the moment of truth…” said Reina, casually.
The other three nodded.
Yes, it was the moment of truth. The pivotal hour, when they would finally move on to the next town. They had already learned what the Guild was like in this city, completed a big job, and made a name for themselves. No matter how fond they had grown of the place, staying forever in one location did not a journey make. The day when they finally began to feel at home was the time that they should leave. Thus was the nature of a journey of self-improvement. It was not a journey in search of a place to put down roots.
Of course, there were plenty of hunters on such journeys who decided to settle down in some town that caught their fancy along the way, but the Crimson Vow still had five more years of obliged service to the Kingdom of Tils, and besides, they were far too young not to grow restless living in a country town. And they each still had their own dreams…
“Then it’s settled. We’ll make our report to the Guild, say farewell to the Servants of the Goddess and the Auras, and let the folks at the inn know that we’re leaving.”
Silence fell as strange looks spread across all of their faces. This town had its hooks in them, and yet they had to say farewell to everyone once more. Particularly to their precious cat-eared girl…
“Are you serious?! Well, actually, if you’re on a training journey, then I guess that kind of makes sense…”
The guild master was quite understanding. However, understanding the situation and accepting it were two very different things.
“Still, are you sure you mightn’t stay maybe just a little longer?”
If he didn’t fight now, he was going to lose four hunters with very promising futures. These strange and wonderful girls had completed a whole succession of missions that anyone else would have thought impossible, without so much as a scratch.
You gotta staaaaaaaaaay!!! We need you here as our poster child! A party of smart and beautiful young l
adies!!! Damn it, young men of this town, what are you doing?! If you would just get off your behinds and get these girls locked down… What am I saying? That’s impossible…
In his head, the guild master toyed with wild fancies.
“No. We’ve already stayed long enough. The time is right for us to leave,” said Mavis.
At this, the guild master thought of all the fun he’d had when he was a young man on a journey of his own—the sights he’d seen and the things he’d done as he traveled the land—and decided not to pester them about staying further.
Plus, there seemed to be some secret circumstances regarding the bandit incident that had just concluded, which left the party in a state in which they could no longer be publicizing themselves quite so much. Assuming that they wanted to get out before too much information started to get around, there was no use in trying to force them to remain. He was the one who had pressured them into taking that job, after all.
“I see. I hate to see you go, but I suppose you must. I will be praying for your success in the future. When your journey is over, won’t you come back and see us again?”
“Thank you for everything,” they said in chorus, “You’ve been a huge help!”
With their practiced sign of parting, the four left the guild master’s office behind.
They really were a fascinating bunch. They were only here for a short while, blowing in like a storm, and leaving just as quickly… I wonder if we will ever see them again someday. The guild master was hopeful, though he knew already that even if they might visit again, this town was not a place where the girls would ever possibly choose to settle.