Chapter 63

Raul faltered, and Sienna slipped her arm through his and guided him toward the bed.

“I’ll go in your place, so you rest. You’re injured—you need to take it easy for a while.”

“You’re going?”

“Well… or should I send the servants? Tell them to check how Muriel’s doing.”

“…….”

Raul dragged both hands down his face in a dry wash and let out a long sigh.

Pushed down onto the edge of the bed by Sienna’s hand, he sat there, his expression tangled and unreadable.

Watching him closely, Sienna asked gently,

“Is it bothering you?”

“…I’m sick of it. The Tierney family. And that woman.”

If it was truly Muriel who had saved him, the thought alone left a foul taste in his mouth.

‘Why did it have to be her.’

Muriel Tierney was the last person in the world he ever wanted to owe.

He felt no gratitude. Even if she had saved his life.

Only an unbearable humiliation.

“I do find it strange,” Sienna murmured. “How did Muriel even make it out of the contaminated zone? And with the Veratis Guild Master, no less.”

At that, Raul replied with a curl of cold derision.

“The Tierney family must have helped her.”

After exiling Muriel to the contaminated zone under the pretext that she had “violated the laws of the Winterberg territory countless times,” he had sent an official letter to the Tierney family.

If they wanted to protest, they were free to do so.

If they were the ones to demand a divorce first, all the better for him.

The one summoned by the king and forced to endure a scolding would be Duke Tierney—not him.

And yet, the Tierneys had made no protest whatsoever.

Only an unpleasant, unsettling silence.

The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Hadn’t the duke raised her like a precious jewel?

And now—nothing?

‘If they’re plotting something behind the scenes… that would make sense.’

A frigid sneer tugged at Raul’s bloodless lips.

“As you said… it’s likely the Tierney family was the one who pulled Muriel out of the contaminated zone.”

Sienna spoke, lifting an eyebrow. Then, she frowned, tilting her head.

“That would explain it… but what are they thinking? They haven’t lodged a formal protest or sent a request for divorce.”

Raul let out a cold, humorless laugh.

“Who knows what kind of black scheme those devils are hiding?”

“True….”

Sienna nodded in agreement and patted his shoulder.

“Get some more sleep, Raul. I’ll send servants to the contaminated zone. There’s a high chance Muriel isn’t there anyway.”

He hesitated for a moment before finally giving in and lying back down.

“…All right. Thank you.”

The moment he closed his eyes, Muriel’s afterimage drifted up like a mirage in fog.

Clenching his teeth quietly, he tried to shake it off.

There was no way she had helped him out of goodwill.

It had to be a ploy—to put him in her debt and turn it into leverage for her family.

‘She’s no different from the other devils of House Tierney.’

So it should have been simple.

To crush down the strange unease and lingering doubt sprouting in one corner of his heart.

---

The road back to the farm was smooth.

The sky was clear, and the air wasn’t even that cold anymore—as if winter was finally loosening its grip.

And most importantly, the horse Dante had gifted me was absurdly gentle. And adorable.

“Want a carrot? You want it?”

“Neigh—!”

That sounded like a yes.

“Here, slowly.”

I held out the carrot, and she eagerly shoved her muzzle forward and began munching it down in frantic bites.

I said slowly….

She definitely had a bit of a greedy streak.

For the record, I’d tamed her with my Husbandry skill.

The name ‘Nelly’ was one Dante had chosen. It suited her soft, wheat-colored coat perfectly.

‘How can a horse be this pretty….’

I was stroking Nelly, admiring her beauty, when a gloomy voice drifted in from somewhere.

“This is bad….”

It sounded like something straight out of a horror film. Startled, I slowly turned around.

“This is bad, bad… I feel like something’s going to happen…. I have that kind of premonition….”

A small woman with snow-white hair and black eyes.

She was a white long-tailed tit beastkin—and a combat member of the Veratis Guild.

Her name was Camilla Schneider.

She seemed like a good person… but very much a Veratis Guild type. Meaning: eccentric.

I forced a polite smile.

“What do you mean by bad, Ms. Camilla…?”

“I mean exactly that…. I have a bad feeling….”

Camilla even wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered as if she had goosebumps.

Standing beside me, Lycian shot her a sidelong glance and sneered.

“Then why don’t you turn back now? You won’t be much help either way.”

Apparently, Lycian showed no mercy to anyone who wasn’t me.

Wow. So you really do have a nasty personality.

“I can’t…! Then I won’t get the bonus the Guild Master promised…! My 1,500 rubels….”

To be fair, Camilla didn’t look thrilled about being assigned as my escort either. But the money must have been too good to refuse.

1,500 rubels… yeah, I get it. I nodded in understanding.

“Actually, I’ve got a bad feeling too.”

“Gasp…! Lady Muriel as well…?”

“There’s a reason for it.”

I wasn’t just saying that. There really was something bothering me.

Specifically, this.

This.

I saved his life and it shot up by ten percent!

‘I hate this!’

Why does Raul keep tangling himself into my life? I even cut the red thread!

‘I need that divorce immediately. As soon as I finish everything at the farm, I’m marching straight into Winterberg Castle.’

And I’m getting his signature.

There’s no way that man would suddenly start spouting nonsense about “trying to make this marriage work,” right?

Hoo. I took a deep breath, then turned back to the group with a bright smile.

“If everyone’s rested, shall we get moving again?”

We mounted up once more. Lycian and I shared Nelly’s back, while Camilla climbed onto her horse, Apple Pie.

‘Who names a horse Apple Pie….’

The horse herself didn’t seem to mind.

“Muriel, are we letting that uninvited guest sleep in the living room?”

“Um…”

Lycian murmured from behind me.

One arm was wrapped around my waist, the other holding the reins.

And for some reason, he’d propped his chin on my shoulder and pressed himself close.

It was like having a leech stuck to me—annoying—but I’d gotten used to it by now.

“I guess we have to? Though… we might be able to make the house bigger soon.”

“Oh…?”

I casually summoned the system window into the air in front of me.

That’s right.

As you can see—

Only 110 left until 1,500!

‘I didn’t even realize it had gone up this much.’

…Hah. The future is terrifying.

At this rate, I might actually become a lord.

‘Being a lord sounds like a hassle….’

I like being a simple farmer. Let me just keep farming….

That was when—

Ninabel’s voice, which had been whining faintly in the back of my mind, suddenly turned urgent.

—Master! This is bad! Some nasty humans just barged into the farm~!

I stiffened.

‘What do they look like?’

—Ugly!

‘Not that.’

—Three human males, ages… I’m sorry! Nini’s a spirit, I’m not good with human ages~! But from what they’re saying, they seem to know you, Master!

‘What are they saying?’

—Earlier they mentioned your name, and now they’re saying… “This is the cabin, right? You’re sure? Where the hell is that wicked woman?” …like that….

…Ah.

I think I know exactly who showed up.

‘Raul sent servants.’

I’d expected something like this, but I hadn’t thought he’d send them to the contaminated zone instead of the Veratis Guild branch.

Did losing that much blood fry his brain?

Well, uninvited guests had arrived. I suppose I should hurry back and give them a proper welcome.

‘Nini, guard the house. Don’t let them do anything.’

—Can I show myself?

‘Yeah. At this point, whatever happens, happens.’

—Yeees~! Then leave it to me, Master!

After ending the conversation with Ninabel, I turned to Camilla and Lycian with a grave expression.

“We need to hurry. It looks like some uninvited guests showed up at the farm.”

Lycian must have had an idea of who it was; he didn’t ask for clarification. He simply urged Nelly forward.

“Hyah!”

“Neigh!”

As we surged ahead, Camilla and Apple Pie quickly picked up speed behind us.

‘Good thing we’re not far from the farm.’

We rode without pause for about fifteen minutes.

And then—

We came upon three idiots facing off against what looked like a water Pokémo— I mean, Ninabel.

“Get lost~! You squids!! This is Master’s precious home!”

“W-What the hell? A spirit?”

“Why is there a spirit in a place like this…?!”

Why?

Because I’m her master, obviously.

“Neigh!”

The three men, distracted by Ninabel, only turned toward us when the sound of the horse’s cry rang out.

The moment they saw me, their eyes went wide.

And then, a startled voice burst out.

“Mu, Muriel Tierney…?!”

“She’s actually alive!”

“Then the one who saved the lord really was….”

I lifted my chin and looked down at them with an icy expression.

“Who gave you permission to barge in here? No manners at all.”

Looks like I’ll have to teach them a lesson.