The weather was clear. Nothing much was going on today.

Muen stretched lazily as he strolled along Belrand’s broad streets.

After sleeping soundly while holding Ariel’s soft, smooth body in his arms, he felt all the fatigue that had built up over this stretch of time swept away completely. His whole body was refreshed, and even his steps felt lighter.

The mental energy he had previously drained was still recovering, but he had fully pulled away from the brink of collapse. Everything was steadily improving.

Mm, as expected, nothing nourishes a man quite like a beautiful girl.

After savoring once more the fierce battle with the female lead of a soaring phoenix novel from the night before, as well as his rare total victory, Muen rubbed at the corners of his upturned lips, stopped walking, and knocked on the door in front of him.

Creak...

The heavy, old-fashioned gate slowly opened, and an elderly woman well past fifty poked her head out.

“So it’s Young Master Muen.”

It was as if she had long been waiting for his arrival. She was not surprised to see him at all, and respectfully stepped aside.

“Master is fishing in the garden.”

“All right, thank you.”

Muen nodded with a smile and, already familiar with the place, headed toward the garden behind the residence.

The old woman watched his back. Perhaps surprised by how polite he had just been, she murmured in amazement,

“That Young Master Muen... he really has become this sensible...”

...

By the shimmering lakeside, an old man dressed in plain linen sat in a reclining chair, intently watching the float bobbing motionlessly on the lake’s surface.

Muen walked along the lushly overgrown path, light on his feet, and silently came to the old man’s side.

This was also a garden, part of a private estate, though somewhat smaller than the one at the ducal residence.

And compared with the ducal residence’s splendid, dazzling style, where it seemed as if every kind of beautiful flower and plant had been crammed in, this place felt much more restrained. All along the way, green leaves and red blossoms accented one another, while the woods and the path set each other off. The whole place was filled, without force, with a sense of quiet elegance and serenity.

Muen sat down on the little stool beside the old man, as if it had long been prepared for someone. He did not speak first. He simply sat there quietly, watching the old man fish, afraid of disturbing the fish that might bite at any moment.

The old man took a sip of the red tea beside him. He had long since noticed Muen’s arrival, but partly to have something to open the conversation with, and partly to show Muen his excellent fishing skills, he decided to catch this fish first and then talk.

Muen waited patiently as well, waiting for the fish to take the bait.

And so...

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

Half an hour later...

The float looked as though it had been embedded into the lake’s placid surface, utterly motionless.

“...”

“...”

After another five minutes passed, the old man took up his teacup and sipped from it once more.

“You came?”

“Mm.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

“Want to stay for dinner?”

“Forget it. I’m definitely going back to eat tonight.”

“Oh.”

The old man nodded, then stared at the float for quite a while longer.

This time, at last, his efforts were rewarded. Before long, a fish bit the bait.

After a fierce struggle with the fish, the old man looked at the palm-sized catch and finally broke into a broad smile.

The old blade has not yet dulled, not yet dulled at all.

“You came to ask me about the Empire’s current situation, didn’t you?”

Marquis Angus placed the fish into the wooden bucket. It was the second fish he had caught today. Although neither was very big, they undeniably proved his fishing skill.

Little did anyone know, whenever several old friends went fishing together, there were always plenty who came home empty-handed.

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Muen looked at the two little fish swimming around inside the bucket and could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth.

“I just got back from the Abyss and still don’t understand the Empire’s current situation. It would be too slow to learn through other channels, so I could only come ask you.”

“Why not go ask Pink Bear?”

Marquis Angus asked in puzzlement, “He’s the Regent now. He’s the one handling most of the Empire’s affairs at present. Asking him would be more convenient, wouldn’t it?”

“Heh, I’d like to.”

Muen gave a smile that did not reach his eyes.

“I want to find him even more than you do, Grandfather. And once I find him, I won’t just ask him questions. I’ll also let him play with some very interesting things... Unfortunately, Pink Bear seems to think I’m a little too enthusiastic, so by now he’s already hidden who knows where.”

“I see... That’s not strange. After doing something like that, feeling guilty isn’t strange either.”

Marquis Angus shook his head.

“I already tried to persuade him long ago. Unfortunately...”

“If that guy listened to advice, he wouldn’t still be wearing that ridiculous costume even after his curse was lifted. I think he knows perfectly well that everything he’s done is too shameless to face anyone.”

Muen casually picked up a branch from nearby and snapped it to pieces bit by bit, as if it were that damned bear with a death wish.

“There’s no need to be too angry. One thing restrains another. A fellow like Pink Bear naturally has people in this world who can put him in his place.”

Marquis Angus patted Muen on the shoulder in comfort.

As someone who had watched this whole chain of events up close, he knew better than anyone how thoroughly Muen had been tormented lately.

Even from angles Muen himself did not know about, his role had not been to entertain Pink Bear, but rather, like the bait on a hook, to lure out those devotees of Love God who had hidden themselves especially deeply.

Of course, there was no good way to say such things outright. After all, he had tacitly approved it at the time as well. So even out of affection for his grandson, he could only hint at it in this oblique way.

As for whether or not his good grandson could understand...

Well, that was not his problem.

“Yes.”

Muen, naturally, could not make sense of a hint so abstract it was like handing you a single hair and expecting you to guess whether the person on the other end was male or female. He merely sighed and said,

“I just hope the former Saintess hits him harder. Preferably hard enough that he can’t get out of bed for ten days or half a month. Otherwise, my hatred won’t be satisfied.”

“Don’t worry. I hear durian prices in Belrand have been soaring lately. That probably has something to do with Lady Latina spending lavishly. And that many durians were probably not bought to be eaten.”

Marquis Angus baited the hook, spun it a few times in front of Muen, then made a beautiful cast. The float landed without the slightest deviation, right back in the same spot as before.

“Back to business. The Empire’s primary problem right now is still the war with the Kingdom.”

“How are things?”

“At the border, Her Majesty the Empress is personally holding the line. She has adopted a defensive strategy of temporarily avoiding the enemy’s sharpest edge. The defensive line has been pulled back by more than two hundred li, focusing on solidifying defenses and waiting at ease for the exhausted enemy.”

“That sounds reassuring.”

Muen smiled faintly.

Though he was not at the border, he could practically already see Celicia facing the Kingdom’s million-strong army without the slightest change in expression, calmly arranging her strategy in that gallant, beautiful way of hers.

It made him want to wrap an arm around her waist and rub his face against her cool cheek.

“Yes. After all, the other side is one of the foremost great powers on the continent. Though historically they have lost more battles against the Empire than they have won, Her Majesty was not blinded by that. Before the Empire is able to focus wholeheartedly on dealing with the Kingdom, she chose the prudent strategy. And during this time, the Kingdom has not yet shown any sign of tearing through Her Majesty’s defenses... We truly do have an excellent leader.”

Marquis Angus sighed in admiration.

Though Her Majesty the Empress was young, the way she handled affairs already carried the shadow of her father.

“Of course. That’s Celicia.”

Then Muen asked, “So for now, it sounds like there’s no need to worry too much about the Kingdom. What about everything else?”

“Internally, the Empire’s condition is more or less what you already saw in Belrand.”

Marquis Angus said,

“Prices have risen somewhat. Black bread has gone from five Aimier a pound to seven. Food, daily goods, the necessities of life—everything is in somewhat short supply, because many factories now have to prioritize supplying the front.”

“Is the impact serious?”

“It has some impact. It is a war, after all. But things haven’t reached the point of chaos. The Empire’s foundation, built over so many years, is not something one or two wars can shake.”

Marquis Angus suddenly cast Muen a meaningful glance.

“But at a time like this, when a certain famous duke’s son casually throws away over a hundred million Aimier to build a holy land for dating, if news of that spreads, I’m afraid a lot of people are going to start filing complaints against you again.”

“...It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

Muen scratched his head bitterly.

“Anyway, my reputation wasn’t good to begin with.”

“Is this a matter of reputation? The issue is where exactly they would go to complain about a duke’s son and the Empress’s fiancé!”

“Where would they complain? Who could they even complain to... Hiss!”

Muen suddenly sucked in a cold breath.

Where else could they complain? In this world, how many people were there who could sit in judgment over him, a duke’s son and the Empress’s fiancé?

Obviously, only the Empress herself!

If Celicia found out he had spent that much money to go on dates...

“Grandfather, don’t talk nonsense!”

Muen suddenly straightened his back, looking every bit the upright gentleman whose conduct was beyond reproach.

“Most of the money I spent on that amusement park went straight into the national treasury anyway. Whether it was the Royal Engineering Institute or the Royal Design Institute, none of that money went to anyone else! Rounded up, how is this any different from me directly donating over a hundred million in military funds? Why would Celicia blame someone as wholeheartedly devoted to the country as me?”

...

Water suddenly splashed inside the wooden bucket. Marquis Angus wore an expression that said, as long as you’re happy.

Muen pretended not to see it.

“Hm? Why are the two fish in the bucket fighting?”

“They’re more likely to fight when there are only two. Don’t panic. Once I catch another one, three will do.”

Marquis Angus went back to fishing at his leisure.

“Oh, right. Aren’t you worried something might happen, leaving the ducal residence like this?”

“What could happen?”

Muen asked in confusion.

“Wasn’t the matter with Love God already resolved? Could there really still be fanatics that bold, daring enough to attack the ducal residence?”

“Heh.”

“Grandfather, what are you laughing at?”

“I’m laughing because it seems that girl named Ariel has infected you. Your ability to deceive yourself now seems even stronger than the skills in your waist.”

“I don’t really understand what Grandfather means by—”

“Young Master Muen.”

Just as Muen was about to refute his grandfather’s baseless slander, the elderly woman who had let him in earlier suddenly came hurrying over and interrupted him.

“Someone from the ducal residence has come. She wants to see you.”

“See me?”

Muen asked in puzzlement, “Why? Whatever it is, can’t it wait until I get back?”

“I don’t know, but she looks very urgent...”

“Young Master!”

The moment the old woman finished speaking, a figure darted out from behind her, threw herself at Muen’s leg, and cried out pitifully,

“S-save me!”

“Noah?”

Muen bent down and helped the sobbing little maid up with both hands.

“Why are you here? What happened? Get up first and explain slowly.”

“It can’t be slowly, it has to be quickly. Young Master, please hurry back...”

Noah’s little face was smudged with soot, as if she had just crawled out of a chimney.

“The head maid and Miss Ariel have started fighting. The situation is extremely critical. ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) You have to hurry back!”

“They started fighting?”

Muen’s heart tightened.

That fast?

How long had he even been gone from home?

“Really?”

“Of course it’s real!”

“N-no way...”

Muen wiped away a bit of sweat.

“An is a good girl, and Ariel is very gentle. Even if there were some friction between them, how could it possibly escalate all the way into a fight...”

The moment those words left his mouth, several pairs of eyes looked at him with open disdain, as if to say, Do you believe that yourself?

“Go back quickly.”

Marquis Angus sighed.

“The symbol of the Campbell family’s honor for the past several hundred years can’t be destroyed in the hands of my son-in-law... It really is the only scrap of family fortune he has left.”

“...Listen to Grandfather. Why do I sound like some kind of disaster for my father?”

Muen widened his eyes. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“Isn’t this simple? I’ll turn around and solve it right now!”

“R-really?” Noah wiped her tears and asked blankly.

“Of course!”

Muen slapped his knee and sprang to his feet.

“Grandfather and Noah, you both underestimate me too much. I’m not some useless waste like Pink Bear. Watch me go back right now and smack their asses hard! I’ll make sure they understand exactly who calls the shots in this ducal residence now!”