“Don’t you dare touch Elmia so familiarly, you scoundrel!”
A red-haired young man with the build of a rugby player, easily a head taller than me, stepped between Elmia and Dinoren. It was like a knight protecting a princess from the clutches of a villain.
“Oh, Jilga-dono, on what grounds do you say such a thing?”
The red-haired man’s name was Jilga de Lanecki. The second son of the Lanecki Earldom, and the man chosen as Elmia’s fiancé.
“Naturally, as Elmia’s fiancé. House Darbonny, what are you thinking, sending a man from a branch family like this? A cunning snake with nothing on his mind but to缠绕.”
“Oh my, it stings to hear that from Lanecki. You seem to have picked up the cunning to use your former master as a shield against the enemy. You were more endearing when you were just a ferocious beast.”
“…What was that? You lot are the ones whose vaunted ‘shield’ has rusted over these sixty years. Even in the Imperial Capital’s social circles, we’ve taken your place as the guardians of the East. I can picture you now, heads bowed in dejection.”
“That’s just speculation…!”
House Darbonny and the Lanecki Earldom have a historical rivalry, having been enemies over sixty years ago, and they still don’t get along. Even as fellow Imperial nobles, the feud hasn’t died down.
“Now, now, you two, don’t get so heated. Today is supposed to be a day for the Clan Head Meeting, so let’s not start a fight now.”
A boy with a black bowl cut plastered a friendly smile on his face as he mediated between the two. Encante de Nevilim, the next head of the Nevilim family, is only eleven years old. The Clan Head Meeting is a monthly gathering of the heads and future heads of the four great noble families at the heart of the Ortenos region. They had been staying in Ortenatris for a few days now, and were probably on their way to the venue.
“Long time no see, Encante. Is Yukeiren-dono at the castle today?”
“Tch, no, he’s not.”
“I see. I wanted to say hello.”
When I spoke to Encante, he clicked his tongue. It’s the usual, so I don’t pay it much mind.
“Sharka…dono, you have it good, don’t you? Always gallivanting outside the castle with commoners, yet you get to be by Elmia-sama’s side just because you’re her brother.”
“Ah, that’s right. I’m truly honored.”
“Tch! What are you so smug about, you good-for-nothing!”
“What can I say?”
Encante is technically a relative, but he harbors a great deal of animosity towards me. The reason seems to be that he’s head over heels for Elmia, and sees me, Elmia’s brother, as his enemy. He’s the next head of his house, so he can’t possibly marry Elmia. This is why noble love affairs are such a pain.
“Indeed, Sharka-dono is rumored to be an ‘idiot son’ even in our territory. I hope this First Campaign of yours will dispel some of those rumors. By the way, what exactly does this First Campaign entail?”
Jilga said with a slightly wicked smile.
“…It’s a subjugation of two thousand Naia troops of Satella-Class or lower, occupying a village near the border, by our Ortenos Army of five thousand.”
Since it’s technically a military secret, I exchanged glances with Elmia to confirm that there was no particular reaction before relaying the contents of the order.
“Pfft, hahahahaha! This is a masterpiece, Sharka-dono. To think you’d send five thousand, including a Stella-Class, to defeat two thousand Satella-Class or lower troops. What kind of joke is this?”
“My father was concerned about the suspicious movements of the Naia army near the border, so he took extra precautions.”
“Kukuku, even so, five thousand is clearly overkill. Or is it? Sharka-dono, perhaps it’s because you’re not a trustworthy person, so he overstaffed the force to ensure it would succeed.”
I understood that Jilga had brought up the topic of my First Campaign with the intention of mocking me. Probably for much the same reason as Encante, he sees me as an enemy. He’s a big guy, but he’s insidious, I thought.
“Sharka…dono, I hope you achieve glorious results, guff. Though, if you need five thousand to subjugate two thousand, you’ll only be a laughingstock as a noble, guffuffuff.”
Encante probably calls me by my given name behind my back. He had a clear smirk on his face as he mocked me.
“…Say, Sharka-dono, as Elmia’s fiancé, I wouldn’t want to say this to her brother, but would you refrain from contacting Elmia in the future?”
Jilga looked down on me as if a Yakuza was trying to intimidate me.
“Oh, Jilga-dono, why is that?”
Before I could react, Elmia responded, returning the words. She wore a smile on the surface, but her voice was chillingly low.
“Naturally, because this man will only have a negative impact on Elmia. He was previously placed under house arrest for covering up the crimes of the ‘Dust’ even within the castle. Radnark-dono is lenient, but Lanecki will never tolerate such behavior that belittles the nobility.”
“…”
“Sharka-dono is, unfortunately, immature as a noble, lacking the proper mindset. He is, without a doubt, a failure. It’s unbearable to have such a person flitting around Elmia.”
Jilga spoke eloquently with a rugged, imposing face.