Episode 20: Landowning Nobles and Rootless Nobles
In the end, there was no way I could resist being shown the young lady's pretty coquettish face.
I did something I had wanted to try at least once, something I had found in one of my favorite novels hidden under my bed, three shots without pulling out.
"You...... idiot, cut it out......!"
Said the young lady who was lying limp and on her back on the bed.
When I pulled my son out of her vaginal opening where it had been left inserted, the sight of a white liquid coming out of the slightly opened crack is still fresh in my mind.
After a short but intense stay in the Royal Capital, I returned to my parents' house and was greeted by everyone in the house, including the servants who were hurriedly moving about in preparation for battle.
"Ah, young master!"
Armes, who had been giving instructions to the servants, noticed and approached me as I came in front of the mansion.
"I am sorry. I didn't even greet young master......""
Armes bowed her head, not in step-sister mode, but in a dignified manner, befitting my personal knight.
"No, don't worry about that. I can see that you are busy."
The mansion is currently preparing to join the Imperial Expeditionary Force. To be honest, I made a mistake in timing my return.
"Young master, is something wrong?"
"Hmm? Nothing, though?"
But Armes was touching my face and staring at me.
"No, you looked a little pale. If you're tired, you can take a bath right away......"
'N-no...... it's okay, it's okay. More than that, Armes. Where is my father?"
I can't honestly say that I was having sex with the main family's daughter until the very last minute.
Armes was a little suspicious of me changing the subject, but swallowed it to make a report. Well, I was indeed thinking of reporting to my father that I was back.
For the time being, I asked Armes where my father is.
"Well, that's..."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
But when Armes looked uncomfortable saying it, she pointed to a guest house in a remote part of the mansion.
"A guest?"
"Yes....... There was something they wanted to discuss prior to the expedition......"
"Who's here? The Fregrances?"
Perhaps, or rather, certainly we will be deployed to the front lines. Is the head of the main family coming here to talk?
"No, it's not them, it's......"
When I saw Armes, who was reluctant to say anything, all I knew was that we had a bad guest.
"Just a few moments ago, Viscount Fabian came to see your father in person......"
"...That guy?"
Hearing the name, I involuntarily turn my eyes once more to where the meeting place is.
The Fabian family is a superior noble who has jurisdiction over our family.
It is a branch of the Fregrance family, one of the rootless nobles who have a mansion in the main family's territory.
Incidentally, "rootless nobles" is a derogatory term for nobles who live on a title and monthly salary instead of having a territory. They were born under a new system created by the kingdom as a new reward in place of land, as there was no new land to rule over, despite their success in the war against the empire.
The job of these rootless nobles is to act as intermediaries between the main family and the branch families to mediate various situations.
Not necessarily because of that, but the rootless nobles and the landowning nobles do not get along well with each other. We are no exception......
"It's not like they're here to ask for money again, is it?"
"It's about the expedition, so I don't think so......"
If we tried to turn away the rootless nobles who visited us, they would tell the main family and we would be at a disadvantage.
Moreover, since he was given a title, he was basically of a higher rank than the land-owning nobles.
"If so, what do they want in this busy time..."
I stopped as I was about to continue talking. When suddenly, with a dry sound, the door of the mansion opened with a bang, and a middle-aged man came out from the inside, accompanied by two knights.
"...I'm Viscount Fabian."
"I know. I've seen your face more often than my dead mother."
He has slightly curly gray hair, a little long for a man, and cat-like slits at the ends of his eyes.
His slender body is clad in a tailcoat, and he looked more like a butler than a nobleman.
"......"
"......"
Then our gray eyes collide, and we stare at each other.
What is so sad is why do I have to stare at a forty-year-old man?
Before I could make a move, Viscount Fabian approached me.
"It has been a long time, my son. Or should I call you stallion now?"
"No, it has been a long time, Viscount Fabian. I'm sorry to say that I've been so busy that I haven't been able to greet you."
We greet each other, looking up at the slightly taller Viscount Fabian as we face each other.
The exchange of venomous greetings, however, has made the atmosphere among the servants, led by Armes, who is standing behind me, tense.
"You are an important stallion for Lady Ritia of the main family. I am impressed by your dedication to your duties."
"Yes, really."
Viscount Fabian smiled broadly at my answer. However, his cat-like slitted eyes are not smiling, and he is still staring at me.
"Um……"
Armes, who couldn't see my face, tried to get between me and the Viscount Fabian while raising her voice behind me.
"Hm? You have...... brown skin and purple hair. I see, you're that knight of the earth...... what's with the hand?"
He asked about my hand, as it was gripping Viscount Fabian's collar.
"Young master!"
But I won't let go of it. In fact, I hold it tighter.
"Um~. I was wondering if you could take back what you just said to her earlier about a knight of the earth?"
"Why? It's the perfect nickname for her, don't you think? Let go of me. My clothes are getting in disarray......"
"Could you take it back?"
"......You, a mere lowly branch of the family, dare to defy me?"
So says Viscount Fabian, who looked down at me with sharp eyes.
But I glare back at him too.
A knight of the earth is a derogatory term for Armes, a brown-skinned drifter who resembled soil.
"...Take it back."
I drew closer and said it in a stronger tone.
I don't care if they call me a stallion and make fun of me. It's part of the perk, and there's no need to be blindsided by it in light of our future relationship with the main family. I can let it go because they are just jealous that they can't even become a stallion.
But Armes is different.
"You……"
With a grunt, Viscount Fabian tried to peel my hand off.
The knights behind him put their hand on the sword hanging at their waist.
Viscount Fabian could kill me for any reason he can think of. But he can't.
If he killed the only stallion they can find, the main family won't be happy.
"......Don't get carried away, you lowlife."
At best, that's all the abuse he could say. That is the limit of Viscount Fabian right now.
"Y-young master!"
It was Armes who finally moved to intercede the situation in the very tense atmosphere.
"I don't care about it, so please......"
The heat drained from my head as Armes hugged my back and pleaded with me to do so.
The most important thing was the way she looked at me, not as a knight but as a step-sister worrying about her brother.
"...Well, don't you call my Armes by that name again, okay?"
I let go of Viscount Fabian's collar, which I had gripped on.
The suit was distorted with wrinkles. I realize once again that I had put that much force into it.
"I will tell the head family about this."
"Yeah, go ahead. Tell it like it is."
When Viscount Fabian and other rootless nobles tell the main families about their complaints on the land-owning nobles, they do not tell the whole story as it is. They always tell it in an exaggerated way and more convenient to them. This is one of the reasons why the rootless nobles are hated.
Well, no matter how much Viscount Fabian barked at the head family, they will let me off the hook for now. There may be limits, but I'm the stallion of the young lady, and I got a letter that guarantees me from the head of the Fregrance family.
“…………”
“…………”
I glared again at Viscount Fabian, who looked like he wanted to say something, and after a while, he approached the horse that his squire had brought with him, mounted it, and Viscount Fabian left.
"...Gone?"
I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that Viscount Fabian's back had disappeared.
"U-um, Nii-san..."
Armes came up next to me with a wince and called me Nii-san even though we were not alone.
Normally, I should be angry with her and I have to correct her manners as a knight, but I can't get angry if she showed such a pained face.
"Don't worry about it, Armes. They can't do anything but tell on their superiors. As long as the main family is with us, he can't touch us."
"But because of me, Nii-san is..."
"I'm fine. So don't look at me like that."
Armes accepted, and after a while, she raised her head and looked at me.
"You are my precious knight. It is my main job to protect my knights from things other than the battlefield. Besides..."
"?"
I roughly stroked Armes's purple hair.
"How can a brother put up while his sister is being humiliated?"
"...Nii-san."
"That's why. Switch before Elfie heard you. You're calling me Nii-san, aren't you?"
"Ah……"
When I said that, Armes's face crumpled, and nodded a little with her face down so that I could not see it.
"All right. Then I guess I'll take a bath and go see my father."
"Yes! Young master."
As she raised her face, Armes looked like a dignified young knight.
But as I turned my back on Armes and headed back to the house.
"...Thank you, Nii-san."
I think it's unfair to lift the hem of your dress while saying so.
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