Chapter 1: Reclaim the frontier Margrave’s Territory
1
I became a margrave without really understanding what was going on,
and the very next day, I was summoned by Lady Toko and headed to the royal palace.
In the queen’s office, Lady Toko was seated next to Lady Yuzuriha and my sister Suzuha.
Apparently, the three of them had a girls’ night out the previous evening.
To privately monopolize the queen and a duke’s daughter on the very day of the new queen’s coronation ceremony – as an older brother, I felt quite proud of myself.
Could it be that my little sister is actually the person with the strongest connections in this country?
Well, putting that aside for now…
“How was it yesterday, Suzuha nii? What are your thoughts after becoming a noble for one day?”
“It was terribly troublesome, to say the least.”
“Oh?”
“From the midst of the coronation ball to even after it ended, I was constantly approached by nobles I didn’t even know. I hardly got to eat any sushi, and by the time I finally escaped home, it was the middle of the night. And this morning, there was a huge pile of letters at my house – what’s that all about?”
“Did you look at the contents of those letters, Suzuha nii?”
“No, not at all. I greeted all the nobles who attended the ball, so if it’s just a greeting, it’s pointless to write more letters, right? I have no idea why I got such a huge amount.”
“Those are probably almost all marriage interview requests and marriage proposals.”
“Whaaat!?”
“Well, it’s only natural. In this country right now, there’s no foolish noble who wouldn’t want to take in the fast-rising Suzuha nii, who’s making big waves everywhere. That’s because all the dimwitted nobles were purged by you before.”
Lady Toko said something dreadful with a smile, and Lady Yuzuriha next to her simply nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. However, I want you to never forget that the one who first discovered you – or rather, the Sakuragi Ducal Family – was me. Both my father and I have no intention of abandoning our position as your guardian. Of course, you understand, don’t you?”
“Y-Yes…?”
“So naturally, we are carefully scrutinizing your potential marriage partners as well. It goes without saying that whether you remain a margrave or achieve further merits and rise in rank, we intend to choose a partner befitting you, so rest assured.”
“This is the first I’m hearing of this!”
“That said, if we’re looking for someone with an appropriate rank and combat ability to match yours… there’s a high possibility that a rather rough woman may be selected, so I hope you’ll bear with that…!”
“Why does my wife’s criteria involve combat ability!?”
“Well, if she’s to be your lifelong partner, she needs to be a capable person fit to guard your back!”
“The criteria for a marriage partner are too physical!”
Even though I’m not particularly popular, if they add such strict conditions, I might never find someone to marry in this lifetime.
Please, I hope they’re at least joking.
“–Well, putting aside Lady Yuzuriha’s joke…”
“It’s no joke.”
“Now that you mention it, the other nobles did ask me quite a bit about that yesterday.”
“Oh? What did they ask you?”
“Whether I was married or had a partner. I thought it was just casual small talk.”
“Information gathering is important. And while a marriage proposal might be a long shot, it’s crucial to get close to you as early as possible.”
“I see…”
“No matter how much of a national hero you are, you’re still a newcomer in noble society. So if they butter you up now, they can pat themselves on the back later and say, ‘I raised that Margrave of Lohengrin’ when you become even greater.”
“I have zero plans to become any greater than I am, you know?”
“That’s just a difference in perspective. Let me warn you – as long as you’re in the capital, the marriage proposals will only increase day by day. After all, for the nobles, it would be disastrous if you were snatched away by someone else before they could get to you.”
“Oh, dear!”
The nobles’ mysterious expectations of me are quite troubling.
“So what should I do about that…?”
“It’s simple, Suzuha nii.”
“Lady Toko!”
As expected of the queen, she knows how to deal with situations like this – what a relief.
Setting aside the fact that Lady Toko is pretty much the entire reason I’m in this predicament…
“As long as you’re in the capital, the other nobles will catch you. So until the fuss dies down, just take refuge in your own territory.”
“My territory? I have one?”
“Of course, you’re a margrave. It’s a given.”
“I thought it was just a title.”
“Well, you could hire a butler and leave the actual territory management to them. But since you’ve just become a new margrave, it’s not ideal to leave it entirely to others until you get a grasp of your territory. So why don’t you take refuge in the Lohengrin Margraviate until you’re familiar with it?”
“I see.”
I can escape the nobles and also work – killing two birds with one stone. As expected of Queen Toko.
But just as I was admiring her…
“And while you’re at it, you can take back your territory.”
“…Pardon?”
“Ah, I forgot to mention – your territory is currently occupied by an enemy nation.”
…Wait, what!?
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2
“Well, I did feel like something was off about this.”
A few days out of the capital,
walking along the treacherous mountain path leading to the Lohengrin Margraviate, I muttered to Suzuha.
“I thought it was strange for me to become a noble, but it makes more sense that a margrave had his territory seized by the former princes during the war. In the end, there’s no real benefit to it.”
“However, Brother, the Lohengrin Margravial Family was once a prominent noble family in this country. Though they were an arrogant and foolish bunch with an excessive sense of class privilege, which led to the entire family being purged by Lady Yuzuriha.”
“I can’t really tell if they were prominent nobles or not based on that. –By the way, Suzuha, how are things looking?”
“All clear, Brother.”
Suzuha was currently keeping watch from my shoulders as I gave her a piggyback ride.
In the mountain wilderness like this, we can’t let our guard down against monsters or mountain bandits. That’s why keeping watch is essential.
Normally I would be the one on lookout duty, but Suzuha insisted on “training to become a full-fledged knight” and took over watch duties during our journey to the Lohengrin Margraviate – from my shoulders.
“By the way, Suzuha, I’ve been wondering – doesn’t it get tiring to keep watch all day long while piggybacking on me? You can get down if you want.”
“Not at all. As you know, Brother, it’s more advantageous to keep watch from a higher vantage point.”
“Well, I suppose that makes sense.”
“Of course, I would never allow any man besides you to give me a piggyback ride, so please rest assured.”
“I didn’t ask about that, though.”
While I don’t mind Suzuha being in close contact like this since she’s my sister, if it were any other man having Suzuha’s well-trained thighs wrapped tightly around his nape, or her sizeable, bouncy chest resting on his head, or catching whiffs of her feminine, citrusy scent from behind, it would be quite problematic.
As her brother, I don’t really mind if it’s me, though.
Every time Suzuha moves to keep watch, various parts of her sway, rub against me, and press into me.
If she weren’t my sister, this would be pretty tough to endure.
And…
tugging at Suzuha’s skirt was Lady Yuzuriha.
“Say, Suzuha, isn’t it about time we switch places?”
“No, thank you. And why did you come along with us, Lady Yuzuriha? Our destination, Brother’s territory, has nothing to do with the Sakuragi Ducal Family, does it?”
“You’re quite mistaken. As your brother’s one and only partner, it’s more important for me to guard his back than attend to household matters, is it not?”
“Those don’t sound like the words of a great noble at all?”
“My father gladly saw me off. Well, if your brother wasn’t the biggest focus of attention in our country right now, he wouldn’t have allowed it so easily.”
“…So your judgment was that accompanying Brother would be most advantageous for the Ducal Family…! Tch, abandoning appearances for practicality – how truly devoid of blind spots you great nobles are…!”
I don’t quite understand, but it seems Suzuha has accepted Lady Yuzuriha’s reason for joining us to the Lohengrin Margraviate.
I was also curious about that.
When I asked Lady Yuzuriha, she looked dejected and said, “Would it be unacceptable for me to accompany you…?” so I couldn’t bring myself to inquire further.
In any case…
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