“Ugh. This doesn’t suit me at all…”
*Rustle.*
With her hands clasped in front of the mirror in the dressing room, Trie couldn’t help but avoid looking at her own reflection.
Unlike her battle gloves, these slippery gloves were utterly uncomfortable, and the dress with a plunging neckline felt like it would slip off at any moment. To top it off, the long skirt was a constant hindrance every time she tried to move her legs.
It was stuffed with items she would have never thought she’d wear in her lifetime.
But there was no other choice.
As the head of the Schulzenburg, ruling over Edengard, she couldn’t attend the banquet in armor.
“It feels a bit childish.”
Summoning her courage to face her reflection, Trie took a glance at herself in the mirror, then lightly pulled her hair back.
It wasn’t long enough to be styled freely, nor was it short enough to be a neat bob; it was awkwardly in between.
If she let it down like this, she’d look more like the daughter of the head who wanted to be coddled rather than the head themselves.
Still, she couldn’t just tie it up like usual.
As Trie turned around, the maids approached her with smiles, as if they could read her mind.
“It does look more fitting for the head, but… ugh.”
A while later, as she met the gaze of her reflection, Trie pursed her lips and muttered quietly.
She looked much better than before.
Although she looked youthful, she didn’t appear too young, nor did she seem like she was trying to be cute.
Yet, she still felt foreign and embarrassed about herself, causing Trie’s face to flush bright red.
…
“Finally, the family seems to be getting organized, huh?”
“Hmm…”
In the banquet hall filled with celebration, soft melodies echoed, and people danced in time to the music, while a group of elders laughed heartily as they clinked their glasses together.
However, there was a certain group of elders who couldn’t hide their discomfort as they forced smiles.
“I wonder who spread those rumors that our head is anxious and only busy chasing after commoner men? I’m dying to know!”
*Ahem, cough…*
Just three months ago, the Schulzenburg was in a dire crisis.
Since Trie, the supposed head, didn’t plan on returning to Edengard, the elders had effectively taken charge of the mercenary group and the family management. Dissatisfied elders began to appear one by one, voicing that Trie should be deposed and a new head chosen.
Trie didn’t return to Edengard.
Rumors spread that she had no intent or ability to care for the family…
Of course, that was all in the past.
After beating all the knights and masters of the continent to become the Sword God, Trie returned to Edengard and declared direct rule over her long-neglected family.
Though there were definitely concerns, Trie swiftly silenced the noise from the mercenary group and elder council through her iron-fisted rule, and the coup supporters quickly fell silent.
It was clear that Trie was not oblivious to the unrest.
Grateful for the leniency of passing by without severing the heads of half the elders, they had no choice but to crawl back into silence.
“By the way, you didn’t just get stronger but you’re also quite sharp, huh?”
“I agree. Your grip on things… Oof.”
Upon returning to Edengard, instead of heading straight to the main estate, Trie stopped by the Schulzenburg Mercenary Group.
The mercenaries, now following the commands of their Sword God head, didn’t even have the gall to question her authority and guided their head in a triumphant return to the estate.
As Edengard was surrounded in an instant, the elders plotting a coup couldn’t even dream of escaping and had to raise the white flag.
Upon reflection, her intentions were painfully clear.
Slowly taking control of the family and asserting her power would lead to rebellious elders popping up left and right.
In that case, Trie would have no choice but to rule the family through fear, cutting down those pesky elders.
In the first place, Trie had no intention of enacting a hardline governance or rooting out the coup plotters.
Why would she need to kill an elder who was just doing their job because she had a fleeting thought of rebellion?
Though she might seem generous and soft-hearted, Trie clearly intended to keep the elders fully utilized until the day they all perished.
“It reminds me so much of the late Gawayn.”
“Hey. You too?”
The elders all shared the same thought.
The way she commanded others felt eerily reminiscent of Gawayn, who had established the Schulzenburg family.
Perhaps, Trie might have already surpassed Gawayn.
As the elders clinked their glasses together, they felt instinctively that the Schulzenburg had entered a new golden age, having fallen from the graces of being just a family with a bit more coin after Gawayn’s death.
“Oh. But where is our head?”
“Yeah. I haven’t seen them for a while.”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Schlus either?”
“Are the two of them, surely…?”
“Oh ho! Is one of you still not awake, huh?!”
Startled by a booming voice, some elders flinched and shrunk back.
“Are you all seriously suggesting that our head has feelings for Schlus? Schlus has… two wives? Three? Ugh! Anyway, plenty! Do you think our head would fall for such a flirt?!”
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to suggest that…!”
Though falling for him was the impression, the elder who blurted it out bowed his head.
Meanwhile, outside in the garden on the first floor—
“What a disaster. The engagement announcement is ruined at this rate?”
“Right…?”
Trie pouted, kicking the ground as she heard it all through the window.
Those old men were simply infuriating.
If it were up to her, she would love to bury everyone who was mumbling behind her back, yet she couldn’t afford to voluntarily reduce her manpower, especially with the reshuffling of the mercenary group and the agricultural reforms in her territory.
Besides, she learned from her father that merely seating pleasant people would only lead the ship to run aground unexpectedly.
To fully and accurately understand the situation, she needed to have dissidents around her.
Intellectually, she was aware of that, but it didn’t make those annoying individuals feel any less irritating.
As Trie gritted her teeth, a warm touch suddenly enveloped her hand.
“You must be going through a lot as the head.”
“I’m really stressed out.”
“So, are you done with the noble lady cosplay?”
“It wasn’t a cosplay… Well, regardless. Yeah, I can’t do it anymore. I’m too embarrassed…”
“Embarrassed about what?”
*…*
Trie’s sharp gaze fell upon Schlus.
Just when she had started to forget it, memories of what happened earlier rushed back, causing her cheeks to flush anew.
How could she have anticipated that the one crying pathetically alone on the balcony would be Schlus?
After feeling stifled all day in a tight corset and a dress dragging on the ground while playing a role that felt so out of place, she found a little kitten and…
“You were much cuter.”
“Ugh. Please stop…”
Her face was burning hot.
With Schlus’ relentless teasing, Trie felt dizzy and overwhelmed.
To lose herself over such a trivial creature.
The fact that she had revealed a side of her never seen before Schlus while clutching him was shocking in multiple ways.
“By the way, did I mention this?”
“What kind of talk?”
“The one about you looking incredibly beautiful right now.”
“Wha?! It’s the dress that’s pretty. And the makeup.”
“No, it’s you who’s beautiful.”
“Eh?”
“Even with matted hair and no makeup, just wearing armor, you’re still so pretty. Look. Dressing up like this makes that beauty stand out even more. It’s simply unbelievable how lovely you are.”
“Flattery comes easy to you…”
Though she turned her head shyly, Trie found it impossible to suppress the smile forming on her lips.
She had heard many compliments about her beauty, but they all seemed to come with the caveat of ‘for a knight.’
Yet hearing such praise from Schlus, who had built a harem full of beauties, made her incredibly joyful deep down.
It felt a bit off to be happy for slightly odd reasons, but it didn’t matter much.
As long as it made Schlus happy…
“Are you planning to settle down in Edengard from now on?”
“Well. For the time being, I suppose? There’s still a lot to organize. Truth is, I haven’t even finished passing down the reins yet.”
“What about school?”
“School… I have to go. So I’m trying to clear my schedule before the term starts…”
Trie sighed heavily as she looked up at the night sky.
Though she rushed back upon hearing the family was in jeopardy, actually handling her duties as head left her with no time at all.
At this rate, there was no way she could go back to school even after the term started.
She was caught between prioritizing her life as the head or her life as a student, causing her head to ache.
On top of that, soon she’d have to add the life of Schlus’ wife into the mix.
“Schlus. Do you think I can really manage it?”
“Of course.”
“How is that obvious? I’m an idiot who doesn’t know anything aside from swinging a sword. Since childhood, I’ve skipped every class except sword dueling, and I absolutely suck at studying.”
“Trie. You know what? Stupid people can’t even wield a sword.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“No matter how strong or fast you are, if you lack the intelligence to learn and apply swordsmanship, you can’t do anything. And trying to weave complex magic spells while swinging your sword simultaneously? A regular person can’t do that. You have a remarkably sharp mind. The laziness is the real issue.”
“Huh…”
As Schlus’ hand settled on her head and began to pet her, Trie’s body relaxed, surrendering to the oddly comforting touch.
Feeling as if a weight had been lifted, she finally took a deep breath.
The air was clear, and the starlight shone brightly in the night sky.
Trie delightedly fidgeted with the spaces between Schlus’ fingers, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
“I suppose I’m also a problem. If I want to graduate early, I’ll need to pack my next semester full.”
“What’s the issue with that? With a Majin’s brain, you’ll remember everything and understand it all, right?”
“The problem is having only one body. If I take so many classes, I won’t have time to see you.”
“Ah… That’s really an issue…”
As she turned her head, their eyes met, and Trie’s mouth dropped slightly, lost in thought.
Under the moonlight, Schlus’ glowing face drew steadily closer.
Trie couldn’t utter a word, only holding on to Schlus’ finger while closing her eyes.
As Schlus leaned in, slowly inching towards Trie’s face—
“Is it okay to do this here? I got excited seeing you so beautiful in that dress.”
*…*
Schlus whispered a mood-breaking comment right into her ear.
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