DSB 110

“Ha, but….”

“You can tell just by looking. He has no intention of attacking.”

Lebel calmly stroked the dragon’s neck. The knights’ mouths fell open.

“Th-then, was it perhaps the Young Madam who controlled it?”

“Ah, no, that is not the case.”

He could not say that he was controlling the one who was to become the guardian of the Hestro family.

At that moment, Edmund approached from behind. At the same time, Karon jumped into Lebel’s arms and barked.

[Lord Lebel, why did you bring that thing along? It is a young hatchling whose head is still wet with blood…! You didn’t bring it here because I’m lacking, right?]

Karon bristled, his fur raised in alarm, perhaps sensing a threat to his position. The dragon, surprised to see another demon besides Lebel, slowly backed away.

“Daughter-in-law, where did you pick this one up as well?”

Since Lebel had brought a demonic beast before, Edmund was convinced that bringing a dragon this time was the same matter.

As proof, he look up at the dragon so that he couldn’t escape. A single glance, and the dragon, unable to move, lowered his head and stuck his head out toward Lebel.

The daughter-in-law who had married into the Hestro family was remarkable in many ways.

***

Damian sighed as he heard a commotion outside while looking through his documents. He was starting to miss the quiet atmosphere of the past.

Ever since someone arrived, various issues have been constantly occurring within the castle, and now he was even picking up strange things from outside. Moreover, it was no longer just one creature but two. He was worried that the number might increase even further.

“Damian, you will lose your good fortune. Stop sighing.”

“…You can see that sight and not sigh?”

Damian’s gaze turned toward the window.

A huge dragon was trampling the garden. Despite his size, he was being chased by Karon, who was no bigger than a chestnut.

Karon barked fiercely, blocking the dragon’s path as if he were herding him. The surroundings were noisy with people watching the scene.

The head of the Hestro family had returned together with a dragon. A being spoken of only in legends had appeared in reality. The appearance of a dragon, once thought to be extinct, was bound to cause a stir.

The news spread as quickly as the rumor that a demon had been hiding among the imperial envoy.

A dragon larger than most houses had appeared and crossed the sky, so people could not fail to notice his existence.

Those who saw a dragon for the first time were startled and on guard, thinking it was an attack by a demonic beast. However, when Edmund appeared and handled the dragon, everyone was left speechless.

Moreover, the North had an old legend. Some called it a demon, others called it a dragon, but they said that a powerful being was sleeping somewhere among the countless mountains of the North.

Since that being actually appeared, there was bound to be a lot of talk.

In the end, the most plausible theory emerged that the dragon, long asleep, had awakened to protect the North because the North was in great danger, intertwined with the revelation.

With the head of the family returning alongside a dragon, and the young master of the family chosen by the god, the atmosphere of the territory was no different from a festival.

“Do you see these letters? They are from families that did not even believe in the god, saying they want to participate in the event. You received similar ones as well.”

“Mm… The vassals did ask whether it was true that a dragon had really been found.”

“You see.”

Although the New Year Festival was centered on the temple, since it was an event held in Hestro territory, Damian was also involved.

In particular, since they planned to hold it on a grand and lavish scale, they intended to invite retainers as well. While organizing the attendance list, letters kept arriving from other families asking whether they too could attend.

Even families far removed from Hestro territory, who had shown no interest in the event, were expressing their desire to participate.

Although the New Year Festival was held every year in the territory, it was the first time so much interest from nobles had gathered.

In the North, most families believed that their own martial strength was everything, so there were many who did not believe in the existence of a god.

Edmund noticed a letter among those Damian was examining that bore Lebel’s name.

“There is one addressed to daughter-in-law as well.”

“He pushed it onto me. He is not easy to deal with either.”

“That is true.”

The existence of the dragon and the holy sword was so shocking that it overshadowed other matters. However, the rumor that Lebel was a mage and could control demonic beasts likewise carried great impact. Some even asked whether the rumors circulating about Lebel were true.

At this point, it would be accurate to say that there was no one throughout the North who did not know of Lebel’s existence.

“Did you know? They are calling daughter-in-law a bringer of fortune.”

“What? A bringer of fortune?”

Within Hestro Castle, people were saying that many things had changed for the better since Lebel arrived, and they were treating him as a ‘bringer of fortune.’ There had been all sorts of incidents, but in the end, they had become a benefit to the North.

A demon had appeared, but Yutis received the holy sword through a revelation, and they also found a dragon that had existed only in legend.

The servants knew that Lebel had gone to rescue Edmund and discovered the dragon there, and the knights had witnessed everything with their own eyes, so it was obvious without saying who had played the most important role.

Damian laughed for quite a while, saying it was absurd, then finally spoke as if he was conceding the point.

“So that fellow is a bringer of fortune…. Well, it isn’t wrong.”

Damian frowned, but he nodded as if to say he would admit it. He’d grumbled about every action he’d taken, but he’d long since accepted Lebel.

“Do you think he even read the letters?”

After looking at letters without a single crease, Damian answered briefly.

“He didn’t read them.”

“That is just like him.”

“Gifts came along with the letters, but he didn’t even consider accepting them.”

He said that he had no intention of accepting gifts from people whose names and faces he didn’t even know, and that he couldn’t understand why they would give him gifts in the first place. Then, in the end, he pushed everything onto Damian, the madam of the household, and told him to decide how to handle it all.

He wasn’t concerned with what the families who sent the letters and gifts might think.

“He said that he already checked and passed on the letters he absolutely needed to see, so I should sort out the rest on my own. He just doesn’t want to deal with anything bothersome.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I will return them appropriately. It has been long since he came here, so sending greeting letters only now doesn’t make sense.”

Damian’s lips twitched as he spoke. It didn’t mattter if he was an imperial prince, once he became part of the Hestro family, it was proper for them to offer greetings first.

That was the etiquette of the nobility. A person of lower status should first identify themselves and offer greetings to someone of higher status.

Knowing this, those who felt guilty were belatedly sending gifts to curry favor. Seeing that Lebel’s presence carried far greater meaning for the Hestro family than expected, they were likely even more desperate.

“There will be more nobles trying actively to build connections. Some will even try to enter politics through him.”

“I already narrowed down a few families. Here.”

Damian handed Edmund a sheet of paper he had taken out from somewhere.

“I chose among the retainers. They are families that didn’t strongly oppose accepting Lebel as a person of the North, and ones that are somewhat… gentle. If they are too sensitive or too fierce, it would be hard for them to get along.”

Edmund went through all the noble families Damian had selected. They weren’t only suitable as retainers, but several of them were families it would be good to maintain moderate ties with.

“They are close by as well, so it should be easy to interact often. There aren’t any particularly problematic families.”

“That is a relief. When a new person comes into the household, it is also noble etiquette for the madam to introduce people he is close to….”

Damian scrunched up his face, as if he didn’t understand why such formalities had to be observed, but he quietly went off to take care of his duties.

His position and Lebel’s were different to begin with. Damian didn’t bother maintaining close relationships with other madams the way other families did.

Since he came from a knightly background, he interacted with heads of households more often than with their wives. Because of that, when Edmund was absent, he could be entrusted with handling everything as his proxy.

“I was careless.”

“You were busy because it was winter. If you had held a party or a ball for him, you would have been harshly criticized for wasting food and manpower during winter.”

“That is true as well…. I really don’t know which tune I am supposed to dance to. I would rather take up a sword and fight. High society is something I truly despise.”

As Edmund watched the grumbling Damian, he stood up and walked over to his side.

“That is how it was. I am sorry you ended up with so much troublesome work because of me.”

“Enough. It was my choice.”

No one would deny that the Hestro family represented the North, but because of that, they were often the subject of gossip. Nobles who witnessed them turning into monsters during their rut were horrified, and through them, rumors spread that they were of demonic blood.

“No one will dare look down on daughter-in-law.”

“Look down on him? He will be the one looking down on everyone else. He is the sort who wouldn’t care even if all of high society ostracized him.”

“It seems some people are closely watching him. The ability to control demonic beasts isn’t common. Many have already realized that it wasn’t me who brought back the dragon, but him.”

“He acts in a way that makes it impossible not to know.”

It was Lebel who took the dragon with him and gave him a place to live, and it was also Lebel who put a leash on the dragon that had caused an accident and made him take time for reflection while holding a sign that said, “I won’t do it again.”

“But did you really form a contract?”

At Damian’s question, Edmund removed the gloves he was wearing. On the back of his hand, a telltale mark of a contract was revealed. Damian glanced at it and clicked his tongue.