When I Infiltrated the Enemy Nation as a Slave, the Yandere Beauties There Started a Civil War Over Me - Chapter 05: The Noble

Chapter 05: The Noble

Cecifelia sat on the sofa inside the guest room. 

As I stood behind her, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

At Cecifelia’s invitation, the door opened, and a woman dressed in a maid outfit, who seemed to be a servant of the Cecifelia family, entered, followed by a young man wearing noble attire.

He was probably the marquis Cecifelia was meeting with.

The man took a seat on the sofa opposite Cecifelia, while the maid placed teacups on the table between them and poured some tea. 

After bowing politely, she quietly left the room.

The first to speak was the marquis.

“I had heard rumors that Lady Cecifelia had purchased a slave, but I never expected it to be true! How surprising.”

“Well, I’ve never bought a slave before, so I guess it’s no wonder you’re surprised~.”

“Y-Yes, indeed.”

Cecifelia acted the same as usual, but the marquis was clearly behaving oddly. Even though he was speaking with a duchess, a noble of marquis rank should still have a certain level of pride. 

Yet, even before getting to the main topic, he seemed incredibly timid.

While I don’t expect things to work the same way in a different country, it was still strange to see him act so submissive from the very beginning.

“So, what’s the purpose of today’s meeting?”

“Y-Yes… Actually, I, Rildat, have had a bit of a disagreement with another marquis over a territorial issue…”

“Territory? Didn’t I just help you settle that matter not too long ago? Why is it causing trouble again?”

—She adjusted the territory!?

Even though she’s a duchess, she’s not royalty. Yet, she was involved in adjusting the land of another noble, and a marquis no less?

Normally, managing a duchy’s own vast territory would be more than enough work. While I was still processing that surprise, the man who called himself Rildat spoke up.

“The thing is, at this time of year, due to the location, there are some agricultural problems, like crops that won’t grow, and we can’t resolve the issue on our own.”

After saying that, Rildat took a sip of tea, trying to hide his nervousness.

“Hah, alright. I’ll divide some land from the Cecifelia duchy’s farms and swap it with the other territories. That should work, right?”

Dividing her own land and swapping it with others… It’s remarkable she came up with such an idea so quickly. However, managing farms is incredibly complex. Even just saying “swap” involves coordinating many other issues, but…

“T-Thank you, Lady Cecifelia! I will never forget this favor…!”

Rildat didn’t doubt Cecifelia’s words at all, which shows that he truly believes she has the ability to carry out what she says.

Not only is she capable of adjusting territories, but she also has the creativity to solve problems. Although it wasn’t mentioned in this conversation, the way Rildat admired her so much suggests that she must have many other skills as well.

After Rildat left the guest room, Cecifelia turned to me and said,

“Haa~… It’s such a bother when my alone time with you, Luke, gets interrupted for such a boring reason. Especially when I’m already busy handling contracts with merchants from various countries.”

—Contracts with merchants from other countries!?

I was constantly surprised, but for a country at war to make contracts with foreign merchants isn’t something that can be done easily. Normally, that would be a task reserved for royalty as part of national agreements.

And yet Cecifelia is handling this…?

“…”

It seemed like I had been underestimating Cecifelia all this time. I needed to seriously reevaluate my opinion of her. 

Without a doubt, she is one of the people who make the Elenorde Empire so powerful. One day, she will surely become a major obstacle for me.

As I was coming to this realization, Cecifelia spoke again.

“Another marquis is coming right after this, but it seems like it’s going to be a hassle~.”

“A hassle…?”

“I haven’t heard the details yet, but the letter sounded urgent, so depending on the situation—”

Just as she was about to finish her sentence, there was a knock on the door.

I wanted to know what Cecifelia considered “a hassle” in this Elenorde Empire, but it would have been unnatural to press her right now.

“Come in.”

At Cecifelia’s signal, the door opened, and this time, instead of a young man, an older man with a beard—at least twice our age—entered the room, accompanied by the same maid in her uniform. 

The maid followed the same routine, pouring tea into the cups before bowing and leaving the room.

“…”

The marquis’s face had turned pale as he spoke.

“I need to discuss something with you privately, Lady Cecifelia… May I?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Actually… Recently, one of my subordinates got into a dispute with someone from the church. I couldn’t just let my subordinate be disgraced, so I defended him, but now I’ve ended up in a conflict with the church as well. They are demanding a large sum of money as a condition for forgiveness.”

The church… I don’t know much about it since there isn’t one in the Sandrotheim Kingdom, but it’s said to be a very powerful organization.

“I can pretty much guess the amount the church is asking for, but what exactly do you want from me?”

“It’s difficult for me to pay the full amount on my own, but if I could borrow some funds from you, Lady Cecifelia… I came here hoping you would help me.”

The marquis, still pale, continued, while Cecifelia replied calmly.

“So, you want me to pay the money for you?”

“Well, to put it simply… yes. But I swear to repay you more than the amount I borrow in the future—”

“I don’t think so. It’s not just about the money. If I help you, it would mean the Cecifelia duchy is siding with the Vadling marquis family, and that would leave bad blood between us and the church, right?”

“B-But… We’ve built a friendly relationship up until now!”

The marquis, Vadling, raised his voice, forgetting his polite tone in his frustration. But Cecifelia remained unfazed.

“It wasn’t friendship; it was a mutual benefit. Now that those benefits are gone, there’s no reason to continue.”

“Ugh…!”

“Lord Vadling, you should’ve cut off the subordinate who first caused the dispute with the church. A noble’s main duty is managing their territory, but risking the entire estate for one person is not a smart choice. It’s not worth making an enemy of the powerful church just for the Vadling family. That’s why I’m cutting ties with you now.”

Cecifelia may have sounded cold, but she wasn’t wrong at all. As a noble, one must take responsibility for their position. Just as I, born into royalty, am now here in enemy territory to fulfill my duties.

“You insolent girl…!”

Vadling, completely losing his composure, stood up with an angry expression.

“I’m going to lose everything at this rate… Cecifelia! Whether you like it or not, I’ll make you listen to me!!”

Even as Vadling shouted in rage, Cecifelia’s expression didn’t change at all. He reached out his arm toward her. 

No matter how capable Cecifelia is as a duchess, the size difference between her and Vadling was too great. If he managed to grab her even once, she wouldn’t be able to escape.

As Cecifelia’s slave, I couldn’t stand by and let this happen, especially when I had the power to stop it. I grabbed Vadling’s outstretched arm, preventing him from reaching her.

“Luke…”

For the first time, Cecifelia’s face showed a hint of surprise, but Vadling, now looking at me, spoke angrily.

“A slave!? Don’t you dare touch someone as noble as me with your filthy hands!”

—The moment Vadling said that, he was suddenly blown back against the wall of the guest room and collapsed. Cecifelia stood over him, pointing her sword at him with cold eyes and an icy tone.

“How dare you look down on Luke and call him filthy… Before the church destroys your house, I could cut off your head right here and now.”

“Ahh…! N-No, please! Aahhh!!”

Overcome with terror, the Marquis Vadling screamed and hurriedly ran out of the guest room. Immediately after, Cecifelia, whose eyes had just been cold and emotionless, turned to me with a bright, sparkling expression and said in a cheerful voice:

“Hey, Luke~! Did you protect me just now?”

“…I’m just a slave.”

“Even so, I’m really happy you protected me! Still, I’m surprised you managed to stop Vadling’s arm, given how much bigger he is!”

“It was just luck.”

“Really now?”

Cecifelia grinned mischievously.

“Well, anyway, today’s meetings are finally over! I’m tired, and I’m starting to get hungry, so let’s have some dinner… Oh, Luke.”

“Yes?”

“Remember how I said earlier that it’s not wise for a noble to risk their entire territory for just one person, and that it’s a bad idea to make an enemy of the powerful church?”

“I remember.”

“Even though I said that… If you ever get into trouble with the church, I’ll help you, even if it means going against them. So, don’t worry.”

As she said this, Cecifelia gave me a gentle smile. 

She might show such kindness and perhaps is genuinely kind most of the time, but it’s clear that Claire Cecifelia is an exceptional duchess. Her abilities, decisiveness, and noble convictions leave no doubt about that.

Life with Cecifelia is likely going to be more challenging than I had imagined.