Don’t Run Away My Lord

64 – She Came (2)

Wolfert, who already knew what was going on, looked at me with a serious expression.

I turned to the pimp and gave an order.

“Everyone, except the women, go outside. Guard leader, take control.”

The pimp looked anxious and tried to say something to me, but Wolfert’s strong hand grabbed the back of her neck.

“Come out quietly.”

Woolfert left the hall with her employees, including the pimp, in tow.

In the quiet hall, I pointed to any of the women.

“Follow me.”

I entered the small inner room located behind the counter and asked the woman.

“How did you end up working here?”

“Um… Me…?”

The woman who was singled out opened her mouth trembling somewhat, perhaps because she was scared.

“I just… Want to do this…”

“Do you know who I am?”

“This is Count Gouda…”

“It would be better to answer the questions truthfully.”

The woman said nothing and had tears in her eyes.

After waiting for a while and seeing no sign of speaking, I spoke again.

“Tell me the truth. Then I will not let you work here.”

The woman was surprised at those words and raised her head.

“Are you sure…?”

“I don’t think there’s any reason to deceive you.”

“Ah…”

The woman who was worried finally opened her mouth.

* * * * *

I didn’t say anything the whole way back to Yeongju Castle.

Wolpert noticed me, but she wasn’t stupid enough to ask a question, so she remained silent.

When I arrived at the lord’s castle, I handed over the horse to Wolpert and went straight up to the office.

As I entered the office, the side door leading to the attached room opened and the personal secretary brought out the documents I needed to approve.

“These are payment documents submitted by your vassals during your absence, my lord.”

The young male secretary put the documents on the desk, looked at my expression, and asked.

“Would you like me to prepare some cold tea?”

“Yes.”

When the secretary left the office, he let out a long, suppressed sigh.

That male secretary is a new person hired upon entering the Yeongju Castle.

The pretty female secretary who was originally there was fired without anyone knowing.

That’s not all.

All female employees called ‘maids’ who originally did chores and chores in the Yeongju Castle were fired and replaced with men.

These are all things Liana did.

When she asked about it, Liana replied that men are stronger than women, so she can be used here and there.

For example, when a territory war breaks out, they can be converted into a security force, or they can be mobilized when there is construction or work.

It was a completely logical answer, but…

The hiring and dismissal of employees of the permanent residence falls within the authority of the chief servant, who is in charge of household affairs.

But doesn’t it seem a bit against common sense to fire nearly 30 people at the same time overnight?

And what happened just now at Changgwan…

Most of the women working at the store were women who had recently been on the list of top opposition parties.

As she interrogated them one by one, she also found out that it was Liana who did it.

Liana said that she visited each woman’s home and forced her to make a choice by guaranteeing her an above-average salary.

Why on earth did you do that, Lyana…?

The secretary gathered her thoughts while drinking the tea she had brought.

All of Liana’s strange actions so far were aimed at getting rid of women around me.

The easiest thing to infer is that Liana likes me and wants to monopolize me.

If he shows even the slightest sign of being close to Keita, he changes his mind and kicks out all the women in Yeongju Castle and sends those who will exercise their power to Changgwan.

If you say it is monopoly or obsession, it is Ahgwi.

It is possible.

Liana once said this in passing.

My polymorphic self is said to be that of a very ideal man among humans.

She said any girl would fall for me, but she laughed jokingly and said she would stop it all.

Is it supposed to happen this way?

Is this normal in the human world…?

No. It’s not that you can’t understand.

When I escaped from the island, I had an engagement dragon with me.

That female was famous for being pathologically obsessed.

However, among Rod’s collateral lineage, she was the only female of the age to mate with me, so she had no choice but to become my fiancé.

Recalling the female’s behavior, it is not impossible to understand that Liana is doing this.

Yes. Good. I understand.

Let’s say that if you are in the position of chamberlain, who has the power next to the lord, you can do such a thing to catch a man.

Okay… Let’s move on from that.

Recently, Liana keeps urging me to attack the Marquis of Aiwar.

What does that have to do with this?

I have no idea.

What on earth could this have to do with trying to possess me and attacking other territories?

But it seems like there is something…

I need to find out more about the Marquis.

I called the secretary and told her to call Wolfert immediately.

After a while, Wolfert entered the office.

“Did you call me, my lord?”

“Do you know about the Marquis of Aiwar?”

“I know. It is a territory that requires a lot of power in the central part of the kingdom.”

“Is that all? Anything else special? Tell me everything you know.”

“Hmm… I don’t know. From what I remember, I think he probably played a huge role in getting this king elected.”

“Elect a king? What does that mean?”

Wolfert explained it to me in detail.

* * * * *

Unlike other kingdoms, the Kingdom of Tarda is a place where the power of the lords is very strong.

Although there is a king, he is only a king in name. He is much weaker than the lords and is like a scarecrow that the lords collude to replace at any given time.

He does not become king through bloodline, but powerful marquis and dukes gather together and vote to determine the next king.

Sometimes, among the lords, a willing person becomes king himself, and this is the case when the father of the person currently sitting on the throne became king.

He was called Duke Polk, and he personally attacked the castle, beheaded the king, and declared himself king.

“He is probably the longest-serving king in the history of the kingdom.”

“But the current king is the son of the previous king? I heard he was elected?”

“That’s right. To be more specific, the previous king was old and sick, so his son came forward as a candidate to become king.”

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When Duke Polk’s son became a candidate for king, all powerful lords who were closely connected to Duke Polk declared that they would support him.

That is how the current king came to sit on the throne.

One of the lords who supported the king was the Marquis of Aiwar.

“It’s incredibly complicated.”

“Human politics is like that, my lord. But why are you suddenly asking about the Marquis of Aiwar?”

“The Chamberlain has been urging me these days to attack the Marquis of Aiwar. Why do you think that is?”

“You mean the Chamberlain? The Marquis of Aiwar?”

Woolfert closed his mouth and lost himself in his thoughts.

“Hmm… I don’t know… Of course, the lord could easily defeat the Marquis on his own, but that wouldn’t be a problem…”

Nodding his head to himself, Wolpert continued speaking.

“The Marquis of Aiwar is so big that it can’t even be compared to here. We can’t manage those territories at the same time. We have to either give up here, but I wonder if we should go that far… Besides, the busy farming season is coming soon. …”

It looks like Wolpert doesn’t know either.

“I’m sorry, my lord. I don’t know. If you have the opportunity, why not ask the great lord?”

“How is the great lord these days?”

“He’s worse than before. He wanders around in the middle of the night and repeats the same words all day long. There are times when he returns to normal, but it’s less than before…”

“I see. I got it… Oh, and.”

First of all… As promised, we have to take action against the women who came to Changgwan and want to leave…

After hearing my order, Wolpert immediately got on his horse and left the castle.

Even after Wolfert stepped down, he sat alone in his office for a long time.

There was something I could guess.

But he had to calmly take his time and sort things out.

It might be a bit difficult while there are piles of payment documents in front of you.

* * * * *

Late at night, I finally reviewed all the documents, handed them over to the annex, and returned to the bedroom.

I was just about to lie down in bed when I heard an urgent knock on the door.

“My lord…! My lord…!”

The low whispering voice belonged to Keita.

When I opened the door, Keita spoke hurriedly with her flushed face.

“The Chamberlain… I think he’s very sick…!”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m listening using eavesdropping magic… I can still hear the sound of people grunting in pain and calling the lord’s name…!”

“What…?!”

At that moment, an ominous feeling passed through her entire body.

Could it be that Liana found out that Ulpert was sent to Changguan to send her women back home?

Are you trying to make an extreme choice because something I did secretly was discovered…?!

I passed Keita and ran to Liana’s bedroom.

* * * * *

As I stood in front of Liana’s bedroom, a very, very small moan was coming from inside.

I knocked on the door and called her name.

“Liana! Liana! Are you in there?!”

Then suddenly the moaning stopped and what sounded like hurried footsteps was heard.

“Liana! Open the door!”

“Oh, what should I do… Should I break down the door with magic…?”

Keita, who was standing behind me, stamped her feet as if she was worried.

Just as I was about to force open the door and go in, the door opened wide, revealing a sweaty Liana.

“Heh…? Lord…? Wizard…? Why are we suddenly here at this hour…?”