Side: Mako
The morning after I married Yamato, I woke up naked in a bedroom on the fourth floor of the main hall.
As I slowly sat up and looked around, I saw nearly twenty people sleeping naked beside me.
The bed in this bedroom is incredibly large; it’s amazing how it could easily fit another ten people.
It must be around 40 square meters.
Still, last night was quite something…
It’s always been like this, but last night, as we officially got married, Yamato’s wives, fiancées, and even those treated as concubines all gathered, and I was showered with affection by all of them.
They kept saying it was a celebration, and Lady Hilde, Flam, Lydia, and Lady Apricot relentlessly pressed me, causing me to lose consciousness several times.
It felt good, though…
“Mmm… Ah, Mako. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Meena.”
The first to wake up was Meena, who was sleeping next to me.
No, the butler isn’t here, so she must have woken up and started working a while ago.
Still, it’s always a chaotic sight.
I don’t know if I can call this a bed, but the sheets are partially dry, and there are stains everywhere.
If I used Supplication Magic for cleaning, it would be spotless, but without it, just doing the laundry would be a tremendous effort.
“Are you alright?”
“Somehow. I’ve heard that Yokai have strong libidos, and I’ve experienced it myself, but last night was even more intense, so it was difficult.”
“With your marriage, all the wife slots are now filled. As for the concubine slots, I can’t say for sure, but given Yamato’s personality, I don’t think they’ll increase much either.”
So that was the reason.
Certainly, although I became engaged to Yamato last, I was the ninth to become his wife.
Well, the reason for that is that Sir Yuri, Athena, and Aria are still minors, so I suppose it’s okay to think of myself as the last for now.
As for concubines, besides the butler and Lady Apricot, there’s also the possibility of Elizabet, Mother of Lady Rika, joining.
“Speaking of concubines, aren’t we going to Valt today?”
“Yes. We are scheduled to visit regarding Emperor Neige’s matter.”
“What happened to Emperor Neige?”
“Ah, Lady Hilde. Good morning.”
Just as I mentioned going to Valt regarding Emperor Neige’s matter, Lady Hilde also woke up.
Yamato is sleeping between Lady Hilde and me, but he doesn’t seem to be waking up yet.
“Good morning. So, what happened to Emperor Neige?”
“No, we are going to Valt today, so it’s about that matter.”
“Ah, I see.”
The Valt Beast Duchy is a small country ruled by Emperor Neige Orb Valt, who is Prim’s cousin. It incorporates former baronial territories of the old Valentia United Kingdom to the west, and former Hydransia Duke’s Territory and the areas around the Gagun Great Forest.
The Gagun Great Forest is a forest of Fusang trees and also contains the Gagun Labyrinth, providing abundant resources. However, the Demise Species Hanuman inhabits the Gagun Great Forest, so investigations have only been conducted up to the vicinity of the Gagun Labyrinth.
Valt also has several other mines.
On the other hand, there are few forests, so they apparently rely on imports for lumber.
The matter requiring Emperor Neige, who rules Valt, is concerning the succession, specifically how to have an heir.
Emperor Neige is still unmarried, but to ensure the survival of the Valt Beast Duchy, she must bear children.
She apparently had a fiancé, but he was punished during Valentia’s civil war, and Emperor Neige didn’t seem interested in him either, so marriage talks have not progressed.
It’s not entirely for that reason, but Emperor Neige has taken an interest in Yamato.
This seems to be due to the fact that her cousin Prim is Yamato’s first wife, and the Queen of Torencia and a princess of Amister with the Heavenly Rank have also married him.
However, perhaps because of all these women, Emperor Neige does not intend to marry Yamato.
“In the end, she couldn’t find a partner, and since Prim seems welcoming, Emperor Neige will also become one of Yamato’s concubines, then?”
“That is correct.”
In Earth, this would be more than just a scandal, but in Helios Orb, it’s not a problem at all.
The gender ratio is unbalanced, and men have a high mortality rate, so there are many single mothers, which is not uncommon even among Royalty and Nobles.
Therefore, even if Emperor Neige becomes a single mother, as long as she gives birth, the issue is resolved.
“The problem is what to do about the Gate Stone. I hear Emperor Neige is being reserved about it, but I’m sure Lord Yamato believes it should be installed.”
“Indeed. Well, let’s leave that to the two of them.”
“Yes, let’s.”
How to handle the Gate Stone is not something for us to decide.
“Then, I will take a bath and head to Deseo. It’s a shame I can’t accompany you, but please let me know what happens.”
“Of course. Oh, I’ll join you as well.”
Lady Hilde is going to Deseo, Lady Rika is going to Memoria, and Sir Yuri cannot leave Feel, so unfortunately, they cannot accompany us to Valt.
This time, Flam is also scheduled to go to Prada Village.
I wish everyone could have gone together, but it’s work, so it can’t be helped.
To change our mood, Meena and I decided to take a bath in the utmost top floor of the main hall with Lady Hilde.
There’s a staircase in the bedroom leading to the top floor, so we can access it anytime.
Oh, the baths in the Hinomoto Mansion all contain trace amounts of calcium, sodium, and magnesium, so even though they are called hot springs, the water quality is excellent.
Even in Helios Orb, there are bath salts circulating that Yukari painstakingly developed and Sayuri perfected.
Since bath salts are quasi-drugs, Yukari apparently went through a lot of trouble, and I heard that she analyzed the bath salts Sayuri had when she transferred to Helios Orb before completing them.
The three of us, myself, Lady Hilde, and Meena, headed to the Tenshu Open-Air Bath naked.
There’s a staircase in the bedroom, and with Supplication Magic Washing, we don’t need towels.
Soap and shampoo are provided, so you can truly enter empty-handed.
However, because it’s so easy to use, it seems common for people to move mid-act and continue in the hot springs.
Side: Prim
I’m not a morning person, so I always wake up the latest.
This morning was no exception; when I woke up, I was the only one sleeping in the bed.
Still, there are usually a few people dozing, so it’s never a situation where only I am asleep.
After that, we all take a bath and head to work, which is the usual routine.
Our schedule today is that Flam will go to Prada Village, but everyone else is going to the Valt Beast Duchy.
“Valt. I’m dreading it…”
“For Yamato, yes. For me, it’s been a while, and I’m happy about it.”
The reason Yamato is dreading it is meeting Beast Duke Neige, who rules Valt. She’s my cousin, so he probably wouldn’t have a problem with that alone.
However, the reason we are going to Valt this time is concerning Neige’s partner, so it’s a difficult topic for Yamato.
“In the end, Emperor Neige couldn’t find a partner, could she? No, weren’t there a few people, but she rejected them?”
“It seems so.”
Apparently, there were quite a few people who were after her money or power, but including those types, Neige rejected them all.
The first Valt Beast Duke was a single mother and her partner was a noble, which is problematic, but she seems to think it’s more acceptable because that noble was a guest and also a Heavenly Rank of the first Fraydlancia.
Also, there’s the reason that Yamato is my husband.
“But in current Valt, there is no heir, so if something were to happen to Neige, I would inherit the throne. I can only tell her to give that up.”
Although I hold the title of Heavenly Rank Wife of Fraydlancia, I’ve actually been pushed into inheriting the public rank of Valt.
The reason is that Neige has no siblings, and I am her only relative, my cousin.
Therefore, Neige absolutely must bear children.
Yet, not only is her partner undecided, but she keeps rejecting candidates, and at 23 years old, it’s possible that my child could end up ruling Valt.
That’s definitely a problem, so I must ensure that Sister gives birth somehow.
“Are you also going to install a Gate Stone in Emperor Neige’s bedroom?”
“It seems we have no choice. It’s not appropriate to go to Valt every night, and we can’t neglect everyone else because of it.”
Without the Gate Stone, even with Traveling, we wouldn’t be able to enter Ovest, which became the capital, and if she went to Emperor Neige’s place every night, we would be in trouble, so of course, we need it.
The Valt Castle is expected to be completed around summer, as construction started early.
Until then, it will be installed in the current mansion, but once Valt Castle is completed, it will be moved there.
I’ve already told Emperor Neige about this, but she wasn’t very enthusiastic.
According to Sister, she seems to think it’s problematic to install a Gate Stone only in Valt, ahead of other countries.
However, there are no plans or reasons to install one in other countries, and even in Torencia, it’s decided to be removed simultaneously with Lady Hilde’s abdication, so I hope she won’t worry about that.
What will happen after Emperor Neige abdicates is not yet decided.
“There’s no point in staying here forever, so let’s take a bath and have a meal.”
“Yes, let’s.”
Indeed.
But, poor Yamato, I’m actually looking forward to Neige coming here.
Mother feels the same way, so I think Mother and I will dote on her quite a bit.
For Mother, she’s a cute niece, so she’s really putting in the effort.
Well then, I’ll take a bath, have a meal, take a short rest, and then head to Valt.
