「It feels nice to be able to relax like this without worrying about anything.」
「Halfren-sama?」
「Don’t give me that sour look, Konsuro.」
Halfren shrugs wearily at his vice-captain’s sharp gaze as he guides his horse beside him.
They’ve finally reached the last stop on the regional inspection tour, the southeastern part of the kingdom.
He left the capital heading south first, then circled clockwise through the provinces.
This marks the end of the long journey.
Along the way, he got held up at various forts, towns, and noble estates, which ate up a lot of time… but according to his subordinates’ reports, the capital remains peaceful and uneventful.
Except for one particular idiot.
The fool who attended the major conference in his place (Arg) apparently went on another rampage.
When Halfren heard the report, all he could do was laugh.
「When I get back, it looks like a mountain of annoying work is waiting for me. Makes me not want to return at all～」
「Can’t be helped.
The little brother you left in charge… well, he’s…」
「Arg’s basically a good guy. He’s serious to a fault… but the moment anything even slightly touches Noie’s nerves, he becomes completely uncontrollable.」
「That’s true enough.」
The middle-aged vice-captain strokes his increasingly white hair with a troubled look.
The full-frontal shouting match he started with the Empire’s great general and the Republic’s finance minister at the wedding reception has already become half-legend among the nobility.
At first, some nobles whispered about making him the next king… but after that incident, no one ever brought it up again.
No one wants a potential tyrant sitting on the throne.
「Seriously. Getting teased a little about Noie and he picks a fight with the great general himself? And not just that, he rubs salt straight into the wound… that guy is seriously an idiot.」
「You say that… but you look oddly happy about it.」
「Do I? Must be your imagination.」
Halfren laughs ‘kakaka’ as he steers his horse.
The vice-captain quietly remembers.
Ever since Halfren became captain of the royal guards, he’s rarely shown a smile like this.
Cold, ruthless executor.
That’s the mask he’s worn for years.
-0-
「It has been a while, Prince Halfren.」
「It has.」
He approaches the head of the Milnhitza family without hesitation and shakes hands firmly.
This region is full of upper nobility the royal family trusts deeply.
The territory next to the Milnhitza lands belongs to the Crostpurge family.
This vast grain-producing belt is truly the lifeblood of the Univance Kingdom.
They were led inside the mansion and guided to the receiving room.
Once alone with the family head, Halfren finally dropped his princely mask.
「I’ve heard the rumors.」
「Which one?」
「That you had a little trouble in Fulstora.」
Halfren makes a sour face while the head of the Milnhitza family chuckles ‘kukuku’.
So, the story has already spread this far…
He sighs inwardly, remembering the incident.
「I finally understand why Father fought with the head of that house.」
「I’m not surprised. That family has the salt fields backing them, so they’re always arrogant. That’s why other nobles find them irritating too.」
Exactly.
Because the Fulstora family is somewhat isolated among the nobility, they desperately wanted to strengthen ties with the 『royal family』.
As a result, they bombarded him with excessive nightly entertainment and blatant bribery attempts… until Halfren finally snapped and punched the head.
「Where did you hear about it, patriarch?」
「……You haven’t heard? The other day in the capital, the Draguknight family held an auction for the wedding gifts they received. Almost everyone involved heard about it then.」
(That idiot Arg!! I’ll make him cry later.)
While mentally planning punishment for his little brother, he frantically searches for excuses to give the older one.
Well… what’s done is done.
And more than anything… the daughter was completely unacceptable.
He’d heard rumors she was beautiful beforehand… and yes, her face was pretty enough.
But her haughty personality, and above all, that disappointingly flat chest, killed any interest he might have had.
「Our families have never had much connection with them, generation after generation.」
「I hope Schnitt-sama will forgive you with those words.」
He really knows how to hit where it hurts.
After that, they talked about all sorts of things, gossip, dragons, wheat growth, and more.
By the time the sun began to set, they were drinking together and laughing over crude, worldly topics.
The Milnhitza family isn’t particularly powerful among upper nobility, but they’ve held important government positions for generations and are incredibly reliable.
Halfren himself has been helped by them many times in the past, so mixing in old stories with the conversation makes it genuinely enjoyable.
「Kokono seems to be doing well with his work.」
「Yeah. I hear he’s doing good work under aniki.」
「That’s really good to hear.」
His face softens when talking about his son who succeeded him and now works in the capital.
Now that family has come up, it’s the perfect timing.
「Oh, by the way, Halfren-sama.」
But the other side struck first.
「What is it?」
「This regional inspection tour… it’s not just for inspection, is it?」
He nods repeatedly, as if he already knows everything.
「But my daughter… even though I’m her father saying this, I don’t think she’s suited to be your legal wife.」
With a preface of 『This is embarrassing to admit』, he begins listing his complaints about his own daughter.
「First of all, she can’t stay in one place for long. The moment she has free time, she jumps on a horse and disappears somewhere. Even when I scold her, she just brushes it off. And her manners… well, they’re lacking….This is partly my fault for letting her do whatever she wanted after her mother passed away.」
He shakes his head weakly and lets out a deep sigh.
Normally, anyone hearing this would back off immediately.
But Halfren, on the contrary, grew interested.
That’s why he suggested 『Since I’m already here, at least let me greet her』.
After being repeatedly warned 『Please overlook any rudeness, okay?』, Halfren finally met the daughter face-to-face.
She had greenish-blue hair.
She looked uncomfortable in the dress, as if she wasn’t used to wearing it, frowning slightly at the fit.
Her visible arms were lightly tanned and healthy-looking.
Above all, her face wasn’t so much “beautiful” as “adorably cute”.
Everything about her gave off the impression that she belonged running freely through fields and plains.
「Nice to meet you, Prince. I’m Richina von Milnhitza.」
「Nice to meet you, Richina.」
The young Richina flinched for a moment as the massive prince strode right up to her.
But Halfren gently took her hand and dropped to one knee right there.
「Richina. If you’re willing… will you marry me?」
「……Eh?」
Everyone doubted their ears.
But the one who said it was completely serious.
Richina… had big boobs.
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