Chapter 161
“Bibeong-!”
A clear and beautiful sound rang across the world from Lake Capua midway up the Eastern Mountain Range. With Bibeong’s powerful signature alarm, morning dawned over the Frontera Estate.
“Mm…….”
A refreshing morning for once.
It had been a long time since he slept this well.
That was the first thought Lloyd had as he opened his eyes.
‘Why is it that on days I decide to rest, I wake up easier than usual?’
A strange phenomenon.
It had always been like that.
On days he had school or work, even opening his eyes felt brutal.
But on mornings with nothing scheduled, his eyes would pop open all on their own.
Today was one of those days.
‘There’s nothing I need to pour myself into for a while.’
Lloyd remained lying on the bed and recalled the estate’s affairs.
The apartment complex construction was going smoothly.
Especially after Building 103 was completed, things gained real momentum.
It helped immensely that every building looked exactly the same, like ‘copy-and-paste.’
As the workers became more skilled, construction speed increased, and the overall quality improved as well.
‘So I can just leave that alone.’
The main sewer project was the same.
The main sewer, which would function as the central artery, and the sludge treatment facility were already complete.
All that remained was installing septic tanks in each village and apartment block, then creating the sewer lines that would connect each septic tank to the main sewer.
‘That can be left alone too. I’m just doing the inspections.’
All hail Sir Bayern.
All hail the combat engineers, the elves, and the orc laborers.
A system that ran smoothly even without him nagging about every little thing.
How blessed he was to have so many reliable people to entrust the work to.
‘Of course, the estate’s finances aren’t exactly abundant.’
A slight wrinkle formed on Lloyd’s brow as he stared up at the ceiling.
The estate’s funds.
They had never been plentiful.
Too many expenses.
First of all, there were tens of thousands of refugees.
The supplies needed to feed and clothe them were immense.
But the Eastern Mountain Range reclamation had barely begun.
‘Sure, there’s the water tax and other revenues flowing steadily from the Lacona Viscounty, plus the supplies and subsidies from the royal family… but that doesn’t mean we’re flush with money.’
At first, he thought they would be.
But after launching several huge projects in succession, he was nowhere near flush.
In fact, if possible, he needed to secure a more stable stream of income.
‘Royal subsidies won’t last forever.’
They could be cut at any time.
The royal family said they wouldn’t.
The Queen had personally promised.
But when did the world ever move according to promises?
‘A natural disaster, political upheaval, or even war might break out. The royal family could fall into hardship.’
Meaning that subsidies could be cut due to “unavoidable circumstances.”
And then?
They would “unavoidably” starve and wither.
If possible, he wanted to avoid that situation.
If he could, he wanted to establish another stable revenue source.
‘……Well, let’s think about that tomorrow. Tomorrow.’
Today he would rest.
Truly rest.
He had spent the past few months completing every kind of construction imaginable.
From the apartment complex to the retaining walls in the Eastern Mountain Range to the main sewer.
His body felt like it had been split into several pieces.
As Lloyd thought that and shifted his body, the bed creaked.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Master Lloyd, would you like to take your meal in your room?”
A knock on the door.
A maid’s voice followed.
It seemed breakfast time had already come.
Lloyd sat up on the bed and quickly pulled on his shirt.
“Oh, come in.”
The door opened and a maid stepped in carrying a tray.
A familiar face among the maids—Emily.
“Did you sleep well, sir?”
“Yeah. Were you waiting at the door holding the tray until I made noise rolling around?”
“I didn’t wait very long.”
Emily smiled lightly as if it were nothing.
As she neatly set down a sausage, an egg, a salad, and warm milk, she spoke.
“But sir, this may sound strange, but you’re quite fortunate.”
“Me? Why?”
“Such a kind and gentle young lady came all the way here to propose to you.”
“Oh, her?”
Lloyd let out a small laugh.
He recalled the Countess Cordona’s daughter he met briefly yesterday.
She’d been friendly and composed.
Emily seemed to have been impressed as well.
“Mm, but what can I do? Neither she nor I are interested in a political marriage.”
He gave a bitter smile.
But Emily tilted her head.
“No, I was talking about Lady Ferano.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, right!”
Emily clapped her hands.
As if she had just remembered, she chattered on brightly.
“Now that I think about it, you haven’t met her yet. Lady Ferano, I mean.”
“……Wait. Lady Ferano? Who is that?”
“She arrived early this morning.”
“Early this morning?”
“Yes. Very early. Before sunrise.”
“Before sunrise… meaning while I was asleep?”
“Yes, yes. I was on dawn-water-fetching duty today, so I woke early. I saw her. She arrived in a luxurious carriage with twelve knights escorting her. And she was so polite and soft-spoken.”
“……Whoa, hold on.”
What was Emily talking about?
Lloyd asked, bewildered.
“You’re accelerating without signaling, so I can’t follow. Let me ask one thing.”
“Yes, sir.”
“So you’re saying another lady arrived here besides the Cordona lady? At daybreak?”
“Yes, sir. She’s having breakfast with the Count right now.”
“……”
“Sir?”
Lloyd shot to his feet, his heart thundering.
Unbelievable.
He thought the situation was resolved after talking things through with the Cordona lady yesterday. He thought the marriage proposals were finally done and over with.
But apparently not.
It seemed the problem was spreading like wildfire.
He quickly put on his shoes.
“Sorry, Emily. I need to go.”
“What?”
“I need to go deal with this. I’ll eat breakfast in the dining hall.”
“Then this food—”
“You eat it.”
“What?”
“Eat it for me. Don’t tell anyone. Got it?”
“Uh, well—”
“Don’t leave leftovers. You’ll get punished. You’ll have to eat all the leftover food in hell for eternity.”
“……”
Leaving pale-faced Emily behind, Lloyd rushed out.
His steps quickened toward the dining hall.
♣
“Haa.”
A storm of a morning had passed.
Correction.
A lunch break that felt as if his very soul had been wrung dry had arrived.
“……So from then on, each time you met a lady for the first time, you bluntly rejected her on the spot?”
“Yeah.”
They were near the main gate of the Frontera mansion.
Lloyd slumped against the back of a bench beneath a tree, nodding like wet laundry.
“No point in beating around the bush.”
“Was it to avoid giving them false hope?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded again at Javier’s question.
As he did, memories from earlier resurfaced.
“When I went down to the dining hall, that Lady Ferano who arrived at dawn welcomed me with a big smile. But the atmosphere was… ugh.”
“What was it like?”
“Like she’d turn this place into her in-laws’ home the moment I nodded.”
“And then?”
“I knew it was wrong, so I reflexively said it.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing special. Just told her I had no intention of marrying her and that she should rest for a few days and return home feeling refreshed.”
“That is a very direct rejection. I imagine Lady Ferano felt insulted.”
“Which is why she cursed me while smiling.”
“What kind of insults?”
“She said she was looking forward to this but was extremely disappointed after seeing me in person.”
“Why?”
“She said I looked like someone who either took strange medicine or skipped medicine I absolutely needed.”
“I believe it’s the latter.”
“……Could you not decide the answer on your own?”
“And after that, you said the next two ladies received the same treatment?”
“Yeah. The moment their feet hit the ground, I rejected them. And earned twice the curses.”
It was true.
Afterward, Lady Esperia and Lady Sicily arrived back-to-back.
The moment they got out of their carriages, he declared his refusal.
Naturally, the insulted ladies repaid him with rich curses.
It might have been excessive, but he had no choice.
Because now he could guess why this situation had happened.
‘The Count must’ve sent ambiguous replies.’
He wasn’t certain.
But it seemed the most likely.
‘The day I told him to reject the pile of marriage proposals, the Count was oddly regretful.’
Perhaps that regret seeped into his letters.
So the replies ended up sounding vague, leaving the recipients with a sense of possibility.
‘So they all kept lingering hope. They were rejected, but it felt like maybe if they pushed again, they might get something. That’s why these powerful families sent their daughters directly—to get an answer out of me.’
Therefore, he had to be unambiguous.
Even if it was rude, he had to be firm.
A clean cut.
Resolute rejection without hesitation.
That was the only way to avoid being dragged around.
And the way to make them give up quickly.
That was Lloyd’s thinking.
“Anyway, I feel so full now. I skipped breakfast and lunch, but I’m not hungry. Must be because I ate so many insults.”
Lloyd laughed.
Javier chuckled.
“In that case, you should always be full, sir.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Thanks to me.”
“What? You mean you’ve been insulting me in your head constantly?”
“Of course.”
“Wow. You’re not even denying it.”
“Honesty and sincerity are the virtues of a knight.”
“Sometimes you could fake politeness, you know?”
“I cannot.”
“Firm as ever.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“It wasn’t a compliment. Oh—hey. Another one’s coming.”
Their warm and familiar exchange of insults ended as Lloyd looked downhill.
A carriage approached along the gentle incline.
It wasn’t a cargo wagon.
It was luxurious.
Drawn by four white horses.
Even the coachman was neatly dressed, and eight mounted knights escorted it.
A noble, clearly.
And if a noble was visiting today?
Obvious.
“Haa. The fourth lady today.”
What new insults would he receive this time?
Maybe he’d hear his mouth emitted warm garbage smell. Or perhaps she’d say she wanted to rearrange his face with her fist.
With that strange sense of expectation, Lloyd rose from the bench.
The carriage climbed the hill.
It stopped before the gate.
Eight knights lined up.
The coachman grabbed the carriage door handle.
The gold-trimmed luxurious door slowly opened.
Lloyd gulped.
He loaded the rejection speech onto his tongue, ready to fire it off.
He looked toward the lady stepping out—
And froze.
‘Huh?’
He was supposed to speak before greetings.
But he couldn’t.
Not because he was mesmerized.
Not because she was his type.
But because she looked familiar.
‘I’ve seen her in Iron Blooded Knight. In those illustrations. The inserts.’
Where?
Which scene?
Tap—her heels touched the ground.
A memory sparked.
‘She wasn’t a villain.’
She was a good character.
But a tragic one.
She had sacrificed herself.
For many people.
For others, she willingly threw herself away.
It was because of her sacrifice that Javier secured a chance to counterattack.
He shattered an unbreakable barrier.
He saved countless people.
He prevented a catastrophe.
And the place where that tragedy unfolded was—
“Namaran Viscounty. Siluria Namaran.”
He muttered it unconsciously.
The woman widened her eyes, looking at him.
“Yes? Do you happen to know me?”
“……”
Lloyd simply stared at her.
Siluria Namaran—the tragic woman who, in the story of Iron Blooded Knight, was helplessly sacrificed by black sorcerers to save her people, whose death allowed Javier to break through and stop a disaster—
Was standing before him, smiling gently.