CH 337

Chapter 337 – Anemone Aroma(7)

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I lay in bed together with Laura. The bed supported our weight comfortably.

I sang Laura a lullaby as I stroked her hair. I’m terrible at singing, but I could at least hum the lullaby that I had grown up hearing. It was a song that my mother sang for me when I was very little.

“This lullaby……sung by the sea.”

Laura rubbed her face against my chest. Like a bird that had already broken out of its egg and was trying to push its head against the shell further. I couldn’t help but smile because it felt like I had a daughter who was acting like a spoiled child. I didn’t push her away as I accepted her entirely.

Laura muttered with a voice that was still raspy due to having just awoken.

“Lord, I heard you can live forever if you become a vampire.”

“Indeed, I heard that as well.”

“I must ask a vampire to turn this young lady into one as well. If I can become one, I would be able to remain by your side. Forever in my prime…….”

A single memory went through my mind. There was a girl who declared that death alone was hers and hers alone. That child had now cast aside something that was hers.

It was a warm memory.

It was a pleasant surprise, which are things that people rarely get to experience in their lives. I wanted to give this memory a respectful funeral. I gently placed the memory into a glass case within my mind and smiled.

“Very well, then. I will try asking next time when the opportunity presents itself.”

“Yes, Lord. Forever together…….”

Laura trailed off as she drifted off to sleep. Her hand gripping tightly to my clothes.

I silently got up from the bed after about thirty minutes. Fortunately, Laura didn’t notice as she continued to sleep. She probably had several days’ worth of exhaustion and stress weighing down her shoulders. What she needs now is sleep. I gave Laura’s forehead a kiss.

I then walked around aimlessly.

I didn’t care where I went as long as I could reach it on foot.

To a place outside people’s watchful eyes.

My Demon Lord Castle has too many people. There are too many people in my territory as well. I went down the secret escape tunnel that had been made and arrived at a field. The field was attached to a river surrounded by reeds. The escape tunnel’s exit was located in an area where the ground was moist so that horses would struggle to pursue people here.

I slowly walked along the riverside.

“…….”

The sound of the flowing river splashed lightly against my chest. A comfortable gloom drenched my body. I decided to think of something else as I felt a river flow through my mind. In truth, I was actually surprised that I even had the strength to think of something else.

The Black Death has almost been entirely suppressed throughout the continent.

It varied from region to region, but, at worse, some areas lost about half of their population to the plague. However, there was only about a 20-30% decrease in the total population. If you consider the fact that the Black Death was supposed to take the lives of more than half of humanity, the humans did considerably well this time.

The rights of farmers will most likely increase drastically from now on.

Farms will remain the same size, but there won’t be enough people to cultivate all that land. Crop yield will undoubtedly plummet drastically, so landowners will spend an exorbitant amount of money in order to hire manpower. Competitions will occur between landowners. Farmers will sell their services to landowners who offer the most money…….

Farmers weren’t the only ones who had died because of the disease. The plague presented death equally to all social classes. Whether it be blacksmiths, grain dealers, or even shoemakers, more people have to be hired regardless of their place of birth or status in order to make up for the depleted manpower.

Armies will now get an unprecedentedly low number of recruits.

People can make a living without having to resort to mercenary work. Only battle fanatics would want to join the army when there are other means to put food on the table. Mercenary groups most likely won’t disappear, but their value will increase drastically.

As a result, the scale of wars will become smaller.

Even if kings and lords want to start a war, the funding required to do so will be immense. If possible, they would try to solve matters indirectly through diplomatic means instead of resorting to war.

There will still be a large group of people who insist on waging wars. Those people are idiots.

They will squeeze out tax money in order to fund their wars. However, commoners are no longer powerless victims of exploitation. They possess high wages supported by their practical abilities and the unionizing power unique to farming communities is the cherry on top.

Peasants will no longer pay taxes for a war that doesn’t benefit them in any way. They will daringly oppose regional lords. Nobles who have yet to understand their situation will take this as an affront to their authority.

The suppression of rulers and the resistance of peasants…… Large-scale rebellions will become inevitable……. The continent will get swept up in chaos again.

How will I utilize this chaos? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the fate of the Demon Lord Army lies in this. According to the situation, we could raise republicanism. We could also strengthen our bonds with royalist nations. Or we can do both…….

“Count Palatine Dantalian?”

A familiar voice entered my ears. I raised my head to see Saintess Longwy standing a short distance away from me. She must have washed her body in the river as her hair was still wet.

“What brings you here? No, more importantly, you……?”

Saintess Longwy’s eyes opened wide once she looked at my face. There was a moment of silence. The Saintess was frozen in shock as if she had witnessed a being that shouldn’t exist.

She opened and closed her mouth several times before eventually furrowing her brows and letting out a small sigh.

“……If there is a regret you wish to confess before the Goddess, then I could hear you out in her stead. I am still a Saintess, after all.”

I didn’t know what she was saying. She was probably making fun of me since she thinks I’m someone whose life is filled with regret. I shrugged.

“I appreciate the offer, but I have to refuse. Though I may reflect on my past actions, I will never regret them. This is my maxim. I personally think this is a rather wise saying.”

“……What nonsense are you saying when you have such a look on your face……?”

The Saintess muttered so quietly that I could barely hear her.

It was probably nothing important. I’ve already finished verifying this Saintess’ political sense. She’s worse than Parsi. I didn’t feel a particular need to converse with her.

“Saintess that has just finished bathing, although this is a rather rare and precious sight, I fear that I may be smote by the Goddess if I dared to stare at you any longer. I will take my leave here.”

“One moment.”

I tried to walk past the Saintess, but I was stopped. This was a bit annoying. I was in a mood to be alone. I silently turned to glare right at the Saintess.

“What is it?”

“Well…… Hahh. Why am I being so meddlesome?”

Saintess Longwy scratched her scarlet hair. She hesitated for a while before she eventually seemed to build up enough courage as she strengthened her gaze.

“Count Palatine, I happen to have several rather valuable bottles of alcohol. I wish to partake in them, but, unfortunately, there is no one in this shabby land that I can share a glass with. I would appreciate it if you accompanied me.”

“Huh?”

I was so taken aback that I unconsciously let out a weird voice.

“Could you not pick anyone off the street to join you?”

“People tend to look down on the idea of a saintess drinking alcohol. It is impossible to drink with someone if they are not already fairly close to me. Adding to this, I am still fairly new to your territory, so I have not made many connections yet.”

“Well, that is true.”

I gave her a look that was asking if she was sane.

“But with me of all people?”

“……I am truly reluctant, but what can I do when you are the only one I can rely on?”

The Saintess was making a terrible face. I didn’t understand what she was thinking. Couldn’t she just drink on her own, then? Surely, she must have some sort of ulterior motive.

“Did that queen of yours tip you off or something?”

“Something like that.”

She gave a rather vague answer, but I didn’t particularly have an excuse to avoid a drink. I gave a half-hearted shrug to signify that I accepted her proposal, although unwelcomingly. Once I did, the Saintess abruptly placed down a large wool towel and sat down.

“Saintess Longwy, do you intend to drink here? If my eyes are not tricking me, not only is there no alcohol here, but there are no cups here either…….”

“Claustrum.”

A pure white aura appeared around the Saintess’ wrist after she uttered a short incantation. The Saintess shoved her arm inside the light as if it were some sort of pocket and moved her arm around as if she were searching for something. Shortly after, seven bottles of alcohol and two glass cups were taken out from the light.

“Now then, this should be more than enough.”

“……Would it be fine to ask where these came from?”

“Our temple’s warehouse. I can take whatever I want from our temple’s warehouse whenever I feel like it.”

In other words, Saintess Longwy had arbitrarily snatched away several bottles of alcohol that were offered to the Temple of Athena. I scowled as I sat down on the wool towel.

“To think that a saintess would steal temple property for their own personal reason. It would not be strange if the Goddess punished you right this instant.”

“The Goddess cannot drink this alcohol anyway. If anything, the Goddess would praise me for drinking this alcohol in her stead.”

Saintess Longwy remarked nonchalantly. I see. Not only is she a saintess with a sharp temper, but she also has a flaw in her personality. Well, there’s no way anyone could endure a position as ridiculous as being the saintess without going mad.

We exchanged cups of wine next to a flowing river.

I waited for her to bring up an important topic, but the Saintess strangely only asked trivial questions. For example, how I ended up ruling this land, and what I was doing before I became the advisor of the Demon Lord Army…….

She was a strange woman. I couldn’t tell what her intent was, so I gave her generic answers.

“Ahh!”

It happened right as the sun was about to set. A wolf had approached our little drinking party. I gave the Saintess a reassuring nod before gesturing to the wolf to come closer.

The wolf approached calmly and pressed its head into my arms. The wolf let out a satisfied sound as I stroked its fur with my hand. The Saintess appeared dumbstruck as she watched us.

“C-Count Palatine, is that not a wolf……?”

“It was drawn in because of my mana. If I had as much mana as the other Demon Lords, then it would have run away in fear. However, it seems I have just the right amount to make animals like me.”

“I see…….”

Saintess Longwy stared at the wolf blankly. She was no different from a child staring at a toy they wanted from behind a glass display.

I chuckled.

“Would you like to pet them?”

“Huh? Is it safe?”

“It’s safe as long as you do not try to kill me.”

The Saintess gulped before slowly approaching us. She carefully reached out and touched the wolf’s fur with the tips of her fingers which prompted the wolf to look at her. The Saintess froze in place, but her anxiety was quickly put to ease as the wolf let out a happy bark.

The Saintess’ face lit up as she started to pet the wolf without restraint. The wolf went as far as to reveal its stomach to the Saintess to enjoy her petting to its fullest.

“Hmm. The mana that Demon Lords possess is rather interesting.”

“Scholars in the demon world suspect that our mana might be a clue between the relationship between animals and demons. Well, I’m no expert.”

Our drinking party lasted long into the night. Even as the sun set beyond the horizon and the night sky glimmered above us, the Saintess continued to pull out more alcohol.

About a dozen or so deers, rabbits, and foxes had gathered because of my mana. They made a circle around us as they sat down docilely. The Saintess seemed greatly pleased by this as she showed a genuine smile, something which she rarely ever displayed in front of me.

In the end, the ‘important discussion’ that the Saintess implied never came up. The Saintess had passed out drunk before she could.

“Mmm, I can’t drink any more…….”

She was snoring and sleep talking in front of me. The situation felt so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but chuckle. What was she trying to do? I guess these sorts of days happen.

I lifted the Saintess up. I put her on the wolf’s back and brought her to my Demon Lord Castle. I tossed her on one of the guest beds and returned to my room.

It might have been thanks to the alcohol, but the gloom weighing over my heart was gone. I lied down on my bed feeling at peace. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to have any nightmares tonight…….