Chapter 281 (1/2)

Chapter 281: 281

Aegir POV–

The servants are moving around the mansion in a hurry .

Nonna is also taking her two attendants with her and walking all throughout the mansion .

「Actually, please put a chair here too . Then someone can open the window and enjoy looking out at the courtyard while drinking alcohol . 」

「Very well, Madam . 」

Sebastian bows politely, although the servants and maids behind him are making troubled faces .

「Shouldn’t we stop her? Sebastian’s already busy as it is, at this point she’s getting in the way . 」

Carla and I are situated on the balcony of the second floor, overlooking the steadily progressing preparations in the hall . I’m sitting on the window sill looking at all the people running about, no, to be more accurate, looking at the shaking a.s.ses of the maids and the lively bouncing of Nonna’s large b.r.e.a.s.t.s .

「They’re jiggling so unpleasantly . The valley is thrown out in the open too…… she’s always harping about keeping one’s appearance proper, so put those things away . 」

「But it’d feel tight if she tried to stuff those things in her clothes . 」

「……it’s making me more and more p.i.s.sed . Did you get sandwiched by those things last night?」

「I went in between them, grinded against them and splattered her face . It was great . I sprayed loads . 」

What Sebastian and the maids are getting ready for with Nonna chiming in is the preparations for the inauguration ceremony for the new mansion .

It was supposed to be scheduled much earlier, but delayed for an extended period after I left .

I felt a ceremony was not necessary after living in the building for a while already, but apparently it’s to please the public .

In fact, the grand party is most likely one where the house will be evaluated .

Obviously the nearby feudal lords will come, and invitation letters will be sent to all related parties in the capital .

That’s why she’s so worked up to make the house worthy of the grand ceremony .

Adolph also said “it is necessary even though my head hurts” with dead eyes and agreed to compile a budget for the event .

「In other words, she just wants to boast about the place to people . That show-off part can’t be cured at all . 」

「Nonna’s cute that way . 」

Nonna returns to the hall again . Ah, she finally tripped on a chair and fell .

「Don’t put a chair in a place like this! It’s dangerous!」

The servants have a look of disbelief . I don’t blame them, that’s the same chair she demanded to be put there earlier .

「She’s being unreasonable again . 」

「Yeah, I’ll got get her . 」

「As I thought, it doesn’t look right . Rearrange all of it…… kyaa!」

I grab Nonna from behind and lift her up . When I carry her on my shoulder, it looks like a bandit kidnapping a village girl .

「Leave the preparations to Sebastian . He’ll do a good job . 」

「W-wait, I get it so put me down! This is embarra.s.sing!」

If I let you go, you’ll say something unnecessary again so I won’t .

「We’re going to make love now . Can I trust you to take care of things?」

「「Of course, master . 」」

The two attendants answer and the surrounding servants all look relieved .

「Wanna come too, Carla? The two of you can service me together . 」

「Sure~ It’s been so long since Nonna and I did it together . 」

「Don’t say such things in front of the servants! Aahn, put me downー」

And thus, we had pa.s.sionate s.e.x .

Day of the Ceremony .

「「「Welcome . 」」」

All the servants bow line up at the entrance and bow their heads altogether to greet the guests .

「……this is excellent . 」

「To have such a magnificent building constructed in less than two years is to be expected from someone of Lord Hardlett’s power……」

Nonna and I extend our thanks to the visitors, while Sebastian guides them to the a.s.sembly hall .

「How many does that make? Are there more people to greet?」

「A third of the guests still haven’t arrived yet . The ceremony will start at night, so there’s still a long way to go . 」

I get fed up when Nonna tells me it’s too soon to stop .

「What, it starts at night? I would have preferred starting in the daytime . 」

I’ve seen the celebrations held for the completion of the people’s new houses, and they all finished during the day after some drinking and partying .

「That’s how social gatherings are! Besides…… I wanted to show you this . 」

Nonna’s spellbound gaze was directed at the s.h.i.+ning chandelier made by the dwarves and carried carefully by Celia .

That decoration enshrined in the entrance where everybody pa.s.ses through is glowing divinely, making all other sources of light seem dark with the radiating rays of red, blue, and green .

「The light is further enhanced by the gold plating and reflecting off the jewels…… I’ve never seen a more beautiful chandelier than this . 」

Nonna wasn’t the only one enthralled by the sight, most of the visitors stop and stare, gulping at the breathtaking work of art .

An older couple in a more extravagant attire than the other partic.i.p.ants let out a simple comment of praise .

「I’ve never seen something so beautiful . I didn’t know there was a workshop in the country that could create such a masterpiece……」

「Was it imported from the Federation? ……Can you even do that now?」

As the older couple appreciate the great work, Nonna puffs out her ever so large b.r.e.a.s.t.s .

I want to grab them, but I think she’ll actually get angry, so I hold back .

「I guess what’s truly frightening is Lord Hardlett’s a.s.sets . I thought Rafen was just wasteland, but there is presently no greater city in the east than this . 」

Give credit to Adolph .

He didn’t have work today with all the preparations for the ceremony going on, so he’s resting, rather he fell asleep at his desk .

With good intentions, I stuck a piece of paper with “don’t wake me up” on his head .

I realized then but the top of Adolph’s head is a little…… no, I won’t say it .

「Is that some kind of rare decoration?」

「I wonder . It’s round, soft, and warm . Maybe it’s an unusual home heater? It’s a little wet . 」

That’s Claudia . She’s gotten a little fatter since the last time I saw her .

The guest greeting which started a little before the ceremony began continued for a while, then finally I move to the hall .

She finally made her way to the hall after all this time I’ve been greeting the guests at the entrance .

I force a smile at the lip service and words of praise thrown at me while Nonna replies with her own beautifully created smile .

「O-oh my, if it isn’t Madam Hardlett . Thank you for inviting me today――」

Here’s a lady who’s acting rather stiffly .

She appears to be in her late thirties, and her makeup is gaudy, opposite from my tastes . Although I’d gladly f.u.c.k her if I get the chance .

「Madam Pilis . Glad you could make it――」

Nonna replies with a grin .

I remember hearing about her . If I’m correct, it’s the underhanded hag Nonna keeps bad mouthing .

It’s true there’s a characteristic wickedness showing on her face .

「This kind of luxurious party is wonderful, but are you doing well financially?」

「Yes, the mansion and the interior decorating were all done modestly, so we have to issues with money . 」

I can sense a battle of sorts starting between the two women . I summon a maid to pour me some alcohol so I can enjoy the show .

「Oh my, I’m sure you worked hard to support your husband . The citizens must really respect you . 」

She is probably implying that the luxuries she enjoys is from sucking money out of the citizens .

「The respect is all due my husband . Even this evening, they are holding festivals in the city to celebrate the completion of my husband’s mansion――」

I do hear some commotion in the city .

Although I’m sure the drunks just found a reason to drink more alcohol .

In any case, there shouldn’t be anyone starving of food in Rafen .

I didn’t do anything, it was Adolph who solved the problem .

「That reminds me, I don’t see any turkey meat . Aah, please pardon me, we always serve that back home . 」

The madam snickers . However Nonna grins as if she lured the other woman into saying that .

「I apologize . All the meat we’re serving today is black beast meat . We’ll cook turkey if we exhaust our supply of black beast . If you really want to eat turkey, I guess we could prepare it . 」

The meat from black beasts is extremely delicious and is the only kind of meat we get in my territory, whereas it only circulates in the market of other territories during the winter with an unbelievable price tag .

I also enjoy eating turkey, but black beast meat is worth way more .

And right now, a mountain of that expensive ingredient is being served on the table .

「……if you have such a high quality of meat, you must also have the appropriate quality of wine to match――」

「For today, we have prepared a now limited product from the Federation . 」

Nonna brags further, but the one who actually worked hard to procure that was Claire .

「Fine wine and cuisine requires suitable tableware――」

「The unique coloring of the tableware designed by the famous artisan Funis is beautiful, don’t you think?」

Sebastian was the one who picked out the tableware and Adolph haggled thoroughly before purchasing it .

Nonna was lured by fakes .

「……if you would please excuse me now . 」

「Go ahead . 」

When the Madam left, Nonna turns to me with a beaming smile .

「I won!」

If you’re happy, that makes me happy .

It’s about time for some real entertainment .

「Everyone, I apologize for interrupting your pleasant conversations, but please have a look outside . 」

The servants open the windows .

What became visible to the guests were the flickering flames of countless torches .

「What is that? Such neat lines of torches……」

「Don’t tell me, soldiers!? How orderly!」

The torch-holding soldiers are marching in the city of Rafen .

Leopolt is leading the entire army of close to 5000 soldiers . He’s making sure everyone is maintaining perfect order .

Their torches in the night were as beautiful as the stars of this world .

When I asked Leopolt whether there was any meaning in having the army march for an inauguration ceremony, he answered “yes” .

I didn’t want him to leave it at that, so I also asked the reason……

「The first reason is to settle any problems with the neighboring n.o.bles . There are currently no standout enemies in Goldonia . With prolonged peace, feudal lords start getting frantic about securing borders and water supplies . If we show off our strength here, we can solve many issues just through intimidation . 」

The personal army of normal n.o.bles, excluding a portion of protege knights, is usually composed of mercenaries and peasant soldiers .

Of course their training and morale are low, plus their command is sketchy .

On the other hand, most of my army is on standby and frequently keeping up with training .

Meaning this time is a perfect opportunity to show off that difference .

Right now, the civil officials and those unrelated to the territory are admiring the beautiful scene, while the nearby feudal lords watch with stiff faces .

「The other reason is our position . Because of that certain incident, we have recently showed ourselves to be close to the Government Affairs Commissioner . This is not the time to lean to one side . We must also make others aware of our proximity to the Military Commissioner . 」

I always intended to stay on Erich’s side, but I guess I’ve been doing several things that make me seem closer to Kenneth lately . I did another thing today for him too .

「There was supposed to be one more thing to pump up the performance . 」

「Don’t be unreasonable . 」

Celia is beside me before I knew it .

She held back seeing me with Nonna but couldn’t help herself when the discussion moved to military topics .

「Still, having a row of cannons fire all at once would surely get people fired up . 」

I suggested for the cannons to fire in timing with the army’s march .

「Wives would all fall over in surprise! Plus it would cause panic in the city . 」

Leopolt also said “unlike the unconcealable number of soldiers, it is unwise to reveal the exact number of cannons we possess”, and sadly turned down my proposal .

「Anyways, all that’s left is to eat and chat . My job here is done . 」

But it wasn’t done .

「Hardlett-sama!」

I turn around when I hear a familiar voice and see a smiling girl .

That girl’s name is…… I forgot, but she’s Count Monas.h.i.+’s daughter, whose virginity was taken by me .

「It’s been so long! I want to hear the stories about the capital and the Magrado General Government!」

I can’t refuse if she asks so cheerfully .

After all, she’s a girl who I turned into a woman . There’s no way I wouldn’t feel some sort of attachment to her .

「Guah!」

I feel a sudden jolt of pain on my a.s.s . When I look, I see Nonna nonchalantly pinch my b.u.t.t cheek .

I’m still powerless to a pinch even though my muscles were trained . It still hurts .

「Nonna……」

「I don’t know what you’re talking about . 」

Uurm, but talking with the girl takes priority over the pain .

I endure the pain, only to face the next trial when the girl smiles at me .

「Lord Hardlett, congratulations on your new home . I have come today on behalf of the Government Affairs Commissioner . 」

「Well, if it isn’t Count Beltz…… glad you could come today . 」

The one who appeared in front of me was Count Beltz…… so Gretel’s father .

He contacted us beforehand, and Gretel also has a dress prepared for her .

Of course, no dog ears or tail was attached to it . If that happened, he would swing his sword at me .

「About ‘that’, will you be announcing it to everybody here?」

「Naturally . 」

Now that I’ve already proclaimed it in the capital, there’s no reason to hide it .

「’That’?」

I have a bad feeling .

「Come here, Gretel . 」

「Yes, master…… I mean, Margrave Hardlett . 」