I’ll Use a Reverse-Edged Sword

“Father! How can you request the knight order so abruptly like this? Don’t you think this will look too calculated?”

Looking at his daughter Luna, who was quite upset, Wydro Hanson heaved a sigh.

“Luna… your father is a merchant. It means I’m a person who hasn’t starved to death yet because I approached all matters in the world calculatedly. And, do you know how large the scale of financial support our family sent to the Baron’s family is? It’s an amount that’s more than enough for just bringing a few knights to show their faces.”

“Don’t you know the first impression is the most important? Sending money so asking for strength. Isn’t it just a contractual relationship anyway. What if they misunderstand it as this kind of message! We can borrow the Baron family’s strength, but isn’t it okay to do it after spending a bit more time!”

“Of course, your words have a point. But it was unavoidable. The business partner we’re negotiating with this time is located in Turkun. Do you know where Turkun is? It’s the land of gold surrounded by fallen knights. As a mere merchant family without strength, we could never handle that level of risk.”

“Turkun?”

“Yes, Turkun. If there are people in the world more calculating than merchants, it would be those fallen knight bastards. They do all kinds of bad things and breathe plunder, but they absolutely don’t touch those who have a noble name on their back. Because they know that nobles will come for revenge by any means necessary. So, if the Baron’s son just stamps his face once, Turkun can instantly change from a dangerous area to a land of opportunity for us.”

“But… still…”

“And, you just briefly familiarized yourselves last time, right? The two of you. Is that enough for a couple who promised to marry? Let’s go stamp your faces once in Turkun, and then briefly stop by the Seranne Castle nearby.”

“Seranne Castle?”

Luna recalled the Seranne Castle she had visited with her father two years ago.
Bursting flames and glittering magic orbs. The entire castle was splendid yet somehow dreamlike, truly a mysterious place.
About 80% of the people inside seemed to be couples and lovers who came to travel in pairs.
Numerous couples holding hands, gazing into each other’s eyes, or unable to resist, pressing their lips together in various spots around the splendid yet dreamlike city.
Luna had been secretly dreaming that if she found someone she loved, she would definitely want to go to Seranne together and spend time there.

Perhaps because of the memory, or maybe she imagined something,
Luna’s face turned as red as a bright apple.

“You wanted to go to Seranne again, right? How could this father forget how you were looking around with your eyes wide open? But why is your face about to burst again? It seems to be happening frequently these days…”

It was true.
Since Eden’s visit, Hanson hadn’t missed the abnormal signals occurring in Luna.
Grinning for no reason at odd times,
Staring blankly into space and then shaking her head vigorously several times.
And the most frequently witnessed scene was just like now, her face suddenly turning red as if it was about to burst.

“Wh-what!”

“No, Luna, didn’t I say we should meet a doctor… Really, your condition these days is not normal. Don’t you think your father would know that?”

“What do you know! You don’t know anything!”

Luna suddenly yelled at Hanson, who had done nothing wrong, and then turned around and left the office.

“If… if you don’t like Seranne, should we remove it from the itinerary?”

Hanson cautiously threw out words, not knowing at which point his daughter had become upset,
but Luna, who was listening to his words, stopped abruptly as she was about to kick open the office door.

And then

“Se… Seranne Castle is… just the two of us… Ah, I don’t know! We’ll talk about it later!”

Bang

The office door closed violently with a sound as if it might shatter.

“What do you mean we’ll talk about it later… they’ll be here soon…”

Hanson belatedly realized that he hadn’t told Luna when Eden would be arriving this time either.

“Is this the place? It’s amazing. You’re really being sold off, huh?”

As we entered the magnificent interior of the Wydro family mansion guided by the servants, Raymond couldn’t help but send envious glances.

“What’s with that look?”

“No, I was just wondering why a family like this would choose you of all people.”

“I may not look like it, but I’m a noble, you bastard.”

“Ah, I hope she’s not pretty. If she’s pretty too, I’ll be too envious of you.”

He’s an excessively honest guy.
The knight order members following behind, having understood the friendship between Raymond and me in the few hours we had been moving,
now didn’t look strangely at us exchanging casual speech.

They seemed to be following along well, just with the thought of quietly doing their job.
Probably because of what they had witnessed firsthand with Team Leader Aiden two days ago.
I think about how I’ve gained quite a bit more freedom of action compared to my previous life.
A life without having to be mindful of anyone’s gaze. Yes, that’s how nobles should live.

At that moment, I saw a woman walking roughly in the distance, huffing and puffing.
Messy bed hair, fair skin without a trace of makeup, and her cheeks puffed up as if she was very upset about something.

“Uh… uh…”

I recognized who that woman was at once.
Although there was a slight difference from her previous appearance in a fluttering silk dress, it was Luna.
That flushed face… is it her signature face color?
That day, I thought her face had turned red because she disliked me and was angry about something, but it seemed she often became like this.

I, Raymond, and the four knight order members continued walking without stopping.
For some reason, after making eye contact with me, she stopped even her huffing steps and stood still on the spot as if she had frozen.

“Miss Luna, we meet again. Have you been well-“

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!”

Suddenly, she started screaming as if she had seen a ghost.
At her scream, the knight order members, led by Raymond, instantly formed a formation and took a combat stance.
I felt quite proud of their quick judgment and swift movements, but now was not the time to indulge in such leisure.

“Miss Luna! What’s wrong? Don’t worry and come here. I and the Castillo knight order will protect-“

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap

Luna stopped screaming and started running in the opposite direction.
No, can that speed even be called running?
We could only stand dumbfounded, watching Luna dash away from us as if she was almost flying.

“Wh-what…?”

“My… fiancée…”

“That woman?”

“…Yeah…”

“You enviable bastard!”

The knight order members had already broken their formation
But that bastard Raymond seems to have taken in Luna’s face in detail even in that urgent moment.

“Why is that angel-like woman marrying you!”

“Where did you see an angel? Messy hair, and wasn’t she wearing something like pajamas?”

“What does that matter when her face is pretty! You enviable guy. I’ll be born as a noble in my next life too”

“…Sure, whatever you say”

As I exchanged trivial conversation with Raymond, Wydro Hanson had approached us.

“It’s nice to meet you. Lord Wydro Hanson. I am Castillo Eden, son of Baron Castillo David.”

I used the most respectful form of address, showing maximum courtesy.
So the response came with a quite pleased tone of voice.

“Hahaha. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. No matter how improper it might be, I should have prepared a place earlier, I’m sorry about that.”

Hanson greeted me with a good-natured smile
I responded to him, maintaining appropriate caution and not losing courtesy.

“Omitting unnecessary formalities is what both Miss Luna and I wished for. Please don’t mind-“

It was quite a distancing statement.
An engagement made under the calculated judgment of family and family.
Even to my words implying that we should just keep our promises without worrying about unnecessary things, Hanson didn’t lose that good-natured smile.

“Hahaha. You’re quite manly. Yes. That kind of roughness is also a virtue needed in today’s world, nowadays everything from start to finish tries to be big and grand, which is the problem. Come, let’s not stand here, let’s go inside. You’ve come a long way, so I’ve prepared delicious meals and comfortable beds.”

Hanson gave some instructions to the servants, and I and the knight order followed the guidance to unpack in our assigned rooms and move to the dining room.

“Oh… ohoho… what is this… ooh…”

“Close your mouth, man”

A large dining room with large and magnificent decorations scattered everywhere
There, Luna was already seated, having arrived earlier.
Gone was that natural appearance from before, now she was wearing a flashy dress that anyone would think was fit for a noble lady invited to a royal ball.

“…Miss Luna? Earlier…”

“Earlier? Did something happen earlier?”

Huh? Are you just pretending to have lost your memory?

“Kup”

I barely held back the laughter that was leaking out and greeted her with courtesy.

“It’s nice to meet you again. I will do my best to be of great help in this trade journey of the Wydro family.”

Seeing me trying hard to be polite while pretending not to know, she tried her best to act nonchalant, but that figure unable to even make eye contact was almost pitiful.

It seems she is the owner of a colorful personality.