Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 21 - Chapter 10

Extra Chapter:

Therese Looks for a Husband

THAT DAY, Therese paid a visit to the Latria estate. She visited her parents a lot more frequently after the whole incident with Rudeus. 

When she was young, Therese had rebelled against their mother much like Zenith had. She thought she would never set foot in that house ever again. But time passed, and she started her job. As she grew up, she also grew to accept that her mother would never change.

Back then, almost all her meetings with Claire had ended in a shouting match, but the incident with Rudeus changed things. Claire’s nagging decreased, and so Therese had started finding more reasons to stop by. Chief among these was that at her parents’ house, meals came out without needing to cook or clean up after. Therese visited once every few days now.

Therese was a knight, but she had status as a noble’s daughter. She should have had the means to employ a servant or two. After being kicked out and effectively disowned by her family, however, she had no choice but to depend on a knight’s meager stipend. Once she joined the Blessed Child’s guard and became a captain, her stipend increased to a level where she could have comfortably supported a family on it. The problem was that in Millis, it was customary for the woman to provide betrothal gifts when she got married. Given her estrangement from the family, Therese could well have given up on marriage entirely, but she did not. Instead, she scrimped and saved, dreaming of meeting her handsome prince someday.

Reconciling with her family had rendered all her hard-earned savings meaningless, but she held on to them anyway. 

“Now then, Therese, when are you going to get married?” Claire asked.

Immediately, if it were an option, was what she thought. But all that came out was, “I…” 

For twenty years now, she had dreamed of her handsome prince. Now she was probably too old to ever meet him. It was foolish to even hope for a partner.

“You’re not so young any more. I won’t say any more to you about a woman wasting her time in a job, but don’t you think it’s about time you settled down?”

“Is that really your opinion, Mother?”

“Who else’s opinion would I be expressing? You are your own person, I understand that, but I worry about you as your mother.”

“No, it’s just, Mother… How am I to get married unless you find me a partner?” Therese asked.

As a general rule, marriages amongst the Millis aristocracy were arranged by the parents of the betrothed. It was a parent’s duty to find their child a partner. There was no prohibition on children choosing their own partners, but such cases were few and far between. A few factors had prevented Therese from getting married. One was that she was hardly an ideal bride, another was that she had no family to introduce her to potential matches, and there was also the fact that no one wanted to risk inviting the Latrias’ enmity by marrying their disowned daughter.

Now that Therese and Claire had reconciled, that last one had been resolved. So that was something.

“Whatever do you mean? Didn’t you yourself say you didn’t want that?”

“Did I say that?”

“I have a rather vivid memory of you yelling, ‘Did dying in a power struggle make my sister happy?’”

“Right. I did say that, didn’t I,” Therese mumbled. She’d forgotten.

“You are your own person, and I thought you would find someone yourself. Why do you think I never brought it up until now?”

“Makes sense…”

They had both apologized for back then. Well, at least Therese had intended to apologize. Claire accepted Therese’s life choices, which was her version of an apology.

They sat in silence. Therese never would have dreamed that her words back then might contribute to her present, miserable predicament.

“I would like to take back what I said back then,” she said.

“Then I shall begin searching for a husband befitting a daughter of the Latrias.”

“Th-thank you, Mother…”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake. You’ve always been like this. Making decisions without consulting anyone else, then assuming everyone understands when you change your mind. As a Millis lady, Therese…”

Claire’s lecture went on in this vein for a while. Therese lowered her head dutifully, but inside, she was fist-pumping. This wasn’t exactly how she had planned to grab a groom, but it was going to work out.

***

After being told, “You’re already rather old for a bride, so you’d best be prepared to settle,” at the outset, Therese was actually rather impressed by the proposal that came a few days later.

His name was Dusklight Morchite, the Morchite family’s fifth son. He was twenty-seven years old and a Temple Knight, albeit one with no important duties—he served as more of a reserve. He usually had nothing to do because of this, and spent his days wandering around the city as he pleased. That description alone didn’t make him sound like the pick of the bachelor pile. However, Therese was one of the Blessed Child’s guards and so earned enough to support them. She also had the authority to delegate duties to lower ranking knights, meaning that she could recommend him for jobs if need be. He was the perfect age. Therese’s personal preference was for guys just before they came of age, but so long as he was younger than her, she’d make do. She’d been dreading some greasy old lout well over forty, so in comparison, she felt like she’d struck gold.

Claire was the one who ultimately said, “You are a daughter of the House of Latria. You can do better.”

For all of Dusklight’s good qualities, Therese didn’t intend to commit right away. Not until she’d met him in person. If he was good-looking, she thought, then she’d sink her claws in.

“This is my fourth daughter, Therese Latria,” Claire said.

They had gathered for the marriage interview at the Morchite family estate. These interviews were always carried out at one of the homes of the two families involved. There was no rule as to which, but the custom was that the prospective groom’s family hosted the first interview, and the prospective bride’s the second. It was an opportunity for the six participants—the parents and the potential couple—to get an impression of each family’s estate. From the third interview onward, other family members were sometimes introduced. If a family had hidden debts or financial troubles, then the servants might be surly, or the cleaning might be unsatisfactory, or there might be evidence of visits from unsavory individuals—all manner of problems might be brought to light.

As the Latrias and the Morchites were both well-known Millishion aristocracy, the interview process was merely a formality.

“While my daughter is a little old, and lacking in certain qualities expected in a lady, she is also, as you know, a Temple Knight. Should this marriage take place, she would therefore be understanding of her husband’s work and able to support him. She herself is eager to be married and will be a dedicated wife.”

This was how Claire introduced her. Therese wasn’t sure whether to feel praised or insulted, but she let it go. She never usually wore dresses, but today she was dressed in a blue gown. She lifted the hem of her skirts and gave a graceful curtsy. She’d practiced it especially for today. Or rather, she’d been forced to practice.

“I’m Therese. It’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she said, with the smile and the simper she’d practiced as much as the curtsy. Her clumsy execution made her wish she’d applied herself properly back in school.

“A-ack!”

She froze in the middle of her introduction when she saw her potential husband’s face. There, scowling at the sight of her, was a man she knew. He knew who she was as well. He was clean-shaven, and his hair was immaculate. She’d caught glimpses of that well-groomed face behind a helmet. Always very proper. Cleanliness was next to godliness.

Well, this was awkward. Therese was sure she didn’t know any men called Dusklight. Perhaps he wasn’t Dusklight. Perhaps Dusklight was the middle-aged woman standing next to him?

“This is my fifth son, Dusklight Morchite,” said the middle-aged woman. “Although at present he has been pressed into a dead-end, idle job, he is a devout believer and quite capable. As such, I hope you will recognize his future potential—”

So the man was Dusklight, then.

“Y-yes…” mumbled Therese. When she’d known this man, he hadn’t gone by that name. But there was no mistaking him. She’d seen him every day for years.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Dusklight Morchite, at your service,” he said, using that name again.

Therese knew he usually introduced himself differently. Yes, he had another name. Dust Bin, of the Keepers of Anastasia.

She knew beyond a doubt that it was him.

At the same time, this wasn’t such a strange coincidence. Aside from the leader, all the Keepers of Anastasia were required to keep their backgrounds secret. There were a variety of reasons for doing so, but it was primarily a measure to protect the unfathomably precious Blessed Child. 

Once, years ago, the Blessed Child had almost been killed. Back then, the Keepers of Anastasia hadn’t existed. A unit of the Temple Knights had handled the Blessed Child’s security. One day, an assassin had made an attempt on her life. By a freak stroke of luck, she had lived, but the incident revealed a traitor in the ranks of the unit assigned to her protection. A foreign spy had taken his family hostage, forcing him to feed them information about the Blessed Child. 

That incident led to the establishment of the Keepers of Anastasia. They were all knights selected for their loyalty to Millis and the Blessed Child, their talent, and their anonymity. By having them wear helmets that concealed their faces and obscured their identities, the church could prevent information concerning the security around Blessed Child being leaked to the outside world. They were a deterrent to anyone with designs against the Blessed Child. 

The reason Deputy Captain Therese didn’t know the names of her subordinates was, of course, because she alone knew their faces. Someone had to know what they looked like. That fell on her because it was the deputy captain’s job to weed out imposters. But even knowing their appearances made Therese extremely dangerous as a potential traitor.

What Deputy Captain Therese ought to do in this situation was pretend that she hadn’t noticed anything. That she knew Dust’s secret was an inconvenience for both him, and for Therese. She would break off the proposal like nothing had happened, and they would go back to work like nothing had happened. That would be best for both of them.

That was one option. But there was another one. Dust’s cover was blown. She could have him removed from the Keepers of Anastasia.

But she knew that Burial Shroud had a black horse called Black Sanctus. She knew that Funeral Procession always went to the town theater on his days off. She knew that while most of them were single on account of their work, Skull Ash had a wife. There were lots of things she knew about them all. If she were to use that information, she could probably work out all their real identities. Total anonymity was the pinnacle of wishful thinking. So, she rejected the idea of having Dust kicked out. Perhaps that was her full reasoning. But perhaps Therese’s next thought—you know, he’s not bad-looking—had something to do with it. She maintained a ladylike smile as their parents continued the interview.

Marriage interviews amongst the Millis aristocracy began with the parents recommending their children. This included what kind of person they were, what was special about them, and why they were a suitable marriage partner. They were carried out in this fashion because, so the custom went, the first and mandatory thing that was needed to make this work was the parents’ approval. The children listened to the speeches, and they would give them an idea of their prospective partner. A parent would say things their child might shy away from, so it was an important step. 

Unfortunately, Therese was spacing out.

“And finally, he is young,” said the middle-aged woman, and the parental recommendations were over. Now, the two of them were left alone to talk. No matter what world you were in, no one wanted their parents hanging around on a date. Now came their opportunity to learn one another’s likes and dislikes, laugh over trivialities, say everything they couldn’t bring up in front of their parents… It was the time for seduction.

Amongst the ladies of Millis, it was also generally understood that this alone time was crucial for sealing the deal. This was where you had to show yourself at your best if you wanted to win the heart of your dream guy. It was equally important if you needed to push away a man you had no interest in.

“Whew…” Therese sighed, standing up as soon as the parents were out of the room.

Dust stayed where he was. Therese went over to the window, then stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, her hands clasped behind her back. Then, her head girlishly cocked to one side, she turned around. Had she been a teenager, it might have seemed charming, beautiful, elegant—all things that could help win a guy over. For a woman of Therese’s age, it was more likely to just make them embarrassed for her.

Her eyes weren’t laughing, though. This wasn’t a game. She was serious. Dust felt a chill run down his spine. She was on the hunt.

“You’re very charming, Dusklight,” she said in her best simpering voice.

Therese figured that she might as well marry him as anyone. He wasn’t such a bad catch. On the contrary, he was a good one. He was passionate about his job and he would never divulge a secret. This whole thing had been an unfortunate coincidence, but now that he was here, she knew he’d rise to the occasion.

“Um…? C-Captain…Captain Therese?”

“Oh, please don’t be so formal! We’re to be married, after all,” Therese said, her hand floating up to touch her cheek.

Then, she began to walk slowly toward Dust. Dust couldn’t conceal the shudder that ran through him, but he was otherwise frozen like a prey animal. Dust Bin, the most quick-witted of all the Keepers of Anastasia, couldn’t move. Eventually, Therese, having closed the distance between herself and her quarry, sat beside him.

“Dusklight, I think we should fare very well together if we got married. I hear your work isn’t going so well. My rank is still captain after my demotion—though I might not look it, all dressed up like this. I get a good salary… You needn’t worry about providing for the family. Therese Morchite… Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it?”

She edged toward him, and he recoiled. He kept shuffling away only to eventually find himself at the end of the sofa. He had to do something.

“Wait!” he said desperately.

“Oh, I’m not waiting,” said Therese. She laid her hand on his.

She was stronger than he’d expected. She meant to make sure he didn’t escape. Dust was stronger, though. He shook her hand off, then stood up and retreated to a corner of the room. Dust Bin, the top of the A-Team, ace of the Keepers of Anastasia, ran away.

“Captain! What are you doing?! Is this supposed to be funny?!” he exclaimed.

“I… Funny?” Therese echoed.

She was shocked to have been rejected so bluntly. Her attempt at seduction had been completely botched. It had taken her so much courage. She’d never done anything like that before. She’d shown him a side of herself she’d been saving up for her future husband…

She let out another deep sigh. Pretending they were strangers right up to their wedding day wasn’t going to work. Of course. That should have been obvious. Why had she ever thought marrying a secret knight was going to work out? 

It was desperation, obviously. However, she was also an experienced knight. She’d been in tight spots plenty of times before.

She stood up again, then walked slowly back to the window. She planted her feet shoulder width apart and clasped her hands behind her back. Wondering why she was attempting that same weird pose again, Dust watched, confused.

“All right, well, I’m still going to call you Dusklight,” she said.

“Captain…Therese?”

“You’ve messed up, Dusklight. I can’t believe you blew your cover like this.”

“Er…yes, Captain,” said Dust. The authority in Therese’s tone crushed his voice.

Therese turned slowly around to face him. Unlike last time, now she moved purposefully, like a knight. There was a tiny Dust reflected in her eyes, but he saw that his terrified scowl had been replaced by a shamed frown.

“Explain yourself,” Therese said. “How did this happen? Shouldn’t you have bothered to check the name of your potential bride?”

“I’m sorry, Captain. I made a mistake. I never thought it would… I thought you… Lady Therese, I thought you were long married, so I didn’t, I didn’t think to check…” He trailed off. 

Are you trying to piss me off? Therese wanted to snap back, but she restrained herself.

“Under these circumstances, I have no choice but to use my authority as deputy captain of the Keepers of Anastasia to dismiss you,” she continued. “Failing to do so would expose the Blessed Child to undue risk.”

Dust didn’t reply.

“As you are well aware, I am not strong. I have always done my best, but I don’t have a talent for the blade or magic like the rest of you. I’m average as they come. If someone wished to harm the Blessed Child, they could easily take me prisoner.” This all rolled easily off her tongue. Her mind was racing, though, without any particular destination.

“If I were somehow gone, the overall power of the Keepers of Anastasia wouldn’t be diminished. I believe that I am well suited to the role of commander, but you are each strong enough to fight individually without me leading you. However. Now, I know who you are. Under torture, I would give you up. I would tell them that you are Dusklight Morchite, fifth son of the House of Morchite. Anyone who sought to harm the Blessed Child would doubtless come after your family and demand that you give up the others to protect your parents and siblings. You wouldn’t know. So instead, they tell you to take the others out one by one. They may even tell you to kill the Blessed Child yourself. I cannot allow that to happen. And so, I thought, what if the two of us were family? Then, you could protect me. Then, we can avoid putting the Blessed Child in danger. Yes. It’s a good plan. A masterful plan, don’t you think so?” Therese said, coming to the end of her long, rambling argument.

While she spoke, however, Dust’s demeanor had changed. Before he’d been leaning away from her, looking a little uncomfortable, but now he stood up straight and his mouth was set in a hard line. His eyes gazed steadily at Therese, like she might eat him.

“Captain,” he said, “that’s impossible.”

“Impossible? What…do you…?” Therese stammered, feeling like she’d been clubbed over the head. But then, she had to admit that she wasn’t young. Dust was hardly the most marriageable age himself, but she was still a fair bit older than him. Still, she was a Latria. That meant she was good-looking, and her duties as a knight kept her active, so she’d maintained her figure. She came from a perfectly good family.

So it had to be her personality.

“Would you mind, um, explaining why…is it impossible?” she inquired.

Could she change her personality? That was the big question. If it were possible, she’d fling herself at the knees of Dust, her subordinate, crying, “Please, I can change!” and beg him to marry her.

“If the Blessed Child were in danger,” Dust replied, “I would kill my whole family to protect her.”

“…What?” Therese gaped, stopped in her tracks.

“That would remove the possibility of hostages,” he went on. “After that, I would kill everyone who threatened the Blessed Child, even if it meant sacrificing myself. Thus, what you say is impossible. It is impossible that the Blessed Child would ever be put in harm’s way.” 

His eyes were totally deranged. Therese listened. The wheels in her mind turned more slowly until, at last, the gears reengaged. 

Dust Bin, she realized, was a fanatic. He was madly dedicated to the Millis doctrine, and that was why he’d pledged his life to defending the Blessed Child. She was the reincarnation of Saint Millis himself, the symbol of his faith. He worshipped her and would do anything to protect her. His was an unwavering belief. He never doubted.

All of the Keepers of Anastasia were like that.

As she thought this, Therese’s desire to marry him vanished like a bubble bursting. Her heart came around to the realization that she’d misjudged him. Why had she wanted to marry a guy like him? She knew he was like this. She’d lost her mind. She’d gotten desperate and forgotten who this was, and then she’d mistaken what she wanted to see for reality. She was thoroughly convinced so long as he was good-looking, that was enough. 

Therese was left with only one option.

“Well said. That is the quality that makes you worthy amongst all the faithful to protect the Blessed Child.” It was a desperate bid to save her pride.

“Thank you, Captain! You honor me!” Dust said.

“From this day forth, you are to be ever-vigilant and ensure you never again make such a blunder.”

“You have my word, Captain!”

With that, Therese’s pride was safe. As deputy captain, she had tested the faith of her subordinate who had brazenly presented himself before someone who could—under no circumstances—be allowed to know his true identity. She determined that he could be allowed to continue as a member of the Keepers of Anastasia. No deputy captain would ever try to seduce her subordinate because she was desperate to get married. That was ridiculous.

“But Captain,” said Dust, smiling at last, “Captain, that performance was brilliant. I was horrified!”

“Were…were you really?”

“The way your eyes glittered… I never thought you’d really come on to me like that, Captain!”

I’m horrifying, Therese thought, feeling the blood rush to her head. She shouldn’t have to put up with this. Not from this dipshit lackey. 

She’d really given it her best shot. Sure, she still wished she’d applied herself to learning proper manners back at school, but even so.

“I was captivating.”

“…Huh?”

“I was so beautiful, so gorgeous, you weren’t sure if you could restrain yourself. Right?” The force in her tone brooked no contradiction.

Cold sweat ran down Dust’s forehead. His back was sticky, and a tremor rattled his legs. Fear. Dust Bin of the Keepers of Anastasia, whose unshakable faith allowed him, unflinching, to face down even the strongest opponents…was scared.

“I could just marry you, you know. In fact, maybe I should. You’re a careless guy. How can I know something like this won’t happen again? If you marry me, you at least don’t have to worry about any more marriage proposals.”

“But I… Um…”

“I’m kidding. I’m rejecting you,” Therese said, then stood up. “We were both off-duty today, but we’ll be at the Blessed Child’s side again tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

“…Yes, Captain,” Dust replied. Therese’s skirts fluttered as she turned and strode from the room, looking every inch a knight. Dust watched her go, then wiped away the sheen of cold sweat accumulating on his forehead.

***

“That was the correct decision,” said Claire as soon as they returned to the house. “You appear to be unhappy about it, but a man of that caliber cannot be a suitable match for a daughter of the Latrias. That was a practice round. I shall find you a better partner next time, so make sure to use what you have learned this time so that you may conduct yourself as a lady…”

As Claire got into the swing of a very long lecture, Therese felt a twinge of unease. Her first prospective match had been Dust. On paper, he was an adequate candidate, but in reality had turned out to be catastrophically mismatched. She worried that if Claire went on searching like this, she might turn up other similarly unsuitable matches…

But she nodded, and said, “I understand, Mother.” 

For one thing, it would be hard to turn around and announce she’d thought better of it after she was the one who’d gone to Claire for help… And the truth was, she really did want to get married. There was no way Claire would bring her more awful matches. 

“I’ll do my best,” she added.

“That’s the spirit, Therese. I know you’re busy with your work, but be sure not to skimp on your studies and your practice. You want them to see you as a lady.”

“Yes, Mother!” Therese said cheerfully.

Next time she’d meet a good man, she was sure of it. Before long, Therese’s certainty would be rewarded. But that’s a story for another time.