Epilogue
It had been a month since the commotion Duke Hillrose caused in Dolkness County. Things had been slightly chaotic, but the kingdom seemed to be getting things under control.
As for what happened after I defeated the Dullahan that day, we were able to take down all the other monsters pretty easily. Thankfully, we were left with almost no casualties, and in an additional strike of good fortune, none of the towns surroundings Dolkness Village were affected at all.
Although...we had faced one brutal loss. Patrick had destroyed the monster-summoning flute—you know, the extra large one. I would have done my best to save it from him if I’d had the chance, but by the time I’d taken care of most of the monsters and returned to the village, it had been too late. It was a significant loss for all of humanity.
Once we’d had things under control, we’d headed straight to the Royal Capital. Using our knowledge of the duke’s plans, a large-scale raid had been launched on the Hillrose estate, where all of the radicals had conveniently gathered in preparation to launch the coup d’état. Things had been a mess for a while after that, but now things were finally calming down. I could at last focus on Dolkness County again.
Today, I’d planned to go see how our newest village was faring in terms of its development. But, before I went, I decided to invite one more person to come along with me—a certain girl who was currently staying at my estate, and appeared to be well on her way to becoming a shut-in.
“Lady Eleanora, would you please come out?” I called from outside her room.
No response could be heard from behind her door. This wasn’t much of a surprise—Eleanora had been acting like this ever since I’d told her about her father’s death. Perhaps she was still stunned by the fact that she was now a commoner, the title that had come along with the Hillrose name having been destroyed due to her father’s treasonous acts.
All right, how am I going to get here out of there? I wondered. I could bring up Edwin to bait her... No, she’d probably resent me for that later.
Left bereft of other ideas, I finally just said in my best coaxing voice, “We’re going somewhere fun...”
There was a rustling inside Eleanora’s room. “I’m coming!” she shouted.
Is she depressed or not...?
◆◆◆
Although she’d sworn to be ready right away, it was an hour before Eleanora finally joined me at the entryway to the house.
There’s no way it took her that long to prepare, I mused. It’s starting to feel like there’s a good chance that my home contains some kind of warp in space-time.
Looking for confirmation from a secondary source, I turned to Patrick, who had been waiting alongside me this whole time. “Isn’t it strange to take a whole hour to get ready for an outing?” I asked him. “Shouldn’t it take like, forty seconds?”
Patrick snorted. “Even I take a little longer than that. To be honest, I think Lady Eleanora actually was trying her best to be quick.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. No way, I thought, resolute. If you took that long getting ready every day and died at eighty, that would mean you spent three years of your life just getting ready to go out! That’s insane!
Our conversation was interrupted by Eleanora scurrying over to us. She was wearing an outfit that didn’t look at all like what I thought was appropriate to visit a remote village surrounded by nature, but I kept that to myself.
“Thank you for waiting,” Eleanora said with a big smile on her face. She didn’t seem apologetic in the least.
Narrowing my eyes slightly, I replied. “It was quite the wait.”
This seemed to go entirely over Eleanora’s head. “I’d actually like to see Dolkness Village as well!” she said. “Would you show me around?”
“As you wish...”
She’s a member of the upper class through and through, I thought with an inward sigh. Still, even if the fact that she’s a freeloading fallen noble woman makes things difficult, her good-naturedness and general obliviousness toward ill intent makes up for it. Those things are what I like best about her, after all.
With Eleanora in tow, the three of us headed to Dolkness Village. We strolled through the streets on foot, which I worried would bother Eleanora, but she surprised me by energetically pressing forward.
“What is that?” she demanded.
“That’s a store that sells grains.”
She pointed to another building. “What is that one then?”
“That’s just a house.”
Hold on. Why does it kinda feel like Dolkness Village doesn’t have anything going on? How can that be when it’s the administrative and economic center of the county?
While I descended into worries over the featureless townscape before me, Eleanora jovially roamed along, oblivious.
“Oh! People are gathered over there!” she exclaimed, pointing to a plaza at the intersection of several main roads. “Is something going on?”
My brow wrinkled slightly as I took in the crowd ahead. Sure, vendors would sometimes set up stalls in the plaza, but that didn’t attract nearly this many people.
“Huh...” I mumbled, confused. I turned to Patrick, who was standing at my side. “Is there some kind of event today?”
He shrugged his shoulders, head tilted in confusion as he stared at the people who’d flooded the plaza.
He seems to be as clueless as I am.
Eleanora didn’t waste any time rushing into the plaza herself; she dived right into the crowd and began pushing her way through to the front. I went after her, struggling to make my way to the origin of all the noise. I got jostled around as I waded through the throng of tightly packed bodies, but did eventually manage to make it to my destination.
Peering ahead, I saw a man holding a string instrument. He was likely a bard, and there was something about him that seemed a tad familiar...but I didn’t have time to dwell on it, since he began his performance.
The bard sang a tale of a young girl’s adventures. The girl had black hair and a dark power in her right arm that she lived her whole life trying to suppress. Alas, she was forced to set it free in order to use its forbidden strength to take down her archnemesis. In the final act, the girl won the battle, but was almost swallowed up by her power. She was only able to be saved and brought back to herself because of the efforts of her beloved partner.
Hmm, I see, I mused. The story kind of feels like something a kid would come up with to be edgy, but overall, it’s pretty well written.
Now finished with the main story, the bard concluded with an epilogue. He sang that the black-haired girl had become a countess, and had thereafter ruled over a county.
This brought me pause. Wait... This is just me, isn’t it? Oh! That’s right, I met that bard in the Royal Capital. Did he really take the edgelord ideas I came up with on the spot seriously?! Is he crazy?! I pressed a hand to my forehead. What’s he gonna do if some of these normal children turn out to be cringey weirdos?! Once they come to their senses, they’ll have to carry that pain with them for the rest of their lives, just like I do! Just like me!
I wanted to flee from the scene immediately, but the roaring applause of the crowd, interspersed with cheers, made me freeze on the spot. Eleanora, who had been standing more toward the front than I had, looked back over her shoulder, and our eyes met.
“Yumiella, you’re so cool!” she yelled in a loud voice. Somehow, I managed to hear her even through the excitement of the crowd.
“That was completely fictional,” I shouted back.
“What? What did you say? I can’t hear you!”
Lady Eleanora, must you call out my name in such a loud voice?! Ugh... I guess it’s too late to signal her to be quiet.
I let out a long sigh, but then froze when the crowd’s cheering suddenly stopped, all their eyes turning to me.
“Is that...Lady Yumiella herself?”
“Indeed, it’s the countess, in the flesh.”
I braced myself for what was to come next. After all, at this point, I was used to people being uncomfortable around me. I was used to them putting distance between themselves and me, leaving me standing alone in an empty space.
It’s all right, I told myself. I’m just destined to be feared...
But then, from in the crowd, I heard a voice yell, “You’re so cool!” And then, another: “Lady Yumiella, was that story just now true?!”
No, don’t look at me with those eyes of envy, I moaned internally. I can’t take being surrounded by everyone’s glimmering gazes!
I glared at the bard, trying to ignore the intense stares from the crowd around me. Alas, he didn’t notice me.
“This song is very popular in the Royal Capital as well,” he began. “As the composer and lyricist of this song, I came here in hopes of performing it in Dolkness County, since that is where the tale takes place.”
It’s already too late. Unbelievably embarrassing as it is, the bard’s tale based on me has already spread among the public... Not only that, but this entire crowd seems convinced that I actually am the protagonist. I looked around, wincing at all the eyes boring holes into me. I’ve gotta get out of here.
As I was planning my escape, a voice called from nearby, “Take a look at Dolkness County’s specialty, the wooden sword! Made under the total supervision of our countess, these are even big with the children of aristocrats in the Royal Capital!”
Trust a merchant to always capitalize on a business opportunity. But why do you have to bring up the wooden swords now? I feel like people are gonna get some weird ideas about them after hearing that story...
Up until now, the swords hadn’t been selling that well in Dolkness Village. Today, however, the demand seemed to skyrocket. The crowd around me rushed over to the merchant, desperate to buy themselves one of the wooden swords. Even Eleanora tried to join them; I had to grab her arm to stop her.
“I want one too!” she yelled at me, pouting.
“We’re going now, I’ll buy you one later.”
Somehow, I managed to escape the crowd, dragging Eleanora along behind me. I found Patrick standing not far away; apparently, he’d been enjoying the view from afar while I’d been in the middle of the chaos.
Patrick, I won’t forget this!
◆◆◆
Soon after the bard’s performance ended, the three of us left Dolkness Village and headed for the area the villagers from Cottoness were developing. I’d wanted to do something about that story the bard was telling, but ultimately I’d decided not to. I’d felt like things would only get more out of hand if I intervened.
It’s just a temporary fad, I told myself. Soon enough, that story will disappear from everyone’s minds. Hopefully. Probably.
I didn’t have much time to dwell over it though, as we quickly arrived at the developing village. The flight was easy, and we faced little to no issues—that is, beyond Ryuu’s annoyance over Eleanora’s exuberant excitement toward flying.
Even landing didn’t dampen Eleanora’s glee; she ran off practically immediately once Ryuu had landed, not even giving me a chance to explain our plans for the day.
“Hey, hold on!” I yelled after her.
“But I see a river over there!” she exclaimed.
I sighed. We’re here to inspect the village, not play around! Although...does Lady Eleanora know that? Yeah, probably not.
“You go check on the village,” Patrick told me, heading after her. “I’ll look after Lady Eleanora.”
“Thanks.”
Saved by Patrick’s considerateness, I thought, feeling relieved.
With Eleanora safely taken care of, I turned to Ryuu and told him he could go off to play, then headed to the village. The first thing I did was look over the areas that we’d planned to turn into fields. They were neatly divided up, and as far as I could tell, about half of the work on them had been completed. It looked like they’d be able to properly start farming next year.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry to disturb you while you’re working,” I called out to a villager who was tilling a field close by. “How have things been?”
“Oh! Countess!” responded the man, who looked to be in his thirties. “Things have been going well, thank you very much. Starting next year, we’ll be doing our best to be able to feed ourselves.” He gave me a cheerful smile.
I felt a bubble of happiness burst inside me. The way the villagers treated me now, it was like the fear they’d felt toward me when they’d been thieves had never even existed.
“Ah!” the man continued, as if he’d just remembered something. “Are you all right, countess? I heard that you were attacked by the duke.”
I gave him my best attempt at a reassuring smile. “I’m fine; he was up against me, after all.”
“That’s good to hear. Do you know what ended up happening to him?”
I paused, then said delicately, “He...passed away. The title the Hillroses held has been destroyed as well.”
So, it appears the details of our confrontation haven’t spread, I mused. If they had, he’d have heard that the mastermind of the situation, the duke of Hillrose, was the sole fatality in the commotion.
The villager quietly muttered, “I see.”
I felt a flicker of affection toward the man. Even though he most likely thought the duke was just another crooked aristocrat, I couldn’t sense even an ounce of happiness coming from him over the duke’s demise.
This guy seems like he’s got a good heart, I thought. Regardless, there’s no use in talking about such depressing things.
“Umm...” I mumbled, trying to think of a different topic. “How’s that strange old man been? The one who recently came to the village.”
The villager’s face lit up. “Oh, he’s really something! He’s very smart, and the other day he even took down a monster!”
I felt a flicker of relief at this. I’d brought the man to the village roughly a month ago, but I’d worried over how well he’d get along with the other villagers. He had a nasty look about him, you see, and his personality was actually quite nasty as well. It seemed he’d settled in well, though.
He did protect himself from the swarm of monsters back then... I mused. I guess he can fight a little after all.
“I’m glad he’s doing well,” I told the villager. “Would you happen to know where he is right now?”
“He should be home, I believe,” the villager replied, pointing to a house.
Waving goodbye to the villager, I headed over to the building and examined it a bit closer. I noted that it was small, and quite new, and that the strange man seemed to be living in it by himself.
I knocked on the house’s door, and mere seconds later a man’s voice responded from inside. Without any further ado, I let myself in, then locked eyes with the middle-aged man waiting for me within.
“It’s been a while,” I said lightly. “You’ve been settling in quite well, I’ve heard. I’m a bit surprised.”
There was a brief silence, then the man at last responded, “Being retired in the countryside isn’t all that bad.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. I actually came by today to let you know that most everything has now been settled.”
“I see.”
As the man listened attentively, I explained all that had been going on in the Royal Capital since Duke Hillrose’s failed coup d’état. Unfortunately, we hadn’t been able to round up all the radicals, even though we’d raided the duke’s mansion with Ronald’s help—half of them had left before we’d arrived, concerned about the duke’s nonappearance. Those who fled were staunchly feigning ignorance on the matter.
“If you had been quicker, you could’ve taken care of them all at once,” the man complained. “Ronald was too lax.”
“Isn’t it Lady Eleanora’s fault that Ronald showed up late?” I pointed out.
The man’s face screwed up, his expression turning indignant. “There’s no way she could be at fault!”
Ignoring the emphatic shift in his tone, I continued to detail out the rest of what I knew. From what I had heard, most of the radical aristocrats who had avoided capture were small fry, and they hadn’t carried any of the duke’s plans through to fruition. The radicals that had been caught had all their titles stripped and their wealth confiscated, and had been told to live out the rest of their lives as commoners. Hopefully that would be enough to scare the radicals that hadn’t been apprehended and keep them from dipping their toes into any other trouble.
“They could’ve faced harsher punishment,” the man fussed, lips thin with displeasure.
“That’s scary coming from you,” I said, giving the man a look before continuing on to the next topic of discussion—the kingdom.
Thankfully, the results of the duke’s actions had caused practically no disturbance within Valschein. The territories that had been confiscated from the former aristocrats had been put under the direct control of the royal family, which had made the kingdom seem more stable than ever. As someone who prioritized stability over all else, I felt like things had worked out as well as we could have hoped for.
But the strange man’s interest seemed to lie beyond the kingdom. “So?” he demanded nervously. “How’s she doing?”
“As best as could be expected, as I’ve told her that you’ve died,” I replied. “I can’t do otherwise, since she’s so bad at keeping secrets.”
“I see,” he replied. “Well, as long as she’s doing all right, I suppose that’s fine... You aren’t making her grind experience, are you?”
“Of course not,” I said, scoffing. “Our deal was that as long as you stayed out of trouble, I wouldn’t do that.”
She’s probably still running around and playing in the river right now... I thought. Oh, right! I never told him that Lady Eleanora’s here.
I glanced over at the man, taking in how restless and irritated he looked. Heh, the second I brought up Eleanora, his attitude completely changed.
The man sighed. “Why is that girl so attached to you?” he asked, looking lost. “Why does she like someone so crazy so much?”
I shrugged. “I don’t have a clue either.”
“Why did she even come to Dolkness County back then? I’ve still don’t have any idea.”
“She apparently came to congratulate me on my marriage,” I informed him.
After I’d realized Eleanora’s invitation had been for a wedding instead of Patrick’s level 99 party, I’d checked to see if all of them had been like that. Indeed, they had, and not only that—everyone up to the king himself had received one. Daemon and his people had even started preparing for it for some reason, so it seemed we really would be having a wedding in six months, as the invitation had stated. The knowledge had left me utterly lost.
I really don’t get it... I moaned internally. Patrick and I haven’t even actually decided to get married, let alone agreed to have a wedding! All we did was get engaged—marriage was never part of the deal! But I, uh, you know...I wouldn’t mind getting married. Some day...
As I writhed in internal conflict for the umpteenth time since everything had come out, the man’s brows rose in surprise.
“Marriage?” he asked. “Oh, I didn’t notice the ring.”
I gave him a confused look. “What about my ring?”
“It’s a magical instrument and engagement ring, isn’t it? I can’t believe the magic in that thing is what got me.”
My brain stuck on the first statement, skipping right over the second. An engagement ring? I wondered incredulously. There’s no way, this ring I’m wearing is just a surprise gift that Patrick gave me...
Feeling assured, I told the man firmly, “This isn’t an engagement ring.”
“Then why are you wearing it on that finger?” he demanded.
I glanced at the fourth finger on my left hand. Wait, are engagement rings supposed to go on this finger? I mean, it’s not like I knew that when I put it on; I just wasn’t thinkin— Wait. Patrick was the one who decided I should wear the ring on this finger.
“Patrick is surprisingly ignorant...” I muttered to myself.
The man let out a long, long sigh. “I’m starting to feel sorry for that kid.”
Just then, the door to the man’s house suddenly flew open. I was overcome with the need to press my hand to my forehead.
Does she live by some principle where she can’t knock or something?
“Yumiella, I caught a crab! Can we eat thi—”
Eleanora froze midsentence, staring at the man standing behind me. He had gone rigid as well, his gaze fixed on her.
“F-Father...?” Eleanora whispered, squeezing the words out.
“I’m... I’m just a simple villager. The duke of Hillrose is dead.”
The surprise vanished from Eleanora’s face. “I see, my mistake! You just looked so much like my father.”
“E-Eleanora...?” the man stammered.
That’s right—Lady Eleanora takes everything at face value. Even this.
It took everything I had to hold my laughter in, seeing the look of blank incredulity that came over the man’s face. The fact that I knew a touching reunion was just moments away somehow made it even funnier.
“Oh, Yumiella,” Eleanora began, turning to me. “I also got a cra—”
“Eleanora, it’s your daddy!”
We all turned to look at the man. He looked a bit sheepish, having blurted his words out in a panic. Then, Eleanora’s face lit up.
“Father! I knew it, you are father!”
“Yes, my dear daughter, it’s me! And you are the cutest girl in the whole world!”
I gave them a look of disdain as they embraced, then stepped outside. “It’s your daddy”?! Come on! I can’t stand doting parents like him; they’re so undignified. I wonder if he’s aware how cringe he is.
Left without anything to do but wait, I wandered aimlessly around the area until I came across Ryuu, who was digging a hole in the ground outside the village.
“Ryuu!” I called out. “It’s your mommy!”
My little mole-dragon didn’t react; he was too absorbed in digging, his legs moving rapidly over the dirt before him. Instead, a nearby voice said with a sigh, “Don’t you feel embarrassed, saying something like that?”
I looked over and saw Patrick; he must have come after me once he’d led Eleanora to the house.
“What’s weird about what I was saying?” I asked, baffled.
He sighed. “Never mind...”
He’s saying strange stuff again, I thought. Ah well, he’s just kind of a weird person. It’s not his fault his understanding of things is a bit off.
We looked out at the view of the village before us in a companionable silence. The landscape of the little development had completely changed over the span of the last few months. Looking at it, it was hard to believe that there had been nothing there just a short while ago.
Oh, that’s right! I should tell Patrick what that man just mentioned. I bet he’ll be surprised.
“Hey, did you know that there’s a meaning behind wearing a ring on each finger?” I asked. “Apparently engagement rings and wedding rings go on the fourth finger of your left hand!”
There was a moment of heavy silence. “I...already knew that,” Patrick said.
What, he already knew that and put the ring on this finger?! Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. So, I guess this ring is probably an engagement ring, huh? Wait—it’s that kind of engagement ring?
“So, uh...does that mean this is... It’s...”
Did...Patrick propose to me without me knowing? Was he proposing to me when he gave me this ring?!
Logically, I could understand that was what had happened, but my mind just couldn’t quite grasp it. Even so, he deserved a response. Although, it did feel pretty strange to suddenly give him an answer after all this time...
My mind spun, confusion and anxiety overheating it to a dangerous degree. But before I could have a total meltdown, Patrick reached out and took my left hand in his, then plucked the ring right off my finger.
“Huh? Why did you...? Wait, did you not propose to me back then? Do you not want to get married?”
We’d just been going with the flow of things, but now we were suddenly engaged, and the day of our wedding had already been decided. Is any of this what Patrick wants? I just thought that we’d lucked out, but if Patrick feels differently—
“You won’t get it unless I make things clear, so I want to formally tell you this,” Patrick said. He got on his knee in front of me and held out the ring with both hands. “I love you, Yumiella. Let’s get married.”
In normal circumstances, I would have already looked away out of embarrassment. But for some reason, right now my gaze was fixed, my eyes locked on to his. A moment passed, seconds stretching into what felt like hours as we stared at each other. The only thing that moved was our hair, jostled by the wind.
I may be clueless when it comes to romance, and I may have had no idea what wearing a ring on the fourth finger of my left hand meant, but even I know what to do next.
I held my left hand out, my eyes still staring into Patrick’s as I said, “Sure, it would be my pleasure.”
Behold, my finishing move! With a simple, “Sure, it would be my pleasure,” I have proclaimed how I feel without using words such as “like” or “love” or “I want to marry you!” Oh, what a convenient phrase! I see why those in customer service use it often.
But...something was off. I went to let out a little giggle, happy that I’d been able to give him a satisfactory response, but the sound came out watery, and my eyes were full of tears. The ring, with its pale green glow, was put onto my left hand once again. But the tears didn’t stop.
“This isn’t— I’m not sad or anything, just...”
“I know.”
Even though Patrick wiped my tears away with a handkerchief, the tears kept coming. It seemed like they wouldn’t stop until all the water was depleted from my body.
That’s when a certain person’s strident voice drilled into our ears.
“Hey, you! What’s this I hear about you carrying Eleanora while walking around?!”
“Wait, father! It was nice, but it wasn’t like that!”
At this exchange, my tears completely stopped falling. My eyes, which had been overly hydrated the moment before, dried up.
Good going, Hillroses. Now I don’t have to worry about leaking all my water out of my eyes and turning into a mummy.
Sensing the noisy yet joyful presence of the two ex-aristocrats, Ryuu flew over as well. Eleanora excitedly waved at him, but her father stood before her as if to protect her.
“Ryuu, over here!” Eleanora called out, leaning around her father’s body.
“No— Eleanora! Hey, hurry up and do something about the dragon!” The man grabbed his daughter, holding her in place. “Eleanora, you stay where you are!”
“Don’t worry, father, I’m friends with this dragon!”
“So?! What if something happens and you get crushed?! No, I won’t let that happen—your father shall protect you!”
It looks like this all-too-noisy father-daughter duo is going to be in my life for a while, I thought to myself with a sigh.
“Can you believe that that’s the guy who rebelled against the royal family?” I asked, turning to Patrick.
“He just seems like an overprotective father to me.”
We both looked at each other and let out a wry laugh.
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