Celine walked slowly down the palace's quiet corridor, recalling the scene of her tea with Yuri just moments before.
An abnormal Gift called the Cheat Merchant.
Memories of another world—and on top of that, a plan for reforming the territory that had surely been born from them.
Normally, one secured loans by offering tax revenues as collateral.
The idea of drawing lenders directly into the territory's reform projects was almost unthinkable.
Depending on how the contracts were drafted, such arrangements could be made to mean almost anything.
Precisely because of that, they could just as easily hand another lord a pretext for a duel—or even a war between lords.
That was exactly why noble society regarded such things as beyond common sense.
...I have to admit, that did surprise me a little.
She kept the words inside, careful not to let them echo through the cold corridor.
And yet what had surprised her most was the simple fact that the one who had spoken of such plans was a boy who had not even graduated from the Noble Academy.
Memories of another world...
Of course, she did not believe Yuri was lying.
If anything, his humble, self-effacing manner was so sincere that it almost felt as though he underestimated himself.
In one of the old books sealed away in the kingdom's forbidden archive, there had been a passage:
"The Hero who defeated the revived Demon King was one summoned from another world."
If that was true,
then the birth of a child reincarnated with memories of another world was not impossible at all.
If it was written in a forbidden book, then the Church must be trying to hide the truth....
I wonder why.
But this is dangerous ground. Nothing good would come of making an enemy of the Church as it stands now.
Trying to force the truth into the open
would be like stirring up a dragon's nest.
At worst, it would burn all of them to ash.
For now, she told herself, this was not something she should probe too deeply.
Her steps slowed of their own accord.
Whatever the Church may say, my lord husband is our savior.
If Yuri's plans truly became reality,
the Reberk Barony would be saved.
More than that, it might achieve a prosperity far beyond anything Celine had imagined.
"Hehe. They do say a clever griffin keeps its claws hidden."
A smile rose to her lips before she knew it.
The image of Yuri calling himself the hapless noble crossed her mind,
and now even those words felt dear to her.
A gentle warmth spread quietly through the depths of Celine's heart.
"Mother, may I have a moment?"
Lieselotte's uneasy voice, coming from a short distance behind her, carried through the hushed corridor.
Celine stopped and turned back slowly.
"What is it, Liese?"
Celine asked, though she already had some idea herself.
Her daughter, no doubt, was bewildered by Yuri's power and his plans as well.
Lieselotte kept her lips closed for a while, as though searching for the right words.
At last, she began to speak with care.
"My lord husband's... that power of his. Do you truly think he carries memories of another world...? And that he could devise such plans for the sake of the territory..."
There was uncertainty in Lieselotte's voice.
Celine looked at her daughter with gentle eyes.
"Yes, that power of his is certainly extraordinary. I was surprised as well. But, Liese, you saw it too, didn't you? My lord husband is not the sort of man to be consumed by a power like that. He possesses that much power, and yet he does not flaunt it. He only means to use it for our sake. You felt that as well, did you not?"
Laying a hand against Lieselotte's cheek,
Celine spoke in a gentle voice.
Anyone else would have flaunted power like that.
But I heard that after the Rite of the Stars, my lord husband was disinherited by his own father and treated little better than a servant....
How much disappointment and pain must he have felt toward a family that changed its judgment of him over a single Gift...?
Just imagining it made her chest tighten.
That was precisely why she wanted to support Yuri now.
Lieselotte nodded at Celine's words,
but she still seemed unable to rid herself entirely of her unease.
"But... if the Church of Stellar Guidance or the Empire were to learn of that power... I am terribly afraid that my lord husband might be marked for heresy proceedings..."
Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes
as she forced the words out.
Celine smiled softly at the sight of such a young girl worrying so deeply over Yuri.
That pure kindness touched her heart.
"Liese, you are such a kind child. To care for someone else so deeply like that... I am truly proud of you."
Gently wiping away Lieselotte's tears with her thumb,
Celine went on.
"My lord husband's power is not something that can remain hidden forever. The day will come when word of it spreads. But when that day comes, we shall protect my lord husband ourselves. Won't we?"
Perhaps Lieselotte had taken that feeling to heart,
because she gave a small nod.
Then, as if easing the tension in herself, she smiled a little and spoke again.
"Still... my lord husband does seem weak to women with large breasts. I worry he might be deceived."
The words were so unexpected that Celine could only blink for a moment in surprise,
but then a soft laugh escaped her.
She had never imagined such a thing would come from her daughter's lips.
Deliberately, Celine answered in a light tone.
"Hehe... perhaps you are right. Even if it is something meant to display one's station, having him steal glances like that is a little embarrassing. I almost wish he would simply look properly. The way he does it now makes me feel as though I'm the one doing something improper."
Celine laughed with a faint shrug.
After all, in this world, the fullness of a woman's bosom and the whiteness of her skin
were symbols of noble birth and prosperity,
and displaying them was a matter of etiquette and good breeding.
So why was Yuri so restless, always averting his eyes like that?
Celine could not understand the reason at all.
Was it different in my lord husband's previous life...?
The thought took root inside her.
If that were so, then it would be nothing less than an affront to the beauty bestowed by the goddess herself,
an act that made a mockery of all the effort women poured into their appearance day after day.
Slowly, steadily, indignation began to rise in Celine's breast.
She found herself imagining the women of Yuri's previous life.
After lavishing so much money and so many beauty elixirs on themselves, after devoting themselves to refining their beauty every single day,
to have all that effort go unpraised by anyone...
That would be far too pitiful.
By the time she had gone that far, Celine was suddenly struck by an uneasy thought that perhaps her thinking had drifted somewhere strange.
Could it be that my lord husband... prefers legs?
The moment that idea surfaced,
her mind plunged into utter confusion.
Surely not.
Showing one's ankles, calves, or thighs was the height of bad manners—utter folly, nothing more.
And yet, given the strange way Yuri kept averting his eyes,
it was not entirely unreasonable for such a suspicion to arise.
What shall I do if he asks me to raise the hem of my dresses...?
All Celine could do was pray Yuri would never utter such a wish.
And if he were to say, "Show me,"
then she would have no choice but to tell him, "Very well—win the world first."
She made that resolution firmly within her heart.
Meanwhile, utterly unaware of Celine's thoughts, Lieselotte had puffed out her lips in a faint sulk.
"Hmph. That's easy for you to say, Mother. You are splendidly endowed."
That jealousy was so adorably transparent
that it filled Celine's heart with warmth.
"What are you saying, Liese? He was certainly looking at you too. And besides, you are only going to become lovelier and lovelier from here on, so there is no need to worry."
She lovingly stroked Lieselotte's cheek.
Lieselotte looked away, a little flustered,
but after a moment she opened her mouth with a serious expression.
"Yes... you're right. I need to eat more meat and become even lovelier than I am now!"
That earnest little declaration
made Celine smile, unable to hold back her laughter.
She lightly clenched a fist herself
and spoke as though to cheer her daughter on.
"That's the spirit. Even if more consorts join us, we must do our best so that my lord husband will go on doting on us. And I must use my lord husband's beauty elixirs to make my skin even more radiant."
At Celine's words, Lieselotte gave a slightly bashful smile,
yet nodded with unmistakable determination.