I strolled through the Rose Garden while savoring the refreshing morning and drinking warm rose tea that Daniel had prepared. It was now entering October, and the rose colors were starting to deepen. Since May to October is when roses bloom, this was the tail end of their flowering season.

Just walking through the Rose Garden filled me with emotion. I’d been running too busily all this time, but I wanted to fully enjoy this everyday happiness of savoring the leisure of a cup of tea. Was this the difference between yesterday as a bachelor and today as a married man? Hmm, the tea tasted sweeter yet more bitter today.

Murmur murmur.

But why was it so noisy outside? Couldn’t they see I was immersed in sentiment right now? What bastards were gathering in front of my house this early in the morning? Irritated, I went out to see Oscar and Hans standing guard with troubled expressions and countless beggars filling my field of vision. An unpleasant stench rose to the heavens.

"Oh, the newlywed groom’s come out!"

"He saw me first! He saw me first!"

"What are you talking about! He saw me first!"

A truly harsh curse nearly leapt from my throat, but I barely held it back. Why were beggars gathered in front of my house from early morning? And these bastards were fighting over who I’d seen first. Watching that spectacle, I wanted to call the duchy army and blow their heads off.

"Oscar. Disperse them."

"Disperse them? But..."

"But what?"

"If you chase them away like this, you won’t receive blessings."

Just how tightly did those damn blessings bind medieval people through faith? However, I knew that most of these beggars were fakes. When I’d conducted administrative rounds and beggar license enforcement, I’d witnessed countless miracles of men with supposedly disabled arms and legs sprinting away like lightning.

I had a strong aversion to giving alms to such frauds. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

I’d rather donate to the orphanage run by the nunnery.

So I went back inside the house, brought out about 100 copper coins, and scattered them in the air. When the coin rain poured from the sky, the beggars’ eyes rolled back. Chaos erupted as they scrambled to pick them up. Punches flew and all kinds of curses burst out. I smiled contentedly watching the spectacle.

"Hans. Call the nearby guards."

"Y-yes, sir!"

I had Hans call the nearby Kisling Guard, and the guards swarmed over and hauled the beggars away. Those who weren’t caught scattered in all directions. The front of the mansion instantly fell quiet. The reason the beggars had made such a commotion from early morning was that I was the groom who’d gotten married yesterday.

It came from the belief that you receive blessings if you give alms to the first beggar you see in front of your house early in the morning after spending the wedding night. And because my wedding had set all of Breisburg buzzing, a mob had set up camp in front of my house. Plus, I was a lord and the War Minister’s son-in-law.

They must’ve thought I was a nobleman with money to burn.

So instead of giving alms to beggars, I donated 10 silver coins to the Kisling Nunnery orphanage. Since I had compassion for orphans, I was thinking of regularly donating to the nearby orphanage to commemorate my marriage. This was truly a good deed worthy of blessings, rather than throwing money away on fraudulent beggars.

Hilda couldn’t get out of bed, and Priscilla was very tired, nodding off and getting startled repeatedly. Hans seemed very curious about what had happened last night, but Priscilla absolutely wouldn’t tell. Same with Sabine.

However, what was certain was that both of them flinched whenever I spoke to them. The previous night’s events must have been quite shocking. Time would sort it out. After finishing my meal, I immediately headed to the War Minister’s residence with August and Ted. My father-in-law wasn’t there—only Michael.

"What brings the newlywed groom who spent his wedding night here? Where’s the bride?"

"The bride is still sleeping soundly because the wedding night was too exhausting."

"Hehe, seems like brother-in-law’s stamina is tremendous. If even Hilda couldn’t endure it."

I ignored the sleazily grinning Michael and sat in a chair.

I’d come to Michael to select 10 duchy army cavalrymen, because I wanted to dispatch a proper manager to my territory as soon as possible. The cavalry that August would lead would become an excellent military force. That’s why I’d come here first, setting aside other matters.

"Please assemble the cavalrymen at the training ground."

"You’re picking them yourself? Well, that makes it easier for me."

Michael, who’d come to completely trust my uncanny eye for people, assembled the cavalrymen at the training ground without much objection. It was a bolt from the blue for the cavalrymen who’d been enjoying blissful rest without training, but knowing the person requesting the assembly was me, they moved faster than anyone.

Because the cavalrymen who’d served under my command in the last war had reaped huge profits. The commander’s identity mattered, but someone who secured big profits was equally important to cavalrymen. And I fit both criteria. So their eyes sharpened the moment they recognized me.

"What’s with these guys? Why are they so keen?"

"Because the loot fairy has arrived."

Michael burst out laughing at the term "loot fairy."

Most of the cavalrymen who’d fought under my command had secured a solid share, but when we attacked Count Épinay at the end, half had died dealing with his personal cavalry. However, being rough cavalrymen accustomed to living alongside death, their desire to enjoy life after securing a share outweighed their fear of the risk.

So they were still friendly toward me.

By nature, cavalrymen don’t even have the concept of saving wealth.

They squander most of it on upkeep and entertainment.

Unfortunately, though, I was looking to pick personnel more for maintaining order than for combat, so I couldn’t meet their expectations. Most of the familiar cavalrymen didn’t have suitable dispositions. Using the Manager Scouter, I weeded out cavalrymen with undesirable traits like ambition, calculation, greed, and impulsiveness.

What I wanted was honesty and integrity, or positive traits equivalent to those. And they had to be at least neutral in alignment. As a result of my selection, 13 cavalrymen remained. Hmm, I’d originally planned to pick only 10, but there were many men with good dispositions, so I wanted to take them all.