Chapter 192: You’ll Pay Me Back with Interest

The Grand Duke had blindsided me again, but I didn’t have much grounds to refuse the Crown Prince’s visit, and it was hard to ignore his desire to be near Lily.

It seemed the Grand Duke planned to make a grand announcement about the Crown Princess after the civil war ended. But apart from the Crown Prince, there was another guest joining us. She was Elisabeth, Fiel’s wife.

And Hilda’s one and only close friend.

They had similar temperaments, and she was such a strong-willed woman that even Fiel found her hard to handle.

"Thank you for allowing me to travel with you, Sir Streit."

"My wife’s friend is my friend as well. Please don’t worry about it."

The Crown Prince complained that his treatment was far different.

Of course it was. He had shown up out of nowhere demanding a ride as an uninvited guest, while Elisabeth had already arranged with Hilda to visit Feuzen.

The truth was, Elisabeth was very unhappy about Fiel being away in Feuzen for so long. That was why she’d decided to visit this time. Hilda had been counting the days until Elisabeth’s arrival.

Anyway, more people in the party meant more supplies and more expenses. Was shouldering all of this the duty of a lord and head of household? Treating guests poorly was simply out of the question.

And so we departed Breisburg.

We stopped by Rosenheim and purchased a large quantity of fine wine.

When Feuzen came into view, my heart began to pound fiercely. And I could see Schatten, with his magnificent mane and powerful build, galloping toward us at full speed.

Still as splendid and beautiful as ever.

The woman I loved most in the world was showing off her impressive bearing and masterful horsemanship. Her long, wine-colored hair, now reaching down to her waist, streamed behind her as she wore a radiant smile.

"Welcome home, my love!"

"Hilda!"

I leapt from Mont Blanc and ran toward my wife, who had come to greet me with such passion. Hilda jumped down from Schatten as well, and we savored our reunion in a fierce embrace.

Her blue eyes and that adoring gaze, the scent I’d missed so dearly it had tormented me like a burning fever every night. Before I knew it, I was gazing endlessly at those jewel-like lips and gently pressed mine against them.

I was so choked up I could barely speak.

Hilda’s eyes glistened with tears.

"It rained in Feuzen before you arrived, Wolf. It fell as heavily as my heart. I spent my nights missing you, my cruel husband who wouldn’t come home from Breisburg. Was it the same for you?"

"It was. I wanted to drop everything and come to where you were."

It seemed my bride’s emotional eloquence had grown quite rich.

Paying no mind to the stares of the party that had followed me, we shared a deep kiss. The knights who’d been waiting erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

I buried my face in the nape of her neck and drew in a deep breath.

Her arms. That was my sanctuary.

"Welcome to Feuzen, Your Highness."

"Ahem. Thank you for the gracious welcome, Lady Streit."

After the official greeting, Hilda welcomed the Crown Prince as a friend.

"You’ve become quite composed, haven’t you? But why does your face look so worn?"

"...Things happened. It’s been a while, Hilda."

The two had been friends since childhood and still were. The Crown Prince seemed puzzled by Hilda’s attire. Hilda wore dresses inside the mansion, but pants for outdoor activities.

A loose, pure white tunic paired with tightly fitted pants underneath made her figure stand out like a magnificent sculpture. I’d designed that look myself. It suited her perfectly.

She twirled around, showing off her outfit.

"Is it strange that I’m wearing pants? Don’t worry. This is our family’s territory, and Father Andreas only said not to wear them during Mass."

"Well, you are the lady of the estate, so I suppose it doesn’t matter."

The Crown Prince seemed to truly realize for the first time that this was Streit family land.

Hilda had actively introduced pants in Feuzen, and most women had started wearing them while working. The Church had legally prohibited women from wearing pants, but not in Feuzen.

After finishing introductions with the Crown Prince’s party, Hilda broke into her brightest smile and ran toward her old friend, who had just stepped down from the carriage. She pulled Elisabeth into an embrace and savored their reunion.

"Elisa! Welcome! I thought you’d never leave Breisburg!"

"My neglectful husband seemed like he’d be staying in Feuzen for a while, so I followed him."

"Oh my, is that really all? Didn’t you miss me?"

"Of course I missed you! Hilda!"

Elisabeth and Hilda hugged each other and reveled in the joy of reuniting since the tournament. Though the estate wasn’t far from Breisburg, it was quite difficult for a noblewoman to make a private visit to another territory.

That was why Hilda was overjoyed simply by the fact that her friend had come to the estate.

Meanwhile, I’d brought Lily from the rear of the carriage train so she wouldn’t feel left out. Hilda, who already knew about Lily from my letter, looked at the shy, petite girl in white and said to me:

"She seems like a well-behaved, shy girl?"

"This is my first time seeing her act like this too, so I’m getting goosebumps."

Hey, you. What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?

Our girl in white demurely lifted the hem of her dress ever so slightly and curtsied with the utmost politeness. The way she looked up at Hilda was like a fangirl seeing her idol in person.

"I’m Lily von Rudelich, of the Offenburg Marquis’s family."

"Nice to meet you, Lily. I’m Brünhilt von Steiner of the Streit family."

"I know this is forward for a first meeting, but could I ask you something?"

A sudden request? I was growing intensely anxious.

Hilda smiled gently and gave her permission, and then Lily blurted out:

"Please let me call you sister!"

With her hands clasped together, the girl in white gazed up at Hilda with a dreamy, unfocused look in her eyes. Hilda glanced back at me and agreed that she was indeed quite an unusual young lady.

"All right, Lily. Go ahead and call me sister."

"Oh! I finally have a sister! Sister!"

Lily was genuinely overjoyed and threw herself into Hilda’s arms. Hilda’s face resembled her mother’s, but she’d inherited her father’s height, making her tall for a woman—nearly as tall as me.

So little Lily fit snugly in her embrace.

Hilda seemed to have taken quite a liking to Lily as well.

She’d only ever had a brother and a sister-figure, after all.

Elisabeth suddenly wedged herself between the two.

It seemed she found our girl in white adorable too.

"Could you call me sister as well?"

"Of course, Sister Elisa!"

It seemed Lily had gained two big sisters.

I could actually understand how Lily felt.

Hilda was such a cool and impressive woman that I found myself in awe every time I saw her. And you think she’s only impressive? When she put on an elegant dress, she became the most beautiful woman in the world.

At night? She transformed into the most alluring woman in the world. That was why no other woman even registered in my eyes. And since we were still in the blazing heat of newlywed life, even more so.

After thoroughly enjoying our reunion in front of Feuzen, we were finally able to enter.

Hurraaah!

All the residents had come out to welcome their lord’s return.

I waved back at them.

Bodo scrambled out of the carriage and got caught up in the enthusiastic greetings from Hans and Ted, flailing about, before spotting Nora and bolting toward her like a shot. Hmm, so that was the cute girl who had stolen our young lad’s heart.

The first order of business upon arriving at the manor was assigning lodgings.

Originally, Feuzen had about five houses of the mansion class that had belonged to wealthy farmers. I’d given them out to the Einbeck family (August) and the Falkenheim family (Viktor) respectively.

As noble families of Feuzen, they were guaranteed that level of accommodation. I’d given one to Michael as a villa, a dedicated retreat for when his in-laws visited the estate.

That left two empty houses.

Having the Crown Prince’s party stay at the manor would probably be awkward for both sides, so I temporarily gave them one of the houses. Eisenach thanked me for the consideration, but the Crown Prince seemed secretly disappointed.

He apparently wanted to live under the same roof as Lily, but that was out of the question until they were married. Hilda, who knew the situation, volunteered to keep a close watch on them. Ironically, the Crown Prince ended up being monitored by his former first love.

The last house went to Fiel and Elisabeth. It was a small gesture for a friend, and Elisabeth seemed more than satisfied just having a space where she could be alone with Fiel.

I pretended not to notice Fiel’s haggard expression.

I’d probably need to excuse him from training and duties for a while.

"You’re going to hold a banquet?"

"Of course we need to hold a welcome banquet when we have guests."

The Crown Prince had visited Feuzen, after all. Forgoing a banquet would be unthinkable. The Crown Prince said there was no need to go to the trouble, but that was from his perspective. As the lord, I had to consider appearances.

"I’ve made you spend money unnecessarily because of me."

"When you ascend to the throne someday, you can pay me back with interest."

"Interest, huh. A thoroughly aristocratic notion, but it’s certainly the most reliable form of repayment."

Living in a world of nobles where reputation was everything, the least I could do was put on a proper show for the sake of appearances. To match the Crown Prince’s status at minimum, I spent one gold coin.

Sourcing only the finest quality supplies drove the costs sky-high.

Thanks to that, the residents’ palates were happy, at least.