Am I Really Wanted by Anyone? - Chapter 6

Count Barbet sent word saying he wished to take Lady Ginette as his bride, but it seems Father explained to the Count that as the successor to the Margrave, I cannot be reassigned.

Count Barbet appears to understand this meaning as well, so both families have been exchanging vague replies and haven’t yet finalized discussions about the successor.

According to Lord Leo’s letter, he seems to be struggling with how to persuade his parents.

…Well, it can’t be helped.

The fact that he thought of me at all is enough.

The engagement talks have been temporarily set aside, and it seems the matter has been settled as an “experience” for now.

With the Emperor’s permission granted, he will be spending about a month in the Margrave’s territory.

“Lord Leo, it’s been a while.”

“Lady Ginette! I wanted to see you.”

Lord Leo, who had disembarked from the dragon with a pale face, spotted me and came running over.

“Was the dragon ride all right?”

Since I always ride alone, a small dragon is no problem for me, but Lord Leo has never ridden a dragon alone, so he needed a pilot and came on a medium-sized dragon.

Medium-sized dragons are powerful, and as such, they’re also fast. Even with magic reducing the wind pressure, I imagine it was quite an ordeal.

“…Yeah. I felt like I nearly died a few times, but I’m fine.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

As I guided him to Father’s office, I explained about this territory to him.

“Lord Leo, do you know what kind of place this Bergier territory is?”

“I’ve heard it’s a territory that protects the country from magical beast attacks.”

“That’s right. If we don’t hold the line here, the magical beasts will move on to other territories, devour the fields, and the royal capital will be destroyed. We of Bergier territory are the ones preventing that.

At the same time, we’re also conducting research here to enable coexistence with magical beasts. All the magical beasts ridden by the royal capital’s Magical Beast Knights were raised here in Bergier territory.”

“So, there’s a research facility?”

“Yes. The cockatrice cuisine that’s been gaining popularity in the royal capital lately. We discovered how to render its poison harmless here in our territory, leading to it becoming a food source.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Since we’re on our way to the office, shall we stop by the stables as well?”

“Sure, please.”

Unlike previous young masters, Lord Leo didn’t refuse, which made me happy, and I began explaining about the stables with quickened speech.

“T-this is the dragon room, huh? I’ve never seen such a large dragon before.”

Lord Leo seemed a bit surprised, so I gently tossed a fruit from the side.

Gwaa.

The fruit landed in the dragon’s wide-open mouth, and it began eating with apparent relish.

“See? Cute, right?”

“…Y-yeah… I guess so.”

Lord Leo’s eyes were darting around.

Maybe he didn’t like it?

“This one was the first I formed a master-servant contract with.”

“Master-servant contract?”

“Yes. There are two types of magical beasts in our territory—wild ones and those born here in the stables. Only those who’ve formed a master-servant bond outside can enter here.

This one is docile, so it was in the stables even without a contract, but since it might attack others, I asked the dragon to form a master-servant relationship with me.”

When I explained that, the dragon snorted dismissively and closed its eyes again.

“Without forming a master-servant bond…”

“It’s all right. Right now, I have a master-servant contract with Marilynette Green.”

“Marilynette Green… Is that the dragon’s name?”

“Yes. It’s a cute name, isn’t it!”

“Y-yeah…”

“Oh, I’ve taken up too much time. Shall we hurry to the office?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

I cut short my explanation and headed to the office where Father was.

“Father, Lord Leo Barbet has arrived.”

“Ah. I’ve been waiting. So, you’re Leo.”

As Father said that, Lord Leo bowed and greeted him.

“I am Leo Barbet. Thank you for inviting me to Bergier territory. I’m pleased to meet you, Margrave Bergier.”

“Welcome to our Bergier territory. I am the lord here, Joseph Bergier. Pleased to meet you. Leo, you’ll be staying in this territory for a month, correct? During your stay, you may join magical beast subjugation missions. I expect it will be tough until you get used to it, but I sincerely hope you survive.”

“Survive…”

At Father’s words, Lord Leo’s face paled.

“Oh, Father, that’s a terrible way to put it. He’ll survive with me and Marilyn!”

“That’s true. With Ginette here, there should be no problem.”

Marilyn—that is, Marilynette Green—perhaps because she dislikes the stables being destroyed in magical beast attacks, participates in subjugation and defense, burning or eating the enemies.

She’s a reliable partner, you know.

After that brief exchange with Father, I guided him to the room where he’d be staying for the month.

“Lord Leo, please use this room.”

“Ah, yeah. Lady Ginette, you—”

Just as he started to say that, a shrill alarm bell rang out loudly.

“I have to go! Lord Leo, please evacuate. Katie, please escort Lord Leo.”

“Understood.”

“Lord Leo Barbet, this way, please.”

“Lady Ginette, aren’t you evacuating?”

“I have to subjugate the magical beasts.”

Saying that, I asked the approaching servant for details.

“Report the situation!”