Chapter 07
“Actually, I was the one who first suggested that the young lady—no, my w-wife—participate in the competition. I convinced her that something good would happen if she won first place.”
“When did you ever…?”
Tamia was about to object, but she quietly closed her mouth. She had somehow realized through sheer instinct that this was not the time for her to speak.
“Tamia simply worked hard and hunted monsters according to my suggestion. I intended to formally propose to her after the competition and reveal that I was an Imperial Prince at the same time, but everything has gotten rather messy.”
All thanks to whoever had done such a terrible job managing the monster-generation device.
At Leon’s final remark, the host visibly stiffened. In any case, a large part of the reason the competition had descended into chaos was the organizers’ fault.
“I won’t bother asking who was right or wrong. I’m a generous man. And…”
Leon crooked a finger at the host, who nervously approached him.
“I heard there was a surprise event where an additional ten der per monster caught would be awarded.”
[Huh? Th-There is no such event…]
The host suddenly swallowed the rest of his words.
Leon had leaned so close that his face looked as terrifying as a lion that had just emerged from the depths of hell.
I’ll pay the money myself, so say there is one.
The host understood Leon’s lip movements and displayed a remarkable talent for improvisation.
[Th-That’s right! Hahaha! I suppose His Highness knows the details of the competition very well! Let’s see… You caught a total of 342 monsters before the competition ended, so we’ll be awarding you an additional 3,420 der!]
“Three thousand der…?”
A spark of life returned to Tamia’s anxious eyes.
Leon noticed it immediately and smiled warmly at her.
“Tamia, I told you that if I won first place and collected the prize money, something good would happen, didn’t I?”
“Hmm… I suppose you did…?”
“The 2,000-der first-place prize and the 3,420-der event prize will both be given to you. So, would you accept the position of Imperial Princess?”
Tamia’s brain stopped for a moment.
She blinked.
Two thousand plus three thousand…
Good heavens, that’s more than five thousand der?!
If I reject this, I’ll be the biggest fool in the world!
It was a whopping 5,000 der.
With that much money, even her father wouldn’t object to her marriage.
She suddenly found herself more than willing to have every aspect of her private life exposed in Blah Blah, right down to the exact times she went to the bathroom.
“My husband really is the best!”
“Urgh!”
Tamia ran straight toward Leon and hugged him so tightly that she nearly crushed him.
…I suppose I should call a doctor.
Leon, the husband in her arms, was slowly being reduced to a ragged mess.
And so the award ceremony began.
[Everyone! Please give your heartfelt blessings to Team Number 25—no, to His Highness the Imperial Prince and his wife, who have demonstrated such overwhelming skill!]
“Waaaaaah!”
“Your Highness! Your Highness the Imperial Princess! You two were amazing!”
[In addition, there will be an award ceremony for a total of 5,420 der, including the 2,000-der prize money and the event prize! We would be grateful if you would consider it a wedding gift from the organizers!]
“What kind of nonsense is that? Prize money is prize money, and a wedding gift is a wedding gift. Give them to me separately!”
The audience burst into laughter at Tamia’s unabashed obsession with money.
They didn’t realize that she was being completely sincere and simply assumed it was part of her amusing antics.
Meanwhile, there was one man who was trembling as he watched the entire spectacle.
“Tamia… got married?”
A plain-looking man with dull brown hair clenched his fists and ground his teeth before hurriedly leaving the competition grounds.
“I have to report this to Father immediately.”
“The prize money… The prize money…”
Tamia counted and recounted the gold coins inside the large pouch as though she couldn’t believe they were real.
“Huh? Husband, something’s wrong with this. I think it’s 5,419 der…?”
“There is a gold coin on the floor beneath your feet.”
“Oh! There is!”
Inside the carriage heading toward the Arderin household.
Tamia had insisted that she absolutely had to give the money to her father before leaving for the Imperial Palace, so she and Leon were on their way to the Arderin family’s townhouse.
“What kind of person is your father, Count Arderin?”
At Leon’s question, Tamia immediately began chattering.
“Our father is incredibly strong! …Um, I mean, he is. He’s especially amazing at hunting monsters. While I can kill ten, Father can easily kill twenty! …I mean, he can.”
Tamia tried to jump to her feet inside the carriage, only to bump her head against the ceiling with a thunk.
But apparently she didn’t even feel the pain, because she continued explaining with exaggerated gestures, spreading her arms as wide as she could.
“Once, he encountered a monster that was this big, and he took it down with exactly three arrows! Two in its eyes, and one straight into its belly button, which was its weak point. And then he said, ‘As long as you properly identify a monster’s weaknesses, its size isn’t all that important.’ Whew! Isn’t he incredibly cool?!”
“He certainly lives up to his nickname, the Monster Devourer. My father-in-law.”
“If you meet him in person, you’ll fall in love with him too! …I mean, you will, right?”
Leon lightly shook his head as Tamia struggled to attach the polite ending to every sentence.
“I don’t think this is going to work. Tamia, you can just speak casually with me.”
“Oh! But you’re still His Highness the Imperial Prince. Is that really okay?”
“We’re husband and wife for the time being. What’s the problem?”
“Then shall I do that, Husband?”
Tamia immediately accepted the suggestion and smiled brightly.
Apparently, having to maintain formal speech every time she spoke had been rather uncomfortable for her.
“Oh, we’re almost there!”
Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Tamia jumped out and began bouncing excitedly while pointing toward a somewhat shabby-looking mansion.
“This is our new home!”
The carriage stopped, and Leon followed Tamia out.
Then he frowned slightly.
The garden was completely barren, without even a single flowering tree, while the house itself was barely larger than a person’s palm.
If they tried to bring in any new furniture, there would probably be no room left for anyone to sleep indoors.
“That is the Count’s townhouse?”
“Yeah. It’s much more sophisticated than the old mansion in our territory. It’s a little small, but that’s fine. I’ve slept in places much worse while going monster hunting!”
“Do you know how much your father paid for it?”
“Hmm… I remember hearing Father say he paid 30,000 der.”
A scam.
Leon clicked his tongue inwardly.
Thirty thousand der for such a cramped and shabby townhouse?
And this place was located far from the center of the capital, too.
Even if I were extremely generous, I doubt it would be worth more than 10,000 der.
“When did you move here?”
“A little over a month ago.”
“You’re saying they demanded that you repay 1,000 der after only a month of borrowing the money?”
“Yeah. Why? Is something strange?”
Leon was about to shout that everything about this house was strange when he noticed a man opening the front door.
He immediately fell silent.
“Oh, Father! I’m home!”
“Tamia, you’re home early today.”
“Yeah! I earned some money. Here, 5,000 der!”
Theodore’s eyes widened when his daughter thrust the money pouch at him.
“Y-You earned this much money? You?”
“Yes!”
It was an enormous sum of money.
Theodore’s expression hardened as he interrogated his daughter.
“Tamia, you can be honest with me. Did you beat someone up and threaten them?”
“Geez, Father! I told you I don’t hit people anymore! We made a promise last time!”
“Then did you happen to win big at some gambling house? No, no. That can’t be it. There’s no way my daughter is clever enough to swindle someone out of this much money…”
As the Count suspiciously glanced back and forth between his daughter and the money pouch, Leon quietly stepped forward.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Who are you…? Gasp!”
Unlike his daughter, Theodore immediately recognized the member of the Imperial Family.
He hurriedly dropped to one knee.
“I-I greet the Small Glory of the Empire! W-What brings Your Highness to such a humble place?!”
“Now that we’re family, shouldn’t we at least know what each other looks like?”
“Pardon? Family…?”
Theodore raised his head with a bewildered expression.
Then he saw his daughter standing beside the Imperial Prince with an apologetic look on her face.
“Father, I’m sorry. I married His Highness the Imperial Prince.”
“So it seems, Father-in-law.”
Just then—
The Countess happened to come out through the door and overheard their conversation.
She let out a piercing scream.
“What?! No! My son-in-law was supposed to be a sickly, beautiful young man!”
“I really didn’t want her to have a marriage like this…”
Grida, the Countess of Arderin, repeatedly dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief.
“My son-in-law is the youngest Sword Master in the Empire and the commander of the Griffin Corps! What kind of tragedy is this?!”
“Calm down, dear. They say our son-in-law is exceptionally capable. Why are you crying so bitterly?”
“You don’t understand!”
Grida angrily shook off Theodore’s hand.
“I wanted to spend my life protecting someone, too! But you’re far too strong, and even our precious Tamia, whom I raised so carefully, can slice through boulders as easily as radishes!”
“Dear…”
“So I prayed that at least my son-in-law would be delicate and make me feel the urge to protect him. But he’s a Sword Master? My son-in-law is a Sword Master?!”
She wailed as though the world itself had betrayed her.
