Off to one side, Daniel was directing the laborers and distributing supplies, while Maria seemed to have quickly befriended the village children and was playing with them. I was glad she’d made friends her own age.

The most surprising sight was Bodo.

Would you look at this kid? He’d accomplished something even I’d never managed: a flower on each arm.

"For someone so young to be such an important retainer of the lord’s family—that’s so impressive."

"R-right? Without me, the lord would be in real trouble!"

"You really are close to the lord! My name is Nora."

"Hold on, Nora! Don’t cut in line!"

Bodo’s popularity was exploding.

He was being aggressively pursued by quite a few pretty girls. But why was a kid who’d grown up in the brothel district and had seen all kinds of unsavory things acting like such a country bumpkin? It was refreshing to see, since it wasn’t the Bodo I knew.

Maybe it was because girls his own age approaching him with pure, sincere affection was a first for him? In truth, Bodo had the worst inferiority complex among the retainers. That’s why he was always desperate for praise.

As the son of a prostitute, he’d grown up being scorned with the word Hurensohn. That’s how he’d developed a cunning personality, but the reason he stayed on the right side of things was largely due to his mother’s influence.

Boys like Bodo don’t have surnames. But Bodo had the surname Werner, which his mother had given him. It was self-proclaimed, but when he became my retainer, it became official.

It meant an official welcome into the Werner family. For Bodo, who had been called a mongrel, it was a profound change. That’s why, even though he grumbled on the surface, he always strived to carry out the orders I gave him.

What kind of person was Bodo’s father? Generally, prostitutes who become pregnant try to abort the child. Even if they give birth, they abandon the child at a church or on the streets. But Bodo received his mother’s love.

Could there be some extraordinary secret hidden in his birth?

"Brother-in-law, what are you doing all alone with that look on your face? Jealous of that little Bodo kid?"

"I was secretly worried about Bodo, but seeing he has a naive side put me at ease."

"Hmm, that boy’s from the night district, right?"

Michael was so unceremonious that he was on friendly terms with all my retainers. Ted and Oscar, who had served alongside him in the war, were close enough with Michael to trade jokes. That was simply the kind of easygoing personality Michael had.

"The more I look at him, the more he reminds me of someone."

"Reminds you? Bodo? Who does he remind you of?"

"Hmm. It’s vague, so I can’t pinpoint exactly who."

And Michael went back to gulping his beer. He clearly couldn’t quite place it. For a moment, I’d been excited that I might learn who Bodo’s father was, but my hopes were dashed. The wife who’d come along with Michael was now sitting with Hilda. I hadn’t had much contact with her before, but it turned out her background was no ordinary one.

She was the daughter of Count Hildenberg of Belfort, the border fief that had become the stage of the great war five years ago. It was a political marriage arranged based on the judgment that close ties with the duchy’s center were necessary in the wake of the great war.

But she was so demure it was hard to believe she was a count’s daughter. Her looks were average, so Michael didn’t seem particularly fond of her, but they were getting along without major incident.

For a political marriage, it was an exceptionally harmonious married life.

Hilda and I were truly an unusual case.

"Even if it’s a small village, you’ve become a real lord. The greatest success story in the Duchy of Beren. Brother-in-law, you know what? At first, I was insanely jealous of you. Like a jilted lover nursing a hopeless unrequited love."

"Brother, what are you suddenly going on about?"

"You see, I used to be quite the rising star myself. Adelbert, Davirt, Stephan—I was rated higher than any of those ministers’ heirs. As the heir of the prominent War Minister, I was welcomed wherever I went. Then one day, this fellow named Streit came out of nowhere."

Huh? Was he venting his drunken complaints to me right now?

I’d noticed he was downing his drinks pretty hard.

I listened not as the Lord of Feuzen, but as family. He probably wouldn’t even remember any of this the next day, but I rarely got the chance to hear what he’d been bottling up.

"I think the first time I heard rumors about you was around then. The newcomer who took down Frost. I thought, what’s the big deal about killing some shabby knight who joined a slum gang? Then suddenly you stopped the assassination of the crown prince and became a hero. Damn it. It was nothing but talk of you everywhere."

Michael had been the most prominent among the heirs of the four ministerial families that made up the duchy government. But then I’d appeared, started monopolizing the attention, and finally, as the reputation of the Gale Knight spread, he’d been swept up in the torrent. And of all things, I was the man who’d stolen the heart of his most beloved younger sister! What a twist of fate!

"You were the one who supported our marriage. What’s all this nonsense now?"

"Damn it, shut your mouth! Do you know what’s in my heart? Not satisfied with taking Hilda away, you swallowed up every last bit of attention! I get compared to you every single day! In the war! In the tournament too!"

"Isn’t that all because of your brilliant brother-in-law’s abilities? Is there a knight as fine as me anywhere in this world?"

"Yeah, you’re so great. It pisses me off, but part of me is also proud you’re my brother-in-law."

Michael was usually a cheerful, easygoing person, but as a man, he must have had his share of pent-up frustrations. And of all days, today was when they came pouring out. In front of the Lord of Feuzen, no less.

We’d cast manners aside and started exchanging blunt words, but Michael didn’t seem aware of it at all. Look at that—his eyes were already glazed over. And a little while later, my brother-in-law’s head was on the table.

I’d been patiently listening because he was my brother-in-law. If it had been anyone else, I’d have decked them on the spot. Well, I’d at least learned that Michael had been bottling things up, so it was a worthwhile revelation in its own way. I was going to tease him about this for ages.

"To latch onto Wolf and ramble drunkenly..."

When I asked Hilda and Michael’s wife for help, the two of them were horrified at Michael’s transgression of drunkenly venting at the lord. It was only forgivable because we were family. If I’d been an outsider, a major dispute could have broken out.

Hilda gripped her forehead, where a vein was throbbing, and Michael’s wife nearly fainted.

When his wife’s complexion turned pale and she was beside herself with worry, I assured her it was no big deal.

I had Priscilla escort her to the guest house. As for Michael, Hans, who was about the same size, hoisted him up and carried him off. Hilda sighed at the sight. She probably never imagined her older brother would cause such a scene.

"He doesn’t usually act like this even when he drinks. He really seems to have lost all restraint today."

"It’s probably because we’re in my fief. Even if your brother is an easygoing person, he must have things bottled up."

"Wolf, you really are a wonderful person. To be so generous toward my brother."

"He’s my family too, and it was just drunken rambling. What’s so hard about forgiving that?"

Michael had been a tremendous help to me and was a reliable older brother I could count on. But it seemed his feelings had grown complicated because his brother-in-law and younger sister had been doing too well. Fortunately, it didn’t escalate into a public scene.

The feast was so lively that no one was paying us any attention.

Fiel, sensing the situation, had the order’s members block the view.

I was happy to have such a perceptive vice commander as my subordinate. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Ah! The wind that blows from the north! The galloping wolf!"

"The noble wolf’s love brings joy to me!"

The more I listened, the more I found myself humming along.

"What a sweet night."

The night in Feuzen had grown deep.

My beloved wife had drunk too much and was already passed out in bed.

But I couldn’t fall asleep so easily. So I settled into the chair in the lord’s office with an air of importance. Just sitting in this seat made me quietly realize that I had truly become the lord of this land.

Maybe it was because I’d been drinking?

I was feeling sentimental tonight.

Viktor and August seemed to be all right now. Klugen’s death was tragic, but they understood that I’d had no choice in the matter. Still, the awkwardness that had crept in between us was unavoidable.

Time would heal it on its own.

I was finishing off the remaining wine in the lord’s office when the system suddenly appeared.

[Congratulations on becoming a true lord.]

[A dedicated shop for lords has been opened. It provides various passive skills for fiefs registered to the Streit family. Invest your points liberally!]

[The path of the lord begins now.]

[F-Rank Lord (Intimidation 20%) has been achieved.]

[Lord of Feuzen Quest I]

[Achieve the target value]

[Prosperity 155/500]

[Reward: 10,000 points, 10 gold coins]

[Family Prestige 50 points]

The system had announced an update, and I checked the contents.

What the? A lord shop? I sobered up in an instant.