"Hey, did you hear? A new Sword Master has emerged. They say she used to be a slave before."

"A Sword Master who used to be a slave? That’s asking for trouble. If I were her, I wouldn’t have come out. Now the nobles will just end her life."

"But I hear it’s not going to be easy. Apparently, Grand Master Kael is backing her."

"Ah, that kid?"

"Don’t call him a kid. And apparently, he’s not the only one. The new Saintess is also supporting this ex-slave, as well as the Hero."

"Wow! That’s a tough line-up. Still-!"

"I heard that Sir Kael asked for her past to be erased from the records and for her to be made a noble. Ah, I wish I could have seen the council’s face at that demand."

"Shhhh, keep your head down. Some of the council’s folks drink here. Let’s not give them a reason to cause trouble for us...but this is nice. Those fools deserve to get clowned on for once."

"Hmm, I wonder what is going to happen next. This all feels too exciting."

"Ugh, forget about exciting. I am going to revolt if this comes back to bite us common folk later. Those nobles tend to take out their anger on us anyway."

"Maybe we should all plead our case to Grand Master Kael. He might just listen to us since he has beef with the council."

"Who knows? He might even remove them."

People laughed at the suggestion and enjoyed their free time in the small tavern. But not everyone was happy or in a good mood.

A few of the councilmen were sitting at the edge of the tavern, and they let out an angry huff at the joyous atmosphere inside.

"Darn it! We have become a laughingstock. We need to take our revenge at all costs."

He muttered angrily, and the others agreed.

"We really need to teach these people that the council is not something they can make fun of. How dare these commoners say such things about us?"

Another asked in the same tone while standing up.

Only the last and most sensible one realized what was about to happen and stopped his comrades.

"Let’s not get hasty right now. These commoners don’t know much, but they can still spread the news. Remember, it is not only the commoners who are out to get us, but other nobles as well. For now, we need to wait and let Sir Ridley handle the situation."

Those words calmed the first two nobles down just enough to stop them from causing a scene.

For now, the council was borrowing Sir Ridley’s name. So it was time to wait and see what happened.

__________

Sir Ridley was a middle-aged man...or so he liked to consider himself.

He had just celebrated his fifty-sixth birthday a few days after his ninth wife died trying to run away from him.

But honestly, it was her own fault.

He had warned her that there was no way out of his mansion other than death, but she had not listened to him. As a result, she had ended up being chewed apart by the beasts he kept around.

Sigh

"Being lonely is so miserable. Should I start looking for a new bride?"

There was no shortage of candidates for him.

Since he was a noble with a count title, he did not care about his wife’s background. He had more than enough money to last him until the end of his days, and he also had connections. The only thing he lacked was an heir.

Not that he needed one because he was still young and active.

"S-Sir, the council has sent you a letter."

His servant trembled as she handed Sir Ridley the letter before running away. She had a cute face and a petite body, not something he usually went for. But he was thinking of making an exception and taking that servant as his tenth wife when he read the message.

It was an offer for a bride in exchange for money.

He usually did not take requests from the council because they were greedy bastards, but he was willing to make an exception this time.

It was because his bride-to-be looked interesting.

She was tall and heavily muscled, with a sturdy frame. She looked like a warrior who could break him in half, and that was what excited him.

To break such a strong woman and make her his obedient wife...now that was a thought.

"Ah, I should send a letter of reply right now. I guess I should also send an invitation for my bride-to-be to come here and meet me in person."

He was not even nervous about being rejected. After all, who in the world could reject a perfect person like him?

And even if the bride-to-be lost her mind and rejected him, he would make sure she regretted it.

"Hmm, the connections I have do not only include humans. I will threaten her with war and make her agree to be with me. Not that I would be lying. The human-demon war is on the horizon, and soon, I will rake in huge profits."

The war was initially not supposed to happen for a few more years since the demons needed time to prepare. But the temple had started to provoke the demons, making them restless. As a result, the demons had started invading human territory early.

What made it worse was the fact that neither the Saintess nor the Demon Queen were present to stop the two sides.

And the ones who would make all the profit from this war were the merchants who were ready to move out at a moment’s notice.

"Raking in money and getting a new wife that I can have fun with. Ah, this is such a good time for me. I cannot wait for tomorrow to come."

The letter he sent quickly reached Kael’s estate before landing in his hands.

Little did Sir Ridley realize that it would mark the end of both his fortune and his life. Unaware of his fate, Sir Ridley continued to enjoy himself.

He still had time before his bride arrived, so he decided to have some fun.

The maid from earlier was a good match for him. Her family was also desperate for money.

So it was all going to work out in the end.