CH 207

The people surrounding the area were rushing to get out of the way.

“Stand back, this is no place for a man like you!”

A high-pitched female voice rang out, and Ekaterina involuntarily turned her head to look in that direction.

She didn’t know the woman who was yelling. But her bright green hair, on the other hand, looks somewhat familiar. Or rather, her hair was pulled up in an upward bun, hanging in a vertical roll at the back….

“If Alexandra-sama were here, she would whip you and throw you out. I, who served Alexandra-sama closest as her handmaiden, will not allow any undesirables to come in or out and degrade the dignity of Yurinova Castle!”

Wow.

So, she was the old hag’s chambermaid. And she was apparently the mother of the little brat, or in other words, the wife of Countess Novadine.

I wonder if all the Old Hag’s attendants were like this…. What a disgusting place to be…. Or maybe it ended that way because the master was like that in the first place.

Ekaterina was dismayed, but Alexei put his hand on her slender shoulder, as if to protect her, and quietly called out toward the commotion.

“Come, Forli!”

Balthazar Forli, a forester in Alexei’s entourage, stepped forward, silencing the rowdy countess.

He looked far too different from the upper class gathered here, with his tanned skin and stout, rough hands, a far cry from the upper class’s white faces and beautiful white hands. His face, with its deep wrinkles, radiated dignity. Even at his advanced age, he still had a straight back and a dignified appearance, like an ancient samurai.

And then there was the tall lady who placed her hand on top of his.

Like Forli, she was old, but her dignified appearance reminded me of her beauty in her youth. Her skin was almost as tanned and brown as her husband’s, and her slender body was toned and strong. Her long white hair was unkempt and only tied up with an ornament, and her eccentric costume was very colorful and exotic, more like a kaftan dress from Morocco than a loose-fitting empire-style dress.

This woman was Forli-san’s wife. The head of the forest people!

The forest people were a minority group living in the forests of the Duke’s territory. They have no permanent residence but move about in the forest, and do not interact much with other people. They were the subject of various legends.

Because of this, they were sometimes feared and discriminated against. Forli, who was the third son of a venerable marquis, was apparently disowned by his family because of marrying her.

…So, Mrs. Vertical Roll was making a lot of noise. Because she was outside the imperial status order.

“Young…no, Your Excellency, Your Lady, I congratulate you.”

Forli bowed with his wife, and Alexei smiled.

“Calling me young lord will suffice; after all, you are grandfather’s best friend. I will allow you to address me as such.”

“I will be addressing you as ‘Your Excellency’ this evening. And since you seem to have grown more dependable of late, perhaps I should no longer call you young lord.”

Forli’s words were unexpected, and Alexei’s neon blue eyes widened. He calmly stated.

“I thought it was inevitable in the past for Old Forli to call me that way, but now that you say you won’t be calling that way anymore, I feel kind of sad. It’s a funny thing.”

Forli’s wrinkled face relaxed.

“Well, you have plenty of time. The tension that had been building up has eased, and you have grown stronger.”

“…I don’t know about that. If you look at it that way, it must be thanks to the blessing of the goddess.”

With that, Alexei looked at his sister beside him and smiled.

Ekaterina returned her brother’s smile, though her eyes widened.

Inwardly, I was sorry for making him perform as a siscon to his vassals in the territory, but I was afraid that Forli-san had interpreted Big Brother’s being a siscon as something wonderful.

But I’m glad the tensions have eased and people have felt relieved. I was wondering if I could be of help to Big Brother in any way. I’d be happy if I could put him at ease.