My Contract Husband Resembles the Male Protagonist - Chapter 12
The original story begins when I turn 22.
I’m currently 20, so there are still two years left until the precise start of the original.
But why did the emperor send the Empress candidate notice much earlier than in the original?
Is there a tradition of early marriages?
Or does he know that I dislike it?
There don’t seem to be any rumors.
I haven’t seen him in person.
I still can’t even get a portrait of the emperor.
Few knew the face of the emperor who ascended to the throne at a young age.
At best, it was our father, Duke Lockheart, the emperor’s advisors, the emperor’s knights, and the emperor’s friend, Marquis Cassion Schultz.
The emperor strictly avoided showing his face and appeared in official events wearing a mask.
I asked my brother, who was a knight of the emperor, to draw a picture, but his drawing skills were worse than a worm, so there was no fruitful result.
“Now that he’s the emperor, the herb field is very, very important.” I murmured.
The herb field, extensively cultivated by the villain, Duke Hexagon in the original, was right here in Grunwald.
“By any chance, Dale, has anyone from the direction of Duke Hexagon visited here?”
“As far as I know, no.”
“Is that so? Maybe not yet.”
Then I should claim it first.
“What did Duke Hexagon do to Miss Enya?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that.”
Nothing yet.
And I had no intention of losing to him in the future.
“Dale, can you find a good resting place for me?”
“Are you planning to farm?”
“Oh, no, that would be too expensive. There’s not much arable land in Grunwald itself.”
Aside from the money to give Dale, I had 100,000 crobats left in my pocket.
Okay.
I’m broke.
I rested my chin on my hand and pondered.
“It should be the cheapest and widest land. I think that would do.”
***
“This is it.”
The land Dale introduced was a wasteland in front of the lord’s castle, about an hour’s walk from home.
It was a bit far, but that was fine.
It was the cheapest land in all of Grunwald.
“Why is it so cheap when it’s right behind the Lord’s castle?”
The land Dale introduced was so vast that it could rival ten mansions in size.
But the price was only 10,000 crobats.
It was almost like a cursed land at a dirt-cheap price.
“It’s because it’s cursed land.”
“…Haha.”
Really?
Why do I suddenly feel cold?
Why did Dale introduce me to such a land?
There must be a reason.
“It’s cursed, but the price was the lowest.”
…Really, he focused only on the ‘cheap.’
I stared at Dale, bewildered by the brutally honest result.
He smiled slightly and looked at me.
“And it won’t affect Miss Enya in various ways because the curse doesn’t apply to you.”
“It won’t affect me? What do you mean?”
“The castle’s Lord is currently ill. That’s why the land near the Lord’s castle is not selling.”
There was a reason why the surroundings were so desolate.
Grunwald Castle was not only poorly maintained but also appeared dilapidated, giving the impression of an abandoned fortress.
“Dale occasionally works at the castle, right? Do you happen to know what illness the Lord is suffering from?”
“There’s a rumor that he sees ghosts.”
“Ghosts?”
Even I, a possessed person, had not yet experienced such a strange phenomenon.
The Lord sees ghosts?
“But the rumor that the Lord sees ghosts is probably not true.”
Dale spread his robe over a flat stone for me to sit on.
I sat on the robe, listening to his story.
“The lord of Grunwald lost his son and daughter-in-law in a carriage accident a few years ago and has been raising his granddaughter alone.”
“Oh, I see…”
“Do you know the neighboring territory, Kiedland?”
“I do. It’s a wealthy domain, right?”
Although both territories were nestled along the Gonia Mountain Range, like a blessing bestowed on one side, Kiedland was prosperous, while Grunwald was impoverished.
“Come to think of it, were they originally from the same family?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Dale smiled slightly as he looked at me.
Grunwald and Kiedland were originally one domain, but several generations ago, the Earl of Grunwald granted the title of Lord to Kiedland, dividing the land between them.
Kiedland, strictly speaking, is Grunwald’s collateral lineage.
But it’s suspicious.
Would they really take care of their collateral lineage?
Especially since Grunwald also had an heir?
