PLMYP 39

Chapter 39 —

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Janice and the other mercenaries were given a separate guesthouse, but Leonard, the future marquis’ husband, was given a bedroom on the east side of the main building’s third floor.

To be exact, it wasn’t just a single bedroom. He was given the entire section on the east corridor—nine rooms in total—consisting of a bedroom, a study, an office, and a lobby connected to the balcony.

“Of course, after the wedding, you won’t be using this bedroom anymore.”

“Even if my wife throws me out?”

“If you treat your wife well, that won’t happen, right?”

Irenea winked briefly at Leonard and then stepped back, telling him to rest for the day.

“From tomorrow, you’ll be so busy you won’t have a moment to breathe, so be ready.”

“You mean groom training.”

Irenea nodded with a smile.

“And we also have to prepare for the wedding. I’ve already drafted everything, so all you need to do is pick what you like and stamp your seal. Here.”

She slipped a thick ring onto Leonard’s left pinky finger.

The ring was originally meant for the marquis’ wife’s ring finger, so it barely fit on Leonard’s smaller finger. The Blair family’s symbol was engraved on it.

“From now on, you’re the marquis’ husband, so you’ll be responsible for running the household.”

“I’m not sure if I can do well.”

“You can learn. Damon will help you.”

Even though the head butler would help, Leonard still wasn’t confident. But he couldn’t show weakness before even starting, so he just nodded.

“There’s something I want to ask. Who is in charge of security for this mansion?”

“Our family’s knight order.”

Irenea answered, then added with a little “ah” as if she remembered something.

“Is this about the mysterious people surrounding the mansion?”

Leonard’s eyes widened.

“You knew?”

“Of course. They’re my secret guards who protect me.”

“I see.”

Leonard nodded, satisfied with the answer.

When he had visited before the banquet, he hadn’t noticed, but today, upon returning, he felt something strange.

There were people hiding all around the mansion, positioned at regular intervals, blending perfectly into the surroundings. Their stealth skills were far above ordinary knights—closer to those of assassins.

And there were more than ten of them. Leonard pretended not to notice and entered the mansion, planning to investigate later with his comrades if needed.

“For your information, your comrades already found them and caused a bit of trouble. My poor shadows still have bruises, so don’t be suspicious—just go to bed early, okay?”

“Understood.”

At least his comrades had tried to pull their weight. Leonard gave a small smile and nodded.

Seeing this, Irenea gave a pretty eye smile, as if finding him endearing.

“I’ll introduce them to you later. Oh, and our knight order’s commander position is currently vacant.”

“Why?”

“Because the marquis’ husband’s seat was vacant too.”

In other words, the position was for him.

“Damon will take you to the training grounds tomorrow to meet the knights.”

“So I’m the new stone rolling in and pushing out the old one.”

“Correction. The stone rolled in and perfectly fit into an empty hole.”

Saying it was getting late, Irenea gave him one last smile and left.

“In this mansion, you have equal authority with me. Do whatever you want. Don’t feel small just because you’re ‘the stone that rolled in.’”

Leonard didn’t have the courage to shout after her:

Do you even know what I plan to do when you say ‘whatever I want’?

She’d probably answer ‘anything,’ which is even scarier.

Ruffling his hair, Leonard dismissed the servant shadowing him and went into his bedroom.

The room, which had once been the marquis’ wife’s bedroom, was filled with heavy wooden furniture and little decoration—likely chosen to suit his tastes.

…Not bad.

He almost felt it was a shame he couldn’t use the room after the wedding. Maybe he could ask to use it just for naps? He laughed at himself for even thinking that.

“Well then, maybe it’s time…”

Time to have a proper conversation.

Irenea had told him to sleep early, but that was exactly why he needed to finish the talk tonight.

Leaving his room, Leonard glanced down the west corridor where Irenea had gone, then silently slipped outside without a sound.

There were still servants moving about the hallway, but none noticed him.

Thanks to that, Leonard reached the guesthouse dining hall without anyone stopping him.

It had a large table that could seat at least five people comfortably, and with the doors closed, it was well soundproofed.

Inside, as planned, the mercenaries were gathered.

“You’re here?”

“You came earlier than I thought.”

They had bottles of alcohol and plates of sausages, smoked duck, and fried beans on the table—clearly they had been drinking while waiting.

From the scene, Leonard could easily guess how they’d been spending their time here. He waved off the glass Michelle offered and sat in an empty chair.

“The statue outside—is that uncle’s work? Why did you carve something random like a camel?”

Michelle answered with a laugh.

“Leave him be. That’s his hobby—pulling out a carving knife in front of a kid.”

Heath, who was huge and had a scary face fit for a bandit, was actually surprisingly gentle inside—especially with children. He’d treated young Leonard the same.

When Leonard was first sold to the mercenary group as a servant, Camilla, planning to make him her successor, only gave him harsh training. Heath was the one who fed, bathed, and took care of him.

If not for Heath, Leonard probably wouldn’t have grown up in one piece. That’s why Leonard called only Heath “uncle.”

“Oh, so that was for Charlotte?”

“The cute little girl has her own special ones.”

“That kid will be something big one day. Ray, you don’t know, but she dragged Heath all around the garden collecting squirrel and bird carvings.”

Bin added that her room must be like a zoo now, making Leonard raise his eyebrows.

“Amazing. She didn’t cry even after seeing uncle’s face…”

“You didn’t cry either.”

“I might have if I’d seen him first.”

The only reason he didn’t cry was because Camilla had thrown him straight into training the day he arrived.

Actually, it wasn’t his first training—his birth mother had taught him physical skills from a young age, assassin-style. The difference was, Camilla’s training was much harsher.

‘I told you to earn your worth in gold, but don’t think I’ll keep you alive just because killing you would be a waste of money, kid.’

“Come to think of it, you ran away from Heath’s room on your first night. Wasn’t it because you were scared of him?”

“Why would I be scared of him? There was someone scarier.”

“…True.”

Everyone nodded. No one in the Iron-Blood Mercenary Group had a more intense charisma than Camilla. That was why she had remained leader from the day she formed the group with Heath until she left.

“She was the first woman like that I’d ever met. No wonder I swore to stay single forever.”

“Yeah right, you just didn’t want to waste money on a wedding.”

“Don’t slander me! I’ve said many times, if I find the woman I love, I’ll give her all my fortune!”

“I think that’s exactly why you’ll never get married.”

“Michelle, give it a try.”

“Yeah. Just take his fortune and divorce him.”

At Heath and Leonard’s teasing, Michelle shuddered.

“Are you crazy? I wouldn’t do it even for double his fortune!”

“I hate the idea even more!”

Watching his noisy comrades felt like being back in the old days.

Not much time had actually passed, so why did it feel so far away now?

Leonard thought of Camilla’s face—now almost faded from memory—then took a glass of liquor and drank it down.

“Sorry, but I need to sleep early tonight. So let’s get to the point.”

He grabbed a handful of beans and popped them in his mouth, scanning their faces.

“Why did you come to the capital?”

“Uh…”

They all looked at someone else as if pushing the answer away.

The silence grew heavier, and Leonard’s eyes narrowed.

Finally, Michelle spoke, as if pushed forward.

“Well, ahem… We came because we were worried about Miss Janice.”

“You didn’t come here at that time.”

“Yes we did! We came then.”

“So you didn’t come to the capital following me?”

“No, we were in the Elpheus Count’s territory at the time, right?”

Michelle looked around for agreement, and Bin and Heath nodded firmly.

They acted so naturally that Leonard might have believed them if he hadn’t already known otherwise.

“So Sir Hawk went all the way to Elpheus County just to hire guides to Elpheus County?”

“Uh… Yeah. Why would he do that instead of hiring in the capital?”

“….”

Busted.

Even without Leonard’s icy stare, Michelle’s clueless comment was enough for everyone to realize the truth—Michelle included.