---

When I was locked in the iron bars, a comrade from the next room often complained.

She was a canine beastman, rarely seen in the kingdom, especially not in the western end at the Count’s House. Thanks to that, I, who had high market value, received decent treatment.

As a result, the beastman had enough food to eat and even dreamed small dreams, not just survival.

‘What did that beastman say again?’

From my memory, she would constantly bemoan how great it would be if she could catch a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a noble. I recall her saying that if she became a noble, she would want to buy and free all the slaves here.

Class mobility. After a slave trader heard her whispering that she also wanted to become a chosen one with blue blood, like a dragon rising from the muck, I truly felt the solid wall of status that existed in this world.

What did that slave trader say back then?

─Stop with your foolish dreams of becoming a noble, hurry up and get sold to one. Do you have any idea how much your food costs?

Along with such words, she was often tormented.

To make matters worse, after she briefly left her spot, the beastman, who was more easily swayed by her feelings than humans, especially in her naive moments, muttered.

─…If I become a noble, I won’t let that woman off the hook.

─This little brat starts flapping her lips the moment I disappear? Just because they’re treating her decent now, she forgets she’s a slave?

─N-No, um, that’s not it! I just won’t let you do something cool like this in a slave’s position…!

From a woman who was weaker than a beastman and didn’t look all that strong.

I directly witnessed the canine beastman getting beaten like a dog and whimpering.

With the beastman painfully illustrating to me how tightly bound the class elevating paths were, receiving ongoing education before being sold to the nobles, I vividly felt how solid the barriers of status were.

Especially the strong memory that it was unbelievable for a commoner, let alone a lowborn, to become a noble, something that wouldn’t even appear in fairy tales.

Back when I was sold to the Count’s House, I thought I would merely die as a slave.

“From now on, I will relay the words of Her Majesty the Queen. Ray, kneel and listen.”

“I shall obey, Your Highness, the Princess.”

As if during a knight’s inauguration ceremony. Before the notable figures of the Count’s House and the nobles who followed the princess from the royal family.

Kneeling before Adelhaite, she muttered the words left by the queen.

“Commoner Ray. Although you were born lowly, you played a significant role in saving the Princess’s life, and with your outstanding feats of successfully subjugating and repelling demons in the battles of the Count’s House and Marquis Family, I bestow upon you the title of Baron for your contributions in saving the kingdom from the flames of war.”

They were appointing me, a former lowborn, as a baron right then.

“I bestow upon you the Karpel Barony, which was a royal direct territory in the west. I promise to provide you with help for managing the territory according to your wishes.”

Furthermore, receiving a fief was unexpected. Coming from being treated as a quasi-noble knight, it wouldn’t be strange to introduce myself as an actual noble now.

Additionally, the Karpel Barony isn’t too far from the Count’s House. It’s one of the territories lying between the central and western parts of the empire. Seems quite a decent position, doesn’t it?

‘It doesn’t seem like they would just give me a Baron title. Receiving a fief too?’

An unexpected gain.

Anyway, I knew the royal family was good at managing their direct territories. It wouldn’t be an underdeveloped estate, then.

Isn’t that saying that, in addition to the Deputy Commander salary from the Knights’ Order, the taxes collected will also end up in my pocket?

‘However, the problem is—’

I don’t have a family, and while I did receive a fief, being the Deputy Commander of the Count’s House Knights’ Order means managing the territory won’t be easy.

The good thing is that if I have the support of the Count’s House or the royal family, I might be able to manage without being present all the time. Of course, important matters would be brought to me now. That can’t be helped.

The nature of the Karpel Barony also makes it a bridge for the Count’s House. When the waves of monsters begin, it would be an apt location to retreat while leading the refugees. I should discuss with Shione and actively solicit the power of the Count’s House.

I may be good at slaying monsters, but I’m clueless about governance. Either way, I have long since become tied to the Count’s House. If the Count’s House gains the card of Karpel Barony, it would be beneficial for both parties.

‘Guess it’s about time to reap some rewards.’

Just how hard have I worked for the Count’s House?

If they don’t help, wouldn’t it be fun to run away to the Barony with Shione?

Thus, when Adelhaite finished delivering the queen’s message, she said,

“Ray Karpel, since you’ve received the royal’s direct territory…”

With a sharp smile that resembled a political figure rather than when delivering the queen’s words, she added more emphasis.

“As a rightful noble of the kingdom, I hope you will fulfill your duties for the realm.”

Stressing the duties of nobility.

Thinking back, great power does come with great responsibility. This situation where I received a fief from the royal family really twists things around.

‘Though I’m the Deputy Commander of the Count’s House, from the perspective of Baron Karpel…’

The moment the royal decree fell.

As a head of the family, unlike merely a knight, I now have the justification to act for the royal family that granted me favor.

‘Thinking about it, Adelhaite must have said she’d be issuing orders to both Shione and me from now on.’

Even if she is a princess, the Count’s House would need sufficient justification to command us to leave.

If it proves too difficult to take both of us away, isn’t it more likely that they would try to use Baron Karpel instead?

“Both the kingdom and I have great expectations of Baron Karpel.”

The largest reason the royal’s territory fell into my hands must be because of that princess.

“…I will certainly not disappoint your expectations.”

I said with conviction after briefly glancing at Adelhaite’s face.

It was clear that the kingdom, or perhaps Adelhaite, would use me extensively through this.

*

A remarkable event that would shake the tides of history in the kingdom!

Even though I was a man known for my magic proficiency as an outstanding knight and, somehow, I became a topic of discussion as a “slave knight” among women, igniting their hearts. I was also a figure idolized by those distorted by their admiration for powerful men.

As the royal family so openly granted me not just a title but a direct territory as well, the attention of the entire kingdom would naturally focus back on me.

Now, even if I feel somewhat like a figurehead, I’ve become a baron ruling over a territory.

‘The princess said I was indeed a noble of the kingdom, right?’

Therefore, with my shoulders held high, I told Aheira to step aside, and with Adelhaite holding Siabel and Ainel back, I found myself momentarily able to chat with Shione in her room.

After entering her room, I intended to discuss matters regarding my territory, but…

“…Princess Shione, what’s wrong?”

As soon as I stepped into the room, Shione’s expression had changed to an unusual degree.

Feeling that strange pressure and malevolence, I ultimately couldn’t help but draw my shoulders back in.

“It’s simple, isn’t it? It’s because Ray has become Baron Karpel. Given this… we must hurry the matter.”

What on earth could warrant such urgency in that innocent face of hers?

Besides, it felt considerably different from the usual atmosphere, where she would not care to wait for my reply but rather speak her mind with a sense of urgency.

“Now that Ray is a baron, various noble families will surely send marriage proposals, right?”

Clearly, the source of her annoyance was likely the marriage proposals from other nobles.

Indeed, given my connections with the Count’s House and having once saved Adelhaite, my presence would be significant within the kingdom, as long as the fact that I was born a lowborn doesn’t hold me back.

But that certainly doesn’t mean I’m eager to accept any proposals.

“Even if proposals come, would I ever accept them? Come on now, soothe your mood. Wrinkles will form on your face.”

“I’m already making my own marks on your body; why would I let other bitches target what’s mine?”

“…Huh?”

“Isn’t it? We confirmed our feelings, and I marked you with my genuine intentions.”

As it turned out, Shione had exploded in frustration.

“Now that Ray is a noble, proposing wouldn’t be as shocking as before… so before those bitches come crawling, I have to act first…”

She wasn’t just using stronger words than usual.

“…Ray would go, while I’m the second daughter… if I marry, would I be going to Karpel Barony…?”

Unlike my playful thought of running away with Shione to the Barony, she was seriously considerings the future of living in a territory she had never been to.

While she was lost in thought, I caught a glimpse of her glowing eyes, reflecting a book from her shelf, and in that fleeting moment, I noticed a strange light returning to her once vacant gaze.

‘What on earth is happening in that head of hers?’

There’s a saying that overcoming one’s inner demons opens up new realms.

Like that, this time, there was an arcane light shimmering in her sapphire eyes comparable to Adelhaite’s golden ones.

In that moment, Shione pinched my arm with her index finger, speaking softly.

“…By the way, since Ray is a noble now, we need to change how we address each other.”

How can a discussion on proposals for marriage morph into the topic of address?

I glanced toward the bookshelf she was looking at and noticed a particularly enticing book title.

‘Lord Baron and the Lady Princess…?’

A novel that emphasizes the word “baron” while combining the character of the baron with masculinity.

While I knew she had read such stuff frequently, I was entirely unaware of a title like this.

Of course, it seemed our Shione had drawn inspiration from this book, as she stared at me and continued.

“Since Ray is a baron, why not try calling me Lady Shione?”

If Shione were a beastman, her ears would’ve perked up, and her tail would be wagging like a helicopter.

In a flustered moment, I found myself calling her as per her request.

“Lady Shione?”

“Gasp…!”

Shione suddenly inhaled sharply.

Why was that? It felt as if I could almost see her shimmering silver tail swirling around.

“…Once more.”

“Are you referring to Lady Shione?”

“That’s right, that’s right….”

She clasped her hands in reverence and began shyly fidgeting her fingers.

“…This time, I want you to say it in a lower voice, like you’re growling.”

Maybe I had accidentally triggered her preferences without realizing it.

 

---