Akuyaku Tensei
Chapter 210 Kaldia’s Budding Spring 6
After entrusting the letter to a soldier, I returned to the office and pulled out Gunther’s marriage certificate from the drawer.
The number of people who can write are limited so the person who wrote this is probably not someone related to them but the village mayor or an expert. Gunther’s parents’ house is already gone and he doesn’t belong to any village now so naturally this certificate was probably delivered from his wife’s village.
After confirming the name of the Neza village’s mayor at the end of the document, I decided to immediately verify the matter. Can’t possibly keep this marriage certificate on hold for so long, after all.
And as I was going, I thought I might as well take Mefuri along with me as she seemed free. I went to the room she was supposed to be in.
“Mefuri. I came to deliver the laundry….. Ah, Eliza-sama.”
I encountered Vanita along the way, who was calling out to Mefuri with his awkward Arkshia language while knocking on the door.
Looks like he was helping the maids. I didn’t really ask him to do anything specific so he is apparently doing it voluntarily.
“Vanita?”
For just a moment there, his face distorted very awkwardly but then he stepped back a few steps to let me stand in front of the door.
Mefuri was particularly avoiding Vanita. To be honest, I didn’t think Vanita would be thinking of meeting Mefuri either but it seems like I was wrong.
“…..Mefuri, it’s me. I am opening the door.”
I did knock and call out to her but as Vanita was with me, she didn’t reply. Without paying it any heed, I opened the door to find Mefuri in front of the open window, staring at me.
Well, from the looks of it, she doesn’t have a weapon so even if Vanita tried to enter she probably would’ve only tried to escape. Seems like she doesn’t plan on causing a ruckus.
“Seems like Vanita came to deliver the laundry.”
“…..Put them in front of the room. Vanita doesn’t want to meet me either, right?”
What are you doing, the victim is trying to meet half way and you, being the wrong-doer, are rejecting?
“Mefuri, go out and take your own laundry yourself from Vanita.”
Enduring my urge to sigh, I ordered her clearly. With a frozen expression, she sluggishly moved away from the wall.
And then she timidly took her laundry from Vanita, who was idly standing in front of the room.
…..is that really avoiding contact? It would have been one thing if Vanita was the one avoiding, but why is Mefuri the one avoiding?
I hear her magic gets more and more broken the more time you put into it. She can’t possibly turn the other into a bomb from just the trivial contact from everyday life.
Vanita was watching the assailant, Mefuri, be extremely frightened, with an indescribable expression.
Sighing in my mind, I thought about what I could do about these two. Mefuri and Vanita will have to live together in this mansion for the next few years. I was planning on giving them some sort of a job or educating them once they get used to living here but it won’t start if they don’t even meet face to face and keep avoiding contact.
…..Alright. This might be a bit forceful but I need to change the situation.
“Vanita. Do you have any plans after this?”
“Eh? No, I don’t, ma’am.”
In response to the sudden question, Vanita answered with difficulty.
“Then prepare to head out. Mefuri, you too. Accompany me to Neza village.”
Ignoring their piercing glances, I leaned against the wall and urged them to start preparing in silence. To which they reluctantly obeyed.
After the lord’s mansion was shifted to the center of the territory, Neza village looked a bit more lively with more people coming and going. It seems like the woods between the highway and village has been cleared in these few years and now the merchants travelling along the highway drop by quite a lot.
“F-feudal lord-sama. Is there a problem with this village?”
“I just visited since I needed to confirm something. It is close to a private matter so you don’t need be so serious over it.”
As Vanita and Mefuri couldn’t ride horses, we rode on the back of draconis, which quickly drew the people's attention.
We had finally wiped away their fear but it seems like they were still on their guard. This probably won’t ever disappear. These hellish memories the Kaldia family has created will probably not be forgotten in a long time and until then, these wounds won’t heal.
“Private matter…. you say?”
“Yes. Actually, I had a little doubt about a marriage certificate submitted from this village.”
As we were guided into the mayor’s house, I briefly explained my business here. Wearing a perplexed expression, the mayor said, ‘was there any defect in the certificate?’.
“No, it is about the marriage certificate of Naje Take and a soldier of the territory army, Gunther Powell but…”
“Ah! If you are talking about Naje’s marriage certificate, I remember it clearly. Naje is… do you not remember? When you were still small, a group of thieves from the neighboring country came invading…. She is one of the girl who was kidnapped at that time.”
“That incident seven years ago?”
“Yes, that. Ever since that, it seems like they have harbored a fear against men… But I thought that finally her heart’s wounds have healed and she looked quite happy when writing the marriage certificate.”
I couldn’t help but smile hearing the mayor’s words.
…..I see. Seven years ago, when West Alfena church’s spy, Deiferias was still hiding within the country. The two girls who were hurt in the incident… even though I do not remember their names, I do remember them.
To think one of them would be Gunther’s spouse….
Certainly, the territory soldiers have frequently patrolled the villages after that, so it’s very much plausible. Gunther also visited the villages personally a lot.
“However, due to those details, I think I had paid even more attention in writing that certificate….”
“There are no errors in the document. Just that the soldiers in the army are saying that they heard nothing about Gunther getting married, you see. And so I just came to verify it once but… There is the possibility of Gunther lying low, thinking about the bride.”
“That is true… Gunther-san certainly visited the village quite frequently but he didn’t really act all that intimate with Naje…”
It seems like the mayor noticed the strangeness and went ‘Hmm?’ and tilted his head a bit. A couple who has submitted a marriage certificate recently… to think they don’t even let the people close to them know of their relationship… it is just too unnatural. Under normal circumstances, it would get leaked like Paulo's case.
“Shall we talk to Naje herself once?”
The mayor suggested nervously, to which I agreed.