Side: Seraria

Something wonderful happened today, so I'll recount the events that took place.

* * *

Today, I’m not in my usual mood. Since it’s the foundation festival of Weed, I’ve been dealing with nobles together with that awful father of mine since early morning.

It feels like a long time, but it’s actually been less than a year since I met Yuki. That alone made me the queen of a very small country. Yet, I have a beloved husband and fellow wives who protect him—wives who know his secrets and still choose to stay by his side.

No foolish power struggles. Just happy, fulfilling days. I’m convinced that what I’m doing now is far more meaningful than when I was wielding a sword for my country.

My husband is a gentle man who acknowledges and supports me. Even though I forced him to marry me, he still accepted me. He may deceive us sometimes, but he’s not the kind of person who acts unjustly.

That’s why I remember that time so vividly.

—The time I felt jealousy.

Ellis issued an emergency alert in the wives’ chat.

At that time, I was working with Naruja as a guide in the blacksmith district under the direction of King Galtz.

As expected, the kings were grouped with other nobles, so it was necessary for me to join Naruja in guiding them today.

"Yes. What’s wrong, Ellis?"

『I-it’s an emergency desu!! We need a meeting!! Please, gather at the inn as soon as possible!!』

Upon that call, the wives, including myself, immediately left the scene.

I passed the current task to Naruja.

At the same time, all the wives gathered in the inn’s private conference room. We used the function of our rings that allows teleportation directly to this room.

This isn’t a banquet hall, just an empty room.

It’s not a secret from our husband, but rather a place prepared out of his kind consideration—a space only for the wives to talk privately when needed. Usually, we complain about work over tea here. Sometimes, we talk about our honeymoon experiences with him... and study each other’s techniques, so to speak.

...But right now, we’re all sitting in silence.

Ellis began her explanation.

A “secret meeting” between Lilith-sama and our husband had been reported.

"...I see." (Seraria)

"Mu, that illegal expense doesn’t matter anymore." (Tori)

"But this image is the problem!!" (Riel)

"...He looks happy." (Kaya)

An image of Lilith-sama and our husband was shown to everyone.

They were smiling happily at each other.

"But if it’s Yuki-san...." (Shera)

"I agree. I was upset when I saw it in person, but there’s no way he’d do that." (Ellis)

"Ellis, that’s not quite it." (Milly)

Milly stopped Ellis from trying to ease Shera’s worries.

"What do you mean?" (Ellis)

"Yuki-san is sincere, but not always honest." (Milly)

"Did Lilith-sama force Yuki-san?" (Ellis)

"No, I think it’s someone else. If Lilith-sama were the one he was talking to, he wouldn’t have to hide it—or explain his smile." (Milly)

Fumufumu, I understand what Milly is trying to say.

"In other words, our husband personally went there to ask for advice? Is that what you mean, Milly?" (Seraria)

"That’s right, Seraria. In situations like that, you start with a smile. Besides, Yuki-san isn’t the type to begin a conversation too seriously." (Milly)

"Certainly. But Milly, why would Onii-san keep that a secret?" (Lutz)

"Because he might’ve been caught by some strange woman and is now being blackmailed—‘If you don’t want us to fall apart, then give me money!!’ Something like that. It’s a common pattern in behavioral surveys." (Milly)

Milly’s theory sounded plausible, given her experience. I could easily imagine our husband in such a situation.

Under such circumstances, our husband would never want to burden us. He avoids anything that could make us uneasy.

Now that I think about it, maybe his trip on the first day of the festival was intentional.

"If Milly’s theory is right, then I completely refuse to accept that woman as our husband’s concubine." (Seraria)

"""We’re absolutely against it."""

Everyone shared the same sentiment.

Obviously—a woman who swindles someone’s husband is not fit for him.

"But what should we do now? About the current situation and the future?" (Deriyu)

"As Deriyu says, Onii-san doesn’t want this secret revealed to us. And it’s possible something similar could happen again." (Lutz)

"It’s danna-sama after all, so I don’t think there’ll be a second time, but... I’m still worried." (Lulua)

Lulua folded her arms across her chest.

As usual, it’s unbelievably... Oh no. I lost focus.

We had to decide what to do next.

"We don’t know the full story yet, so I think it’s better to ask Yuki-san to resolve this soon—after confirming the so-called illegal expenses." (Riel)

"I agree with Riel. And going forward, I think one of us should always keep an eye on Yuki-san. We could take turns taking a day off from work. Is that okay?" (Tori)

Everyone nodded at Riel and Tori’s suggestion.

"....If that’s the case, I’ll do it. I’ll keep away any strange women who approach Yuki—and guard even his bed if I have to." (Kaya)

Kaya, that’s a good idea.

"I agree. That’s best. In case Yuki-san asks for help or the strange woman tries something outrageous, we can intervene." (Ellis)

"As Ellis says, that’s best. Kaya’s idea is also approved. It’d be troublesome if Yuki were pushed down and someone claimed she took his seed. We should assign a wife as his personal escort—a wife dedicated to protecting him. We’re all busy and can’t always be by his side." (Seraria)

"Ah, I see. When you think about it, it really is a problem that the Lord of Weed walks around alone, right?" (Lutz)

As Lutz pointed out, that had indeed been an issue.

No matter how strong he is, strength alone isn’t always enough. Some fools might take advantage of his kindness.

Worst of all, I’d heard that in the royal capital, there were idiots who claimed they were pregnant just because they’d been touched. Who knows what a cunning woman might do if she learned of our husband’s power?

"Will you increase the number of concubines? Aren’t I enough for that job?" (Deriyu)

"That won’t work. It’s already unusual for a Demon Lord to be seen on the first day of the festival. If you became his personal guard, it’d look even stranger. Besides, we need someone with a samurai-like attitude who’ll stay by his side all the time. And if Deriyu gets pregnant, we’ll need someone equally capable." (Seraria)

"Ugh. I don’t want that. Even if I’m not pregnant, I still can’t. Being restricted from moving around would be torture." (Deriyu)

"Once we finish our term as representatives, we can retire peacefully—but that’s still two years away. Next year we’ll be deputy representatives, and another election will be held after that. But there’s no guarantee things will end smoothly." (Lutz)

"As Lutz says, these two years might bring danger to our husband, so we must stay alert—especially about that suspicious woman. It would be terrible if she were already pregnant. That would be a bad influence on our future children." (Seraria)

That said, we need a wife who specializes in escorting our husband. Not a normal guard—the most important thing is that she has the authority to intervene in his private life.

Of course, as his wife, she can share his love and have children someday—but only after things settle down.

"Now then, how do we decide on the new wife?" (Seraria)

"Let’s see... The minimum requirement is that she truly loves Onii-san from the bottom of her heart." (Lutz)

"That’s definitely the bare minimum. As for me, it’d be unforgivable if she didn’t have combat skills!!" (Riel)

"Since she’ll be danna-sama’s escort, she must have recovery skills at least equal to or better than mine." (Lulua)

"Etto, I think she also needs to be strong-willed enough to properly protect Yuki-san." (Milly)

"What Milly says is essential. And she must also possess a certain level of knowledge."

Time passed, and we finally decided on the conditions for the new wife.

Our husband came home for lunch.

He was holding a suspicious-looking object while I questioned him about the illegal expenses.

"—Show us what’s inside that box." (Seraria)

"Ue?" (Yuki)

It was too suspicious to be carrying around without storing it in his item box—it must be something important.

What on earth was inside?

"Ah... that’s still, um..." (Yuki)

"Is this what Onii-san used the illegal funds for?" (Lutz)

"Not exactly wrong, but... it seems you ladies are misunderstanding something—" (Yuki)

"—Ei. Hold him down!!" (Seraria)

"""Roger that."""

I thought he’d resist, but we easily apprehended him. He’s now behaving himself.

Now then, what’s inside this box?

"....A dress?" (Lulua)

"....And there are a lot of them. Did someone ask you for these?" (Shera)

Indeed, there were quite a lot of dresses.

I also have plenty for social occasions, and Lulua and Shera looked puzzled for the same reason—it wasn’t unusual for us to have this many.

"As expected, you three recognized them right away. Those dresses are for everyone." (Yuki)

"By ‘everyone,’ do you mean us, Onii-san?" (Lutz)

"Yeah. I specially requested Naruja, the fairies, and the dwarves to collaborate on them."

"What are they for?" (Deriyu)

"They’re called wedding dresses—dresses used for wedding ceremonies. And what’s more, they’re dresses for brides." (Yuki)

"""""!!?"""""

Everyone was stunned, myself included.

But it was even more shocking for Lutz and the others, who were commoners and could only afford small ceremonies.

After all, only nobles wear such dresses, since commoners can’t afford them.

"It’s a bit late now, but since we’re celebrating the foundation festival, I thought this would be a good time. If you’re all fine with it, would you like to have a wedding ceremony with me? —Let’s get married." (Yuki)

It was odd for him to propose like that while being tied up with his head lowered.

...But everyone burst into tears of joy.

* * *

After calming down a little, we decided to invite Asurin and the others to help adjust the dresses.

"I see. So you were going to use that money for the ceremony." (Ellis)

"In that case, you should’ve told us earlier, Onii-san." (Lutz)

Ellis, Lutz, Milly, Tori, Riel, and Kaya spun around excitedly, overjoyed at the thought of wearing their dresses.

"Yes, yes. Yuki-san was so pitiful being blamed, you know. We’ve been preparing this surprise for everyone until today, after all. And Kaya, please hold still. I can’t make adjustments like this." (Naruja)

Naruja stopped Kaya’s movements to make the necessary adjustments.

"Right~ He even came to me to request the ceremony be held at the church. And you two—Asurin-chan, Filia-chan—if you run around too much, your dresses will get dirty, okay?" (Lilith)

Lilith said that while stopping the two girls who were running around in excitement.

"Then, dear, when are we going to hold it? You did say it’s during the foundation festival, right?" (Seraria)

"Yes, on the sixth day. So if you have any personal preparations, please finish them by tomorrow." (Yuki)

And so, tomorrow—on that day—the wives and all the representatives took the day off to prepare.

Well, though some trouble did arise, those who interfered were swiftly dealt with.

As expected, isn’t that only natural?

Author’s Note: I’ll write a chapter for the ceremony, so please wait.

(Translator’s Note: I couldn’t find the wedding ceremony chapter the author mentioned. Maybe it’s only in the light novel?)