Chapter 13 - 13 Promotion in Rank
"Alright! The weather's good today, so we're walking!"
At Father's words, Windam was dumbfounded and panicked.
"W-Wait a moment... surely you don't mean to walk to the palace for a promotion in rank... where in the world is there a noble who would do that!"
"Isn't there one right here, Windam? The world is interesting precisely because such people exist! Don't you think so, Aristo?"
Seeing everyone laughing merrily, don't give me those eyes begging for salvation. There's no way I could stop him, right? Give it up.
When I shook my head, he slumped his shoulders in dejection.
"However, I'm going by carriage!"
"Grand Duke Klaus-sama is also participating?"
"Butler. It's because I'm the one who recommended you."
I see, he said with an air of understanding, but it seemed dubious. Klaus left first, informing us he would wait at the palace, so we also changed clothes and set out.
"I'm... a commoner, you know?"
"It's precisely knowing that, that I'm bringing you along. You don't need to worry, Emi-nee. If you trace our roots, we're commoners too."
Is that so, she said, and changed into black armor. She had me comb her hair and style it. When her makeup was perfectly done, she looked happy.
"How is it? Have I become a good woman?"
"Emi-nee is a good woman!"
At my words, she linked her arm with mine in high spirits and headed for the entrance. In town, it seems we were already famous, as crowds watched us. Even children waved, calling out "Black Knight-sama."
Normally, I doubt we'd be allowed in dressed like this outside of wartime, but Klaus must have pulled some strings. The guards didn't even question us, and we entered the palace smoothly.
And then, the audience ceremony finally began.
(Uwah... this isn't like a game at all...)
Father Butler knelt, waiting with his head bowed before the chair where His Majesty sat, so Emilia and I, standing by behind him, assumed the same posture.
And then... at last, His Majesty appeared and sat upon the throne on the dais.The person who seemed to be the Grand Chamberlain beside His Majesty spoke.
"Butler O'Brien! You shall receive words from His Majesty. Raise your face!"
"Ha!"
When we glanced sideways, wondering what to do, Emilia, unusually, had a pale face, perhaps from nerves.
"It has been a long time, Butler. Is the one behind you your son?"
"It has been a long time, Your Majesty. It was 15 years ago that you granted me land. This child was born two years after that. He is now 13 years old."
"And the one beside you?"
"She is my son Shivans's lover, a woman named Emilia, 14 years of age."
At Father's words, Emilia smirked smugly.
"Then, I bestow the title of Baronet upon you, who have splendidly revived that barren land. Apply yourself!"
"Ha!"
I felt relieved thinking it was over, but it wasn't.
"Continuing, you shall receive land and a title from His Majesty. Listen with care."
We were also surprised at the Grand Chamberlain's words.
"It seems you have captured the rebels, Butler. In praise of your achievement in vanquishing the traitors who attacked the Internal Affairs Officer, I bestow the title of Baron. Additionally, I grant you the lands of the former Baron Darda!"
Father Butler looked up at His Majesty with a surprised face, was prompted by the Grand Chamberlain, "Will you not accept?", and replied "Ha!"
(A double promotion in rank, skipping two steps at once? The Darda territory means that desolate land. I saw it when we came to the Imperial Capital; it'll be worth the effort. But, are they counting on our money?)
That worry proved unfounded. Afterwards, we were called to a separate room, where His Majesty and Klaus sat, and the three of us sat before them, and the conversation proceeded in a casual, chat-like manner.
"This is the palace, you know? I had heard from Klaus that you would come in that attire, but it's astonishing. And is it true that the son there rebuilt that land said to be barren? I've also heard from the intelligence department, but I can't believe it!"
"It is true. This one made various inventions. He revitalized the territory and put it in the black. My son is a genius!"
It had the feel of a parent utterly doting on their child, but Klaus backed him up.
"Then, are the goods Klaus presented to me the work of this boy Shivans? You are 13, so you'll be going to the Imperial Academy in two years, yes?"
When Butler nodded, His Majesty sighed a lamenting sigh, "This year, my 24th son is taking the exam. He's two years older than Shivans, but I have no idea what he's thinking. He's an incomprehensible fellow."
"That aside, Your Majesty. The important matter..."
"Yes, that's right, Klaus. Well then..."
The music box I made was presented to His Majesty and given an absurd value of 1 Billion G. And it was said that 10 Billion G would be granted for the restoration of the former Baron Darda's lands.
"Truthfully, I would also like to give you Count Hermann's territory. After all, ever since the Internal Affairs Officer was killed, no one wants to go there. Achieve great deeds! Live up to my expectations, Butler!"
As expected, I understand it's impossible without a major war or something. Just because we received 10 Billion doesn't mean the Darda lands will improve immediately, but...
(However, I'll make a miraculous recovery in one year and make them gasp in surprise!)
Then, it was announced that a party for the promotion in rank would be held at this palace one week later.
"One week later?! Leen is at the territory, you know? It's impossible, Your Majesty...""No. I will manage somehow, Father. Please leave it to me!"
And so, it was decided we would attend the party one week later. It was decided that we would be indebted to the Klaus family, but as soon as we returned to the mansion, we were immediately scolded. They pressed me on how I intended to bring Leen.
"Then, please keep what happens from now on confidential!"
I returned to the territory via Instant Movement, explained the situation to Mother, held her in my arms, and returned to Klaus's mansion, where Leen said, "Oh my? Is this the Imperial Capital?" while looking around curiously.
"Don't tell me... Shivans-kun... was that teleportation magic you just used? To be able to teleport without a magic circle... I've never heard of such a thing..."
"Because you are Grand Duke Klaus-sama's family, I trusted you and showed you."
"Shivans! You kept it secret even from me, your father!"
Because I'd get scolded, I wanted to keep it a secret forever...
"Listen well! This is a matter comparable to a national military secret. Everyone here will keep it completely hidden! Understood!"
It was to be treated as a secret shared only by the five members of the Klaus family and our family. That day, Emilia said she became that, so she would apparently sleep in the same room as Leen. It was because Leen told me to leave women's matters to women.
When the four of us said none of us could dance, the Lady, Aqua, and Aristo happily said, "We'll teach you."
"Shivans... do you have medicine for menstrual cramps?"
"I have something that can suppress the pain."
Is she a sore loser? She said she'd take painkillers and undergo special training, but she seemed tired from today's audience with His Majesty, so when I told her to rest, she obediently said, "I will."
Afterwards, while having tea, we talked about today's promotion in rank, and Leen was surprised.
"Shivans-chan will be busy again, won't he?"
"Mother. Are you going to cast me out alone to an unknown land?"
"Oh my? They say, 'Send the beloved child on a journey,' don't they! Right, Papa?"
Father Butler nodded in agreement, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."He definitely answered without thinking at all.
(With this, it seems like I'll be the one who has to do something about the Darda territory alone. I want subordinates, but were there any I could trust?)
There was no one. However, since I can now come to the Imperial Capital anytime with Instant Movement, I resolved to take my time searching for talented people.
(But, how should I go about searching?)
Even thinking about it, I couldn't come up with an idea immediately.
Today, I examined and treated the Lady and her baby, and Aqua and her baby. When I told Aqua, "I'll come tonight," she smiled and said, "Understood."
After dinner, while I was treating Klaus and Windam, Klaus spoke to me happily.
"I'm so glad you all came. Like this, I can receive treatment with peace of mind, and Aristo is more energetic than anything. The servants and the Quack Doctor Trio also seem to be in high spirits. You did something, didn't you?"
"No. I truly haven't done anything significant, Excellency."
"It's fine. Just by you all being here!"
The Adventurer Guild said something similar. Emilia said she'd take Aristo to the Adventurer Guild in the morning and dance in the afternoon, but will she be alright?
That Night
I went to Aqua's room via Instant Movement. There are guards in front of my room, but they're also in front of Aqua's room. The bedroom is soundproofed, so it's perfect.
"Hey? When you said 'come tonight,' is it because that Emilia-chan is gone, so I'm a substitute?"
I didn't expect her to say something jealous.
"Well, I have a husband too... this jealousy is strange, isn't it? Hey? Do you hate it when I'm embraced by Windam?"
When I nodded, she looked happy.
"But, if I conceive your child, it'll be an excuse somewhere. I'm sorry..."
When I proposed a little wicked scheme there, she immediately went along with it.
"We're both in a forbidden love, after all! But it's fine! The only one who makes me lewd is Shivans! The only one who makes me a total slut is Shivans!"
When I tried to attack her rear, she said, "Until I know I'm pregnant, just my pussy!" and wouldn't let me use it.
"Or has my pussy gotten loose?"
"Nuh-uh. Your vagina undulates and it feels like it's sucking my cock, it's great!"
When I said that, her vagina tightened with a squeeze.
"I'm training it for you! I want to make you feel good!"
"I love Aqua, who becomes a slut because of my cock! Get more debauched!"
Aqua thrashed about in a shameful state, raising intense moans of pleasure.
"I'll surely... conceive your baby again! I love you, Shivans!"
Aqua was completely limp. She fell asleep with a satisfied smile.
The Next Morning
If Aristo and Emilia were going to the Adventurer Guild, I asked if they could also take the Quack Doctor Trio along. When Klaus asked why, the Lady answered in my place.
"That's because those three are genuine quacks!"
"What do you mean?"
When the Lady told him what she'd heard from the maids, Klaus said, "I see. It's precisely because you're Shivans-kun, who studied under great nature!" and patted my head with a gentle face.
"I didn't know either. I thought I knew from the knowledge in this mansion's books..."
When Aristo made a shocked face, Emilia said, "It's fine because I'm here! Besides, mountain walking trains your legs and back, and the air is delicious! Let's go take a medicinal herb request!" Immediately, the old man and old woman also chimed in, "We'll go too."
"I've had a child too, and I'm lacking exercise!"
"Umu! If that's decided, let's get ready!"
At Klaus's words, Windam said, "Absolutely not!"
"Shut up! I've worked enough! You're the heir. Do your work properly! Don't think your parents will live forever!"
I want to say, "You'll be fine for another ten years. You'll live!" So, I told him I had something to consult about, and he immediately said, "I'll listen to anything!"
Probably, if things continue like this, I'll have to rebuild the Darda territory. But considering things like taking the exam for the Imperial Academy, I don't have much time. When I told him I was troubled having no subordinates, he nodded.
"Off the top of my head, there is one method."
It's to do as Father Butler did: purchase slaves like farm slaves or war slaves and have them work on-site. They have Slave Marks, so they can't run away.
"However, the manager is a different matter, right? I'll find a good one for you! As for money, don't worry. I'll squeeze it out of His Majesty!"
He seems likely to easily solve a problem I couldn't do anything about on my own. I told him I would treat the butlers and maids in the morning, and wanted to practice dancing from the afternoon, and Klaus said, "Indeed. Let's try to be back by the afternoon!" and it was decided.
No one paid any attention to Windam, who was at his wit's end. Father Butler and Mother Leen were comforting him, saying, "There, there."
I was provided with a full-fledged treatment clinic, not a temporary one.
"Don't worry! We have as many spare rooms as you want! Don't mind it. Besides, it's completely soundproofed so you can scream 'It hurts!' all you want!"
The room Klaus prepared saying that was fully equipped with everything I said I wanted.
(The rich really are different...)
As I was looking around the room, the Head Butler and five butlers entered the room and suddenly performed a dogeza. I thought this was a game world, but I found it amusing that such customs existed.
"Please! Please! Could you keep the matter of these five confidential? Not only them, but I too will literally lose my head!"
Apparently, it wouldn't end with just losing their jobs. I could imagine that, being the house of a Grand Duke family, they would prevent strange disturbances from leaking outside.
"Of course I won't tell. It's what you call a duty of confidentiality. However, on the condition that you all are my allies?"
When I said that, they beamed with delight and said, "Of course! We are well aware that Shivans-sama is a favorite of His Excellency!" so I shook their hands.
"Learn from this and don't cause disturbances close to home. I won't tell you not to play around just because you're men."
They seemed to understand that I was an understanding guy, and said, "All of us will be your allies!" and received treatment. When the men were done, it was the women's turn.
Immediately, the older people rushed to be first.
"Sensei! I have a headache..."
"I've had terrible tinnitus for so long..."
"My back has been... and stiff shoulders!"
"Even at this age, I have terrible menstrual cramps..."
They came one after another, complaining of ailments. A common factor was that many had high blood pressure, so I had no choice but to tell each one, "Please cut back on salt."
The young maids came. They were the four who had been infested with pubic lice, but even when I said, "Just take off your bottoms," they all said, "It's just you and me, Sensei," and got completely naked.
"It looks like you'll be better in about two more days. Keep yourselves clean, and tell your boyfriends to take a bath or shower every day and clean themselves with soap."
That bastard, muttered a girl named Ipsa, 18 years old.
The last one to enter was Tima, who had contracted a venereal disease.Tima also lay down on the bed completely naked.
"You're almost completely healed. You can put your clothes on, you know?"
"Almost? It's not completely cured? What's wrong? Inside my pussy?"
When I tried to spread and look as she said, she disliked it.
"I'm... frigid and don't get wet. So... it hurts when touched..."
She said it fearfully, so I sat her down and calmed her.
"Tell me what happened in the past?"
I'll demonstrate my true ability as a hypnotist!Then, it seems she was raped when she was 13 years old.
Since that time, her chest was large, and men teased her, saying, "You're ugly, but you have a slutty body!" And when she was 14, her mother died, and she was picked up by the Lady Marino and became a maid.
At 16, her ex-boyfriend, a butler, told her, "You're the only one," and she became his girlfriend.She couldn't feel anything no matter what, and was trained in fellatio. But, it seems she repeatedly managed intercourse by wetting herself with saliva.
"First of all, you are not ugly!"
"Huh? I am ugly!"
When I said that's the 'Illness of Wanting to Be Mean to the Girl You Like' that adolescent boys often do, she laughed and said, "What's that? I don't get it."
"Secondly, you are not frigid. I'm sure Tima-san wasn't loved by her boyfriend. I think somewhere she realized it was just about her body, and because her heart rejected it, her body couldn't respond either. I'm sure your intuition is excellent."
"That's not... true..."
"Then let's test it. Do you really not get wet?"
I spoke to her in a half-asleep state.
"Close your eyes and relax. That's it. Breathe in through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. That's it. Now, I'm going to touch you slowly. It won't hurt. I'll touch you gently. Don't be afraid, entrust yourself to me. Good. You have a relieved expression."
I caressed her slowly. When I caressed her as if stroking her whole body with a delicate touch, barely touching her neck, chest, stomach, and inner thighs, she started to let out "Ah" sounds.
"I'm sure you hated being told somewhere that you had a slutty body, right?"
"Yes... my ex-boyfriend also said I had a body that loves men..."
She made a mortified expression.
"I'm sure you were frustrated being told that because you couldn't love him. After all, if someone you like is lewd, you'd be happy, right? Because they desire you."
"Now that you mention it..."
She gradually began to feel it.
"If it were me, I'd like a lewd Tima-san. You have a body that feels easily. If a man you love shouted 'I love you, Tima' and embraced you, your heart would get wet, wouldn't it?"
At those words, her crotch began to squirm.
"Look! You have such fresh, plump breasts and beautiful nipples! If a girl I liked had a body like this and was lewd, I'd be overjoyed! Even if she was cute, if she had the body of a five-year-old girl, it would be sad, right? If someone said, 'I prefer that,' wouldn't you say, 'You damn lolicon bastard!'?"
She giggled and said, "That's right!"
"I'm sure Tima-san likes lewd things too. But, it's only ever been with partners you didn't want to say that to. You've been sealing it away until now! It's fine! Feel it more! It's okay to feel good! If you do, you can return to the real Tima-san!"
"Sensei's hands... are warm and feel good! I can feel your kindness!"
"That is Tima-san's intuition! Your heart feels it properly! If it does, the key to your heart will open!"
Gradually, she began to writhe and squirm.
"Sensei... what's happening to me?.. I'm scared..."
"Until now, you've only had distrust towards men. I'm opening that key. It's okay. You can be honest. The lewd Tima-san is the real Tima-san!"
When I toyed with her clit and nipples, she was already soaking wet.I made her open her eyes and look.
"So this is the real, lewd me. But, my type is older men, you know? Why did I feel it with someone younger like Sensei? Sensei seems just like an older man. Age-wise, I preferred someone around Windam-sama's age..."
I want to say, if I were alive, my real age would be older than Windam.
"There's no such thing as a true type. If you fall in love, that doesn't matter. Now, I'll insert my finger and check, okay?"
I inserted a finger into her pussy, found her G-spot, and stimulated it, causing her to scream, "Ah, ah, ah... No! I can't, I feel it! There! I feel it so much!"
"It's fine. Become lewd and cum!"
"Nooo! When you stimulate me like that, I go crazy! Aaah! I'm already... nooo—!"
"That's a good feeling! Cum!"
"No, no! I'm cumming, cummiiing—!"
She climaxed over and over, and once she learned orgasm, her whole body became like an erogenous zone.
"I... might like Sensei... intuition? I feel like it's telling me so... because I think it's okay to be made even lewder!"
She climaxed many times from manual stimulation, even squirting. She said that while looking at the wall, which was drenched from her squirting.
"You made me super slutty! Do something about it! My pussy's been throbbing all this time!"
And then, I made her say obscene words, and she entered full friends-with-benefits mode.
"I know Sensei has a girlfriend. She's on her period right now, right? During that time, embrace me! In our mutual free time, use me and embrace me!"
She said it imploringly, so when I nodded, she was overjoyed.
"Even if I say I'm using contraception, it's not perfect, you know?"
"It's fine! Because I love you, Sensei."
"But..."
"If it's responsibility, I'll make my ex-boyfriend who gave me the venereal disease take it and raise the child!"
She had completely become like a wicked woman.