"Welcome home, Rest!"
"Welcome home, Lord Rest!"
"Woof!"
When Rest returned to the royal capital after the battle had concluded, he was greeted with embraces from the Rosemary sisters.
Because the civil war had ended in unexpectedly short fashion, he had returned home just three days after setting out.
It hadn't been that long a separation, yet the two of them had clearly been quite worried.
Because they both latched onto him at the same time, Rest was knocked down right in the entranceway — a thoroughly undignified homecoming.
"Rest, are you hurt? Is there anywhere that's sore?"
"Lord Rest, Lord Rest, Lord Rest...!"
Viola and Primula both came at him in tears, clamoring all over him.
Rest received a welcome even more fervent than he had anticipated, and he soothed the two of them while his facial muscles twitched.
"Ah, um... I'm home. And I'm sorry for worrying you. As you can see, I'm not injured and I'm safe, so please don't worry."
"Thank goodness..."
"Yeah... I'm really happy to see you two too... truly, from the bottom of my heart."
Warmth from the two of them spread through Rest's chest along with a sense of relief.
He had steeled himself and headed to the battlefield prepared to be ruthless, but... even so, he hadn't been able to cast aside his emotions and become truly cold.
He could feel the heart he couldn't bring himself to discard being filled, and the roughness it had accumulated on the battlefield slowly being soothed away.
(You know... it really feels good to have come home. Having someone who says 'welcome back' to you is a happier thing than I ever imagined) In his past life, he had not been blessed with family, but in this life he had been able to gain a new one.
A family connected heart to heart. A genuine bond where you can truly feel loving and being loved.
The existence of irreplaceable family must be worth far more than titles or domains.
"Viola, Primula..."
"Rest..."
"Lord Rest..."
Rest and the two of them gazed at each other, slowly leaning their faces closer.
Just as the three were about to share an awkward kiss, before they could, a deliberate "ahem" of a throat-clearing reached them.
"Ahhh... Rest, my boy. Now that you've returned, shouldn't you be reporting to me, the head of the household, first?"
"Ah..."
Rest and his sisters froze in unison.
The one who had interrupted with a bitter expression was Albert Rodele, the head of House Rosemary.
Furthermore, since this was the entrance of House Rosemary's estate, there were others present besides them.
Diebl, who had fought alongside Rest and returned in triumph, and the magicians belonging to House Rosemary. Maids and butlers who worked in the mansion were also lined up to welcome them.
They all wore awkward expressions, and the younger maids had turned bright red.
"...Come to my office. Report to me the details of the rebellion."
"...Understood."
In front of his father, he had put on quite the display.
Rest pulled away from his sisters and, hanging his head, followed Albert.
"U-Um... you must be hungry, right?"
"R-Right away, I'll have a meal prepared."
Viola and Primula also offered their awkward excuses and hurried off toward the kitchen.
When Rest entered the domain lord's office together with Albert, he found Irish Rosemary, the marchioness, already waiting inside.
"So you've returned. My son who shares no blood with me."
"...It's been a while, my lady."
"Call me Mother."
"...Stepmother."
Having been challenged to a fight the very first time they met, Rest just couldn't seem to get comfortable around Irish.
It wasn't that he disliked her. He simply had this lingering unease that made him restless whenever they were in the same room.
(She's the complete opposite of the healer type... my stepmother.)
"I've already received the report, but... tell me what happened on the battlefield. Every last detail—leave nothing out."
Albert gestured toward the sofa from behind his desk, inviting Rest to sit.
Rest did as he was told and settled onto the sofa. After taking a deep breath, he began recounting the events of the civil war.
"The battle started when I fired off my magic. On the crown prince's orders, I launched the spell that had defeated the magic beast Sabnock directly into the enemy ranks."
The Rosemary couple listened to Rest's report in silence, but once he had finished, they both let out a deep sigh.
"Well, I must say... you performed even better than what I'd heard."
"As expected of our son-in-law! I'm relieved to hear you fought in a way that doesn't disgrace the Rosemary name!"
Albert wore the expression of someone enduring a headache, while Irish beamed with pride.
At the couple's contrasting reactions, Rest scratched his cheek with a troubled look.
"Um... did I do something wrong, perhaps?"
"No... as far as the kingdom is concerned, there's no problem. I believe you achieved even greater results than we had hoped for."
Albert let out a sigh as he explained.
"But... whether this counts as lucky for you, I'm not so sure. It seems you've attracted more attention than necessary."
At the center of the kingdom, the king, the crown prince, and Marquis Cattleya were considering elevating Rest as a hero in order to divert the people's attention from the royal family's blunder.
For that very purpose, they had deliberately given him the vanguard — but it seemed he had achieved a few too many results.
"Taking down seven thousand enemy soldiers in the initial charge was... well, fair enough. Thanks to that, the battle progressed in our favor and was settled in half a day. However, single-handedly defeating His Highness Rodele in a duel was an excessive feat... you stood out far too much."
First, the fact that Rodele had been aiding the rebel army was being kept secret.
Of course, rumors would spread among the people... but at the very least, the official announcement from the royal family would not name Rodele. Instead, Marquis Eiger would be named as the mastermind behind the rebellion.
However, when people witness something spectacular, they feel compelled to tell others.
The battle between Rest and Rodele was exactly that. As flowers that adorned the battlefield, it would become a hero's tale passed down among the people.
"If you stand out, then the name of the Third Prince Rodele, who fought you in single combat, will spread as well. It will no longer be possible to conceal his involvement with the rebel army. This is his own doing, so there's no reason to hold you responsible, Rest... but his name will likely be passed down as that of a traitor."
"Ah... did I perhaps do something unnecessary? Will the royal family be angry with me?"
"No... if you hadn't fought, His Highness the crown prince might have found himself in danger. There's no one who could fault you. If anything, there will be more people trying to get on your good side."
While saying Rest was not in the wrong, Albert wore a reproachful gaze — a contradiction that did not escape notice.
"Thanks to this battle, you've already been decided to be elevated to count. However, that may not be sufficient as a reward. Granting you a rank of marquis or above would be difficult, but in its place, you'll receive a monetary reward and an increase to your domain on the plains."
"Ah... I see. That means a fair bit of frontier development work, doesn't it?"
"Well, that's fine. That part is fine, but..."
Albert made a bitter face.
Rest tilted his head, wondering what could possibly be troubling his father-in-law so much, and Irish spoke up in his place.
"In other words, there's a good chance a flood of brides will be sent your way... is what I'm saying."
"Wha... brides?"
"Having more domain means exactly that. Some women will come just for the sake of producing children with inherited mana, and before you know it, you'll have a full complement of wives and concubines."
"........."
Rest was struck speechless by the unvarnished words.
Rest had shown off too much of his strength.
Because of this, many nobles had their eyes on him.
Women would be sent his way in droves, seeking wealth, territory, and marriage alliances.
It couldn't be helped, but the thought of the man who had married his daughter taking so many wives was clearly eating at Albert.
"I-I mean... I'm perfectly happy with just Viola and Primula..."
"...Political marriages are a noble's duty. If the royal family were to act as intermediary, you couldn't refuse."
"That's..."
"However... that aside, if you make my daughter unhappy, I won't forgive it. Absolutely not."
"........."
He hadn't said he wanted more family... he'd never said he wanted more brides.
Rest stood there, shoulders slumped in a daze, at a complete loss for words.