I undressed and boiled water for the four of us. After wiping ourselves clean in our own rooms, we went to the dining room for dinner. The dinner consisted of salted wild boar meat, lentil-like bean soup, unfermented bread, and wine. It's a big meal at home, but I'm not sure if it will suit Deanna's taste.
I hope so. I hope it suits your palate.
　I thought she might be a little more fearful, but Deanna put it in her mouth without hesitation.
"How's ......?
　I looked at her and asked rather fearfully.
"It's delicious!
　Amber's eyes lit up and Deanna said. But then she noticed that everyone around her was startled.
"Oh, I'm sorry, .......
　She quickly pauses.
"No, it's okay if it's in your mouth. No, it's fine if it's palatable, we were all just worried about whether it would be palatable to the nice lady.
"Oh, no, not the nice lady.
Well, it's best if the food tastes good. If the food's not good, you won't be able to do anything.
　I say sincerely. Even when work was tough in the old world, I could get by if I had a good meal.
"Have you ever had bad food too, Eizo?
　Sami's on the subject.
Yeah, I've had a lot of bad food.
"Oh, really? I thought Eizo only ate good food all his life.
That's not true. For example, .......
　I start talking about the previous world in an unrecognizable way. This is how we ended up having dinner that night, talking about all the bad food we'd eaten. Deanna also livened up the conversation by saying that she had eaten some kind of meat that she heard was a "delicacy" and that it was really bad.

　When the dinner was over, I asked her if she wanted to talk about it. I wasn't sure if I should ask her about the details, but I guess it's too late now.
Now, can you tell me why you were forced to leave the city, Deanna?
Deanna was a little hesitant, but she quickly answered
I understand. Then ......".
　Deanna hesitated a little, but soon began to speak.

　The family of Deanna (and Marius) is the Earl of Amur, who rules over a territory that includes the area around the city where we are going. The Earl of Amur had three sons and a daughter (Deanna, of course). His three sons were his eldest brother Leon, his second brother Karel, and his third son Marius. Of course, the eldest brother, Leon, was supposed to be the heir to the Count's throne. About a month ago, Count Amur and Rion set out with their private army to defeat a horde of demons that were said to have appeared near the border.
　Normally, there would have been no need for the Count to leave, let alone Rion, but it seems that the Count was planning to retire completely and let Rion take over all of the real power, and it was meant as a demonstration of that. Conversely, if the Count and his heir were to go into battle on their own, with only a private army and no national troops, they must have assumed that defeating the demons that appeared would not be a big deal.

　However, such expectations were completely betrayed. The Count and Rion were both killed, their private army was destroyed and they were defeated, and when they came back to life, they said that "an extremely strong demon had defeated everything. However, when Marius returned with the bad news, he found a number of suspicious things. Marius, who had seen many "slashed" bodies as a guard, found that the wounds inflicted on both the Count and Leon did not appear to be claws or fangs, and he wondered if the demon outbreak itself was real. In Marius's opinion, this is suspicious.

　Now, Karel is the one who looks suspicious, but of course he won't show his tail easily. If he didn't say anything, the right of succession would have come to Karel ....... But then a big problem arose. According to the records, the order of succession between Karel and Marius was reversed. Since Karel was the son of a concubine and Marius was the son of his full wife, the order of succession was changed when Marius was born. This fact was recorded by the recorder, but since the mother died when Karel was born, all four were raised in the house as the children of the regular wife.
　Karel then tried to put all the blame on Marius in order to make himself the only heir. But of course Marius had been working as a guard in another town before and after that. It would be very difficult for him to take command if he had a plan. So, for now, the current situation in the capital is that there is a standoff going on, and Karel is occasionally messing with Marius. However, this is taking too long, and if Count Amur is absent for a long time, he may be stripped of his title, so it is time for one of them to make a move.

　The reason why Deanna is being targeted is because she is also the son of his wife, and if she were to take the son of some nobleman as her son-in-law, that would change the succession, so they want to get rid of her while they can. So Marius (probably) sent her off to me to keep her safe until he could take care of Karel, and Karel sensed that and attacked her just now.

"Hmmm.
　I pondered. It would take more than a week or two to take care of Deanna. My financial situation is fine, but I wonder if Deanna can take it. I wonder if Marius and Diana are both members of the Count family. But now I know why Marius is so discerning for a mere guard, and why he knows so much about the inner workings of the city walls.
I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this. I'm not sure what to make of that.
　I know that I should probably lower myself now that I know she's a noblewoman, but I don't want to change my attitude now, so I'll leave it at that.
What do you mean by okay?
No, even after all is said and done, if it were discovered that a blacksmith had a daughter of her age living with him, albeit with another woman, wouldn't that be a problem for the nobility?
My brother is taking care of that, so you don't need to worry, Eizo-san.
We may be living like this for more than a week or two, are you okay with that too?
It will only be for a short time, but I know that both Samija and Rike are good people, so I am not worried about them. And of course, Eizo.
"Hmm. ......
　Then you don't mind if I keep him at home?
Well, the question is, are you sure you want me to keep him?
I'm sure you'll find that there is no better place to hide than here.


Well, that's true, but just in case.
　Not that I'm reluctant, but if it's somewhere else, it's almost like kidnapping.
I wish I had something to show for it.
　Deanna reacted to my words.
"Oh, by the way, I had a letter for you, Camilo.
You can read it at ......?
Yes, I think so.
But I don't think I should be looking through other people's letters.
No, it's my business. I'll get it. I'll get it.
　Deanna got up quickly and disappeared into the drawing room.

　Deanna quickly gets up and disappears into the drawing room. I watch her and think idly that maybe she likes living here.