The day after we got rid of the army of goblins. We were gathered in a larger room in the mansion that was safe, discussing the situation.

　Inside was me, Alexia, Aeris, Kate, Elea, and Mr. Benton, who was the house commander of this house. And Bert-san has gathered as a representative of the remaining soldiers. Ekla is sleeping on my lap.

''Thank you for saving our territory. If it wasn't for your lordships, all of the lordships would have died.''

　Mr. Benton bows his head. Bert bows his head with it.

Please raise your head. We just happened to be there by chance, and our territory was torn to shreds, so it's not something we can bow to.

　Alexia smiles bitterly at that. It's true that I've torn the territory to shreds. I am truly sorry about that.

''No matter how many times the territory is torn to pieces, as long as the lords are there, we can rebuild it. It may be hard for a while, but we'll manage.

Okay. I understand. I'll talk to your father too and try to help you. Only, this barony is....

Yes, I know, sir. You can't run the barony as a Baron of Mangus anymore. The people have found out what the baron did. Even if his son succeeds him out of compassion, they will not listen to him. If this is not done, it will lead to rebellion.

　That's right. Instead of fulfilling his duties as a nobleman, Baron Mangus fled first, leaving his lordsfolk behind. All the lords know that. Even if his family continued to rule, the lords would still rebel. If they are not able to do so, there will be a rebellion as I was saying before.

''However, can you at least spare the lives of the ladies?　Your son, Lady Bantes, has been in King's Landing for the last three years, and I don't know him. His wife, Lady Rita, is frail and has not been involved in politics at all. Your daughter, Lady Casey, has been confined to Lady Rita's room under house arrest, despite my repeated attempts to communicate with the Baron, who has refused to listen.

''Well. I can't make that decision on my own, but I'll talk to your father about that too. But even if I survive, I don't think I'll be able to live as a nobleman anymore, and I don't think I'll be able to remain in this estate either.

　If it was this time, it wouldn't be a death sentence for the entire family, but the baron would be executed as soon as he was found, and the rest of the family would forfeit their titles.

　Even if that family member who became a commoner remained in the territory, in the worst case, they would be resented and killed. The reason why they are able to remain unchallenged by their fiefdoms now is because they are nobles. They'd rather leave the territory than suffer such a painful experience. I can't guarantee their lives after that, though.

''I understand. I would like to help the ladies as well. As long as I have my life, that is all that matters.''

　Mr. Benton said and bowed again. This man was a childhood friend of the baron and the lady. I guess he wants to help the lady from that kind of relationship. There may be other reasons, but that's none of our business.

'Well, there's nothing more we can do about the wives. As for the future, Helen and the others should go to Viscount Kennus now and bring reinforcements, so let's wait for that. Once the reinforcements have come and things are better in this territory, I'll go back to King's Landing and talk to your father.

　We talked about many things in the future after that, and then we broke up. Everyone went out and the only ones left in the room were Alexia, me and Ekla who was sleeping on my lap.

'What's wrong Ray?　Didn't you go with the others?

　Alexia speaks up as I look at Ekla.

'Yeah, I just wanted to have a quick chat with Alexia.

　I say and pick up Ekla and move to the seat next to Alexia. Ekla doesn't wake up when I pick her up. She's asleep, flapping her wings. I don't have a choice, so I'll have her stay on the desk for a little while. It's a little stiff, but bear with me.

'Talk to me?　Hmm, what is it?

　Alexia smiles as she looks at me, but to my eyes she looks like she's forcing herself to smile.

'You haven't gotten much sleep since yesterday, have you?　Don't try to force yourself to take it on alone.

　I said and shook Alexia's hand. When I came back from the goblin dwelling yesterday, I noticed that the light was on in Alexia's room. It had only been about three hours since I left the baronial estate until I came back, so Alexia probably only slept that long.

　I looked at Alexia and she was smiling bitterly.

'I knew it, Ray found out. I'm still doing my best to hide it with my makeup on. But Ray can't speak for others either, can he?

　Saying that, Alexia pokes me in the nose. Could it be that they know what happened yesterday?

'The ring makes it somewhat obvious when Ray leaves. Maybe Aeris has noticed. This kind of thing has been going on for a while now, but don't take it too hard on Ray, either. I know it makes me unfit to be a princess when I say this, but Ray is more important to me than the people here.

　Saying that, Alexia pulls the chair closer and leans in closer to me. I can smell the good scent from Alexia.

'I care about Alexia, too. So I don't want Alexia to take it too far either.

　I also hug Alexia's shoulder. Just like that, Alexia smiles happily. Then she rests her head on my shoulder.

'Huh, I wonder what number I am out of all of you?'

　Ugh, that's pretty annoying to hear. I don't want to rank them too much or anything.

'Just kidding. I know Ray takes care of everyone, so I'm just kidding. But I wish you'd see me alone once in a while?

　And just like that, Alexia moves her face closer to mine and locks her lips with mine. I also hug Alexia and enjoy our time together.

''Hmm, hmmm. If Aeris sees me like this, she'll be mad at me. You can do that to Aeris later, right?　But now I feel better. I need to work harder for this territory!　Don't push yourself too hard, Ray, either, okay?

　Smiling bewitchingly, Alexia says so and leaves the room. .........Huh?　I was supposed to be worried about Alexia, but the opposite was true.

　I scratched my head and looked at Ekla.

Cui.

　And he covered his eyes with his paws. However, I guess it's a charm that I'm trying to see a little bit. ........I was asleep just now, so why are you awake just at this time?

　While thinking about that, I pick up Ekla and leave the room. Will I also do my best to lighten Alexia's burden as much as possible?