Cain had given up prematurely to write a reply to the letter at the mansion in King's Landing and had transitioned to the Drintle mansion.
　It was to report to his brother, Alec, as well.

''Yeah!　A promotion to the count?

　Alec's startled voice rang out in the Oval Office. The first time I saw him, he was in a good mood.
　It's a good thing that he was elevated to the rank of Viscount, but now he's been elevated to the rank of Earl, a high ranking nobleman.
　And as punishment for the blunder, he told Alec that he would pay taxes to the country.
　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.

'It's not a problem at all. Because of the population growth, we are also doing job mediation, so we have enough assets to not have a problem with the tax collection immediately. On the other hand, it's weird to be exempted from this much healthier territory. And it is a basic tax collection, right? If it's this Drintle, it's no problem. There's plenty of room to double up.

　Cain was relieved to hear Alec's words. Both Lula and Laura sent their congratulations as well, and Cain scratched his head in embarrassment.
　And there was one more thing he had to tell Alec.

'So ...... brother Alec, I would like you to go to the royal capital with me next week.

'Yeah ......?　Not that we were talking earlier about preparing for the unveiling?

　Cain takes a breath and then opens his mouth.

'In fact, ...... brother Alec--he's going to be knighted as a baronet.

　Alec's eyes widen at Cain's words and his mouth cracks open.
　He seems to be too surprised to speak.

'Nah, why is that ...... all of a sudden!

　Even Alec, who is as good as he is, can't hide his surprise.

''Actually, that is--''



　The time goes back a bit.
　The audience was over and I was in the reception room discussing future matters with the kings.

''Your Majesty, I would like to ask you to do me a favor: ......

'What?　Cain, it's not like you to be that reformed .......

In fact, when you're elevated to a count like this, you have to be in King's Landing more and more: ......

You're going to have to stay in King's Landing for half the year. I can't imagine what you'd do if you were holed up in your own domain.

　Cain takes a breath and opens his mouth.

''Drintru has developed and already has a population of over 10,000. It will grow even more in the future. The longer I stay in King's Landing, the harder it will be on my brother Alec, who is the deputy. There is a forest of demons near Drintru and a dungeon within it. If the deputy is a commoner when something goes wrong--

Cain, I think we're done here. I know what you're going to say. You are one of the highest noblemen. You are one of the higher noblemen. And outwardly, too: ...... I'll knight you as a baron.

　When the king looked at Prime Minister Magna, he nodded without saying a word.
　Garum was surprised by Cain's sudden request, but his eldest son, Jin, was going to follow in Garum's footsteps and become a frontier earl. Thus, when he realized that Cain would become an earl and only his second son, Alec, would be treated as an associate, he smiled.

''Your Majesty, please allow me to thank you as well. Thank you.''

　Cain bowed his head as Garum put his hand on the table and bowed his head.

''Enough, both of you raise your heads. It's likely that his brother is the one leading the development of Drintru. His knighthood will not be a problem for you. You are already an adult.

　They both raised their heads to the king, who laughed at them.
　He then left the room and he and Garum talked for a bit.

''Thank you, Cain. I didn't know you cared so much for Alec. Now I can rest easy as a father.

''No, brother Alec is really good at what he does. We need you to help the city grow.

After I do the knighthood, we'll be celebrating next week.

Yes.

　They laughed at each other.



'-- so we've decided.

　Alec's eyes had turned bright red at Cain's explanation. A few moments of silence passed as he hid his face in his hands.

'Cain ...... thank you so much. I'm lucky to have a really good brother.

　Cain shook his head at Alec's words, which brought tears of joy to his eyes.

''It's because of Brother Alec's excellence that His Majesty has approved of you.

　Lula and Laura got tears in their conversation, and Dalmatia smiled.
　Cain and Alec joined hands.

''I will make this city of Drintle more splendid than any other. Leave it to me.

　Alec replied with a smile, to which Cain nodded.

'It's nice to meet you, brother Alec.

Of course--I'm going to take full advantage of Cain's magic, though.

　Everyone laughed at Alec's words, including Cain.


　Then a few days passed.

'I do hereby anoint Alec von Silford as a Baron. You will continue to serve as the deputy of Drintle.

"Haha, I appreciate it. I will serve with all my heart and soul for the advancement of the Esphort Kingdom.

　After his knighthood, Alec was successfully made a baronet.
　A private celebration was then held at Garum's house.
　When Alec's appointment was made, he used a fast horse from King's Landing to summon Djinn and his mother Maria, who are deputies in the estate, to King's Landing as well. Cain advised them to meet him with transference magic, but Garum refused to do so.

The journey to the capital is also an exercise in becoming a lord. I'm going to sell my face and find out what's going on in that city. That's also the role of a nobleman. ...... And you can't rely on Cain every time.

　He could only nod at Garum's words.
　Because they had contacted him by means of a fast horse, Jin and Maria were able to reach the royal capital the day before the day before they were to be knighted.
　When Garum explained to her, Maria burst into tears of joy, and when she found Cain, she hugged him as tightly as she could.

'Thank you so much, Cain. You have made it possible for Alec to stand on his own as a noble lord. Thank you so much.

　Maria was also in her late thirties, but she had a beauty that didn't show her age, not to mention Cain's face was bright red as he was hugged and held between her elastic breasts.
　The Silford family was assembled at the Garum mansion and there was a private celebration.
　Everyone raised their glasses and the head of the Silford family, Garum, greeted them.

Cain, the third son, has been elevated to the rank of Earl, and his engagement has been announced. The third son, Cain, has been raised to the rank of Earl, and his engagement has been announced, and Alec has been made a baronet. This means that all the boys are now independent as noblemen. I couldn't be happier. Congratulations to both of you!　Cheers.

「「「「「 cheers」」」」」

　Only two of them, Rayne and Cain, are juiced because they are underage. All but two of them were drunk on wine and smiling, and Garum seemed to be in a really good mood.
　The pleasant conversation continued until late, losing track of time.


　Cain is sitting at his desk in his mansion in King's Landing with a big smile on his face. And he's humming.

''Cain-sama, you're in a terrific mood. Has something good happened to you?

　Corran, who was waiting at the entrance to the office, asked Cain a question as he smiled.

'That's already ...... right?'

　Cain gently turned his gaze to a corner of the table. That made Coran realize it, and he nodded his head in agreement.

'I'll be off to Drintle in a little while.

'Yes, ...... but there's going to be more, isn't there?

'I guess I'm right. I think I'll wait a little longer.

　Both Cain and Coran looked at one corner of the room and smiled.



　A few days had passed and Cain had made time to come to the city of Drintle. His face was full of smiles.

'Sir Alec, how are you doing?'

　Alec scratches his cheek, looking embarrassed that Cain called him "Sir".

'Somehow, ...... nothing in particular has changed, and ...... so what's up with you today, Cain?　Is that smile scary?

　Cain doesn't crack a smile when he says anything.

'Actually, I brought something for Brother Alec: ......'

　With a big smile on his face, Cain took out a pile of 'stuff' from the item box, enough to make a pile on the table.
　Alec is surprised to see Cain suddenly take out a large amount of materials.

''This is .......''

　Cain told a surprised Alec with a smile.

'This is... ...... delivered for brother Alec--a matchmaking letter.

　Cain was desperate to write a reply to the matchmaking letters he had received, refusing them for announcing his engagement to the royal family and the dukes.
　The nobles who received the replies also had no choice but to be named by the royal family and the duke family. However, this time, all the attention had shifted to Alec because Cain's brother, Alec, had been knighted.
　The eldest son, Jin, took over the frontier count, and the third son, Cain, was newly ordained even though he was very young, and was even elevated to an earl. It was obvious to all that the second son, Alec, was a brilliant man.
　Cain received the letter delivered by the nobleman with a smile.

　To give him a taste of the same treatment .......

　And Alec, whose face was drawn up, was forced to deal with it.