: Between Your Leaving (1)
Early in the morning, Eve opened the door and entered the Lord's Office. Sieri was already preparing the documents. The dress she had to wear as the Lord's Wife was extremely uncomfortable. It was nice that she could go barefoot since it covered her feet, but the long, flowing dress required a lot of caution.
"Hello."
Sieri greeted Eve with a blunt expression. There was no sign of displeasure on her face, but an awkward air lingered heavily around her. Eve waved her hand and grinned.
"Hi."
At that smile, Sieri flinched slightly but didn't let it show. She nodded and subtly avoided Eve's gaze. Eve sat down in the office chair, and Sieri, after placing the documents, took a step back.
Starting today, it was time for Eve to work as the acting Lord. Peta Lusius had given her the handover, but for Eve, who had lived her entire life as a pirate and a slave, it was an undeservedly high position. On top of that, Sieri, who was to assist her today, was treating her with an extremely awkward attitude.
Awkward.
Eve found the air in this room too suffocating and awkward. Eve could fully sympathize with Sieri's feelings right now. Wasn't this a situation where the Lord, who she thought would only fuck her for the rest of his life, suddenly brought home an outside woman? And to top it off, that outside woman had become her superior. After thinking this far, Eve came to the conclusion that Sieri was a truly good woman.
If it had been her, she would have at least cursed about this situation. She would have grabbed Sieri by the collar and definitely would have sat on the floor and thrown a tantrum.
"Um... W-What do I have to do today?" But Sieri didn't do that. Since Sieri was acting so good and quiet, it was difficult for Eve to act recklessly either. Eve asked Sieri while organizing the documents. The Lord's basic schedule was held by Aira and Sieri, but today Aira had other things to do, so Sieri was in charge of the schedule. Sieri opened the notebook she was holding and spoke.
"Today, there is a territory inspection and organizing documents for approval."
"A territory inspection?"
"Yes. My Lord insisted on putting this in."
"Wait a minute, you're telling me to do a territory inspection? Is that really okay?"
Eve frowned. No matter how much the Lord acknowledged her as his representative, the people's gazes would surely be unwelcome. In this neighborhood, mermaids weren't just discriminated against;
they weren't even treated as human. And if you were a mermaid's mixed-blood, you were treated similarly to the demi-humans living in the western or eastern forest regions.
Just perfect to be treated as a slave. Or good to eat or use in cooking, and a perfect sandbag to use as a magic experiment material.
Yet Lusius was telling such an Eve to go out on a territory inspection. Eve felt a strange repugnance at the words. Was this really okay? Was it really alright to do this? The feeling Eve had now was similar to how one would feel if their parents suddenly handed over their entire wallet. Is it really okay to do as I please? Is this really alright?
Sieri blinked, staring at Eve. Eve was fidgeting with an anxious face. There was a bit of a difference between committing vicious acts at sea and doing a job that came with power and responsibility.
"Really, is it really okay? I can't take responsibility if all hell breaks loose, fuck."
So Eve asked for Sieri's opinion once more. In truth, Sieri was also worried about whether it was right to send Eve out for an inspection. It was only because Peta Lusius was a good lord that people didn't dispute his marriage, not because they had a good impression of mermaids.
Especially for a mermaid with a criminal past, that perception was no different from the gutter. To cry out for people to shed their prejudice against Eve was difficult when the rumors surrounding her were true, and so cruel one didn't want to believe them. But in the end, Sieri was nothing more than a person who followed the Lord's words. From Sieri's perspective, if Lusius ordered an inspection, the inspection had to be done.
".....Still..... I... I think we have to do it, don't you?"
"Hah... fuck."
Eve scratched her head and shook it. She really couldn't understand what Lusius was thinking, ordering something like this. He wouldn't be trying to mess with her now, so what on earth was he thinking? The general idea was probably a suggestion to get closer to the territory's people, but no matter how she thought about it, only an unhappy future came to mind.
For example, Eve getting angry at a resident who provoked her and starting a knife fight, or a quarrel breaking out between Eve and the residents, resulting in the residents getting beaten to a pulp.
And so, with Eve showing her lingering unease, she and Sieri decided to do the inspection. Robin offered to assign knights as an escort, but Eve refused. It was because even if they were knights from this neighborhood, she herself was stronger.
In fact, Eve was subconsciously hoping someone would rush at her. A show of force was a very good way to stop any idle gossip from spreading. Eve had a track record of shutting up her crew members when they voiced complaints by performing the stunt of ripping one of their heads off.
Eve crammed her feet into her shoes, changed into her outdoor uniform, and went outside with Sieri. She considered taking off the dress too, but since it was a work uniform she'd been told to wear, she decided to wear it for now. From the morning, the territory was bustling with activity. The tenant farmers, who had been beaten once, were working with great diligence and sincerity, and children were running around and playing in the streets since morning.
Eve and Sieri were slowly looking around the village.
"My, a good morning to you, Sister."
"Yes... Ah, you should greet Lady Peta Eve, the Lord's Wife, first."
"Ah, is that so... G-Good day to you."
Was this what they called receiving a forced bow? Eve felt a slight irritation at the residents who greeted her reluctantly only after Sieri urged them. Overt vigilance and discrimination. What touched Eve's skin was the same kind of thing she had consistently witnessed for the past few years.
In the old days, she would have beaten them all to a pulp, but she felt a bit guilty about causing such a scene in the territory Lusius had polished so well.
"Fuck."
"You have to watch your words, Lady Eve."
"Just call me Eve. You and I are both our husband's wives."
"Th-That's... I mean, th-that..."
Sieri stammered, her face turning bright red. Seeing her expression, Eve grinned and asked.
"What, are you embarrassed? Huh? How was it, having sex with our husband? He's fucking good, isn't he?"
"Ah, aheu... Pl-Please stop. Th-That kind of lewd talk..."
"So, was it good?"
".....Yes."
Sieri reluctantly nodded her head. Seeing her face flushed red with shame, Eve's mood improved a little. She had wondered why Lusius sometimes teased Sieri, but trying it herself was fun. Eve smiled cheerfully and started walking again. Seeing Eve's sudden change, the people flinched in fear.
Eve patted Sieri's back and continued walking forward. After laughing once, she didn't really care what the territory residents said. Eve asked Sieri again.
"But what was it about our husband that made you fall for him?"
"Well... when I was young, I was undergoing spiritual discipline at the Archdeity Church Monastery, and I met him there for the first time."
"Really? That was a long time ago."
"Yes. So we had a lot of fun playing there, too. He was... handsome, and kind."
"So you liked him since then. Our fucking husband was a player even when he was young."
"H-He wouldn't have been playing with me with those kinds of thoughts."
Sieri defended Lusius's popularity. Of course, from the perspective of Eve, who had seen his true nature, her words were completely unconvincing. Based on Lusius's personality as she had seen it so far, he had surely gotten his hands on at least one person at the monastery.
"He was a really good person. He... he even saved me recently."
"Saved you? From what?"
"I was originally working as an accountant at a monastery in a neighboring territory. The lord there was a bit... overly clingy, and My Lord moved me over here."
"What. Our husband. He had his eyes on you, didn't he?"
"I-Is that so?"
Sieri blushed and giggled. But then she remembered that he had ultimately chosen Eve as his official wife, and her expression hardened abruptly. Eve had a rough idea of what Sieri was thinking.
"I was supposed to die, but our husband saved me. Funny, right? I was a murderer, a bitch who went around raping women. And he said he'd make someone like that his wife. Isn't that weird?"
Sieri didn't say anything. It would be strange if she agreed, and strange if she said no. Eve continued speaking haltingly.
"So, um... what I'm trying to say is... if you're going to make a big deal about who the official wife is, I'm willing to concede everything to you. Huh? You know what I mean, right? We're going to keep seeing each other's faces anyway, so it'd be a bit much to fight over something so fucking trivial, don't you think?"
"Th-That's right."
It was true that she had been secretly jealous of Eve, so Sieri nodded. Seeing her lips purse reluctantly, as if embarrassed by her own actions, Eve spoke.
"And if you and I get along, our husband will like it too. Huh? Wouldn't he love it if we went to bed together?"
"M-My Lord is not such a lewd person."
"That's fucking bullshit."
Eve shook her head, dismissing Sieri's defense.
"Hey. The moment he fucked a mermaid, it was already over, you know?"
"Th-That is, that kind of lewd talk is..."
A soldier was running towards them from the distance. Eve, who was about to say more on the topic, shut her mouth and looked that way. The atmosphere was strange. The soldier ran up with an urgent expression, panting as he saluted. After a perfunctory return of the greeting, Eve feigned a stern voice and asked.
"Wh-What is it?"
"R-Reporting to the Lord's Wife. Right now, at the territory's boundary line, an aide from the Amur Territory has arrived claiming to be the 'Territory Representative' and is demanding to be let in immediately. We haven't heard anything about this, so, what should we do..."
"What kind of bullshit is that? I'm the Territory Representative. Nobody said anything before, so why is he making a fuss now?"
"Ah, well... I'm not sure either. For now, he's screaming for us to bring the person in charge quickly, so... anyway, we would be grateful if you could come quickly!"
A troublesome matter had arisen on the first day of assuming her post in the territory. Eve and Sieri faced each other and frowned. What should we do about this?