Rei and Ashie initially failed to grasp the meaning behind the words that had suddenly rung out.
That was only to be expected. Regardless of Rei, Ashie was quite clearly a maid, and they were standing within the grounds of Baron Cisne's residence. Unless something was very wrong, any observer could tell at a glance that she was a servant of Baron Cisne's House.
Yet, the voice that had just spoken was undeniably addressing Ashie—not Rei—and telling her to accompany him for the night.
(Wait, does he think I’m a girl?)
The thought crossed Rei's mind. His stature was smaller than average, and since he was currently clad in his Dragon Robe, his silhouette could be mistaken for either male or female.
To begin with, Rei didn't have the kind of obvious musculature that was visible at a glance, so it wasn't impossible that someone might mistake him for a woman even without the robe. More importantly, the face beneath Rei’s hood was so well-featured that it could easily be described as girlish. Taking those factors into account, there was a possibility—one Rei himself was loath to admit—that someone might mistake him for a female adventurer.
However, the gaze of the man who had called out was undeniably fixed on Ashie, not Rei. Judging by that stare, it was certain those words were intended for her.
"My apologies, Lord Noble. Are you speaking to me?"
When Ashie addressed the noble in the carriage, the man nodded arrogantly through the open window as if the answer were a matter of course.
"Naturally. From what I see, you are a maid of this house, are you not? Then you shall obey my command."
Rei couldn't fathom the logic behind the man's bold declaration. Why would being a maid of Baron Cisne's House mean she had to follow the orders of some random noble? He glanced at Ashie to see if she understood, but she only tilted her head, appearing equally perplexed.
(It doesn't seem like he's connected to Baron Cisne's House either... Why is he so full of himself?)
Rei found the turn of events incomprehensible. Ashie was similarly at a loss as to how to respond—or, more accurately, how to go about refusing him.
Watching Ashie's hesitation, a knight acting as the carriage's guard spoke up.
"Are you suggesting a mere baronial maid would dare disobey an order from Lord Keep, the next head of Count Eriel's House? Enough talk! Get over here at once!"
Clad in metal armor amidst the falling snow, the knight likely felt the bite of the cold quite severely. He approached Ashie with visible irritation. Since Rei was standing right beside her, the man was essentially closing in on him as well.
Using a justification that couldn't even be called an excuse, the knight reached out to grab Ashie. Naturally, Rei caught the man's hand mid-air.
"Hey, are you sane?"
"You... you look like an adventurer. Do you think you'll get away with opposing Lord Keep? Let go of that filthy hand this instant. If you do, I'll overlook your insolence just this once."
As the knight closing in on Ashie spoke, another knight near the carriage nodded in agreement.
"Do you think a mere baronial house can get away with opposing a count's house? If you don't obediently follow Lord Keep's orders, it will cause trouble for the head of this... Baron Cisne's House, was it? No matter how much a small house like this kicks and screams, it's meaningless. In the end, they will have to submit to the will of the Eriel family of the King's Faction."
"That is... but, well. I am sorry, but a woman like myself is hardly a suitable partner for someone of Lord Keep’s standing. Could you perhaps find it in your heart to forgive me?"
Ashie spoke in an attempt to settle the matter, but her words only served to infuriate the man named Keep inside the carriage.
"Don't mock me! Are you telling me that a common maid of a baronial house won't listen to my orders?!"
Rei didn't understand exactly which part of Ashie's words had touched a nerve, but Keep kicked the carriage door open and stepped down onto the snowy ground. At this point, Rei was finally able to get a good look at the man. Until then, he had only caught glimpses of his face through the window.
He was a man in his mid-20s who would best be described as of average height and build, but he gave the distinct impression of being flabby. Though not exactly fat, his physique looked soft and untrained. His lack of physical conditioning and unrefined gait only reinforced that impression. While his features could fundamentally be called handsome, the aura of condescension he radiated completely ruined his well-proportioned face.
"You lot, just take her!"
"Wait—wait a moment, Lord Keep! Even if the opponent is of lower rank, they are still a legitimate noble. Forcibly seizing their maid like this will cause political problems later!"
A man scrambled out from inside the carriage in a panic. He was a visibly portly individual. Because of his weight, he appeared much older than Keep, though Rei realized upon closer inspection that they were likely around the same age.
"Ugh, shut up, Fultos! Are you suggesting you won't follow my orders either?"
"I am not saying that! I am saying that if you want that maid, you need to follow proper protocol with the other side!"
Fultos shouted, wiping away sweat despite the sub-zero temperatures. Given Keep's volatile behavior, he pleaded desperately, feeling he had to stop the man here at all costs.
It wasn't that Keep was particularly moved by Fultos's argument, but he let out a displeased snort before addressing Ashie again.
"Bring out the person in charge of this house. I shall personally declare that you are now my property."
Ashie had been spoken of as an object rather than a person, but she didn't seem to mind the insult. Instead, she worried that if she brought Muet out, the commotion would only escalate. She needed to find a way to get Keep to leave quietly, but no solution came to mind.
Then, at the worst possible moment, Muet stepped outside.
"Ashie, as for Rei-kun..."
He stopped mid-sentence as he noticed the carriage parked in front of his home and the group of strangers, led by someone who appeared to be a noble. Furthermore, he couldn't overlook the fact that men who looked like knights had trespassed onto his property.
"Pardon me, but who might you be? At the very least, I don't know you. I don't think it's very commendable for you to enter this house's grounds without permission."
Muet spoke with a dignity that lacked his usual timid demeanor. His attitude clearly rubbed Keep the wrong way, as the younger man shouted irritably.
"Silence! I am the next head of Count Eriel's House! Do you intend to give orders to me?!"
"So you are from Count Eriel's House. I am Muet, the head of Baron Cisne's House."
Despite the clear insult, Muet maintained a polite smile. Of course, he wasn't happy about being belittled, but Count Eriel was a prominent figure in the King's Faction and clearly held a higher status. Even if the person before him was only the successor and not the current head, Muet knew that causing a scene here would lead to trouble later.
"Hmph, so you're the poor noble of this residence. Your maid has been quite insolent toward me. Well, I don't want to waste time on a poor baron like you. Hand her over. Do that, and I'll act as if this never happened."
Considering the power of his family versus the weak-looking middle-aged man before him, Keep assumed the man would have no choice but to obey. Even if Muet was a house head and Keep was only an heir, the power dynamic was skewed. Keep was convinced the "poor noble" would hand over the maid with a resentful expression.
(She has quite a good body. She'll be a fine partner for tonight. I can just give her to my subordinates when I'm finished with her.)
With those vile thoughts in mind, he turned his gaze back to Ashie.
"I refuse."
Muet spoke the words with unexpected finality.
"Is that so? Then you lot, take the woman... What?"
Keep’s command died in his throat. For a few seconds, he stood there, letting the words sink in. When reality finally caught up with him, his face turned a deep shade of crimson with rage. He glared at Muet and screamed.
"You! What do you think you're doing?! Do you intend to defy Count Eriel's House?!"
"Defiance has nothing to do with it. You are the one trying to forcibly abduct our maid for no reason at all, are you not? As the head of this house, I cannot back down."
"...Are you sure about this? If my father hears of this, it will surely become a problem."
Keep spoke threateningly, but Muet shielded Ashie behind him and stated resolutely, "She is someone serving my house. If she wanted to go to you of her own accord, that would be one thing, but I cannot entrust her to someone who tries to take her by force."
Keep's face grew redder with anger. He clearly hadn't expected someone of lower rank to defy him.
His attendant, Fultos, watched the exchange and realized the situation was becoming precarious. It was true they had been dispatched to this region to cause trouble, providing a pretext for the King's Faction to interfere in the frontier. But if things continued like this, the situation might spiral out of control. In Keep's current state of rage, he might even order the knights to kill Muet, regardless of his noble status.
Furthermore, those knights were possessed of a sense of privilege from serving a count's house. They would likely cut down a baron without a second thought if Keep ordered it. If that happened, Margrave Larkus, who ruled this land, would undoubtedly intervene. In such a scenario, the nobles of the King's Faction who had sent them would likely cast them aside to save their own skins.
(Bad, bad, bad. I have to settle this now. And without shedding blood... How? What should I do?)
Seeing Keep about to bark an order to the knights, Fultos's mind raced.
(Something... is there anything? At least, something that makes it acceptable to kill the opponent... Hm? Acceptable to kill? Judging by the residence, the opponent is exactly as Lord Keep said—a clearly poor noble. The head himself doesn't look like he has a lick of combat training. In that case!)
Having hit upon a way to break the deadlock, Fultos leaned in and whispered into Keep's ear just as the latter was about to erupt.
Watching this, Muet could only wait for their next move while feeling a heavy sense of foreboding. Meanwhile, Rei, who had intended to step in if things turned violent, simply watched the proceedings in silence.
Once Fultos finished speaking, Keep broke into a pleasant smile, as if his previous rage had been a mere illusion.
"Fine, then let us do this. A duel between you and me. Of course, you may hire a proxy—assuming a poor baron like you even has the gold for one. If I win, the woman is mine."
A bitter shadow crossed Muet's face.
But at that moment, he saw Rei nod from the corner of his eye.
Accept it. That gaze, telling him to leave the duel to Rei, flooded Muet's heart with absolute relief.
At that moment, the greatest misfortune for Keep and Fultos was their failure to recognize who was standing right in front of them. Of course, given that Rei was wearing his Dragon Robe with its concealment effect, wasn't wielding his characteristic Death Scythe, and lacked the presence of the Gryphon Seto, their mistake was perhaps unavoidable.
"I'll ask just in case, but what happens if I win?"
Keep let out a mocking sneer at Muet's question.
"Hah? What? You think a poor noble like you can win against me? Hahaha! This is amusing. Fine then... if you win, I'll even give you half of the property owned by Count Eriel's House."
"...Are you serious? Lord Keep, you are the heir, not the current head. I don't think you have the authority to decide such a thing."
"It's not a problem, because there isn't the slightest chance of me losing. ...But, fine. If you're that worried, we'll take it to the lord of this land and have it legally processed before we duel. You have no problem with that, I assume?"
"L-Lord Keep?! That's going too far, no matter how..."
Fultos, who had been watching the negotiation, cried out in a panic. It was only natural; if the duel was legally binding and overseen by the lord, then in the one-in-a-billion chance Keep lost, there would be no way to gloss over the consequences.
However, Fultos's panic only served to irritate Keep.
"What is it, Fultos? Do you think I'm going to lose? Don't worry, I am the next head of Count Eriel's House, you know? There's no way I could lose to a poor baron like this. ...Actually, you're right. It would be troublesome if they tried to talk their way out of it later. Let's go bring the matter to the lord right now. You lot, come too. We're going to see the lord. ...Woman, it didn't happen today, but once this duel is over, I'll dote on you plenty. Look forward to it."
Driven by his obsession with lineage, Keep spoke with the absolute conviction that he could never lose to a social inferior.
If anyone who knew the reality of Gilm had been present, they would have surely warned him to stop. But as long as they failed to recognize Rei for who he was, Keep, Fultos, and the knights remained blissfully unaware that they had just made a fatal mistake.