On this day, after going to listen to Alice sing, I returned to the estate around early afternoon and spotted a man and a woman tied to trees in the garden.
The man was a eunuch, and the woman was a maid.
Both worked in the estate, and I recognized their faces.
Bound to the trees, the two were being whipped by another eunuch.
Wondering at this unusual sight, I stopped in my tracks, and Zoe came out from inside the estate.
"Welcome home, Master."
"What's that about?"
When I asked, Zoe flushed and made a complicated expression.
"Madam is... well..."
"I see. Understood, I'll go ask Audrey directly."
I could tell it was something exceedingly awkward to speak of.
Zoe would surely answer if I pressed her, but there was no need to go that far.
I entered the estate, asked Zoe where she was, and went to see Audrey in the living room.
"Ah, welcome home, Lord Noah."
"I'm back. What's going on out in the garden?"
"I apologize; it is due to my own lack of virtue."
"Hm?"
What does that mean? I prompted her for details with my gaze.
"Just a short while ago, a maid told me she saw those two embracing naked in their room, and when I went to check..."
"Ho."
I felt my temple twitch.
"And the man?"
"I examined him properly. Complete castration—he is undeniably a eunuch."
"I see."
There are a few methods for castrating a eunuch.
Semi-castration, which removes only the testicles, and complete castration, which removes the entire genitalia.
Naturally, considering the origin and purpose of eunuchs, it went without saying that the latter was far "safer."
"So it was just playing house, then."
"Yes. Therefore, I sentenced the eunuch to thirty lashes and the maid to ten. Since it was an internal household matter, I handled it myself—was that improper?"
"No, that's entirely reasonable. No problem at all."
Audrey looked relieved.
Eunuchs were castrated men, but that did not mean their sexual desires vanished completely.
Of course, there were eunuchs whose desires dropped to zero, and that was fine in its own right.
However, eunuchs who still retained even a sliver of desire would sometimes form intimate relationships and sleep with court ladies in the royal palace, or with maids in a noble's estate.
Incidentally, eunuchs who underwent complete castration could not "finish" even if they engaged in physical intimacy, so they tended to resort to violent acts such as biting or striking their partner—though that is beside the point.
If it turned out he had not actually been castrated, both he and his partner would face the death penalty. But if it was mere "playing house" after proper castration, it ended with a few dozen lashes.
"Why is there a difference in the number of lashes?"
"About that... The eunuch shielded her, saying, 'I seduced her. She did nothing wrong!' The maid tried to take the blame in the same way, but the eunuch prostrated himself with such force that his forehead began to bleed."
"Hmm... So the feelings are mutual."
"Yes."
Audrey nodded quietly.
After thinking for a moment, I spoke to Zoe, who had followed me into the living room.
"Go to the garden, and tell them to come here once the whipping is finished."
"Understood."
Zoe left the living room to summon the two.
Before long, the eunuch and maid arrived in tattered clothes, covered in welts all over—with some split open and bleeding.
The moment they entered the living room, their faces turned deathly pale, and they dropped to their knees, prostrating themselves.
"W-We are terribly sorry!"
"We will never do it again! So please—"
"Enough, you've already received your punishment. Let's move past that."
I raised a hand, cutting off their apologies.
As Audrey said, this was an internal household affair.
Now that she had handed down the punishment, it would not be right for me to interfere.
Audrey was my—the imperial prince's—legal wife, which made her a princess consort.
She had her own prestige to maintain. Unless she was blatantly in the wrong, if I were to barge in without good reason, no one would listen to her orders in the future.
"That's not what I want to talk about. It seems you two have feelings for each other."
"That is..."
"Um..."
The eunuch and the maid looked at each other.
They wore expressions of not knowing how to respond.
Eventually, the eunuch spoke with a look of resolve.
"Yes! We love each other. We come from the same village. She was sent to Your Highness's estate while I went to the royal palace, but when Your Highness moved to your fief, I begged my superiors to let me accompany you."
"Childhood friends, then."
I looked at Audrey, and she shook her head in surprise.
It seemed she had not known either.
"Yes..."
"Do you want to stay together forever?"
"I do... That's why I followed along..."
The eunuch answered haltingly.
Unable to gauge my true intentions, he seemed terribly apprehensive.
"One last question. Are there others like you in the estate?"
"—!"
"I'm not asking you to inform on anyone. Ah, I phrased that poorly. Zoe, buy up several houses around the estate. If possible, make it so they encircle the property. And then, give one of them to these two."
"..."
The two were dumbfounded, looking completely lost and unable to follow what was happening.
"Work in the estate during the day as you always have, and return to your shared home at night."
"Lord Noah... That sounds almost like... you are arranging a marriage for your subordinates."
At Audrey's words, the two gasped.
"That is precisely my intention."
After answering Audrey, I asked the two of them.
"Well? If you say you don't want to stay together forever, I'll pretend this never happened."
"N-Not at all!"
"Thank you so very much! Thank you!"
The two bowed their heads to me over and over again.
"To think... to think you were such an incredible person..."
"We will never forget this kindness for the rest of our lives."
"Right. Ah, yes. If it's a daughter, you may adopt a child. I'll treat an adopted daughter as household staff as well. A son is fine too, but you wouldn't want to adopt a boy only to make him a eunuch as well, would you?"
"—! Thank you so much!!"
Moved to tears, the two continued bowing repeatedly like grasshoppers grinding rice.
"And there you have it. If there are other servants who wish to form a 'family,' you may do the same for them. I leave it to you."
"Yes, I understand."
Audrey nodded with a smile.
"Still, as expected of you, Lord Noah. I could never have come up with such a measure."
"Um, Master..."
"Hm?"
I turned toward Zoe.
For some reason, she wore a troubled expression.
"What is it?"
"Well... regarding your orders, Master."
"Hm?"
"This year, well... the funds are..."
"...Ah."
After thinking for a moment, I understood the reason for Zoe's difficult expression.
Earlier, regarding the water supply maintenance, Brother Oscar had said there would be no budget for it this year, so I had temporarily covered it with my personal funds.
"Do we have none at all?"
"No, we likely have enough for those who wish for it now. However, buying enough to encircle the entire estate would be..."
"I see. Then prioritize those who want it first. The surrounding residents wouldn't be able to move out immediately anyway. Let's wait until next year for the rest."
"Understood. I will arrange it accordingly."
☆
The next day, as I relaxed in the living room and ran mock battles between the newly subjugated Apophis and the four senior entities to level them up and determine their hierarchy, Cecily, the reception maid, entered.
"Master, you have guests."
"Who is it?"
"Um... a large group of town mayors."
"What?"
I frowned instinctively.
"Mayors, as in from Nisir?"
"Yes."
"Understood. Show them to the drawing room. Also, go call Don."
"Right away."
Cecily nodded and left the living room.
I stood up and headed toward the drawing room, lost in thought.
Nisir, the provincial capital of Almeria Province.
This city of Nisir was divided into numerous "towns."
Each town had a mayor, and one magistrate was assigned for every two or three towns.
Those town mayors had shown up en masse?
What on earth could it be?
Still unable to figure it out, I met up with Don along the way and entered the drawing room together.
About twenty people were standing inside the room.
Most were elderly men, with a few middle-aged ones mixed in.
Such was the makeup of the mayors.
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance. My name is Delos."
The old man at the very front said, bowing his head.
The other mayors bowed along with him, but said nothing.
It seemed this Delos was their leader.
"Very well. Cecily, bring chairs for everyone."
"Understood."
I sat down on the sofa. Don stood behind me, attending at the ready.
Since there were not enough chairs in the room for the number of mayors, I had the maids bring more.
After waiting for all the mayors to take their seats, I spoke.
"So, what brings you here today?"
I asked Delos.
"Please accept this."
Delos stood, stepped before me, and presented something with both hands.
I took it and opened it up.
It was a sort of inventory list with writing on it.
"What is this?"
"It is a collective donation from all the townspeople."
"A donation?"
"We heard—that for this year's water supply maintenance, Your Highness provided funds from your own personal wealth."
"..."
"Water is the lifeline of this city of Nisir. We cannot thank Your Highness enough."
"So you pooled your money together and came to pay me back?"
"Yes."
As Delos spoke, all the mayors stood up as if on cue and bowed deeply.
"We know it may be presumptuous. But please, accept the heartfelt feelings of the people."
"We beg of you!"
"Very well, I will accept it without hesitation."
"Thank you very much!!!"
Raising their heads once more, every single mayor wore a delighted expression.
☆
After the mayors departed, Don and I remained in the drawing room.
I was gazing at the list I had received from Delos.
"How incredible... I have never heard of such a tale. For the people to voluntarily offer money like this is unprecedented. This, too, is a testament to Your Highness's virtue."
"Don."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Proceed with purifying the water source to turn it into special-grade water."
"Huh? But shouldn't that wait until the budget is allocated—"
I tossed the list to Don.
"We have this, don't we?"
"..."
Don was dumbfounded.
"B-But that is Your Highness's—"
"Responding to the earnest devotion of the people is also the duty of a noble. I will reclaim the money I spent from the Ministry of Finance next year. This is the people's money, so it will be used for the people."
"—Understood. Without fail, I will put every coin toward the waterworks project."
"Good."
I nodded, leaving Don behind as I exited the drawing room.
☆
After Noah left, Don remained in the drawing room for a while, lost in thought. Eventually, he stepped out and went to find Zoe.
Zoe was now the head maid.
As far as Don could see, her talent was in no way inferior to Evelyn's. Yet because she had sworn her loyalty to Noah, she had no intention of becoming a magistrate like Evelyn had.
Don showed this Zoe what had just happened, along with the received list.
"That is just like Master. He does all the work, yet says nothing to the people."
"Leaving it at that doesn't sit right with us."
When Don said this, Zoe nodded.
"What should we do?"
"I will push the waterworks project forward with all my might. Zoe, use the maids and eunuchs to spread the rumors."
"The truth, without hiding anything?"
"That's right."
"Understood. Leave it to me."
"I'm counting on you."
Don and Zoe. The two nodded to each other and parted ways.
Noah disliked boasting, saying that "suffering in silence is a noble's privilege," but those who adored him could not bear to leave it at that.
Unbeknownst to the man himself, his fame only continued to rise.