The Male Lead I Raised Is Obsessed With Me

Wearing a magic control chain around his neck and a gag in his mouth, Marquis glared at us with a terrifying gaze.

Duke Summerhield, who heard the story from the knights that accompanied us, came forward first.

“To join hands with a monster in an empire built by the descendants of the warrior. This is a felony as good as treason! Execution. There is no other way, Your Majesty.”

The other Dukes also shouted execution in unison.

The Emperor trembled with rage and glared at Marquis Reholas.

“How dare you scorn the Emperor with wicked tricks……”

There was no way he would be in a good mood since Marquis Reholas, who he tried to elevate the rank of, was discovered to join hands with a monster.

“Behead the Marquis immediately and feed his body to the beasts! Don’t let there be a single aide remain in the Marquis’ castle!”

The Emperor’s voice was exceptionally sharp, as though he was worried that any of them would be involved. 

I watched as Marquis Reholas was being dragged like a dog by the knight’s hand.

Now, the entire family of Marquis of Reholas will be wiped out by the Imperial knights and the other ducal families, and the family name shall disappear from the empire forever.

When Marquis Reholas disappeared, Duke Summerhield folded his arms and said to Duke Iswed.

“The Valfurga is a Duke, after all. Isn’t it?”

Duke Iswed glared fiercely at Duke Summerhield.

“Hmph, you can’t say that the Valfruga is not worthy as a Duke. It was incredible! Not only did he kill the monster for the sake of the empire, but he also caught the noble who colluded with him.”

“It wasn’t the Valfruga who captured Marquis Reholas…It was the knights…”

“With evidence that the Valfruga would not have found, had he not been the Duke! Is it not?”

Duke Iswed replied with a face as if he had been bitten by a bug.

“……That is correct. He did the right thing this time.”

The Emperor looked at us with a mocking gaze.

“The Duke of Valfruga is truly commendable. It was said that the duchy’s prestige had been dropped to the ground, so I never thought he would be able to recover like this right away. Now, if I say that I would strip the Duke of Valfruga’s title, would the angry citizens rush into the palace?”

Even as he said so, it was only funny since I knew that there was already a fire burning brightly on the inside.

I tried to hold the corner of my mouth that was about to lift to a laugh, and answered meekly.

“It’s all thanks to Your Grace.”

“Ha! You speak well. It is settled, the Duke of Valfruga remains. This agenda is over! Let’s move on to the next matter!”

After a while, right after the meeting, I faced the Emperor for the final reward.

Upon seeing the contact I had handed over, the Emperor’s hand trembled with bewilderment and fear.

The box surrounded by black magic was a literal lottery.

In addition to the instruction Marquis Reholas had given to the monster named Xaril, it also contained the contract between the Emperor and Marquis Reholas regarding the title of the duke!

It was surrounded by black magic that would kill anyone unless they were a monster, so for the Marquis and Xaril, it was a much safer place compared to the family’s triple-lock safe.

He probably never imagined that we would defeat the monster.

Although the contract did not directly mention the monsters, there were a lot of things that could provoke complications if they were entangled well.

For example, did the Emperor neglect the fact that Marquis Reholas was associated with the monster?

The Emperor laid down the contract on the desk and took a deep breath.

“Suddenly asking for a separate meeting, so I wondered what it was……Why didn’t you mention this to the other Dukes?”

I made a frightened look at the Emperor’s expression.

We got rid of Marquis Reholas, but we would still be a thorn in the Emperor’s eyes.

Rather, he might be more wary of us since we got rid of Marquis Reholas, who was one of his allies.

Even if the power of the four Dukes is strong, the Emperor was still an emperor.

Although he might be suspected, he would be able to get away, denying that he knew anything.

Moreover, this information was not enough evidence to kill the Emperor, so it was better to reassure him until we have a firm grip on his neck.

I spoke in a soft voice, as if I would pass out any moment.

“I don’t know much about politics, but……I know that it’s not a good thing for Your Majesty to be tangled with Marquis Reholas.”

“So? Did you simply come to confront me with just this now? How daring of you.”

As expected, the Emperor’s words and actions were very arrogant.

The Emperor’s way of speaking, which he had thrown in a little bit of courtesy in front of the other four great dukes, clearly showed how foolish he thought of me.

As the other side was the supreme Emperor, and I was a commoner, he found it ridiculous. 

I shook my head.

“It’s not like that. I just……wanted to say that we want to be loyal to Your Majesty from now on.”

The Emperor’s eyes shone with interest.

“Loyalty……What loyalty do you speak of?”

“Of course, as a noble of the Empire, I am loyal to His Majesty the Emperor.”

I said, fidgeting slightly.

“Luc, I mean, the Duke managed to do it by luck…This kind of thing is so scary. I…I wish to get along with Your Majesty. As a noble, you shouldn’t go against your ruler, right?”

At my innocent, ignorant look, a smile appeared on the Emperor’s face.

“Is this what the Duke of Valfruga wishes for?”

“……Yes.”

“Ha, Hahaha! Good, good! Since the Valfruga says so, how can I, as his lord, disregard him!”

After all, that Emperor simply wanted the four great dukes to be at his feet.

“Come to think of it, Duke Valfruga was not given a reward for killing the monster.”

“I, It’s okay! You’ve already acknowledged the Duke!”

I waved my hand and refused.

It was against etiquette, but I could see the Emperor smiling even more satisfactorily at my incompetence.

“Very well. As the Emperor of the Empire, I allow a special address. If there’s anything you desire, I shall grant it to you.”

“Then……”

I hesitated.

In my heart, I wanted many things, such as diamond mines, useful talents from the Imperial Family, and exclusive right to rare crops, but I asked for those, it was clear that the Emperor would doubt me again.

After hesitating for a while as if it was very difficult to answer, I finally came up with an answer.

“Then…May I possibly have the Plains of Trazia?”

The Plains of Tarzia was a desolate plain between the North and the centre of the empire.

All there was were stones, and it was difficult to grow crops and manage them as they were many monsters.

Because of that, although the Emperor was the owner of the land, it has been neglected for a long time.

The Emperor asked back in wonder.

“The Plains of Tarzia, you say?”

“I, I apologise! I was hoping for too much!”

At times like this, it would be nice if my face turned red.

I turned my body and glanced at the Emperor’s eyes.

The Emperor pondered for a moment before asking.

“But what are you planning to do with the land?”

I responded dazedly.

“H-Huh? It’s just…wouldn’t it be good to have a lot of land?”

I could see how foolish the Emperor thought I was.

If we obtained the land now, we would have to pay taxes, get rid of the monsters and take care of the few people living in the territory. 

From the Emperor’s perspective, the land was merely a nuisance, so it would have been more beneficial to transfer its ownership and implement taxes instead.

At last, the Emperor nodded his head.

“Such matter is not difficult. Very well. I shall specially grant the plains to the Duke of Valfruga.”

“Really? Thank you! Thank you so much!”

I was sincere.

Because it will turn out later that there were huge quantities of various kinds of precious minerals buried in that land.

In the original story, the minerals from that land were used to aid the Emperor’s army as a strong source of funding.

If there was no oil in our territory, all we had to do was acquire one with oil.

‘If we dug it right away, they’d notice, so we have to leave it alone for about five to ten years before mining them.’

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Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

After Felia left, the Emperor made a satisfied look.

“The new Valfruga knows his place very well.”

The Emperor raised one hand, and a masked man appeared.

“Head to Marquis Reholas and sneak in information regarding the monsters, before the others go. It might come in handy someday.”

The man silently bowed his head and showed his loyalty.

Then, the man vanished silently just as he had appeared, and the Emperor leaned back in his chair.

“Now then, how shall I deal with the rest of those cheeky guys?”

＊  ＊  ＊

Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

Upon arriving at the mansion, Bella and the other house servants came running in tears.

“Madam! Madaam! Are you hurt anywhere? Oh dear, look at these split ends! What a pain you’ve been through!”

“Madam! Are you sure you’re alright? Are you in pain anywhere? I tried to secretly follow you, but the butler disapproved…!”

Bella and Bircher circled around me, whimpering like puppies.

They were so fussed about my condition that I was getting a headache.

“Both of you, calm down. The madam won’t be able to relax if you keep going like this.”

The butler grabbed the two of them by their collar and spoke.

“I have prepared a bath to relieve your fatigue. Please come this way.”

Following the butler’s guidance, I entered the mansion.

Among them, the most rational figure seemed to also be the reliable butler.

In the future, when something happens, I could leave the mansion to the butler.

As I was thinking so, Bircher secretly whispered to me.

“Madam, butler is just being all pretentious. In fact, he told me to cut the Emperor’s head off if madam didn’t return safely.”

“……”

That was undoubtedly treason.

If that had happened, the mansion would have burned down and the capital would have gone into chaos.

I was glad that I had returned safely.

Now that all the work in the capital has finished, the only thing left was to return to the Valfruga Duchy.

Before that, there was something I had to confirm, as I might have to confront the Emperor in case of an unforeseen event. 

After washing up, I looked at the delayed report while I was away.

In particular, I looked carefully at the part regarding income.

Recently, I spent quite a lot of money to fund the territory war and build a school.

I had to earn more money and train more soldiers since I might face the Emperor someday.

“The duchy’s profits are mostly dependent on the hair loss medicine.”

“I suppose so.”

Treon nodded and agreed to my words.

“Even so, most of them are based in the North or the Capital.”

“This is because it takes quite a while to deliver to the South.”

“Hmm. First, let’s aim to sell it to other regions, and about the skins of monsters and animals from the territory, is it something we can’t sell?”

“We can sell it, but…merchants are unwilling to buy them.”

“Why?”

“Majority is because the territory is far away, it is difficult to make a lot of profit by selling things such as animal skins.”

“Ultimately, transportation is the problem.”

I stared at the continent map and pondered.

Surrounded by rugged mountains, the Duchy of Valfrugga was great for defence, but it was not a good place for trading. 

“Then, how about using boats?”

I pointed to the Greene River.

The Greene River was a huge river that started in the Northern state of the empire, passing through the centre, and went all the way to the South.

If we used this river, we would be able to move much faster compared to a carriage.

We could also carry a lot of stuff.

However, Treon asked with a puzzled face.

“How would we travel in the Greene River?”

“Huh? Don’t we have a ship?”

In the original story, the male and female leads were clearly stated that they travelled on a boat.

“Madam, the current of the Greene River is very strong and rough, so we can’t travel by boat.”

After hearing Treon’s words, I realised.

‘It’s not possible yet because the current present was earlier than the original story.’

Then, we would have to figure this matter out.