I Only Want to Be a Baroness

I Only Want to Be a Baroness

The layout of White Bear Territory Castle was not much different from that of other baronial territories along the Northern Border.

A three-meter-high fence of sharpened Wooden Stakes formed the walls, with rammed-earth watchtowers at all four corners. Protected within stood a two-story stone building with a red roof.

Calling it a castle was rather generous. It merely had the rough shape of one, worlds apart from a true brick-and-stone castle that was easy to defend and hard to attack.

Brick-and-stone castles were the crystallization of craftsmanship.

Given the Northern Border's current backward level of handicrafts and economic conditions, only the King, dukes, and a few wealthy counts could afford to build them.

In White Bear Territory, this earthen-mound-and-palisade castle was more than sufficient. It could easily intimidate the serfs of the territory and defend against attacks by the Wild People from the north.

Some impoverished barons could not even afford a castle of this standard and could only live in wooden houses.

As night fell, candlelight flickered to life, draping the somewhat crude White Bear Territory Castle in a veil of mystery. It resembled a savage beast lurking in the darkness.

Lynn sat astride his horse, narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the castle sprawled along the western bank of the White River. He suddenly thought of the former Lord who had died in a hunting accident.

After all, that man had been the previous owner of this castle.

And Lynn was about to become its new owner.

"Albert, how old was the former Lord when he died?"

"He should have been twenty-three. No, probably twenty-two." Albert remained close at Lynn's side.

People these days truly paid little attention to age or lifespan.

The average life expectancy was barely over thirty. Those who lived to forty were few, and those who made it past fifty were rarer still.

Albert had only turned forty last year, yet he already felt his body declining by the day. He only hoped to live out the rest of his life in White Bear Territory.

"Was the body found?" Lynn tugged the reins, slowing his mount as the castle came into view.

"Well... no." Albert hesitated.

"Did he really die in a hunting accident?"

"One could only say that was highly likely."

"Highly likely? The Territory Steward cannot confirm how his former Lord died?" Lynn was slightly angered.

It was not that he particularly cared how the former Lord had died.

There were simply too many ways for a Lord to die along the Northern Border.

Some were bitten to death by Magic Beasts, some stabbed by Horse Bandits, some plotted against by neighboring Lords, some hacked to death by natives, some killed in rebellions by local residents, and some strangled by their wives or Maids.

There had even been quite a few Lords who drowned in manure pits after getting drunk.

As a result, Lords frequently died without heirs.

The drunks in taverns loved nothing more than discussing the unfortunate ways those unlucky Lords had died.

What Lynn cared about was that Albert, the Territory Steward, had neglected his duties.

They told outsiders it had been a hunting accident, yet when questioned, he hemmed and hawed.

"My Lord, I believe someone is better suited than I am to answer these questions."

"Who?"

"The former Lord's wife."

"His wife? She is still in the territory?"

In the castle's sitting room, Lynn met the former Lord's wife.

Yagna. A very common Northern Border woman's name.

She had an oval face, large eyes, long golden hair, fair skin, and delicate features. She wore a soft white dress, and her full, prominent chest formed an almost perfect curve as she bent her knees in greeting.

She was the very image of a Northern Border beauty, though rather young. Rumor had it that she had only just turned seventeen.

Of course, that was nothing unusual. Men and women both matured early these days. A seventeen-year-old Female Serf was likely already the mother of two children.

In this era, where nobles and common farmers were practically reproductively isolated, Yagna's background as the former Baroness was naturally far from simple.

She was the daughter of the Baron of Shallow Beach Territory and had married into White Bear Territory early last year.

Shallow Beach Territory lay south of White Bear Territory, separated by a low mountain.

And a vast, dense forest. The two territories were considered neighbors.

After eating an unremarkable dinner, Lynn spoke with Yagna and Territory Steward Albert for a while before asking directly, "So why are you still in White Bear Territory?"

"My father died last summer. My five-year-old half-brother inherited the territory, while my stepmother holds actual control over it."

Yagna had said only half of it, but it was enough for Lynn to imagine a classic medieval noble family drama.

The old Baron's first wife had died of illness, leaving behind only a beautiful and charming daughter. The territory lacked a legitimate heir.

Yet he did not want his son-in-law to inherit the territory. To preserve the family name, he married a young new wife and was fortunate enough to gain a healthy male heir.

But fate was unkind. Before his son could grow up, the old Baron suddenly fell gravely ill.

Before passing away, he did his utmost to arrange a suitable marriage for his daughter and left the territory to his young heir with his dying breath.

By custom, a minor male heir could not govern the territory, so his mother would manage it on his behalf.

The daughter and stepmother did not get along, but fortunately, she married another Baron and became a respected Baroness, beginning a new life.

Yet less than half a year after the wedding, her husband died under mysterious circumstances.

The Baroness was not carrying a posthumous child, so the territory changed hands directly, and her status fell with it.

Now, she was neither a Baroness nor truly the daughter of a Baron.

Coupled with her strained relationship with her stepmother, she could not return to her original home and could only awkwardly stay temporarily in her former husband's territory.

Yagna took a small sip of warm apple mead, interlacing her fingers as she spoke in a somewhat pitiful, aggrieved tone:

"Just as you have imagined, I have nowhere to go now. Fortunately, Mr. Albert understood my difficulties and allowed me to shamelessly remain in White Bear Territory for the time being. Otherwise, my stepmother might have driven me from home, and I would have frozen to death on the Northern Border's icy plains."

Albert sat beside her with an awkward smile plastered across his face.

No matter what, Yagna had been the former Lord's lawfully wedded wife. Before the new Lord arrived, no one had any reason to drive her from the castle.

Only the new Lord could decide such a matter.

"So how exactly did your former husband die? Albert said you could give me a reasonable explanation." Lynn returned to his original question.

"We truly do not know how he died. It should have been on the last day of September last year. He took a retainer into the western forest, saying they were going hunting, but he vanished into the forest and never returned.

"Four or five teams were sent in to investigate. Not only did they find nothing, but another six people disappeared. At night, the people living in the western part of the territory could hear terrifying roars from Magic Beasts in the forest. No one dared enter the western forest after that, so we could only say that he died in a hunting accident."

Yagna did not show much grief when speaking of her former husband's death.

She had never met him before their marriage, and their marriage had lasted less than half a year. It was difficult to say they had shared much affection.

"Then he was most likely eaten by a Magic Beast, or perhaps he died at the hands of Wild People hunting in the forest. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that his retainer murdered him." Lynn had personally dealt with more than a dozen barons, so such things no longer surprised him.

Yagna suddenly said timidly, "There is... there is one more thing I believe you need to know." "Speak."

"My former husband... he did not like women. He only liked men. The retainer he took with him should have been his... Lover. It is unlikely that he would have harmed him."

Perhaps because the mead was rather strong, Yagna lowered her head, and a blush appeared on her fair cheeks.

She was still a young girl, after all. Some things were embarrassing to say.

"I understand."

Lynn could hear the meaning behind Yagna's words.

Nobles these days did not merely have diverse ways of dying. They also had diverse tastes.

Enjoying men was hardly a rare preference. Some nobles even liked goats or Magic Beasts.

Lynn had seen it himself.

It was said that the First King of the North, nicknamed the "Conquering King," enjoyed both men and women. He had not only kept more than twenty mistresses in his court but also raised over a dozen male favorites.

There were even rumors in taverns that the First Marsh Duke had been one of the Conquering King's male favorites and had obtained his ducal title by selling his body.

In any case, the First Marsh Duke had never concealed his past as a tanner.

For a lowly tanner to rise in one leap to become a duke, there were clearly certain unknown secrets involved. That gave fictional historians plenty of room to work their magic.

"What do you plan to do next?"

With that, Lynn lifted his cup and took a small sip of White Bear Territory's apple mead.

It was all right, no different from anywhere else along the Northern Border.

This drink was brewed from apples and honey. Sweet with a hint of tartness, it had a higher alcohol content than ordinary ale and was the most popular beverage among Northern Border nobles, without question.

Wine was an expensive rarity in the Northern Border. The climate was unsuitable for growing grapes, so it all had to be imported.

Before Yagna could speak, Albert rose first. "My Lord, please allow me to take my leave. I am getting old, and my body truly cannot endure any longer."

In truth, Albert's house stood right beside the castle and was fairly imposing. It would only take a few minutes to walk there.

If war broke out in the territory, he could retreat into the castle as quickly as possible.

With Old Albert's departure, only a young man and woman remained in the already small sitting room.

The candlelight was dim, the scent of alcohol lingered in the air, and the atmosphere somehow became ambiguous.

Lynn felt no discomfort over it. After being a Horse Bandit chief for several years, what had he not seen?

Horse Bandits only ever sang one song: the song of killing and fucking.

Yagna, on the other hand, was rather thin-skinned. On top of that, she was indeed an inexperienced young girl, and her face grew redder with every passing moment.

Still, her nature carried some of the Northern Border's cold-wind boldness.

After gathering enough resolve, she raised her head and looked straight at Lynn, saying seriously:

"I heard that you are not yet married. If you do not mind, I hope to continue living in White Bear Territory. You know that only White Bear Territory and Shallow Beach Territory lie upstream of the White River. I truly have nowhere else to go, and nothing ever happened between my former husband and me. He truly only liked men."

"Yes, I understand. You just want to keep being a Baroness, don't you?"

Putting himself in her place, Lynn could understand the young girl's thoughts.

She did not get along with her stepmother, so returning to Shallow Beach Territory would certainly lead to no good outcome.

Moreover, she had already been married once. If she could become a knight's wife in her next marriage, she would be incredibly lucky.

How could that compare to being a Baroness?

In White Bear Territory, she could live in a safe castle and enjoy the respect of the local residents and the service of servants.

But Lynn had still underestimated this seventeen-year-old girl. She wanted to be far more than a Baroness.

Yagna suddenly rose to her feet, placing her right hand over her ample chest. Having mustered all her courage, the words she had brewed for so long erupted like a volcano:

"My Lord, my current status may indeed be unworthy of you, but please believe me, I can be of great use to you! You were born into the noble Cold Wind Family and once had the chance to inherit a vast count's territory, yet now you have received only this remote, barren, and tiny White Bear Territory.

"If you wish to expand your territory outward, Shallow Beach Territory is your best and easiest prey. My young brother and jealous stepmother are certainly no match for you.

"If I can give birth to a boy, then after you eliminate them, you can rule Shallow Beach Territory in my child's name. So long as you pay your taxes on time and provide the required number of knights, the Duke will have no reason to interfere.

"Then you will possess two baronial territories. If you manage them diligently, you may one day gain lands greater and wealthier than Cold Wind Valley. From what I have seen at the Duke's court, the Northern Kingdom will not remain peaceful for much longer. In the future—"

Before the young girl's impassioned speech could finish erupting, Lynn quickly raised a hand to stop her. "Stop, stop, stop. Stop right there."

The courage Yagna had worked so hard to gather immediately shrank back, and she wilted along with it. "My Lord, did I say something wrong?"

"This is not a matter of whether you were right or wrong." Lynn rubbed his forehead, feeling that the past few days had been utterly surreal.

First, he received news from the black market, robbed a weak Baron, and obtained a Lord's letter of appointment.

Then, after impersonating the Baron and taking office, he encountered the former Baroness, who had stubbornly remained in the territory.

Though this former Baroness was young, her experiences and thoughts were remarkably complicated.

Not only had she spent time at the Marsh Duke's court, but she was also full of grand plans, as though she were a female strategist analyzing the world's situation and preparing to enter the game herself.

Lynn truly was unwilling to spend his life as a Baron eating and waiting to die, and his ambitions truly were great.

But he did not need a hot-blooded seventeen-year-old girl to tell him how to do things.

"We have never met before, have we?"

Lynn even suspected that this girl might have seen his true face before. Otherwise, why would she come at him so aggressively the moment they met?

"Today is the first time."

"Then how dare you? You do not even know what kind of person I am or what my temperament is, yet you dare say these things to me? You even suggested that I seize your family's territory? If the Duke heard what you just said, it would be enough to hang you three times over. Do you understand? Three times!"

"...I understand."

"Then why? Just because my surname is Cold Wind?" At that moment, Lynn imagined that if the real Baron had come to White Bear Territory, he might truly have been led astray by this girl.

That fellow might have been timid as a mouse when faced with blades, but he was a genuine rat who dared plot to seize his own brother's inheritance.

Fierce in appearance but cowardly at heart, fond of schemes but incapable of decisive action. That was probably exactly the sort of person he was.

And the only ending awaiting them would have been separation of head and body.

Words and schemes alone could not accomplish anything.

Seeing that Lynn's attitude was relatively mild, Yagna immediately felt there was hope, and some of her courage returned. "That is only one reason. The moment I saw you, I knew you were certainly no ordinary Lord."

"What, can you read faces?"

"No, but I heard that as soon as you arrived in the territory, you personally visited serf households to investigate."