Stranger's Handbook

My mother-in-law was obviously angry.

She’s extremely scary.

“La...Lamia, calm down....Look, Zest is trembling.”

Master, you are the one who’s trembling.

She looked at me as if she wanted to confirm.

I panicked and turned my head to the side.

Master, don’t glare at me like that.

Mother-in-law is scarier than you. You’d better give up.

“Don’t blame it on Zest. Give me a proper explanation, Sonia.”

That...that look in her eyes, like she was watching a pile of garbage, was just like the young lady’s.

As mother as daughter....

“Li....listen to me. I never said that he can’t marry Bea.”

My mother-in-law slowly took her hands away from my master’s neck.

We can marry.....but I can’t be her husband?

I see.

That is indeed the best way to.....Is it?

Mother-in-law seemed to have understood it too.

“I see.....A new household must be created.”

“I fear his Majesty is thinking the same.”

Yes, most likely this is what will happen......

However......

“However, in that case, what will happen to Bea? That’s child’s feelings.....”

Will the young lady approve of this? This will be a problem.

My mother-in-law looked downward, so I couldn’t see her expression.

My master was wearing a bitter smile.

“Zest, you understand what I’m trying to say, right? What will you do?”

Master.....You switched to me when you got to the difficult part......

What to do?.....What is the best course of action to conclude this on a happier note?

I can’t put my thoughts together.....

“Master, I can’t put my thoughts in order, no matter how I try. I first want to confirm that we’re all thinking about the same things.”

I declared.

Are our ways of thinking the same? Did we reach the same conclusion? I want to confirm these things.

“His Majesty thinks about making me independent and creating a new noble household.....Then, the young lady marries into this new household and detaches herself from the Frontier Count’s Household.”

They both nodded; we seemed agree up until this point.

“The problem is whether to give me a domain or not, whether to give me an official court rank or not.....Still, the biggest problem is...”

I looked at both of them.

Yes, this should be the biggest problem after all.

“ “The spirit’s influence is too great. Neglecting it is too dangerous.” “

As I thought......

All three of us let out a long sigh.

From the Emperor’s perspective, this is a terrible situation.

There’s a hero who successfully achieved spiritification...

And this hero might take advantage of his spirit and defeat the Emperor.

He would feel too affected by such an event.

On the other hand, if he tries to bring me into the Imperial Family through a royal marriage, he would start a fight with the Frontier Count’s Household.

Moreover, I could use the spirit as my shield and try to manipulate the empire; this would destroy the country.

The spirit can mean their salvation, but it can also mean their downfall......

At this point, there is only one solution for this problem.

“To legally marry Princess Tsubaki and receive the title of a duke, then take Bea as a concubine.....Am I correct?”

We all let out some really long sighs....

“Indeed.”

“I thought so too.”

“Right.”

Sigh........

We were all worried about the same thing.

What will Bea think about this?......For a noble, it shouldn’t be a problem.

But everyone seems to be soft on her......and she will certainly disagree....

For now, we decided to put a hold on our conversation.

It was pointless to continue the discussion anyway.

We must think about it more after we hear the young lady’s thoughts on this matter.

Bea should arrive tomorrow and we’ll hold another ‘meeting’.

I kind of felt heavy-hearted though.

I took another bath, then hid in my bed.

The spirit had such a cute sleeping face.

I can’t possibly feel resent towards her.

I’ll do what I can to get through this with a positive approach.

Still, I don’t want to die.....

I don’t want to die, but I also can’t say I don’t care about what happens to the young lady.

I might really have feelings for her.

That’s why I can’t even begin to hate the spirit, who looks exactly like Bea.

Am I too.... soft....?

While thinking about my feelings, I fell asleep.

“Are you finally waking up? You sure took your time. I got so tired of waiting that I almost collapsed.”

‘Good morning, Zest-sama. Your sleeping face was adorable. I’m so happy to see you after such a long time!’

The young lady was sitting on the side of my bed, waiting for me to wake up......

“Bea, I really missed you.”

I uttered and embraced her closely.

Bea didn’t resist at all; she silently sank deeper into my arms.......