After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 93

Chapter 93: Sieg’s Insight

In the end, I couldn’t refuse the position of Lord of Baden.

As Beatrice said, even if I were to decline titles like Earl or Lord, it’s certain that I would be roped into helping the royal family, who loves to delegate responsibilities. So, I resigned myself to it – perhaps because of my past life as a corporate warrior, or rather, a corporate slave. If I were to take the lead, I don’t think it would be as extreme as those “work 200 hours a month” drink commercials from my former world.

And there’s a serious reason too. It’s about the twenty thousand war prisoners we obtained from the Empire. It was my idea to use prisoners as slaves for the development of Baden, and I was involved in the negotiations. I feel somewhat responsible for whether they receive proper treatment or not. As a lord, I thought I could pay attention to things like work, living conditions, and meals.

So, feeling like I had dealt with the troublesome matters, I decided to negotiate various terms with Queen Elizabeth, who was smiling as if everything was settled. The terms included the country providing sustenance for the slaves for a year, exempting taxes for the next three years, and sending as many wizards belonging to the military and the Ministry of Magic as possible. I was quite greedy, but the Queen readily agreed. Upon reflection, it’s not surprising since tax revenues from the mostly monster-infested Baden territory haven’t been significant anyway.

Thus, my plan of working diligently for once, thinking I could relax afterward, completely fell apart. Starting the next day, I was packed with practical meetings with officials from various ministries, spending the whole day engaged in heated discussions. It felt like I had returned to my days of corporate employment in the former world.

Returning to the earl’s mansion exhausted, I was greeted by Sieg, who seemed to have nothing to do today except for seed planting, along with a bottle of wine. I think it was my mother’s secret ice wine, but well, it doesn’t matter.

“You look tired, Your Excellency.”

“Stop teasing me, Sieg. You know very well that I didn’t want any of this.”

“Yeah, I know. But now that you’ve messed things up this much, there’s no turning back. You’ll just have to resign yourself to leading us as the top nobleman of the kingdom.”

With a mischievous smile, Sieg left me with a sour expression as my only response. But it was just right; I did have something I wanted to discuss with Sieg.

“Reveal my true identity? Well, I knew that day would come eventually.”

“Yeah, I thought it was time to stop hiding.”

After explaining my interaction with Gretel, Sieg sighed.

“Hmm. I thought Gretel, at least, would be clueless, but being found out through physical contact was unexpected. I should have been more careful, but I never imagined that Lutz had the talent to transfer magic.”

“You say ‘at least,’ but what about the other two?”

“Her Highness Beatrice might already suspect it without saying anything. As for Ayaka, I’m not sure, but since the Dark Clan is likely investigating Lutz’s background… it’s better to assume she knows about the strange behavior since the fall from the horse.”

“I see…”

“But these two didn’t have a deep connection with the old Lutz. They like the current you. If you honestly apologize for hiding such an important thing, they’re likely to forgive you.”

“Yeah, I thought so too. Beatrice’s attitude is like that of a daughter who complains to her father but still depends on him, and Ayaka has always treated me like an older husband figure. Concealing important matters may be criticized, but they’re likely to accept it.”

“The problem is Gretel. She loved the ‘childhood friend Lutz.'”

Ah, right. Of course, she says she likes the “current Lutz” too. But if I were to tell her that I had expelled the old Lutz and taken over this body, she would undoubtedly be shocked… Her gaze at me would change at that moment.

As I sighed deeply, Sieg’s next words surprised me.

“Hey, Lutz. It seems like you’re only concerned about your three fiancées, but there’s one more person you really need to understand, you know?”

“Huh? You mean… Mother?”

“Well, Mother would probably be saddened if she knew about it. But in my opinion, it’s better to keep quiet about it for the rest of your life. Mother has such a carefree and simple personality that she probably wouldn’t notice… Even if she felt something was off, she’s the type to keep quiet about it.”

Hey, that’s quite a statement about your own mother. Well, certainly, there’s no need to forcibly make Mother, who loves me unconditionally as Lutz-kun, sad. So, who is the person that Sieg referred to as “someone you really need to understand”?