The Villainous Aristocrat's Efforts Led to a Genuine Harem - Episode 9

Episode 9

(Reem’s Perspective)

I am Reem Strite.

I am engaged to Lord Reis Validor, the third son of the Validor family.

There were various reasons that led me to become engaged to Lord Reis.

The Strite family was entrusted with managing a small village called Strite. It was located within the Validor territory… but recently, my domain had been suffering from repeated crop failures.

The cause was due to weather and monster influences. But even so, the amount of tax to be paid to the Validor family did not decrease. When the village fell into a critical situation, the Validor family proposed something.

It was this: If I were given as Lord Reis’ fiancée, “you will receive preferential treatment in various aspects.”

This included taxes, and also promised a noble standing. My father struggled greatly with the decision.

…Because the Validor family didn’t have a good reputation. So my father was against it. But I couldn’t bear to see him or the villagers suffer any longer. And I accepted the engagement.

I loved the village of Strite.

I was always soothed by the calm, distinct scent of the village.

So if I could save the village with just my body, I was willing to give as much as needed.

My father hesitated until the end. But it seemed he understood my resolve. And safely, I became Lord Reis’ fiancée.

After becoming engaged to Lord Reis, my village gained some leeway. Now we were no longer suffering due to taxes.

My father was pleased. And I was also happy about the situation.

…However, soon I was hit with great stress.

That was Lord Reis.

I thought I had prepared myself. But Lord Reis turned out to be a far more terrible person than I imagined.

‘You’re only worth anything because of your body.’

‘Hate me, despise me. I like seeing you in pain.’

He treated me like an object. And I definitely accumulated stress because of that.

More than anything, what stressed me the most was the fact that I couldn’t talk to anyone about it.

My father had told me, “If anything unpleasant happens with the Validor family, talk to me anytime.” But… I could imagine that if the engagement were broken, the burden on the village would become even greater than before.

So no matter what happened to me, whenever I returned to the village, I always made sure to smile.

‘A woman like you, with no real status, doesn’t interest me.’

‘I will one day find a woman far more wonderful than you.’

‘You really are a boring woman.’

Hearing Lord Reis deny everything about me like that, my heart was being torn apart.

As usual, I visited the Validor family mansion. Which I did once a month. Lord Reis’ family had gone to the capital to attend a party and would be away for several days.

…Knowing that, I scheduled my visit for this time. Because I knew that if I met his family, I’d just be mocked again.

To reduce even a little of my burden, I chose those few days and came to the mansion… only to be surprised by Lord Reis’ atmosphere.

When I greeted him at the mansion, he didn’t give me the usual vulgar smile. He instead gave me a gentle smile. It was as if a tumor had been removed.

And more surprisingly, instead of being dragged to some room to do whatever he pleased, as was usual, we went straight to the training grounds for combat training.

…My family originally rose through military merit. So I had occasionally received training. Watching it was very enjoyable.

Yes, it was enjoyable.

After coming to the Validor family, that was probably the first time I had felt that way since we got engaged.

…Back then, even though I had heard bad rumors about the Validor family, I still had dreams about being a fiancée. I had imagined it would be like a princess from a story.

“What kind of person will my fiancé be?”, “Will he really fall in love with me?”—those kinds of things.

Looking back now, it’s embarrassing how I was so excited thinking about such things.

Those dreams were shattered just minutes after our first meeting.

…The combat training continued for quite a long time. Though we took lunch and other breaks, we basically spent the entire day training.

“Well, that’s about it. You must have been bored just watching.”

“N-no, not at all.”

I wasn’t bored. I had been taught swordsmanship by my father. So I even felt like joining in on the training… at the very least, it was far more meaningful than the usual sexual harassment.

A soft scent from Lord Reis reached me. Was it the mix of his sweat and the soap he usually used? For some reason, the smell wasn’t unpleasant.

“W-what is it?”

“…Ah, um… I’m sorry.”

Wanting to smell that scent, I had gotten a little too close. And I quickly stepped back in a panic.

“…?”

Lord Reis tilted his head in confusion. He then wiped his sweat with a towel.

Did I just… feel it was a nice smell? Maybe it was just my imagination?

After staying at the mansion for a few more days, I continued to observe Lord Reis’ training.

…In the end, Lord Reis never once laid a hand on me.

At the same time, I kept thinking… the scent I sensed from Lord Reis was changing.

I had always been sensitive to smells. For example, I could detect the scent of sweat from someone who was lying—that was the extent of my sensitivity.

That’s why I quickly noticed the change in the type of scent I felt from Lord Reis.

The scent of his sweat after training didn’t feel distorted at all. …Before, the scent that came along with his vulgar smile had been the worst to me. But now I couldn’t sense that at all.

Because of that, I thought I needed to investigate further.

So, while watching the final day of training before I returned to the village, I called out to Lord Reis.

“Lord Reis. May I have a moment of your time?”

“What is it?”

He was wiping his sweat with a towel after training when I spoke to him.

“May I have that towel?”

“…Huh? W-why?”

“…There’s something I want to check.”

“…Something you want to check? And you need the towel for that?”

“Yes.”

“Then there should be a washed towel somewhere. You can take that—”

“No. It has to be that towel you just used.”

I leaned in a bit. I knew it might be a bit rude. But I stared directly into Lord Reis’ face.

Lord Reis looked surprised, then confused. He finally nodded.

“I-is that so…? Well, it’s not like it costs me anything… but make sure to wash it when you get to your village, okay?”

“Thank you.”

Lord Reis quietly handed me the towel. I took it firmly… and returned to the village.

Using a teleportation stone, I returned to Strite Village, took a deep breath, and enjoyed the village’s scent.

As I thought, the scent of this village is calming. Thinking that, I waited until there was no one around. I then took out the towel I had received from Lord Reis.

I brought it to my nose and smelled it. My eyes opened wide without thinking.

“…As I thought—”

Smelling Lord Reis’ sweat, I furrowed my brow.

…The scent of Lord Reis was no longer unpleasant.

I had always been sensitive to smells. I had a secret talent of being able to judge someone’s state based on their scent.

It was clearly different from before.

Or maybe… does Lord Reis’ bodily fluid change when he sweats…?

…No, more than that… I felt like something fundamental had changed.

While pressing the towel soaked with Lord Reis’ sweat to my nose, I walked toward my home.

When I arrived at the largest building in the village, my father looked puzzled and tilted his head.

“…W-what’s wrong, Reem?”

Because I still had the towel pressed to my nose, he tilted his head.

I showed the towel from Lord Reis to my father.

“Dad. What do you think of this towel’s smell?”

“Hm? …Ugh, it stinks of sweat!? What is this!? …It’s not your scent, is it? If it were your scent, I wouldn’t dislike it… What is that?”

“…It’s nothing.”

My body constitution is inherited from my father. He said that he chose to marry my late mother based on her scent.

I might need to think more deeply about this change in smell.

While pressing the towel to my nose again, I thought seriously.