At the gate, the guards seemed a little surprised, but it appeared they had already been informed of our arrival today, so we were allowed through smoothly. The carriage that came to pick us up arrived shortly after.

As the carriage rattled along the streets, I looked out the window to observe the city. This city, possibly because it faces the sea and has a port, has a different layout compared to the other cities I’ve seen so far.

It’s probably too late today, but tomorrow, it might be nice to take a look around the city from above.

Now then, setting that aside, we were on our way to the lord’s mansion. However, the location of this mansion was quite different from those in other cities.

Most cities have a noble district where the residences of the aristocracy are gathered in one place, and the lord or the magistrate would have their mansion there.

The reason for clustering them together is likely for security and administrative convenience.

Riana’s mansion, although situated on a hill, is still part of a noble district.

But here? It’s different.

Like Riana’s, the mansion is on a hill, but it is located on the outskirts of the city.

Not only is it far from the noble district, but it could also be considered isolated from the city itself.

Well… unlike other cities that need to be enclosed on all four sides, this city has the sea on one side, which makes it more expansive and increases the length of its walls. The mansion is still within the city walls, but now I’m curious about the philosophy behind the city’s design.

Hmm… I really have to explore this place tomorrow!

While I was making this decision, the carriage climbed the slope and arrived in front of the mansion.

Despite its unusual location, the building itself was a large Western-style mansion, something commonly seen in this world.

It had an L-shape, with large windows facing the sea—perhaps designed to offer a great view, especially in summer.

◇

After entering the mansion, we were first guided to the rooms where we would be staying.

As usual, I shared a room with Teresa.

Our luggage had already been delivered to the room, showing an impressive level of preparedness.

After arriving in our room, a servant served us tea, allowing us to take a breather. Shortly after, I was summoned to Elisha’s room.

The reason we came here today was as her guests.

Well, Teresa might have some discussions with Edgar-san and the others, but I personally have no obligations—I’m just here in a relaxed capacity.

If this were an official delegation from a domain, even a simple meeting would require extensive records and procedures.

It would probably be difficult to casually ride on the 【Floating Orb】 in such a case.

So, as a mere guest, I was enjoying a relaxed meeting… or so I thought.

In Elisha’s room were Edgar-san, the two maids carrying the Blessed Items, the couple’s exclusive servants, and… a baby sleeping in a crib.

Since the baby was in Elisha’s room… it must be her child, right?

I hadn’t heard anything about this, but Teresa had included a birth gift among the items we sent over, which she had just handed to Elisha.

“You figured it out so quickly. I haven’t even told Liesel yet…”

Elisha, who had received the gift, looked a little surprised, suggesting that she hadn’t made a public announcement.

“We received word from your family. Both your husband and your parents know, but they decided to wait before making an official announcement.”

Listening to their conversation, I started to piece things together.

The child was born around autumn of this year.

Even though this domain is in the southern region and relatively warm, traveling in winter is still challenging, just like in other places.

Although this city primarily relies on water transportation, inland areas also use land routes.

Moreover, winter provisions are necessary, and moving people unnecessarily could lead to excess consumption of supplies in towns and villages along the way.

One reason for delaying the announcement was consideration for the domain’s residents.

Another reason was security.

This city sees frequent visitors, not only from other domains but also from foreign countries. If they were to recklessly announce happy news like this, it might attract unwanted attention.

There’s no Seriana in this domain.

That divine blessing is extremely powerful, though difficult to master…

That said, it seems they didn’t intend to completely conceal the information.

While Elisha had refused audiences during her pregnancy, she had continued exchanging letters and hadn’t denied the news when asked.

As Teresa mentioned earlier, the Salion family chose to wait until they were ready to make the news public. However, those who were aware of the situation knew about it.

Now, how old is Elisha again…? She should be around 21 or 22, right?

Considering the time since she got married and the couple’s ages, it would actually be strange if they hadn’t had a child by now.

Hmm… the baby is asleep, so I can’t see their face well.

A little monkey.

Since they’re the child of those two, they’ll probably grow up to be quite good-looking, but…

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Garment】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・4 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・39 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards