I Inherited a Beautiful Wife and a Territory - Chapter 83

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Inheriting a Beautiful Wife and Estate Episode 083

83. Alcohol and Accidents

Alcohol.

Cliff honestly had a negative perception of it. There were too many sayings about how people become like dogs when they drink.

Alcohol impairs reason and makes it difficult to even control one’s body.

And it even harms health.

But in an awkward and tense atmosphere like now, there was no magic quite like alcohol.

‘The problem is rather the fights and accidents that happen because of alcohol…’

There was some reassurance in this regard too.

-Public Order Maintenance (Lv. 1): Reduces the probability of outsiders causing accidents in the domain

‘Surely the skill effect doesn’t exclude domain residents, right?’

Still, he wasn’t too worried.

It was originally just a village of a few hundred households. It was right to think the probability of accidents happening out of sight was low.

When he prepared alcohol like this, everyone reacted as if it was unfamiliar.

“I never thought the day would come when we’d drink alcohol in this domain.”

Even Nigel said this.

Alcohol was unfamiliar.

People who were always short on food couldn’t possibly brew alcohol. So Nigel became immersed in sentiment as if this alone brought new feelings.

And the Dark Elves.

‘Surprisingly, these people are good at brewing alcohol?’

The Dark Elves knew how to brew alcohol.

Without them, there would have been problems from the start.

“Beer has been rare in the forest lately, but before coming here, making beer wasn’t uncommon. There are kinsmen who remember those times.”

Incidentally, the Dark Elves had better food conditions than Elimis Domain.

Even now, they said they drink fruit wine to some extent. He wanted to try that fruit wine later too.

Considering the Dark Elves’ lifespan, wouldn’t there be fruit wines aged for decades or even centuries mixed in?

‘Well, I don’t really know the taste of alcohol myself.’

He didn’t drink much in his previous life either.

And needless to say in this life. At the Duke’s mansion, he was too busy being mindful as a bastard, and after coming here, alcohol was too much of a luxury.

Of course, there was wine for himself as the lord, but it certainly wasn’t enough to drink casually.

On this snowy day.

Cliff raised his wine cup.

“Everyone worked hard this year. May God’s blessing be with this domain and us next year too!”

Let’s drink!

And so they drank.

It was quite different from the first festival. Back then, everything was lacking with winter approaching.

‘But not anymore.’

First, the clothes everyone was wearing.

The supply of fur clothing had increased. This was all due to the rapidly increasing rabbit population.

They made and wore clothes from rabbit fur.

Those with a bit more means wore clothes made from goose down.

The same went for meat.

‘It’s still rabbit meat that we always eat, but…’

At least there was more meat than before.

Plus alcohol.

“Ahh.”

Cliff smiled as he downed the cool beer.

“Good! Everyone drink without being mindful today! Just don’t cause any accidents!”

“Yes!”

“Long live our lord!”

“Long live the Elimis Family!”

A land blessed by God.

Everyone chattered with such words. The domain residents who had already experienced festivals twice quickly adapted to this.

Those who felt awkward were the newly mixed serfs.

‘Is this okay?’

‘Can we drink together here?’

They found not just Cliff but even the domain residents difficult.

Unlike the free people, the serfs’ status was that of slaves. In terms of status, they were even lower than commoner free people.

Originally, sharing a table was unthinkable.

They had no choice but to be mindful. Meanwhile, Cliff squeezed in among such people.

“…How is it living in our domain?”

Cliff approached several of them.

People who were originally shrouded in dark light.

“M-My lord…! It’s g-good!”

“Oh my, I made you too nervous. Have a drink.”

He personally poured alcohol and offered drinks, telling them to let their guard down.

“Gulp.”

The face of the person receiving it showed even more severe tension. This was inevitable since beyond the simple status gap, this person had infiltrated this domain with impure intentions.

He was nervous.

But even so, those who were trained were different.

“To receive alcohol from my lord… This is an honor I’ll never forget until the day I die.”

Even while drinking, something interesting could be seen from those few.

It seemed as if they regarded this moment as an opportunity.

‘Impressive.’

Cliff also admired their passion.

“How is it living in the domain?”

Cliff was the first to ask.

“Everything is good. I’m just grateful that you’ve shared fur and firewood even with lowly ones like me.”

“Our domain residents can’t freeze to death in winter. And all of that is fair compensation for the labor you and your wife worked.”

Flinch.

“…You give compensation for serfs’ labor? Ah… I’m s-sorry!”

It was an era when even a servant asking their master questions wasn’t easy.

Moreover, that master was a lord as high as the heavens. Even questions could be considered rude.

“Of course. And you have nothing to be sorry to me about. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

Would they consider him a pushover for saying this, would they criticize him as stupid?

Cliff smiled as he looked at his counterpart.

“Th-then… may I ask just one thing?”

“Of course.”

“Is it really okay to take care of even people like me in this way?”

“Are you worried about the domain’s finances right now?”

“Th-that is…”

Cliff asked back instead.

And smiled.

“That’s quite admirable? Usually serfs don’t think about such things.”

At Cliff’s grinning words, the other person’s pupils shook.

As Cliff said, there was no way a serf would worry about domain finances.

“But it’s fine. I saw during the day that you have children?”

“Gasp! Y-you saw that?”

A counter-question came from the overly surprised person.

Just over a hundred serf households.

In addition to that, there were hundreds of households of existing domain residents.

The fact that Cliff had noticed he had a family and children among them was surprising.

‘Normally, a noble wouldn’t have cared enough to notice…’

Cliff opened his mouth.

“Of course. If you have children, you’d understand. There’s nothing too precious when it comes to feeding my kids.”

“Huh?”

“I’m saying all the people here are my kids. And if they were really your own children, wouldn’t you notice them all no matter how many there were?”

After asking back, Cliff’s eyes gleamed.

Of course, he hadn’t really examined everyone individually. However, there were always those who stood out.

‘For example, those who emanated a darker aura than others.’

He had kept an eye on them because of the Quest.

And now the opponent’s dark aura was wavering. It hadn’t been swayed yet, but the black aura was shaking precariously.

Seeing that wavering of the heart, Cliff held back his words.

‘There’s no need to immediately tell them I know their identity, right?’

He went around meeting about ten or so people in this manner.

Striking up conversations and talking with them.

Most were unremarkable conversations. But that alone was enough. Just a few words of conversation seemed to create familiarity, as many showed wavering dark auras.

‘It’s probably not just because I talked to them.’

They would feel it too from the beginning.

The festival itself was enjoyable.

Pour it!

Drink up!

Haha!

Hoho!

Perhaps there was no need for him to step forward. It was just a natural gathering where people of similar ages and genders grouped together to drink.

The conversations they had among themselves.

The words that came out of those exchanges.

For those who originally emanated dark auras, this place was the optimal environment.

“Do you normally… hold festivals like this in winter?”

“Hehe. In the past… I mean, before our current lord came, we couldn’t even dream of this kind of atmosphere.”

“That’s right. Come to think of it, I remember the day we had our first festival. When he suddenly announced a festival, we were so flustered…”

Everyone shared grim stories of the past.

And the changed atmosphere of the domain.

There were also unbelievable stories mixed in.

“Snow bears come to life during festivals?”

What kind of nonsense story was that.

Even when the man exclaimed in disbelief, the domain residents’ voices were firm.

“It’s really true!”

“Hehe. Well, we wouldn’t have believed it either if we hadn’t seen it ourselves.”

“Right. A bear made from snow that Lucas shaped came to life… That’s when we knew. Ah, our lord is someone sent by God.”

A place full of hard-to-believe stories.

That was the Elimis Domain.

The children were similar.

“Santa comes to children who do good deeds…”

“I got this as a gift this time!”

As winter came, Santa had passed through the Elimis Domain.

Such conversations couldn’t happen anywhere else on the Yusta Peninsula.

‘Really… does the lord receive God’s love or something?’

This was the thought that crossed the minds of those who had come as spies.

Because of this, the auras of several who had been glancing at the lord changed.

-Condition: Convert 6 or more spies (1/6)

‘One has come over.’

Just one person.

Out of 11 people, one person’s color had changed.

It was very few. But watching this, Cliff’s lips curved upward.

He had gained 1 person in just one day.

‘Should I aim for 3 people tomorrow?’

There were about that many who were greatly wavering now. And after that, they would waver even more greatly.

There wasn’t much left until Quest completion.

“Phew.”

He exhaled the intoxication that rose with his breath.

Then Cliff muttered.

“This is nice.”

Already the third festival.

Now people seemed to know how to enjoy it properly.

Looking around, Cliff let out a small chuckle.

‘It wasn’t like this atmosphere at first…’

He recalled the day he first declared a festival.

That chilly atmosphere.

He remembered those expressions of people who didn’t know how to respond, or were flustered.

But now it had become natural to hold festivals whenever winter came.

“It’s gotten better, really.”

He looked at this with sentimental eyes.

Then Cliff flinched.

‘I’m drunk too, I’m drunk.’

It seemed he shouldn’t stay here any longer.

Cliff stood up.

“My lord!”

He thought he was walking straight, but apparently not.

After just a few steps, someone approached, perhaps worried. From the person supporting him, he felt a fragrant scent and soft touch.

‘…Priscilla?’

When he arrived at the bed after being supported without thinking, he saw a woman’s silhouette in the dark room.

This was the bedroom.

“…my room?”

“Yes, it’s your bedroom, my lord. Then please rest comfortably… Kyaaah! M-my lord?”

After hearing confirmation that he had reached his room, he felt relieved.

Actually, until just a moment ago, he had been quite tense.

Meeting with spies and having conversations over drinks. Since he couldn’t be the only one not drinking, he had gulped down quite a bit himself.

He had drunk enthusiastically thinking it wasn’t high-proof alcohol anyway, but the drinks consumed while meeting with about ten people seemed unfamiliar to this body.

Still, he had endured it.

‘I don’t need to do that here, right?’

Hearing it was the bedroom, he felt relieved.

The intoxication he had been suppressing rushed up all at once.

His own bedroom.

And before his eyes, a woman’s silhouette clear even in the dark room.

‘My wife seems to be reacting a bit differently today…’

Drunk people always caused trouble.

And this time, the trouble was probably caused by himself.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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