CHAPTER 37
It's even bigger than our palace-like house.
That was my first impression upon arriving at the Gravius mansion.
It wasn't just the house; the estate I had glimpsed while riding the carriage here was also greater than ours.
As expected of the Duke's family, which one of the original male leads belonged to, the scale was massive, and the welcoming ceremony was grand.

"Gathering so many knights to come out and meet us, how impressive. I guess since they invited us, they're pretending to be very welcoming," I whispered quietly to Niobe, who had taken my hand and led me out of the carriage.
"...Is that so?" she replied, wearing a slightly bewildered expression.

Well, I'm a high noble, and they're high nobles too.
Even if there's bad blood, it's only right to put on a show of welcoming us with utmost sincerity on the outside.
If that's the case, I need to respond with proper etiquette.
I should find Duke Allois, who invited me, and greet her like a proper noble, thanking her for the welcome.

But I can't see Allois anywhere.
Even scanning the front, there was no woman who seemed to be her. Instead, a strange woman caught my eye.
What's with that Villainess?

Her defining features were her long blonde hair styled in drill-curls and her pale skin that looked meticulously cared for.
She looked to be in her twenties—beautiful, but her fierce eyes gave her a temperamental look.
Her outfit was a flashy red dress, adorned with an excessive amount of frills and accessories.
She was the very embodiment of the wealthy, powerful, and nasty female character commonly known as a "Villainess."
I had seen many women in this world, but this was my first time seeing this type, so I stared at her in fascination.

"...I have shown disrespect in front of a guest."
Feeling my gaze, the unknown woman picked up the fan she had dropped on the floor and bowed elegantly.
"Lord Ceres Whiperion, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am the master of the Gravius Dukedom, Allois Gravius."

Bullshit! She's completely different from the original!
Everyone's appearance had changed with the gender flip, but for the others, it was just a matter of 'this is what they'd look like as a woman.'
But the woman in front of me was on a whole different level!
In the original work, Duke Allois was a dignified, older gentleman like a seasoned politician.
How does that change into a Villainess who looks like she'd speak in a haughty noblewoman's tone?

"...Lord Ceres, what is the matter? Do you not wish to accept my greeting?"
Even her tone was different.
The original Allois wasn't someone who spoke politely to me. His status was higher, after all.
This means her personality change due to the gender flip was extreme. This could be a variable.

"My bad. I didn't recognize you right away, so my reaction was a bit slow."
I hastily bowed as I continued my train of thought.
I greeted her back with the proper etiquette of a true noble, but it was already too late.
"You can speak honestly, you know. That you delayed your greeting in retaliation for my own delay earlier."
She was making a fuss over my delayed greeting.

"It's not that. It's because you're someone I'm seeing for the first time today, so I didn't know who you were."
"You didn't know the face of a Duke of this Empire? My, what an outrageous thing to say! Then again, in front of the greatest beauty in the Empire, even a Duke like me must be nothing."

Finding fault and being sarcastic the moment we meet, she really does it all!
The original Allois wasn't like this. Is her personality even pettier than the original's?

"Duke."
"This is a bit too much."
Since it wasn't a good look, the Duke's subordinates tried to stop her.

"My Lord, if you just give the word, I will make that woman pay for her insolence."
"Lord Ceres, please give the order!"
The Death Knights around me clamored, begging me to just give the command, but I refused.
She was being a bit rude, but I couldn't use force over something so trivial.

"If you're angry because of my mistake, I'll apologize again. Please forgive me."
"...I also made a mistake, so I will apologize."
When I held back and apologized again, Allois also apologized with a reluctant look in her eyes.
If she kept harping on it even after I had apologized twice, it would only backfire on her.

"We shall head inside the mansion. Lord Ceres, please follow me."
Allois let us in as if she were doing it against her will.

At that moment.
"Who goes there?!"
A familiar voice rang out as someone dashed over like lightning.
It was Alios, whom I hadn't seen in a long time.

"Why is a Sword Master here...?"
She appeared with a startled face, about to say something, but stuttered when she saw me.
"Ce-Ceres?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Ceres!!!"
She called my name with the joy of reuniting with a long-lost family member and lunged at me.

"Stop."
She was blocked by Niobe, who stood in front of me.
"Do not approach my Lord so carelessly."
"...Who do you think you are?"
Alios glared at her with wary eyes, but Niobe also looked tense.

"Unbelievable. I heard she was young, but to already be above Ares at this age..." Niobe muttered.
"I'm the one who finds this unbelievable. Since when did Whiperion have a Sword Master like you? Where did you even pop out from, calling my Ceres your Lord?"
"Who says he's your Ceres? Acting as if you already own our Lord—you don't know your place!"

The atmosphere was turning sour, so I was about to stop them, but then.
"Alios, what kind of disgraceful behavior is this!"
The master of the house and Alios's mother, Allois, stopped her daughter.
"You are the heir to Gravius. You must not show such disgrace in front of invited guests."
"Invited? You invited Ceres without me knowing?"
"Your expression looks grim. Aren't you happy? After you spent all that time singing 'Ceres, Ceres.'"
"..."

Alios made a face that one absolutely should not make at their mother.
She intuitively realized that I hadn't been invited with good intentions.

"Enough."
Before a fight could break out between mother and daughter, I quickly grabbed Alios's hand to stop her.
"I'm just here because the Duke invited me. It's nothing serious, so calm down."
"...Nothing serious, you say. When you brought a Sword Master with you."
"That's Niobe Whiperion. She's a distant relative of mine."
Even though it was Alios, I couldn't reveal the true identity of the Death Knights, so I lied.

"She's a secret weapon raised by our Whiperion family. The ones next to her are her subordinates."
"Her subordinates look like incredible experts as well, though?"
"Yeah. They're all our hidden forces, sent to act as my escorts."
"A Sword Master and a dozen experts just below that level? All of them?"
"You know my mother's personality. She's extremely overprotective of me."

I casually brushed it off while acknowledging the Death Knights' skills.
It was an important secret, so I didn't want to blab about it in front of others, but Alios had already figured it out.

"A Sword Master?"
"To think Whiperion possessed a Sword Master!"
"This is something that could affect the entire Empire!"
When I revealed such a significant fact, the Duke's subordinates forgot their dignity and began to chatter.
Naturally, I thought Duke Allois would also take this fact seriously, but...

"Is something wrong?"
For some reason, she didn't even seem to care and was just staring at me. When I spoke to her, she averted her gaze.

I was guided to one of the many guest rooms in the Duke's estate.
The Death Knights who came with me refused the offer of their own separate rooms and stood guard around mine.

"Ceres, what have you been up to?"
Alios, whom I hadn't seen in a while, came to my room to catch up.
"Just resting."
"Have your memories fully returned?"
"Not really."
Time passed as the two of us engaged in casual conversation.

Suddenly,
"Lord Ceres, isn't it about time for a meal?"
Niobe, who had been watching me converse with Alios in the same room while staying on guard against her, spoke up.
At her words, I checked the time, and it was indeed time to eat.
"You're right. Should I go ask the Duke for food?"
"No, there's no need for that."
Alios looked puzzled, as if it were a strange question.
"They'll call for you when it's time, even if you don't say anything. Especially for a guest of your caliber, Ceres, they've probably prepared a banquet."
"But there's no sign of them calling us?"
"...Don't tell me."
Alios's expression hardened as if she had guessed something.

"I have something to say to Lord Ceres. May I come in for a moment?"
Right then, someone asked the Death Knights guarding the door for permission and entered the room.
It was Allois.

"Oh, whatever shall we do? It seems a meal today will be impossible!"
As soon as she walked in, she spoke with an exaggerated attitude.
"There was an accident in the kitchen, so all the ingredients were ruined, and the chefs were injured!"
"Do you expect us to believe that nonsense?"
Niobe retorted in disbelief at Allois, who was pretending to be apologetic.
Everyone in the room could tell it wasn't an accident, but something they had done on purpose.

Her daughter, Alios, also caught on and spoke in an appalled tone.
"Mother, everything was perfectly fine this morning. Why would an accident suddenly happen now?"
"Accidents can happen anytime, anywhere. If you doubt me, go to the kitchen yourself and see that there's nothing left."

It seemed she had already cleared everything out, even at the cost of starving themselves.
She was truly spiteful.
To go this far just because she didn't want to serve me a meal!

...However.
"Ah, that's a relief. I happened to bring my own ingredients!"
I had already anticipated that something like this might happen.
"Excuse me?"
"I said I prepared ingredients. Look."
I showed her the simple ingredients I had packed in my bag. Allois turned pale in shock.
"Why would you bring that...?"

Because this is a trick you used once in the original novel, that's why.
Perhaps because it irked him that his son, Alios, had brought Ceres home and was even feeding him home-cooked meals.
'Even the food to feed that wench is a waste. I'd rather we all starve than feed her a single piece of bread!'
The original Allois had cleared out all the ingredients in the house once before.
So I brought some just in case, and it turned out to be a really good move.

"I'll be borrowing your kitchen."
"What are you doing?!"
I ignored the flustered Allois and headed to the kitchen. I used the ingredients to whip up a simple dish.

"Ceres?"
"You know how to cook?"
Alios and Niobe, who had followed me, looked surprised.
It must be hard to believe that a child of a noble family like me knew how to cook.
But before I became Ceres, I was someone who lived alone and fended for myself.
Using the same know-how I used to make instant soup at home, I made a large batch of soup and ladled it out bowl by bowl.

"Want to try some?"
"Yes!!"
Alios was the first to approach and snatch it away.
Then, she devoured it frantically, as if someone were going to steal it from her.
"Ahhh, so this is the taste of food made by Ceres!"
I walked past her, who was deeply moved, and handed another bowl to Niobe.

"Try it."
"As you know, we don't need to eat things like this."
"But it's not like you can't eat it."
"...I will eat it with gratitude."
She made a troubled expression, but soon smiled helplessly and took it.
I distributed it to the other Death Knights in the same manner.

"What are you doing right now?!"
Allois barged in with a dumbfounded expression.
"To use the kitchen and cook in someone else's house without permission!"
"But you said there was an accident, all the ingredients were ruined, and the chefs were injured. So it can't be helped, can it?"
"...That is true, but."
Allois couldn't seem to find the right words and trailed off.

"Here, it's nothing special, but you should try some too, Duke."
Having successfully countered her little trick, I handed her a bowl of soup with a smile.
I didn't actually give it to her to eat; I gave it to her to piss her off.
Naturally, I thought she would refuse, or at worst, smack the bowl away and spill the soup.

"...I'll try it."
Unexpectedly, Allois accepted the soup I offered.
"It's passably delicious."
She even calmly evaluated the taste, then looked at me with a peculiar gaze, as if she were looking at something strange.