I Don’t Want To Be the Main Character

Side story 1. Our pet cat (3)

1.

“But where can I go to buy a castle? It’s not like it’s simple real estate, and it’s not like you can just go and buy it like you would a mansion.”

A warm, sunny midday.

Ludrick asked, naturally holding Arwen’s hand and going out.

It is different from Ludrick’s previous life in many ways. As Ludrick said, if you look around, you will see real estate agents, so you can’t just open the door and go in and ask, “Is there an old house that would be good for a villa?” In fact, as far as Ludrick knows, the newlywed house they are living in now was bought by Rasil after he did all the legwork, and it wasn’t purchased through a real estate agent.

“Hmm, that’s……”

And Arwen, who had to answer, paused for a moment, then let out a short sigh.

It had been a year since they had started living together in the same house after their wedding. Now, Ludrick could guess what Arwen was thinking just by looking at her actions, and he hit the nail on the head.

“……You came out again without thinking about it.”

“Ehehe…….”

Arwen, who had been hit hard, tried to cover it up with an awkward smile instead of trying to pull away. With the other hand that wasn’t holding the parasol, she held Ludrick’s hand, and with her head slightly leaning on his shoulder, Arwen smiled wistfully and acted cute.

“Still, isn’t it nice to come out and get some sunlight?”

“The one wearing heavy armor and a parasol because she hates being exposed to sunlight is not the Arwen I know, but another vampire.”

“I told you. It’s an inevitable, natural instinct of the species. My overcoming of sunlight and my hatred of sunlight are two separate things.”

“You speak well.”

Ludrick shook his head.

It was because the process of going out briefly flashed through his mind. The image of himself grumbling about having to shower twice and the image of Arwen wrapping herself up tightly for over thirty minutes and carrying an umbrella, saying that it was okay to go out but that the sun absolutely had to stay out of it, crossed his mind.

Ludrick, recalling the annoying and tiresome process of going out, made up his mind.

I had to finish it this time, somehow.

In the first place, most of Ludrick’s dates with Arwen were in the evening after the sun had set. This was a special exception where there was something to do while the sun was up, and if he didn’t do everything while he was out, it meant he would have to go through the same boring process of going out again.

“……I don’t know. Let’s just take a look at the location. If we really do it, I think it wouldn’t be a problem to just build a new one.”

“Hmm… I guess that doesn’t matter. Since you have so much money that it’ll just rot away anyway, there’s no need to worry, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to build something new instead of using something that someone else has already built.”

“Okay. It won’t be easy to buy a mansion in the capital, let alone a castle in the middle of nowhere. So let’s just build a new one.”

“I see. Then I should look at the location first. I came out with a light heart, but suddenly I found myself looking at the ground first.”

“Just finish everything today.”

Ludrick, who had spoken as if declaring something, summoned magic as he grabbed Arwen’s hand. It was a sign of teleportation magic. The ability that had become more profound over the past year made long-distance teleportation possible without a magic circle.

Arwen also complied without resisting the magic, and in an instant, the two of them disappeared as if they were disintegrating into particles of mana.

And the place where the two reappeared was a fairly familiar place.

“This is…….”

“Our mother, Youngji.”

The place where the two reappeared using teleportation magic was the Vice County Territory.

Arwen had been there two or three times, except when she was asked to marry, so it was a place that was familiar to her. It was also a place where there was nothing no matter when she came. It wasn’t like she was disparaging the Earldom of Weiss or anything, but there was nothing except for the wheat fields that stretched out in a quiet manner.

Rather, it was not a bad place to live in a villa occasionally because of the pastoral scenery, but there was one problem, so Arwen asked cautiously.

“……Are you thinking of building a castle here?”

“Why, you don’t like it?”

“Rather than saying I don’t like it… That… Well… That’s why…”

Arwen, who had been hesitating, carefully opened her mouth.

“It’s not that I don’t like it, but… aren’t you a little, no, a little too close to your in-laws?”

“That’s true.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, but this is a bit… yeah, it’s a bit burdensome.”

It was the most euphemistic expression possible.

In fact, it had already been a year since they got married. And during that time, I had visited them and greeted them. However, our relationship was still extremely awkward. In particular, in the case of Arwen and Sylphia, there was something about them that made them look down on Ludrick in anger at the wedding hall.

‘… … Ahem, I never thought I would have a dragon as my daughter-in-law.’

After learning of her identity, the words that Count Weiss had blurted out with a bewildered expression flashed through Arwen’s mind. He had not spoken of her, but of Sylphia, but of course, dragons and jinjo were all the same.

Naturally, the relationship was structured in such a way that it was bound to be awkward. No matter how much they say that a daughter-in-law is a guest for a hundred years, Arwen is also the same in that she doesn’t know what to say when she actually meets her face to face.

“That could be true. I’m not saying that I want to build it here. It’s just that the area around here is either a plain or a mountain, so I thought somewhere around here would be a good place. If you try to build it inside the estate, Mom will say no. She’ll create a sense of discomfort.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Arwen let out a short sigh of relief.

If you build a castle as a villa, you’ll often visit with Ludrick for a change of pace, but how awkward would it be if you ran into each other every time you did?

As if it were enough to prevent such a situation, Arwen said as she used flight magic to lift herself and Ludrick into the air.

“In that case, I think that side would be better.”

Arwen, flying high in the sky, stretched out her hand and pointed to a certain spot. It was a place with a wide open space like a vacant lot between the lush green forest. The only flaw was that the surrounding forest was so dense that sunlight could not penetrate well.

“……Who would say they’re not vampires? Their tastes are all the same.”

“What would a race do about that? It’s a racial trait. It’s something like an instinct.”

“That’s a really versatile excuse.”

Ludrick, who was grumbling, looked around. Ludrick, who had lived in this territory for twenty years, naturally knew. The place Arwen had chosen, saying it was okay, was deep in the forest where the people of the territory were afraid to enter because of the monsters that came out. Even the herbalists who gathered herbs never went there.

Ludrick reluctantly nodded, not knowing whether to praise Arwen for being able to pick out such a place in one go or for choosing it as if it were real.

“That’s a forest that people never go into because they say there are monsters there… Well, it doesn’t matter. You or I don’t have to be careful because there are monsters there.”

“Of course, what’s the problem with monsters? Even if they do come out, don’t worry. If I don’t protect my husband, who will?”

Arwen spoke in a low voice, her demeanor still trying to appear elegant, influenced by the novel she had recently read.

I guess she must have said something cool, like something from a romance novel. Thinking that way, Ludrick didn’t bother to add something like, “Even if a bunch of ogres show up, I’ll win?” to silence Arwen.

Whether it was Miuna or Gouna, Arwen was his wife, and the two were a couple. In this world where the roles of men and women were reversed, his wife would fill her self-esteem by saying cool lines, and Ludrick was not a tactless husband who would break the labor pains there.

“By the way, if we had to choose that place, it would be a lot of work, from moving the materials to hiring laborers. Even if you put your mind to it, a castle isn’t something you can build in a day or two.”

“Materials will definitely be a problem. I’ll arrange for a convoy that can move it there. Why don’t you give them a little extra money to hire a lot of mercenaries as escorts?”

“What about the laborers? There’s bound to be a monster there. It’s a forest where people rarely go, so there’s bound to be one. In the first place, the people of the territory didn’t even go there.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Arwen laughed as if it was time to reveal her true worth. And with her wings spread wide, Arwen’s purple eyes turned red. As Arwen’s true form was revealed for a moment, a sliver of her power was released, and the surroundings slowly became dark.

And at the same time that Ludrick sensed the change, the woman who suddenly appeared in the darkness slowly lowered her head.

“My Lord, why have you called me?”

“I’m thinking of building a villa where I can often visit with my husband. You know my taste, don’t you? It would be nice to have a castle. Similar to where I used to live.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll give you a week to finish it. First, you should arrange for the materials to be moved. And before that… before it’s finished, it would be good to build a temporary cabin where you can stay for the day.”

Red eyes shining through the hair that asymmetrically covers one eye, and even fangs that are slightly visible even when trying to hide them.

The woman, who looked like a vampire no matter how you looked at her, bowed her head instead of answering, and disappeared into the darkness again. Ludrick asked with a bewildered expression at what had happened so quickly.

“……what?”

“He is my butler. There are thousands of servants, so there is no need to hire laborers. So let’s kill a few hours before the cabin is built.”

Even so, I was about to say that it would take a week to build a castle to Arwen’s taste, but Ludrick soon shook his head.

“But Arwen.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“If you build a new one, wouldn’t it not be a castle?”

“…….”

Arwen puffed out her cheeks instead of answering.