Maarkus found nothing out of the ordinary, be it about my house, the entertainment automatons, or even me. He was a competent exorcist and had dealt with several ghosts, but it seemed like I was either insane or these ghostly beings were simply that good at hiding their presence… For the automatons, I figured that it could have been–As Leton would have called it–A glitch in their MI, but the masked prowler that I had seen?

  I couldn’t be insane, so he had to be real, but although many people had seen him in the past, these bizarre apparitions had only been witnessed by me, even when in a public setting where many other people should have clearly seen the guy standing around and just being a creep in general… I was seeing him more and more.

  When I would have a window within sight, it was pretty fifty-fifty on whether he would be staring at me through it or not. He peered around corners, opened doors inside my house… It was getting annoying. Especially since the critter was afraid of me. He always kept his distance or made sure that something would be standing between us.

  He was nothing more than a cowardly stalker…

  Any time I would look his way, his head would start shaking and twisting around. I would feel like something tried to speak to me directly inside my head, but I simply wouldn’t allow it to happen. A strong will was required to be a knight, and I had graduated with flying colours. A little spirit who wet his pants whenever I took one step toward him wasn’t going to be able to do jackshit to me.

  …This went on for months on end while the damned court case dragged its feet. I swear, I was spending more time sitting in this place than with my own thoughts at this point. Even when there would be a pause, this court case would continue bearing its weight on my mind… My only escape from it all was working–On my new location, in particular. I had been working hard on building my clown gals.

  I had all the materials and tools I needed. Enough to retry from scratch several times over if necessary. From the steel to the stretchy material that was going to become the skin of my mechanical girls… Everything was here at my disposal. My mind felt sharper than ever. The mechanical problems that stood in my way felt insignificant.

  Truly, it was as though I had inherited my brother’s talent as a mechanist. Even the creation of the unique MIs for each of the automatons felt so utterly simplistic… The only problem was that I would lose track of time and often lose several nights of sleep in a row. Which wasn’t great when I kept having to show up to court and make a good impression. All the while forcing myself to show up at the main location and some of the other restaurants to make sure everything was working out just fine…

  I eventually decided to take a little break from working while the court case was ‘paused’ for the tenth time now. There was one thing I knew I needed dearly–A man. This empty home made me feel oppressed, and it had nothing to do with the damned ghost. The emptiness was great when Leton was still alive, but now that I am without a blood bond, it all just feels unnaturally hollow.

  Familial bonds were of tremendous importance to me. No amount of friendship could solve the issue that I had. I needed a man willing to put a ring on my finger, but there was a reason why I was still single after so long. Actually finding a man who was good enough for me was a challenge.

  I wasn’t like Eleanori, who could settle for some random guard without any good qualities. I had standards that were naturally befitting of my status. I required a man of superior quality–Which was incredibly difficult to find. I had had many dates, and none of them had ever resulted in a second date.

  Some said that I was too picky, but if anything, I felt like I was being way more open to accepting flaws, even though my inherent value as a wife meant that I should be aiming much higher. I did not mean to brag or anything, but I was a gorgeous woman in perfect health. I was of the upper bourgeoisie, as rich and respected as some nobles, I was a certified knight, and I was the owner of the most successful restaurant chain in the whole alliance of kingdoms, and perhaps even the whole continent! I was responsible for creating thousands of jobs for humans, beastfolks, demons, and much more! If that did not make me a high-value woman, what could? With such a track record, I should have greater nobles trying to put a ring on my finger, so what the hell was the problem?

  Logic and reason dictated that I should be coveted. Is it because I wasn’t all that young anymore? I still looked youthful. My knight training had preserved me like I was still at my peak, and as far as I was aware, I should be perfectly fertile.

  So… What was the problem here? Why did I mostly attract rejects who wanted me to step all over them and to refer to me like I was their mother? Did the men that I desire just like smaller, frailer women? Or did I perhaps not inspire much confidence in the role of a wife? Maybe my demeanour was a bit too much and scared off potential suitors? I guess I could see a reality where that was the case…

  Urgh… This is annoying. I was even a damned genius of all that is mechanical now, and–Hold on a second. Mmh… I had been alive for a while now, but I had never done as much as hold a man’s hand or have my first kiss. Could it be that I was suffering from the condition known as ‘frustration’? Was I starving for some intimate contact? Had I been able to ignore it until now because I had a blood connection to focus on? Shit.

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  I am planning to keep all of this for the man who will marry me and give me children. I can’t just go out and find some random guy to vent what was probably more than a decade of my life without romantic affection.

  Should I build a robot…? No. That’s absurd. I guess it’s time for me to go hunting on dates, then. I’ll ask Poppy to talk to her husband. He is a noble. He should have a list of attractive, single noblemen that I could talk to–All nobles have those to know who they can marry their spawnlings to, right?

  I went for it, deciding to organise the dates inside one of my restaurants, using a private dining room. This way, I could introduce them to my business firsthand and also show them how great a cook I was. Noblemen probably didn’t expect their wives to actually cook anything when they had armies of servants, but I felt like it was best to really show all of my cards. In case I found a good one, I really needed to make sure he wasn’t going to escape me.

  I realised that there were quite a lot of available noblemen. Ranging from small nobles to greater nobles, from young scions looking to get married and start a family, to older gentlemen who were widowers and felt like a new, young and energetic wife was what they needed–And also the ones who weren't available at all but were still trying their chances.

  It went without explanation that the third category I was not interested in at all. I wasn’t looking to be a damned lover. I wanted to be the main and only woman. If you want me, then you'd better be prepared to have only me and no one else, lest you’re looking to find out the many ways I can shorten your lifespan to zero.

  When it came to the first two categories, though. I frankly didn’t mind some of the older men. Nobles were typically youthful-looking, even if they were quite old, and frankly, some of them had a mature allure that I quite liked… I mean, an older nobleman who was the patriarch of his bloodline? Instantly attractive. It meant power, authority, all that good stuff. It had at least implied that he wasn’t going to be the sort of wimp who wanted to squeeze his head in between my thighs.

  …Well, it implied it for sure, but… I guess a lot more men are into this stuff than I thought? I feel like I’ll have to do stuff like this even if I pick the toughest, most rugged one I can find. I suppose I could make a concession as long as he is capable of actually exerting some authority over me.

  As much as quite a few of them made a good impression, none truly felt suitable for me. Also, there were those who made a terrible impression, just as the one who groped me. Not that I dislike the confidence, but that was more something that you should try after a good date, not as you are saying hello. That’s just being impolite.

  I went through many dates without anything sticking, until I was once again called back to the court for yet another boring, meaningless exchange of words. I appreciated the job my attorney was putting in, but these endless, drawn-out debates were tiresome. Nothing was making this case progress for either of the parties, and I could see that Eleanori was getting tired of it all as well.

  …I can feel it. She’s going to try something stupid, isn’t she?

  I didn’t know why I felt so confident about it, but it was like I could feel her boiling anger. She wanted the money. She wanted it dearly and was impatient for what she believed to truly be hers and hers alone.

  This greedy, avaricious bitch…

  Eleanori and her man approached me at the end of the trial in front of the courthouse.

  “Listen, this nonsense has been going on for too long. I hate it, you probably hate it too–Let’s just strike a deal between us and put an end to this, alright?”

  “No”

  I began to walk away, but a hand fell upon my shoulders.

  “Come on, Eleanori is being nice with you and–Ah!”

  I grabbed and twisted the offending arm, making the guard–Who if I remembered correctly, was called Joffi–Cry out in pain.

  “Seriously, this is enough to hurt you? You’re even more pathetic than I thought. You must get out of breath easily… I will reiterate since you didn’t understand the two-letter word I already spoke. I will not accept any deal with the likes of you. You aren’t getting even a rusty nail out of me, get it? Continue spending the coins my brother gave you as pocket money until you are ruined for good”

  “You… You bitch! Let go of him!”

  “Sure”

  I chucked the guard to the side like a ragdoll. He couldn’t even compare to a knight trainee. It was hardly if he compared to a farmer who worked the fields in terms of strength.

  “On record, he put his hand on me first. I would have been justified in breaking his fragile little arm. So be grateful–See you on the next court date”

  As I said this, I could see the dark spectre standing further away in the middle of the street. His body shaking and his tenebrous presence more pronounced than ever. I ignored him and walked away. Eleanori seemed to want to say more, but she stopped herself. Probably remembering how she had been slapped last time things had escalated between us.

  This trial is a waste of time. Trying to get married is a waste of time. Wallowing in sadness was a waste of time. I’ll focus on the sister location instead. I have the plans for the building complete, and I have an idea where I am going to build it… There just so happened to have been a wide area of old habitations which had been cleared recently.

  I knew the city lord personally, so although they were planning on building one of those large structures meant to be home to countless people, I could secure space for myself–I was going to be nice and even cover the costs for the residential architecture that would be built as well.

  Why not add philanthropist to my resume while I was at it? It would even boost my reputation with the jury. It was win-win.

  Hopefully, this residential building won't become a nightmare nest like the previous one–Huh… Here I go again, inventing something that never happened… I never even saw one of those structures before, did I?

  I’ll go take a nap…