The day after the Duke's arrest, the capital was in chaos—the good kind.
News spread like wildfire: Duke Blackwood exposed! Illegal mana crystal operation dismantled! Young prisoner Kyle Henderson vindicated!
I went from "condemned traitor" to "brave witness who risked everything for justice" overnight.
Which would be great, except:
"KYLE! There you are!"
A noblewoman I'd never met grabbed my arm. "You simply MUST attend my tea party! As the guest of honor, of course!"
**[NOBLEWOMAN]: If I host the hero of the hour, my social standing will skyrocket! Plus he's quite handsome. Unmarried too, I heard. Perfect catch.
Before I could politely decline, Sera appeared from nowhere and physically removed the woman's hand from my arm.
"Kyle is BUSY," she said with a smile that could freeze lava.
**[SERA]: BACK. OFF. LADY. He's not a social accessory. And he's definitely not attending YOUR tea party. Or anyone's tea party. Except maybe mine. Do I host tea parties? I should learn.
The noblewoman retreated hastily.
"Thanks," I said. "That was getting awkward."
"That's the fifth one this morning," Sera grumbled. "You're suddenly 'popular.'"
**[SERA]: I don't like this. All these nobles see him as a prize. A trophy. They don't know him like I do. They didn't see him fight. Didn't see him risk everything. They just want the glory of being associated with the "hero."
"Tell me about it. Someone sent me a marriage proposal. I've been free for twelve hours."
"WHAT?!"
**[SERA]: MARRIAGE PROPOSAL?! Who?! I will END them. Nobody proposes to Kyle except— wait. Except WHO, Sera?! Finish that thought!
Before she could interrogate me further, Aria rushed up.
"Kyle! Thank the Goddess I found you! The Church wants to give you a blessing ceremony!"
**[SISTER ARIA]: They want to use him for PR. "Church-blessed hero defeats corruption." It's so transparent. But if I refuse on his behalf, they'll reassign me. And I can't leave him. WON'T leave him.
"A what now?"
"It's an honor! They want to publicly recognize your bravery!"
"They want to publicly associate themselves with good press," Sera muttered.
**[SERA]: The spy and I agree on something. The world is ending.
"You're both right," I admitted. "What did you tell them?"
Aria fidgeted with her holy symbol.
"I said you'd consider it. But Kyle... if you refuse, they might reassign me. Send me back to the main cathedral."
**[SISTER ARIA]: Please don't let them take me away. I know I was sent to kill you originally. I know I don't deserve to stay. But PLEASE. I'm not ready to leave. I'm not ready to leave YOU.
My heart clenched at the panic in her voice—and in her chatbox.
"Then I'll do it," I said. "If it means you can stay."
Her eyes widened.
"You... you'd do that? For me?"
**[SISTER ARIA]: He's willing to deal with Church politics. For ME. Nobody's ever— I need to sit down. My heart is doing things. Unauthorized things.
"Of course. You're part of the team."
Sera's eye twitched.
**[SERA]: He just said something incredibly sweet to another woman. I should be jealous. I AM jealous. But it's also the right thing to do. Why does him being noble make this HARDER?!
"How touching," a familiar voice said.
Eliza appeared, carrying official-looking documents.
"I hate to interrupt this moment, but Kyle, you've been summoned to the Royal Palace. The King wants to meet you."
"THE KING?!"
"Apparently defeating corrupt nobles gets you royal audiences. Who knew?"
**[ELIZA]: ████ KING WANTS ██████ TO USE ████ HIM TOO ██████ EVERYONE WANTS ████ A PIECE ██████ OF HIM ████ GET IN ██████ LINE ████
"This is too much," I said. "Yesterday I was in prison. Today I'm meeting ROYALTY?"
"Welcome to politics," Eliza said dryly. "You're a symbol now. The common man who stood up to corruption. Every faction wants you on their side."
"I don't want to be on anyone's side! I just want to not die!"
"Too late. You're famous. Deal with it."
**[ELIZA]: ████ POOR KID ██████ HAS NO ████ IDEA WHAT'S ██████ COMING ████ NOBILITY WILL ██████ EAT HIM ████ ALIVE ██████ GOOD THING ████ HE HAS ██████ PROTECTION ████
She handed me a formal outfit. "Palace visit is in two hours. Try not to commit any social faux pas. The King is actually pretty reasonable, but the court nobles are sharks."
[TWO HOURS LATER - ROYAL PALACE]
The palace made Duke Blackwood's mansion look like a cottage.
Gold. Everywhere. Marble floors, crystal chandeliers, guards in ceremonial armor that probably cost more than a small house.
And I was walking through it with three beautiful women flanking me like an entourage.
**[PALACE GUARD #1]: Is that the Henderson kid? With the Ice Princess AND two other beauties? How does a former prisoner get that lucky?
**[PALACE GUARD #2]: I heard he saved the kingdom single-handedly from the Duke's evil plot.
**[PALACE GUARD #1]: I heard he's secretly a prince from another kingdom.
**[PALACE GUARD #2]: I heard all three women are fighting over him.
**[PALACE GUARD #1]: That last one is definitely true. Look at them.
They weren't wrong.
Sera walked on my left, hand resting on a concealed dagger, scanning every person we passed.
**[SERA]: Threat assessment: 47 guards, 23 nobles, 12 servants. Any of them could be assassins. Duke had allies. Some might seek revenge. I will eliminate anyone who looks at Kyle wrong.
Aria walked on my right, holy magic subtly radiating from her in a protective aura.
**[SISTER ARIA]: If anyone tries anything, I have seventeen defensive spells prepared. Also three offensive ones. The Goddess will forgive me for the offensive ones if they're protecting Kyle.
And Eliza led the way, her mere presence making people part like the sea.
**[ELIZA]: ████ ESCORTING HIM ██████ TO MEET ████ THE KING ██████ LIKE A ████ BODYGUARD ██████ WHEN DID ████ I BECOME ██████ HIS PERSONAL ████ PROTECTOR? ██████ ...WHEN DID ████ I START ██████ ENJOYING IT? ████
We entered the throne room.
King Alexander III sat on a massive golden throne, looking every bit the powerful monarch. Mid-fifties, stern face, but intelligent eyes that seemed to see right through you.
**[KING ALEXANDER]: So this is the boy who exposed Blackwood. Younger than I expected. But the reports say he's clever. Let's see if they're accurate.
"Your Majesty," Eliza said with a perfect bow. "I present Kyle Henderson, as requested."
"Rise, young Henderson," the King said. His voice was surprisingly warm. "You've done the kingdom a great service."
I bowed awkwardly. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I just... did what anyone would do?"
He laughed.
"Modest too. Refreshing. Most nobles who accomplish half as much brag for years." His expression turned serious. "Kyle Henderson, for your bravery in exposing the Duke's treasonous activities, I hereby grant you a full pardon for all previous charges."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: STATUS UPDATED!]
[CONDEMNED PRISONER → PARDONED CITIZEN]
"Furthermore," the King continued, "I'm restoring your family's noble title and estates. House Henderson is officially reinstated."
Wait, WHAT?
**[ELIZA]: ████ NOBLE TITLE?! ██████ HE DIDN'T ████ MENTION THAT ██████ KYLE'S FROM ████ A FALLEN ██████ NOBLE HOUSE? ████
"I... I'm a noble?" I stammered.
"Your father was Baron Henderson before he was falsely accused of treason—by Duke Blackwood, we now know. Your family's lands and titles were stripped unjustly. I'm correcting that error."
**[KING ALEXANDER]: The boy seems genuinely shocked. Either an excellent actor or he truly didn't know. Interesting. Blackwood did a thorough job destroying the Henderson family. But now we can use this boy to replace Blackwood's influence in the Western Province.
My head was spinning.
Noble? Estates? I was supposed to be a simple isekai protagonist, not landed gentry!
"Your Majesty is too kind," I managed.
"Not kindness. Justice. You've earned this." He leaned forward. "However, with nobility comes responsibility. I'm assigning you as the new Lord Governor of the Western Province—Blackwood's former territory."
"WHAT?!"
Eliza's eye twitched.
**[ELIZA]: ████ GOVERNOR?! ██████ HE'S TWENTY! ████ HE'S BEEN ██████ FREE FOR ████ ONE DAY! ██████ THIS IS ████ POLITICAL MANEUVERING ██████ THE KING ████ IS USING ██████ HIM ████
"I understand this is sudden," the King said, "but the Western Province needs leadership. Someone the people trust. Someone untainted by Blackwood's corruption. You're perfect."
"Your Majesty, I have no experience—"
"Which is why I'm assigning advisors." He gestured, and three people stepped forward.
The first was a stern old man in bureaucratic robes.
**[ADVISOR #1]: Babysitting duty. Wonderful. The King wants me to train this child noble. At least he exposed Blackwood. Maybe he's not completely useless.
The second was a military officer.
**[ADVISOR #2]: He's the hero who defeated the Duke? He looks like a strong breeze would knock him over. This will be interesting.
The third was... a beautiful woman in elegant robes who smiled at me in a way
that made every alarm in my head go off.
**[ADVISOR #3 - LADY VIVIENNE]: Perfect. Young, naive, probably easily manipulated. If I can get close to him, influence his decisions, I can control the Western Province through him. A handsome puppet is still a puppet.
"These advisors will help you transition into your new role," the King said. "I have full confidence in you, Lord Henderson."
I was trapped.
Refusing would be insulting the King. Accepting meant taking on responsibilities I had no idea how to handle.
**[SERA]: This is a setup. Political maneuvering. They're going to use him. I need to— wait. If he's a Lord Governor, he'll need security personnel. I could be assigned as his head of security. Stay close to him. Protect him. Perfectly legitimate.
**[SISTER ARIA]: He's going to be surrounded by noble schemers and ambitious politicians. He needs spiritual guidance! I should request permanent assignment as his personal chaplain. For his SOUL'S protection. Definitely not for other reasons.
**[ELIZA]: ████ THIS CHANGES ██████ EVERYTHING ████ HE'S NOT ██████ JUST A ████ TRANSMIGRATOR ██████ ANYMORE ████ HE'S A ██████ POLITICAL PIECE ████ AND I ██████ CAN'T OFFICIALLY ████ PROTECT HIM ██████ AS A ████ PRISON CAPTAIN ██████ UNLESS... ████
"Your Majesty," Eliza spoke up, "if I may. Lord Henderson was under my supervision during his rehabilitation. I'd like to formally request assignment as his military advisor. Given the... delicate situation with Duke Blackwood's former allies, he'll need experienced protection."
**[ELIZA]: ████ PLEASE SAY ██████ YES ████ I NEED ██████ AN EXCUSE ████ TO STAY ██████ NEAR HIM ████ PROFESSIONAL REASONS ██████ OBVIOUSLY ████
The King smiled knowingly.
"An excellent suggestion, Captain Frostborne. Granted. You'll serve as Lord Henderson's military advisor and chief of security."
"I'd like to volunteer as head of intelligence," Sera said quickly.
"And I formally request assignment as house chaplain!" Aria added.
**[SERA]: Not letting Eliza monopolize him. If she's military advisor, I'm intelligence chief. Equal access.
**[SISTER ARIA]: Not letting BOTH of them monopolize him. Three-way competition. May the best woman win. ...Did I just think that? The Goddess would be appalled.
The King looked between the three women, then at me, and chuckled.
"It seems you've already assembled quite the staff, Lord Henderson. Very well. All requests approved."
**[KING ALEXANDER]: The boy has three powerful women fighting to stay near him. Either he's extremely charming or extremely lucky. Possibly both. This will be entertaining to watch.
As we left the throne room, now with official appointments and way too much responsibility, I pulled Eliza aside.
"Did I just become a Lord Governor?" I hissed in English.
"Yep. Congrats. You speedran from prisoner to nobility."
"I don't know how to govern!"
"Neither did half the previous nobles. You'll figure it out."
**[ELIZA]: ████ ALSO I'M ██████ NOW OFFICIALLY ████ STAYING WITH ██████ HIM ████ AS HIS ██████ ADVISOR ████ WHICH MEANS ██████ LIVING IN ████ THE SAME ██████ ESTATE ████ THIS IS ██████ FINE ████ TOTALLY PROFESSIONAL ██████ NOTHING COMPLICATED ████ ABOUT THIS ██████
That evening, we arrived at Henderson Estate—my estate, apparently—in the Western Province.
It was magnificent. A sprawling manor house with gardens, fountains, and enough rooms to house a small army.
"This is insane," I muttered, staring at my new home.
"This is yours," Eliza corrected. "Better get used to it, Lord Henderson."
The staff lined up to greet me. Butlers, maids, groundskeepers—all looking at me with a mixture of hope and nervousness.
**[HEAD BUTLER]: So this is the new master. Young. Very young. But he exposed Duke Blackwood. Perhaps he'll be better than the previous corrupt lords.
**[HEAD MAID]: He's rather handsome for a lord. And those three ladies with him... oh my. The gossip will be LEGENDARY.
Sera immediately began inspecting the estate's security.
**[SERA]: Security is TERRIBLE. The western wall has gaps. The guard rotations are predictable. The servants haven't been vetted. This place is a assassination waiting to happen. I need to overhaul EVERYTHING.
Aria started examining the chapel.
**[SISTER ARIA]: Dusty. Neglected. The previous chaplain clearly didn't care. I'll restore this. Make it worthy. A proper spiritual sanctuary. Where Kyle can come for peace and definitely not where I can see him daily.
And Eliza was already reviewing documents in what would become her office.
**[ELIZA]: ████ MILITARY ASSESSMENT ██████ PROVINCE HAS ████ THREE GARRISONS ██████ ALL LOYAL ████ TO BLACKWOOD ██████ NEED TO ████ REPLACE COMMANDERS ██████ REBUILD TRUST ████ PROTECT KYLE ██████ FROM REMNANTS ████
Meanwhile, I stood in what was apparently my new bedroom—a space the size of my entire apartment from my previous life—and tried to process everything.
"This is crazy," I said to nobody.
"Talking to yourself already?" Sera appeared in the doorway. "Bad sign."
"How did you even— nevermind. Spy."
**[SERA]: I shouldn't be in his bedroom. This is inappropriate. But I needed to check the room's security. That's my job now. The fact that it's HIS bedroom is coincidental.
She walked in, examining the windows, checking the locks.
"Security in this room is awful," she declared. "I'm posting guards outside. And installing new locks. And possibly magical wards."
"Isn't that excessive?"
"You're a Lord Governor who just exposed a massive conspiracy. Excessive is the minimum."
**[SERA]: Also I want to make sure nobody can sneak into his room. Nobody except authorized personnel. Like me. For security checks. Frequent security checks.
Before I could respond, Aria appeared.
"Kyle! I need to bless your room! For spiritual protection!"
**[SISTER ARIA]: Definitely not an excuse to see his bedroom. This is important religious ritual. Very important. Critical, even.
"Why does everyone keep coming into my bedroom?!" I yelped.
"Security assessment," Sera said.
"Spiritual blessing," Aria added.
They glared at each other.
**[SERA]: She's using the blessing excuse to get into his bedroom. Transparent.
**[SISTER ARIA]: She's using the security excuse to get into his bedroom. Obvious.
"Both of you, out," Eliza's voice came from the hallway. "Let the man breathe."
Both women reluctantly filed out, shooting each other competitive looks.
Eliza leaned against the doorframe, amused.
"You're going to have your hands full with those two."
"Tell me about it."
**[ELIZA]: ████ SHOULD I ██████ MENTION ████ I ALSO ██████ WANT TO ████ CHECK HIS ██████ ROOM? ████ FOR STRATEGIC ██████ PLANNING ████ PURPOSES? ██████ ...NO ████ TOO OBVIOUS ██████
"Get some rest," she said. "Tomorrow we start actual governance. It's going to be chaos."
As she turned to leave, I called out: "Eliza? Thanks. For volunteering to stay. I don't think I could do this without you."
She paused, not looking back.
**[ELIZA]: ████ HE NEEDS ██████ ME ████ THAT FEELS ██████ NICE ████ TOO NICE ██████ DANGEROUS ████ TERRITORY ██████ BUT I'M ████ NOT LEAVING ██████
"Don't mention it, Lord Henderson," she said with a slight smile, then left.
I collapsed onto my absurdly large bed.
Three days ago: Death row prisoner.
Now: Lord Governor with three beautiful women living in my estate, competing for my attention.
"This is the weirdest isekai ever," I muttered.
From the hallway, I heard:
"I'm taking first watch outside his door!"
"YOU took first watch at the prison!"
"This is DIFFERENT! We're in a NEW location!"
"That makes NO sense!"
"Both of you are being ridiculous," Eliza's voice cut in. "We'll rotate. Two-hour shifts. I'll take first."
"Why do YOU get first?!"
"Because I'm the military advisor and I outrank you."
"Since when does rank matter in guard rotation?!"
I put a pillow over my head.
Tomorrow: Learning to be a Lord Governor.
Tonight: Surviving my overprotective staff.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: NEW STATUS UNLOCKED!]
[LORD GOVERNOR OF WESTERN PROVINCE]
[RESPONSIBILITY LEVEL: MAXIMUM]
[STRESS LEVEL: ALSO MAXIMUM]
[PERMANENT PARTY MEMBERS ASSIGNED:]
[ELIZA - MILITARY ADVISOR]
[SERA - INTELLIGENCE CHIEF]
[ARIA - HOUSE CHAPLAIN]
[RELATIONSHIP STATUS: COMPLICATED x3]
[WARNING: ROMANTIC COMPETITION ENTERING "LIVING TOGETHER" ARC]
[PREPARE FOR DOMESTIC CHAOS]