I Reincarnated Just to be Unemployed

[Lucielle’s POV—Ashcroft Manor—Outside the Manor]

I stood in the middle of the snow, completely frozen and dumbfounded, not because of the weather but because of the horrifying realization currently chewing through the last surviving neurons in my brain.

. . .

. . .

HOW...HOW DID I AGREE TO SHARE A CHAMBER WITH THE VILLAIN?!

I stared blankly at the snowy ground while several little white foxes happily licked my boots; one licked my ankle, and another was rolling around in the snow.

A third had apparently decided my cloak was the world’s greatest pillow.

And I? I was having an existential crisis.

According to the original novel, Cassian Ashcroft was the kind of man who could casually behead someone before breakfast...and then attend a royal banquet that evening without so much as blinking.

That Cassian.

My hus—I mean...Lucielle’s husband.

Same thing, different paperwork.

Don’t judge me; my brain completely shut down because of the financial panic... I went from worrying about losing half our assets...to agreeing to sleep in the same room as a man who could probably kill an entire room before finishing his tea.

. . .

. . .

One fox cub looked up. "Yip?"

"Don’t judge me."

"Your Grace?"

I turned around.

Mia stood a few steps away, holding a large wicker basket and looking far too cheerful for someone standing in weather that could freeze a statue. "Shall we go, my lady?"

I blinked. "Go where? Ah, right...the hot pool, yes, let’s go."

The hot pool.

The magical hot spring behind the manor that Cassian had casually mentioned earlier.

"I need to relax for real..." I muttered and marched toward Mia with the determination of a man who had just discovered heaven had an emergency entrance.

The foxes happily followed.

***

[Later—Hot Pool—Behind the Manor]

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS—

The moment I lowered myself into the steaming water, my soul left my body because...THIS WAS HEAVEN.

I slowly leaned my back against the smooth stone wall and melted like a soggy biscuit.

"...Aaaaaah...this..." I closed my eyes. "...is what civilization was supposed to be."

The little fox cubs happily paddled through the shallow edge of the pool, their fluffy heads bobbing above the water. One swam past me, and another splashed water onto my face, and I gently splashed it back.

Mia carefully placed a tray beside the pool, a cup of wine, several macarons, fresh fruit, and what appeared to be enough snacks to support a small military unit, and she smiled.

"I hope Your Grace enjoys the hot pool."

I sank lower into the water. "...Mia."

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"You’re my favorite person today."

"...I am honored."

I picked up my wine, took a small sip, and closed my eyes again as the warmth seeped into every muscle I had apparently been carrying around like unpaid overtime. This was luxury; this was peace, and this was exactly what I had reincarnated for.

Just a hot spring, wine, snacks, and several fluffy murder muffins looking like foxes. Cassian had mentioned this place, apparently...there was a natural hot pool behind the manor.

A hot spring.

An actual...HOT SPRING.

My Japanese soul had awakened so violently the moment I heard that phrase that I had nearly sprinted here without clothes. Thankfully...Mia had stopped me; otherwise, this story would’ve entered a completely different genre.

"I wonder how long has this been here?"

Mia sat respectfully nearby. "The spring has existed here since before Ashcroft Manor itself."

"Really?"

"Yes, Your Grace. These hot waters are considered one of the blessings of this territory."

I nodded slowly. "That explains why it’s still warm despite this ridiculous snow."

Mia smiled. "No one used it regularly before, but since Your Grace has taken an interest in it, His Grace ordered barriers placed around the pool for your safety."

"I see...that man really does think about everything."

I slowly looked around; steam rose into the freezing air, and snow continued falling around the stone walls, but inside the pool, it was warmth, peace, and absolute luxury. I took another sip of wine.

"Although...if this water is naturally this hot, then where does the heat come from? Did someone cast a spell on it?"

Mia tilted her head. "Perhaps your grace, because the spring has always been this way."

I nodded absentmindedly and took another sip. "Maybe there are heat mana stones underneath, and maybe we’re sitting on a giant mana deposit right now."

. . .

. . .

I stopped; the wineglass remained frozen halfway to my lips, and then my eyes slowly widened. I looked down at the water, the bubbles, the steam, and the stone beneath me.

I blinked.

The water bubbled.

I blinked again.

A fox cub sniffed my wine.

. . .

. . .

"...Wait."

Mia looked at me. "Your Grace?"

I leaned forward; the water was...boiling. It was unnaturally hot; steam rose continuously despite the freezing air, and the rocks beneath the pool felt warm even beyond the waterline.

Naturally heated water.

A territory desperately lacking Heat Mana Stones, a baron demanding an absurd price because he knew Ashcroft had no alternative, and...a hot spring that had existed before the manor itself.

"No." I leaned forward, staring at the steaming water. "There’s no way; could it really be..."

. . .

. . .

Mia frowned.

"Your Grace?"

My brain began working, slowly, very slowly, like an old computer suddenly deciding to open thirty-seven browser tabs. My heartbeat began racing.

Heat Mana Stones.

Maybe... Just maybe, the answer to our entire financial disaster has been sitting underneath my butt this entire time. I sat upright.

Mia looked alarmed. "Your Grace, please...wear the robe; you’re still naked."

I turned toward her in excitement. "Mia, call Cassian."

Mia blinked. "Your Grace?"

"Call Cassian."

She glanced toward the manor and then at my naked body, saying, "Your grace, it’s still daylight."

"I KNOW. CALL CASSIAN, RIGHT NOW!"

Mia covered her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh, and she immediately turned around. "At once, Your Grace!"

"TELL HIM TO RUSH HERE; IF POSSIBLE, TELL HIM TO FLY!!"

She hurried toward the manor. I watched her disappear through the doors, then I looked down at the hot spring. My eyes were full of excitement.

"...Holy crap, we had treasure under my butt until now...and no one ever realized that?"

The little fox yipped. I slowly sank back into the water. "We might be sitting on a fortune."

I grinned evilly, and for the first time since Baron Eisenhart had threatened to devour half our assets... I felt something I hadn’t felt in days.

MONEY. LOTS. OF. MONEY!!!

"Heheheheheh...we found the territory solution and saved our assets."

***

[Cassian’s POV — Ashcroft Manor — Later]

The moment I told Lucielle about the hot pool...she nearly threw her clothes aside and ran straight into it. I had turned away immediately, not because I was unaffected; it was quite the opposite.

I clenched my fist behind my back.

Control.

I had waited years for even the smallest change in her attitude toward me. I would not ruin it because I had suddenly found my wife standing in front of me looking far too beautiful for my peace of mind.

I exhaled slowly and muttered under my breath. "Patience...If I move too quickly, she may become frightened again."

And that I would not allow. I had watched Lucielle build walls around herself for years. I would rather wait another decade than see those walls rise between us again, but then... I glanced toward the direction of the hot pool.

"...She is too beautiful."

I dragged a hand through my hair.

"This is becoming considerably more difficult than I anticipated."

I had spent years being called the Grim Reaper Grand Duke, yet somehow...my own wife had become the only person capable of making me lose my composure, standing alone in a corridor, struggling to behave like a respectable husband because my wife had started smiling at me.

Ridiculous.

Before I could collect myself—

"Your Grace."

I turned. Mia approached from the end of the corridor; her cheeks were strangely flushed as she stopped before me and bowed. "Her Grace has requested your presence."

My expression immediately changed. "Requested me?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

I studied her face; she looked nervous.

"Did something happen?"

Mia’s cheeks became even redder as she hesitated. "Her Grace...asked for you at the hot pool."

Silence.

I stared at her.

Mia stared at the floor, and my mind went completely blank.

"...I see."

My voice came out far calmer than I felt; Luceille called me at the hot pool, alone.

I cleared my throat, and my expression hardened. "Very well, you may leave and...make sure no one even breathes closer to the pool."

"Yes, Your Grace."

I began walking; my heart was thumping loudly as I walked closer at the back of the manor...and then I pushed open the barrier gate, and steam drifted through the evening air.

The sound of gently moving water reached me, and then I heard her voice.

"CASSIAN!!!"

My heart gave an involuntary thump. I followed the sound immediately and then... I stopped, completely.

Lucielle stood in the steaming water, wrapped securely in the pool robe. The collar sat slightly loose around her shoulders, revealing the delicate line of her collarbone, while strands of damp crimson hair clung softly to her skin from the steam.

For one brief, dangerous moment... I forgot how to breathe; my cheeks warmed as I immediately looked away.

I had come here as the Grand Duke of Ashcroft. I would leave as the Grand Duke of Ashcroft. I would not allow my thoughts to wander simply because my wife happened to look...

...beautiful.

Before I could ask whether something had happened, she rushed toward me.

"Cassian!" She seized both of my hands.

My eyes widened.

"Lucielle—"

"We found it!"

"Huh?"

She looked as though she had just discovered the legendary vault of the gods, and she immediately dragged me toward the steaming pool.

"Come!"

"Lucielle, slow down—"

She pointed dramatically toward the water. "LOOK, WE HAVE THE HEAT MANA STONE HERE!"

. . .

. . .

"...What?"

She nodded furiously as her eyes were sparkling. "Yes! Our territory has a Heat Mana Stone!"

I remained completely still as Lucielle grinned. "We don’t have to give Baron Baldy our money!"

Somehow I felt the weight on my shoulders lift, and somewhere beneath the ancient stones of Ashcroft Manor, something had just changed.

Did we really discover heat mana stones in our territory?

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