The nobles dragged to Walterheim Estate looked utterly bewildered, as though they had no idea what was going on. Once enough of them had gathered, they began raising their voices.
"What in the world is the meaning of this?!"
"Why are you treating us this way when we have protected the north since the previous grand duke’s time?!"
"Sir Jester! Explain yourself!"
The traitors’ cries carried all the way to my office, and I was already starting to feel sick of them.
"We have brought them all, Young Master."
"Good."
When Rushe and I emerged from the office, the eyes of those who had been staring at Jester turned toward me.
"Your Grace! What in the world is this—"
"How can you treat us this way? If the late Grand Duke were to see this—!!!"
"Enough."
I raised a hand and cut them off.
"To invoke my father’s name here of all places."
"...What?"
"Your Grace?"
"You have no shame whatsoever."
Swish!
The documents scattered before them were the materials Cecilia had investigated regarding the illicit outflow of iron ore.
"You dared sell off iron ore that should become the armor and swords of northern soldiers to the Imperial Capital?"
"Th-This is..."
"I-It is a misunderstanding! This was merely—"
"Go on, then. Convince me. Tell me why you did it and what circumstances compelled you to do so."
"Your Grace, that is—"
"But if it is proven that this was not for the north and its soldiers, but for your own personal advancement..."
As the knights of Walterheim Estate and Rushe drew their swords, the nobles recoiled in terror and began crawling along the floor.
"Do not forget that traitors are executed on the spot. Now."
I sat down in the chair Jester had brought and prepared to hear their final pleas.
"Speak. I will hear every last word of your stories."
**
"Ha. This is truly ridiculous."
The people in the Imperial Capital connected to the nobles listed in the report on my desk—no, the people—were, as expected, the Crown Prince and his siblings.
"It seems they have fully made up their minds to turn the north into a battlefield for their power struggle."
"It appears their maternal families have been working at it for a long time, intending to secure the next imperial succession for their own side."
"What a complete mess. They have been at this since the Crown Prince and princesses were infants, yet those people have remained remarkably loyal."
"Unlike war, politics is where enemies can become allies at any moment, is it not?"
"And people who call themselves northerners have thrown themselves into political games."
There were two maternal houses of the Imperial Family: House Celestia, the maternal family of the First Crown Prince and Second Princess; and House Candler, the maternal family of the First Princess and Second Crown Prince.
Both houses had distinguished themselves since the Empire’s founding.
"House Candler has been especially active. They have done two or three times as much as House Celestia."
"It is House Celestia’s mistake for assuming the eldest, the First Crown Prince, was secure. They pushed away House Roienthal, the duke’s house that had been their steadfast backing, and the line of succession began to tangle."
"So the turmoil in the north that arose under those circumstances is a fine morsel for them."
"His Majesty takes a contradictory stance: wary of a clash with the north, while also wishing to put a leash on us."
"Honestly... I do not know what grudge they bear against us, when we are the ones holding back the Snow Ghosts and barbarians advancing from the far north."
"They say those in power must be wary of anyone who holds a blade. History has shown us as much."
Agreeing with Jester, I examined the nobles’ territories marked on the map.
"...Do you intend to kill them?"
"No."
I shook my head and rose from my seat.
"It is not time yet. If we strike them, we will hand the Imperial Family a justification. The north’s honor will be sullied in an instant."
"Then what will you do?"
"First, we will sow confusion in the intelligence networks of House Candler and House Celestia. Send them back and assign watchers to them.
Then we will scatter poisoned meat and make them bite and tear at one another."
"Poisoned meat?"
"We will leak false information that the nobles allied with House Candler are opening up a smuggling route."
"Heh. If House Celestia finds out, there will be an uproar."
"There will come a time when they are too busy tearing each other apart. In the meantime, we will reorganize the north’s manpower and restore the castles at the far northern border.
Grit.
Flowers were blooming beyond the window. Full spring had finally arrived.
"We must prepare for next winter."
**
Summoned by Viktor, Cecilia knocked on the door to his office. In contrast to the spring blossoms fluttering beyond the window, the office where Viktor sat remained as cold as winter frost.
"Your Grace."
"My lady, you have rendered great service in this matter."
"Not at all. It was only possible because Your Grace gave me the opportunity."
"Is that so?"
One of the documents on his desk caught Cecilia’s attention.
"It is a notice for the academy entrance ceremony."
"Spring has come, so we must soon leave for the academy. What about you, my lady? If you wish, you may remain in the north."
"No. As an imperial noble, graduating from the academy is an obligation."
At the academy, she would meet Baron, who had cast her aside, and Elysia, who had encouraged him. It would be an uncomfortable meeting. But...
"Your Grace will protect me, will you not?"
At Cecilia’s words, Viktor’s lips curved up ever so slightly.
Ah, he smiled.
"That is right. That is... While our contract remains in force and you are within my protection, I will protect you. Of course you have no need to worry. Heh."
"Yes. That is right."
"It seems I worried needlessly."
"No. Rather, hearing you say that you would protect me, even though we are bound only by contract, I..."
Cecilia started to say something, then closed her mouth. The simple word “thank you” was far too inadequate to express this strange sense of relief.
"My lady?"
Viktor’s red eyes, as he called to Cecilia standing there without finishing her words, still did not waver in the slightest.
"What is the matter?"
"Nothing... I only wanted to thank you. I am glad that Your Grace’s protection is more dependable and comforting than I had imagined."
Viktor’s gaze was stolen for a fleeting moment by Cecilia, whose cheeks had turned peach-pink beneath her faint smile.
"My lady? Your face is red. Have you perhaps caught a cold?"
"Y-Yes? Ah... no. It is cold... no, it has become warm now, so..."
Unable to withstand Viktor’s gaze as he tilted his head at her, Cecilia unwittingly looked away.
"Well... I should be going now."
"Very well. If you are feeling unwell, I will call my personal physician—"
"Really!!"
For the first time since coming to the north, Cecilia denied Viktor’s words in a loud voice.
"I am... fine."
"...All right."
**
Blankly watching Cecilia leave through the door, I began sinking into self-reproach, wondering whether I had just raised a rampage flag.
Was even asking after whether she had caught a cold something she hated...? Ah. Well, the Household Registry Mates definitely said that women disliked it when a man they had no interest in asked after their health...
Still, that was a bit harsh. I had said it because I considered her a comrade-in-arms, in my own way.
"Sigh... A romance-fantasy villainess is difficult."
Would it be better to send Cecilia a gift she might like, to improve our relationship?
"All right, then right away—"
But what kind of gift would Cecilia even like?
"The novel never described anything like that."
Besides, in my previous life, the only women I had ever given gifts to were my mother and the Household Registry Mates. In this life, I only remembered giving things to my younger sister from a branch family. I had never once given a gift to a woman my own age.
There is a surer method than wracking my romance-fantasy brain.
"Rushe."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Go bring Ran here."
"Understood."
A little while later, Ran entered the office with Rushe. Once she heard my explanation, she immediately gave me an answer.
"Wouldn’t a sword made by a northern blacksmith be enough?"
"Oh, I think that is a good idea too."
Watching Rushe and Ran, I began to feel a headache coming on.
"Argh, northern brains!!!!"
When my scream rang through the office, Rushe and Ran looked at me with expressions that said they could not understand me in the slightest.
"Why? Do you know how good swords made by northern blacksmiths are?"
"That is right. When I attended the academy, my friends from the Imperial Capital were incredibly jealous of mine."
"Ah, how about adding decorations to the sword?"
"Wouldn’t a dagger for self-defense be more practical?"
"Then let us compromise and add decorations to a self-defense dagger—"
Watching these battle-crazed women obsess over practicality, I realized there were no normal women around me.
"No, Ran. You serve my lady more closely than anyone. Have you truly never heard what she likes?"
At my question, Ran tilted her head, then went, “Ah,” and shrugged.
"She says she likes me best!"
"...What a thing to brag about."
"Wouldn’t it be easier just to ask her directly what kind of gift she wants?"
"Wouldn’t that make me look utterly pathetic?"
"Honestly. The more I listen to this, the less I can bear it."
As though he had heard our entire conversation, Jester entered the office with a sigh. Ran and Rushe pouted at the sight of him.
"Then what would you give her, Father?"
"Exactly. What magnificent gift have you thought of that makes you lump His Grace and us together?"
"...You little brats."
At least I knew that Cecilia was a delicate young lady who hated swords, okay?
"Sigh. Your Grace, I will give you a hint. The hint is the greenhouse of House Roienthal."
"Hm?"
"If you cannot figure it out even with that hint, Your Grace is on the same level as my daughters."
"..."
That was the worst possible assessment, was it not?
**
Sitting alone on a chair in the greenhouse and staring blankly into space, Cecilia recalled what had happened in the office, and her face began burning hot again.
"What on earth is wrong with me...?"
Even as she cupped her cheeks in both hands and tried to calm herself, the thought of those kind red eyes looking at her made her heart stir all over again. Since she had never experienced anything like this before, Cecilia could only be utterly confused by the situation.
Then the thought struck her that these symptoms might be an endemic illness of the north.
"I need to see Shurian, the estate physician..."
To find someone who could make a clear diagnosis of this illness, Cecilia began slowly walking toward the room where the estate physician was staying.
"Excuse me...?"
"Hm? Ah, it is the young lady!"
A middle-aged woman with a lollipop in her mouth welcomed Cecilia with a smile.
"I have been making wonderful use of the moisturizing cream you gave me before. Would you like some candy?"
"Hehe. Yes, thank you, Shurian."
"Do not mention it."
Looking at Cecilia as she took a seat, Shurian smiled brightly and pulled out a notebook.
"Now then, what brings you here? Tell me all about what is troubling our young lady."
"Um... well."
Cecilia began explaining in detail the symptoms she was currently experiencing.
Listening to her story and writing down the symptoms, Shurian crunched up the lollipop she had been sucking on. Then she looked at the innocent young lady before her, who was blushing as she asked with pure, untainted eyes.
"Could this perhaps be... an endemic illness of the north? If it is, what should I do...? Please tell me, Shurian."
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register