Chapter 111

“Well, uh, it seems that way…” The nobleman had insulted me directly in the past, which was why Euphie had been watching him with suspicion. He was completely oblivious to the precariousness of his position and proceeded to make himself the target of Euphie’s anger. “If all he did was suggest she marry someone, she probably would have let it go. But he went on and on about how precious Euphie was, then called our relationship a passing infatuation. No wonder she couldn’t stomach him anymore…” “…Knowing the both of you, that’s an incredibly dangerous thing to say,” Navre murmured under his breath. His face had turned deathly pale, and he was rubbing his arms, a chill running through his body. “If he understood how deeply Queen Euphyllia feels about you, he would have realized that was a fatal remark…,” Halphys noted. “Maybe meeting a real-life spirit covenantor blinded his senses. Though he isn’t entirely wrong, saying that royalty ought to be able to love more than one person for the sake of the kingdom…” “Well, I would never bring up that topic with Queen Euphyllia, that’s for sure,” Halphys observed with a sigh. “Me neither. What happened is his own fault. Why bring suspicion onto yourself right when Her Majesty is cleaning up the aristocracy?” Navre murmured. “It seems he didn’t like me very much. He’s free to think whatever he wants, but it wasn’t smart to actually say it out loud…,” I added. Anyway, the incident resulted in a strong rebuke from Euphie. Given that the man’s position had already been weakened due to the internal reorganization of the Ministry of the Arcane, it ended up being the final blow. It wasn’t long before his former allies abandoned him to his fate. “I do feel a little sorry for him…” “He’s reaping what he sowed.” “I guess so…” Common sense dictated that as queen, Euphie ought to marry in order to preserve the royal bloodline into future generations. But our goal was to bring change to the Kingdom of Palettia, and because of that, it was unthinkable to broach the topic of a royal consort so bluntly. Plus, if the topic had to be broached, it should be done delicately and certainly not as a direct insult. I couldn’t begin to imagine what the nobleman had expected to accomplish. Then there were those who believed there was no great rush, seeing as Euphie was a spirit covenantor and could be expected to live a great deal longer than ordinary humans. It wasn’t at all a pleasant topic, but I had heard whispers suggesting that she should marry after I passed away of old age. Of course, they didn’t know that I was no longer human, either. And there were those who sensed that neither Euphie nor I had any plans to have children of our own to usher in the next generation. People in that camp, whether in support or opposition, hadn’t yet taken any overt action. In short, this incident was simply blowback for a careless noble’s own remarks. Not that that mattered to the family involved, which was now on the precipice of disaster… “I am sorry for his family, though—they were dragged into this for no good reason and abandoned by everyone around them…” “It was a difficult decision, whether Marion taking over the Antti titles was really the best course of action…,” Halphys admitted. “Marion’s brother is a determined man, that’s for sure. It can’t be easy marrying into a disgraced family and planning to restore their honor all by yourself.” No, Marion’s brother couldn’t ignore the crisis facing his fiancée’s family—and so he argued that Marion, on account of his relationship with Halphys, Euphie, and me, was in a better position to lead the Antti family. With that, Marion’s brother chose to marry into his fiancée’s ailing family to begin rebuilding their fortunes and reputation. After much discussion between Count Antti and Viscount Nebels, it was decided that Halphys would marry into Marion’s family, which Marion would be head of in due course. With that settled, they decided to arrange an early marriage to put an end to all the suitors approaching Halphys on account of her association with me. “Shouldn’t we address you differently now? You are the future Countess Antti,” Navre quipped. “Don’t tease me. Marion doesn’t mind which name I go by.” “I’m sure he still feels jealous, though?” “Navre!” Halphys cried out, her cheeks turning bright red. The old Navre wouldn’t have been so quick to tease, but I was pleased that we were all starting to see a different side of him. “Ahem!” Halphys said, clearing her throat. “Speaking of which, you’ll be on your way to inspect the construction site soon, Your Highness.” “I’ll be returning to the royal capital on holidays, but I’ll be spending most of my time at the site. Once construction is properly underway, I’ll probably ask you all to join me.” “In the meantime, we’ll complete our preparations here.” “I’ll leave you in charge, Deputy Director Antti.” “I’ll make sure it’s all ready in time,” Halphys answered confidently, placing a hand over her chest. Her task was to remain in the capital to oversee the education of applicants wishing to join the laboratory, as well as to source the materials that we would need for future research. In effect, she would be representing me while I was away. “It’s just as well, don’t you think, Halphys? You get to work with Marion, too,” I teased. “I—I won’t mix personal and private matters!” “Heh-heh. Sorry.” “Excuse me! I’m back! Huh? I didn’t know you were here, Halphys!” Garkie exclaimed lightheartedly as he entered the room. Navre’s eyebrows twitched, and he massaged his temple. Halphys let out a soft chuckle. These three never change, I thought as I turned to Garkie. “Welcome back. How did it go with the knights?” “Baron Cyan—no, Lieutenant Commander Cyan—said to tell you he’s looking after the recruits, so no need to worry. A good number of them used to be adventurers, so they already know their way around.” “I see. That’s good. There haven’t been any fights or anything?” “Don’t worry about that. I mean, I do get why you’re concerned and all. Especially with nobles mixed into the batch. But still.” Some members of the newly formed Magicology Guard had been directly scouted from various adventurers guilds. My concern was whether they would be able to adapt to the rigors of being a knight—and that they might butt heads with the nobles who had volunteered to join. Most of the nobles who had enlisted with us came from unfavorable positions, with no real prospect of inheriting their families’ estates or businesses. But even so, they had been raised as members of the aristocracy, so it was quite a gamble on our part to lump them together with former adventurers. “It makes sense that you’re nervous, but most of the nobles didn’t really have any status at home, so they’re not all that antagonistic toward the adventurers,” Garkie said in an effort to reassure me. “I know I’m repeating myself, but you’re sure?” I asked again. “Definitely. The former adventurers are sharing their combat experiences with the nobles, while the nobles are teaching the adventurers about etiquette and manners.” “I see. I’m glad to hear it. In that case, I guess it’s safe for me to head out.” “Yep. We won’t be a hundred percent sure about the knights until they go on-site, but with Halphys staying on here as your deputy in the lab, there shouldn’t be any issues.” “Are you ready, Lady Anis? You’ll be taking some maids with you, I assume?” “Yeah. I can’t take a huge group, though.” After all, we were heading out into uncultivated lands. Daily life would be far from easy. Not all our maids would be up to that task, so I had asked Ilia to handle the selection… “You already know one of them,” I said. “Charnée.” “Ah, Viscount Persimmon’s daughter? Right, I heard a while back she had started working at the detached palace.” “She’s good with a bow, and I think she would go far with a bit of magic training. At the very least, she knows how to defend herself, and she doesn’t mind life in the hinterlands. She’ll be my maid and also my bodyguard.” “She seems pretty loyal. She probably wants to repay you for saving her family’s estate. It’s a blessing, having her around.” “I know, right?! It’s a good thing we beat that Fenrir!” Navre and Garkie both had favorable impressions of her, as well. I was glad to see they all got along. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but breathe a deep sigh. “Charnée’s an honest girl. No, it’s the other person coming with us, too…” “Is there an issue with her?” “Not like that. I mean, Ilia gave her stamp of approval to use her as my secretary.” “If it wasn’t a question of ability, then what was the problem?” “Well…” Just before I could fully explain myself, there came a knock at the door. “May I have a moment, Your Highness?” As soon as that voice reached me, I found myself debating whether this was good timing or bad.