★
Shouzou was summoned to the royal palace on very short notice. He was let through to the king’s private chambers, into the room that used to be an archive.
The first thing that King Alsbeit said upon Shouzou’s entrance was, “The empire agreed to proceed with the marriage talks.”
“So then, the way to peace has been opened,” rejoiced Shouzou. He believed that marriage was something to be decided on by the people involved. However, Prince Sharlo did seem quite motivated as of late. If he had his own family, that just might make him into an even better man. If the girl took a liking to him, and if he also took a liking to the girl, then Shouzou intended to give them every ounce of his support.
However, the king shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not so sure it has. Who knows what they’re scheming now.”
“Well, well, that might be so. But for now, who is to be the prince’s partner?”
“Who do you think?” returned the king with a cheeky smile. A smile that, in the next instant, froze over.
“Could it be Princess Yuliana von Bardimial, the one who’s 11th in the line of succession?”
“You... how did you know......” The king’s eyes dropped to the table, on which laid the portrait of a beautiful, black-haired girl. She wore a resplendent dress, and had a faint smile on her face.
Shouzou’s impression was that she looked quite different from the video. “Though it might have been forward of me, I took the initiative to conduct my own investigation of the empire. I just happen to have an acquaintance who can use teleportation magic and has a bit of free time, so I’ve asked them to do a little bit of reconnaissance for me.”
That acquaintance was the Grade 7 goddess, Emalia. At the start, her role was to tutor the Onigawara children. However, Yuna went off to work at the guild, and Silvia said she could handle it herself if it was just Kana. That left Emalia with absolutely nothing to do. Therefore, Shouzou gave her a camera and sent her off to check out various places.
“Among the possibilities that I considered, the most politically motivated choice would be her.”
“By which you mean...?”
“She is the symbol of the anti-emperor faction. By sending her out of the country with a valid pretext, the anti-emperor faction loses its support, and thus becomes weakened.” However, a tinge of unease whispered to Shouzou that that might not be all to it.
“So you are saying that we’ve been made use of. Wait. That doesn’t make sense then.”
“Is there something on your mind?”
“Indeed. Actually, the other side posed a rather strange condition while agreeing to proceed with the talks.”
Shouzou tilted his head. This was the perfect excuse to chase out the figurehead of the opposition faction. Why would the emperor pose uncalled-for conditions that might cause that to go awry?
“What they said was they ‘wanted to ascertain the state of the country that the princess was going to marry into.’ To that end, the diplomatic envoy was accompanied by the princess’s lady attendant, who will be staying for a while.”
“Ascertain not the prince himself, but the state of the country?” That was the kind of thing that’s normally done by sending in spies. Rather, declaring it out loud would take all the meaning out of it. It becomes a given that everything within the vicinity that could be observed would become strictly controlled. Even Shouzou could not puzzle out the intentions of the emperor.
However—
✦ ✦ ✦
★
After being told “I leave the envoy in your hands” by the king, Shouzou was guided to the royal villa. He did not feel like a troublesome duty had merely being forced upon him. Rather, it was a responsibility of great import, and he pulled himself together while stepping into the designated room.
(I see. Wanting to observe the state of the country was not the will of the emperor, but that of the princess herself.)
The moment he saw into the room, the dots in his head connected. Waiting for him inside the room—
“P-Please take care of us. I am Princess Yuliana’s personal attendant. My name is Hanna.”
Shouzou was not surprised at the slightly chubby girl.
But next to the girl, there stood someone wearing the outfit of a butler. “I am her guard, Yuli.” Although this Yuli’s shoulder-length black hair was tied up in the back and was wearing a man’s butler outfit, this girl was undoubtedly—
(Princess Yuliana, in person.)
This world did not have the technology to record videos. Her intention behind wanting to check out this country with her own eyes surely meant—
(She wants to gauge whether the kingdom could be a reliable ally or not.)
Shouzou suddenly felt a heat coursing through his body. This marriage proposal was mired in a whirlpool of schemes from ally and enemy and even the forces in opposition to the enemy. He was going to make every single person involved understand one thing.
—Namely, that marriage is something for two people who love and treasure each other!