Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 10 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue — The Next Steps

All of Zenjirou’s goals in the Twin Kingdoms had been accomplished. Isabella, the healer, was staying in the royal palace until Aura gave birth, and he had been able to buy the cooling tools for Freya’s room, where they were now installed.

While it was the active season, midday temperatures still soared to over thirty-five degrees, so the tools were greatly appreciated considering Freya’s upbringing on the Northern Continent, and she had repeatedly spoken of her gratitude.

However, while his initial objectives had been fulfilled, there were matters that were not yet resolved, which had come up throughout his trip. They involved Talajeh of the Elementacatto family and Fiqriya of the Animeeum family.

Both were daughters of important noble families and had come to Capua. Lucretia Broglie would be joining them in around a month, having taken the land route. Isabella’s presence meant that Aura could push herself much more than before, but she still had to admit that she was shorthanded even so.

The night Zenjirou had returned, the queen and consort had sat opposite each other in the air-conditioned bedroom for a frank discussion.

“I would rather not, but I need to appoint a prime minister and marshal. However, merely making those appointments would do nothing but weaken the royal family. Therefore, I need to officially grant you a duchy. It will happen around the same time Lady Lucretia arrives.”

The words sounded grave, but it was something he had already heard, so Zenjirou wasn’t particularly surprised.

“Mm, got it. I more or less know who’s going to be the marshal, but I’ll ask anyway. Who are you appointing to the roles? Also, what specific title will I have?”

“As you have guessed, the marshal will be Pujol. As for the prime minister, that will be Viscount Regalado. You will be Duke Bilbo. The title comes with no territory, but it is an official title. You will have to attend more events as a duke than as just my representative.”

That would be an alluring proposition for someone after power. For someone like Zenjirou, though, it was an extra burden. That said, it was one he would take on for his wife.

“Right, Duke Bilbo. Got it. The main effect will be needing to attend more events without being there as your representative, right?”

The queen shook her head. “No. You will—at least in name—be the head of a ducal family linked to the royal family. In other words, the head of a branch family. Part of the palace will be designated as the Bilbo estate and belong to you. Official duties for Duke Bilbo will come to you in the future. Accompanying that will be approximately ten knights and a hundred soldiers who will be specifically assigned to you. A portion of the royal budget will be automatically assigned to the family, so their pay will come from that.”

“Urk, soldiers of my own,” he murmured, a frown marring his face. He would be the queen’s spouse and yet possess his own forces and money. He couldn’t honestly see it as a good thing. “Make sure you keep an eye on the money and men. Trust and blind faith are different things, after all.”

“I know,” Aura replied, unable to hold back a twisted smile at her husband explicitly saying that.

Despite his words about blind faith, Zenjirou couldn’t see himself going against Aura. The personal budget gave him a sudden realization, though.

“What about the maids in the inner palace? They’re technically mine rather than yours, right? Will their pay come out of that as well?”

Aura shook her head in response to his concern. “No, the inner palace belongs to the royal family. You stand at its head as the royal consort. The money comes from the royal family. I am the head of that family, and in that respect, you are my husband and a member of that family. You simultaneously head the Bilbo family, but that does not change your standing as a member of the royal family. Those expenses will fall to the main family as they have until now.”

“I see...” It was a bit complex but not something he couldn’t understand. “It’s not going to cause an issue appointing Natalio as the mediator for the knights, right? I know him and would rather do that.”

Aura considered the question briefly before nodding. “Indeed. The Maldonado family is not quite highly ranked enough for such a role, but if that is what you desire, it will be no issue. However, you will need to take Natalio’s perspective into account when hiring any new knights. The Maldonado family has no noble rank, so hiring a marquis’s or count’s heir will likely cause friction.”

“Got it; I’ll make sure to discuss that with him. I’d like to borrow Fabio for those discussions.”

“He is rather busy at present. I apologize, but you will need to satisfy yourself with the second secretary, Alejandro.”

“Got it.”

A simple discussion between royals had seen Natalio go from a knight attached to the royal guard to the commander of Duke Bilbo’s knights. Aura’s consideration for her husband here would actually cause a fair deal of tumult within the knight’s family in the time to come. After all, since the end of the great war, opportunities for knights to make a name for themselves were few and far between.

In the midst of that, a new—albeit small—knight order had been formed and Natalio would have a big say in the selection for it. The Maldonado family, despite being nothing more than a simple knight family, would be inundated with knights dozens of times beyond its capacity and become the center of significant upheaval, but that is a story for another time.

Once his own rank had been fully discussed, Zenjirou questioned the name that had immediately preceded it.

“So, I know General Pujol, but I don’t think I’ve heard Viscount Regalado’s name before?”

The queen thought for a moment. “Ah, I have not yet explained in detail. I believe you will have met him several times within the palace. Viscount is not a particularly high rank, but his family has a long history and a more important position than the title would indicate. He is not untalented and distances himself from Pujol. He has his idiosyncrasies, but he is a trustworthy person.”

“Hmm.”

From what she said, he seemed like a safe choice. Zenjirou had a strong feeling that it had been decided first and foremost based on Pujol’s own advancement.

“If you’re against General Pujol, what about Count Márquez or Margrave Gaziel?” Zenjirou asked.

Aura shrugged before disagreeing. “Regional lords are generally ineligible for posts in the palace. It is an unwritten rule that the benefits of the palace are for the nobles within it. The general before Pujol was an exception to that, but we were at war.”

“I see.”

It wasn’t to the same extent as the Twin Kingdoms, but it seemed that Capua had its own share of complexities and power balances.

“That is enough on those topics,” Aura said. “Zenjirou, I have a serious thing to discuss with you.”

The rest of the night’s discussion had seemed serious enough, but he didn’t feel like making that comment since Aura’s expression was very much the one she wore when acting as the queen.

“Right.”

Once he adjusted himself in his seat, Aura began.

“Princess Freya was able to buy the purifier she wished for. She was also granted the immensely powerful and unexpected Lulled Sea.”

“Yup,” Zenjirou agreed, nodding as the conversation moved along.

“As a result, she believes the intercontinental journey will be far safer. The chances of the Glasir’s Leaf getting into an accident are now one in ten thousand. However, the port of Valentia that we own has no one experienced in intercontinental travel. I cannot make that decision, but what are your thoughts?”

“Hmm, I don’t know about one in ten thousand, but it’s definitely far less risky.”

“I see...” The queen fell silent for a while.

“Aura?” Zenjirou prompted her. It was a rare thing indeed for her to falter like this when she was speaking as the queen. His call seemed to bring her back from her thoughts and she took a deep breath before speaking. “Zenjirou...would you accompany Princess Freya to the Northern Continent on the Glasir’s Leaf?”

There was a long silence as Zenjirou struggled to understand exactly what she was implying.

“Pardon?”

To be continued in The Ideal Sponger Life 11.