Chapter 6 – Lucretia Broglie
When he slowly opened his eyes after listening to his beloved wife chant the ?Teleport? spell, he found himself already in another room.
Unlike the room in Carpa Kingdom’s royal palace, where Aura and Zenjirou had been alone, this room is much larger with many people lined up at attention.
For an instant, the many armed knights made Zenjirou fear the worst, but his worries were quickly allayed.
That’s because the slightly annoying but ultimately reassuringly large build of Carpa Kingdom’s prided great general, Puyol Guillén, enters his sight right away.
“Zenjirou-sama, allow me to express my heartfelt congratulations for your safe arrival.” (Puyol)
Despite having to watch General Puyol bow in a refined manner unsuited to his large build, Zenjirou manages to keep up a royal expression, raising his right hand slightly, and answering with,
“It’s a great honor to be greeted by you personally, General. I’ll be in your care.” (Zenjirou)
“Yes, Your Majesty.” (Puyol)
After this exchange, Zenjirou finally had the time to check his surroundings a bit. Now that he’s calmed down, he finds other familiar faces among those welcoming him.
His personal Knight Natalio who had been sent here ahead of him. Several of the inner palace’s maids like Ines. Furthermore, he remembers some of the faces of the soldiers around Natalio.
They are Natalio’s subordinates and had been assigned as Zenjirou’s guards when he went to the March of Guzzle.
Since Queen Aura should have only sent Ines and Natalio here with ?Teleport?, they must have taken the land route over the last few weeks with the other soldiers.
(I guess I need to reward them somehow, later.) (Zenjirou)
The fact of Zenjirou considering something like this so naturally might be proof that he has become a lot more used to his position as ?Royalty? than he thought.
(At any rate, somehow it feels quite obvious at a glance that this is a ?Foreign Country?. Carpa Kingdom has an atmosphere similar to that of India and other southern countries, but this place feels like the Middle East, I think?
The air is very dry, too. Come to think of it, half of the Twin Kingdom’s territory was a desert, wasn’t it?) (Zenjirou)
Looking around like a country bumpkin isn’t befitting of a royal like Zenjirou, but he still finds it difficult to subdue his curiosity.
The carpets and furniture being different is only natural, but even the structure of the room itself is different. As an amateur Zenjirou can’t quite put it into words, but he grasps that it’s distinctly “different”.
This is clearly a foreign country with a foreign cultural sphere.
Having judged that Zenjirou has become more comfortable, people with fair hair and white skin begin to approach him.
It goes without saying that they are nobles of the Twin Kingdom of Sharrow and Jillbell.
The schedule has likely already been decided to some extent.
The Carpa Kingdom’s soldiers led by General Puyol also make space for them so that they are able to pass through unimpeded.
Before long they arrive in front of Zenjirou. The one leading the group is a petite girl, and Zenjirou cannot decide whether that is unexpected or not.
If Zenjirou’s judgment is correct, she seems to be around the same age as Nilda of the Guzzle family.
To put it mildly, she’s probably barely reached the age of fifteen.
The girl, who has a straight blond hair that is tied on one side of her head ? commonly referred to as a side tail ? lifts her skirt a little as she stands before Zenjirou, and says as a prelude,
“Please allow me to welcome you to the Twin Kingdom of Sharrow and Jillbell, Your Majesty Zenjirou. All of the kingdom’s people rejoice over Your Majesty’s visit from the bottom of their hearts.
I, Lucretia of the Marquis Broglie family, have the honor of extending their greetings as representative.”
The girl respectfully curtsied after saying so. Her neat side tail sways briskly.
Hearing this, the dressed-up men and women around her bow their heads, too.
(Marquis Broglie family? She’s not royalty?) (Zenjirou)
Zenjirou had been expecting the Sharrow family to send an ?Assassin? forth to act as a honey trap. Feeling slightly let-down, he responds to the girl ? Lucretia.
“I am Zenjirou, spouse of Carpa Kingdom’s queen, Her Majesty Aura the First. I am happy to have the opportunity to visit a nation that has had friendly relations with us for so long. Please take care of me during my stay here.” (Zenjirou)
“Yes! It may not be entirely to your satisfaction, but we shall strive to make you feel welcome to the very best of our abilities, Your Majesty.” (Lucretia)
The girl says with a smile, though she’s unable to hide her nervousness.
“Speaking of, I’m sorry to inconvenience you with the walk, but please allow me the privilege of guiding you to your quarters, Your Majesty. Is that alright with you?” (Lucretia)
Upon Lucretia’s words, Zenjirou remembers the explanation he had received from Aura in advance.
She said that basically all the countries that have friendly relationships with the Carpa Kingdom have prepared a special building for the sake of receiving guests through ?Teleport?. This is probably that building.
And it seems to have been decided that only this building can be the?Teleport? destination for the Carpa Kingdom’s royalty.
It might be a little extreme, but if the Carpa family didn’t abide by that agreement, they would be suspected to have taken part each time something disappeared from the royal palace or someone were to be assassinated.
It’s a well-known fact that the invocation of magic requires ?Correct Intonation?, the ?Correct Amount of Mana? and lastly a ?Correct Perception?.
Hence, if both sides officially agree on the condition that “You must not use that spell for any other place than here”, the awareness of “breaking that agreement” will apparently lower the invocation rate because it will be impeded by the ?Correct Perception?.
Of course, since that only amounts to increasing the mental pressure, it’s nothing that can hinder a caster at Aura’s skill level if they were determined, but for the inexperienced Zenjirou it might become quite an obstacle.
“Yeah, I don’t mind. Please go ahead.” (Zenjirou)
“Yes, this way, please.” (Lucretia)
All present leave the room, led by the blonde side tail.
(Ah, damn it! I forgot the digicam picture.) (Zenjirou)
Zenjirou suddenly remembered that he didn’t take a picture for ?Teleport?, but taking out the camera at this point would be too conspicuous.
For the time being I have no choice but to give up on it. There should be another opportunity.
Zenjirou is surrounded by the soldiers and knights of the Carpa Kingdom, not to mention General Puyol.
Of course the ones protecting him the closest are Natalio and the soldiers under his direct command.
The maids led by Ines follow from behind as well.
As he walks, Zenjirou looks at Lucretia’s back, but he can’t shake the feeling of something being out of place.
(Mmh? I wonder what it is? How do I put it? I feel like she’s acting somewhat unnaturally.) (Zenjirou)
From the short conversation they held before, this girl seems to be a genuine, high-ranking noble. In fact, the way she talks and her gestures were extremely refined, in contrast to her childish outward appearance.
But, now that he’s watching her walk from behind like this, it makes his hair stand on end for some reason.
(I wonder what’s going on? I’m pretty sure something is definitely weird here.) (Zenjirou)
Just as Zenjirou was wondering what it was….
“!?”
The girl walking in front stepped on the hem of her own skirt, making her almost fall over.
Because a woman walking behind her swiftly grabbed her arm at the last moment, Lucretia got through it without a major problem, but that still doesn’t change the fact that it was a mistake unbecoming of a lady.
“I-I’m very sorry. I-I showed you something unsightly.” (Lucretia)
The girl, who had stopped and turned around in Zenjirou’s direction, is blushing pitifully.
She reminds me of a turtle trying to withdraw its head into its shell, ducking her head and shrinking like that.
Just as he thought that, Zenjirou finally understood what was making him feel uncomfortable.
“Lucretia, I’m sorry if this is rude, but that dress doesn’t fit you, does it?” (Zenjirou)
Compared to her way of speaking, her movements were somewhat stiff. And her stepping on the hem of her dress is likely also due to her dress being too big for her.
Once he looks properly, he notices that the sleeves cover half of her palm. And the hem is also so long that she’s dragging it on the ground. Even the area around her collar is awfully wide. Her appearance is just like a girl willfully wearing the dress of her elder sister.
A petite, childish girl wearing a large dress is rather humorous and cute, but it’s unsuitable as attire for the daughter of a high-ranking noble.
However, having that pointed out, the girl straightens her back, and even though her face becomes even more red, she insists,
“I-It’s alright since I’ll grow into it very soon!” (Lucretia)
Seemingly unable to put up with the girl’s claim, the woman next to her, apparently a maid waiting upon her, cuts into the conversation.
“Lucy-sama, you made us unreasonably prepare many dresses at this size saying this, but you don’t seem to be growing at all? Even His Majesty Zenjirou-sama has noticed. Give up already and let me prepare you a new dress or shorten the current one.”
“Flora!” (Lucretia)
Due to the maid’s harsh retort, the girl raises her voice in protest, writhing in shame.
Thinking back on it, it’s the woman that previously grabbed Lucretia when she was about to fall over after stepping on her hem. From the fact that she’s calling Lucretia with her pet name Lucy, she’s likely her closest and most trusted aide.
At any rate, this is not an exchange that one should hold in front of royalty from another country, but as Lucretia’s appearance is childish, even the people watching the scene are just smiling pleasantly for some reason or another.
Rather than reprimanding them for their behavior, even the soldiers of the Carpa Kingdom smile softly after being shown something lovely and amusing.
“Lucretia, that’s a very interesting conversation, but could we continue on our way for the time being?” (Zenjirou)
Even on Zenjirou’s face, a natural smile can be seen. Without realising it, he had forgotten about his tension after being sent through ?Teleport?.
A little while later Zenjirou found himself in a room in a detached building of the royal palace.
This place seems to be a separate building of the royal palace ?Purple Egg Palace?which belongs to the Sharrow family.
Just as its name suggests, the ?Purple Egg Palace? is a building that uses violet as it’s thematic color. The domed ceiling also fits the name.
In the Middle East there are often buildings with round, onion-like, pointed roofs. This one is similar but it’s as if the point has been filed down.
It’s difficult for him to completely relax in the room with its exotic atmosphere, but with only his trusted knight Natalio and the inner palace’s maids being around him after entering the building, Zenjirou could let go of 80% of his tension.
“Phew…” (Zenjirou)
After sitting down in a chair, Zenjirou breathes out deeply, and rolls his stiff shoulders.
“Thanks for your hard work, Zenjirou-sama.”
“Yeah, thanks.” (Zenjirou)
Accepting the silver cup filled with water that the young maid handed to him, Zenjirou gulps its contents down in one go.
Of course the water cannot be compared to one cooled down by his refrigerator, but if you consider that it’s currently the ?Hottest Season?, it’s still plenty.
“Nevertheless, it really took a while to walk to this place.” (Zenjirou)
While muttering that, Zenjirou lowers his eyes on the wristwatch on his left arm and checks the time.
Given that he didn’t check when they left the?Teleport?building, he can’t say it with certainty, but it should have taken at least 30 minutes, if not a full hour, to reach this place by foot.
“Isn’t this building quite deep inside the royal palace’s grounds?”
Due to Zenjirou’s somewhat vigilant tone, Natalio’s expression tightens and he agrees,
“Yes. According to General Puyol, it appears that even within the ?Purple Egg Palace?, it’s a building located quite deep in. He said that the ?Inner Palace? of the Sharrow family is close by, too.
The building for ?Teleport? is situated in the middle of the ?Purple Egg Palace? and the ?Holy White Palace?, thus there’s a considerable distance in-between.” (Natalio)
“The inner part of the ?Purple Egg Palace?, eh?” (Zenjirou)
Zenjirou smiled bitterly at the directness of this.
Normally, inviting heavily guarded royalty from another country into the innermost part of a royal palace would be a dangerous action, but for the Sharrow family, drawing Zenjirou into the inner palace is likely a higher priority than mitigating the risks of doing so.
“At present I think it might be better to consider it difficult to get in contact with the Pope Jillbell family.” (Zenjirou)
Ines, who waits upon Zenjirou next to him as he mutters this, agrees,
“Yes. In addition, I’m sorry to say, but the usage of ?Teleport? in a foreign country is only allowed with the permission of the other country, except in an emergency. Even returning to the Carpa Kingdom might be difficult for a while.” (Ines)
If he were to use ?Teleport? to return unnoticed whenever it suited him, even though he has been invited as a guest of honor by another country, it might result in that country losing face.
Therefore, even if he has the means to?Teleport?, it’s not like Zenjirou can return to the Carpa Kingdom at any time.
Of course that shouldn’t mean that the Twin Kingdom will openly confine him since they don’t want to damage their reputation with Zenjirou and the Carpa Kingdom standing behind him. However, not giving permission for the usage of ?Teleport? for some reason or another is fully expected.
“I have resolved myself in that regard. Having said that, I have left Her Majesty behind during her pregnancy. If the other party tries to dodge the issue by remaining evasive for too long, I have every intention of exercising my rights.
You guys should resolve yourself for such a situation, too.” (Zenjirou)
“Certainly, Your Majesty!” (Natalio)
Due to Zenjirou’s unusually strong words, the soldiers starting with Natalio tightened their expressions again.
Zenjirou’s ultimate objective is a healing practitioner of the Jillbell family.
For the sake of achieving that objective, he can also compromise to some extent with the Sharrow family, but if they try to push their agenda while ignoring his wishes, he has no intention of complying in the slightest.
“For the time being, I suppose I have to be careful in various ways.” (Zenjirou)
Upon Zenjirou sighing, Natalio speaks up after a bit.
“Speaking of being careful; Zenjirou-sama, it might be best to not let your guard down around that girl called Lucretia.” (Natalio)
“Hmm?” (Zenjirou)
Hearing good advice from Natalio, who usually devotes himself to his guard duty silently, one of Zenjirou’s eyebrows twitches up.
“What do you mean?” (Zenjirou)
“It’s possible that it was authentic since it was carried out extremely skillfully, but to me, her almost falling over looked unnatural.” (Natalio)
Surprise dyes Zenjirou’s face at Natalio’s remark.
“For what purpose would she have faked it?” (Zenjirou)
Even if they are not royalty, Lucretia and the Marquis Broglie family should be quite high-ranking nobles, seeing as she plays the role of host for another nation’s royalty.
Zenjirou doesn’t understand why she would deliberately portray herself as clumsy in front of foreign royalty.
Ines advises Zenjirou, who is puzzled, with a gentle voice,
“Zenjirou-sama, don’t you think that this series of events considerably softened the atmosphere back there? Besides, it seemed as if you yourself, Zenjirou-sama, also harbored a favorable impression of Lucretia-sama.” (Ines)
“Well, you’re correct…” (Zenjirou)
It’s a definite fact that Zenjirou lowered his guard at the child’s insistence on wearing bigger clothes, “because I will grow big from now on.”
“Are you saying she expressly embarrassed herself and risked her health for that? You agree with this as well, Ines?” (Zenjirou)
The middle-aged maid, upon hearing that her opinion had been requested, tilts her head as if she’s troubled.
“Unlike Natalio-sama, I don’t excel at martial arts, so I can’t tell whether Lucretia-sama’s movements were an act.
However, the fact that the attendant called Flora propped up Lucretia-sama surprised me a bit. Even though Lucretia-sama might be small, catching a falling person without any kind of prior arrangement is fairly difficult.
However, going by the conversation between those two, Lucretia-sama seems to prefer such big clothes, so it’s possible that the maid might have grown accustomed to Lucretia-sama falling over and needing to be supported.”
“Hmm…” (Zenjirou)
Zenjirou folded his arms and considered Ines’s explanation.
At first Zenjirou felt let-down after being told that an innocent girl will be his host, but assuming that this was also included in the calculations of the other side, it would mean that he definitely can’t afford to be negligent.
“I will bear it in mind.” (Zenjirou)
It might only be now, in hindsight, but Zenjirou became alert to even more possibilities.
Meanwhile at the same time, in a room with no one besides her and her trusted aide, Lucretia Broglie – who had finished her important duty of guiding the royal member of the major power Carpa Kingdom – flung off what she wore in every sense of the word.
“Puhaaa! Agh, how damn irritating! Off, off with them!” (Lucretia)
She roughly threw off the ill-fitting dress along with a cat that sat on her. Borrowing the hand of her attendant, who holds out a change of clothes to her with practiced movements, the girl puts on another dress.
The new attire is a one-piece dress in a style that should really be called a house dress as it has very few decorations, but it fits Lucretia’s small body perfectly.
“Lucy-sama, you’re really causing such a ruckus every day. If that’s how it’s going to be, you should just wear proper clothes normally.” (Flora)
The female attendant ? Flora says as if fed-up, and shrugs her shoulders.
However, the girl rejects it, her golden side tail swaying strongly,
“Nope. If a petite, baby-faced woman like me makes a blunder wearing clothes that are slightly too big, it’s cute. In fact, after I started to go out in such outfits, the looks the men have towards me have changed, you know?” (Lucretia)
“That’s true, but at the same time the looks of the women have changed as well. They look at you as if despising you as ?that blatantly fake-airhead woman?.” (Flora)
Flora responds with a stinging retort towards the girl, who throws out her chest with an “Ahem.”
And yet she doesn’t waver at all.
“I don’t care. I can’t marry a woman anyway. Or rather, now that I’ve come this far, I don’t mind even if I’m hated by all men besides His Majesty Zenjirou.
The outcome of my life rests on whether I manage to seduce that man!” (Lucretia)
The girl tightly clenches her fists.
“It’s my humble opinion that it might be quite risky to bet your life on a breakthrough marriage, though.” (Flora)
“I’m well aware of the risks. But, since there’s no other path left for me to become royalty, it can’t be helped, can it!?” (Lucretia)
Flora sighs dramatically at the girl’s claim, seeing that her master refuses to concede no matter what.
“I understand your resolve. I will also cooperate with you to the best of my abilities. Please, just promise me that you won’t cause any trouble for the Marquis Broglie family.” (Flora)
Flora is Lucretia’s aide, but Flora’s employer isn’t Lucretia, but Marquis Broglie himself.
Even Lucretia becomes weak once the name of the Marquis Broglie family is mentioned.
“I-I know that! It’s fine. Even in the worst case, only you and I will take the fall. There won’t be any inconvenience to the Marquis family.” (Lucretia)
“…You don’t have any qualms about taking me down with you?” (Flora)
“In exchange you will become the aide of royalty, once I become a royal myself. Won’t that be a great promotion for you?” (Lucretia)
“Whether you are royalty or nobility, Lucy-sama will be Lucy-sama. I won’t change the way I treat you just because your social standing has changed.” (Flora)
“Thanks.” (Lucretia)
Lucretia trusted this older attendant who won’t abandon her, even if she says this and that.
“…”
“…”
As if uncomfortable with how nice a turn the conversation had taken, Flora breaks the silence and says to her younger master,
“By the way, Lucy-sama. I listened to the gossip from the soldiers of the Carpa Kingdom who arrived here first, but according to them, His Majesty Zenjirou dotes on his legal wife, Her Majesty Aura.” (Flora)
Confronted with her target’s relations with women, Lucretia wrinkles her nose.
“What about it? Since he’s a royal, it’s only natural for him to have several wives, right?
His Majesty Zenjirou loves Her Majesty Aura. But he loves Lucretia a lot more. As long as that becomes true, all will be fine, correct?” (Lucretia)
“Yes. Though that’s not where the problem lies.
The problem is that Her Majesty Aura, who His Majesty Zenjirou dotes on, is said to be ?an older woman with a tall figure, voluptuous breasts and hips?.
Excuse my impoliteness, but won’t advertising your childish cuteness as your main selling point have an adverse effect?” (Flora)
Lucretia trembled violently for an instant due to her attendant’s pointed remark, but she immediately shakes her head and gathers her thoughts.
“That’s not great news, but even so it’s useless. I can’t change my policy at this point in time anymore. Or rather, no matter what part of this body I prop up, I can’t hope for anything other than childish cuteness.
If I were to imitate an adult-like, sensual beauty, it would only be ridiculous.” (Lucretia)
“It’s completely as you say.” (Flora)
Having her self-deprecating words readily affirmed by her aide, the girl frowns with a slightly unhappy expression.
However, even with the new information, the girl burns with an indomitable fighting spirit, coming up with even more strategies.
“However, in a certain sense that might actually be good.
From now on the distance between His Majesty Zenjirou and I will shorten. I will be a willing ear and allow His Majesty Zenjirou to express his deep affection for Her Majesty Aura, maybe there might even be some merit to me attempting some of that adult seductiveness too.” (Lucretia)
“Although it’s not my place to talk about you wearing sexy clothes as the one who provided the information, but won’t that just end tragically?” (Flora)
“Shuddap. It’s a hypothetical strategy.
Knowing the other party’s preferences, a young girl bravely tries her very best to look like an adult. But she becomes teary-eyed when it doesn’t suit her at all…or something like that. Don’t you think that it will incite his desire to protect quite nicely?” (Lucretia)
“Really, for you to come up with such cunning plans one after the other, Lucy-sama.” (Flora)
Flora says in an utterly admiring tone, apparently beyond astonished.
In response the girl quickly donned a serious expression and said in a tone as if blurting out something important,
“That’s a matter of course, you know? After hearing about His Majesty Zenjirou, I’ve only been thinking of these things.
If I’m wedded to His Majesty Zenjirou and in the worst case, if I’m only blessed with his child, I will become royalty. No, I will be able to ?return to being royalty?.” (Lucretia)
Lucretia Broglie.
Her biological father is the second prince of the Sharrow family, Fribert. Her biological mother is the legal wife of the second prince, Iolanda.
However, because she didn’t possess the ability to use ?Bestowal?, the ?Bloodline Magic? of the Sharrow family, she was given away as foster daughter to an influential noble family, the Marquis Broglie family, as a child.
“For the sake of being able to call my father father and my mother mother at official occasions, I will do anything. I’m going to do it!” (Lucretia)
The girl’s determination was in all respects selfish, but exactly for that reason it was so steadfast that no one would be able to bend it.
~ To be continued in Volume 9
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