Chapter 2 “Marquis Fraser”
.
Part 1
Einhorn and Licorne sailed for Marquis Fraser.
While the two airships are heading for their destinations, Marie and I are sitting side by side on the sofa in the Einhorn lounge room.
Sitting on the other side of the low table was Eriya, who was nervously cowering.
He is in some kind of cold sweat, but it doesn’t matter.
Both Marie and I are in the middle of interrogating Eriya while intimidating him.
“Even if Roland approves, I’ll never approve.”
Erika and Eriya’s engagement is official and recognized by the state.
Since that was a long time ago, he didn’t need my permission in the first place.
But I could not remain silent.
After all, Erika is my niece from a previous life.
I would be willing to go to any lengths to make my niece, who took care of my parents, happy in this life. No, I will definitely make her happy.
To do this, he needed to evaluate a man named Eriya.
Eriya is scared, but he refutes my words.
“A-Ano, the engagement was decided by the kingdom——”
“What! You mean you don’t like Erika because the state has decided to do it!”
“No, no! His Majesty Roland was also strongly against it when we got engaged, so I wasn’t approved.”
In other words, Roland could not break the engagement even if he protested.
Given Roland’s attitude toward Erika, there is no doubt that he dotes on her.
Well, that guy would oppose it.
As for Marie, her back is resting against the back of the sofa and her chin is slightly raised.
While looking down at Eriya.
“I mean, are you really Eriya?”
She asked questions that were incomprehensible and puzzled Eriya.
“Eh? I-Is that a philosophical question?”
Naturally, he did not understand the intent of the question.
I grab Marie by the neck and take her to a corner of the room and talk to her so that Eriya can’t hear us.
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“You’re wrong. Listen, aniki.”
Marie begins to talk about the question she just asked.
“The character I know, Eriya, is a terrible person. He’s a very fat, ugly character, and he talks in a weird way.”
“Hmm?”
Marie and I looked at Eriya, and he seemed restless.
Sure, I don’t like Eriya, but I don’t think he’s as bad as Marie says he is.
I bring my face close to Marie’s and resume our conversation.
“Well, he’s not smart, but isn’t he normal?”
“That’s why it’s weird! The character Eriya, you see, is a nasty guy who torments the protagonist in the game along with the ill-natured Erika. He was a stupid little villain, the kind of guy Erika would always call incompetent.”
From there, I asked Marie to elaborate, and it seems that the character Eriya was terribly jealous of others.
The protagonist’s lover —— He has a terrible inferiority complex to the capture targets and has been harassing them at every event.
“Don’t even bad-mouthing Erika.”
“I don’t mean to speak ill of Erika either. But that’s the way it was in the game.”
After thinking about it for a bit, I tell Marie what she told me before.
“Erika said something about Eriya losing weight.”
“He’s lost weight, or rather, he looks like a different person already. Now Eriya is a good-natured bonbon, isn’t he. This is not the Eriya I know. He has nice skin, and how should I say it, he looks so clean.”
The original character Eriya was apparently portrayed as ugly as ever.
Marie was also concerned about Eriya’s attitude.
“And besides, being the heir of a marquis family is not so arrogant, is it? I didn’t hear any bad rumors about him at the school.”
Apparently, Marie had been doing her own investigation of Eriya.
As a result, apparently no bad rumors were heard.
I summarize a conversation about Eriya.
“In other words, he looks better than in that otome game setting, neater and cleaner, and not as arrogant as the heir of a Marquis.”
—— He didn’t seem to stand out at the school, but even with that, he’s not a bad guy.
Marie also looks frustrated.
“I can’t come up with anything to disapprove him.”
As the two of us were standing in the corner of the room with our heads in our hands, Eriya called out to us.
“A-Ano, are you okay?”
To Eriya, who worries about us, Marie and I tell him in a desperate voice.
“Don’t think you’ve won!”
“I do not approve of your engagement to Erika!”
With frustration, Marie and I leave the lounge.
Eriya, who was left behind, just stood there.
.
Part 2
“I can’t find any fault in Eriya.”
My room at night.
I was having a chat with Noel, who visited my room, and I was telling her what I had done during the day.
The talk was that I tried to find flaws in Eriya to make him unworthy of Erika, but there were none and I ran away.
Noel, lying on my bed, elbows propped up and head resting on her hands, sighed out in amazement.
Apparently, she doesn’t understand my behavior.
“If you can’t find any fault in him, then that’s fine right. Why is Leon interfering with the princess’s engagement? I know you care for her, but to go that far is going too far. It’s not like she’s your close family.”
Noel’s simple words hit the key point.
But since I wouldn’t say it’s the right answer, I’m going to digress.
“Julius, her biological brother, has the attitude that it can’t be helped. He’s cold toward his sister.”
“Isn’t that normal for royalty? I was five years old when I got engaged. Well, I didn’t know anything about it at the time.”
Noel then lay on her back and looked up at the ceiling.
Noel was born into a great noble family in the Republic of Arzel, but he was raised as a commoner for a long time.
Therefore, she does not know much about marriages between nobles.
I let out a small sigh.
“——Well, to put it bluntly, it’s more like a contract between houses, I guess.”
It’s a contract that ignores romantic feelings and strengthens the connection between the houses.
There is no respect for the will of the individual.
If they are compatible with each other, there is no problem, but it is not uncommon to find marriages where there is no such thing as love.
Too different from my previous life, but is there an age for this?
Once Noel raised her leg, she used the recoil to raise her upper body as it was.
Turning her face toward me.
“In the end, what do you want to do, Leon? Do you want to break off the princess’s engagement?”
“That’s! ——Not exactly.”
My goal is to make Erika happy, not to find fault with Eriya.
“More importantly, have you confirmed their wishes? About Eriya-kun’s wish, and the princess’s too? If they don’t wish for it, you can think about it, but if they’re okay with it, it’s a nuisance.”
“Uwh!”
Unable to say anything because she has hit a sore spot, Noel curiously ponders.
“In the first place, Marie-chan is also acting strangely. She’s trying to stop the princess from getting married. Angelica and Livia were concerned too.”
“Both of them?”
Ange and Livia are on board the Licorne, not the Einhorn.
The reason is that Ange wants to talk to Milene-san.
I looked out the window and saw Licorne.
It has a white hull and the same characteristic single horn at the bow as the Einhorn.
Noel was worried about me.
“When it comes to the princess, you both have a very narrow perspective. Angelica was concerned too, is there a reason for that?”
“Well, you know, various things.”
When I dodged the answer, Noel let out a small sigh.
She is smiling as if she is in trouble, so it seems she is not angry.
“Position and responsibility, it’s not easy being a princess, isn’t it?”
“——I guess so.”
It has great significance for Erika to marry into the Fraser family.
The impact on others is too great to break this off for personal reasons.
If she said she didn’t want to, she could move as she would like, but Erika accepted it.
“If only I could at least figure out her true feelings.”
.
Part 3
In Licorne’s lounge, Ange was having a conversation with Milene.
“Milene-sama, why are you stationing Leon at the border?”
Ange, who was distrustful of this request from the royal palace, was unable to gauge Milene’s intentions.
Milene smiles as she takes a sip of the hot milk offered by Livia.
“Ara, it’s delicious.”
Milene, who does not answer Ange’s question, compliments Livia on the hot milk she prepared.
“Thank you. A-Ano——”
When Livia looked at Ange, Milene let out a small sigh and put her cup on the table.
“——It’s to contain Raschel, you know. Is there anything wrong with that? 」
When Milene says it’s a natural leadership move, Ange stands up in agitation.
“Are you joking!? The correct answer is to let Leon stay in the royal capital and send him to the border if the situation calls for it. If we are only concerned about Raschel, our other borders will be in danger!”
Even if only Raschel is contained, if the other borders are not protected, the kingdom of Horfalt will suffer great damage.
In that case, it would have been better to place Leon in the center and let him glare at the surroundings.
From Ange’s point of view, it would be negligent not to do so.
However, Milene points out a major oversight in Ange’s statement.
It may have been a small problem militarily, but for Ange, it was a big problem.
“As usual, when you get worked up, you lose perspective. Ange —— No, Angelica, you’re overlooking something very important.”
“Overlooking? ——?!”
Ange notices and immediately covers her mouth with her hand.
Milene giggled at the sight of her.
“The fiancée you tried to protect by abandoning your parents’ house —— I hear that Duke Bartfalt, is very mentally ill from the war? Like, he has to take medicine every day to sleep?”
Ange makes a face that says, “Oh shoot”.
(Where did she hear about the medicine? Erika-sama? Or His Highness Julius?)
Even Ange is worried about Leon.
She wanted to reduce his burden as much as possible, but still, she could not overlook Milene’s strange military behavior, so she questioned her.
It’s not that she wants him to fight.
But it is also true that now Ange seemed to want to make Leon fight.
Milene soothes Ange.
“The Duke became a hero at a young age. It must be mentally stressful for him. His stationing at the border this time is meant to reassure the Fraser family. Even Raschel would not have attacked the Duke’s house so recklessly in his presence.”
Raschel has been beaten back by Leon many times.
It is hard to believe that they would charge in carelessly.
Ange wonders if she can somehow find out the true intentions of Milene.
But when she was told that it was “for Leon’s sake,” she could not say anything back.
If she accused Milene anymore, she would be accused of “Are you going to force Leon to fight?”.
That was the only thing Ange couldn’t stand.
(She’s a really cunning person. She understands exactly what I don’t like.)
She couldn’t say, “I want Leon to fight”, even if it was a lie.
When Ange falls silent, Milene traces the rim of the cup of hot milk with her fingertips.
“I promise not to burden the Duke with this battle. That wouldn’t be a bad thing for Ange and Olivia-san, would it?”
Milene smiles at Livia.
“E-Etto, ano.”
Seeing that Livia is having trouble answering, Ange answers instead.
“Yes, it’s not a bad idea. If Leon doesn’t have to fight. But is this really the way to win?”
Do you intend to win this war?
At such a question, Milene’s smile disappears and her expression turns serious.
“War is meaningless unless you win it —— Did you forget who taught you that?”
The one who once taught Ange that war is meaningless unless you win it —— It was Milene.
.
Part 4
Einhorn and Licorne enter the port on one of the small floating islands owned by the Fraser family.
A fort is located on a small floating island, and a military port is being maintained.
The area around Einhorn’s anchorage was swarming with soldiers from the Marquis.
“Is this the rumored Einhorn class?”
“There’s a horn.”
“This is the airship that destroyed the Republic with a single ship, huh?”
The soldiers of the Marquis family viewed Einhorn favorably.
As I watched the scene from the port where I landed, Luxion approached me and reported the situation.
[Master, the loading and unloading of the ship’s cargo has been completed. We have also completed the delivery of supplies to the Fraser family.]
“I appreciate it.”
[——Was that okay?]
“About what?”
Finn and Mia are the ones at the end of Luxion’s red lens.
When we arrived at the military port, Mia-chan was looking around with interest.
Finn, who is watching over Mia-chan, has a very gentle face.
Brave, as usual, was being teased by their side.
However, such a usual member is joined by an elderly man with a cane.
“Karl-san, huh? He’s the one who came from the empire because he was worried about Mia-chan. Besides, Finn probably said it would be okay, right?”
[It is a problem to trust those who are involved with demonic armor. They are the enemy.]
“Maybe so for you. But for me, they are not an enemy.”
Ignoring the dissatisfied Luxion, I stretch out.
“But still, I’ve been fighting ever since I entered the school. I feel like I’ve been at war ever since the first year.”
[In fact, you are still fighting. After all, wouldn’t it be better to destroy everything? That way, we can solve all our problems in a short period of time.]
“I’m a peace-loving man. I don’t want to choose that kind of solution.”
[It seems that even though Master loves peace, peace does not love Master. It appears to be unrequited love.]
“——You really are an artificial intelligence that doesn’t talk less.”
It would be too sad if peace didn’t love me.
Well, let’s ignore Luxion’s jokes.
As I wait, Milene-san and Erika come down the ramp.
It seems that Marquis Fraser approaches them as they walk on the red carpet laid out for them.
The silver-haired man, like Eriya, looks round and kind for a nobleman guarding the border.
“Welcome, Milene-sama, Erika-sama. Our family has been looking forward to your visit.”
Milene thanks Marquis Fraser.
“I thank you for your welcome. But this is an urgent time. I apologize for the short notice, but would you like to enter into a meeting?”
Marquis Fraser was surprised by Milene-san’s willingness to start work as soon as she arrived.
But he quickly nodded.
“Of course, we don’t mind. Also, diplomats from the United Kingdom of Reparto have arrived.”
Hearing Marquis Fraser’s words, I flinched a little.
“Reparto? Isn’t that Milene-san’s hometown?”
[The timing is too good, isn’t it.]
“——You pay too much mind to that”
As Milene and the others started to move, Eriya came down from Einhorn and ran up to me.
“Duke! I’ll show you around.”
Apparently, the one who was assigned to be my caretaker was apparently the heir, Eriya.
The Fraser family seems to be looking out for me.
“You’re trying to get points from me? Unfortunately, that’s not enough to make me accept your marriage to Erika——the princess.”
“I-I see”
Seeing Eriya’s shoulders droop in disappointment, I scratch my head, thinking I’ve said a little too much.
“More importantly, show me the way.”
“Y-Yes!”
.
Part 5
At Milene-san’s suggestion, the meeting was accelerated.
What appears to be the Fraser family’s conference room is furnished with a long, narrow table.
The other person sitting across from her there, though, was a member of the Marquis Fraser family and a diplomat dispatched from the United Kingdom of Reparto.
A clean-cut man with a well-groomed beard, he was slender and model-like.
He wears a suit and his hair is all back.
He was a nice middle-aged man, but his gaze was on Milene-san.
And there is some familiarity in his tone.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, but you are as beautiful as ever, Milene-sama.”
“You seem to be a smooth talker as ever”
“I mean it.”
From the way Milene smiles at the nice middle old man’s words, I understand that they know each other.
Milene-san looks somewhat kind, but after the greeting, she gets down to business.
“——Sorry to be so quick, but let me ask you about the position of the United Kingdom.”
Milene-san’s expression changed.
She was smiling earlier, but now she is not smiling.
When the diplomat senses that the mood has changed, he stops joking and changes his expression.
“We will not join a military alliance in which Raschel is the ally. There are sentiments among the kings of the member countries, but the people will not accept it either.”
He said there is no development that they will join hands with someone who has been tormenting them for many years.
Milene-san just gave a small nod, as if she had been expecting it.
“I’m sure you would.”
“Our country’s concern now is whether the Horfalt Kingdom will be able to survive this crisis. Does the current kingdom have the strength to overcome this crisis.”
The nice middle old man takes one look at me and then turns his attention back to Milene-san.
Milene seemed to be a different person than she had been earlier.
“No problem. That’s why the Kingdom is putting a trump card on these borders.”
Milene-san also takes one look at me and the mouth of the nice middle-old man relaxes.
He lifted the corner of his mouth and smiled happily.
“When I heard that you had deployed two Einhorn class ships, I expected that you would be Duke Bartfalt, after all. This should be enough to convince the Congress at home”
I didn’t say anything, but the conversation just kept going.
Milene-san continues to talk with the nice middle old man, but Marquis Fraser seems pleased that the meeting is going more smoothly than he expected.
Besides, no one tries to interrupt their conversation.
While Marquis Fraser is silent, Milene-san proceeds with the conversation.
“So do you have any idea what Raschel’s move is?”
“Of course.”
The nice middle old man responds firmly, letting us hear Raschel’s movements.
“At present, Raschel is currently assembling their flying battleships in the capital.”
Hearing this, participants other than Milene-san and the nice middle-old man began whispering and talking with others around them.
“The capital? Not a military port?”
“Wouldn’t they normally gather at a military port?”
“Why are they all concentrated in the capital? It’s as if ——”
Just as someone is about to say something, the nice middle old man says, louder than before, about Raschel’s objective.
“——Right, they are fortifying the capital.”
They formed a military alliance and were on the defensive in a situation where they were about to attack the kingdom of Horfalt all together with the neighboring countries.
I wonder what they are thinking?
While everyone around me looked as if they didn’t understand, only Milene-san remained calm.
I’m sure she had anticipated this development from the very beginning.
He raises his hand in a small gesture, silencing those around him before speaking up.
“They must have been afraid of the Duke Bartfalt and have defended themselves with all their might, and barricaded themselves in.”
Hearing this, Marquis Fraser was delighted.
He seems to be so happy and excited.
“As expected of the kingdom’s greatest hero! If there is a Duke Bartfalt, those guys will not invade our territory. If we can contain them, this battle will end in a victory for the kingdom.”
It may seem optimistic, but it is certainly containing a troublesome country.
If nothing happens as it is, the Kingdom of Horfalt will win from the point of view of national power.
——The nobles guarding the borders, other than Marquis Fraser, would suffer greatly, though.
The nice middle old man praises Milene-san.
“As expected of the princess of the United Kingdom. You have done well by bringing us the greatest hero of the kingdom. Now, the United Kingdom of Reparto and the Kingdom of Horfalt will be safe.”
Milene-san gave a wry smile, but it looked like a made-up smile.
“Let’s get through this crisis together.”
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login