Chapter 3 “Milene Conspiracy”
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Part 1
After the meeting, Milene rented the Fraser family’s reception room to talk to a diplomat from the United Kingdom of Reparto —— [Ivan Soule Skira], or a nice middle old man as Leon calls him.
Ivan stands and looks out the window.
From there, a floating island with a fort could be seen in the distance.
Einhorn class is not in sight, but is surely anchored.
“Are there any other Einhorn class ships besides those two?”
Milene, sitting on the sofa, answers Ivan’s question with an expressionless look on her face.
“I haven’t identified the third ship. I can’t rule out the possibility that he may have a hidden one, but there would be no point in discussing it.”
“Right. As long as Raschel believes that Duke Bartfalt is on the border, that’s all that matters.”
Leon is coming to the border near Raschel.
If the enemy knew this, Milene thought, there was a high possibility that Raschel would withdraw.
Ivan looks at Milene and makes a meaningful smile.
“But still, what a sinful person. I have heard that the rumored Fiend Knight——the hero, Bartfalt-dono is crazy about the queen.”
Milene lets out a small sigh.
“It’s just a rumor. He prefers young women. Besides——He has young ladies by his side as his fiancées.”
Slightly. Really slightly, her heart ached at her own words.
Milene raises her eyebrows at the pain, which is like being pricked with a small needle.
Ivan, unaware of Milene’s feelings, seemed amused.
“Even so, it is Milene-sama’s achievement that you actually brought the Duke here. I am sure your parents back home will be pleased.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“But are you sure about this? If the Duke remains on this border, the other borders will be invaded by the enemy. The nobles guarding the borders will be dissatisfied.”
Ivan worried about the borders of the kingdom of Horfalt, but Milene did not seem the least bit impatient.
Milene, of course, knew that the other borders would be in a difficult situation.
Despite knowing about it —— She executed this operation.
“It’s tolerable. That’s better for the kingdom.”
Ivan shrugs his head slightly at Milene’s words.
“You really are as scary as you used to be. If Milene-sama had remained in the United Kingdom, I might have called you Her Majesty the Queen.”
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Part 2
“It’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
Lounge.
The people who gathered were regular members.
Me, my three fiancées, and Marie and her merry band of friends.
This time, Finn is also here.
But Finn just sat on the couch and listened in silence.
Apparently, he has no intention of expressing any opinion on our war.
Since he is an outsider, I appreciate that.
And it is Brad who is screaming that it is impossible in the lounge.
Brad’s family is a frontier Margrave —— That is a title given to the nobility who guard our borders.
It is a rank higher than the Count’s family, and in terms of scale, it is higher than the Count’s family —— the size of the Marquis family or Duke’s family.
The reason they have that much territory is to protect the borders.
When it came to defending the border, Brad was the most knowledgeable of us.
When I told him the outcome of the meeting, only Brad was impatient.
He adds gestures to let us know that this is a bad situation.
“I don’t want to complain about the Queen’s decision, but for once I don’t agree with it. If Leon is continued to be placed in the Fraser family, the other borders will have a hard time.”
Chris wonders about that topic.
“It will be tough, to be sure, but they will be on the defensive as usual. It will be a bit of a struggle, but the kingdom has other forces besides Leon. Reinforcements will be sent, don’t you think?”
The rest of the five idiots had a reluctant looks on their faces when they heard Chris’ words.
Chris grew up as a court nobleman, and yet he has always emphasized sword training.
In terms of military affairs, it is undeniable that he is inferior in insight to the other four.
He thinks there is a sense of urgency, but not enough to make Brad panic.
Brad yells at Chris.
“When the enemy finds out that Leon won’t move, they’ll come at us with everything they’ve got! And all at once! Do you think we can send reinforcements to all battlefields?!”
“N-No, I don’t think that’s possible.”
“That’s not the only problem.”
Brad sat down on the couch and hid his face with his hands.
“——If they think they have been abandoned, there will always be traitors.”
Brad, who affirms this, is questioned by Ange.
“Do you really think they would betray us? It’s hard to believe that they would make Leon their enemy by turning on him.”
“If they felt abandoned, they would have no choice but to betray us. They would rather turn and survive even a little than be destroyed by the enemy. Eventually, there will be nobles who will let them pass the border unimpeded. If that happens, the damage will continue to spread.”
Brad predicts that enemies who have passed through undetected will ravage the kingdom of Horfalt.
Greg sits on the couch, crosses his arms, and tells a story he has heard in the past.
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that border nobles have their own pipeline to enemy countries.”
It is an act of betrayal, such as protecting the border and communicating with the enemy.
The border nobles have their reasons, too, and Brad speaks for their feelings.
“They’re fighting each other, but negotiations will be necessary.”
When prisoners of war are captured, ransom payments and prisoner of war exchanges are also required.
They didn’t simply kill each other, but sometimes they had to talk it out.
This is why they often have connections, but when others see them, they appear to have internal connections with the enemy.
Apparently Greg will not tolerate having a connection with the enemy, as he is not happy about it.
Julius is more flexible than a simple Greg.
“It’s the same in the country. But the question now is my Mother’s decision. I was wondering why she placed Leon on this border at this time.”
I’m not too happy about the fact that because of where I am, things are going to be very different.
Luxion teases me.
[I pity the country that is being swayed by Master. You could say it’s hilarious.]
“It’s too much responsibility for me.”
As I was getting uncomfortable with the weight of responsibility, Livia poked me with her elbow, as if it was in my face.
“Leon-san, please be more serious.”
When I close my mouth, Jilk talks about Milene’s family home.
“The Queen’s family is the leader of the United Kingdom of the Reparto. They are the head of the parliament, and practically at the top.”
Noel opens her mouth.
“Just like Arzel.”
Jilk smiles at Noel and talks about differences.
“It’s a parliamentary system, but it’s a country with strong authority in the allied countries. Therefore, for the Queen, the United Kingdom itself is her home.”
Noel tilts her head.
“So?”
“We cannot deny the possibility —— that she is willing to suffer damage in the kingdom in order to protect her homeland.”
At Jilk’s words, everyone in the room stares at him, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by them.
Julius blames Jilk.
“You’re overstating things. Besides, for Mother, the Kingdom is her second home.”
“I hope so, but it is also true that the Queen’s behavior is puzzling.”
Jilk argues against Julius, but his tone is soft.
Jilk then continues to speak from the perspective of a court nobleman.
“The nobles on the border will have a tough time, but I’m sure the court nobles will be rather pleased.”
Chris, who was also born into a court noble family, frowned at Jilk’s thoughts.
Perhaps he felt uncomfortable, his voice was a little loud.
“Don’t put them together with you. I am emotionally distressed by this situation.”
“Chris-kun, you don’t understand. For us, the feudal nobles could potentially be our enemies. You should have understood that during the war with the former Principality.”
It’s a fact that the Kingdom of Horfalt hates the feudal noblemen and has a policy of keeping them in check.
Hearing that, Chris could not refute it, but kept his mouth shut.
Jilk, who knows a lot about court nobles, seems to know a way out of this situation.
As he walks slowly through the lounge, his left hand grips his right elbow.
He strokes his chin with his right hand and lets us hear his thoughts.
——Does he think he’s a great detective? I am annoyed by his attitude that he thinks there is enough leeway.
“Even if we survive this battle, the kingdom will be left with a group of lord nobles in the country who could betray us at any moment. From the court nobles’ point of view, they would want this opportunity to weaken them along with their enemies.”
When Jilk, a court nobleman, says it, it’s all the more convincing.
Brad, who comes from Lord Nobleman’s family that guards the border, seems to be impatient.
“The court nobles are no good because they only give priority to the royal family like that.”
Jilk apologized, but his face was smiling.
“It hurts my ears because I too come from a court noble family. My heart hurts when I think of Brad’s family protecting the border. Now, the solution——”
While everyone else is closing their mouths, out of nowhere comes the sound of a growling stomach.
Guguu~, a rather loud sound, but I was strangely distracted.
The tense atmosphere of the place collapsed in an instant, and Greg stood up.
“Who’s hungry at a time like this? You should be more nervous.”
Greg looked around, but was instantly flustered when he saw a person who looked down and raised her hand.
Everyone’s eyes are on Marie.
Marie looks embarrassed as she looks away from everyone, her cheeks drawn back.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Seeing Marie apologizing, the five idiots change their attitude all at once.
Julius pulls out his apron and hachimaki from somewhere and gets ready to grill the skewers.
“Then it’s my turn. Wait for me, Marie —— I’ll grill the best skewers for you.”
Marie puts a stop to Julius’ actions.
“Wait! Yesterday and the time before that, we had grilled skewers! I wanted something else—— wait! Listen to me!”
Brad holds Marie’s hand as Julius runs out of the room.
“There’s nothing to be shy about, Marie. I love the sound coming from your belly. I’ll go prepare some sweets for you, too.”
Marie has her cheeks drawn back.
I guess she can’t honestly be happy when she is told that her belly sounds beautiful.
“S-So.”
Leaving Marie with a subtle look on her face, Brad rushes out.
And this time, Chris was shining his glasses.
“If everyone else is going to prepare food, I’m going to prepare a bath. I’ll go scrub the bathroom for Marie!”
Marie was shaking her head, not understanding Chris’ behavior.
“Sorry, why the bath? I don’t understand.”
Ignoring Marie, Chris runs out of the room, this time it’s Greg.
He had no idea that it was Marie who let out a stomach rumbling, and it almost seemed like a lie that he was being so bossy.
“I’m sorry, Marie. But it was a lovely sound. I’m going to go get some chicken for you.”
Every one of them leaves the room to get their preferences in line.
As Marie stands stunned, Kyle comforts her.
“——Goshujin-sama is always having a hard time. I feel sorry for you.”
Kara, who had seen Marie’s pitiful appearance, was wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
“It’s still better than before, though.”
The last one left was Jilk.
“Then I’ll have a cup of tea for you, too, Marie-san——Eh?”
As he is about to leave, Ange grabs Jilk by the collar and pulls him forcefully to stay in the room.
“You wait. You didn’t finish what you said earlier! Don’t you have some solution?”
The most unlaughable trash. The most cowardly.
Jilk has the lowest reputation among the five idiots, but he is also rather dependable.
For us who are left behind, we don’t feel good because the detective-like thinking that he just did is on the halfway point.
Maybe Ange wanted to hear the end of the talk, so she kept Jilk in the room——.
“Please let me go. Marie-san is the priority right now —— bufu!”
As Jilk was about to leave the room, Ange slapped him on the cheek without hesitation.
A snapping slap sends Jilk to the floor.
“Isn’t it terrible!”
Jilk protests, but Ange, Livia, —— and even Noel surround him.
“Just tell us the rest.”
“I refuse. I will not succumb to violence.”
Although Ange threatened Jilk, he was displeased and turned his face away from her.
When I turn my eyes to Marie, who was watching us, she lets out a sigh and orders Jilk.
“Just explain it! It’s bothering people.”
Overwhelmed by Marie, Jilk reluctantly decides to talk.
“I can’t help it if Marie-san says so.”
At that time, he turned his gaze to me.
“—— I do not know the detailed intentions of the Queen and the court nobles, but there is a way to avoid the border nobles from betraying us. For that, we need your ship, Leon-kun.”
Jilk wants to borrow my ship, so I join the conversation.
“Einhorn?”
“Licorne is also fine. Then there are the jewels you got in the Republic, right?”
“I keep it at my parents’ house. What are you going to use it for?”
“We are negotiating with countries other than Raschel.”
When Jilk said to negotiate, Ange seemed disappointed or uninterested.
“It’s ridiculous. We’ve already tried to negotiate with them, but I hear that all of them have failed.”
The kingdom also reached out to the countries allied with Raschel, but the results were apparently not favorable.
But Jilk was confident.
“I’ve heard about those failures. But I can make it work. Shall I start by cutting off the weakest country first?”
I cross my arms and think for a moment before answering.
“——What do you need me to prepare?”
I ask Jilk what he needs.
Luxion shakes his red lens from side to side in amazement, but he doesn’t seem to be trying to stop us.
[Do you trust Jilk?]
“If we can avoid war, why not try different things?”
Ange and the others looked surprised, but I decided to rely on Jilk for now.
Jilk gives me a serious look.
“Then, I will ask you to provide me with several jewels for bargaining material. Other than that, I would like an escort. I would like to ask you to lend me Greg-kun and Chris-kun.”
Indeed, those two would be suitable to be escorts.
“I’ll give them an order.”
Jilk said, ‘While at it’.
“I’m also taking Brad-kun with me. He is the link to the nobles on the border. Besides, Brad-kun is familiar with the feelings of the nobles guarding the border. He will be a good advisor.”
“I don’t mind, but it’s everybody but Julius.”
“I’m afraid I can’t even use His Highness.”
“So you mean, you’re going to use the other three guys?”
“It’s to overcome this crisis. We need all three of them to work.”
I let out a small sigh.
I don’t like accepting Jilk’s idea, but let’s have the four of them work here.
“Got it. I’ll get everything ready. You can use all three of them.”
Then Jilk thought for a moment and looked at me and smiled.
The gesture bothered me, so I asked Jilk.
“What? You grin at people’s faces.”
“No, I didn’t expect you to accept everything. Then I will do my best to live up to my boss’s expectations.”
As Jilk got up and left the room, Livia looked anxious.
“Leon-san, are you sure it was a good idea? It’s Jilk-san, you know?”
Without saying it outright, Livia did not trust Jilk.
Well, it’s not surprising if you look at that guy so far.
Noel also seems anxious about my decision.
“You sure? I hear he’s an unlaughable piece of trash. In fact, there’s only one person in the Republic who’s ever done something that wasn’t funny, right?”
Ange was holding her forehead with her hand.
“I respect Leon’s decision, but that guy will do unnecessary things.”
It’s a mixed assessment, but I believe in Jilk.
“Just try because we have nothing to lose. Besides, that guy is a coward.”
Luxion made a full clockwise turn on the spot.
[Do you trust a coward?]
“Cowardice in battle is a compliment. You’re the one who said that, right.”
Luxion stops further questioning and obeys my orders.
[—— Preparing for the launch of Licorne.]
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Part 3
Next morning.
Milene was walking down the corridor of Marquis Fraser’s castle.
Perhaps she is in a hurry, but she is leaving the maids behind because of her fast walking.
“Milene-sama, please wait!”
The reason Milene is in such a hurry is because she heard bad news this morning.
The destination was one of the rooms reserved for Leon and the others.
This is the room used by Leon and others for rest and chatting.
When the door was opened somewhat roughly, it was Ange who was there.
She looks a little surprised, as if she didn’t expect Milene to show up.
“——I was going to ask you.”
When Ange says so, Milene blames her for acting selfishly.
“I have been informed that Licorne has left the port. Is it the Duke himself who is on board?”
When Milene heard that Licorne had left the port in the first place, she rushed to get confirmation.
Licorne leaving Fraser territory at this time is not a situation that Milene had planned for.
Ange shrugs her shoulders.
“It was Leon himself who gave the order, but it was Jilk and the others on board.”
Milene regrets Leon’s shallowness.
“Oh my goodness. Ange, why didn’t you stop him? Didn’t I tell you that we need two Einhorn class ships to contain Raschel?”
They had promised in advance that both ships would be kept in Fraser territory for a while.
Milene’s reaction to being disobeyed is probably justified.
But Ange’s priority is Leon.
“It was Leon’s decision. I did not stop him because I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Milene lets out a deep sigh.
“The Duke himself is in this castle, isn’t he?”
“Of course.”
“That is fine. I will explain it to the Reparto’s diplomat and Marquis Fraser.”
With that, Milene left the room, her brow furrowed and biting her lower lip.
(I misjudged how naive he was.)
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Part 4
The guest room of the Fraser family.
The room Karl used was the kind of room used by servants.
In a previous life, the room would be like a business hotel.
Finn, who visited there, laughs at a disgruntled Karl.
“You’re a nice match, old man.”
“Noisy, kid. Good grief, who do you think I am?”
“It’s not fair to bring up your position when you’re coming here secretly. Blaming the Fraser family is wrong.”
Karl, who has been corrected, looks disgruntled, but keeps his mouth shut.
Karl asks as Finn sits down on the couch in his room.
“So, how’s the Fiend Knight doing?”
To Karl’s question, Finn answers in a troubled manner.
“He is trying to avoid war. Hey, old man. I just don’t think he’s as bad as they say he is. Besides——he is my friend.”
Carl dropped his gaze at Finn as he spoke about Leon.
“It’s unusual for you who don’t like to socialize. But it’s my job to judge.”
Finn shrugs his shoulders and teases Karl.
“You’re just throwing your work away to come here.”
“You’re a real loose-tongued kid, you know that? Anyway, how’s Mia doing?”
When asked about Mia, Finn answers honestly.
“She is going sightseeing in Fraser territory with the princesses. Don’t worry, I’ve got Kurosuke by her side.”
Karl smiles slightly when he hears that.
“I see. She is the same age as the princess of this country, isn’t she? I’m glad to see they are getting along so well.”
To a happy Karl, Finn talks about Mia at the school.
“It’s not a bad environment either. Mia seems to be having a good time and making new friends. As for me, I’m surprised that the princess is a reincarnated person.”
“I was also surprised when I got the letter. Good grief, what exactly are we reincarnated for?”
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