NOVEL WEB I felt dizzy.
It was even more so because I couldn’t refute Maria’s words.
Of course, the thought of running away was enticing. After all, the very idea of being bound to someone was unappealing, especially if it involved marriage.
The reason behind that was rather trivial. Well, it was trivial for others, at least.
There were just too many interesting things in this world.
To me, it was a significant reason, but I was fully aware that it wasn’t important to others. While everything felt new and exciting to me, like this world was one massive theme park, for those who originally lived here, it was merely part of their daily lives.
Having already experienced that difference of opinion with my family once, I had chosen the option of running away.
“Well, feel free to prepare whatever you like. No matter what you do, I’m confident.”
“Confident about what?”
“Confident that I won’t let you go.”
Upon hearing that, I checked within myself to see if there was any trace of foreign magic. I had doubts about whether she had cast a spell on me.
And upon catching a glimpse of Maria smiling subtly, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t resort to any underhanded tricks.”
“…Ah, damn it.”
I’d forgotten, having little experience living with a wizard. Wizards could sense and control magic without going through the complicated steps like knights; they could easily feel the magic moving around them.
In other words, she was watching me closely to see what I was doing with my magic.
I had fallen right into her trap.
“I might not know everything about you, but I know enough to understand what you like and dislike. I won’t do anything you’d hate.”
Her words made me feel slightly spiteful.
Honestly, I had been holding back for a long time. It was only because it was Maria that I had gone this far, even getting dragged into family disputes and smashing the Empress Faction.
Getting one sword in return for all that was honestly asking a bit much.
“What do you know about my tastes?”
I huffed out my discontent.
The answer I received was more than enough to leave me astounded.
“Things worth mentioning? That you hate it when your family calls you Bill, that you obsessively care about the numbers every time we make a deal, that you don’t particularly like money itself, that while you wield a sword, you actually prefer magic, that you enjoy acting all tough in front of women while subtly bragging about your chivalry, and that you have this strange aspiration of shooting light from your sword?”
What?! This girl is terrifying.
Her response made me shiver for an instant, as it felt like she was peering directly into my mind.
“…And you call those things worth mentioning?”
“There are quite a few things I know that are better left unsaid.”
Maria’s eyes, which had been beautifully curved, momentarily narrowed, and she shot me a pointed glare with a hint of disdain. The sudden change in her expression caught me off guard.
“Like the content of the books you usually read.”
“Wha—?”
I felt a cold sweat dripping down my back.
How did she even know that?
I was sure I had checked that nobody was around when I bought them!
“I never knew you liked animals that much.”
“Cough!”
“The fact that a person can adopt such a posture—”
“Enough, enough! That’s as far as you go!”
What on earth was she talking about?
In any case, I claimed ignorance.
Searching for illustrations depicting actual cases within a world where animal-eared girls exist was merely part of my quest for knowledge about this mysterious world—not an indication of any specific tastes I might have.
It definitely wasn’t because Matilda and the maids’ gazes hurt my heart that I was making excuses.
“…I didn’t expect you to know every tiny detail.”
“How about you acknowledge that I’ve put in a lot of effort?”
Honestly, now that we’d gotten this far, it seemed like she had no intention of hiding the things she had done until now. I even began to question if it was I who was being odd for feeling uncomfortable about it.
“But, aren’t you currently doing the very thing I hate the most, despite saying you wouldn’t do anything I dislike?”
“What?”
Maria looked at me with a puzzled expression.
Well, honestly, I didn’t mind being followed. I didn’t know what others thought, but at least for me, I didn’t think too badly of the people close to me showing interest in my likes and dislikes.
In fact, I hated it more when someone who didn’t know anything about me forced me to do things I disliked under the pretense of caring for me.
But one thing was clear.
I was not keen on marrying anyone. And Maria was pushing that onto me.
With her social status and public opinion as her weapons.
“Oh, are you talking about marriage?”
But she wore an expression that suggested it wasn’t a problem at all, almost proudly.
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine for me!”
“I’ll make you feel fine about it.”
She took another step closer to me.
And then, she casually tapped at the wrinkles in my clothing as she turned around and said, “In summary, I just need to make you not dislike the idea of marrying me, right?”
It was only after contemplating her words a few times that I realized what that implied.
——
A few days had passed since the banquet.
The Imperial Inspection Team announced the details of the scandal and embezzlement that had stirred up the Palatinate. Of course, the Empress Faction retaliated fiercely, calling it a political attack, but their protests were quelled by the authority of the powers that had already taken over half of the bureaucracy in the Palatinate.
“All the facts surrounding this matter have become crystal clear. We can no longer allow the court to be manipulated by those scoundrels. Strip all those responsible for this matter of their positions, and do not let me hear their names again.”
This was the Emperor’s decree demanding the punishment of wrongdoers.
Although the Emperor could not arbitrarily dispose of the nobility’s titles and territories, he wielded absolute power within the legal framework established by those very nobles. Matters related to court affairs were one of those legally defined issues.
And through this imperial decree, the nobles grasped where the Emperor’s intentions lay.
This was a warning from the Emperor.
“Forget the succession competition and all that nonsense; I’m still alive, so don’t cross the line.”
A warning to the Empress and her faction, as if they were freely playing with the capital’s power.
Even if a crime was uncovered, whether to punish it was entirely in the Emperor’s hands. Nevertheless, the Emperor ordering punishments regarding a matter that anyone could see had stemmed from the conflict between the Empress Faction and the Anti-Empress Faction meant that the Emperor no longer intended to overlook their actions.
“How could you do this to me, Your Majesty!”
Naturally, the Empress strongly opposed this. It was an unwritten rule that the Emperor should not meddle in the competition among successors.
The Empress took this as the Emperor’s interference. Thus, the very day the decree was issued, she boldly confronted the Emperor. However, the Emperor’s response was cold.
“It’s truly fortunate that I did not touch the military under your command. Otherwise, I might have had to execute traitors myself.”
In fact, the Emperor reprimanded the Empress.
The implication was clear: if he had intended to intervene in military authority, he would have drawn his sword personally, regardless of rules or whatever else. The unusually direct words made the Empress turn pale.
“Though the sun rises high, why are you already pointing at the moon, Empress?”
With those words, the Emperor shot back and issued an order for her to return to the Empress’s palace, led away by her attendants. Although this private conversation between the imperial couple wouldn’t be made public, the powerful officials sensitive to power dynamics heard various accounts of it through numerous channels.
They immediately lowered their bodies and acted cautiously. Naturally, the Empress Faction could no longer strut around as before. Anyone who heard that the Emperor regarded their actions as a challenge to his authority would no longer survive in the Palatinate if they behaved like fools.
As the high-ranking officials fell prostrate, the perceptive ones followed their lead and tucked their heads into their shells. Those who had been merrily rampaging, thinking their competitors had disappeared, met a social demise at the hands of the axe wielded by the imperial palace.
And within that situation, there were those who were chuckling.
These were the ones who had to forfeit their interests because of the Empress Faction.
For example, Archbishop Paolo.
——
“Ha ha ha! This is downright refreshing!”
The Archbishop, who had graciously received generous donations from Maria in exchange for his assistance, laughed while shaking his wine glass. The swishing drink elicited gasps of awe, as if he had procured some extraordinary fine wine; in reality, it was merely a respectable product considered high-quality among those sold in stores.
He hadn’t embezzled money; upon receiving it, he promptly distributed it all to the children. To be exact, he deposited it with the merchant guild in the children’s names.
“Don’t you feel it’s a waste?”
At my question, he paused his hand that was shaking the cup.
“…How could it be a waste? It was due to my neglect that such a situation arose for the children. Therefore, this is a responsibility I must fulfill.”
He answered with a serious expression. After a brief moment of silence, he continued.
“I helped Sir Wilhelm and personally looked into the matter. Honestly, I didn’t think I had failed the children. However, I was curious as to why the children had gotten involved in such actions, so I called in the ones connected to this incident to ask them.”
With a gloomy expression, he lowered his eyes for a moment.
“This place is not meant to raise children until they grow up. Essentially, it is a shelter for abandoned children until they can be adopted. Most are raised until adulthood, but…”
I was already aware of that. In such churches or monasteries, it was often the case that those helping priests with chores lived there having grown up in orphanages, excluding the priests themselves.
Of course, that was just a small minority, as most would become independent.
“However, the rate of children being returned was quite high.”
He spoke with a sigh.
“Many treated the act of adopting and raising children like taking care of pets. It was not uncommon for them to return a child they didn’t like. A dreadful situation, indeed. So—”
He was about to elaborate further when he stopped.
“…I apologize for rambling on. I didn’t call you here to complain about my hardships.”
I shrugged, meaning it was no trouble.
In the end, he thought about how to reduce the burden on the children upon their return and decided to open bank accounts in their names to deposit funds.
Indeed, this man was quite peculiar.
Anyway, contrary to his earlier remarks, that wasn’t why I had come to see him today.
“So, is it about that time now?”
“Well, I suppose that’s one way to put it…”
The Archbishop looked at me with a puzzled expression in response to my reaction.
“Is there any problem with that?”
“Should I even call it a problem? Well, it’s not exactly a problem…”
After much contemplation, I finally decided to lay my circumstances bare to him.
“…I just came to let you know that it seems I’ve ended up simply taking commissions without any escape plans.”
It seemed I could mention that Maria was watching.