“Just what in the world happened to make them come up with a plan to kidnap Lecty?”
Just saying it made my anger rise, but I somehow managed to stay calm and asked Idiot. Idiot remained seated on the sofa, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped.
“…You know that House Hortness belongs to Prince Slay’s faction, right?”
“Yeah. Marquis Puridi switched to Prince Lucas’s side, and now Marquis Hortness is the head of the faction, right?”
“That’s right. My father was lamenting that he’d drawn the short straw. It seems Marquis Puridi was quite skilled at managing the faction. The moment the Marquis defected, Prince Slay’s faction fell apart.”
Probably Marquis Puridi’s divisive tactics and Lily’s engagement annulment also had an impact. The internal situation of Prince Slay’s faction seems to be much worse than I had imagined.
“My father ran around trying to rebuild the faction somehow. It was at that time that a man named Malicious, who manages the Reese Cathedral, approached him.”
“Cardinal Malicious, huh…”
“Judging from your reaction, you seem to know him.”
“Well… a lot of things happened.”
Thinking about it makes me irritated too.
“Could it be that Malicious offered to treat His Majesty the King…?”
“So it seems. To rebuild Prince Slay’s faction, they needed a visible achievement. My father and Prince Slay had no choice but to accept the proposal. As you know, His Majesty the King was successfully restored thanks to Lady Lecty and the Holy Maiden. Prince Slay should have gained the achievement of inviting the Holy Maiden and saving His Majesty the King.”
“The miscalculation was Lecty and Prince Lucas, right?”
“That’s right. The results were shared with Prince Lucas. Moreover, at the Night Soiree celebrating His Majesty the King’s recovery, Prince Lucas showed off his restored eyesight. It’s safe to say that the tide had turned. Not only the nobles who had been hesitant to take sides, but even the nobles who belonged to Prince Slay’s faction flocked to Prince Lucas’s camp.”
“So, Prince Slay and Marquis Hortness, cornered, are trying to kidnap Lecty?”
“…No, it’s not just that.”
Idiot poured more water into his glass and drank it.
He sighed and continued.
“What was fatal was that both Prince Slay and my father were deceived by a man named Malicious.”
“Deceived…?”
“It means that the Holy Maiden of the Church had no power to heal diseases. It seems that many sick people visit the Grand Cathedral every day, but the Holy Maiden has not succeeded in treating anyone. His Majesty the King heard about it.”
“…Ah.”
When Rouge and I went to see Rosalie this morning, there was a bit of a commotion in front of the Grand Cathedral. It wouldn’t be strange if that information reached His Majesty the King.
“It wasn’t Holy Maiden Rosalie who cured His Majesty the King’s illness. The worst part is that a large reward was donated to the Reese Cathedral as a reward for Holy Maiden Rosalie.”
“…So, they were swindled out of money.”
Of course, Rosalie wasn’t doing nothing when His Majesty the King was being treated. I saw her working desperately with Lecty to save His Majesty the King.
But the fact is that Holy Maiden Rosalie had no power to heal diseases. Although she is a meritorious person, it’s not like she deserves the same reward as Lecty. Moreover, Lecty didn’t receive any money or goods as a reward…
That said, if they were to demand the return of the donation that had already been paid as a reward, it would cast doubt on the dignity of the royal family.
“Prince Slay and my father are being held responsible. They will probably have to make up for most of the amount paid as a donation from their private funds.”
“Is your family going to be okay with that…?”
“…I don’t know. But my father and Prince Slay, cornered, are trying to take a reckless, hard-line approach.”
“So, that’s why they’re kidnapping Lecty… But what are they going to do by kidnapping her? Are they going to use her as a hostage…?”
“…No. Apparently, Prince Slay intends to take Lady Lecty as his wife.”
“Huh!?”
“It seems they plan to adopt Lady Lecty into the House Hortness and marry her off to Prince Slay.”
“Seriously…”
Is he really going to carry out the forceful method that Lily mentioned before…? That’s too desperate, isn’t it…?
“What good will that do…? In the first place, they shouldn’t be able to order Lecty around with a Royal Decree.”
“What the Royal Decree prohibits is using power to forcefully issue orders. If the decision is made by Lady Lecty herself, it won’t violate the Royal Decree.”
“…So, they’re going to kidnap her, threaten her, and make her say she’ll marry him? Does that kind of sophistry work?”
“My father and Prince Slay are probably so cornered that they can’t even make rational judgments anymore. …I’ve completely lost faith in my father.”
“Idiot…”
I couldn’t find the words to say to Idiot, who was hanging his head in despair.
“…Please, Hugh. Please lend me your strength. I want to protect Lady Lecty.”
“Are you okay with betraying your own family…?”
“I don’t care. Rather, as the eldest son of House Hortness, I believe I should take responsibility.”
A look of grim determination was on Idiot’s face.
…Even if we can prevent Lecty’s kidnapping, what awaits us is the punishment of House Hortness. There is a good chance that Idiot will also be punished in connection with Marquis Hortness.
Knowing that, Idiot seems to have made up his mind.
“…Okay. Is it okay to tell Lily and Prince Lucas about this?”
“Of course. I’ll tell you as much as I know about the Kidnapping Plan.”
After that, I had Idiot write down as much detail as he knew about the Lecty Kidnapping Plan on paper and returned to my room.
I feel bad for Idiot, but I also shared the information with Rouge. There’s a chance that Rouge could also get caught up in the Kidnapping Plan…
“Kidnapping Lecty? Is Slay… is His Highness that cornered…?”
“It seems so… For now, I think I’ll consult with Prince Lucas about this.”
“Yes. Prince Lucas will surely come up with a good plan!”
Following the Rosalie incident, there’s the Lecty Kidnapping Plan. There are mountains of things to discuss with Prince Lucas.
I was initially prepared to be used in various ways, but before I knew it, I was the one bringing in trouble…