Episode 91: Princesses and Those Kinds of Matters Go Hand-in-Hand
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“What did you say!? The Demon Tribe appeared before Kenta-dono again!?”
Victoria had a bad feeling ever since she was told there was an urgent message from the guards in the forest where Kenta was hiding, but the report made her want to bury her face in her hands.
“We just issued a formal protest as a nation the other day… What on earth are the Demon Tribe thinking? Could it be that they desire war with our country…”
Why was Victoria, a princess, troubled by the distance between her country and the Demon Tribe Nation?
She thought such political decisions should be made by the King, but there was a reason for this.
The thing is, ever since Victoria’s younger sister, Wimple, was executed by Kenta, the King had become constantly fearful of something, and his mental state had deteriorated to the point where he couldn’t make proper political judgments.
Although she hadn’t yet inherited the throne, it was widely believed that Victoria would soon be crowned as queen, given the King’s condition.
And Victoria, having witnessed her father’s condition up close, felt a strong sense of responsibility and took the initiative to act as the King’s representative.
Just the other day, she had issued a rather strong protest to the Demon Tribe Nation.
Ignoring that and visiting Kenta’s residence… or rather, according to the report, it was an assault.
This move by the Demon Tribe Nation made Victoria wonder if she was being underestimated, or if the Demon Tribe Nation wanted to wage war with Weimar.
Or perhaps…
“Even so, why are the Demon Tribe so concerned about Kenta-dono? Certainly, Kenta-dono is a hated enemy who killed the previous King, but isn’t it too late for revenge?”
Victoria said this as if talking to herself, but her voice was louder than she intended, and it was heard by those around her.
“Perhaps there is something about Kenta-dono that the Demon Tribe Nation cannot help but be drawn to,”
said an old man who had been an important figure in the country since the time of the previous King. Victoria pondered various possibilities.
According to the report, even Ota, the remaining Summoner, had been mobilized this time.
The reason why the Demon Tribe is so fixated on that place…
Thinking about it, Victoria remembered that place.
Come to think of it, she had visited that place many times, and there were three large houses built there.
As far as Victoria knew, the only people there were Kenta, and Ivern, who was in charge of Supply Procurement for that place.
And his wife and children.
The number of people, the number of houses, and the scale didn’t match up.
One of the houses there was undoubtedly the Ivern family’s.
One was the house of someone Victoria didn’t know or hadn’t been introduced to.
And the last one was Kenta’s house, but it seemed too big for one person to live in.
“…Could it be?”
Victoria imagined the worst possible scenario, one she didn’t want to consider.
Kenta was living with someone.
Since years had passed since the war with the Demon Tribe, it was unlikely that the Demon Tribe’s target was Kenta.
If so, the Demon Tribe’s target was Kenta’s housemate.
A person whom the Demon Tribe was willing to intrude upon, even ignoring Weimar’s protests…
Come to think of it, a certain person had gone missing in the Demon Tribe Nation.
Weimar was secretly searching for that person, but there had been no reports of finding them, nor had there been any reports of them dying somewhere.
In that case, there was a good chance they were living in hiding somewhere.
That person was close to Kenta in age, and their circumstances, such as being chased out of their country, were similar.
And above all, she had heard that Kenta was able to defeat the Demon Tribe King with the cooperation of ‘her’.
What if the two had met by chance while on the run?
What if those who had once cooperated to face a great enemy were both chased out of their countries and met by chance while on the run?
What would happen was obvious.
“No, no, this is no good. Only bad ideas are coming to mind.”
Victoria couldn’t help but mutter, but it was the same for the people around her.
“I understand your Highness’s thoughts very well. If that’s really the case, it’s understandable that the Demon Tribe is so eager.”
“The more I think about it, the more it feels like there’s no other reason.”
The important figures said one after another.
Victoria had the exact same opinion as the important figures.
After much deliberation, Victoria came to a decision.
“Kenta-dono greatly dislikes being involved with the outside world. In that case, we shouldn’t try to investigate the situation. We know nothing. Understood?”
“As you wish!”
The answer she came up with was to pretend she didn’t know.
She didn’t want to get involved in the Demon Tribe Nation’s succession battle, and above all, she was too afraid to provoke Kenta’s wrath by making unnecessary inquiries.
Even now, she didn’t know where she was being watched.
“So, your Highness, should we issue a protest to the Demon Tribe Nation regarding this matter as well?”
“Ah, please do. You may use my name as the King’s Representative. If it results in war with the Demon Tribe Nation, so be it.”
Weimar wanted to avoid war with the Demon Tribe Nation as much as possible.
However, if they did nothing here, they might receive a scolding from Kenta.
For Victoria, Kenta’s scolding was more frightening than war with the Demon Tribe Nation.
With this disturbance with the Demon Tribe Nation coming to an end, Victoria and the important figures felt a little relieved.
The important figures, who seemed to believe that this was related to the Demon Tribe Nation’s succession battle, let their guard down and inadvertently let their tongues slip.
“Even so, the Demon Tribe Nation is having a succession battle, huh? Your Highness, you should decide on a partner soon.”
Weimar only had two children of the King… no, had.
One had been executed by Kenta, so now there was only Victoria.
If something were to happen to Victoria, the King’s direct line would be cut off, and a king would have to be selected from a collateral line.
At worst, it wouldn’t be a problem if the country survived, but the important figures wanted Victoria’s child to inherit the throne if possible.
For that to happen, Victoria had to take a husband, but even now, Victoria’s husband candidates had not been decided.
“Not that topic again. No, I know it’s an important topic, but when we select husband candidates based solely on family and position, there’s no one decent.”
There were no decent people among the powerful in this world.
This was Kenta’s saying, but Victoria agreed with that opinion.
She was a person of power herself, but the people around her were terrible.
Only people who made her think that if she welcomed such people as her husband, the Royal Family would be taken over were being nominated as candidates.
The important figures, who understood the situation, couldn’t help but smile wryly.
Was there no man of her age, with a decent position, who had no desire for power and was devoted to her?
Just as such a luxurious thought crossed her mind, it happened.
“Excuse me! Urgent report!”
“! Enter!”
Victoria replied, and when the Royal Guard in the room opened the door to the conference room, there was a soldier whose expression showed confusion despite saying it was an urgent report.
“What is it? You said it was an urgent report, but you don’t seem to be in a hurry?”
The messenger soldier couldn’t help but smile wryly at Victoria’s words, then straightened his back and gave a report.
“Reporting! Just now, a person claiming to be a Summoner appeared and is making a fuss, demanding to meet with your Highness. What should we do?”
“…”
Victoria and the important figures couldn’t help but look at each other.
Among them, one of the important figures said.
“How about it, your Highness? How about settling for a Summoner at this point?”
Victoria immediately replied to the important figure’s words.
“I’ll pass.”