Chapter 123: A Terrifying Man
The hastily conceived Operation: Deploy Ignat had an incredible effect.
No, it was too effective. Even Riana-san is head over heels.
What should I do? I looked at Yuri with a troubled expression.
“You should probably tell them early on that he’s married and they’re a devoted couple, shouldn’t you?”
Ah, right.
Thinking that was the case, I went to greet the women flocking around Ignat.
“Um, I’m glad you’re all safe?”
“Ah, Rui-san, thank you for the rescue.”
“Oh, is this His Highness the Prince? I am Lena Zel Lestall. I offer my thanks as well.”
I wasn’t quite sure they were that safe, so it came out as a question, but they didn’t have the mental capacity to spare for such things and replied normally.
Yuri and I also introduced ourselves normally, and then the conversation finally shifted to Ignat, but when I tried to talk about him, my mouth was covered.
“Um, Igna—mph!”
Huh… Does he mean I shouldn’t mention Natalia-san?
Could it be, are you actually planning to go after the Princess?!
That’s what I thought, but I was wrong.
He wanted me to keep his surname a secret.
Apparently, he’d only introduced himself as Shuperu.
And come to think of it, how am I supposed to tell them he’s married?
It’d be weird to suddenly blurt out, “This guy’s married!”
As I was thinking that and was at a loss for words, Riana-san pulled my arm strongly.
“Rui-san! Lord Shuperu is single, isn’t he?!”
“Just a moment, Riana? That’s none of your concern! Prince Rui, I have something to discuss with you regarding that matter!”
Oh, a question came from them at just the right time.
“No, he’s already married.
They’re an incredibly devoted couple, and he’s so smitten he’d lay down his life for her.”
“”Huh…?””
“No, no, there’s no way a guy that handsome wouldn’t have a partner, right?”
“”Ugh…””
More importantly, let’s return to the Castle. Finding it troublesome, I left four Royal Guards behind and had everyone else board the aircraft to move.
I asked them to take care of the cleanup and move the Beast-Drawn Carts.
And so, upon returning to the Castle with the Princess, I was immediately summoned by Pops.
The Princess and her entourage were shown to a room to wait, while Yuri and I sat at a facing Platform, with Ignat standing behind us, and explained the situation.
“So, that’s why I deployed Ignat, and everything’s fine.”
“Your Highness?! Is that why I was sent?!”
“Hoh. Last time, we didn’t have the luxury, but now that I can look calmly, I see why you’d worry about the young lady. Is this that ‘nation-toppling handsome man’ I’ve heard rumors about? I thought it was a joke, but it’s real…”
To Ignat, who bowed to Pops while showing a troubled face, I bowed my head and said, “I’ll make sure you get back safely, so please play the role of a decoy…” He replied, “It can’t be helped. But marriage is out of the question. And please don’t put any strange ideas into Ria’s head, okay?” he urged.
I nodded, promising that, and the conversation continued.
“However, to get caught up in a civil war… I’m relieved the Princess is safe, but the exchange of official letters is going to be a troublesome matter.”
“Right? If the Princess had gone missing on her way here, it would have been seriously bad.”
“Indeed. So, how do you plan to settle the matter with Lord Ignat?”
Huh… What do you mean, “settle”?
If she’s normally in love with him, she wouldn’t marry into our side, and if Ignat refuses, isn’t that the end of it?
“No, someone of the Princess’s status could use her authority as a pretext to demand him, couldn’t she?”
“Huh? I’d just refuse. Why would I hand over a Knight who serves me?”
“Ah, I see. If you’ve told them he’s Rui’s Knight, that should work. They wouldn’t be able to make unreasonable demands. If you can amicably avoid marriage with Princess Lena, that’s certainly not bad.”
Ignat, who had been listening to the conversation, also let out a sigh of relief.
And then the conversation shifted to the Armistice Mediation.
“Now then, Lord Ignat… In this Armistice Mediation, what do you think the Empire will aim for as a settlement point?”
“I wonder. I left before the war. However, they probably won’t offer much. My guess is they’ll offer an unsuitable sum of money and tell us to back off, saying they won’t interfere with us. They’re likely thinking that even if it doesn’t pass, they can buy time to regroup.”
“I see,” Pops nodded once, then continued, “What about the Northern Church? I don’t think their authority has fallen so low that they’d need to come all the way here to demonstrate it, do you?”
“I wonder. They usually stick their noses into mediations and reconciliations. However, they were making a big fuss about the Light Magic used in the war, so they might say something about that.”
Pops nodded as if he understood. “Ah… right, there was that.”
Apparently, not just Healing Magic, but Light Magic too is a monopoly of the church, and they especially don’t permit the sale of Light Magic.
“I see. They’ll probably claim it’s God’s magic and demand it back, or some such nonsense.”
“Yes, that’s… quite possible.”
As I continued to listen to their conversation, it somehow shifted to being about me.
Ignat started praising me strangely, which made me feel awkward, so I cut him off and ended it, saying that was enough.
After that, while I was talking about starting work on Healing Magic Tools and paving vehicles in the village, I received a summons saying Princess Lena’s preparations were complete.
“Ignat… what should we do?”
“It might be better not to bring him at first. Let’s hear their true intentions without any pretense.”
Ah, so if he’s there, they might hold back, and there’s a chance they’ll say something different later.
Once that was decided, Pops said he wanted to hear a bit more and detained him.
“Your Highness, I’ll be waiting and believing in you.”
Sent off by Ignat, who said this with an earnest expression, I moved to the reception room where the Princess and her party were waiting.
And so, Yuri and I took our seats, but the gazes of the four of them were fixed on the door we had just entered.
They had expressions that seemed to say, “Isn’t Ignat here yet?”
“Ahem. Thank you for taking the trouble to come today. Allow me to reintroduce myself, I am Louis von Belfast.”
“Oh, Prince Rui? It seems to me that not all the actors are present, are they?”
Seriously? Is she saying she won’t start unless I call Ignat?
“Wh-who could you be talking about?”
“My, how unperceptive. Just as Riana said, aren’t you?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“Rui-san, you’re doing this deliberately this time, aren’t you?”
Despite the smiles, the atmosphere was tense, and I was already starting to feel suffocated. When I looked at Yuri, she also seemed to be finding it hard to breathe. She was desperately fiddling with her hair.
“Well, fine. If you won’t call him, I have things to discuss regardless. I’ll be direct. Please let me keep Lord Shuperu. If that promise is kept, I wouldn’t mind entering into a nominal marriage with you.”
“Huh?”
Her words were so outrageous that an uncouth sound unintentionally escaped me.
I cleared my throat once to compose myself and replied.
“Ahem. To begin with, I have someone I love dearly and have no intention of accepting a marriage with anyone else. The same goes for him. I cannot agree to you trying to obtain him through power without winning his affection.”
Right? I glanced at Yuri, and she too was looking at the Princess with a displeased expression.
“Then bring him here! It’s cowardly, not letting him near and not calling him!”
“Well, calling him is fine, but why did you even come here in the first place? We’ve gone out of our way to make time to meet you, and yet you’re saying such selfish things, you know?”
“I graced you with my presence, and that’s how you speak to me?!”
At that point, a maid stopped Princess Lena’s words.
She said, loud enough for us to hear, “His Majesty requested friendship with the Prince. Please do not forget that,” and bowed her head.
“Fine. If you say you don’t desire marriage, then that’s convenient. Then, please call Lord Shuperu. I will speak to him myself. That should be acceptable, shouldn’t it?”
“I don’t mind, but if he doesn’t agree, you’ll have to give up. That goes for you too, Riana-san, okay?”
“”…””
It seems they have no intention of giving up. He’s a double-edged sword, Ignat is…
In any case, I figured it would be better if I wasn’t there, so I stood up and tried to leave the room, but for some reason, a maid-san stopped me.
“I apologize for our rudeness. Therefore, please, take your seat once more.”
She pleaded, bowing her head desperately.
“Your Highness Prince Rui, I also implore you. If things continue like this, Riana-sama’s position will also be unfavorable.”
“No, it’s not really like that. I’m just going to call him. Won’t the discussion proceed better if it’s just him for a while?”
“Then you haven’t given up on friendship, have you?”
Huh… Now that you put it that way, it does feel kind of difficult. I averted my gaze.
“Just as I thought…” Yukina-san said, her face falling.
“No, but, I mean, you said you wanted to meet for the sake of friendship, so I made time. You were in a crisis, so I rushed to help. And instead of being grateful, you take a liking to the Knight who helped and demand I hand him over? What’s more, you’ll ‘do me the favor’ of marrying me if I let you keep him as a lover? Isn’t that looking down on me too much?”
“It’s just that, right now, she’s merely excited by this sudden encounter. Please, just give us a little more time.”
Well, if we could just talk normally, that would be fine, but…
“Well, if that’s the case, let’s just give it some time for now.”
So, I left the room with Yuri, and “What is this, what a pain!” I blurted out without thinking.
“It was a failure, wasn’t it?” Yuri said. “Rui’s plans always seem to be too effective, leading to a backlash.”
“Hold on? Yuri-chan, you were praising it highly too, weren’t you?”
She smoothly averted her gaze. Walking alongside her, we returned to the room where Pops and Ignat were, only to be met with surprised looks.
Their expressions seemed to ask, “What happened with the princess’s reception?”
So, I hesitantly explained the situation.
“Hah… Indeed, that’s an unbelievable rudeness,” Pops sighed. “I wanted you to steer the conversation skillfully to avoid such a situation, but perhaps that’s too much to expect from Rui yet. However, deciding to give it time and leaving was probably the right call. Agitated women are unmanageable.”
“If that’s the case, would it be alright if I went and gently turned her down?” Ignat offered.
To Ignat, who said it so casually, I shot a worried glance. “Can you really do it… she’s formidable, you know?”
It’s my fault, after all, and I was about to say that if it came down to it, I would go, but he just smiled and said, “I’m used to it.”
Pops and I were left speechless by his god-like demeanor.
Meanwhile, he stood up, said, “Well then,” and smiled at a maid, asking, “Would you show me the way?”
“Yes, with pleasure~!” exclaimed the maid, who usually just bowed her head, in a high-pitched, excited voice.
In situations like this, it’s customary for them to just bow their heads without making a sound, though.
“See? He’s a terrifying guy, isn’t he?”
“Ah, ahh. Indeed,” Pops agreed.
“Yes,” Yuri added. “I’ve come to realize it too. He is a terrifying man.”
Ah, more than anything, I’m glad Yuri understood. While thinking that, I waited restlessly for an update from him.
And then, an hour later.
A woman’s scream, “Noooooo!! I don’t waaaant toooo!!” echoed throughout the Castle.
“…So it didn’t work, huh,” Pops’s murmur echoed softly in the drawing room.