Chapter 43: I Received an Apology Letter from the King, So I Read It
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Let’s get straight to the point.
A letter arrived from the King himself. To summarize its contents:
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An apology.
He wants me to forgive his foolish son for his rudeness towards the Margrave. For that, he will pay reparations of a sum of one hundred million gold as a token of apology.
The funds to operate the frontier domain amount to roughly one hundred million gold. In other words, he’s saying he’ll give three years’ worth of the domain’s operating expenses as reparations, so please forgive him.
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Regarding the outcome of the Duel.
Although it was promised in the Duel, he wishes for it to be nullified because Gald Reinhardt interfered. The Duel was tainted before a conclusion was reached.
Gald Reinhardt will be ordered to be disinherited by the Reinhardt House.
With the Duel being nullified, Edward will not be disinherited, but he will be made to reflect on his foolish actions and undergo re-education.
As for Raul, he was someone caught up with Edward, and since he did not directly commit any acts of violence against the Margrave, his disinheritance has been put on hold.
That was the gist of it.
I suppose he’s saying to settle for that this time.
The main points were those two, and Liese was not mentioned.
“Are you alright with this?”
Faina, to whom I had explained the contents, looked at me worriedly.
“Yeah, even if I were to fight this to the bitter end, it would just mean making an enemy of the Royal Family. That’s not exactly a wise move. Besides, it’s fine as long as I don’t have to see those three for a while.”
“If that is Lord Serios’s decision.”
That’s right, I won’t be seeing them for a while.
The academy’s long vacation is approaching.
After finishing half a year of school life, we’ll have a three-month vacation. I need to return to the Kingdom for New Year’s greetings to the King, so until then, I’ll leave the academy and spend time in my domain.
Throughout the academy, students were busy preparing to return to their respective homes.
I was no exception, and I was proceeding with preparations to return to my domain with Liese and Faina.
Amidst all this, one day, a messenger from the Royal Castle visited me. He respectfully offered a large wooden box.
When I opened the wooden box, it was packed full of Gold Coins.
“…Is this the gold mentioned in the letter?”
The messenger didn’t answer, merely bowing his head. I said nothing more and closed the box.
It’s certainly a lot of gold, but is this how we settle things…?
“I’ll just have to resign myself to using this gold for the domain.”
In a corner of my mind, the scene after that Duel resurfaced.
Edward, Raul, Gard.
The Duel with them was, for me, ostensibly a battle for my honor as a noble. And after that battle, with the King as a mediator, we reached a “reconciliation.”
However, I sensed that embers of conflict still remained behind them.
That afternoon, I watched Liese and Faina packing their belongings out of the corner of my eye.
“Is something the matter, Lord Serios?”
Faina asked. Her voice contained a certain soft familiarity, and I’d recently noticed that her attitude had changed somewhat.
“…I was just thinking I haven’t seen Claris around lately. Her domain is adjacent to ours, so I thought we could return together.”
The moment I said that, noisy voices could be heard from the hallway.
“Did something happen?”
Liese looked up. As we strained our ears towards the voices, we could apparently hear the name “Claris von Everett.”
“I hear she’s being disowned.”
“They say she was banished from the Dukedom.”
“What will happen, I wonder? The princes are undergoing re-education and all.”
Not just in the hallway; if you listened closely, students were whispering such things all over the academy.
“…Claris?”
Hearing the rumors, I stood up in disbelief.
Claris von Everett.
Why were there such stories about her, the one who helped me in that Duel? I immediately started searching for Claris. I walked around the academy, visiting every place I thought she might be.
But she was nowhere to be found. I asked the students walking in the hallways, but the answer was always the same.
“If you’re looking for Lady Claris, she has already left the academy.”
Why would she leave the academy without telling me anything? It felt like a cold wind was blowing through my chest.
When I returned to my room, Liese and Faina were looking at me worriedly.
“Lord Serios, what happened to Lady Claris?”
I had told Liese that Claris had helped us, so she asked in a worried voice.
“Rumors are spreading that she was driven out of the Dukedom. If that’s true, then I’m responsible for her being in such a position. I placed a great burden on her during that Duel.”
Faina gently spoke up.
“Lord Serios, perhaps it would be alright to head to Lady Claris’s domain after we leave the academy?”
I gave a small nod to her words. However, in my heart, I couldn’t shake the thought that my decision might have driven her into a corner.
The next morning, we finally finished our preparations to return to the domain. We loaded our luggage onto the carriage and left the academy.
However, during that journey, a certain resolve was born in my chest.
(When I return to the domain, I’ll investigate Claris’s situation. And if she’s truly cornered, I’ll do everything in my power.)
In the carriage, Liese, sitting next to me, gently squeezed my hand.
“Lord Serios, I’m sure Lady Claris will be alright.”
“We will also help in any way we can.”
Faina, sitting opposite, also squeezed my hand in the same way.
“You’re right… Thank you, Liese, Faina.”
I gave them a small smile in response.
(I will definitely save Claris. And I’ll make it so she can smile again. That’s the way I can repay her.)
Bathed in the warm sunlight, the carriage slowly proceeded towards the domain.
Afterword
Hello, this is the author, Iko.
Chapter Two begins.
I know it’s a busy time around the New Year, but I’ll do my best so you can enjoy this in your spare moments (๑>◡<๑)