CH 213

Scarlet calmly continued, “…But, he gave up on it after hearing about the details.”

“Humph, what a coward! I wouldn’t have backed down so easily!” Prince Elias asserted, but Genius started to become alert upon hearing Scarlet’s words.

＊

――Like many others, Genius had gone back home over the summer vacation, just to get ambushed by his fuming parents and receive a severe scolding.

They’d heard about everything that pertained during the term’s closing party, and of all things, their son Genius, who had been in a position to put a stop to it, had made the huge, unthinkable blunder of trying to pin several crimes on a ducal daughter after getting cajoled into it by the young lady of the declining Earl Springcoat family.

He was thoroughly insulted, beaten, admonished, and re-educated from scratch. Moreover, he was ordered to discard Prince Elias whenever it was judged that he was no longer fit to be prince. And on top of that, the decision whether he could serve Prince Elias any longer solely rested on the ducal daughter remaining the prince’s fiancée.

In case House Chaudgal were to revoke Scarlet’s engagement with Prince Elias, the prince would lose his rank in the crown’s succession order. At that point, Genius would also stop being the prince’s valet.

For this reason, Genius had to push for the marriage between Scarlet and Prince Elias, no matter how reluctant he might be about it or how much he might hate her.

“Prince Elias, even if a prince holds a right to succeed the throne, that still puts him at the stage of a potential successor. You cannot confiscate something from a ducal house unless they approve of it. Besides, if they were to offer an item, which they declined to give to the king, to a prince, it would earn them a lot of criticism.”

This time Prince Elias scowled at Genius. Ever since the vacation came to an end, Genius had stopped being a mere underling, instead becoming as naggy as Scarlet. This annoyed Prince Elias to no end. He felt like no one was showing him the respect he deserved.

“Humph! You just need to do as I tell you. Have Scarlet give me that. What belongs to my fiancée naturally belongs to me as well, right?”

At that moment, Genius recalled the words Indra had said.

『He considers everything given to him as his own, be it people or items, and he thinks he can do with them as he pleases』

…But, even if that’s true, this is the meaning behind kingship. Yes, that’s the very expression of having a caliber as king, I’m sure. Everything moving as desired is only natural for someone bound to become king, Genius persuaded himself.

But.

“No? You’re wrong, you know?” Scarlet denied the prince’s words with a broad smile, “My things are my own. Prince Elias, they are not your belongings, and just because I am your fiancée, it does not make me your possession either, right?”

She completely shot the prince down with a smile.

“Our engagement only means that our surroundings have made an agreement that we would marry in the future. It is not like we decided for it to be so by ourselves, correct? Did you not say that we are but betrothed in name only, Prince Elias? I would appreciate it if you did not try to abuse a nominal agreement.”

…Yeah, this is why I hate women, Prince Elias and Genius thought at the same time. Both shared the same view on this point.

“Allow me to use the same words my father told His Majesty.”

Scarlet watched the two with a smile, wondering how they would react.

『This golem has been built by Lady Indra. ――Yes, the same Indra who is the partner of Hero 【Thunderclap Whitefang】 as you should probably know. It is something she built for my daughter and lent it to her after they became friends. We are merely renting it from Lady Indra. Therefore Lady Indra owns the golem. In reality, one cannot even touch that golem without Lady Indra’s explicit permission. The instant someone touches it without her permission, the security system starts up and repels the offender. For this reason, I had no trouble coming here even when getting attacked by monsters and bandits on the way. After all, all of them got flashily defeated as soon as they touched the golem. Given those circumstances, I would first need to speak with Lady Indra before I could even consider giving the golem to you. Would you like me to do that?』

Scarlet joyfully watched how the faces of Prince Elias and Genius froze in an instant.

“Those were the words my father told His Majesty, and our wise king apparently gave up on it before his advisor could even admonish him to not do it. As far as I know, His Majesty said that he would be troubled if the palace got destroyed due to him asking something unreasonable of her and that my father should treat it as if he had never asked in the first place. ――Now then, what will it be, Prince Elias? I am just 『renting』 that golem. The maintenance for this type of machi…err, golem is quite a challenge, but since Lady Indra kindly handles it for us, I actually prefer renting over owning it. Then again, I doubt that anyone other than Lady Indra would be able to maintain it in the first place.”

Prince Elias and Genius had become dumbfounded.

After somewhat recovering from his blank shock, Genius asked, “…With Indra…you mean that Indra?”

“Indeed, I am talking about the very same Lady Indra. That person possesses a peculiar character, but she has the brains of a genius. …Besides, it is common knowledge that you will find many weir…err, people with peculiar personalities among those regarded as geniuses.” Surveying the two, Scarlet added with a smile, “So as you hear, that golem belongs to Lady Indra. During the vacation my father and I intruded upon her mansion, and I got her to make me one after begging her to do so, you see?”

“Huh? You went to the home of a commoner?” Genius asked in surprise.

Scarlet looked at Genius as if not quite understanding what his problem was, “Even if she calls herself a commoner, she is a former noble and an extremely rich person who cleared the capital’s dungeon, is she not? Her servants have all worked for nobility in the past, so it was no different to actually visiting a noble’s estate. Besides, comparing our mansion to theirs…theirs was a much more comfortable and wonderful home…haah… I have already spoken with my father that we will definitely beg Lady Indra to help us with a redesign during our next reconstruction, Absolutely! I am repeating myself here, but Lady Indra is a prodigy, okay? Her whole existence is a cheat!” Scarlet stressed.