CH 87

Hooray! I’ve done it!

I reprimanded Ludwig in a way that wouldn’t paint me as the bad guy! With this, Ludwig’s favorability towards me should have decreased considerably. And I even made him have lunch with Helene! It would be perfect if I could force Ludwig on Helene like this!

In our earlier exchange, Ludwig must have thought I was a loudmouth. He couldn’t retaliate on the spot because I was right about what I was saying. From now on, he’ll think I’m nasty and that’ll keep him away.

I didn’t expect Helene to be less friendly with Ludwig than I thought. I thought she would be closer to him since she was the top candidate for marriage, but it seems that’s not the case. Maybe he didn’t even remember her face and he couldn’t even put the right name to it.

Well, I can only count the number of times I’ve met Ludwig myself. Even if he’s my fiancé, that’s about the extent of it, so the number of times the two of us actually meet each other is probably that kind of thing.

What matters is the relationship between families, not the feelings between the two people or the number of times they have met. Among the ducal families without a blood relation to the royal family, House Bayen boasts the highest family status in the Kingdom of Ploiss. At the moment, next to the royal family is the Kreff Duchy, a blood relative of theirs whose current Head of the House, Dietrich, is also the prime minister. Behind them are the other ducal families with blood relationships, lined up in order of their influence.

Aside from them, the Bayen Duchy has the highest family other than the blood relatives, and there are many merits to one of them marrying Ludwig and becoming relatives of the royal family. There’s no problem if they don’t forcefully take in House Carruthers now, but there are benefits to taking in House Bayen within this generation.

In recent years, various problems have surfaced with the Principality of Aust, which borders on the south. The reason is simple: the relationship between the Kingdom of Ploiss and its neighbor to the west, the Kingdom of Frasia, is currently in a lull.

As a common enemy of mankind, we all have hostile relationships with the Demon Country in the northwest. It is the same for all countries, and it is assumed that all countries will work together to counter demonkind. But at least since I was born, no armed conflict with the demons has occurred. Even the most recent clash seems to have happened nearly 30 years ago.

The fact that there is no conflict with the Demon Country, the common enemy of mankind, means that the bonds between humans will weaken. As long as there is no common enemy, it is normal for countries who allied as “enemies of my enemy” to attack each other instead.

That’s why the Kingdom of Ploiss and the Kingdom of Frasia have repeated small conflicts many times since the last clash with the Demons ended. Even after I was born, border disputes with the Kingdom of Frasia have occurred frequently. I didn’t know the details, but there is a border dispute that happened not only in the Carruthers Margraviate but across the western border as a whole. No, should I say it was still going on?

Even now, there is no reconciliation with the Kingdom of Frasia, and the conflict has not ended. However, the Kingdom of Frasia, which is struggling with the borderline of the Kingdom of Ploiss that it cannot breach no matter how many times they invade, is leaning towards a policy of appeasement.

Even though nearly 30 years have passed since the end of the war, the Demon Country is still alive and well in the northwest of Ploiss, and the man protecting the northwest is the Hero of the Frontier, Margrave Albert. They seem to think that as long as my father, Albert, is alive and has repelled Frasian invasions countless many times already, they cannot hope to break through into the Kingdom of Ploiss.

Therefore, for a while, Frasia will adopt a policy of appeasement with the Kingdom of Ploiss, and wait for us to let our guard down and relax the border security. Or maybe they think that if my father Albert dies, border security will lose its pillar and make the invasion easier.

If you look at it from an individual point of view, you might think that waiting until my father dies is quite an absurdly long-term plan, but as a national policy, a 100-year plan is not uncommon. Rather, a country that cannot operate with an eye toward the next 50 or 100 years will sooner or later collapse. That’s why the tension with the Kingdom of Frasia in the west has been worsening recently.

That’s where the relationship with the Principality of Aust comes into play. Originally, the Kingdom of Ploiss and the Principality of Aust had a cooperative relationship. It is the same with the Demon Country, which is the common enemy of mankind, but there is a history of dealing with the Kingdom of Frasia as a common enemy. However, recently, the shared hostilities with Frasia have eased, and the relationship between the Kingdom of Ploiss and the Principality of Aust has deteriorated.

Until now, during the joint struggle against the foreign enemy, they had put up with each other by closing their eyes while the conflict was ongoing, but now that the foreign enemy is gone, the faults have become impossible to ignore.

Even in the Kingdom of Ploiss and the Principality of Aust, there are places on the southern border that are claimed by each other, and the seeds of regional conflict are smoldering. Until now, those problems had been shelved to fight foreign enemies, the Demon Country and then the Kingdom of Frasia, but now they’ve been erupting in recent years.

It is now important to bring to the royal family’s side the Bayen Duchy, which has protected the southeastern border for many years with a strong line to the Principality of Aust. If by any chance Duke Bayen defects to the Principality of Aust and raises a flag of rebellion, it could lead to serious trouble.

If the Principality of Aust crossed the border without any obstacles and suddenly attacked together with Duke Bayen, there was a possibility that they would suddenly attack the political center of the country. If that happens, the Kingdom of Ploiss may collapse at once. Thinking of that, it is important to enter a marriage with a member of House Bayen, solidify their loyalty to the Kingdom of Ploiss, and strengthen the borderline.

The northwest direction where you’ll find Carruthers is currently in a lull, and both the Demon Country and the Kingdom of Frasia are docile. It won’t be peaceful forever but it won’t be a pressing issue, either. Rather than that, the relationship with the Principality of Aust is more important.

Both Wilhelm and Dietrich should be fully aware of this. That’s probably why they’re outwardly making me a dummy fiancée while secretly promoting the marriage of Helene of the Bayen Duchy and Ludwig.

“Miss Flora, you seem to be in a good mood?” Katharina called out to me as I was eating at the 1st year dining hall.

“Huh?” I said. “Yes, I was invited to lunch by Prince Ludwig, but I was able to force the invitation on Lady Helene, instead.”

I accidentally said the truth. Well, no one is near us anyway. I don’t have to worry about being listened to because no one comes close to me as I’m a magnet for trouble.

“Huh?! Was it alright to do that?” Katharina asked.

“Huh? Why would it not be good?” I asked.

Katharina and I tilt our heads in confusion. So cute. When Katharina makes such a gesture, she’s cute and makes me want to hug her tightly. But I really can’t do that here, so I’ll endure the urge.

“Prince Ludwig is your fiance, isn’t he, Miss Flora? Besides, I hear that Lady Helene of the Bayen Duchy is trying to push you aside and take your place instead?”

“Yes, that’s right,” I said. “Isn’t that why it’s good? I definitely want Prince Ludwig to marry Lady Helene.”

“Huh?” Katharina asked.

“…… Huh?” I asked.

Katharina and I tilt our heads again. What’s wrong with this? I would rather this happen. I’m fine with being single for the rest of my life. The thought of being forced to marry a man and have a child makes me shudder. I want to spend the rest of my life surrounded by cute girls and having “tee-hee, haha” times.

“Ah, I have to head to my afternoon class soon. Well then, I’ll see you later, Katharina,” I said.

“Ah…!” Katharina said. “… Yes. I’ll see you later.”

I left Katharina as she was trying to say something and returned to the classroom. I can’t rest forever. I’m still doing easy classes, but it should get harder soon. If you let your guard down, you could end up at the bottom of the list in no time, so you have to do your best…

Afternoon classes are over. All that’s left is to go home. It’s just a problem that I can’t go home right away even if I wanted to. If you look out the window, you will be fed up with all the carriages lined up in a row.

The carriages are lined up in the order in which they came, so House does not decide which carriage is where in the order. However, if the carriages for returning home are lined up freely without any arrangement, the carriages will be here earlier, so there are regulations against that.

The return carriages can only be lined up 30 minutes before class ends. This is a consideration by the school so as not to cause a traffic jam in the surrounding area. If it weren’t for this regulation, the carriages that came an hour earlier would show up to be first, the carriages that would line up two hours earlier would show up to be first before them, and at the end of the day, the carriages that dropped off their wards in the morning would just wait in line for their return all day. It seems to have developed into something like that in the past.

Since then, it has been decided that the carriages can line up after 30 minutes before the end of classes. That’s why every House will send a carriage to pick you up 30 minutes before the school’s out, so they’re all ready to go.

The rush to go home after school is ridiculously crowded and honestly, I don’t want to go into that line. For the first few days, I didn’t understand the situation, so I lined up normally, but now I’ve told Helmut to take his time picking me up.

Students who want to go home quickly line up outside at the end of the day, but I don’t want to stand with them, waiting. After the rush is over and the number of people has decreased, it is just right to leisurely wait for your ride. Like me, there are quite a few people who choose to go home relaxed, so let’s kill some time in the classroom until the after-class rush is over.

Or that’s what I thought of doing, but an unexpected disturbance like from earlier today happened again. And it was the same two idiots from lunch.

“Flora!”

“… Prince Ludwig, do you remember what I said to you earlier at lunch?” I said.

If you come to me, the people around us would make a fuss and bother about you, so don’t come personally! Has your brain already forgotten about this afternoon?!

“There are fewer people after school, yes?” Ludwig said. “If we’re asked not to visit you even when the crowds have thinned, we wouldn’t be able to ever visit you.”

Hahahaa, I want to punch this idiot with a proud smile. I don’t care where you are or what you do, you’re causing congestion and confusion wherever you go. What I’m trying to say is, don’t come near me because my peaceful life will be disturbed just by your mere presence.

If he can’t understand even if I say it in a roundabout way, I think I should say it directly and clearly. But I shouldn’t be impatient. If I say such a thing in front of so many people, I could be executed for blasphemy or treason. Even if Ludwig says he will let it pass, the people around him won’t let him do it. If you say it in a public place, you can’t take it back.

“Moving on from that, Prince Ludwig, let us just get on with your business,” Rutger said, elbowing Ludwig in the side.

“Ah, of course,” Ludwig said.

What was even the point of that? It would be better for me if you had finished your business quickly. I’ll listen quietly, so please hurry up.

“Thank you for your help during the day,” Ludwig said. “I almost forget myself and my manners. I’m sure it must have been difficult for you to give me so much advice, even though we are engaged to be married. I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Flora.”

Huh? What is he talking about? I still don’t understand what he’s saying. This is why the nobility’s niceties are so annoying.

Even though we’re engaged to be married, he said? How dare he say such terrible things to me in public. “I’ll remember this, your humiliating me!”, is that what he means?

That’s probably right. I said that to him in front of a large group of students. Even if I am engaged to the Third Prince, he would think that it was quite embarrassing to be told off by a younger girl in public.

This will further accelerate the annulment of my engagement with Ludwig. At least Ludwig must have come to hate me. And at least I didn’t do anything wrong. I may have hurt Ludwig’s feelings, but what I said should be true. That’s why he came to reprimand me in such a roundabout way.

And I’m sure with Helene, the three talked about various things. So if he takes an interest in Helene, all the best. All good things for me.

“So, how about having tea with me in my room after this? I also want to apologize for what happened during lunch,” Ludwig said.

“I have some business with Father today, so please forgive my refusal,” I said.

Why does he think I’ll want to go? I go to his room, and he’ll talk about what happened during the day, right? By apology, does he mean he’ll make me apologize? I don’t really have anything to do with it, but if I’m hoisted to the other side’s court like this, I won’t be able to escape and I might even be forced to kowtow. As expected, I’ll not apologize even though it’s not my fault.

I purposely pissed off Ludwig, but I don’t think what I said was wrong. I don’t feel like apologizing even though I’m not wrong, even if it’s toward the royal family.

“I see…” Ludwig said. “Then what about tomorrow? Tomorrow is a holiday…”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I have to go out for an inspection tomorrow…”

Even though tomorrow is the first day off since school started, why should I meet with Ludwig? I have a date with Louisa tomorrow… no, not a date, but I have made a promise to show her around town. Besides, it’s not a lie that I’m going on an inspection. I’m supposed to go to the Caanza Trading Firm’s royal capital branch incognito. It’s an unannounced inspection, so I can’t miss it tomorrow.

“Is that so…? It seems that I was being unreasonable,” Ludwig said. “Then, please tell me when you have free time next.”

“Understood. I will contact you later,” I said.

As expected, I can’t refuse him. Even if he asks me about my schedule, I don’t think I’ll be able to do this for the rest of my life. At least wait until Ludwig’s anger subsides and plan well in advance. If you don’t agree to him every once in a while, I can’t keep refusing him every time.

“Oh, then I’ll be waiting,” Ludwig said. “Let’s go, Rutger.”

“Right… tch, hey, Country Girl!” Rutger said. “Prince Ludwig is a guy with a big heart, so you can get away with this, but your attitude is unacceptable. You’d better be careful.”

“Yes,” I said. “Your advice is appreciated.”

Shut up. You don’t have the right to say that about me! I want to break off the engagement immediately. Besides, Ludwig also hates me, so it would be nice if we could break off the engagement as soon as possible. I don’t think you guys will understand how I feel when I’m forever used as just a dummy decoy.

“I have to wonder how good of a person Flora is to think of me and turn herself into a demon just to give me proper advice. If she marries me, I’m sure she’ll be both my light and my shadow, aiding me always.”

“Prince Ludwig…… like I keep saying, that Country Girl isn’t fit to marry you. I’ll take her from you, you can go find yourself a different woman, yeah?”

“Impossible! Even if it’s you, Rutger, I won’t give up on Flora!”

As Rutger and Ludwig walk away, they talk, but their voices are soft I can’t hear them. It’s probably nothing bad. It’s probably not about how to humiliate me or force me to apologize.

I lightly shook my head with the unpleasant thoughts running through it, and then I started getting ready to go home.