CH 111

I had a rough time yesterday. It’s a terrifying experience of being invited by Ludwig and Rutger and then having my hand held by a man. Well, I think Ludwig and I are engaged to each other, so we could have that kind of physical contact. Normally speaking, it was strange that we’d barely touched each other.

Until now, the distance between the royal capital and Carruzan and Caanburg had kept me away from contact with Ludwig. However, from this year onward, contact with Ludwig will increase as the royal capital became the center of my life.

This is really bad. If I don’t somehow make him look at women other than me and get him to break off the engagement, my will won’t last. I advised King Wilhelm to marry him off to Helene and take in the Bayen Duchy as in-laws, but what will happen? Would it be better for me to make Ludwig interested in Helene by recommending her to him?

Helene is the mastermind behind the group that has been harassing and bullying me. I personally have some thoughts about her. However, considering the stability and policies of the country, the balance of family status, and age, I feel that Ludwig’s partner can only be Helene. No one will complain if Helene takes my place.

In the first place, I think Helene is harassing and bullying me because I am Ludwig’s fiancée. In that case, if my engagement was annulled and Helene became Ludwig’s fiancée, wouldn’t she stop bothering to bully me?

Well, we’re already in a hostile relationship, or rather, our feelings for each other are getting worse, so even if that happens, there’s a chance she’ll continue to bully me, but… I can only guess because I won’t know until it happens.

Besides, if I’m no longer Ludwig’s fiancée, I’ll be far from the fight for succession to the throne. That Houses Carruthers and Lingerburg are embroiled in royal disputes is because I am the Third Prince’s fiancée, and if Carruthers withdraws, then they have no reason nor the time to bother with them and their vassals.

Even the Second Queen’s Faction wants to weaken the momentum and support base of the Third Prince’s Faction, and not because they have a grudge against House Carruthers. In that case, it is better to use their free hand to obstruct the Third Prince’s Faction as a whole than to persistently pursue House Carruthers after they withdraw from the Third Prince’s Faction. There is no reason to go out of your way to chase those who have retreated from the heart of the conflict and fight to the extent of completely crushing them.

However, there is a possibility that this is already a personal dispute, so it is possible that after the fight over succession is over, the Former Third Prince’s Faction will be purged one by one. Conversely, even if the Third Prince’s Faction wins, there is a high possibility that House Carruthers, who left the Third Prince’s Faction, will continue to be surveilled.

In the sense of temporary peace, it would be better to leave the capital as soon as possible and stay out of it. However, in that case, after someone ascends to the throne, there is a possibility that whoever wins will be hated or attacked. Considering the ultimate peace and security of the nation, House Carruthers, which has already joined the Third Prince’s Faction, has no choice but to do everything possible for their group to win.

Haa……. it’s really annoying. By the time I became Ludwig’s fiancée, House Carruthers had no choice but to become involved in the dispute over the throne as part of the Third Prince’s Faction… is this why Father tried to keep me from getting engaged to the Third Prince…? Ah, it’s too late now…

That’s enough of that. It is useless to say that it’s too late. Now let’s think about the future. For the time being, it’s about Simon. What did Simon say to Ludwig and the others? From now on, what things should I keep my mouth shut about? And what is Emma’s order to Simon and what is the weakness she is taking advantage of? Is it solvable? Let’s meet again after school today and ask about that.

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I was wondering how to secretly summon Simon, but it seems that he also wanted to have a meeting with me. We were able to meet each other naturally without any particular difficulties.

If it’s allowed, I’d like to go to one of our homes and talk at our leisure, but if the fact that we’re contacting each other becomes public, it’ll be troublesome. It’s dangerous to have secret talks at school, but if you’re just talking inside the school, it’s not impossible to claim we’re just schoolmates. But if it’s a relationship where we visit each other’s houses, there’s no questioning there’s a deeper connection than that.

“So, Lord Simon… what did you say to those two?” I asked.

“Ah… I didn’t say anything… I was just telling them the truth…” Simon said, hesitantly and with his eyes going every which way.

Simon says that he was just explaining what really happened. That he was about to make a terrible mistake. And he felt indebted to me for being able to stop him from committing that mistake, and for forgiving him of his crime. That’s why Simon told them that he wanted to cooperate with me and that he wanted to do something for me behind the scenes.

And yet, for some reason, that idiotic duo interpreted that I was the one who saved and ordered Simon from peril and that after my rescuing him, Simon worshiped me like a Lord or a deity, and made him collect information behind the scenes to fight the great evils of this school….

Well, it’s possible with that idiotic royal duo…… isn’t it? It may be possible for Ludwig, who makes wild misunderstandings without listening to people much.

It would be one case in a magic practical class where I stopped his mistake or forgive a sin of his. To put it exaggeratedly, it’s certainly possible to say that. So I’m going to keep my mouth shut on this point. What exactly Simon was trying to do and how I stopped him is related to his personal life, so I’ll keep it hidden.

If Simon said that he intentionally shot Fire magic to burn the Third Prince’s Fiancée’s face, even Ludwig and Rutger’s friendly attitude towards him might turn for the worst. Even if it’s just a change in intention in the semantics, it’s still something that could get him charged with a crime.

“Even so, what exactly did you mean by this great evil that is rampant in the school?” I said.

“Aah… erm, uh…, when I tried to explain that Marquis Arnhardt and Marquis Valtek were making trouble for you, Lady Flora, for some reason that’s how they took it…” Simon said.

After listening to it a little more, I got the gist of it. Simon couldn’t decide whether it was okay to say that I was being bullied by the quintet, or that the quintet included Sophie and Emma. Then, when he blurted out and said so in a roundabout way, that idiot duo misunderstood without understanding the whole situation.

In other words, the great evil that is rampant in the school is Sophie, Emma, and the other bullies who were harassing me. It seems to be a misunderstanding.

Some people are bullies in this school. I ordered Simon to do an investigation.

The story above and the story below are the same, but if you hide the part about who you are and explain it like this, the meaning will look completely different. In the first place, I didn’t tell Simon to do an internal investigation or spy for me just because I was being bullied. I don’t really understand why Simon spoke with such an assumption.

Anyway, I got the gist of it. And it’s troublesome to correct that chain of misunderstandings on misunderstandings now. Let’s match the cover with a certain degree of consistency now and make sure that cross-examination will match. No need to lie. I should just omit the fact that the ones who are bullying me are Sophie and Emma, who are led by Helene, and that I am the one being bullied.

The story itself is not generally wrong and will not be corrected. The difference is that it’s a mistake that I’m trying to solve the problem, that I thought I’d just leave it alone to fizzle out by itself, and that I didn’t make him investigate it, he was one of the parties directly involved.

Either way, trying to correct that duo’s mistakes again now, will only make things more complicated. Don’t tell lies, decide only what is good, get our story straight, and keep my mouth shut.

“Goodness’ sake…” I said. “Thanks to those two, we needed so much more time and effort. Well then, let’s continue where we left off last time and get down to business, shall we?”

I almost forgot, but I originally met with Simon to hear his story. I can finally have him pick it up.

“-! Yes… I’ll tell you now,” Simon said, his shoulders jumping up.

Why did Simon shoot a spell at me? Of course, I heard last time that he was ordered by Emma and the others. The problem is why Simon risked his own life to do such a massive crime.

“House Roppe…. is living a very poor life for a marquisate because our territory is small and the tax revenue is low,” Simon said. “On top of that, the tax cuts and the medical fees at the clinic have been reduced in recent years when the harvest has been poor. My family’s finances are on the verge of bankruptcy…”

I see……. it’s true, his family’s territory and population weren’t that large, to begin with, and the tax revenue was low, but as a marquis, Lord Roppe has to take responsibility. In other words, nobles have obligations and responsibilities to the Kingdom of Ploiss according to their peerage and status. There can be no society in which only rights are guaranteed and there are no obligations or responsibilities in turn.

In modern society, the number of people who misunderstand this and claim their rights, freedom, and equality loudly but fail to fulfill their obligations and responsibilities has increased. This is probably because they no longer teach that rights, duties, and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin and that both must be fulfilled.

In contrast, in this kind of feudal society, if you do not fulfill your obligations and responsibilities, you will be punished or deprived of your rights immediately, so it is quite difficult to obtain only rights and not fulfill your obligations.

For example, territorial nobility must pay taxes to the kingdom. Assuming that 10% of the harvest of the territory has to be paid as tax, the Lord will add his own share, collect taxes, pay the necessary amount to the kingdom, and take the rest as his own.

In addition, there is an obligation to serve in the military, to pay for some public works, etc., and to bear the obligations and burdens decided by the Kingdom of Ploiss. Only by fulfilling these will the rights of a feudal lord be recognized.

Then what about House Roppe? With the title of marquis, you have to pay the same amount as other marquisates. However, the territory is small and the tax revenue is low. Despite this, the tax rate is low in Marquis Loppe’s territory thanks to its good administration, and the financial burden is heavy because the Lord’s personal treasury is used to fund public welfare.

Even so, they probably managed to make ends meet, but if crop failures or epidemics spread, tax revenues would be less than usual and expenses would increase. Naturally, the territory’s finances will deteriorate. This is a matter of course without even thinking about it.

“At that time…I was deceived by Emma Valtek…the methods of Marquis Roppe are old, she said,” Simon said. “I thought that even though my family was already on the verge of bankruptcy, my father’s method of not changing his ways was wrong… I couldn’t believe he’d keep doing that!”

It’s a common story too. The second and third generations of an executive’s family often argue with their predecessors about such things. My father’s way of doing things is old. The current management is learning because the management policy is outdated. I can do it myself. So do as you please. It is not uncommon for parents and children or heirs to argue about the management of a family business. And most of those places fail because of that conflict.

“I was told that anyone could easily and surely make a profit just by investing the capital, so I took Father’s seal and signed the contract without permission…” Simon said.

Oh~… it’s a common scam trick. If you can make money with such absolute certainty, no one should tell you such a profitable story. Because if there is such a magical method, they will monopolize it and make money. Recommending to people involves some kind of risk and lies. I believe that this is an absolute truth that will never change.

“In the beginning, the money was increasing as dividends,” Simon said. “But when I realized I was investing more and more money… and yet there were no more dividends… the Roppe Marquisate was saddled with a huge debt.”

I guessed as much. It is also a common method of fraud. Earn small change first, make them feel safe and trust you, and then make them give you a lot of money. All that’s left is to run away without returning any profit on that larger investment. I wonder if the investment story itself was true in the first place. It’s also possible that it’s a fake investment story that Emma and the others made up to get Simon.

“House Valtek took over the debt and did not make it public. Thanks to that, I am still able to live like this. But if this becomes public and we’re forced to pay the debt, even the Roppe Marquisate will go bankrupt!” Simon yelled.

It’s straight out of the mold… you make one party get into debt then order them around afterward in an agreement to get them out of it. From my point of view, it’s a worn-out method, but there was such an effective method in this era in this world.

From Simon’s point of view, disobeying Emma would make it public that he had made an investment and created a debt without permission, and they would find out that he had used his father’s name without his knowledge, and then the family would also be in deep debt. It may be deserved for being too stupid and too hasty, but it’s too dirty, to begin with. It is doubtful whether the investment story itself was true in the first place.

They make up false investment stories to swindle money, return the money from the funds that they were forced to pay in the beginning, pretending that they are dividends, and then make the victim trust them and invest a larger sum to create a significant debt. Since they didn’t invest the money in the first place, they let the other party take on the debt while keeping the entire investment. If you can get money and even a pawn that can do what you say, it would be the best thing from the scammer’s side.

Even in this country, there is a crackdown on fraud. However, it is difficult to sue because Simon does not want to make it public. In the first place, it would be almost impossible to investigate whether it was a fraud or a real investment story because the transaction was secretly done behind the scenes. It’s impossible to prove fraud unless you somehow investigate this and gather evidence.

I’m sure Simon did something stupid, too… but this is going to take more effort than I thought.