CH 169

Today is the 2nd Day of the regular school holiday. For the girls, once the written exams are over and you go to the practical exam for a day after that, it’s practically the same as your vacation, but the regular school holiday is only for these last 3 days, and the rest of the time can be said to be an exam holiday because the Academy is still closed.

Of course, since the boys have been participating in Camp Training, which is a practical exam, it is not possible to say that it’s the regular school holiday just because the girls are not participating. It was a day for girls to study by themselves at home, but it wasn’t officially a day off. And today is the 2nd of those 3 days off.

I didn’t see anyone yesterday. Nothing happened yesterday. Okay? I did not do anything yesterday. Nothing happened…. no one came to visit and there was nothing that happened!

“Fuuh! Fuuh!”

Calm down. Don’t think about yesterday. Nothing happened yesterday… forget it…

Aside from that, I actually have something important to do today. Today is the day when the judgment for the Caanza Trading Firm counter-suit will be handed down. We were brought to court on the same day that we were arrested, but the court normally wouldn’t hand down the verdict so quickly. The victim and the defendant’s statements are heard, and investigations, evidence collection, and witness summons are also conducted.

Our lawsuit didn’t take long because the facts had already been clarified in the previous lawsuit against Caanza brought by House Bayen. Even with this, the proceedings of the trial are impossibly fast, and normally it would take much longer.

So why is today judgment day? I think that Wilhelm and Dietrich probably made it today as it was convenient for me. I usually have school, and about 5 days from now, I will be returning to Carruthers and Caan territories. With that in mind, the only way to settle the case is during 1 of the 3 days of school holiday.

Hugo was always in charge, and even though I was the owner, there was no reason why I had to participate. However, I decided to go to court today because I wanted to hear about the final verdict.

“It’s time, Miss Flora,” Katharina calls out to me.

“I’m heading out now,” I replied.

I’ve already changed clothes and prepared, so I was going to go as soon as Katharina summoned me… but before we go, let’s do a final confirmation.

“…… Hmm.”

No one will see me at the trial because I’ll be wearing a cloak that covers my whole body anyway, but your appearance is important even if no one else sees you. I pick up the skirt a little, twist my waist and check the back. I’m wearing cute clothes.

Now that I’ve become a woman, there are still many things that confuse me, but I don’t dislike wearing cute clothes. No… I rather like it, to be honest. It’s not like I liked Gothic Lolita in my previous life, but I think these frilly outfits are cute.

Finally, after turning around and checking my whole body, I put on my overcoat to completely hide my features and left my room.

When I arrived at the royal court, I covered my face with the hood before getting off the carriage. I also use a carriage without a crest, so no one will know that I am a member of House Carruthers. Hugo was already there when I asked him what I had to do at the reception.

“Ah, Sir Floto,” Hugo said.

“Hugo, how’s it going so far?” I asked.

I’ve received the report, but it’s before the final judgment comes out. I’ll also listen to Hugo’s frank opinion in person, as he has been with me all this time in this farce of a trial.

“Right,” Hugo said. “Of course, Caanza will definitely win, but it’s a question of how much compensation we’ll be demanding.”

Hugo talked to me a lot while I was waiting, so I didn’t get bored while I was waiting. And finally today the trial will be resumed and the verdict will be handed down.

“I demand House Bayen pay compensation of 30 million ploe,” I said.

The audience gets noisy. You’d be surprised. Even I was surprised. It’s not possible to make a simple comparison, but if you think about the price of goods in this country or the value of money, 1 Ploisian Ploe is worth 30 Japanese Yen.

For example, common food items such as vegetables are even cheaper than on Earth, and conversely, common industrial products on Earth are much more expensive here. So it’s not like everything is a 30-fold difference. If you just want a bare minimum comparison, a yen is 30 times the value of 1 ploe.

In other words, the amount that House Bayen is now legally obliged to pay Caanza is about 900 million Japanese Yen… at this point, you’ll think it’s kind of ridiculous. [efn]Approximately: 6,778,895.40 USD as of the time of translation.[/efn_note]

The only real damage was the dress I gave to Christa, the damage to the 1st branch store’s premises, and the products that were partially damaged. That alone shouldn’t cost 900 million yen. In the first place, it was the soldiers who came to arrest Hugo who destroyed the store, and House Bayen shouldn’t be responsible for that.

However, this time, it has been proven that House Bayen filed a false lawsuit and caused damage to Caanza, and even involved the judge and prosecutors to commit illegal acts. Therefore, House Bayen was made to bear all the responsibilities involved in them.

In addition, the reparations include compensation for Caanza’s unfair treatment. Since we were unjustly arrested for an unjustifiable crime and dragged out to court, it seems that they were also held liable for compensation for the distress.

And even more, is added because the court decided that Canaza’s reputation had been tarnished by all this. It seems that the result was a gigantic compensation of 30 million ploe.

Well, if it’s a House like Duke Bayen’s, they can afford to pay about 30 million ploe. However, House Bayen has been indicted in other investment fraud cases and will have to pay compensation to them in the future. In addition, the House Head has also committed criminal acts, so nothing can be blamed on others. There will also be royal interventions regarding their fiefdoms. Thinking about it, House Bayen is probably going to be in a lot of trouble from now on.

Making them pay a large amount of 30 million ploe first is probably what Wilhelm and Dietrich are concerned about.

I don’t really want 30 million ploe, but I’ll take what I can get. With this, Christa’s revenge was satisfied for the time being… maybe? From here on it’s a problem for the King and the nobles who were defrauded, so it’s good for us to get out of their way.

Helene should be the main defendant, but today, no, from what I’ve heard from Hugo, she hasn’t appeared since that first trial. It’s not that I want to see Helene’s frustrated face, but it’s strangely unsettling that the first defendant didn’t even show her face and even after the judgment was declared and the proceedings ended… and Duke Alto von Bayen’s face turned pale and he was trembling.

After that, I left after the case was closed and the court was dismissed.

I came to the royal castle today for another purpose besides the trial. To be honest, attending the decision was an afterthought. In the previous lawsuit, the victory was almost decided, and I had left it to Hugo for a long time, but even if I came now, there was nothing to do but listen to the final verdict in person. Rather, the other business at the venue is more important.

After the trial was over, I secretly took off my overcoat and entered the royal castle as Flora with an innocent face. No one would think that I was the owner of Caanza, who was hiding behind a cloak and a hood during the trial earlier.

I had an appointment to meet today for so long already, so it went smoothly. It would have been fine if it was a formal occasion, such as the audience room, but for some reason, I was sent to the inner palace and had to wait in one of the king’s private rooms.

“Did I keep you waiting?” Wilhelm said.

“No, I just arrived,” I said.

I can’t just say, “I made an appointment to meet you, but I had to wait so long!” Even if I was made to wait excruciatingly long, I could only say I hadn’t been waiting. Isn’t it just a matter of pretending to be considerate as a king, and that you’re just happy to let the other person know that they’re not at fault?

Well, it doesn’t matter. In fact, I didn’t have to wait that long this time, and even if the King is satisfied with his visitor claiming he has no fault, it doesn’t matter to me.

“So, what did you wish to discuss?” Wilhelm asked immediately.

I replied just as fast: “Yes. Please give the heroes of the Royal Guard Division who were injured while protecting His Highness the Crown Prince the other day, leave of at least 2 months.”

“Mm……?” Wilhelm went, confused and tilting his head.

I don’t think it’s because he doesn’t understand what I just said. I think it’s because he doesn’t know “why” I’m asking.

“I had been applying for a leave of absence for a particular member of the Royal Guard Division for so long, but it was never approved…” I said. “And said knight was injured in the incident with the monsters the other day. I’m here to ask for your permission to give him a special leave of absence.”

“Understood…” Wilhelm said, closing his eyes while touching his beard.

""

It’s a simple story. I’m going back to my parent’s home for the long school holidays soon. At that time, there were many people I wanted to take home with me, and Claudia was among them. Since Claudia is a member of the Royal Guard Division, she had applied for leave, but she has been denied permission for 2 months’ worth of leave. We’ve both tried many times but it’s never been approved.

So, I was planning to negotiate directly with Wilhelm to secure Claudia’s day off, but Claudia was injured while escorting the Camp Training the other day. Well, luckily the wounds weren’t serious, let alone life-threatening, and they didn’t interfere with her daily life, but it did change how I was going to argue for Claudia to get a leave she normally wouldn’t get.

“I don’t mind, but…” Wilhelm started.

“Is Ms. Puddihn here?! Ah! MS. PUDDIHN—….!”

“Princess Eleonore…?!” I cried.

Just as Wilhelm was about to say something, the door opened and Eleonore peeked in. And when she found me, she smiles and runs towards me then dived toward my legs. I hurriedly picked her up and put Eleonore on my knees.

“Princess Eleanore, it is dangerous to run like that,” I said. “Also, my name isn’t ‘Ms. Puddihn’…”

“Noh!” Eleanor protested. “Y’u’re Ms. Puddihn!”

What is wrong with this… but, she’s cute, so I’ll forgive her. Cuteness is justice. Not as a sexual object, of course! I’m not a lolicon nor a pedophile!

“Elenore…” Wilhelm said. “We are discussing something important right now.”

“Noh!” Eleanor cried. “Wanna be with Ms. Puddihn!”

Oooh! How lovely…. this cuteness clutches my test so tightly.

“Haa~…… I want to take her home with me right now……” I said.

“…”

Ah… the voice in my heart has leaked out. Wilhelm is staring at me gloomily…

“Don’t take Eleanore,” he said.

“Ah, yes…” I said.

I’m not going to do it. If someone says she wants to take your daughter home, it’s just like the father to whine and oppose. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t want Ludwig, so I just want Eleonore… no, I’m still not a lolicon or a pedophile, right?

“Haa… well, this is fine,” Wilhelm said. “I suppose we’ll just give the daughter of House Frieden the same amount of vacation time as yours?”

“Well, that’s right…” I said.

I haven’t told anyone yet, but as expected of Wilhelm. It seems that he knew about the members of the Royal Guard Division who had applied for 2 months-long leave for so long. Normally, the King should have known about the leave requests of the Royal Guard Division, but it was a big deal to know that the person in question was Claudia.

“Princess Eleonore, where did you go?”

“Lady Margarete,” I said, looking at Margarete peering in through the still-open door.

“Ah! Your Majesty Wilhelm, I am so sorry!” Margarete cried. “I’ll take Eleonore from here at once.”

""

“No, it’s fine,” Wilhelm said. “I’ve already taken care of our business. Let Eleonore do as she pleases.”

“Okay…” Margarete said. “My apologies, Ms. Pudding… ah! No, I meant Lady Flora…”

These people…..maybe I’m known as Ms. Pudding among the royal family? And I suspect that it is Margarete who is spreading it. After all, if you don’t normally call me that way, you wouldn’t call me Ms. Pudding just now, would you? No matter how you say it was a slip of the tongue, it’s impossible for Lady Flora to be mistaken for Ms. Pudding.

“Ah! Ahh…!” Margarete panicked. “You’ve got it wrong?! I didn’t start calling you Ms. Pudding, you see? It was Princess Eleonore who started calling you Ms. Pudding, okay? Right? Your Majesty?”

“Yes… she’s right,” Wilhelm said. “As far as I know, Eleonore said it first…, but even if someone else had been spreading it before her, it’s beyond my knowledge.”

“Ah~! Even you, Your Majesty!” Margarete yelled. “Doesn’t it sound as if I had inspired Princess Eleonore first?!”

These two are on good terms. Margarete must be Ludwig’s future wife, to be able to speak so frankly to the King like this.

After that, the air became less serious, and I added Eleonore and Margarete to my meeting with the King, spent the daytime in the royal castle talking about nothing in particular, and then went home.