CH 64

Asuna had come to get a wooden sword in the Palace.

She had wanted to identify Rid, the son of a frontier count, as the princess's partner at marriage .

She had not expected that to come true so soon.

She sorted out the two wooden swords she needed.

One was of normal length.

The other was a little shorter, about the length of a Japanese sidekick.

When she had both of them at her waist, Asuna felt the presence of someone behind her and turned around.

There was an elderly dark elf standing quietly.

It was Norris.

Asuna already knew what kind of person Norris was.

Naturally, she could not have good thoughts about him, and she looked a little grim.

But, whether she knew it or not, Norris suddenly called out to her.

"Asuna Lanmark," I am ......."

'I know who you are. You must be . Norris. How may I help you?"

Asuna said as if she was trying to cover Norris's words.

It was rude, but she still did not want to have a conversation with Norris.

She wanted to end the conversation quickly.

But Norris was not afraid and continued.

'I am honored that you already know ...... how you view the princess's marriage.?"

'...... I am merely the princess's personal escort,...... I am not in a position to answer such questions."

Asuna felt uncomfortable, as if Norris's words had put a dampener on her mood.

His one word was all she needed to know.

He came here because he wanted to put herself in the opposition.

He is a man with a thick skin, even though it has not been long since Prince Lacis was involved.

As Asuna was about to walk past him to leave quickly, Norris said.

"I'm quite close to your brother, and I've heard a lot about you."

"!"

The unexpected words made Asuna look back at Norris with a sharp glare in his face.

Norris, however, was not intimidated and continued speaking.

"I'll be the one to bring you and your brother together. I will also make arrangements for you to be released from your duties as the princess's personal bodyguard. Then you can return to the Lamark family with a clean sheet . And you will not have to go with me to the empire as the princess's personal guard. What do you think?　Not a bad deal for you, is it?"

"...... what do you want?"

Asuna continues to stare at Norris with a grim face.

But Norris replied with feeling like he had plenty of time to spare.

"The princess must marry a member of the imperial family for the sake of Renalute's future. The princess is too good a card to play for the son of a frontier count, don't you think?"　

Norris walked slowly behind Asuna as he explained.

He put his hand on her right shoulder and whispered in her ear,

The future of the country is at the heart of the empire, to gain more power. She should be married to a member of the royal family. And if the princess and the royal family were to have a child someday, the power in her hands would be even stronger. Besides, we Dark Elves have a longer life span than humans. Even if the power is small at first, if we give it time, the power of the princess who marries into the riyal family will become stronger. At that time, our nation will have the empire within its grasp."

"..... I see. So what do you want me to do?"

Asuna asked Norris, her stern face relaxing a little.

With those words, he chuckled and said to Asuna with his hands outstretched,

'It's easy for you, you know. You hurt and traumatize the son of the frontier count. Then I want you to secretly make him promise to refuse to marry the princess of Renalute. If you do that, the rest will work itself out. As long as you do that, I will take care of all the matters we first discussed. Will you cooperate with me?"

Asuna looked thoughtful and then muttered.

"I would like to ask you one question, ....... Is Prince Lacis's behavior influenced by you?"

'...... Yes, that's right. I think there may have been some influence, but in the end it was all the prince himself who made the decision.

Hearing his words, Asuna gave a small nod.

Seeing this, Norris stepped "fell" and continued his words.

"Thank you very much. Well then, I'll keep you in mind in the future ......"

'I hope you don't take this the wrong way.'

'What about ......?'

Asuna interrupted him again.

Then she said forcefully to him, who seemed to be taken aback.

"I asked you three things: what you want, what you want me to do, and your influence over Prince Lacis. Not a single word did I say I would cooperate with you?"

'What!'

Hearing Asuna's words, Norris cursed in a heated tone.

As Asuna pulled out the wooden sword she carried at her waist and thrust the tip of the sword at Norris's neck.

. My mistress is the princess of Renalute. I demand that you retract what you just said. I consider it an insult to me, along with the princess.　I am her personal bodyguard, and I her protector . Think carefully about the meaning of this with that head of yours that loves power. ...... ."

Norris was startled by Asuna's words.

Depending on how you look at it, she is in a more powerful position than Norris.

Understanding the meaning of what she had said, Norris made a grim face and spun the words.

"I'm sorry, too. I withdraw my earlier words ......."

Asuna's eyes remained sharp even after hearing Norris' words.

She then said as she held the tip of her wooden sword to his throat.

"In the first place, you are mistaken. I have no regrets with the Lanmark family. I would rather not getting along with my brother. I am proud to be the princess's personal bodyguard. If you know what that means, don't ever speak to me again."

"I understand."

Upon hearing Asuna's words Norris returned the side wooden sword she had been holding at his throat to her waist.

The moment Norris did so, he slumped down on the spot as if he had lost his backbone.

Asuna looked down at him and said as if to spit.

I'm going to pretend I didn't know what happened here,......, and sooner or later you'll be punished.

Asuna gave the slumped Norris a sharp look of contempt and left the scene.

The remaining Norris was shaking with anger as he remembered how the girl had done this to him, even though she was she was just personal guard.

But he laughed nonetheless.

Either way, she would still be fighting Lid.

Then the son of the frontier count would be traumatized.

He grinned as he looked in the direction Asuna had left.

◇ 

Asuna felt drained, but as a result, it was good to hear this information directly from the man himself.

However, Asuna regretted that she and Norris were the only two people in the room.

If there had been a third party, they would have been able to condemn Norris on the spot.

If there had been only the two of them, there would have been an argument over what he said or didn't say.

Besides, he was able to come on strong in the end thanks to the insulting words he had thoughtlessly said to the princess and to himself.

Under normal circumstances, he would not have been able to exert that much power over the princess.

Asuna let out a sigh as she recalled the exchange just now.

'Hah,......, I'm a little tired.'

But her steps are light.

Because she will be able to directly see the ability of Rid Bardia, the son of the frontier count.

"Master Rid ...... I have not been this excited about a new opponent in a long time."

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.