CH 201

Don’t Count Your Chickens…….

If Diaroze had such an intricate plan to rebel against Nored then she might actually come out as a victor, thought the Head Retainer. After all, her victories and military career so far do support her boastful claim.

Her cause is just. She even has a chance of victory. The question would be if there’s enough benefit for the risk.

Being looked at by the Head Retainer’s sharp eyes which is surprising for her age, Frea glanced at Kisei.

“First, I would like to propose a marriage between this person and Eleanor-san.”

“Hou.”

A marriage of convenience is quite common in aristocratic society. The Head Retainer had already expected such a thing to come out. When she looked to her side to try to check if Eleanor is satisfied with this, the Head Retainer realized that she was already ensnared so she turned her eyes toward Kisei instead.

“Excuse my rudeness but who might this person be? He seems to be a Terran to me though…….”

“This is Hokuto Kisei-san. He’s my……..Frea Henrietta’s fiance.”

“Ngh!?”

Kisei let out a weird voice. He did agree to marry Schleer but he has never talked about that with Frea. He hurriedly looked at Frea but she kept her serious face on and refused to look back at him.

With nowhere to turn, he shifts his eyes to Diaroze to ask for her help.

“……..”

Her expression seemed apologetic and she lightly lowered her head at him. It’s not a face that says ‘Don’t worry, we are just saying that to get through this at all. It was a trap! Kisei instinctively thought so.

Sisters sharing a husband is a natural practice among Vulds. Kisei recalled being told that before. The reason Frea acted like that in the car earlier was probably that she knew that it was decided that she will marry him too.

“If we share a husband then us, and Eleanor-san would become sister-in-law. That would be a good way to establish our alliance, correct?”

“I see, that sounds reasonable.”

Seeing the Head Retainer naturally accept that, Nora who’s sitting next to Kisei grit her teeth. Incidentally, Eleanor also looks at Frea thinking (So this is the one Nora-chan talked about…..). It seems she completely bought the story Nora told her before.

“You went and done it now, you bitches……!”

Nora was snarling in a small voice that Kisei could only hear but since the marriage with Eleanor was her idea in the first place, she can’t say anything extra now. Frea probably understood that and tried to establish her engagement with Kisei as a fact using this chance.

“You said that I might have to add another bride but now I have two more right……!”

“That one isn’t my fault!”

Frea smiled triumphantly at the two who were whispering to each other for a brief moment before reverting to her serious expression. She then directed the Head Retainer and Eleanor’s attention to Tersis’s letter.

“Not only that, it was decided that he will be marrying Tersis-san as well.”

“Ehhh!?”

Eleanor raised her voice in surprise. After all, she knows Tersis to be a stoic person who always refuses to attend matchmaking. If the news of her marriage comes out, it would be treated as a pretty big deal even in peacetime.

“Congratulations! In other words, this will be an alliance between House Fafleta, the Henrietta royal family, and House Melemheim, correct? That certainly sounds wonderful.”

The Head Retainer also seemed to be genuinely happy about the arrangement. This is a good time to have an alliance with the Melemheims. If the Empress truly gets dethroned, it is obvious that a civil war will follow. With the backing of the Melemheims, it wouldn’t be difficult for their house to use the turmoil to their advantage and expand.

House Fafleta is but an upstart so they are often shunned by aristocratic houses with a long history. They had to endure harassment from them and their house’s growth is actually stagnant. This is their chance to break the status quo so getting on board is the obvious choice here.

“Certainly, with this arrangement, it would not be bad for us if House Henrietta replaced House Argarine. However, there is one thing that is still worrying me.”

“And that is?”

“It’s the distance between our territories. From our territory, it would take some time even with a high-speed vessel. This would make things inconvenient in our alliance, no?”

Even with Faster Than Light Technology, covering that much physical distance is still a difficulty. It would be inconvenient when one needs to send military reinforcement to another and it would take time for their messengers to communicate.

“Regarding that, I would like to make a suggestion. Is it possible to give Eleanor-san a peerage? She would serve as our bridge to House Fafleta so it would be best if you can prepare such a position for her.”

If she’s going to marry Kisei anyway then Eleanor will end up living in Calencia and Frea thought that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have her take such a position.

“That is a good idea. If a peerage of a viscountess is enough then I believe we can prepare it right away.”

“Hou, a viscountess is it. Thank you for understanding.”

Since the head of House Fafleta is a countess, a viscountess position that is neither too high nor too low from that would be just right.

“With these conditions, I think our alliance is possible. I will head back and discuss this more with the Head. I believe that we can give you a good reply soon.”

After glancing at the memo in her hand, the Head Retainer said that with a smile. The Head Retainer couldn’t make such an important decision by herself but with how long she served the family and its current Head, she believes that she can convince them.

“Thank you very much. Also, please take a look at this document. It detailed our future strategy………”

With this, their alliance is as good as established.

Thinking so, Frea secretly stroked her chest in relief.

TLN: The negotiation is done, back to the shenanigans…..