CH 21

Conferring a Peerage

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

It was two weeks after my triumphant return to Amyn that I received an invitation to a tea party from His Excellency, Prime Minister Roger. It was the day after he returned to Royal Capital to attend a ceremony to award me for my achievements at the hearing.

The Prime Minister’s envoy arrived at the Clanetta residence, where I was conducting a rehearsal for the ceremony that was to take place in a few days’ time. I was eager to thank him again, so I gladly accepted the offer and took Emily to the courtyard of the Royal Palace, where the maple trees were beginning to change color.

At a white circular table prepared in the courtyard, His Excellency and His Highness Leon, dressed in contrasting black formal wear, were waiting in cushioned chairs.

「Thank you for waiting, Your Excellency, Prime Minister. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also in a good mood.」

「Lady Elizabeth, thank you for coming. I’m sorry to call you on such short notice.」

「I hope you don’t mind. If you, who have been so kind to me, to invite me, I will gladly come.」

I respond by picking out a pale green dress embroidered with a botanical pattern and, as recommended, take a seat at the opposite end of the table. With a very natural motion, a servant of the royal palace placed a cup of tea in front of me as well and moved back to a position where they could not hear us. I give Emily a quick look and have her do the same.

I had assumed that there must be a reason why he had dared to invite me to a tea party at a time when we were both busy, and it seems that I was right. His Highness, having made sure that their mutual squires had stepped back, smiled and opened his mouth.

「Elizabeth. We haven’t had a calm conversation like this since the day before the hearing.」

「Thank you for your help at the hearing. His Royal Highness, Crown Prince」

「Good. I enjoyed the rest of it quite a bit. By the way, did you say something about a prisoner’s dilemma? How did you know such a thing?」

「I heard about it from a friend, so I am not that familiar with it. I am relieved that it went well.」

I answered the question while misrepresenting the source. During the hearing, His Highness used it to extract a confession from Edmond’s faction.

First, those from the faction who were locked out of the hall were divided into two groups, and the two groups were separately interrogated by His Highness the Crown Prince in person. I offered them a plea bargain. His Highness, who was persuaded by me, offered these conditions.

『If only one of them confesses, all charges that he or she was complicit in the manipulation will be forgiven. The side that keeps silent is imprisoned for deceiving the state.』

『If both parties remain silent, they will both be ordered to go into hiding.』

『If both parties confess, they will both be imprisoned and their homes will be destroyed.』

Even the nobles of the factions that were confronted with these conditions are not incompetent. Both sides would have understood that it was safest to remain silent.

However, by being interrogated one by one, most of them confessed because they could not trust each other due to the fear that only the other would confess. Pushed by the desire to avoid incarceration and the desire to save only themselves, they jumped into the net we were casting.

「In any case, thanks to your knowledge, we were able to round up all those who had rebelled against the kingdom. I thank you.」

「I am honored to be of service to the Kingdom.」

「And one thing I must tell you. It’s about Edmond.」

「I believe I heard that he committed suicide in prison.」

The day after I left Royal Capital, there was a public announcement. The news was brought to Amyn from my residence in Royal Capital by a carrier pigeon.

「It wasn’t a suicide. Someone had killed him. On the same day, his estate was also set on fire, and the clues to those lurking behind the scenes were lost.」

The words that His Highness told me without moving an eyebrow made me look up. To calm down, I sip a cup of tea, which emits a fragrant aroma. Aside from the fire in the mansion, Edmond, who was being held captive in a guarded royal prison, was killed. It indicated one possibility.

「There is an informant in the palace. That’s what Your Highness wants to say, isn’t it?」

「Probably. One of the soldiers who was actually monitoring Edmond has disappeared. I don’t think he’s the only one on the inside.」

Although the rebellion failed this time due to the unity of the Clanetta territory and Edmond’s own lack of precision, the preparations of those behind the scenes were meticulous. Who can say for sure that the mastermind’s orchestration, with its abundant funds and agents, has not infiltrated the royal court?

「Even in the royal palace, this is the state of affairs. Let’s be honest. There are few people in the royal family who can be trusted.」

「One of those few is you. Lady Elizabeth.」

The Prime Minister takes over the conversation.

「At this ceremony, you will receive a knighthood and a fiefdom. It may be a heavy burden for you, a young woman. Still, for the sake of this country, I ask you to accept.」

「I’m counting on you to do the same.」

「Prime Minister. Your Highness. Please lift your head. My love for Rynegard is the same as yours. I would be happy to accept your offer without such a request.」

To my surprise, the two of them bowed to one little girl and asked for her cooperation. There was no way I could say no when I was bowed down by the overlord and heir of the Rynegard royal family. I had to fulfill God’s request, so I needed to have some power myself.

「Will you take it!?」

When His Highness heard my words, his face lit up like a child’s. I smiled and nodded. I smiled and nodded. Was it the royal blood or the charm of His Highness Leon himself? I was beginning to feel a familiarity with His Highness, second only to that of the Prime Minister. If I had also been a woman, I would have been struck by the gap that suddenly changed from my interesting face.

「However, please keep one thing in mind」

Although I had accepted the offer, I could not simply accept it. I already had countless people to protect.

「If the royal family ever wrongs the people, I and Clanetta will be your enemy.」

「Alright. I’ll take that to heart.」

「Thank you for your understanding. As long as you do not forget that sentiment, I will continue to stand by Your Highness.」

「Thank you. I appreciate it.」

His Highness and I got up from our seats and shook hands tightly across the table.

◆

After a short chat, Elizabeth left her seat. As she walks away with her maids in tow, the Crown Prince Leon lets out a long breath as he watches her back.

「Mentor, I knew Elizabeth was no ordinary person.」

「I can see that. She was not afraid of our presence, but she was also not conceited. She is both grace and mercy. Perhaps the ancient Queen was like that.」

「In her hometown, some people say that she is the reincarnation of the Queen because of her golden eyes.」

「I guess that’s how much they adore her. But, Your Highness, I am a little disappointed.」

「What do you mean?」

Roger’s blue eyes narrow mischievously at the Crown Prince’s questioning look.

「The love of this kind-hearted young lady is equally shared by all her people and is not likely to be reserved for His Highness alone.」

「…Muh, she’s still young. I am sure she will realize my feelings as time goes by.」

「It just seemed to me that she was not interested in His Highness.」

Mentor! When Leon’s face turned red and he became angry at being teased, Roger, his teacher, laughed at him.

◆

Meanwhile. Falun, the capital of the Carrhs Empire, is located across the Belguim Mountains from the Clanetta territory. In the office of the palace that towers in the center of the city, a man was reporting to his Lord.

「My apologies. We have not been able to meet your expectations for the mediation in Rynegard. This is all due to my own fault. It is all due to the fault of this Osval.」

A brown-haired man in a military uniform of black taps his head and apologizes in a floor piled with books. He was the head of the intelligence unit Osval, who called himself Osby the Carrhs Merchant in Rynegard.

「On the contrary, it is unforgivable that we allowed Elizabeth, the daughter of the Clanetta Duchy, whose power should be reduced, to make a breakthrough. Please give me the punishment I deserve!」

Osval lowers his head further to scrape it against the floor, exposing his neck. It was a sign of readiness to have his head chopped off.

「It’s fine. You did good. Look up.」

But at the head of it all, the lord, who was sitting at its office desk, called out to him in a laborious manner. It’s voice was calm, but clearly that of a young girl.

Osval looks up and faces his lord. There she was, a beautiful girl with long orange hair reminiscent of a morning sunrise. She looked seventeen or eighteen years old. A girl in a long, unadorned black dress turned her green eyes toward Osval.

「The information you brought back saved our soldiers from unnecessary losses. If we had invaded without knowing the status of gunpowder operations in Rynegard, there is no telling how much damage it could have caused.」

This time, the Carrh’s Empire ploy was a two-step one. The plan was to provoke Rynegard into rebellion, and if that failed, to dispose of the Eastern Knights in order to take advantage of the kingdom’s declining military strength to launch an invasion campaign.

The rebellion failed, and harsh sentences were handed down to many of the eastern knights. However, when it was discovered that gunpowder had been put to practical use in the Clanetta territory, the second plan was cancelled because the other side’s forces could not be assumed.

「We can make the most of it next time. We are young, and the time will surely come again.」

「I will be even more excited for that time.」

「Ahh, I’m depending on you.」

「Hah! You can leave it to me!」

「But still, Elizabeth, who knows gunpowder? This is going to be quite interesting.」

The girl, Juliette Carrhs, Emperor of the Carrhs Empire, smiled wryly before Osval, who bowed his head again, overcome with emotion.

◆

On a sunny October day, many nobles in formal attire gathered in the audience chamber of the royal palace. The purpose was to witness the ordination of the new lords who were to be appointed to the reorganized eastern knighthoods. Those kneeling on the red carpet at the back of the long, vertical audience chamber are knighted by King Philip, who stands on a higher level. They were soldiers and officials who had distinguished themselves in the Kingdom. But the nobles hardly saw it. Their interest was focused only on one girl who had yet to be seen.

「The Duchess of Clanetta, Lady Elisabeth, enter!」

The ordination was nearing its end, and when a chamberlain near the entrance announced its arrival, the nobles all turned their heads to take notice, and everyone was taken aback by her beauty.

Eliza, dressed in a scarlet dress so long that it dragged on the floor, was walking slowly. The emphasis on the slender waist was general, but the open, shoulder-baring design, combined with the dark color of the dress, made a vivid impression on the nobility of the whiteness of her skin. She wore little in the way of jewelry, but her blond hair, which swayed slightly, and her golden eyes, which gazed only ahead, were more than the sparkle of any jewelry.

Eliza, advancing down the center of the aisle, kneels before the king. The vizier Roger, who had been standing by the king’s side, stepped forward and told him of her achievement and his bounty.

「The award is given for her contribution to the stability of the kingdom by wiping out all those who would attempt to rebel against it. Elisabeth Clanetta is given half of the Eastern Knights’ territory, including the former Jungk territory, and is appointed Countess of the Frontier!」

October in the year 385 of the Kingdom of Rynegard. A girl was appointed as the Countess of the Frontier. At the time, only a few predicted that this event would be a turning point in history that would affect not only the kingdom but also the surrounding countries.