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The next day, I asked Sophie to set up a meeting with the king. The king, I, and Sophia were sitting across from each other in a conference room in the palace.
「I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet you, despite the sudden request.」
「If you and Sophia are asking me to do this, I have no problem with it. However, I was under the impression that you were talking about the wedding, but apparently not.」
「Right, what I want to talk to you about today is the matter of the Second Prince Rand.」
「Murhh? Did Rand do something to you?」
「I'm going to let the man I'm about to introduce tell you about it. You may come in.」
Of course it was Philpott who came in after hearing my words. He didn't expect to meet the king out of the blue, so he's looking pitifully scared. He looks like he's about to collapse.
「Let me introduce you first. This man is Philpot. He used served as bishop in the church.」
「Served? Why is that in the past tense?」
Sophie had a good point with her question. Her insight always helps me.
「This man is supposed to have been killed yesterday for the crime of heresy. Ostensibly, he was killed for having sexual intercourse with a dark elf slave, but the real reason was to keep his mouth shut.」
「You may continue.」
「This man belonged to the noble faction of the church, and it seems that the noblemen were given certain instructions.」
「Instructions? That can't be. ......」
「Yes, to get me and Fairis into the noble, no matter the means. Those are the instructions.」
「So the fact that Yard-sama and Fairis-sama were declared heretics was also a ploy by the noble faction.」
Sophie listened to me with an expression that said she was finally convinced. She must have felt that there were many suspicious things about this case. The king, on the other hand, remained silent for a while after hearing what I had to say, but then he looked at Philpot and opened his mouth.
「Fumu, Bishop Philpot, is it true what he just said?」
「Y-yes, I swear by our God.」
「So the Count thinks that the Savile family and Rand, the core of the aristocracy, are the ringleaders this time, is that right? That's why you've come to ask me for permission to capture the royals, correct?」
「That is correct. And I have other suspicions as well.」
「What is it?」
「The Savile House is considering using the Dark Elves to sabotage their own faction in order to consolidate their power.」
「Wha!? Is that true!?」
The king stood up at the shocking statement that came out of Philpot's mouth. Sophie didn't stand up, but she was surprised.
「If the hostility towards the Dark Elves increases, the noble faction that is against different races will be able to regain power. I also heard that they have already secured dark elf slaves in their mansion.」
「Mumurhh, If that's true, then I have no doubt. Sophie, send the troops to House Savile immediately.」
「Right away, Father.」
Sophie hurried out of the room. This would be the end for Rand and the Savile family. The noble faction, which had lost its core, would also collapse if left unchecked.
※
Rand was then captured and brought to the audience hall. As was the case when I went along with Dian's plan, the stares from the people around me were quite painful.
「Now, Rand, do you know why you were called here?」
「I don't! I don't know what the hell I've done!」
「Fumu, the charges are suspicion of treason and rebellion」
「That's why Count Werner forced me to leave that slave behind!」
After that, the Savile family was quickly surrounded by the Royal soldiers and all the Savile family members including Rand were captured. The dark elves who were hiding in the house were also found there.
「Count, Rand says that, but what do you have to say about it?」
「Why should I leave the Dark Elves in your house? And if I were forced to leave them there, you should have just kicked them out immediately. Why did you bother to hide them?」
「What the hell! That's ......」
「That's?」
「...... Damn it!」
Because of the contract I signed with him, he can't talk about anything that might make him realize that I've joined his faction, even if he wanted to. This makes it look to the rest of us as if he's desperately trying to come up with an excuse.
「Th-That's right! Those dark elves have been watching! If you ask them, they'll tell you that you left them!」
「Fumu, someone bring them to me.」
Rand's face lit up with a smile, as if he was sure of victory.
Unfortunately, it's the worst move he could have made. Now his downfall has been decided.
Then the slaves, accompanied by soldiers, entered. They all looked so beautiful that the people around me couldn't help but sigh. As I applied the translation magic, the king began to ask them questions.
「Now then, do you understand my words?」
「Yes.」
「Fumu, then do you know the face of the man there?」
The king asked the girls, indicating me with his hand. They didn't respond for a while, but when Rand began to stomp his feet impatiently, a dark elf stepped forward.
「Yes, I've seen this man before.」
「Haha, of course you have! I knew those slaves were sent by Count Werner!」
While Rand was laughing triumphantly and the people around him were buzzing with excitement at the unexpected situation, the king seemed to be quietly thinking about something.
「Count Werner, do you have any excuse?」
「Just one thing.」
「Umu, tell me」
「Well then. The slaves, from the looks of it, were subjected to brainwashing magic. Perhaps it's because of the magic tools attached to their necks, but it's also possible that the Second Prince is instructing them to say what he just said.」
「All right, let's remove that collar and then I'll ask you another question.」
On the king's order, the magician released the collar and it was removed. Immediately, tears welled up in their eyes and they crouched down and began to cry. When the people around them saw this, they were convinced that the girls had been brainwashed.
「I would like to ask you once again the question that I asked you earlier. Do you know this man?」
「I don't know him! Please, don't kill me! I don't want any more pain!」
He must have felt that the words she spoke through tears were not a lie. The king nodded slowly and turned to Rand. His face was filled with quiet anger.
「Rand, what do you have to say for yourself?」
「Y-You're wrong! It was all a trap set by the Count! You must believe me!」
「Enough! Take him away.」
Rand's eyes were colored with despair as he was taken to the prison by the king's order. The sight of him finally made me sober up. You can take your revenge for mocking me to the best of your ability.
The Dark Elves had their personalities erased and their pseudo-personalities replaced with artificial personalities. The training was left entirely to Olympia, and I brainwashed them so that they could not recognized me, and created obedient slaves.
The girls had never seen anyone but Olympia. I created memories of the horrible torture they had been subjected to, so from the moment the brainwash was lifted, they could say enough untrue words to fool the king.
「Now then, Count Werner, you have done well in finding the traitors. I'll let you take the reward. What do you want?」
「Well then, I'll take those dark elves.」
「May I ask why?」
「I cannot send those who may have learned of the kingdom's geography back to the enemy, but it would be too pitiful to dispose of them. If that's the case, I just thought I'd hire them at my residence. Fortunately, the people at the mansion have a good understanding of Dark Elves.」
I said it in a pretentious way, but the truth is that I thought it would be a shame to let go of the girls I bought with so much money. Of course, I couldn't tell him this reason, so I forced myself to come up with another reason, but the king didn't seem to notice.
「Well then, I'll leave you in charge of them. That will be your reward.」
「I appreciate it.」
And so the Dark Elves came back to me. In the end, I didn't gain anything but the return of what I bought, but I'll chalk it up to a necessary expense.
Rand and House Savile, who fell into my trap, will fall so far behind that they won't be able to regain their faction, and I've also blamed the noble faction for a crime they didn't commit. Now there will be no one to interfere with me or Fairis, and we're free from the troublesome power struggle in the church.
I guess this is the end of the matter. It's refreshing to think that I can finally get my days back to normal. For now, let's go back to the mansion and sleep as much as I can.
※
The next day, Marco came to the mansion with Fairis. He said that he had come to report again on this matter.
「Looks like it's done.」
「I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Thank you for passing on the information about the heretic. I just wondered why Bishop Philpot was still alive when he was supposed to have been burned by the flames.」
「I agree.」
I let the painfully sarcastic remark pass appropriately. I can't do this if I have to worry about these words every single time.
Fairis seemed to be unconvinced by Marco's calm expression even though he had killed someone, but she didn't seem to think of discussing it here, and just had a frustrated expression on her face.
「By the way, Count, as I told you the other day, I have been informed that you were innocent of the heresy that was suspected against you. I am sorry that I suspected you of a crime you did not commit.」
「You don't have to worry about it. I'm sure the Savile family was behind it for the most part.」
「Thank you very much. But it is also true that you live in a world of suspicion. It would be great if you could help us turn the heathen around, but it's also a problem if you're too close to them.」
「I understand. I'll think about it.」
I don't want to think about it at all, but I'll say so just for the sake of company. I want the conversation to be over quickly, but these people don't like to be disciplined about telling the details.
「I'm glad you understand. Oh, if you don't mind, why don't you and your disciples, the elves and the others, join us? The gods do not reject religious beliefs just because they are of a different race. There are a small number of elves in our congregation.」
「Hmm, I'll think about it.」
I'm sure he was referring to Elle and Natalia, but the sudden nail in the coffin bothered me for some reason, so I used the <Mind Steal>.
(......In light of this incident, his power cannot be compared to that of an ordinary magician. If possible, I would like to keep him away from the king and the knights. If two heroes are pulled out, the power of the church will increase even more. In the worst case scenario, if he has any devout follower in his family, they can be used as a hostage.......).
Well, I didn't expect him to just go out of his way to report after the fact, so I was prepared for this man to have some bad ideas. But still, Marco's idea seemed to be just to pull us out, so even if he left it alone, it wouldn't cause any problems like it did with Philpot.
「Yeah, I'll recommend it to them.」
「I see. Yes, that would be good.」
「Well then, I have more business to attend to after this, so I'll excuse myself.」
「Ohhh, that's right. I apologize for the long conversation. We'll meet again sometime.」
Marco said, and left the mansion. Fairis was looking at him unhappily, so I gave her a peck on the cheek, and she gave me a painless punch in the stomach.
※
After a lot of complaining, Fairis left and I headed to Natalia's place. She seemed to be already awake and was training her bow in the garden instead of in her room.
Basically, all wood elves were good with a bow, but her skill was above average. She was hitting arrows one after another at targets that seemed to be only a fraction of their size. Normally I would find her annoying, but when I see her single-mindedly drawing her bow, I think she is beautiful.
「Natalia, there you are.」
「What's wrong? Is there some business with me?」
I waited until she took a break and then called out to her. She seemed to have noticed my presence and was not surprised when I suddenly called out to her.
「Yeah, we're going to church. I want you to be baptized.」
「What, I'm supposed to believe in the god of this country? I don't care if the Yard insists. ......」
「No, I'm just going to make it look like I've turned, because if I don't, I'll get in trouble again. I'm not trying to tell you to change your faith.」
「Oh, I see. I got it.」
I'm glad you're convinced. I was thinking of forcibly dragging her away in case she refused, but it seems that I didn't need to worry about that.
After watching her train with her bow for a while, I had a light breakfast and took her to the church. This time I didn't use the transfer and walked normally.
As we walked around the city, Natalia seemed to be interested in everything, and she was happily looking around. As we walked a little further, we saw that there was an open-air market going on, so we decided to stop by. It was still early in the day, but there were already quite a few stores and many people milling about.
「It's amazing, I've never seen so many people even when I was following the vendors.」
「Well, it's the royal capital, after all. Don't wander around too much.」
「I know, I know. I'm not a child.」
But whenever she sees something interesting, she goes in that direction, and I often have to chase after her.
In the end, I bought her the necklace she had been looking at so covetously, and we left the market. She seemed to be in a good mood after wearing the necklace. It was not that expensive, but it was worth it if she was that happy.
After leaving the street market, we continued walking and finally arrived at the church when it was almost noon. I thought we could make it on foot, but it turned out to be much further than I expected.
I decided to use a transfer on the way back, and told a nearby church worker that I had come to get baptized. It seemed that quite a few people came to be baptized, so they were used to dealing with us.
Natalia was immediately taken to the room for the baptism, and I waited outside. After a while, she came out. Apparently, everything went well.
「Nothing has changed, but did I really already baptized?」
「The baptismal ritual is just like the initiation process of a business association. It's not that big of a deal.」
「Oh, so that's what it is. ...... I got my hopes up..」
She may have had a special image of rituals, but many church rituals are just a formality. I've heard that some of them really do claim to receive divine blessings, but I've never met anyone who has actually received divine blessings, so I'm not sure what to expect.
Anyway, she is now a member of the church. On the way home, I let the person who was in charge of the baptism take a few gold coins. This is not something I feel guilty about. It's just a small token of appreciation.
He knows what he's doing, so he smiles and puts the money away in his clothes. This is the sequence of events that has been decided up to this point.
I took her back to the mansion in a transfer. It was the first time in a long time that she was able to go outside, so she seemed satisfied. After having a late lunch, I left her and returned to my room.
I guess I should let Elle take care of the rest. I haven't seen her in a while, so I thought I'd check on her while I told her to get baptized, so I transferred to the Istrian fortress.
※
The soldiers at the fort told me that Elle was watching the training of the magicians, so I went to the training grounds.
While the lower to intermediate level magicians were busy working together and practicing their individual magics, Elle was at the far end watching the training with a sleepy expression on her face, as if she was bored. But when she noticed me, she opened her eyes, which had been about to fall asleep, and flew toward me with a speed that seemed almost reflexive.
I thought she was going to jump at me, so I prepared to step on her, but Elle stopped suddenly in front of me with a look of surprise on her face, as if she had just realized something.
I wondered and looked at her clothes, but there was nothing to worry about. I looked at Elle again, and she was back to smiling like she had when she found me. I guess the sudden stop was because Elle had learned to be a little more modest.
「Master, if you had called me, I would have welcomed you.」
「Well, it's just a quick stopover, so you don't have to do that much for me.」
「I see. Is there something wrong?」
「Oh, I just thought I'd baptize you in my spare time.」
When I told her why I was baptizing her, she seemed to agree. She said she would go later, so I didn't force her.
「Speaking of which, has that guy left already?」
「Are you talking about Van? If so, he's still here. Do you want me to call him?」
She seemed to have sent a telepathic to Van without even hearing my reply, and before I could stop her, I heard footsteps running towards me, and soon the man appeared.
「Uhh, what is it?」
「No particular reason.」
「I don't have that much time on my hands either, but. ......」
Van's shoulders slumped at Elle's reopened attitude, but when he noticed my presence, he looked convinced and held out his hand to me.
「It's been a long time, Count Werner.」
「You, don't you have enough money saved up to travel already?」
「That's, Elmair-san stopped me.」
「Master, this man is depressing, but his ideas on magic are quite good. Also, without him, I had no one to talk to on the same level, and I was going to die of boredom!」
I had taught Elle the translation magic before, so she could talk to Van, but from the looks of it, I don't think it was very good.
「Well, you can do what you want.」
(Can we really trust this guy? He doesn't even know about the memory loss yet, does he?)
I speaks to Elle in telepathic while speaking normally. I don't usually use parallel thinking because it's quite burdensome, but this way we won't be heard while a third party is nearby.
「Thank you, Master.」
(I've been monitoring him, but he hasn't acted suspiciously, and that memory lapse hasn't changed. I think it' probably okay.)
Elle seems to trust this guy, but I can't shake the feeling that he's suspicious. My intuition whispered to me that I should stop being too suspicious, but in this case, I needed to be careful.
(Don't let your guard down. There's something fishy about him, after all. Keep your guard up.)
(Understood, Master.)
I've warned Elle, but I'm going to keep my eyes open for him.
The thing that worries me the most is the fact that he and Elle are able to talk about magic. It's crazy that he can understand magic formulas that are different from the ones in this world in the first place. Normally, once a person gets used to the magics of the world, they tend to have an unnecessary bias towards other magics, making it difficult to activate them.
I knew there was something wrong with his memory loss. At the time, I thought that I would have to wait and see, but if it came to it, I would have to consider erasing him.
※
In the end, nothing happened at the fort, and the day of the ceremony arrived without any further incident. The people around me were busy preparing for the ceremony until the last minute, but I managed to make it on time.
The ceremony was held in the chapel of the castle, with many attendees gathered around, and Sophie and I listened to a long talk by the archbishop or something on the prayer table, received his blessing, and finally put the ring on Sophie's finger.
We heard applause and cheers from the people around us, but we were so busy trying not to get swallowed up in the atmosphere that we didn't even hear the congratulations.
After the ceremony in the chapel, it was time to greet the ambassadors and other prominent figures from other countries.
At this point, I was already shouting in my heart for them to give me a break, but Sophie responded without breaking into a smile. It seems that there is a big difference in our upbringing.
People whose names and faces I didn't know were congratulating us, but it didn't make me happy to be congratulated by strangers whose faces I didn't know. Some of them were clearly trying to get close to me, a man who's married to royalty, and I felt like I was going to collapse from worry.
I managed to keep a smile on my face, and when I finally made it through, I was mentally, if not physically, exhausted.
Now I'm going to have another party at my mansion in the evening. Even though I knew it, I had exhausted a lot of my mental energy in just half a day. Currently, I'm taking refuge in her room with Sophie to rest, but we have to leave soon.
「Yard-sama, are you okay?」
「Hmmm, not so much okay, but this is also so I can be with you.」
「Yard-sama ......」
She brought her face close to mine, so I kissed her on the mouth. It was only a light kiss, as it might take off her makeup, but she seemed to be satisfied with it.
I left the castle with Sophie and returned to the mansion, this time to hold a party at the mansion. Being away from Sophie this time, I had no one to rely on in case of emergency, which accelerated my anxiety.
I was having a hard time dealing with the many people who were approaching me here, when a familiar face arrived. It was Alec and Sagami.
「Congratulations on your wedding, Yard-dono! I never expected you to marry Princess Sophia.」
「Congratulations on your marriage. There were some things I wanted to say to Yard-dono, but it would be tactless to do so here.」
Alec is congratulating me on my marriage, but Sagami seems to have something on his mind. Well, this guy knows that I had an affair with Natalia, too.
「Oh, thank you. Wasn't Fairis-sama with you?」
「She'll be here later. I never thought that Yard-dono would be the first to get married.」
「Well, it was sort of a coincidence.」
After some more talk, they left. A short time after they left, Fairis arrived. She had a subtle expression on her face that was not appropriate for a celebration, but when she came over to me, she was back to smiling.
「Congratulations, Yard-sama!」
「Yeah, you looked a little unhappy, is there something wrong?」
「I've been asked out by various gentlemen, and I'm in a bit of a bind.」
She let out a tired sigh, but it couldn't be helped that she was now attracting the gaze of male guests.
Today she was wearing a dress with a bold opening on her chest, which obviously made her look more sexy than usual. Her breasts weren't big enough to form a cleavage, so she must have been pulling them up.
Her hair was also tied up, not in the usual straight style, but in a way that would suit the formalities of a wedding, giving her a more mature look.
I didn't think anything of Alec or Sagami wearing formal clothes for a party, but it was rare to see her dressed like that, so I couldn't help but stare at her.
「I hadn't expected Fairis-dono to be dressed like that. I thought you were wearing your usual priestly uniform.」
「I wonder what kind of eyes Yard-sama is looking at me with? I'm a woman too, so I dress appropriately for a party like this, you know?」
Perhaps my words offended her, but she glared at me with a slightly reproachful look. But she usually wears the same priest's uniform as if that's all she had, so I guess it's no wonder I said what I did.
Fairis stared at me for a while, but eventually let out a sigh of resignation and glanced over at me.
「Yard-sama, um, does this dress look good on me?」
「It's very brave of you to ask me that right here. And while I'm at it, did you choose those clothes yourself?」
「...... I had it picked out by the castle's wardrobe attendant.」
「Well, of course you did.」
「That kind of Yard-sama also has a strange bias in his gaze towards me, don't you think?」
「I'm a man, you know. I can't help it if you dress like that.」
「It-It's not fair.」
We were exchanging silly looks, but if we took any longer, the other guests would get suspicious. Fairis seemed to understand this, and she coughed lightly and returned to her serious face.
「...... Well, okay. Give Sophie a shout out, too. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from you.」
「Sure. Then I'll excuse myself.」
She headed towards Sophie, sometimes almost falling down in her unfamiliar costume. I thought that my acquaintance was gone now, but someone who was still here came.
「It's been a long time, Yard-sama. Or should I call you my brother-in-law?」
「Margarete-dono, you can call me whatever you like. Anyway, is the fortress all right?」
「Don't worry. Thanks to Yard-sama, the front line has been raised, so the fortress is calm, and I will return as soon as this ceremony is over.」
The people around me took a step back when they saw Margarete approaching me with an aura of displeasure. I don't think they would want to get close to her, as she is giving off a nasty vibe no matter how you look at it.
She was also wearing a gorgeous dress for a party, different from her usual attire. She looked exactly like a high-handed princess, and to be honest, it suited her better than her usual attire. She didn't even seem to be approached by the people around her, although the men would not leave her alone if she didn't say anything.
「Stop it, Margarete. We come here is celebrating those two.」
「Oh, Onii-sama, I didn't know you were here.」
It was Robert who came up to me and Margarete. He was wearing the same clothes as usual, but he looked good, so there was nothing to say. He was also supposed to have been at the fort, but how on earth did he end up here? I'm not sure if the kingdom's military is a bunch of bored people or not.
「It's been a while, Robert-dono.」
「It hasn't been that long. First of all, let me congratulate you and my sister Sophia on your marriage.」
「I would like to congratulate you as well. To be honest, I don't want to celebrate too much, but ......」
Robert may not be too happy about it on the inside, but he doesn't show it in his attitude like Margarete. It's not that Robert is a good person, but rather that Margarete is still acting like a child.
「Count, when this party is over, I want you to accompany me for a while.」
「Hmm? Sure, that's fine with me.」
「Onii-sama, it's no fun to talk with a man like him. Let's hurry up and go to Onee-sama.」
Robert also left as if he had no choice but to be dragged along by Margarete. It seems that the family is not on bad terms. Sophie was also happy to notice the two approaching people.
After that, I continued to respond to the people who came to talk to me, and wondered why Elle, who seemed to be the first one to rush to the scene at times like this, was not there.
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The next day, I asked Sophie to set up a meeting with the king. The king, I, and Sophia were sitting across from each other in a conference room in the palace.
「I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet you, despite the sudden request.」
「If you and Sophia are asking me to do this, I have no problem with it. However, I was under the impression that you were talking about the wedding, but apparently not.」
「Right, what I want to talk to you about today is the matter of the Second Prince Rand.」
「Murhh? Did Rand do something to you?」
「I'm going to let the man I'm about to introduce tell you about it. You may come in.」
Of course it was Philpott who came in after hearing my words. He didn't expect to meet the king out of the blue, so he's looking pitifully scared. He looks like he's about to collapse.
「Let me introduce you first. This man is Philpot. He used served as bishop in the church.」
「Served? Why is that in the past tense?」
Sophie had a good point with her question. Her insight always helps me.
「This man is supposed to have been killed yesterday for the crime of heresy. Ostensibly, he was killed for having sexual intercourse with a dark elf slave, but the real reason was to keep his mouth shut.」
「You may continue.」
「This man belonged to the noble faction of the church, and it seems that the noblemen were given certain instructions.」
「Instructions? That can't be. ......」
「Yes, to get me and Fairis into the noble, no matter the means. Those are the instructions.」
「So the fact that Yard-sama and Fairis-sama were declared heretics was also a ploy by the noble faction.」
Sophie listened to me with an expression that said she was finally convinced. She must have felt that there were many suspicious things about this case. The king, on the other hand, remained silent for a while after hearing what I had to say, but then he looked at Philpot and opened his mouth.
「Fumu, Bishop Philpot, is it true what he just said?」
「Y-yes, I swear by our God.」
「So the Count thinks that the Savile family and Rand, the core of the aristocracy, are the ringleaders this time, is that right? That's why you've come to ask me for permission to capture the royals, correct?」
「That is correct. And I have other suspicions as well.」
「What is it?」
「The Savile House is considering using the Dark Elves to sabotage their own faction in order to consolidate their power.」
「Wha!? Is that true!?」
The king stood up at the shocking statement that came out of Philpot's mouth. Sophie didn't stand up, but she was surprised.
「If the hostility towards the Dark Elves increases, the noble faction that is against different races will be able to regain power. I also heard that they have already secured dark elf slaves in their mansion.」
「Mumurhh, If that's true, then I have no doubt. Sophie, send the troops to House Savile immediately.」
「Right away, Father.」
Sophie hurried out of the room. This would be the end for Rand and the Savile family. The noble faction, which had lost its core, would also collapse if left unchecked.
※
Rand was then captured and brought to the audience hall. As was the case when I went along with Dian's plan, the stares from the people around me were quite painful.
「Now, Rand, do you know why you were called here?」
「I don't! I don't know what the hell I've done!」
「Fumu, the charges are suspicion of treason and rebellion」
「That's why Count Werner forced me to leave that slave behind!」
After that, the Savile family was quickly surrounded by the Royal soldiers and all the Savile family members including Rand were captured. The dark elves who were hiding in the house were also found there.
「Count, Rand says that, but what do you have to say about it?」
「Why should I leave the Dark Elves in your house? And if I were forced to leave them there, you should have just kicked them out immediately. Why did you bother to hide them?」
「What the hell! That's ......」
「That's?」
「...... Damn it!」
Because of the contract I signed with him, he can't talk about anything that might make him realize that I've joined his faction, even if he wanted to. This makes it look to the rest of us as if he's desperately trying to come up with an excuse.
「Th-That's right! Those dark elves have been watching! If you ask them, they'll tell you that you left them!」
「Fumu, someone bring them to me.」
Rand's face lit up with a smile, as if he was sure of victory.
Unfortunately, it's the worst move he could have made. Now his downfall has been decided.
Then the slaves, accompanied by soldiers, entered. They all looked so beautiful that the people around me couldn't help but sigh. As I applied the translation magic, the king began to ask them questions.
「Now then, do you understand my words?」
「Yes.」
「Fumu, then do you know the face of the man there?」
The king asked the girls, indicating me with his hand. They didn't respond for a while, but when Rand began to stomp his feet impatiently, a dark elf stepped forward.
「Yes, I've seen this man before.」
「Haha, of course you have! I knew those slaves were sent by Count Werner!」
While Rand was laughing triumphantly and the people around him were buzzing with excitement at the unexpected situation, the king seemed to be quietly thinking about something.
「Count Werner, do you have any excuse?」
「Just one thing.」
「Umu, tell me」
「Well then. The slaves, from the looks of it, were subjected to brainwashing magic. Perhaps it's because of the magic tools attached to their necks, but it's also possible that the Second Prince is instructing them to say what he just said.」
「All right, let's remove that collar and then I'll ask you another question.」
On the king's order, the magician released the collar and it was removed. Immediately, tears welled up in their eyes and they crouched down and began to cry. When the people around them saw this, they were convinced that the girls had been brainwashed.
「I would like to ask you once again the question that I asked you earlier. Do you know this man?」
「I don't know him! Please, don't kill me! I don't want any more pain!」
He must have felt that the words she spoke through tears were not a lie. The king nodded slowly and turned to Rand. His face was filled with quiet anger.
「Rand, what do you have to say for yourself?」
「Y-You're wrong! It was all a trap set by the Count! You must believe me!」
「Enough! Take him away.」
Rand's eyes were colored with despair as he was taken to the prison by the king's order. The sight of him finally made me sober up. You can take your revenge for mocking me to the best of your ability.
The Dark Elves had their personalities erased and their pseudo-personalities replaced with artificial personalities. The training was left entirely to Olympia, and I brainwashed them so that they could not recognized me, and created obedient slaves.
The girls had never seen anyone but Olympia. I created memories of the horrible torture they had been subjected to, so from the moment the brainwash was lifted, they could say enough untrue words to fool the king.
「Now then, Count Werner, you have done well in finding the traitors. I'll let you take the reward. What do you want?」
「Well then, I'll take those dark elves.」
「May I ask why?」
「I cannot send those who may have learned of the kingdom's geography back to the enemy, but it would be too pitiful to dispose of them. If that's the case, I just thought I'd hire them at my residence. Fortunately, the people at the mansion have a good understanding of Dark Elves.」
I said it in a pretentious way, but the truth is that I thought it would be a shame to let go of the girls I bought with so much money. Of course, I couldn't tell him this reason, so I forced myself to come up with another reason, but the king didn't seem to notice.
「Well then, I'll leave you in charge of them. That will be your reward.」
「I appreciate it.」
And so the Dark Elves came back to me. In the end, I didn't gain anything but the return of what I bought, but I'll chalk it up to a necessary expense.
Rand and House Savile, who fell into my trap, will fall so far behind that they won't be able to regain their faction, and I've also blamed the noble faction for a crime they didn't commit. Now there will be no one to interfere with me or Fairis, and we're free from the troublesome power struggle in the church.
I guess this is the end of the matter. It's refreshing to think that I can finally get my days back to normal. For now, let's go back to the mansion and sleep as much as I can.
※
The next day, Marco came to the mansion with Fairis. He said that he had come to report again on this matter.
「Looks like it's done.」
「I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Thank you for passing on the information about the heretic. I just wondered why Bishop Philpot was still alive when he was supposed to have been burned by the flames.」
「I agree.」
I let the painfully sarcastic remark pass appropriately. I can't do this if I have to worry about these words every single time.
Fairis seemed to be unconvinced by Marco's calm expression even though he had killed someone, but she didn't seem to think of discussing it here, and just had a frustrated expression on her face.
「By the way, Count, as I told you the other day, I have been informed that you were innocent of the heresy that was suspected against you. I am sorry that I suspected you of a crime you did not commit.」
「You don't have to worry about it. I'm sure the Savile family was behind it for the most part.」
「Thank you very much. But it is also true that you live in a world of suspicion. It would be great if you could help us turn the heathen around, but it's also a problem if you're too close to them.」
「I understand. I'll think about it.」
I don't want to think about it at all, but I'll say so just for the sake of company. I want the conversation to be over quickly, but these people don't like to be disciplined about telling the details.
「I'm glad you understand. Oh, if you don't mind, why don't you and your disciples, the elves and the others, join us? The gods do not reject religious beliefs just because they are of a different race. There are a small number of elves in our congregation.」
「Hmm, I'll think about it.」
I'm sure he was referring to Elle and Natalia, but the sudden nail in the coffin bothered me for some reason, so I used the <Mind Steal>.
(......In light of this incident, his power cannot be compared to that of an ordinary magician. If possible, I would like to keep him away from the king and the knights. If two heroes are pulled out, the power of the church will increase even more. In the worst case scenario, if he has any devout follower in his family, they can be used as a hostage.......).
Well, I didn't expect him to just go out of his way to report after the fact, so I was prepared for this man to have some bad ideas. But still, Marco's idea seemed to be just to pull us out, so even if he left it alone, it wouldn't cause any problems like it did with Philpot.
「Yeah, I'll recommend it to them.」
「I see. Yes, that would be good.」
「Well then, I have more business to attend to after this, so I'll excuse myself.」
「Ohhh, that's right. I apologize for the long conversation. We'll meet again sometime.」
Marco said, and left the mansion. Fairis was looking at him unhappily, so I gave her a peck on the cheek, and she gave me a painless punch in the stomach.
※
After a lot of complaining, Fairis left and I headed to Natalia's place. She seemed to be already awake and was training her bow in the garden instead of in her room.
Basically, all wood elves were good with a bow, but her skill was above average. She was hitting arrows one after another at targets that seemed to be only a fraction of their size. Normally I would find her annoying, but when I see her single-mindedly drawing her bow, I think she is beautiful.
「Natalia, there you are.」
「What's wrong? Is there some business with me?」
I waited until she took a break and then called out to her. She seemed to have noticed my presence and was not surprised when I suddenly called out to her.
「Yeah, we're going to church. I want you to be baptized.」
「What, I'm supposed to believe in the god of this country? I don't care if the Yard insists. ......」
「No, I'm just going to make it look like I've turned, because if I don't, I'll get in trouble again. I'm not trying to tell you to change your faith.」
「Oh, I see. I got it.」
I'm glad you're convinced. I was thinking of forcibly dragging her away in case she refused, but it seems that I didn't need to worry about that.
After watching her train with her bow for a while, I had a light breakfast and took her to the church. This time I didn't use the transfer and walked normally.
As we walked around the city, Natalia seemed to be interested in everything, and she was happily looking around. As we walked a little further, we saw that there was an open-air market going on, so we decided to stop by. It was still early in the day, but there were already quite a few stores and many people milling about.
「It's amazing, I've never seen so many people even when I was following the vendors.」
「Well, it's the royal capital, after all. Don't wander around too much.」
「I know, I know. I'm not a child.」
But whenever she sees something interesting, she goes in that direction, and I often have to chase after her.
In the end, I bought her the necklace she had been looking at so covetously, and we left the market. She seemed to be in a good mood after wearing the necklace. It was not that expensive, but it was worth it if she was that happy.
After leaving the street market, we continued walking and finally arrived at the church when it was almost noon. I thought we could make it on foot, but it turned out to be much further than I expected.
I decided to use a transfer on the way back, and told a nearby church worker that I had come to get baptized. It seemed that quite a few people came to be baptized, so they were used to dealing with us.
Natalia was immediately taken to the room for the baptism, and I waited outside. After a while, she came out. Apparently, everything went well.
「Nothing has changed, but did I really already baptized?」
「The baptismal ritual is just like the initiation process of a business association. It's not that big of a deal.」
「Oh, so that's what it is. ...... I got my hopes up..」
She may have had a special image of rituals, but many church rituals are just a formality. I've heard that some of them really do claim to receive divine blessings, but I've never met anyone who has actually received divine blessings, so I'm not sure what to expect.
Anyway, she is now a member of the church. On the way home, I let the person who was in charge of the baptism take a few gold coins. This is not something I feel guilty about. It's just a small token of appreciation.
He knows what he's doing, so he smiles and puts the money away in his clothes. This is the sequence of events that has been decided up to this point.
I took her back to the mansion in a transfer. It was the first time in a long time that she was able to go outside, so she seemed satisfied. After having a late lunch, I left her and returned to my room.
I guess I should let Elle take care of the rest. I haven't seen her in a while, so I thought I'd check on her while I told her to get baptized, so I transferred to the Istrian fortress.
※
The soldiers at the fort told me that Elle was watching the training of the magicians, so I went to the training grounds.
While the lower to intermediate level magicians were busy working together and practicing their individual magics, Elle was at the far end watching the training with a sleepy expression on her face, as if she was bored. But when she noticed me, she opened her eyes, which had been about to fall asleep, and flew toward me with a speed that seemed almost reflexive.
I thought she was going to jump at me, so I prepared to step on her, but Elle stopped suddenly in front of me with a look of surprise on her face, as if she had just realized something.
I wondered and looked at her clothes, but there was nothing to worry about. I looked at Elle again, and she was back to smiling like she had when she found me. I guess the sudden stop was because Elle had learned to be a little more modest.
「Master, if you had called me, I would have welcomed you.」
「Well, it's just a quick stopover, so you don't have to do that much for me.」
「I see. Is there something wrong?」
「Oh, I just thought I'd baptize you in my spare time.」
When I told her why I was baptizing her, she seemed to agree. She said she would go later, so I didn't force her.
「Speaking of which, has that guy left already?」
「Are you talking about Van? If so, he's still here. Do you want me to call him?」
She seemed to have sent a telepathic to Van without even hearing my reply, and before I could stop her, I heard footsteps running towards me, and soon the man appeared.
「Uhh, what is it?」
「No particular reason.」
「I don't have that much time on my hands either, but. ......」
Van's shoulders slumped at Elle's reopened attitude, but when he noticed my presence, he looked convinced and held out his hand to me.
「It's been a long time, Count Werner.」
「You, don't you have enough money saved up to travel already?」
「That's, Elmair-san stopped me.」
「Master, this man is depressing, but his ideas on magic are quite good. Also, without him, I had no one to talk to on the same level, and I was going to die of boredom!」
I had taught Elle the translation magic before, so she could talk to Van, but from the looks of it, I don't think it was very good.
「Well, you can do what you want.」
(Can we really trust this guy? He doesn't even know about the memory loss yet, does he?)
I speaks to Elle in telepathic while speaking normally. I don't usually use parallel thinking because it's quite burdensome, but this way we won't be heard while a third party is nearby.
「Thank you, Master.」
(I've been monitoring him, but he hasn't acted suspiciously, and that memory lapse hasn't changed. I think it' probably okay.)
Elle seems to trust this guy, but I can't shake the feeling that he's suspicious. My intuition whispered to me that I should stop being too suspicious, but in this case, I needed to be careful.
(Don't let your guard down. There's something fishy about him, after all. Keep your guard up.)
(Understood, Master.)
I've warned Elle, but I'm going to keep my eyes open for him.
The thing that worries me the most is the fact that he and Elle are able to talk about magic. It's crazy that he can understand magic formulas that are different from the ones in this world in the first place. Normally, once a person gets used to the magics of the world, they tend to have an unnecessary bias towards other magics, making it difficult to activate them.
I knew there was something wrong with his memory loss. At the time, I thought that I would have to wait and see, but if it came to it, I would have to consider erasing him.
※
In the end, nothing happened at the fort, and the day of the ceremony arrived without any further incident. The people around me were busy preparing for the ceremony until the last minute, but I managed to make it on time.
The ceremony was held in the chapel of the castle, with many attendees gathered around, and Sophie and I listened to a long talk by the archbishop or something on the prayer table, received his blessing, and finally put the ring on Sophie's finger.
We heard applause and cheers from the people around us, but we were so busy trying not to get swallowed up in the atmosphere that we didn't even hear the congratulations.
After the ceremony in the chapel, it was time to greet the ambassadors and other prominent figures from other countries.
At this point, I was already shouting in my heart for them to give me a break, but Sophie responded without breaking into a smile. It seems that there is a big difference in our upbringing.
People whose names and faces I didn't know were congratulating us, but it didn't make me happy to be congratulated by strangers whose faces I didn't know. Some of them were clearly trying to get close to me, a man who's married to royalty, and I felt like I was going to collapse from worry.
I managed to keep a smile on my face, and when I finally made it through, I was mentally, if not physically, exhausted.
Now I'm going to have another party at my mansion in the evening. Even though I knew it, I had exhausted a lot of my mental energy in just half a day. Currently, I'm taking refuge in her room with Sophie to rest, but we have to leave soon.
「Yard-sama, are you okay?」
「Hmmm, not so much okay, but this is also so I can be with you.」
「Yard-sama ......」
She brought her face close to mine, so I kissed her on the mouth. It was only a light kiss, as it might take off her makeup, but she seemed to be satisfied with it.
I left the castle with Sophie and returned to the mansion, this time to hold a party at the mansion. Being away from Sophie this time, I had no one to rely on in case of emergency, which accelerated my anxiety.
I was having a hard time dealing with the many people who were approaching me here, when a familiar face arrived. It was Alec and Sagami.
「Congratulations on your wedding, Yard-dono! I never expected you to marry Princess Sophia.」
「Congratulations on your marriage. There were some things I wanted to say to Yard-dono, but it would be tactless to do so here.」
Alec is congratulating me on my marriage, but Sagami seems to have something on his mind. Well, this guy knows that I had an affair with Natalia, too.
「Oh, thank you. Wasn't Fairis-sama with you?」
「She'll be here later. I never thought that Yard-dono would be the first to get married.」
「Well, it was sort of a coincidence.」
After some more talk, they left. A short time after they left, Fairis arrived. She had a subtle expression on her face that was not appropriate for a celebration, but when she came over to me, she was back to smiling.
「Congratulations, Yard-sama!」
「Yeah, you looked a little unhappy, is there something wrong?」
「I've been asked out by various gentlemen, and I'm in a bit of a bind.」
She let out a tired sigh, but it couldn't be helped that she was now attracting the gaze of male guests.
Today she was wearing a dress with a bold opening on her chest, which obviously made her look more sexy than usual. Her breasts weren't big enough to form a cleavage, so she must have been pulling them up.
Her hair was also tied up, not in the usual straight style, but in a way that would suit the formalities of a wedding, giving her a more mature look.
I didn't think anything of Alec or Sagami wearing formal clothes for a party, but it was rare to see her dressed like that, so I couldn't help but stare at her.
「I hadn't expected Fairis-dono to be dressed like that. I thought you were wearing your usual priestly uniform.」
「I wonder what kind of eyes Yard-sama is looking at me with? I'm a woman too, so I dress appropriately for a party like this, you know?」
Perhaps my words offended her, but she glared at me with a slightly reproachful look. But she usually wears the same priest's uniform as if that's all she had, so I guess it's no wonder I said what I did.
Fairis stared at me for a while, but eventually let out a sigh of resignation and glanced over at me.
「Yard-sama, um, does this dress look good on me?」
「It's very brave of you to ask me that right here. And while I'm at it, did you choose those clothes yourself?」
「...... I had it picked out by the castle's wardrobe attendant.」
「Well, of course you did.」
「That kind of Yard-sama also has a strange bias in his gaze towards me, don't you think?」
「I'm a man, you know. I can't help it if you dress like that.」
「It-It's not fair.」
We were exchanging silly looks, but if we took any longer, the other guests would get suspicious. Fairis seemed to understand this, and she coughed lightly and returned to her serious face.
「...... Well, okay. Give Sophie a shout out, too. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from you.」
「Sure. Then I'll excuse myself.」
She headed towards Sophie, sometimes almost falling down in her unfamiliar costume. I thought that my acquaintance was gone now, but someone who was still here came.
「It's been a long time, Yard-sama. Or should I call you my brother-in-law?」
「Margarete-dono, you can call me whatever you like. Anyway, is the fortress all right?」
「Don't worry. Thanks to Yard-sama, the front line has been raised, so the fortress is calm, and I will return as soon as this ceremony is over.」
The people around me took a step back when they saw Margarete approaching me with an aura of displeasure. I don't think they would want to get close to her, as she is giving off a nasty vibe no matter how you look at it.
She was also wearing a gorgeous dress for a party, different from her usual attire. She looked exactly like a high-handed princess, and to be honest, it suited her better than her usual attire. She didn't even seem to be approached by the people around her, although the men would not leave her alone if she didn't say anything.
「Stop it, Margarete. We come here is celebrating those two.」
「Oh, Onii-sama, I didn't know you were here.」
It was Robert who came up to me and Margarete. He was wearing the same clothes as usual, but he looked good, so there was nothing to say. He was also supposed to have been at the fort, but how on earth did he end up here? I'm not sure if the kingdom's military is a bunch of bored people or not.
「It's been a while, Robert-dono.」
「It hasn't been that long. First of all, let me congratulate you and my sister Sophia on your marriage.」
「I would like to congratulate you as well. To be honest, I don't want to celebrate too much, but ......」
Robert may not be too happy about it on the inside, but he doesn't show it in his attitude like Margarete. It's not that Robert is a good person, but rather that Margarete is still acting like a child.
「Count, when this party is over, I want you to accompany me for a while.」
「Hmm? Sure, that's fine with me.」
「Onii-sama, it's no fun to talk with a man like him. Let's hurry up and go to Onee-sama.」
Robert also left as if he had no choice but to be dragged along by Margarete. It seems that the family is not on bad terms. Sophie was also happy to notice the two approaching people.
After that, I continued to respond to the people who came to talk to me, and wondered why Elle, who seemed to be the first one to rush to the scene at times like this, was not there.
