Risou no Himo Seikatsu

Chapter 05: Nigh on Conclusion

After the trivial dispute between Knight Raymundo from the Navarre Kingdom and Nilda, the second daughter of Marquis Guzzle, had escalated into the current incident, it was finally showing signs of a settlement after all this time now.

Both sides had lead a fruitless discussion for numerous days.

Those involved from the Navarre Kingdom and from the Guzzle Family were meeting up one last time in the s.p.a.cious room this night, because Marquis Guzzle had announced that he would pa.s.s judgment today.

From the point of view of someone living in a modern state under the rule of law, it would be highly questionable to let the relative, or more precisely the father, of the involved party pa.s.s judgment, but as the local lord within a feudal state, he was only carrying out his given right.

And as a matter of fact, no one from the Navarre Kingdom was objecting in that regard.

Having said this, they would hardly do the same, when that judgment turned out to be so unfair that they were not okay with it.

While the involved parties were glaring at each other tensely, their ringleaders Marquis Guzzle and General Martín were commuting through eye contact with a stern face that could not fully conceal their perplexity.

(Hey, what is going on here?)

(No clue. You tell me.)

If you were to put it into words, it would sound like that.

Both of them had made arrangement behind the scenes to let their son and subordinate “gain experience” through this incident, but that plan seemed to have fallen through.

Needless to say, Princess Freya was the biggest reason for that.

“…..”

Even now, she was sitting in the centre with an expression that a.s.serted her “leading role” in all of this. The central figure from the Navarre Kingdom, Knight Captain Cris was sitting straight across from her.

Nilda was just fidgeting around on the side and even Xavier, who was supposed to lead the negotiations, was obviously forced into taking a backseat.

For a while now, Xavier was signalizing Zenjirou at the back with his eyes to “do something about her”, but Zenjirou was just sitting there with a smile on his face.

So Xavier came to a realization all too late.

Zenjirou was not oblivious to his silent call for help.

He was ignoring it knowingly.

Xavier finally understood the real meaning behind his words, when Zenjirou had claimed to side with Princess Freya.

Even when Princess Freya was acting somewhat unladylike, Zenjirou was not reprimanding her for it.

In other words, this meeting was sure to be messed up by her.

Although the utterances of a woman lacked significance, it was hard to ignore her, when she was Royalty from a different country and the official partner for Royalty of the own country.

With her presence alone, Princess Freya had already foiled the plan of Marquis Guzzle and General Martín to let Xavier and Knight Captain Cris gain some practical experience.

And the final nail in the coffin was the imposing man sitting in the gallery.

With his new wife Lucinda at his side, General Puyol had crossed his log-thick arms and watched the situation unfold with an obviously amused grin on his face.

a.s.serting his involvement due to Nilda being his little sister-in-law now, he had requested to attend this meeting.

Although he had promised not to interfere unless the need arises, Marquis Guzzle actually did not trust his words at all.

Puyol Guillén was an ambitious and greedy man with the resolution and capability to make his vision come true.

In light of the intrusion of that troublesome man, Marquis Guzzle had lost all confidence to keep his composure till the end of today.

Going by that, it was probably fortunate that it was night already.

Various oil pans around the room and on the table were burning brightly, dispelling the dark of the night, but even with flattery, the room could only be called “dimly lit” at best.

The reason they met so late at night was because Zenjirou had insisted on a rare occasion that he could not spare time otherwise.

Grateful to the wilfulness of the Prince Consort just this once, Marquis Guzzle took a deep breath to pull himself together without letting anyone notice, speaking up with a loud voice.

“Looks like everyone is here. Then let us have the final hearing.

Both involved parties have taken up a clear position. Now square with your conscience, when you espouse your claim.

Once I have listened to your opinions, I shall a.s.sume full responsibility as the Marquis and pa.s.s judgment on this incident.

If anyone wants to object my decision, go through the appropriate channels later on. Got it?”

The “appropriate channels” in this case were the respective Royal Families.

In the case that the Navarre Kingdom Delegation had complaints about the decision from Marquis Guzzle, they would bring up the matter to the Navarre Royal Family, who would then raise an official protest to the Carpa Royal Family, telling them to talk it out with Marquis Guzzle.

At the same time, it would turn the matter into an official diplomatic issue between the two countries.

But it was rather unrealistic that the Navarre Kingdom would raise an official protest to the Major Power Carpa Kingdom just because a mere knight might or might not have entered a restricted area.

On the other hand, Xavier and Nilda belonged to the March of Guzzle, so they had no “appropriate channel” to go through to begin with. Even as his daughter and son, they were not allowed to object the absolute instruction from their Feudal Lord.

Considering all that, it was obvious how much of a nuisance the interference from Princess Freya was.

She was an official guest in the Carpa Kingdom, so she could actually raise a protest through the “appropriate channel”, namely the Carpa Royal Family, if she were to disapprove of the decision from Marquis Guzzle.

(How did it turn out like this?)

Marquis Guzzle suppressed his urge to ma.s.sage his throbbing temple and declared with a low, but clear voice to everyone.

“No objections, I see. Then I shall ask you three some questions in order to validate your claims. Answer with nothing but the truth.”

“Yes!”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Very well.”

The illegitimate child, the knight from the other country and the princess from the northern continent consented one after another to the words from the power of authority on this land.

Amidst the illumination from the flames burning on the oil pans, Marquis Guzzle saw all of them nodding their head lightly and called out to his own daughter with a really strict tone first of all like he had intended to.

“Good. Then I will start with Nilda Guzzle.

Please explain it easy to understand what you saw on that night and where.”

Addressed by the father first, the illegitimate child opened her mouth, which was still dry from nervousness.

“Yes, Marquis. On that night, I met a knight, when I turned around the corner of the hallway.”

They were just doing a question and answer session right now, so even though Nilda was not used to this kind of situation, she managed to answer smoothly without stuttering.

“Who was it?”

“It was too dark to confirm it myself, but when I called him to a halt, he named himself as ‘Knight Raymundo from the Navarre Kingdom’.”

Upon that reply, Marquis Guzzle turned body and glance alike to Knight Raymundo.

“Knight Raymundo from the Delegation of the Navarre Kingdom, you have heard what Nilda claims. Do you have any objections to what she said?”

The fierce glance of the n.o.ble lord had not lost its touch even in his old age, so the young knight swallowed his saliva with a gulp and answered with an enthusiastic loud voice.

“No, Sir Marquis. I was certainly called to a halt by Miss Nilda on that night and gave her my name. This much is certain.”

Up to this point, both parties had the same understanding of the situation, so the young knight had no reason to object and simply agreed to it. What followed after was an issue, though.

Marquis Guzzle cleared his throat with an affected cough, then asked his own daughter again.

“It happened at the small cross-shaped intersection, where the three hallways converge. Nilda, which hallway do you say Knight Raymundo came out of at that time?”

“Sir Raymundo came out of the ‘central hallway’.”

The young knight gave a small jerk to Nilda’s resolute claim, but he had enough self-restrain to not speak up without permission here.

“Knight Raymundo, do you have objections to what Nilda claims?”

When he was addressed again, the young knight stood up from his chair and spoke up.

“Yes, I have. I did not come out of the ‘central hallway’, but the ‘outmost hallway’.”

Just like it had happened numerous times before, Knight Raymundo was stating something completely different than Nilda right here and now as well.

At this point, no one was surprised about their clas.h.i.+ng of opinion anymore. The matter had been dragged out for so long because of it, after all. So his objection was anything but unexpected.

If anything, Marquis Guzzle felt like heaving a sigh, when he was thinking about how he still had to question “one more person”.

Nevertheless, the elder n.o.ble lord kept his strict look on his face and spoke to the third involved person.

“Freya Uppsala, you accompanied Nilda on that day. Do you have anything to add?”

In light of his question, the princess from the northern continent let her blue-tinged silver hair s.h.i.+mmer in the light of the flames and a.s.serted with a determined tone.

“Yes, I only have one thing to say: I saw Sir Raymundo coming out of the ‘central hallway’. That is all.”

Then she glared at Knight Captain Cris sitting across from her, not the actual Knight Raymundo in question.

In the discussions before, Princess Freya seemed to have made Knight Captain Cris her main target.

For Zenjirou, that was only natural.

The att.i.tude Knight Captain Cris took towards Princess Freya was basically the same as towards an “insolent woman”.

Of course he was properly minding his etiquette towards Royalty in his public utterances and behaviour, but his moral values such as “It‘s just the delusion of a woman.“ and “Why can‘t she be more of a woman and quietly listen to the man?” were seeping out here and there.

To the eyes of Zenjirou, it only looked like Knight Captain Cris was a.s.sertively trying to pick a fight with her, but unfortunately, Knight Captain Cris himself was not aware of it in the slightest.

If anything, he seemed to be acting like that out of the goodness of his heart in order to calm Princess Freya down and solve things peacefully.

(It’s not easy to be a woman in this world.)

Although he knew it was rude, Zenjirou looked at Princess Freya with a mixture of respect and pity.

Because he had been close to Queen Aura, an exception to the exception, so far, Zenjirou had apparently missed out on realizing how difficult it was for women in this world to conduct themselves in public.

While Zenjirou thought about these things, Marquis Guzzle looked at everyone and droned on.

“I have heard your claims. Raise your hand, if you want to add something, justify yourself or ask a question. I will allow you to speak up in order.

Anyone speaking up without permission will be expelled from the room. Keep that in mind.”

The three people in question, Nilda, Princess Freya and Knight Raymundo obviously nodded their approval to it, but all the others present did so as well.

Strictly speaking, there was another involved person, namely the bodyguard from Princess Freya: the female warrior Skathi. But she had no right to speak up.

This had nothing to do with her status or gender. It was a more fundamental issue: Her occupation.

As the retainer and bodyguard of Princess Freya, Skathi was practically her girl Friday.

Maybe she did it in private, but it was unlikely she would ever say something to inconvenience her master at an official hearing like this.

So allowing Skathi to express her opinion would effectively be the same as counting only the claim from Princess Freya twice.

Marquis Guzzle had said that he “could not allow one person to raise both arms in a majority vote” and as expected, Princess Freya had no choice but to accept it.

But on the other hand, Skathi could have acted as a “representative” for Princess Freya, if she were more eloquent than her, and Princess Freya would have to stay silent.

Anyway, you could voice your opinion now as long as you raised your hand first, but for a while, no one did raise their hand.

That was not really surprising, either.

At the moment, both parties were not only having opposing views, they also had no proof whatsoever to weaken the argument of the other.

So whoever spoke up first, might slip up and dig its own grave, ending up with a disadvantage.

There might be exceptions, but hardly any team would choose to bat first, when batting second was actually more advantageous. Having said this, they could not remain silent forever.

Raising his hand amidst the heavy atmosphere of reluctance by the dim light of the oil pans was none other than Knight Captain Cristiano Pinto from the Navarre Kingdom.

“Cristiano Pinto is allowed to speak.”

With these words from Marquis Guzzle, Knight Captain Cris stood up smoothly from his chair and opened his mouth.

“Then with your permission, I would like to ask Miss Nilda a question. You seem to have run into Knight Raymundo at the corner on said night, but do you remember what kind of shoes he had been wearing back then?”

“Eh? Shoes?”

Nilda raised a dumbfounded voice in reaction to the unexpected question.

“Do not speak without permission, Nilda Guzzle. Please answer the question of Cristiano Pinto now.”

Reprimanded by her father Marquis Guzzle, Nilda stood up bewildered, surprised and ashamed alike. She recalled the situation and answered.

“Ehm… I did not pay attention to his shoes.”

“Is that so. Well, you coincidentally met at night, so I guess that is to be expected. Truth be told, Raymundo was wearing the same leather shoes for knight as right now.

Sir Marquis, do I have your permission to let Raymundo showcase his shoes?”

“Granted.”

“Thank you very much. Raymundo, stand up.”

With the permission from Marquis Guzzle, Knight Captain Cris ordered his subordinate Knight Raymundo to stand up.

“Yes, Sir!”

Upon the order from the young captain, the even younger Knight Raymundo stood up with a jerk.

When the solid leather boots. .h.i.t the stony ground, a thud sound resonated through the room.

Knight Captain Cris revealed a faint smile.

“As you could hear, the shoes for knights have a firm sole and make a loud sound, when you walk on stony ground. It is not as loud in a wide room as this one, but in a small hallway with stone walls on both sides it is resounding quite a lot. Raymundo, take a step.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Prompted by Knight Captain Cris, Knight Raymundo started to walk on the spot with thuds.

The young knight continued to step on the ground in the dim light of the flames from the oil pans.

And n.o.bility and Royalty watched over him without saying anything.

It was a rather ridiculous scene, but no one was laughing.

“Miss Nilda, you should have heard these footsteps in the hallway. At what point did you became aware of them?”

“Well, that is… I was talking to Princess Freya while walking, so I only noticed the footsteps once I saw a silhouette.”

When the honest Nilda answered truthfully, Knight Captain Cris showed a triumphant smile on his face for a moment, whereas Princess Freya looked like she had swallowed something bitter.

“Is that so? In other words, you were so immersed in your conversation that you ‘did not even notice these loud footsteps‘.”

“Aw…”

All too late, Nilda realized what Knight Captain Cris was getting at, too, and went pale in the face.

The crux of the matter was whether Knight Raymundo came out of the central hallway or out of the outmost hallway.

Nilda and Princess Freya were claiming that he came out of the central hallway while Raymundo himself insisted that he came out of the outmost hallway.

Needless to say, Raymundo would be a liar, if Nilda and Princess Freya were saying the truth, and if Raymundo was saying the truth, Nilda and Princess Freya would have “made a mistake”.

And right now, Knight Captain Cris had tickled a testimony out of Nilda that “she was too immersed in her conversation on the go that she did not hear the loud footsteps”.

In other words, it was a new piece of information that lent credibility to the claim of the Navarre Kingdom that Nilda and Princess Freya had seen wrong.

If they were so engrossed in conversation that they did not even notice such loud footsteps, then it stood to reason that they also did not notice him coming out of the outmost hallway and mistook it for the central hallway.

The line of argument was a bit highhanded, but convincing nevertheless.

Xavier realized that the balance had tipped in their favour, even if just a bit, and raised his hand in haste.

“Marquis, please allow me to speak!”

“Okay, you may speak, Xavier Guzzle.”

Receiving the permission from his father Marquis Guzzle, Xavier stood up with an expression so enthusiastic it was recognizable even in the dim light of the flames.

“I have a question for Sir Raymundo. You did not only meet Nilda and Princess Freya on that night, but also Lady Skathi, who accompanied them as the bodyguard for the princess.

Nilda and Princess Freya were wearing shoes with soft soles, but Lady Skathi was wearing the same kind of shoes as you, Sir Raymundo. Were you able to hear her footsteps?”

The argument desperately put forward by Xavier was extremely simple.

If Raymundo had not noticed the footsteps of Skathi, just like Nilda had not noticed his, then it was only usual not to hear them, making it invalid as an argument.

Xavier was trying to s.h.i.+ft reasoning like that.

But his argumentation had a flaw.

The young knight from the Navarre Kingdom answered the question baffled.

“No, I did not hear them. Because, like I just mentioned, Miss Nilda and Princess Freya were approaching me while making conversation. Their voices must have cancelled out the sound of the footsteps.

I did hear their voices, of course.”

“Ah…”

Xavier was at a loss for words due to the all too obvious clarification.

On second thought, it was only natural. No matter how loud the footsteps might be, they would still be quieter than speaking voices.

Raymundo had noticed their approach not from the footsteps, but from their voices and because they had been talking so vividly, Raymundo had not heard the footsteps.

Xavier had accidentally proved that Raymundo have had a better understanding of the surroundings than the women on that night.

“…Grr.”

Flus.h.i.+ng his lightly tanned face bright red, Xavier was rendered speechless. Watching him from behind, Zenjirou realized it was about time to leave the backseat.

(Man, I was kind of hoping the situation would be closer to a decision before I act, but things look bad, if I remain silent at this rate. It’ll be quite a gamble, but I’ve got no other choice.)

Making up his mind with a deep breath, Zenjirou slowly raised his right hand.

“Marquis Guzzle, I wish to speak up.”

Although his voice was not all that loud, everyone present looked to be quite taken aback by it.

That goes without saying.

Up until now, Zenjirou had given “free rein” to Princess Freya and maintained the att.i.tude that this got nothing to do with him.

He himself might not be an authoritarian character, but his t.i.tle as the Prince Consort was by no means to be taken lightly.

“…You are allowed to speak, Zenjirou Carpa.”

While Marquis Guzzle gave him permission, his expression revealed a tint of wariness as well.

Feeling an uncomfortable itch on his back from all the gazes on him, Zenjirou stood up on the spot.

“I have a question for Knight Captain Cristiano from the Navarre Kingdom. You have been discussing the audibility or inaudibility of the footsteps for a while now, but is it even that important to begin with?”

Maybe he did not expected to be asked first, but Knight Captain Cris showed a blank expression for a moment before showing his confident smile once again and answering the question.

“Well, I would not call it all that important, but it certainly is decisive in this case.

You may not know this as a non-combatant, but a warrior spends as much time refining his senses of hearing and seeing at night as he trains with weapons.

Pointing out the different capabilities of someone with such training and someone with no such training, helps a great deal in understanding this situation.”

His careful and thorough explanation was steeped in disdain for the non-militant man called Zenjirou.

As a matter of fact, Princess Freya had keenly spotted the contempt and was narrowing her eyes to slits angrily. Even General Martín, sitting in the back, was heaving a small troubled sigh.

But the person in question, Zenjirou paid no attention to the att.i.tude of the young knight captain and continued his questioning.

“I see now. Then the reason I did not see him, nor hear his footsteps in the ‘outmost hallway’ on that night must be my lack of these capabilities. Am I right in thinking that, Sir Cristiano?”

This question certainly caused a big surprise.

While Knight Captain Cris uttered a dumbfounded “Huh?”, Zenjirou explained the circ.u.mstances with a serious look.

“Truth be told, I arrived at the scene a bit later on that night as well. Through the ‘outmost pa.s.sage’, that is. When I got to the crossroad point, Princess Freya and the other two were still standing there, so I a.s.sume not much time had pa.s.sed since Sir Raymundo left the place.

So while I was pa.s.sing through the ‘outmost hallway’, Sir Raymundo must have walked ahead of me. Yet I did not see him there, nor did I hear any footsteps. Oh, and I was not talking with anyone and kept quiet the whole time. Just saying.”

The incriminating claim from Zenjirou prompted Knight Raymundo to break out in a cold sweat and look fl.u.s.tered.

Seeing his subordinate panic like that, Knight Captain Cris positioned himself protective in front of him and replied with a smile.

“Forgive me for saying this, but this seems to be indeed an issue of your capabilities, Your Majesty.

I may be speaking out of turn, but it does not look like you have received any training as a soldiers whatsoever.

In that case, it only appears to be inevitable that you did not notice Raymundo, when he was walking quite a bit ahead of you.”

Knight Captain Cris somewhat talked down Zenjirou for not being a soldier, but Zenjirou kept his composure and nodded a few times.

“Yes, that makes sense. But what about the other way round?

As you have mentioned, I am no soldier. My eyesight at night, my sense of hearing and above all, my handling of weapons is literally on par with a woman or child. Hence I am always taking Knight Natalio with me wherever I go.

He, too, is wearing the same shoes for knights. Needless to say, they should have made the same loud noise. Now then, Knight Raymundo from the Navarre Kingdom:

Did you hear such footsteps behind you, when you were walking down the ‘outmost pa.s.sage’ on that night?”

“Well…”

It looked like the sweating Knight Raymundo was one-sidedly driven into a corner as he was struggling for words, but this was actually quite a challenge for Zenjirou as well.

Unless Raymundo told a lie now just like Zenjirou wanted him to, Zenjirou would not be able to spring the “trap” he had thought of.

So nervous that he was afraid that the others could hear his heart beating fast, Knight Raymundo seemed to make up his mind and opened his mouth.

“Now that you mentioned it, I remember that on my way, I turned around once, because I thought I had heard footsteps. But I believed it to be the echo of my own footsteps, so I paid it no mind afterwards.”

With these words, the young knight nodded his head confidently.

Zenjirou became so euphoric that he wanted to scream “Gotcha!”.

Noticing the elated Zenjirou, Knight Captain Cris jumped to his feet and advocated for Knight Raymundo as the superior officer.

“Your Majesty Zenjirou, the footsteps indeed echo well in a hallway with stone walls, just like Raymundo said. It is by no means uncommon that even a trained soldier may mistake the footsteps from someone afar as the echo of his own.”

He might have heard footsteps, or he might have not.

The testimony was rather vague, but that was to be expected. Knight Captain Cris had intended to support his subordinate, but as far as Zenjirou was concerned, that advocacy had been absolutely meaningless.

For him, it was not important whether the footsteps were heard or not. The following “I turned around once” utterance had sealed the deal.

The trap had already sprung and perfectly caught its prey. All that was left was to reel it in carefully.

Zenjirou showed an extremely composed smile and slowly began to elaborate.

“Sir Raymundo, Knight Captain Cris. You were right, when you said I had no training whatsoever as a soldier, so I have no military abilities to speak of.

I agree that it is no wonder that I did not see a silhouette in front of me, nor heard any footsteps. But my trusted bodyguard, Knight Natalio, has not perceived any of it, either.”

After having remained silent so far, Marquis Guzzle had to speak up now, as the presiding judge so to say.

“Zenjirou Carpa, the testimony from a bodyguard or subordinate will not be acknowledged here.”

It was the same reason why Skathi was not allowed to speak up as the bodyguard for Princess Freya.

The important thing for a bodyguard, who had sworn loyalty to a master, was agreeing with his master, not the truth of the matter. Hence the testimony from a bodyguard or subordinate was generally ignored, because he would only agree with the opinion of the master anyway.

Zenjirou had brought up the name of his bodyguard despite that, because he had wanted to emphasise how much they were talking at cross purposes.

“Your Majesty Zenjirou, the hallway in question is extremely long and it was rather dark already. So it is not strange at all that neither you, nor your knight took notice of Raymundo walking quite a bit ahead of you.

Raymundo himself seems to have barely picked it up and even wrote it off as the echo of his own footsteps, so I a.s.sume that there must have been quite the distance between you.”

Hence there were not contradicting each other. Or so Knight Captain Cris claimed. Zenjirou nodded a bit affected.

“I see. That certainly sounds plausible. But I am still doubtful. Sir Raymundo had been trained as a soldier, so how did he not notice that I was walking behind him?”

“Like I said, he did notice, but he waved it off as his imagination…”

With a slightly annoyed look, Knight Captain Cris repeated what he had mentioned earlier, but Zenjirou cut him short and continued himself.

“I have not received training as a soldier. I see as much as a child or woman at night. And I am afraid that my courage is on the same level as a child or woman, too.

So once it gets dark, I ‘cannot go outside without light’.”

“…!?”

In light of these words, Knight Captain Cris went pale in the face for the first time tonight.

Certain that his intentions had gotten across, Zenjirou allowed himself to show a broad grin and took out his favourite “hand-cranked LED flashlight” from his pocket.

To maximize the effect, he had purposefully insisted to have this meeting at night.

“This is something I brought along from my home country. I will spare you of the technical details. In short, it is a like a magic tool for illumination.

On the night in question, I was walking while using this.”

After saying this, Zenjirou turned on the switch of the LED flashlight. Needless to say, he had charged it plenty in advance by cranking the handle.

“Guh!?”

“Uh…!”

“Wha!?”

“This…?”

The white light of the LED was so bright it did not even compare to the flames on the oil pans, so everyone present squinted their eyes in surprise.

“Well then, Sir Raymundo. You said earlier that you thought you had heard footsteps and ‘turned around once’, right?

I will ask you the same question again now: How did you not notice that I was walking behind you?”

At the same time, Zenjirou deliberately bathed the young knight from the Navarre Kingdom in the light of the LED flashlight.

The artificial white light cleared away the night and revealed the pale face, trembling lips and sweating forehead of the young knight for everyone to see.

“Ah… I, I…”

Seeing the young knight fl.u.s.tered like that, Zenjirou immediately felt the euphoria that had ran through his whole body earlier, subdue.

(I ended up backing him into a corner with no way out at an official meeting.)

That was not how Zenjirou had actually wanted to resolve the situation, because the loser was quick to hold a grudge, when you embarra.s.sed him at such an official occasion.

But that had been the only way for him, if he wanted to wrap it up as a victory for their side this time.

(Raffaelo Márguez would have surely been able to end this more smoothly. And I doubt General Puyol would have given a d.a.m.n about grudges or anything. He would squeeze the most profit with all his might.)

Although he knew it was pointless, he ended up comparing himself to more capable people.

Glancing over to General Puyol, who was showing a faint smile in the back, for a moment, Zenjirou somehow shook that thought off and gave the final push to end this incident once and for all.

“Can someone actually fail to notice such a light behind him in a straight hallway? Especially, if he ‘turned around once’ at some point.

I am repeating myself here, but I am no soldier. My eyesight at night is worse than a child or woman. But even then, I would definitely notice it, when such a bright light illuminates the straight path behind me, no matter how far away.

Now then, Sir Raymundo, can you please explain it satisfactorily to us how you, a trained soldier, failed to notice a light even someone like me would have noticed?”

Backed into a corner with nowhere to run. A question without a viable answer. And a bright light not allowing oneself to hide in the dark of the night.

“…..”

Knight Raymundo from the Navarre Kingdom seemed to have realized that it was impossible to talk his way out of this, seeing as he broke down on his chair defeated.

The rest would be extremely simple.

Now that Knight Raymundo had broken down, it would be smooth sailing once he admitted that the root of the problem had been his lie and that he had actually came out of the central hallway.

“Then you admit to having made a false testimony, Knight Raymundo from the Navarre Kingdom?”

“……….Yes.”

The young knight from the Navarre Kingdom replied affirmative with a weak voice to Marquis Guzzle while sinking into his chair.

“Hmm, what to do…”

With a resolution to the issue on the table now, Marquis Guzzle wrinkled his brow and pondered.

Who was right? Who was wrong?

The conclusion had practically arrived already, but the problem on how to punish the mistaken party remained.

It was a difficult decision.

To begin with, Knight Raymundo had committed an illegal trespa.s.sing into a restricted area.

Although it sounded like a grave offense, even Marquis Guzzle was actually considering the place to be easily mistaken, so it would not be strange, when someone stepped into there by mistake. Moreover, the area was not really important enough to cause harm, when someone actually got there.

Hence a simple “verbal rebuke” would be more than adequate for an offense like this one.

But some people would not accept that, now that things had escalated this far.

Marquis Guzzle glanced at the forerunner of “these people” and checked their fierce expression.

As expected, the young girl with her characteristic blue-tinged silver hair was showing an aggressive smile as if saying “Yeah, what are you going to do about this?” while glaring at the Knight Captain and young knight from the Navarre Kingdom.

It was unthinkable that the northern princess would be content with just a “verbal rebuke”.

But then again, the Navarre Kingdom would already be shamed a great deal just because of a mere misstep.

If there was some kind of punishment on top of that, they would surely hold a grudge, even if they knew it was misplaced.

The concerned Knight Raymundo was still in a state of lethargy, but his advocate Knight Captain Cris was biting down on his lip and suppressing the humiliation. He probably thought that “he had been taken for a fool”.

Hopefully this did not leave behind any unnecessary trouble. Marquis Guzzle feared as such, but when he looked at General Martín sitting at the back, the giant general was closing his eyes for a moment and slightly shook his bearish head to the side.

(It’s okay. I’ll take care of it later.)

Perceiving the intentions of General Martín through this small gesture, Marquis Guzzle heaved a sigh of relief.

Known for his excellent control over his subordinate, General Martín was going to take responsibility for the aftermath, so half of the problem was already solved.

A heavy weight off his shoulders, the elder feudal lord looked then at the male Royalty, who had brought about this conclusion.

“Then I shall announce the verdict. Do you have anything else to say before that, Master Zenjirou?”

He was now addressing Zenjirou politely with the t.i.tle of “Master”. It was clearly different from how he had addressed him during the “trial”.

In other words, he was going to announce the verdict, but was trying to show some “consideration” for the royal Zenjirou before that.

Discerning that, Zenjirou frantically searched for the right words in order to bring across his endeavour as smoothly as possible.

“…Well, I believe that we had to sit down like this, because some things ended up confounding the situation unnecessarily.

So as long as the Navarre Kingdom admits their wrongdoing in this case, I wish for nothing further. To begin with, I cannot understand why it escalated like this. In my opinion, it was a trivial misunderstanding we could have get on without.”

To translate his words: “Sorry that Princess Freya messed up things recklessly. I’m okay with a verbal apology from the Navarre Kingdom. If anything, can we pretend all of this never happened to begin with?”

Since it was not phrased all that ambiguous, even Marquis Guzzle with his bare minimum of eloquence for a n.o.ble, understood what he wanted to say.

The elder n.o.ble let his frowned face blossom into a smile for a moment, but immediately cleared his throat with a cough to gloss over it.

“O- Okay. I certainly have heard you out.

Then I, the Lord of the March of Guzzle, shall announce the verdict for this case.”

In reaction to his words, everyone present cast down their eyes and solemnly held their peace. The same applied to Zenjirou.

The Marquis was still the man with the highest authority on this land. A Feudal Lord did not have the authority to judge Royalty, but on the other hand, even Royalty could not go against the decision of the Feudal Lord made within his own territory.

Marquis Guzzle had tapped the full potential, when he had “asked and considered a word of advice” from Zenjirou earlier.

“There are two issues at hand. First, Knight Raymundo from the Navarre Kingdom ‘stumbled’ into a restricted area of our house. Second, he tried to obfuscate it with a lie, when that fact was pointed out.

Trespa.s.sing into the restricted area by itself is not such a serious matter. We are partly to blame for it, since we did not put up any signs or guards there.

But I cannot overlook the fact that he forcefully tried to disguise the truth as the ‘mistake’ of another.

I hereby sentence the involved party from the delegation of the Navarre Kingdom to admit their mistake and apologize for it.”

“…Understood.”

Knight Captain Cristiano Pinto from the Navarre Kingdom answered with a stiff voice, his earlier undaunted expression now frozen inexpressively.

It was an extremely irksome result for him, but he realized how foolish it would be to still go against the decision of the marquis.

Marquis Guzzle nodded briefly to the answer from Knight Captain Cris.

“Good. Then this case is now closed. No one would benefit from discussing this any further.

The guilty party will admit their mistake and apologize, whereas the other party will accept said apology. This will be the end of it. I would like to suggest we no longer speak of this matter anywhere, but what do you all say?”

He suggested with a probing tone.

The reason it was a “suggestion” in the end was because that part alone exceeded his authority as a Feudal Lord.

The Feudal Lord carried responsibility for everything that happened within his domain, but this time it involved people of another country and even Royalty of the own country.

As foreigners, the delegation from the Navarre Kingdom could “appeal” by turning the matter into a diplomatic issue through their Royal Family, and as Royalty himself, Zenjirou could enter an “objection” right away as long as he had the permission from Queen Aura.

Needless to say, Marquis Guzzle would still be responsibility for the revision, whether it was an “appeal” or an “objection”, so it would not turn out all that different, but it would complicate things for sure.

Fortunately enough, Knight Captain Cris agreed to the suggestion from Marquis Guzzle right away.

“Understood. I do not have any objections to keep this matter to ourselves.”

His excessive pride had caused him to become emotional, but even under the influence of emotions, Knight Captain Cris was apparently not the type to make irrational decisions.

To begin with, this issue had brought discredit on the knight of the Navarre Kingdom. If they could sweep it all under the carpet, it was more than the Navarre Kingdom could ask for.

On this occasion, Zenjirou expressed his consent as well.

“Certainly. I have no objections, either. In favour of the friendly contact between our countries, I believe it is in our best interest to forget that this ever happened. What do you say, Princess Freya?”

“…If you say so, Your Majesty Zenjirou.”

The silver-haired princess kept her fierce glare fixated on Knight Captain Cris while she uttered her approval with an affectedly monotone voice.

It was obvious at a glance that her dissatisfied att.i.tude was meant to convey: “I actually do not want to reconcile with you, but His Majesty Zenjirou told me to, so I am making peace.”

Everyone present must have thought that Zenjirou had put Princess Freya in her place.

Grinding her teeth unladylike, the woman reluctantly obeyed the words of the man without concealing her dissatisfaction.

Princess Freya was giving the impression that she was complying with the man known as Zenjirou from the bottom of her heart, and not just as his partner for the marriage ceremony.

Zenjirou was quite annoyed by that performance, but Marquis Guzzle actually gave him a respectful look for it.

“Then I declare the meeting closed now.”

When the Feudal Lord declared the end of the meeting, you could practically see the tension from this troublesome issue melt away from him.

“Princess Freya, Miss Nilda, I apologize for my shortcoming in this case.”

Meanwhile, Knight Raymundo from the delegation of the Navarre Kingdom lowered his head deeply in front of the two girls.

In light of the haggard bow from the young knight, the open-hearted Nilda forgot all about their earlier dispute, displaying sympathy and compa.s.sion on her face.

“All is well as long as you are careful not to repeat such a behaviour from now on.”

But even with her superficial and makes.h.i.+ft education as a n.o.ble, Nilda realized that she had to act her part here, so she left her response at that.

On the other hand, the “open-hearted“ Princess Freya still remembered the dispute and went into raptures over a feeling of accomplishment and superiority.

“I shall put my faith in you that you will not act like this anymore.”

But with an education befitting for a lady, she understood it that it would be bad for diplomacy, if she were to make him prostrate before her, so she left her response at that.

“I will excuse myself now.”

When his apology was accepted a lot easier than he had thought, Knight Raymundo could not help but show a look of relief and tried to leave.

However, he was called to a halt before that.

“Wait. I believe we are not done here yet.”

The voice belonged to the person, who had watched the scene unfold next to Princess Freya: Zenjirou.

Not only the delegation from the Navarre Kingdom was surprised, when the unexpected utterance stopped them from leaving, but also Princess Freya and Nilda widened her eyes in surprise.

“I recall that Marquis Guzzle sentenced ‘the involved party from the delegation of the Navarre Kingdom to admit their mistake and apologize for it’.

Sir Raymundo had been telling the lie, so his apology alone might be enough for all intents and purposes, but Sir Cristiano actually involved himself in the negotiations in accordance with a false impression.

Sir Cristiano, you do not need to apology, but you need to admit right here and now that you a.s.sumed incorrectly.

Namely: Princess Freya has an eyesight as good as a soldier at night, and she is not the squeamish type to make a mistake in fear of the darkness.”

“!?”

Not having expected to be the targeted here, Knight Captain Cris showed an expression as if he had been punched from the side all of a sudden.

Seeing that, Zenjirou thought to himself “Did I do something unnecessary?“ with a bit of regret, but it absolutely had to be done from his point of view.

It was not a matter for the benefit of the Carpa Kingdom, but more of a personal matter of sincerity towards Princess Freya.

Princess Freya had been in the hot seat for this incident and thus suffered a “loss” in her evaluation as a woman by the standards of the South Continent.

Needless to say, she had done that, because Zenjirou had asked her to. And without even being told why he wanted her to stand in the political breach, at that. (Zenjirou was not absolutely sure yet, if his a.s.sumption about Nilda being no n.o.bility was right or wrong, so he could by no means let that information leak.)

In other words, Zenjirou thought that “she had unilaterally drawn the short straw, obeying his will without knowing the circ.u.mstances behind it”.

As the typical j.a.panese, Zenjirou represented the moral values of being anxious to repay a favour as soon as possible, so he automatically tended to cower before people, whom he owned a favour.

Having said all this, Knight Captain Cris had nothing to do with these thoughts of his.

From his point of view, it only sounded like “he was singled out as well after he had to endure the shame of being unable to protect his subordinate”.

And by the “non-combatant” man he had looked down on, at that.

Annoyance, displeasure, anger and defeat. These bottled-up negative feelings crossed into dangerous territory as Knight Captain Cris automatically reached out for his waist with his right hand. At the same time, he took half a step backwards… stepping into a shallow “puddle” with splas.h.i.+ng noise.

“?”

Shot up by the boots, the water drops wetted his ankle.

Why was there a puddle in a place like this? Before he could even wonder about that, Knight Captain Cris was brought back to reason by the coldness of the water.

He perfectly understood that he was about to draw his sword on the spur of the moment, when Royalty of a Major Power had expected the enforcement of a decision from the Feudal Lord of a Major power.

(What the heck am I doing!)

With his head cooled down in an instant, Knight Captain Cris felt a flood of cold sweat running down his back in the next moment.

Although he had attempted to draw his sword, he fortunately had not moved all that much and only for a second, at that. Hardly anyone seemed to have noticed it. Good thing the light from the oil pans kept the surroundings in semi-darkness.

“You are right. I should correct myself.

I made a mistake. Princess Freya, you certainly have an eyesight on par with a soldier at night along with the courage to not let it cloud your judgment. It was wrong of me to a.s.sume that you are an ordinary woman.”

He talked quickly in order to gloss over his earlier blunder and admitted his own mistake like Zenjirou had wanted.

The best his pride allowed him to do was to admit his mistake, but not to directly apologize for it.

It was surely on purpose that he threw out his chest and up his chin, when he bended over and lowered his head, as it reinforced its apologetic and self-critical impression.

To Zenjirou, it just seemed ridiculous.

(This looks like a parent apologizing to his child against his will after getting rebuked by a teacher.)

While Zenjirou harboured an impression that would make Knight Captain Cris throw a fit, if he were to hear it, Princess Freya showed a triumphant smile as she answered.

“I am glad you understand, Sir Cristiano.”

If Knight Captain Cris just had left now without saying anything, it might have put an end to things peacefully.

But he probably thought that leaving right after his concession would look like he was “running away”, or else he just could not suppress the urge to say something in return. Either way, Knight Captain Cris stayed where he was and started talking to Zenjirou with an affected laugh.

“Reminds me, Her Majesty Aura seems to be a brave person, who achieved various deeds during the previous war. Not that I had the honour to see her yet, though.”

“Indeed. I have not seen it myself, either, but I have heard of the same.”

Once the main objective was cleared, Zenjirou was not really holding anything against him, and he engaged in some small talk with the young knight, albeit not all that enthusiastic.

“Her Majesty Aura and Princess Freya are both extremely charming women, but also have an unexpected valiant side to them for a female. I guess it is true then that people are attracted to those who ‘possess what they themselves lack‘?”

Needless to say, it was biting sarcasm making digs at Zenjirou for not being a soldier.

At his side, Princess Freya wiped the smile off her face and revealed her anger, whereas Zenjirou actually burst out in laughter and responded to the younger knight captain from the foreign country.

“Hahaha. Might be. But attraction cannot be explained so easily. a.s.suming it could, what kind of woman would you be attracted to then, Sir Cristiano?”

“Eh… I…”

Knight Captain Cris was at a loss for words in light of the counter question.

The captain was good-looking, well-versed in martial arts, quick on the uptake, healthy and had a prideful spirit. On top of that, he was even born into a distinguished family that inherited the blood of the Royal Family.

Going hand in hand with these strong points was a big ego.

Endowed like that, Knight Captain was obviously at a loss for an answer, when asked what kind of woman he preferred on the supposition that people were attracted to those who “possessed what they themselves lacked”.

If he said “beautiful woman”, it would mean he himself was ugly, whereas the “smart woman” answer would make him out to be stupid. And mentioning a “good-hearted woman” would equate to admitting that his own personality was twisted.

At the same time, it was hard to say that he preferred women without such virtues, too.

Zenjirou had only asked it for some casual chit-chat, but pressed for an answer, Knight Captain Cris felt like one had been pulled over him again, all on his own.

His stubbornness to not accept defeat here was probably his biggest weakness.

The young knight could not stand being on the losing side all the time, so he replied even more snarky while keeping up his fake smile.

“You do have a point, Your Majesty Zenjirou. It was imprudent of me. Being attracted to those who possess what you yourself lack might only apply to a few people who lack a very certain quality.”

Even Zenjirou grimaced a bit in reaction to these words.

Of course it was not out of anger from having hit his bullseye.

(Oh G.o.d, he’s taking it that far right here?)

He was bewildered and surprised.

It goes without saying that Zenjirou was Royalty of the major power known as Carpa Kingdom and not just any Royalty, but rather the exalted Prince Consort of Queen Aura.

Although he was the eldest son of a distinguished family with blood relations to the Royal Family, the knight captain from the middle power known as Navarre Kingdom was ranked quite a bit lower on the social ladder.

Maybe it was time to reprimand him a bit?

Zenjirou started to consider that, but unfortunately, it was a bit too late for that.

“Knight Captain Cristiano Pinto from the Navarre Kingdom. What did you just say? Who do you think you are talking to?”

Someone else questioned him with a stern voice before Zenjirou. It was the Hero of the Carpa Kingdom: General Puyol Guillén.

“General Puyol?”

When Zenjirou uttered surprised, the giant general bowed to him subservient and turned to Knight Captain Cris with an aura of anger all around him.

“Up until now, I may have let some remarks slide, but that was only because Marquis Guzzle was holding the trial. That is no longer the case.”

Zenjirou immediately understood that the words from General Puyol, uttered in a low, but loud voice, were actually directed at him, even if his broad back was turned to him.

(Oh f.u.c.k! He got me!)

Doing his utmost to keep his expression in check, Zenjirou metaphorically clenched his teeth in the head.

He had done secret negotiations with General Puyol in advance to prevent this from happening.

As a result, Zenjirou had somehow managed to make General Puyol accept his request to “stay out of this case”.

Thanks to that, General Puyol had remained silent the whole time during the trial, but right now, the “case had been closed” and they were chit-chatting, so the “promise” from the negotiations was no longer valid.

(Oh G.o.d! Stupid Cris! Stupid Puyol! And I’m the most stupid of all!)

While Zenjirou wailed over his own carelessness, General Puyol besieged the young knight captain at once.

“Cristiano Pinto, you seem to have forgotten it, but Master Zenjirou here is Royalty of our country. And he is the exalted husband of Her Majesty Queen Aura, at that. So what did you just say to him? Repeat it to me once more.”

Beleaguered like that, Knight Captain Cris immediately lost all the colour in his face. Even amidst the semi-darkness, you could see it all too well.

So far, he had run his mouth with sarcasm and quips, but it had not become a problem at all, precisely because the other party had not made a big deal out of it. Knight Captain Cris was reminded of that fact all too late.

“My apologies! I spoke out of turn!”

He lowered his head with a snap.

The room fell silent and all the attention was focussed on him.

(Seriously, this is bad. I need to put an end to it somehow.)

Zenjirou panicked as the situation had escalated all at once, but right now, General Puyol was only scolding a foreigner in order to protect the dignity of the Prince Consort.

If he were to stop the general at this point, it would be “self-defeating” instead.

(I definitely can’t stop him, when he’s acting for my sake. Wait, that’s surely part of his plan. d.a.m.n it!)

It seemed paranoiac, but Zenjirou knew Puyol Guillén all too well to write it off as just that.

He could not take action. In the meantime, General Puyol thrust himself onto Knight Captain Cris.

“I said nothing about apologizing. I told you to repeat yourself. Come on, say it. You already said it directly to Royalty, so you should be able to say it to me, his subject, too.”

“…My deepest apologies.”

It only looked like irrelevant bullying, but there was actually a meaning behind it.

“Again, do not apologize just like that. If you want to apologize, first you have to admit what you did wrong and to whom. After that, you can apologize.”

Knight Captain Cris tried to ride it out with his head lowered humbly, but General Puyol showed no mercy at all. He insisted that the captain admitted from his own mouth to what faux pas he had committed and to whom.

Of course, Knight Captain Cris realized he would betray a decisive weakness, if he were to admit that, so he desperately kept apologizing, nothing else.

“My apologizes. It was imprudent of me. Please forgive me.”

Unexpectedly put on the spot, Knight Captain Cris was obviously supported by his highest superior from the delegation of the Navarre Kingdom: General Martín Nadal.

“Your Majesty Zenjirou, my subordinate has spoken out of line. I apologize on his behalf.”

With these words, General Martín bended his bear-like giant body over, lowering his head deeply in front of Zenjirou.

“G- General…!”

Seeing the well-respected hero of his own country bow like that, Knight Captain Cris was at a loss for words.

General Martín was a peerless hero in the Navarre Kingdom. He had admittedly the same rank as General Puyol, but was enjoying more trust in his own country as compared to General Puyol.

The major power Carpa Kingdom had Marquis Ralah, a lord rivalling General Puyol, and numerous other suitable qualified lords like Marquis Guzzle.

In terms of both competence and international renownedness, General Martín was an outstanding figure in the Navarre Kingdom. In a way, he might even be more prominent than the current King of the Navarre Kingdom.

And such an important pillar of his home country was deeply lowering his head for the captain in order to smooth over the differences of his faux pas.

“…..”

Cristiano Pinto finally grasped the gravity of his mistake now.

“My sincere apologizes, Your Majesty Zenjirou!”

He once again lowered his head, this time even lower than his respected general.

His now exasperated att.i.tude no longer showed any sign of the earlier arrogance towards Zenjirou.

Just through their t.i.tle, Royalty from a major power were a formidable adversary one should not look down on, even if they had no martial talent or a timid personality. The young knight was made painfully aware of that fact.

On the other hand, Zenjirou appreciated this occasion, since he wanted to conclude this as peacefully as possible.

The man in question and his superior had both lowered their heads. Of course Zenjirou would not let this opportunity slip and spoke up at once.

“Excuse the question, but could it be that it is Sir Cristiano’s first appearance on the international scene?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Sensing that Zenjirou was offering him a lifeline, General Martín affirmed his question respectfully.

He was, of course, telling the truth. Not even twenty yet, Cristiano Pinto was on his first official duty out of the country.

Hearing the response from General Martín, Zenjirou shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly and heaved a sigh.

“Well, that explains it. Sir Cristiano, the culture, common sense and mindset of people drastically change once you cross a border. I am sure you realized it through this incident?”

Zenjirou had never set a foot outside of j.a.pan back then, nor the Carpa Kingdom now, so it was preposterous for him to be saying that, but that did not matter right now. What mattered was to find an “excuse to forgive” Knight Captain Cris for his mistake.

“Yes, I learned it the hard way.”

Oblivious to Zenjirou’s circ.u.mstances of life, Knight Captain Cris answered afflicted with his head still lowered.

Then Zenjirou s.h.i.+fted his gaze towards the bowing General Martín besides him.

“General Martín, everyone makes mistakes in their youths. And it is the duty of seniors and veterans to teach and guide these youngsters. Am I right?”

“Absolutely, Your Majesty. This is another negligence on my part.”

“Yes.”

Zenjirou nodded satisfied.

As his superior, General Martín was responsible for any mistakes Knight Captain Cris may commit. It would not be all that strange to accept the apology and bow from General Martín, a renowned hero from another country, as atonement.

General Puyol might feel discontent about this, since he prioritized practical benefits, but the achievement of making the Hero of the Navarre Kingdom, General Martín, lower his head in front of Royalty from the Carpa Kingdom was not trivial, either.

At the very least, it enhanced the “prestige” of Zenjirou, a fledgling Royalty, greatly.

But before Zenjirou could “close the case”, the insatiable wolf aka. General Puyol interjected with a bright voice, quite different from before.

“Oh, that reminds me, Sir Cristiano is the eldest son of the Pinto Family. I guess it comes to no surprise that no one in the Navarre Kingdom would dare to strictly scold the talented eldest son of a famous family.

Considering that, I might have been a bit too mean in my scolding earlier.”

His mild-mannered speech might as well be called flattering already. Zenjirou and General Martín immediately had a bad premonition, but Knight Captain Cris did not know General Puyol all that well, so he readily jumped at the honeyed avenue of escape.

“Yes, Sir. As shameful as it is, I let my immaturity get the better of me.”

When the knight in question affirmed his words, General Puyol flashed his jet-black eyes.

“Then how about coming to our country? You are still young and I am sure it will come in handy for your future, when you learn from contact with higher-ranking people of another country.”

General Puyol seemed to suggest this out of the goodness of his heart, but no matter how you look at it, he would be nothing but a “hostage” in reality.

Confronted with a sudden “arrest” by the neighbouring major power, the young knight captain ceased all thinking for a while.

Still lowering his head next to him, General Martín now raised his head and glared at the neighbour general with sweat on his forehead.

“That will not be necessary, General Puyol. To begin with, he is still green as a soldier. Of course it is important to take part in negotiations and social intercourse, but prioritizing that at the cost of his military training would be putting the car before the horse.”

“Oh, fret not, General Martín. I personally will take full responsibility to train him while he stays here. Or are you dissatisfied with me as his teacher? What do you say, Sir Cristiano?”

General Puyol smiled, baring his teeth like a threatening beasts, whereupon Knight Captain Cris was stumped for an answer.

“W- Well…”

Puyol Guillén was too well-known for his skills on the South Continent to be actually dissatisfied with him. But unless he said so, he would definitely head towards his life as a hostage.

And on the surface, the general was supposedly suggesting this out of the goodness of his heart after “forgiving him for his mistake”, which only made it even worse.

“I know why you are so concerned, General Martín. Sir Cristiano certainly has a brilliant talent. I shall pull no punches and do my utmost to nurture his promising skills.”

The hero from the neighbouring country showed a joyful expression like a carnivore licking its lips in antic.i.p.ating before its captured prey.

Was this the end? Knight Captain Cris was already starting to resign himself to his fate, when it happened.

“Oh my? Does that mean you are going to turn your back on your new wife already? You sadden me, Sir Puyol.”

While General Puyol showed a bright smile, a woman suddenly interjected from the side.

“!? Lucinda?”

For the first time today, General Puyol looked dumbfounded in reaction to that voice.

The clear voice belonged to Lucinda, who approached her newlywed husband of a few days with small steps that let her elegant blue dress flutter a bit.

“Are we housing a guest already, Sir Puyol? I have entertained guests from the Navarre Kingdom a couple of times here in the Guzzle Mansion, but I am afraid it will be my first time doing so in your house. Of course I shall strive to do my best, but I cannot help but be worried about making a mistake.

To my shame, I have to admit that I once caused the Guzzle Household a lot of trouble by welcoming people from a foreign country the wrong way.”

On the fact of it, she seemed to be an irresponsibly woman oblivious to the circ.u.mstances, when she mentioned that while c.o.c.king her head a bit.

But having spent the last few days in the same room with her, General Puyol knew that she was not that kind of foolish woman.

Considering that, he could read another meaning between the lines.

‘I have entertained guests from the Navarre Kingdom a couple of times here in the Guzzle Mansion’ implied that the March of Guzzle and the Navarre Kingdom shared a direct border.

And reading between the lines of ‘I shall strive to do my best’ meant: ‘I am already part of the Guillén Family now, so I will obey whatever you, the head of the family, decide.’

Finally, the ‘I once caused the Guzzle Household a lot of trouble’ sentence could be understood as ‘It will affect my parental house, the Guzzle Family, if we offend the Navarre Kingdom, so could you please show some consideration?’.

“Hmm…”

General Puyol glanced over to Marquis Guzzle at the back.

“…..”

When their eyes met by the light of the oil pans, the aged feudal lord sharpened his look to the point that you could feel the tension in the air.

“Causing me all this trouble! And you still call yourself my son-in-law!?”

He was obviously telling him that through eye-contact.

General Puyol quickly weighed the odds inside his head.

The merit of having a supposedly important person for the next generation of the Navarre Kingdom under his thumb versus the demerit of incurring the wrath of Marquis Guzzle after obtaining a connection to him through marriage.

It was a no-brainer. Once he knew what he had to do, he felt not the slightest hesitation or shame to take back his earlier words. From a human point of view, he might have to feel embarra.s.sed by going back on a decision, but this att.i.tude was actually beneficial for surviving in Higher Society.

“It certainly sounds unreasonable to apply myself to raising a disciple at the cost of neglecting my newlywed wife.

This being the case, I am sorry, Sir Cristiano, but I am withdrawing my earlier offer.”

“Not at all. I appreciate the thought at least.”

With his head still lowered, Knight Captain Cris heaved a long sigh of relief, releasing all the air from holding his breath until now.