Rutina.
Ca.s.sia called out to the girl the Duke brought out.
She is called Rutina apparently.
“Ca.s.sia-ane, sama……”
Rutina spoke one word, and then cut off her words in vexation.
She is probably one of the people originally from this castle.
It seems she considers Ca.s.sia a sister, but it is more enemy than friend right now.
Rutina’s stubborn expression is showing that.
“I am glad you are safe.”
“……Nope.”
She is unharmed, but if you are asking if she is safe then I doubt she is.
Ca.s.sia hugs Rutina tightly.
It’s fascinating how the two beauties resemble each and stand out above everyone else.
It is a beautiful scene, but it is not the right time to think like this, right?
“Your Excellency.”
Gozar came over.
“How is it going?”
“We have almost taken control of the whole castle, there was no resistance. However, we can’t find the Earl.”
“No one knows where he is?”
“That’s right.”
The Duke and Gozar are talking.
It looks like they can’t find Selmar’s Earl.
Maybe he happened to be out on trip today by chance.
Because they decided on today on a whim.
“It is not like I can’t do anything if he disappears, but it’s troublesome. It is also a disgrace for a n.o.ble to run away from his castle. Use everything we have to search for him.”
“Understood.”
It is easy for Adventurers to get away in this world.
You can go somewhere good.
I will run away instead of hiding, but it looks like he can’t do that?
How dishonorable is it to escape?
But since he already neglected his labyrinth suppression duty as a n.o.ble, I don’t think he cares about his honor as a n.o.ble.
Or is it not related to this?
“I am sorry, but we can’t find the Earl. Do you have any idea where he is?”
The Duke asks Rutina.
Maybe he’s hiding with the firewood?
I want to strike a war drum while the Duke gives commands.
While doing one, two, three hits.
“I don’t know, and I would not tell you even if I knew.”
Rutina responds plainly.
Rutina is a heavenly beauty.
“……Ca.s.sia, do you know any places where he could be hiding?”
“Let me see. There is a room to store firewood in the winter season, and the bedroom is connected to it.”
“Ane-Sama!”
Rutina protests, but Ca.s.sia is a friend of the enemy.
Was there really a firewood shed?
“I hope you didn’t forget your responsibility as n.o.ble.”
“But.”
“You know what’s been going on while you live in luxury.”
Rutina hesitates from Ca.s.sia’s argument.
It seems Rutina understands that the labyrinth subjection is not advancing at all.
“Gozar!”
“Yes.”
The Duke sends Gozar to check it out.
“When father inherited the t.i.tle he tried his best. But, he didn’t manage to get any results and changing the leaders.h.i.+p of the knights became a common thing. Then, that big group of thieves ran wildly and we lost some capable subordinates. At that time he even drank sake in order to run away.”
It seems that the Earl had reasons for the slow subjugation..
Can’t he just switch out with someone else?
“Was he cornered that much?”
“If only I had more power.”
“It’s alright. There’s nothing you could have done.
Ca.s.sia embraced Rutina’s head to console her.
“It’s not like I want ane-sama’s sympathy.”
Rutina brushed the hand away.
She is quite aggressive.
She is glaring at Ca.s.sia with beautiful deep blue eyes.
It’s as if she is holding back her tears.
“Your father wasn’t suitable to become Earl in the first place. He avoided fighting scenes, and didn’t want to enter the labyrinth. Because he was the youngest brother, he wouldn’t normally become the Earl, and he might have lived freely. But because my father and the next youngest brother fought each other, this is how things turned out. Because of the conflicts of my father I want to apologize to you.”
It looks like Ca.s.sia’s father and Rutina’s father are brothers.
In other words, Ca.s.sia and Rutina are cousins.
That reminds me, the next Earl called Ca.s.sia big sister as well.
Is it family tradition of Selmar’s Earl house for cousins to call each other brothers and sisters?
“Enough already. Go ahead and kill me.”
Rutina swung her golden hair and faced the Duke.
He is going to kill her?
It is one of the top five words that I don’t want the beautiful elf to receive.
But now is not the time to think about it.
“There is no need to go that far, if possible I would like resolve this peacefully.”
Like I thought, the Duke doesn’t intend to do that.
It is enough to just defeat the Earl.
“Don’t talk nonsense to me after coming this far.”
“I would like you to waive your inheritance rights.”
“I am the daughter of the Earl, and I can’t abandon that. a.s.suming my father was removed, it is natural that I will inherit the t.i.tle after him.”
It is like this after all.
“The next Earl has already been decided. We need to do it as soon as possible.”
“I have the inheritance rights. The next Earl after my father should be me.”
I have trouble following them, but it looks like it will be hard for Ca.s.sia’s cousin to become the next Earl when Rutina is still around.
Looks like the branch family can’t take the t.i.tle when there is a direct descendant.
When Rutina abandons her rights, the t.i.tle of Earl can move to the next family.
If the Earl is removed like this, Rutina would be the next Earl.
“That is not acceptable. Unfortunately, the high elf representative council does not recognize you.”
“That can’t be… Even the high elf representative council……”
“It is natural after the labyrinths have been left to grow here, and it isn’t something that can be solved just by Selmar’s Earl losing his t.i.tle, it is a betrayal against all elves. Of course, his daughter will not be allowed the right of succession, and there is the matter of you being too young. “
That reminds me, Rutina was 15 years old when I appraised her.
She is young.
And she is Villager Lv2.
Low.
You want to say her abilities as Earl is unknown because she is 15 years old?
And she is Villager Lv2 as well.
The subjugation of the labyrinths in the territory is not advancing, so it is necessary to immediately put things in order so that the subjugation advances as fast as possible.
People will feel uneasy without a leader with some experience and achievements.
However, the high elves representative council doesn’t leave good impression.
Is it like an evil council ruling from behind?
Or is that just my own point of view as a third party?
Apparently Selmar’s Earl is a member, and probably the Duke is as well.
Or rather, isn’t my presence here not needed anymore for a while now.
It is not like I can interfere.
But I can’t leave since I was told to stand by here.
And I don’t want to go outside the room since I don’t know what is going on outside.
“That’s why, I told you to go ahead and kill me already.”
Rutina insists strongly.
There is no need to worry about succession rights if he kills her.
“It turned out like this after all, but I can’t do that.”
“Rutina, even if it’s just to take revenge on us who are your parents enemies, please live on.”
“I will not kill you. I will have you become a slave.”
The Duke interrupts Ca.s.sia who was trying to persuade her.
“A slave?”
“Michio, do you know about legitimate succession names?”
Despite Ca.s.sia’s question, the Duke starts talking to me.
“I have only heard the name.”
“The n.o.bility comes with the family name and legitimate succession name which give you the succession rights. Anharth in my case. This can be shown using the intelligence card, which isn’t a problem. If you lose your legitimate succession name, you will lose your succession rights and n.o.bility. The legitimate succession name is that kind of thing. And the legitimate succession name is lost if you become a slave.”
“And that’s the need to become a slave.”
The Duke’s name is Brocken・Nord Brown・Anharth.
Similarly, Anselm is part of Rutina’s name, I wonder if that’s it.
I believe Baron Easter has something attached to his name as well.
Ca.s.sia is Anselm just like Rutina, so she has succession rights for Selmar’s Earl and not the Duke.
“It is possible to select the next successor regardless of the succession rights, but it is an emergency now. The direct descendant will be given priority when Selmar’s Earl is overthrown.”
“That’s why you need to lose your succession name.”
“It is still the same thing. I will not become a slave. I didn’t commit any crime. You shouldn’t be able to make me a slave without my consent.”
Is it possible to make someone a slave without his consent if he doesn’t commit a crime?
Probably someone with the thief job can be forcefully made a slave.
If not, the person need to give his consent.
I have thief job.
Is it possible to make me a slave without my consent?
“You know yourself I can’t do that. You don’t have the ability to fulfill your obligations as n.o.ble, and you don’t have any other way, what kind of future would your younger brothers and sisters face? It is not a problem that can be solved with your death. If you became a slave there would be no need to hunt for the rest of your siblings. It can be explained that you have taken responsibility for things as a n.o.ble. That will be the best for your younger brothers and sisters.”
“C… coward.”
The Duke attacks her weak point, he really is cowardly.
Her younger brothers and sisters are hostages?
There’s no way of changing that her father the Earl will be dethroned, but her younger brothers and sisters are different.
Parents eat sour grapes and children lose teeth, it is called something like this.
Kuranosuke Ois.h.i.+’s eldest child Chikara committed harakiri together with him, but it is said that the government demanded that the remaining orphaned siblings go into service.
It is similar to this.
Rather, wouldn’t Rutina’s younger brothers and sisters have no home to return to if she abandons her rights?
“They will not be able to use their succession name until they become of age at 15 years old, but depending on their older sister’s action, there is possibility for the younger brothers and sisters to become Selmar’s Earl in the future.”
Seems it is useless for biological children to claim rights when they are minors.
You just have to deal with Rutina somehow?
The Duke is quite nasty.
He didn’t confirm whether her younger brothers and sisters will have the right of succession or not.
Perhaps it wouldn’t work without it.
Like Komon Mito who adopted his older brother child and gave his own child to the adopted child of his older brother, because after the real father adopted a child, a child was born to the grandfather, the child became the legitimate child of the father, and Tooyama no kane became the adopted child of the adopted child of the father.
Being n.o.ble seems to have it’s troubles.
The Duke did mention the possibility for siblings though.
He is not telling a lie.
“I also think that will be good, Rutina.”
“……I understand, just do as you like.”
Ca.s.sia also tries to persuade her, and Rutina finally gave in.
It is a big thing to have obtained a hostage.
“Michio.”
“Yes?”
“If it is good with you, can you accept her.”
When I thought the matter was finally settled, the Duke suggest something outrageous.
“What?”
“Michio, you’ve done us a great favor this time, I believe she will make a great prize.”
“W… what absurd thing are you talking about?”
Ca.s.sia was the one to object.
It is expected of course.
Expected?
So you agreed on the matter of her becoming a slave.
Oh, was it acceptable if she became your possession?
“Michio seems he have abilities that me and others can’t comprehend. Probably in the near future he will defeat a labyrinth, and join the ranks of n.o.bility. If this happens, you will be able to make a lot of achievements even as a former n.o.ble.”
The Duke tells Rutina.
For what kind of reason does the Duke evaluate me so high?
It’s an overestimate.
Did he happen to see me using magic inside the labyrinth by any chance?
“A labyrinth?”
Rutina looks suspicious.
Her eyes were looking to evaluate me.
“It is the result of what the adventurers of my knight’s order tried to do. It is impossible to move to Palmasque without recovery medicine as we thought, and you also need to rest at Tare while using recovery medicine. He certainly has an ability that is far superior to my knight’s order adventurers, and we can’t measure how much strength he has.”
“Oh really?”
He probably tried to go to Palmasque himself.
And he compared it like that.
In fact, it is even hard for me to go to Palmasque without recovery medicine or Durandal.
It doesn’t look like he saw me using magic, I’ll settle for that.
“I don’t think she is a bad reward, Michio. As you can see, she is a beauty that resembles Ca.s.sia.”
What does he mean by that? This Duke.
Is he simply praising her?
Possibly, did he see through how fond I am of Ca.s.sia?
Was I looking at Ca.s.sia with such eyes?
“N..no. Ah, no. It is not like that.”
Both Rutina and Ca.s.sia are beautiful women.
There is no doubt.
Or did you even ask Baron Ester?
That reminds me, the laws of the Empire Liberation Society don’t allow the leak of information that they obtained there to the outside.
Because the duke is a member of the Empire Liberation Society, he would not mention it outside even if he found out.
Maybe just some gossip got out.