Chapter 61
Everyone at Lady Eva's table came from houses ranked higher than a count's. The people Lady Eva had met until now were probably mostly children from houses ranked lower than a count's, so she had likely never faced anyone's malice head-on.
(Her heart rate is rising, she's sweating, her body temperature is rising... My lady's panicking.)
When I checked my lady with 【All Creation】, that was the information it returned. Though perhaps I didn't need to check in the first place. My lady's expression had frozen solid.
"...House Slyries causes friction in noble society, you say?"
My lady had tried to make her voice especially polite, but it came out icy instead, reminding me so strongly of His Excellency the Count that I couldn't help thinking, Like father, like daughter.
Lady Charlotte gasped and recoiled, but then immediately leaned forward and said,
"Y-yes, that's right! You can't claim not to know that, despite holding a count's title, they have no territory and involve themselves in central politics—and that people even call them 'arms dealers who delight in waiting for conflict'—"
"Lady Charlotte!"
It was Kurvshrat-sama who raised his voice. As though in response, the musicians stopped playing, and the hall fell utterly silent.
"...Are you saying that someone as distinguished as a daughter of House Fraise believes the slander spread by such foulmouthed people...?"
I thought Kurvshrat-sama must be kindhearted as well as good-looking. His voice was trembling, and I couldn't tell whether he was angry or frightened by the fact that he had shouted and by everyone's reaction—but it was still true that he had spoken out of concern for Lady Eva.
The Holy King, standing behind Kurvshrat-sama, raised the corners of his mouth slightly. I noticed it; if Kurvshrat-sama had not spoken, the Holy King would surely have said something himself.
Even so, once words have been spoken, you can't swallow them back and pretend they were never said. Although Lady Charlotte was intimidated by the far higher-ranking Holy Prince-sama, she said,
"If I may be so bold, Kurvshrat-sama... Is it not a fact that Count Slyries sent many nobles to the scaffold? As a result, distribution was disrupted in many territories, and the nobles had to spend their private fortunes to restore order. Of course, that would have had nothing to do with nobles who owned no territory."
Oh, so that happened.
But the Count acted for the sake of the One Heaven Altar and, ultimately, for the entire kingdom, taking on the dirty work... Isn't it a little unfair to mention only the harm done to themselves without saying that?
(Oh, right. The fact that the Count is the Special Assistant to the Director of the "Altar Administration Agency" is a secret to everyone except a handful of nobles... And when the Count exposed the nobles' corruption, the charges—"embezzlement of public funds," "tax evasion," and "bribery"—were crimes unrelated to the "One Heaven Altar." All so the "One Heaven Altar" could maintain the appearance of being "untainted.")
Lady Charlotte is the daughter of a marquis, though. Does she not know? No, of course the head of her house would know, but perhaps he hadn't told anyone else.
"Furthermore, I hear that some nobles took advantage of the confusion to manipulate distribution and make a fortune?"
..........
Yep, our Count could absolutely do that.
Doing things like that is exactly what further burnishes your reputation as the Cold-Blooded Lord, Count...
"...Father. What Lady Charlotte said..."
Kurvshrat-sama's flustered manner of speaking had slipped back into his usual way of talking. That timid side of him stirred my protective instincts—but setting that aside, the Holy King had fallen silent with a troubled expression.
(So that's the kind of thing you can't say in public...)
If he defended the Count and told the truth, he would sully the One Heaven Altar; if he went along with Lady Charlotte's words, he would betray his loyal retainer, Slyries, who had taken on the dirty work.
"...In one respect, she is speaking the truth."
Lady Charlotte's face lit up at the Holy King's words, but then—
"However, anyone who governs must understand that every matter has two sides."
"Two sides...?"
The Holy King ruffled Kurvshrat-sama's hair.
"You have only just set foot in noble society. From here on, you will choose your Heavenly Jewel, learn many things, sometimes fight, sometimes fail, sometimes rejoice, and sometimes suffer—but so long as you were born with noble blood, you must fight against that destiny. —Lady Charlotte."
"Y-yes!"
Lady Charlotte straightened her back when the Holy King addressed her by name.
"Don't let rumors push you around too much... You didn't hear that story from the old man of House Fraise, did you? Then go home and tell him the same story. Listen to what he says without missing a single word, and etch it into your heart."
"Y-yes...?"
"I can't say anything more from my position. Besides, this isn't the time for you to be squabbling like this—"
"—Your Majesty the Holy King. I believe your guard has said rather too much."
"...Indeed."
Chided by the Bear Margrave, the Holy King folded his arms and went pointedly silent.
"?"
The ladies seemed dissatisfied with how the conversation had ended, leaving them with a sense of unfinished business, but then the musicians began playing new music, and the next large platter was carried in.
Conversation gradually started up at the other tables as well, but my lady remained silent with a troubled expression. Had the Count told her nothing about his side as the Cold-Blooded Lord? No, surely he hadn't kept completely silent about it, but...
Etan-sama's proposal—"Let's form a friendship"—somehow fizzled out, and Mira-sama, the Margrave's daughter, finally seemed to get into gear and spoke up.
"There are so many delicious dishes, too. They are all things we rarely get to eat in my territory..."
Kurvshrat-sama, relieved that a conversation had begun, picked up the thread.
"House Rosier arranged today's dishes. Right, Louis?"
"Ah, yes. ...I'm glad they were to your liking."
Young Louis had stopped putting on his arrogant act and had become unusually meek. Had he been surprised—or perhaps shocked—by learning about my lady... or rather, the secrets behind House Slyries?
"What is Margrave Mule's territory like?"
"It is very rural. There are vast grasslands and farms, and many dungeons left behind by the ancients lie dormant in the mountainous regions. Adventurers come and go in large numbers."
Dungeons!
What a thrilling word. The only dungeon I know is the Six Heavens Mine, where I worked as a slave, but this must be completely different... I wonder what it is like.