Chapter 68
“I can't forgive this! To think Reiji would be suspected! Besides, it was only yesterday that Reiji first met Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama...”
“Eva. Nobles have to deal with all sorts of things.”
The Earl let out a sigh and said,
“You will have to wait another month for your Talent Gem.”
“A month from now...? Isn't that something you would give my lady here at home, Earl?”
At my question,
“That's right. The twelve-year-old children who attended the 'New Sprout and New Moon Banquet' will gather once more, and each of them will be presented with a Talent Gem before His Holiness the Holy King.”
“Huh—”
“The parents are the ones who prepare them, though. Their Talents will be made public there as well, so everyone will know how much power each noble house currently possesses.”
“So acquiring a Talent Gem is also a test of a noble's ability...”
“Yes. ...Eva, would you like to know what kind of Talent Gem you will receive?”
At the Earl's question, my lady blinked.
“No. If I can find out in a month, I have no reason to rush. More importantly, I'm concerned about the attempted assassination of Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama and what the Holy King's Palace will do next.”
The Earl nodded with a straight face. I had gotten good enough at gauging my distance from him to realize that his emotions were being revealed far more plainly than they ever were by a beaming smile.
(My lady, that was a perfect answer.)
Nobles must not rush when there is something to be gained. Nobles should put public affairs before private matters.
That was what her tutor had taught her, and it seemed my lady had truly taken the lesson to heart.
His Holiness the Holy King said the ceremony for presenting the Talent Gems would be postponed until the culprit behind the attempted poisoning of Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama was identified. However, many nobles had already come from their territories for it, so they agreed to a one-month postponement. His Holiness believes that the culprit will attempt another assassination rather than give up after a single failure.
Today, the Earl met with the dignitaries the Holy King had gathered in the Holy Capital and was apparently forced to use the "Magic Eye of Adjudication" while investigating the attempted poisoning.
That included the First Holy Prince, the First Holy Princess, and the heads of the high-ranking noble houses.
Incidentally, the servant suspected of poisoning the Holy Prince's sauce dish had disappeared. Apparently, if a high-ranking noble had hidden that person, finding them would be extremely difficult—and in that case, it would be faster to use the "Magic Eye of Adjudication" to judge the head of the house directly.
“Wouldn't that create tremendous friction...?”
“Yes. Nearly everyone knows I possess the 'Magic Eye of Adjudication,' after all. I thought they might glare me to death. None of them lied, though.”
He said it so casually, but wasn't that incredibly stressful?
So the Holy King valued Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama that much...? But putting that aside, word of what he was doing would spread quickly. If that happened—
“Earl—”
“Reiji-san, let's discuss matters concerning your guard duty later.”
The Earl's chances of being attacked had risen again.
The Earl naturally understood that—but he had said “later” because he did not want my lady to hear it.
“Father. I have already become a full-fledged noblewoman. If this concerns me as well, please tell me.”
My lady would not stand for that.
Actually, until now, I think she had simply followed the Earl's instructions. Whenever he told her, 'You don't need to hear this,' she answered, 'Yes.' And she likely would have stopped the 'slave trader crackdowns' as well if the Earl had told her, 'Stop.'
“Eva, you are still... No, I suppose you really are.”
The Earl's tone changed.
“Then I will treat you as a full-fledged lady.”
“! Yes.”
My lady had noticed the Earl's change too, evidently. She straightened her posture and looked him in the face. Her expression seemed as devoid of emotion as before, but despite her polite wording, I felt that she was now speaking without holding anything back.
“First of all, my chances of being killed have increased.”
“Ah... yes. That's because if you continue questioning people alongside His Holiness the Holy King, you'll eventually reach the culprit, correct?”
“Exactly. Only the royal family and nobility could have a motive to harm a Holy Prince-sama. His Holiness must have started with the likeliest suspects.”
“The likeliest suspects...? The First Holy Prince and First Holy Princess have high positions in the line of succession to the Holy Throne, so they couldn't be involved, could they?”
“This is unconfirmed information, but the upper echelons of the 'Altar Management Bureau' are abuzz. Something truly special must have happened somewhere beyond the reach of people like me who handle internal crimes.”
Something special?
When my lady and I silently urged him to continue, the Earl said,
“...A Talent Gem with five stars or more has appeared from the 'One Heaven Altar.' And it will be given to Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama.”
“!”
“!!”
A Talent Gem with five stars or more! That really would be extraordinarily valuable.
Talent Gems with up to four stars could sometimes be acquired by successful merchants or adventurers who had struck it rich. But once you reached five stars, the number dropped drastically.
“The Holy Kingdom of Kurvaan has only seven Talent Gems with five stars or more. One is 【Holy Sword★★★★★★】, which the First Captain of the Holy King's Knights—in other words, the commander of the order—inherits from one generation to the next. Of course, the Talent Gem disappears when its wielder dies, so the commander does not go to the front lines. It could be called an honorary position.”
So that's why, despite spending about three years going in and out of the Holy King's Knights, I'd never seen the commander.
“【Swordsmanship★★★★★】 is managed by House Rosier, a ducal house. Their knights are devoted to swordsmanship, you see. However, they do not give this Talent Gem to a knight; only the head of the family is permitted to use it.”
That was young Louis's family. For a house so devoted to swordsmanship, I wondered about having Artur-sama serve as his guard. Then again, Artur-sama was one of the stronger members of the Holy King's Knights, so perhaps it was fine.
“【Heroic Command★★★★★】 belongs to House Lys, and 【Mystic Alchemy★★★★★】 belongs to House Ebeigne.”
I didn't know Lys, but Ebeigne was Etan-sama's family. A halfling with an alchemy-based Talent Gem... That's powerful.
“【Dragon Swordsmanship★★★★★】 belongs to House Luciel. It is a ducal house that is home to the 'Sword Saint Augustin,' and it is the most militaristic of the Six Great Ducal Houses... It is also the First Holy Prince's backer.”
The 'Six Great Ducal Houses,' or 'Six Great Houses,' are apparently families that lost the Holy Water Color but distinguished themselves in other areas and still retain the right to call themselves ducal houses.
For example, if Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama were not made Holy King and were instead ennobled as a duke, then if his children failed to manifest the Holy Water Color, he would join his wife's family. The ducal house would disappear after a single generation.
However, as long as they continue to have children who possess the Holy Water Color, they can remain a ducal house, and if they achieve undeniable distinction during that time—winning a great victory in war, making a major invention, or something similar—they can remain a ducal house even after losing the Holy Water Color.
As a result, six ducal houses survived even after losing the Holy Water Color. Hence, the Six Great Ducal Houses.
“And 【Mana Enhancement★★★★★】 belongs to House Lamer, while 【Prayer★★★★★】 belongs to House Montagne.”
“So the last one belongs to a count's house?”
“Yes. Of the Six Great Ducal Houses, House Riviere is extremely powerful in maritime trade, but it possesses no Talent Gems with five stars or more. They seem to regard that as a weakness compared to the other ducal houses, so they must be desperate to obtain one.”
“...If Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama had died, what would have happened to the Talent Gem with five stars or more that might have appeared?”
“His Holiness the Holy King would use it himself, or the First Holy Prince or First Holy Princess would use it...”
“What kind of Talent Gems do those three possess?”
The Earl raised his index finger and waggled it from side to side.
“Naturally, that's a secret. It's a top-secret matter of the Holy Royal Family.”
“I see...”
There were safeguards for emergencies as well. There was no need to reveal one's own hand.
“Even Second-Class Secretary Specula-san would be executed immediately if it came to light that he had looked at the Holy Royal Family's Talent Gems without permission.”
“...I see.”
It really was a closely guarded secret.
That made me want the 【Orb Sight】 Talent a little. Perhaps I should have deliberately let Specula-san use his Skill on me while I still had 【All Creation】 equipped.
...No, my 【All Creation】 was highly confidential too.
“Or it might simply be passed on to the Third Holy Prince. The Third Holy Prince is currently ten years old, but his marriage partner has already been decided—and that person is from House Riviere.”