Translator: Lay
Raw Provider: Ani
“Her Imperial Highness the Princess is a sweet little girl, and she doesn’t deserve it. If His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince knew what the Marquis Bloomlodrin had to say, the Marquis would be hated, right?”
Jedis laughed wickedly.
“Maybe we can punish the Marquis Bloomlodrin for insulting the Imperial Family. Hahaha. That’s why people have to watch their mouths everywhere.” Celtic’s face hardened for a moment, then returned to a polite smile.
“Lady Jedis.”
“Yeees.”
“I’m the second son of the Marquis Durak, the knight who swore loyalty to the Crown Prince, and the first of ten swords¹. I’m a colleague of Lord Gereint’s, too.”
“You missed one. You’re also a knight of Her Imperial Highness.” As she innocently added, Celtic smiled a little more tenderly.
“And Lady Jedis is Her Imperial Highness’ lady-in-waiting, the sister of Sir Gereint Bell, the tenth sword among the ‘eleven swords’, and the daughter of Baron Bell. Right?”
“Being born as Gerry²’s younger sister is a mistake of my life. He should have been born as my older sister. So?”
“Before telling His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince the disloyalty of the Marquis of Bloomlodrin, I wonder if we should think about each of us a little more. I don’t want to ruin my father’s business.”
To interpret it, it means roughly this. If you take the work of the Marquis of Bloomlodrin to the Crown Prince, there will be problems with the Marquis of Durak, so don’t be in hurry at telling this. If it’s too early, the social life of her older brother would not be so smooth. By euphemism, Jedis felt light fatigue.
‘Is it necessary to say something that would be much easier to understand if you speak straight? If I don’t listen to him, he’ll be bothering my oppa³ for a long time. .’
A momentarily intense impulse captivated Jedis.
‘Isn’t this a great opportunity to bully my brother like a man?’
Jedis Bell, who was imagining the appearance of Gereint Bell being nagged by Celtic Durak, laughed unwittingly. She hated her oppa, just like all the sisters in the world, and she was the kind of person who was happy with the suffering of the people she hates. At the same time, she was a person who hated violence.
The “nagging” that Celtic would have called would have been violence far beyond the level of bickering with each other between the Bell siblings. Even if they are lifelong enemies, in the end, Gereint was Jedis’ family, and Gereint held numerous responsibilities as the real head of the Bell family. It was not possible to expose Gereint to unjust violence. Celtic was waiting for an answer. Jedith finally answered.
“Nothing that Sir Celtic is worried about will happen.”
***
At that time, the Crown Prince, the Princess, and the Minister of Justice were having a three-way meeting at that time.
“The glory of Tantal is forever. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor’s faithful servant Mutas Peloc, the Duke of Axwol in the south, the Wurdak frontier in the west, the knight with eleven swords, the second son, Aurest, of El…”
“Do I look free?⁴”
“…Laine Durak… yes?”
“If you do not speak briefly, I will reap you, so know that.”
“Oh, yes, I see. I strongly support Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and Her Imperial Highness the Princess.”
The Minister of Justice Mutas Pelok once again emphasized, ‘I will actively help Her Imperial Highness the Princess Erin, the legitimate successor of the Rowenthal Dukedom, as faithful servants of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince’, he left. Aurest was very pleased and made an early toast for the future Lord of Rowenthal, Erin Tantal.
“It’s an unintended harvest. Who would have known that half of Rowenthal’s remaining wealth would be owned by the Imperial Family. Erin, I’m glad you took that Tristan guy.”
“This is all thanks to my brother giving Tristan as a gift.” Erin leaned against his desk. Letters crumbled from being wet from the rain and caught her fingertips. I’m sorry for Gail who had a hard time picking up the paper planes, but to sit in LRowenthal’s seat without much interference, an aide needed to leave.
“And then Erin. Didn’t you forget something?”
“Is there anything I should remember?” The Crown Prince grabbed me by my waist and sat me on his desk. The letters swept over the hem of my dress fluttered to the floor. It was the moment when the efforts of the nobles to marry their daughter to the Crown Prince and become the father-in-law of the next Emperor were put to the bottom.
“When I give you Tristan. Didn’t I promise fo a price?” Erin murmured inwardly.
‘Stay focused. I can’t forget it.’
Erin smiled awkwardly.
“I’m sorry it’s too late. I’ve been trying to figure out what to give you and what you’ll be happy about… and I still haven’t decided yet.”
“Don’t think too hard. What I want from you is what you already have.” Aurest smiled, turning the hair behind her ear. “So I look forward to it.”
* * *
Returning to the palace, the Princess was surprised to see the wet knight (Celtic), the lady-in-waiting (Jedis) and the aide (Gail). The Princess gave them dry clothes and a room for the fainting aide to rest.
The knight and the lady-in-waiting were also invited to rest today, but the knight and the maid politely declined the imperial’s recommendation. Jedis pondered as she prepared the bath water for the princess. Jedi’s motto was, ‘If one hits you, return it to five.’ It seemed like she was going to be full and if she stepped on it Celtic couldn’t even think about going to Gereint. So, Jedis, who was pouring soap in the water, came up with a strange story with a strange voice.
“So, after today’s Cabinet meeting, I saw Marquis Durak and Marquis Bloomlodrin trading over Rowenthal’s property.” She also did not forget to pretend it was a mistake, though it was quite intentional. “Oh, by the way, I promised Sir Celtic I’d keep this a secret, but I told him…”
Erin, who was eating the fast dried fruit, almost dropped the dried fruit into the bathtub.
“The Marquis of Bloomlodrin. He’s got a lot to lose, so it’s natural to protest. But what the hell happened to Marquis Durak?” Erin lowered her voice a little, bending her upper body towards Jedis.
“More than that, it’s a deal between Durak and Bloomlord. Where did you hear it?”
“Because it happened. The water temperature is just right. Come in!” Instead of taking off her robe and going into the bathtub, Erin handed a dried fig to Jedis.
“Eat this and tell me more.”
“I don’t like figs. I would like a peach.” Jedis nibbled at the dried peaches.
This was the conclusion of Jedis, who had even said that Celtic had threatened Gereint Bell.
“Sir Celtic, don’t you think you’re too mean? You’re like a little bit of a….”
“That’s true. I didn’t see it like that, but I’m really disappointed.” The Princess seemed to agree. Jedis pushed harder…
“The knight of the Crown Prince is trying to deceive the Crown Prince and the Princess. How can such a man be the escort of Her Imperial Highness? He deserves to be cut right away! Cut it off!”
“That’s not what I want. Sir Celtic Durak is my brother’s knight from my brother. I can’t fire him at will.”
“Your Imperial Highness the Princess is incompetent.”
“I told you to make a little cheeky sound… It’s not Sir Celtic, you could be kicked out.”
“Oh, hohoho. The bath water is going to cool down.” Erin went into the bath tub after passing Jedis once. The temperature of the lukewarm water was moderately pleasing.
Jedis asked, rubbing her body with soap.
“Your Imperial Highness wasn’t happy with Sir Celtic’s side?” The princess was stunned. To some extent she was. Celtic Durak was clearly Aurest’s man. It wouldn’t be a good idea to have a potential enemy next to you. Erin said, concealing her innermost thoughts.
“Of course, it’s natural that you don’t want to have a double-faced person with you.”
“Then, why don’t you tell His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince about this?” Jedis said, twinkling hazel eyes. “Then, he will hate the Marquis of Bloomlodrin, who brutally verbally abused Her Imperial Highness, and the Marquis of Durak, who coveted the property to return to Her Imperial Highness, and Celtic Durak, who dared to hide the facts of their transactions, wouldn’t you? ”
Jedis spoke passionately and pumped his fist.
“Maybe we could send Sir Celat to the Western Front so that he couldn’t even have permanent feet on the Imperial Palace, just like he (Aurest) did with Tristan in the old days.”
“That’s a keen point. Do you know what happened at that time?”
“I heard it from Gerry.”
Aurest hated Tristan so much that he put him on the western front. Tristan complied without any complaints, but Rowenthal was fiercely opposed, and Aurest disregarded them neatly.
The Imperial family and the Rowenthal family had been on bad terms for generations, so turning Rowenthal into a new enemy did not leave Aurest any harm. The important thing about this story is that Aurest once sent a subordinate he dislikes to the battlefield. And the way he solve people problems is quite consistent.
In that sense, the collusion between Bloomrodrin and Durak was also the magic key to Aurest’s dilemma: ‘Sending a Western Front: Which one of my men to the Western Front, instead of me, is the least political burden?’ It was because Aurest made Celtic Durak and Marquis Durak angry.
‘Celtic Durak! How dare you hide that fact from me! I don’t want to see you!’
And he can make you do things that would normally be burdensome.
‘So, instead of me, go down to the Western Front!’
Celtic Durak and Marquis Durak, who have done wrong, cannot resist the Crown Prince’s decision.
‘I’ll follow orders like a knight in the dark knight.’
Aurest solves a problem, and Jedis is happy to have no face-to-face meeting with Celtic. And Erin is good to be able to remove obstacles that prevent the safe from being heavy and drop a guard. But there was a big flaw in the idea.
It did not take into account that the Marquis Durak was the maternal family of the Crown Prince.
“The Marquis Durak is brother’s uncle and Lord Celtic is his cousin. People don’t want to cover up their flesh and blood. I’m sure the arrow will only go back to the Marquis Bloomlodrin.”
“But you can be justly angry with the Marquis Durak and Lord Celtic,” Jedis puffed her lips. “If Your Imperial Highness the Princess is angry, wouldn’t His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince be forced to join you? Let’s get angry and get Lord Celtic off the West Front.”
The princess muttered, bursting at the foam that had risen on the surface of the water.
“I wonder if my brother will take side with his father-like uncle or his beloved sister.”
Erin wasn’t sure. Orrest’s priorities were ambiguous.
“He’s going to be on the side of Her Imperial Highness the Princess! If not, you have to make him somehow to side with Your Imperial Highness!”
Jedis clasped both of her hands. In the wind, the soap in Jedis’ hand slipped out of her grasp, rose into the air, and fell into the bathtub. A small spray splashed water on Erin’s face.
“…”
“Oh, my. I’m sorry.”
Erin grinds her teeth by rubbing her eyes that were tingling with bubbles.
“Jedis… You know you’ll be the next one to be kicked out of my palace after Celtic Durak…”
“Hehe.”
×××
[1] first of the ten swords: If Tristan is included, Celtic will be second, hence, that’s why.
[2] Gerry: Gereint Bell’s nickname
[3] oppa: informal honorific title used for older brothers by younger girls.
[4] Do I look free?: It’s been mentioned last chapters but this time it means “Do I look like I have a lot of time?”