“Hello, excuse me.”
I naturally entered the office.
The old man sitting at the large desk in the back was undoubtedly Marquis Prynan. It reminded me of the party at the palace where I had been invited before and exchanged a few words with him. He was plump, and his eyes were wide with surprise.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I have something to discuss with you…”
Not only was the room’s occupant frozen in shock. The four people, who appeared to be aides or secretaries, also stared at me, frozen in place. The first to recover was a young woman, who spoke with a trembling voice.
“This is the Finance Minister’s office! You shouldn’t do—”
“Adele.”
When the marquis called the woman’s name in a gentle voice, she swallowed her words and collapsed onto the floor. After checking that she was okay, he continued speaking gently.
“Even Lord Dolknes has come to visit. It must be important business. Everyone, please step outside for a moment. You two outside, come in as well.”
Both Patrick and Eleanora gave me a look that seemed to say, “You really did barge in,” and stepped back.
The two of them entered the room, passing by the marquis’s subordinates.
“Come, sit here. …Ah, I’ll have someone bring some drinks.”
He rang one of the bells lined up on the edge of the desk.
It made a pleasant sound… no, that’s strange. This old man is too calm. He should have reacted like the young lady earlier, when I suddenly barged in. Why is he responding so normally?
Why didn’t he get surprised and flustered, allowing me to turn the situation to my advantage? But I had already lost the upper hand.
Patrick was even stunned by the marquis’s welcoming smile.
Immediately after the bell rang, tea was prepared at an abnormal speed and placed before us.
The three of us sat side by side, with Marquis Prynan sitting in front of us.
“Ah, I apologize for the sudden visit.”
“There’s no need to be so formal.Count Dolknes… Hmm, I’m getting too formal myself. …Yumiela, is it okay if I call you by your first name?”
“Yes, please call me whatever you like.”
“Oh, thank you, Yumiela.”
I haven’t met anyone who closes the distance so quickly since Eleonora, so I’m surprised. However, he has a different vibe from her. While he seems like a kind old man, there is something about him that makes me feel uneasy.
Patrick was also confused by his overly friendly manner.
“Patrick-kun, it was nice to meet you. We don’t have many opportunities to meet, but I have great respect for Count Ashbaton. Please pass my regards to him when you have the chance.”
“Thank you very much. I will be sure to tell my father.”
And finally, he turned to Eleanora.
Since arriving here, the veil has already been removed. The gazes of the two people who undoubtedly knew each other crossed.
“Well… it’s been a long time.”
“Ah, nice to meet you, I’m Eleanora.”
“Nice to meet you, Eleanora. I’m sorry to hear about your father, but I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
I’ve brought Eleonora with me, so I expected some kind of complaint, but the marquis accepted her without batting an eyelid.
The reaction was so different from what I had expected that I was baffled. I never thought he would respond so calmly when I barged in like this. Is he just broad-minded, or does he never show his true feelings?
“I would like to hear about the situation in the Dolknes territory, but it seems you are in a hurry. I have no idea what this is about, but please tell me what you need. Take your time.”
He urges me to get to the point.
The atmosphere gets the better of me, and I end up telling him straight out about the Archiam family.
“Before coming here, we were at Count Archiam’s house.”
“Ho! The Archiam family… I understand your goal, but it’s strange. Yumiela isn’t the type to get involved in the royal capital’s affairs.”
Although the marquis was surprised at first, he remained calm and spoke gently.
His assessment of me was accurate. This time, I was acting out of character. That’s why I brought Eleanora with me, hoping he would understand my reasons… but it seems he figured it out right away.
“I see, that’s why Eleanora is coming too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize. If it had just been Yumiela and Patrick-kun, I might have been confused about your intentions. It was a good decision.”
He nodded repeatedly as he spoke.
In an atmosphere where it seemed likely that he would withdraw his plan to crush the count, I decided to ask him directly.
“Thank you. Regarding the Archiam family, I understand that you intend to revoke their title of Defense Lord. Would you kindly reconsider?”
“I see. I won’t say anything negative. I will pretend I never heard you, but you must withdraw from this matter.”
Without changing his gentle expression, the marquis said.
Without even a hint of negotiation, he gave me a blunt warning. There was no way to respond.
There would be no benefit for him if the Defense Lord were removed and the count’s family were forced to leave the capital. Why was he so adamant about crushing the count? The man himself revealed the reason.
“I have no grudge against the Archiam family. But it is already common knowledge that they will be stripped of their positions. If we reverse that decision, it will backfire on Yumiera.”
“After this, I will retreat to my domain, so won’t you make an exception just this once…?”
The marquis scratched his chin in confusion and turned his gaze to Eleanora.
“Is something wrong?”
“Yumiela adds ‘sama’ to Eleanora’s name, doesn’t she? She’s not a noble, so why is that?”
“She just seems noble somehow. There’s no specific reason.”
“Didn’t they stop you when you entered the castle?”
“They checked my face, but the guards didn’t say anything.”
“Being a guard is a tough job… By the way, where was that noble-looking girl born?”
“I found her under a bridge on a rainy day, so I don’t know where she was born.”
There was no point in having this conversation now.
Both he and I knew that Eleanora was the only daughter of the Hillrose family… Even the knights on guard knew that.
No one would believe her if she said she had been found under a bridge.
“Eh… I don’t remember which bridge I was picked up at. I’ll have to ask later…”
Eleanora’s muttered words, which she thought no one had heard, were ignored.
The marquis nodded vigorously.
“If Yumiela says so, then that must be the case. I have no intention of contradicting, and I’m sure His Majesty the King will agree.”
Here, the marquis finally changed his expression. His gentleness disappeared, and he continued with a serious look on his face.
“No one will object, but everyone knows it’s a lie.”
“That’s true, but…”
“No, I’m not blaming you. Yumiela has the power to make lies into truth and force her way through. But… she mustn’t overuse that power. Elanora’s case was forgiven, and Yumiela’s opinion will likely prevail in this case as well. However, she cannot force her way through indefinitely. Do you understand?”
“I understand that I’m being selfish.”
Assuming that the matter with Eleanora has been resolved and the matter with the Defense Lord will also be resolved,
Yumiela’s power may allow her to get her way no matter what, but it is not unlimited. It is only possible because it is relatively minor and doesn’t harm others, so even if she said, “Make me king starting tomorrow,” it would never be accepted.
The world can’t be conquered by force alone. Even if you pretend to be obedient, you will be resented in secret, and it’s easy to imagine that forces willing to resist to the death, even if it means destruction, will emerge.
In the parallel world, Yumiela #2 has achieved continental unification, but I, who am stronger than her, can’t do the same. I don’t want to admit it, but Yumiela #2 has strengths other than power, even though I’m stronger than her.
“We moderate nobles have a favorable opinion of Yumiela. That’s because Yumiela isn’t interested in the power struggle at the center. If she wanted to take our treasures, it would change the friendly attitude.”
“The Defense Lord isn’t considered important, is he? Does he have that much influence?”
“The most important thing is to stay out of politics that don’t concern Yumiela herself. That hasn’t been the case until now.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
My mind wanders back to the past. I have turned down every marriage proposal, inherited the title of count, and taken in Eleanora as a freeloader… I have done things that would cause any nobleman headaches, but they are all things that concern me.
That’s right… Just as the marquis said, I’m not being myself this time. Maybe it was a mistake to accept the count’s request when I would typically have refused?
The friendly relationship between me and the moderate nobles, which was based on strict non-interference, may now be ruined. Every time I visit the capital from now on, it will be troublesome to have them prying into my plans, wondering if I’m going to interfere with theirs.
“I too feel sorry for the Archiam family. However, although it hasn’t been made public, the matter has already been brought up and discussions have progressed to the point where they are considering removing him from his position. If it had been a little earlier, there might have been something that could have been done, but now it’s difficult. I understand why Yumiela is acting out of character, but…”
Saying this, the marquis looked at Eleanora.
Seeing her sad expression, his face also became pained.
“If you have high expectations, I’ll be in trouble, but I’ll do what I can. The situation may change tomorrow. After all, I’m also troubled by my granddaughter’s selfishness.”
“I’m sorry for barging in and asking you to do something unreasonable.”
“No, if you ever have any trouble, feel free to come visit me.”
The meeting ended in a calm mood.
The result wasn’t great, but I was expecting something more turbulent, so I’m glad it turned out this way.
The reason for our defeat was that we couldn’t imagine any disadvantages to stopping the plot to destroy the count, even if there were no advantages. Both the marquis and I have too many complicated ties.
After that, we had a casual conversation with Patrick and Eleanora and left the finance minister’s office.
On the return carriage, the old man’s gentle words had drained us of our energy, and we were enveloped in a mood that was neither happy nor sad.
“It was doomed from the start, but it still ended badly, didn’t it?”
“He outmaneuvered us so skillfully…”
“He was too friendly, which made it hard to be assertive.”
“That wasn’t his true character, it was all a calculated strategy.”
What should we do now?
Report to the count that the negotiations failed… and that’s the end of it? Since the beginning, I never had any intention of taking it seriously. I wasn’t enthusiastic about it in the first place, but what Eleanora thinks is important.
“Eleanora… What should we do? I tried negotiating, but…”
“There’s nothing else we can do, is there? I guess we have no choice…”
I can’t accept it, but I have no choice but to take it.
It’s unlikely that the Archiam family will ever be satisfied, but I’ve accepted it and given up. All that’s left is for Eleanora to agree, and then everything will be settled.
“It’s difficult to do anything more than this.”
“Yes, you’re right… Thank you for listening to my selfish requests.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can see how difficult this must be for Count Archiam.”
The Count’s family is pitiful, but it would be difficult to expect them to do any more.
It may be time to call it quits. If we do this much, Count Archiam and Eleanora will give up. I don’t want to get into a public dispute with the kingdom’s dignitaries.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but the matter of the Defense Lord is now settled.
When I returned to Count Archiam and explained that I had gone to the palace, he apologized profusely. He said that he had given up because he thought it would be impossible for me to go there directly.
Then I returned home. The count’s messenger came in the morning, learning that I couldn’t make the equipment, and went to the count’s mansion and then to the palace… It was a busy day. I’m glad I was able to finish everything today.
However, Eleanora still seemed unable to come to terms with it.