Chapter 15
Velder laughed at himself for his own excessive ambition.
Although the emperor's dignity was immense, he could not recklessly suppress the nobility.
Moreover, if it was the grand duke and the duke families, it would rather be himself who needed to be cautious.
'The House of Duke Illenat practically controls the capital.'
From the emperor's standpoint, even if he only won over Duke Illenat, he could sway a large number of nobles.
In addition, the duke was always meticulous when it came to etiquette towards the emperor, and even when suffering substantial losses, the family would let it go quietly.
In fact, they clearly differentiated between what to hold and what to leave behind, leaving no room for problems to arise.
'The Grand Duke of the North is intimidating by title alone... and the military power is quite considerable, too.'
Because the Grand Duke of the North had to be stationed on the frontlines, he could legally operate a military force.
Unlike the nobles who only had private soldiers, the grand duke directly commanded the regular army.
Moreover, the house created income through specialty goods, while still receiving a steady stream of supplies from the capital.
'Since such families have formed a political marriage, things could get a bit dangerous.'
Velder was already considering the worst possible scenario.
If the authority of the nobles became concentrated in one direction, the signs of rebellion would start to appear.
Of course, the emperor's authority and military remained strong, but if turmoil erupted, in the end, only the Agnes Empire would suffer damage.
'However... the duke's private soldiers can't match the army, and the northern army is far away from the capital.'
The emperor was probably thinking along similar lines as he was.
Even if the supreme commander of the northern forces and a powerful family joined forces, they could not defeat the emperor's direct troops.
On top of that, the emperor ruled justly and had the populace's support, so with ordinary justifications, he would not be able to sway the people.
'If I consider such things and keep them near me, that would serve as preparation.'
If the child of a head of house was kept at the imperial court, they would not dare try treason so easily.
Even heads of family, before being nobles, were human, and would not ignore the lives of their children.
Of course, from Velder's standpoint, even that was only a supplementary condition.
'It probably won't work, but perhaps I should at least confirm their intentions.'
Velder took a sip of his wine and looked at Brillie.
Normally, she would be wearing a sword at her waist, but because of the social gathering, she probably could not bring it along.
He had heard that she had participated alone in a monster subjugation battle, so he thought at least her courage and resolve were impressive.
"Brillie. What about you? Don't you want to join the Royal Knight Order?"
"I am honored, but I am already serving as the vice-captain of the Setinos Knight Order. I believe there are many areas in which I fall short to join the Royal Knights."
Brillie answered with strict formality while wearing a resolute expression.
Although being a member of the Royal Knights was an honorable position, it was far from what she pursued.
To reach a level comparable to Sword Saint, she would need even more real battle experience.
"I thought you'd answer that way. Can you even come, when you're worried about your fiancé?"
"......"
Though Brillie remained silent, she inwardly agreed.
She could not enter the imperial palace and leave her frail fiancé behind.
As she was now, she had to remain at the duke's mansion and care for him from time to time.
"I wish you both a happy married life. You may withdraw."
The two of them immediately paid their respects and left as soon as they heard those words.
Velder watched their backs for a moment, then raised his glass.
"Chamberlain, what do you think of Alter Radiant?"
"... I cannot say whether he is qualified as an attendant, but at least in terms of appearance, I think there is nothing lacking."
"There's no need to teach him attendant work. Just having him by my side is enough."
"I shall send a letter to the Grand Duke of the North."
The chamberlain saw through Velder's intentions and proactively gave a definite answer.
Since Alter Radiant had not yet held his coming-of-age ceremony, he could not decide something so significant by himself.
Therefore, he needed to obtain permission from his father, the Grand Duke of the North.
"No. You mustn't do that. The grand duke would not want to see his child suffer. I do not wish to insult him unnecessarily."
"As you command."
"Rather than that, it would be better to arrange a meeting with Duke Illenat."
Velder could not let go of his desire for Brillie.
Since Alter was said to be in poor health, it would not be easy to put him to work as a servant.
But wherever Brillie was, her skills would remain the same, so even making her a member of the Royal Knights would not cause any problems.
"Understood. I will arrange the schedule."
Only then did Velder seem satisfied and drained his glass completely.
Of course, just meeting with Duke Illenat would not guarantee the answer he wanted.
At best, it would only resemble a courtesy visit, and Brillie would come up during the conversation.
'Even if they're married, they won't have a child right away... So for a while, it should be fine to have her by my side.'
* * *
Lang listened to Brillie's explanation and instinctively became suspicious.
It was not enough that the prince had offered Alter a role as royal attendant—now he was even trying to recruit Brillie.
Of course, both refused the offer, but it seemed unlikely that the crown prince would give up so easily.
"You'd best be careful. He might try to take you or your fiancé."
"We already refused. How could that work? Besides, it's the duke and grand duke families."
"It's not impossible. Just off the top of my head... He could approach Duke Illenat first."
"My father? Hmm... That wouldn't be hard."
Brillie carefully answered, standing beside Lang.
Alter was calmly conversing with another noble.
Luckily, since his conversation partner seemed to recognize the Grand Duke of the North, it seemed safe enough to leave him be.
"That's the easiest way. Other than that, you could be drafted by force, or he could create a reason you must join the Royal Knights."
"Being forcibly drafted is a bit difficult. Still, does he really want me badly enough to do all that?"
"If he's ambitious, he might try. The crown prince is someone whose real intentions are impossible to read. Don't let your guard down."
"......"
Brillie did not take Lang's advice lightly.
Before being her superior, Lang was regarded as the next Sword Saint.
In other words, a swordsman whose skill was guaranteed and a noble of strict and upright character.
Words from such a person deserved to be taken seriously.
"I can endure it, but what about my fiancé?"
"He may endure better than you think. Since he's not of age, he can't make decisions for himself."
"... Oh, so they need direct permission from the Grand Duke of the North?"
"Right. Do you think the grand duke would permit it?"
"Hmm... Since he's in poor health, I doubt permission would be granted."
"This is just speculation, but the grand duke has probably been trying one way or another to send his youngest son to the capital."
"Is there a reason it has to be that way?"
"The northern region is not fit for human habitation. Even strong men shiver from the cold, so how do you think your fiancé fares?"
"... It must be really hard for him, right? He did say that it's better here."
"Most likely, he's marrying his son to you so his son can live more comfortably. Your family has quite some prestige, doesn't it?"
"It's not amazing or anything... but compared to other houses... well..."
Brillie trailed off and reluctantly admitted it.
There were not many families capable of rivaling House Illenat.
Thanks to their enormous resources and many retainers, they could provide a perfect living environment even for someone like Alter.
"Maybe it's best if you stick close to your fiancé. That way, they won't be able to request much of you."
"Because my fiancé is in poor health?"
"You're the only one who can look after your partner. If they bother you, your partner will also be inconvenienced, so they can't touch you recklessly."
"Mm... That does make sense."
Brillie nodded and turned her gaze to Alter.
The frail young noble, who looked ready to collapse at any moment, was enduring steadfastly.
No matter where she was or what she was doing, she could never leave her fiancé alone.
"... Since things have come this far, I suppose I can say a bit more. This marriage is not good for you."
"I know. It's not a good marriage."
"If you do not get divorced, you'll spend your whole life supporting him. If you don't become head of the house, it will be difficult to get support. There's no way Duke Illenat doesn't know that."
"......"
Brillie was roughly aware of that fact as well.
So even when Alter had mentioned breaking off the engagement, she could not completely deny it.
But since it offended her, she had just tried to gloss over it up to now.
"Don't get too attached. You'll only hurt yourself."
"That's all I'll hear. It's just... hard."
"... Alright."
Lang wanted to respect Brillie's feelings.
As a swordsman, she could be ruthless when needed, but at heart, she was still pure and gentle.
That was why she gave the advice not to grow too attached to her fiancé.
'If they do break off the engagement, I'll have to stand in that place.'
Lang decided to begin training in earnest from now on.
If she became known not as the next Sword Saint, but as the Sword Saint herself, maybe Duke Illenat would see her differently, even if her rank was lower.
For that reason, she had to reach her goal as soon as possible.
'Even if my title is low, I will raise my honor to the highest. At least then... I might be able to take Brillie as my partner.'
* * *
After barely making it through the exhausting social gathering, Alter finally returned to the mansion.
Interacting with so many nobles caused considerable confusion, and the fatigue seemed to build up even more.
Still, there were results in several areas, so he felt a bit relieved.
'Now there shouldn't be any more strange rumors.'
He had directly shown his face as the subject of rumors and engaged in constant conversation.
As long as he hadn't done anything worthy of criticism, he'd be recognized as an ordinary noble.
Moreover, since Brillie and Lang had been with him, at least his minimum qualifications should be proven.
'I didn't expect the crown prince to show up... but I managed it pretty well.'
The crown prince made an impromptu visit to the event and summoned him immediately.
Brillie had followed along despite his protests, but the crown prince did not mind.
He had smoothly refused the suggestion of becoming an imperial attendant, and the conversation remained safe.
'At least I can tell the crown prince is interested in Brillie.'
Alter was certain from the moment the crown prince mentioned the Royal Knights.
The offer to join the Royal Knights was just a pretext; in reality, he wanted Brillie as a direct bodyguard knight at his side.
Of course, in the original work, the crown prince failed to achieve his objective, but that act itself meant he was paying close attention to Brillie.
'If this goes on, I might be able to break off the engagement sooner than I thought...'
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Although Alter knows the leads, he doesn't know their personalities much,huh?
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