Opportunity
Opportunity
This country might possess a bizarre structure where the higher one's position, the bolder and more decisive one becomes.
Honestly, I had never imagined they would choose to reveal their face like that after moving in secret, so I had no choice but to wave my hand and accept the other party's demand.
"I understand, so first, please lower that curtain. Showing your face will not benefit either of us."
"Th-this is because you blatantly ignored me..."
"I have just gotten out of the temporary detention center. The royal family hasn't even sent an official notice about this incident yet, so shouldn't a secret meeting naturally be avoided?"
Even if Duke Lesrom and the king had truly set a policy of non-interference toward me, there was still a flood of possibilities for nobles to raise their voices. In the midst of that, if it were revealed that I secretly met with royalty, crazy bastards could appear and start writing scenarios that it was all a staged act prepared by the royal family, or some such nonsense.
There was no law saying that a second or third Envelde couldn't appear using that as a pretext.
It was true that I was a crazy bastard who went around making a fucking scene telling people not to mess with me, but I wasn't the kind of crazy bastard who went around forcibly creating justifications for people to fuck with me and then telling them still not to mess with me.
"Hm, hm. I came out like this because I wanted to express personal gratitude for that part. Then inside..."
"No. I will talk here. Butler, just pretend to escort the carriage with me for a moment."
"H-here?"
"Yes. Here."
As I leaned against the carriage and spoke firmly, a short silence began to hang. But I had absolutely no intention of dragging this conversation out, so I didn't relax my posture and just waited for the other party to answer.
Fortunately, the reply that came back was positive.
"Very well. The purpose of this meeting is to show gratitude and sincerity, not to make you uncomfortable."
"I'm already sufficiently uncomfortable."
"...You really are bold. Honestly, I never imagined you would respond with such consistently curt reactions. I think I understand why my father did not want to arrange a public occasion."
I thought that was merely him not acting hastily because what had been given and received between us was still uncertain, but since there was no need to drag out the conversation by stating my personal opinion, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"This time, I owe you a great debt. Apart from the official reward from the royal family, I came here because I wanted to give a personal token of gratitude. Tell me if you need anything. I will prepare it within the scope of my abilities."
Well... unlike suggestions like 'be my ally' or 'don't strut around,' at least what came out was an extremely common-sense statement, but—
"If I tell you, can I just leave afterwards?"
I asked because something came to mind immediately, and a somewhat deflated response came back, as if their spirit had been dampened.
"D-do you dislike talking with me that much?"
"To be precise, it's merely that I don't want to get tangled up in politics anymore, not that I have any personal grudge. Anyway, there is one thing that comes to mind immediately. It's not a difficult or unreasonable request, so you won't be burdened. May I say it and leave?"
"...Go ahead."
"Please make sure there are no more meetings like this in the future. Then, take care on your way back."
Since we couldn't see each other's faces anyway, I just pulled myself away from the carriage as soon as I finished answering, and whether they accepted my request or were just dumbfounded, I was able to continue walking without any restraint this time.
I had to agonize over whether to even accept what the royal family gives, and I'm crazy enough to personally accept from you?
You didn't look that old, but maybe you read too many of those knight novels popular among young noble ladies.
◈
Mesina Bans Da Itisel could only stare with a dazed expression as the boy's footsteps faded away.
There were two reasons for her reaction.
One was cognitive dissonance arising from never having been treated so absurdly in her entire life, and the other was because her capable butler, who normally checked her emotional fluctuations and acted immediately, was with her.
Naturally, with the curtain drawn, it was nearly impossible for her capable butler to properly notice his mistress's change, and by the time Mesina came to her senses, not only the boy's footsteps but even any sign of his presence could no longer be felt.
"...What did I do wrong...?"
If she had made a mistake in thought, action, judgment, or answer—if there had been something she could call a blunder—she would have at least understood.
"Otherwise, how could this be...?"
Therefore, the current Mesina could confidently say: it was unjust and unfair. She was so aggrieved that her emotions welled up without her realizing, to the point of nearly shedding tears.
"...If I may be so bold as to add, I believe the problem was that the other party was not normal."
The butler Heiri, hearing her mistress’s muttering, refrained from stating it outright only because of her position; inwardly, she had already filled in the evaluation column for the character named Eldmia and closed the book.
"He does not fear authority, but he does not worship violence either. If he did, a completely different reaction would have emerged when you showed yourself. He does not take the law lightly, but precisely because of that, as long as it is legal, he mobilizes every means at his disposal. Count Bosha proved that with his own body."
Eldmia was what people commonly called a crazy bastard. Not just any crazy bastard, but the kind of crazy bastard who knows how to use his abilities and common sense to suit his own convenience, making him even more dangerous.
"Rather than agonizing over whether your response was wrong, I consider it a reasonable judgment that the other party was an unprecedented madman."
"A madman? He was a bit rude, but... still, he was perfectly sane, wasn't he?"
It wasn't something she found easy to say, but Mesina had no choice but to admit it. That applied not only to the conversation just now, but also to the series of incidents he had committed.
Because the gears had meshed so exquisitely to his advantage that it was hard to call it the actions of madness. It was hard to shake the feeling that 'you didn't necessarily have to go this far...', but it was clear that he had done it after thoroughly considering the circumstances.
Although this time he showed behavior that transcended the difference in status between royalty and commoner... it was she who had tried to approach him while hiding her status, not Eldmia, so it wasn't an entirely incomprehensible situation.
It was just that a strong doubt remained in a corner of her heart: 'But I'm royalty, you know...?'
"When someone of his station behaves like that after witnessing someone like the young lady, society usually classifies them as a madman."
It was naturally possible for an ordinary commoner to secretly insult nobles and royalty in a private setting, even though it was a crime of blasphemy.
They could badmouth them all they wanted, saying things like 'If I became king, I could do better,' or 'What's so special about nobles?'
But even those people, unless they were soon to die, would wave their hands in refusal if told to criticize them to their face. Because it was common sense that such an action would directly lead to death.
"Maybe it was because he had something to rely on. Seeing how the visiting Imperial Princess Esmue had him in mind, it seemed he could sufficiently take pride in his abilities. He might even be thinking of defecting to the Empire later."
He was a fifteen-year-old boy who defeated the Hero, what they called a spar, saved the Imperial Princess from danger, and even beat a seasoned knight who had earned a count's title with a sword. Although his appearance was mature enough to raise doubts about whether he had lied about his age, even excluding that and just looking at what he had accomplished in a short time, he was a talent worthy of being called a hero.
The honest impression was that if someone had achieved so much at that age, a little arrogance was within expectation, and so Mesina could not easily sympathize with Heiri's assessment of him as a madman.
"If that were the case, it would be fine, but such people usually don't refuse a token of gratitude."
"....Ah."
She had momentarily forgotten. She hadn't made a different proposal; she had been flatly rejected while trying to express goodwill.
"Above all, if he wanted to attempt defection, he wouldn't even need to wait until later. That boldness of his seems to have little to do with such matters."
"...That's true."
That he had a personal connection with the Imperial Princess Esmue had been proven through this visit. Actually, he might have been able to defect as soon as he got tangled up in the dispute with Count Bosha.
But the man named Eldmia did not do that, and Mesina had taken hope from that.
"Still, since he chose to personally squeeze out the kingdom's pus while leaving such power and opportunities behind, I think he has some kind of patriotism for the kingdom, regardless of his cold attitude. Next time, I should arrange an official occasion."
A fleeting hope born from a wildly off-base hypothesis.