Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Even a Treacherous Subject Has His Uses
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"Hmm... The answer is still to quickly send her off to a suitable place... or arrange an engagement, isn't it? Chamberlain, what about her... condition? Surely... no untoward incident has occurred?"
"Fortunately, she is still a virgin, Your Majesty."
"Whew~ Then there should be no suspicions. Well, the reports indicated no abnormalities, and she hasn't disappeared anywhere else... But ultimately, the rumors are ruining that child's reputation. What a mess. Hoo~"
The Emperor sighed deeply, as if genuinely regretful that the potential profit he could have gained had vanished.
But the deed was already done, and his daughter's reputation was plummeting with strange rumors by the minute. The rumors might fade with time, but the problem was whether that other protagonist of the scandalous rumor, that fellow Beonald, would stay quiet until the rumors died down.
'...According to reports, his skill is exceptional enough to spar dozens of rounds with a promising upper-class knight-level talent like Lloyd Kmel. With that level, he must already possess the martial prowess of at least a mid-class knight, no? Good grief! I heard he's a natural-born knight! At his age, and not even from a prestigious family! It's simply astonishing.'
If it were the Kmel family or the Valderian family, the story would at least be plausible. But for someone from the Callermain family, which doesn't specialize in producing knights, to reach the rank of a mid-class knight in his late teens was almost impossible.
It was an achievement typically reserved for knights who had undergone long training and experienced war. Even with talent, it was a fearsome feat.
'He's truly a hero in the making. And with that tragic lineage, he'll be talked about even more. Hmm... Then the stories that circulated about him and that child will continue to be exaggerated. If that happens...'
She was still a charming asset, but one that was becoming a check that couldn't maintain its value.
Another method was to eliminate Beonald, but that cunning fellow had holed up inside the mansion of a high noble from the noble faction, the Valderian Earldom, making it extremely tricky to lay a hand on him.
'Of all places to hide, it had to be with the Valderian family!'
One of the empire's military families, on par with the Kmel family. In terms of tradition and history, the Valderian family was an even longer-established prestigious family among prestigious families, a military house with deep roots dating back to the Unified Empire era before the Kaleum Empire. Sending assassins or anyone there would be an immense burden and tantamount to a major provocation.
'Hah! This is maddening. Really! It's driving me mad.'
Tap, tap, tap, tap...
Tapping the desk with his fingers, the Emperor revealed his complex state of mind, but no brilliant solution emerged from it.
No, one answer already existed.
But it was such a pity and disappointment that he was checking if there was any other path. '...In the end, now is the time to sell. Hmm!'
If looking to the future, all he saw was depreciating value, meaning now was the most expensive time to sell.
The judgment the Emperor could ultimately make was only to marry off Princess Zelcy.
He lamented the lost profit for his empire and wanted to sell off his daughter while she could still be sold.
'Well, there's no helping it then.'
Having decided, he immediately began searching for a marriage prospect.
Many families had invested this and that for marriage proposals until now, so a list was quickly made. He began looking around to find the place that would yield the most gain when selling now.
'Hmm, first, there's the Kmel family in our faction. But they are already too powerful as a single force. Giving them Zelcy could potentially centralize power even further. A place where the imperial bloodline being granted isn't beneficial. Pass. The Valderian family isn't even worth discussing from the start. They have a long history, but they're like wild dogs with only military might left. And next is...'
The Emperor considered various factors. Marrying off one princess, but it could change the power or political landscape, so he was being very, very cautious.
He was already in his old age. He could die anytime, so he had to balance the power structure as favorably as possible for the next generation to inherit.
Especially now, as it was an age of turmoil. It might seem peaceful, but on the borders where nations faced each other, the heat of war was rising even at this moment.
"Hmm... Yes, Baron Vanilo would be good. Very fitting. He holds a large territory in the south, far from the capital, but tax revenue is ample. And above all, he's 42, still unmarried and without an heir, which is most pleasing. Heh heh heh."
Baron Vanilo. A baronial family with a fairly large territory in the south, recently wanting to step into central politics. As they held a granary region, they had the greatest influence on the empire's food supply.
The reason such an important land's baron remained unmarried at 42 was due to his extremely ugly appearance, a constitutionally persistent foul body odor, and bizarre sexual proclivities.
Because of this, marriage talks with other noble families failed one after another. Usually, he would threaten a family with weaker power into marriage, but when he came to the capital for meetings, he had dared to fall for Princess Zelcy and had almost lavished his fortune to win the imperial family's favor.
'No matter how insane he is, he won't dare do anything to the imperial daughter. No, if he does, that itself becomes a good pretext. I can join hands with other nobles to bring down the Vanilo barony and divide the territory.'
Whether his married-off daughter would be happy was of no concern to him.
As a member of the imperial family, it was only natural for his daughter to be 'used' for the sake of the imperial family.
Whether the age gap with the target was over 20 years, whether he was ugly, smelly, or had bizarre proclivities—none of that mattered at all.
As long as it was for the peace and future of the imperial family and the empire, that was sufficient.
'I must receive a hefty dowry.'
Nod.
The Emperor nodded and immediately began writing a letter of acceptance for the marriage proposal to the Vanilo barony.
Now, with this, the matter of his daughter was over. All that remained was to anticipate the profit to be reaped after selling her.
Afterwards, he immediately instructed preparations and moved on to the next agenda.
Two weeks later, at the Valderian family mansion.
Beonald had been quietly staying as a guest at the Valderian family, passing time by deciphering old texts or serving as Kedron's sparring partner in swordsmanship.
Meanwhile, through Sain and Heidi, who attended the academy on his behalf, he listened to rumors and public opinion to grasp the situation.
"So, the internal talk hasn't settled down yet. And Her Highness the Princess hasn't been attending either?"
"Yes, Lord Beonald."
"As expected."
"As... expected?"
"Whether it's high nobles or the imperial family, it's a basic formula not to leave a woman involved in a scandalous rumor alone. In fact, I even pretended to lose on purpose to avoid that. Hmm~ Then the next course of action is obvious. Whether engagement or marriage... they'll sell her off quickly."
At the word "sell off," not only Sain and Heidi but also Selina's expressions rapidly soured.
All three were women, so they couldn't help but feel offended by Beonald's words.
Of course, given the times, it was normal for women's rights and agency not to be respected, but no one would be happy to be treated like an object so blatantly.
"Ah, I mean, that's not my opinion, but what I said following the Emperor's thought pattern. I absolutely don't think that way."
"Of course, we know Lord Beonald isn't like that."
"That's right. That's right."
"In other aspects, he's just a typical noble, but strangely, only this part is peculiar."
"It just doesn't suit my constitution, so don't mind it."
It was a tendency born from his father in his previous life, something Beonald could never speak of.
Anyway, what the Emperor would do was obvious, and this greatly displeased Beonald.
Of course, most noble families used their daughters as tools for the family, but at least they tried to find good marriages or matches with men the daughters themselves liked.
Also, if the daughter was unwilling or if it was a severely problematic family, they would exclude them.
'But that Emperor... just looking at him, he doesn't seem to care about such things.'
Considering how he controlled his daughter, he seemed like the same breed as his own father, Felix, so he could be sure without thinking deeply.
Then, ultimately, the conclusion was that the Emperor would try to marry off Princess Zelcy to a place where the empire and imperial family could gain the most 'practical benefit.'
'Hmm, the outline is roughly coming together, but the problem is what to do now...'
He had uncovered the Emperor's objective, but what means to use were still undecided. Beonald racked his brain.
First, he decided to clearly establish what he himself wanted to do. '...It depends on where she's married off, but if she's forcibly sent to a place she doesn't want or one as depraved as Felix, I can't just stand by. Ah, of course, I should hear her opinion first...'
If she said she could endure it or if it was a place worthy of sending her off, then simply blessing her would suffice. But considering that Emperor's nature, it was more comfortable to think the opposite was likely.
'But human hearts are also different when entering and leaving the restroom.'
People who resolve to 'endure it~' when not directly experiencing injustice often change their minds when they directly feel the pain and suffering.
Even he, who toured hell for 500 years after death, had regretted so much.
'Anyway, suddenly thinking of Felix reminds me of that damned human's outrageous deeds.'
His own father, Felix, handled his children as if devoid of human heart, so Beonald was quite familiar with such humans.
'...Forget it. Don't go to rescue her. We can't sacrifice trained knights to save a brat who can't even manage that much.'
'Why did you sell your 14-year-old daughter to a slave merchant? Why ask the obvious? She was lazy, stupid, dull, useless, and had no potential, so I sold her off. Even if rotten, our family brand must have value, as they paid a high price. Hahahahaha!'
'Forget it... I'm already... wrong. Don't waste... the family's finances... and let me go, Beonald. Now you are... the next... huff... huff... family head.]
Thinking of his damned father from his previous life only brought up unpleasant memories, but to penetrate the Emperor's thoughts, he had no choice but to recall that man's memories.
And he succeeded in roughly grasping his thoughts. Ultimately, he concluded the Emperor would think of selling off his daughter, whose value was beginning to drop because of him.
'...I don't know the exact timing, but assuming he concluded the day after I parted with the Princess, he would select a family, secretly propose marriage talks, then urgently announce it, quickly hold the wedding, form an escort unit with imperial knights and that family's people, leave the imperial palace, and arrive at the family. Hmm~'
"Lord Beonald, what are you planning to do?"
"Hmm? Ah! I haven't explained to you all. The story is a bit complex, but... In short, I'm planning to commit treason against the Emperor."
"What?"
"Eek!"
"...Lord Beonald?"
All three people made strange sounds, startled by Beonald's declaration of 'treason.'
Heidi, from a knight family, turned pale, and Sain began trembling with fear.
Selina's expression showed not only the terror the word 'treason' itself evoked but also worry about what on earth Beonald was going to do next.
"Actually, it's not that grandiose. If you put it that way, the noble faction is in a state of perpetual treason from the start. Now, now, I just called it that because there's no appropriate word to explain."
"...You scared me. I thought you were suddenly going to do something..."
"Me too..."
"No, no! You're going to do something, aren't you! Even if it's not 'treason,' it's an action akin to treason, right? You two, get a grip!"
Selina's retort followed towards Heidi and Sain, who were relieved.
True to her words, Beonald, who was thinking of causing another major incident, finished his brief explanation and began talking about what needed to be prepared specifically and the objective.
"The objective is simple. To steal the Princess. Of course, if the place she's being married to is within a normal scope, this whole affair will be canceled. Ah~ And asking for her opinion comes first."
"No, that's... it is treason! And why on earth are you suddenly trying to do that? Aren't you satisfied with just these two?"
To Selina's righteous protest, Beonald looked at her with calm eyes and rebutted with a single phrase.
"Because I want to. That's all."