Chapter 229
Chapter 229
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: Imperial Audience and the Church's Praise
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"It's been a while, Your Excellency the Earl. You look pleased, so I take it things have gone well."
"Well, it's all thanks to His Majesty's grace."
After finishing my contract with the witches and stepping out of the Magic Division building, Captain Sophia and her subordinates were waiting for me around the carriage.
"I assume His Majesty is the reason for this visit?"
"Yes, he wishes to check on the progress."
"I see. Shall we head out right away?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
By now, I was so used to this routine that I calmly boarded the carriage with the captain.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hm, we arrived early."
"How could we dawdle when summoned by His Majesty?"
Escorted by the imperial knights, I was swiftly delivered straight to His Majesty the Emperor.
The one difference from usual was that Emily had been dragged along with me this time.
"I-It's truly an honor to meet Your Majesty the Emperor."
Emily had often attended me while meeting high nobles, but the weight of facing the Emperor seemed too much for her. She greeted him in a slightly tense voice.
Even so, thanks to her frequent encounters with other royals, she managed to stay composed—aside from her trembling fingertips—despite all three of us kneeling before him.
My Emily adapts faster than her inept master...
It's embarrassing, but also a point of pride.
"Hm, relax."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
As I glanced at Emily with a twinge of self-loathing, His Majesty told us to rise and shifted into a more casual posture.
"It's been about ten days since I entrusted you with this task. How fares the work with the witches?"
"Fortunately, Your Majesty's grace has reached me, and everything has gone smoothly to completion."
Standing with my gaze fixed at His Majesty's feet, he posed his question.
He'd been staring at Emily without pause since we entered, so it seemed he already knew everything without my answer. Still, I smiled innocently and pointed at Emily with my hand.
"The outfit my exclusive servant Emily is wearing is the new uniform for the witches from now on. I've handed over the patterns and usage rights to the Magic Division witches starting today, so they can use them freely."
"Oh~ I see. Emily, lift your head. You may meet my eyes."
"Yes."
Passing the baton to Emily, His Majesty promptly gave her permission to meet his gaze and stepped down from the throne, approaching lightly on his feet.
As the Emperor strode toward her, Emily flinched slightly in surprise but quickly pinched her clasped hands, hid her expression, and narrowed her eyes demurely.
"Hmm~ A fine mask to match her appearance. If she were noble-born, she could have served in the palace."
"My mother holds her in high regard as well."
"Helen would have seen her true worth at once. It was she who recommended Marchioness Shannon as my head maid."
"That's far too generous a compliment for me."
When His Majesty mentioned the palace and head maids, Emily offered a light smile and demurred.
"Generous? I don't evaluate people so lightly."
"To receive such high praise leaves me at a loss."
His Majesty deliberately picked at Emily's modesty to praise her even more.
It was nice seeing Emily get attention, but since it came from His Majesty, it stirred needless anxiety.
"Y-Your Majesty, anything but Emily."
Gathering my courage, I boldly asserted my ownership of Emily to the Emperor.
I knew it was a bit rude, but His Majesty would surely find it amusing rather than offensive.
"Hah, bold one. Protecting your own is just like Helen."
"She's my mother, after all."
"Last year you were skulking like a mole, and now you're so brazen."
"Haha."
His Majesty shot me a brief glare before gently touching the veil covering Emily's face and chuckling.
"I covet this one greatly, but I won't touch her. I don't want to fight Helen—her charging at me with eyes flashing is terrifying."
"Haha..."
His reason for restraint was all too relatable, so I laughed awkwardly and straightened my collar.
"More importantly, Earl Howard, aren't you being too conservative these days?"
Withdrawing his hand from the veil with a hint of disappointment, His Majesty lightly placed it on Emily's nape.
"This turns witches from harlots into ladies. Isn't it too restrained?"
"Well..."
He'd held back somewhat, but calling it 'ladies' was a stretch.
It was passable at best, and His Majesty's standards worried me a little.
"Since it's for public officials, I toned it down a bit."
"As emperor, it's not bad. Personally, though, I don't like it much."
Patting Emily's shoulder lightly before withdrawing, His Majesty turned to meet my eyes and continued.
"Was there no bolder design? The witches would have loved it."
"I could make one, but I'm truly sorry, Your Majesty—I don't want to go back to prison."
The memories of prison were still horrific even months later.
Just thinking of that hard bread made my jaw ache in illusion.
"This time, I could prepare a comfortable tower for a few weeks' vacation. How about it?"
"If you can perfectly block the church, I'll consider it."
"As long as I can block them, that works?"
"Yes."
"Heh heh~ I see."
His Majesty grinned and narrowed his eyes.
"Good. Don't go changing your tune later."
"Yes."
I nodded calmly at his warning-like words.
I held back because of the inhibitors, but if he handled the blocking, I was more than willing to loosen the reins once.
"But Earl Howard."
"Yes."
"Are there really no bolder designs? You need to respect women's skin more."
"......"
Damn it, there's a nudist in the palace too.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After fending off the empire's noblest nudist's attacks with vague replies for about two hours, I finally escaped the palace.
I'll reveal more in time, but pestering me like this is troublesome.
Still, I'd delivered the designs and given the report. His Majesty's commission was complete.
From then on, I prayed fervently that the witches wouldn't cause trouble, while waiting for the day our employees would receive their knighthoods.
The whole point of this endeavor was to secure lavish knighthoods for my staff.
If they didn't get those important titles, all my efforts would be wasted time.
Whether God, His Majesty the Emperor, and Her Highness the Eldest Princess—who was close to the divine—heard my earnest wish, the witches behaved impeccably after receiving their new outfits.
Not all did, but most wore the designs close to the originals, donned the veiled hats diligently, and crucially, kept silent in public while building a new image.
The appearance of this group of bewitching black-clad beauties stirred up quite the buzz in the imperial capital.
Aside from a tiny minority, people are drawn to mature, alluring women—so it was natural for attention to flock to the witches, who had maxed out those traits.
Group perceptions wouldn't shift overnight; it'd take months more effort. But the slow spread of change around us was a relief.
One surprise, though: people reacted more positively to the witches' outfits than expected.
Especially the veiled hats.
With religion still strong here, veils and scarves were commonplace for everyday use.
But those covered tempting elements like hair, not to create a mysterious, seductive aura.
Yet I'd flipped that intent, and the response was better than anticipated.
A sheer fabric drape adds +3 maturity—who wouldn't like that?
Conveniently summer, needing sun protection, and voilà: the perfect hat-and-veil combo.
It spread like wildfire among the young ladies.
"W-Why is Miss Sera wearing that hat?"
"It's pretty, isn't it? I'm a girl in her prime who wants to look beautiful too."
"Oh..."
Even Panny Lady's and Elizabeth's maids wore them—it caught on that fast.
With colors and variations matching outfits, it felt like a vibrant flower garden. Easy on the eyes.
And here's the funny part?
"Y-Young Master, a letter from the church."
"Suddenly why?"
"Uh... They want to award you as this month's exemplary devotee?"
The church loved this trend too.
"Wha...?"
Is this for real...?