The Empress's Visit (1)
Grind. Crunch.
After receiving the Earth Great Spirit's "hospitality," Vanessa's teeth ground together mercilessly the entire walk back to the mansion. The faces of her attendants following behind turned deathly pale.
This suffocating atmosphere—what are we supposed to do about this!
Those Belmont lunatics! I knew their family had never been right in the head, but I never imagined it would be to this extent. This isn't just provoking the Empress's temper—it's outright stabbing at it. The Belmonts are about to be torn to shreds.
While everyone turned pale with that grim realization, only Aslan remained perfectly calm.
"So, what exactly was that creature from earlier?"
"Ah. You mean Muddy."
"Muddy...?"
"That's the name of the Earth Great Spirit you just saw. It originally lived in the mountain where the road construction took place, but our spirit mage has temporarily isolated it with a spirit command."
"Hah. What a crude sense of naming."
She laughed! Was that a hollow laugh? Did it mean she wanted to kill him?
The attendants stirred anxiously behind her.
Good heavens. I let my guard down. I nearly burst out laughing.
Vanessa clenched her teeth and forced down the laughter that threatened to escape. She reset her expression to its usual blank mask.
To think that pathetic-looking thing was a Great Spirit. And on top of that, it was their mascot! She had wanted to converse with it more deeply, but if she stared any longer, she feared she would reveal everything. So she turned her back.
At any rate, she had endured. The Count's tastes were more peculiar than expected, but she had overcome the crisis. The rest of the schedule should proceed without issue.
...Or so she had believed.
"I will guide you to the mansion now. Would you care for some tea in a cool place?"
"That would be fine. Bring chamomile tea."
"Yes, I shall. The children will be brewing the tea today."
"Ah, greetings!"
"...!"
Julia and Charlotte stepped out hesitantly from behind the corner. The Empress's eyes flew wide open.
Damn it all! They're adorable!
A rush of emotion so strong she nearly nosebled surged through her. Vanessa hurriedly pinched her nose shut.
That Belmont bastard. Is he trying to shake me up like this again?
Squeeze. Vanessa's fingers secretly pinched her own thigh hard as she forcibly suppressed the corners of her mouth from rising.
The sight of the children wearing perfectly fitted maid uniforms, clumsily brewing tea with their amateur skills!
Was Count Belmont a pedophile? Was that it? Otherwise, why would he employ such young maids?
But they were so cute! She wanted to bite them both to death, they were so adorable!
"How does it taste?"
"Krrrrgh."
"Your Majesty?"
"Forget it. It's merely a recent migraine acting up."
"Peppermint tea is good for headaches! I learned it from the head maid! Would you like a cup of peppermint tea, Empress Sister?"
"Charlotte, you should say 'Your Majesty.' That's disrespectful..."
"Empress Sister!"
"It's not 'Empress Sister'..."
"Krrrrgh. Enough. Just brew the tea."
Damn it. Damn it all. One was the innocent type, the other the clever type! To think he was making such adorable children work like this. Belmont truly was the lair of an evil black mage.
Just as Aslan began to look increasingly sinister in Vanessa's eyes—
"Your Majesty. There is something urgent I must report."
"Speak."
"I understand you are currently running a project to provide national treasury support to orphanages and daycare centers."
"It is being carried out through the Church. What of it?"
"It seems a considerable number of the operators are corrupt. The orphanage these children came from is a prime example. They pocketed the subsidies, abused the children, and when operations became difficult, they used that as an excuse to close the orphanage and sold the children off to slave traders. I suspect the reason such shameless and heinous individuals were able to operate orphanages for so long is due to inadequate oversight. I dare say there may be many more such people scattered throughout the empire."
"...Is that true? If it is a lie, you will not escape severe punishment."
"I swear there is not a single falsehood in my words."
Grrr. Even at Vanessa's warning, Aslan merely bowed his head in response. Suppressing her anger, Vanessa returned to her expressionless mask.
Corruption like that had been happening in orphanages? She had never even dreamed of it.
Her gaze flicked toward her attendants as if asking, Did you know about this? Their faces turned ashen.
"I understand your concerns. I will personally examine the operators and take action."
"I am grateful, Your Majesty."
So he wasn't a pedophile after all. He simply liked children? There was no sinister motive—he genuinely cared for them? In that case, he passed. The insolent fellow. He was the same type as me.
Vanessa smiled inwardly with satisfaction.
"Somehow, I feel we will get along well. Send away those noisy spectators. I would like to have a proper conversation with you. Can you arrange that?"
"Pardon?"
"I was indirectly telling your people to get lost because they are in the way. Is that not how one speaks indirectly?"
"W-we will clear the room at once, Your Majesty..."
Irene and the attendants hurriedly left the room. Now alone with the Empress, Aslan's eyes went dead.
How did things end up like this?
***
"The tea has a lovely aroma. I am not well-versed in tea ceremony, so I cannot describe it properly, but it is quite to my liking."
"I am truly relieved it suits your taste, Your Majesty..."
In the narrow reception room, now occupied only by the two of them, Aslan sat frozen before the Empress, who sipped her tea leisurely. He felt like a child sitting in the thinking chair. All he could do was scream in his head: What did I do wrong?
"Aslan Belmont."
"Yes!"
"I looked into your background a little. You showed aptitude for magic in your youth, but after your father's execution, you lost all talent. For the next ten years, you became a wreck and devoted yourself to black magic... no, to dark arts. You showed no interest in inheriting the family business, but two months ago, you suddenly began to act."
"..."
She seemed to know more about him than he did himself.
"I will not ask what changed your mind. I have no interest in reasons. What I am curious about is what kind of person you are. From what I can see, you appear sinister at first glance, but you seem to be quite an innocent young man."
"...May I ask why you think so?"
"I can tell from the eyes. People who love children are never bad. Likewise, looking into the eyes of the children who served me tea just now, I can roughly tell what kind of life they are living here."
Her tone was full of conviction. Eyes? Could one glimpse emotions through the eyes? Thanks to that, he had earned the Empress's favor, but now meeting her gaze had become roughly five million times more burdensome.
"Look into my eyes, Aslan Belmont."
"Yes..."
"You are someone with many secrets. I will not pry. We are both busy people, so let us move on to what must be done. The road you constructed holds great significance as the shortest route connecting the border and the capital. Considering its immeasurable value to commerce, I shall grant you tax exemption on road tolls for the next one hundred years as a reward."
"I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's grace."
It was an extraordinary reward. Normally, when national infrastructure was built, the imperial family would provide compensation amounting to about half the construction cost. Receiving a hundred years of tax exemption was equivalent to receiving compensation not in the billions, but in the hundreds of billions.
"Also, it bothers me greatly that you are still only a viscount. At this rate, I would not be able to entrust you with any real work."
"N-no, that is not necessary. I will inherit the count title through an internal council meeting as soon as possible."
"Judging by your sister's eyes, that method would take more than ten years. Just inherit it now."
"Pardon?"
"From this moment on, I, Vanessa Friedrich, declare that you have inherited all the authority and responsibilities of the Count who rules over Belmont territory. Accordingly, I order Belmont to transition from an acting count system to a proper one. Do you have any objections?"
"N-no! I have none!"
"...Stand up. Damn it. Do not ever think of performing that prostration in front of me again."
His body had automatically flattened to the floor. Sudden succession to the count title? It ignored all procedures, but there was no problem with its validity. Because the Empress herself had granted the succession.
He had effectively received lifelong tax exemption on road tolls. He had even become both a count and the head of the family. It was clearly nothing but good news, yet for some reason, Aslan could not shake off a sense of foreboding.
"I will say it once more. You have inherited not only all the authority of Count Belmont, but also all the responsibilities. As the Empress's vassal, it means you cannot refuse my summons under any excuse."
"...I understand completely."
"Then do not think of suddenly disappearing. Wait obediently. There will come a day when I call for you."
"..."
Grin. The Empress rose with a chilling smile. It was the first time seeing such a beautiful woman smile so brightly yet feeling fear rather than admiration.
Even after the Empress left the room, Aslan remained frozen in his seat for a long while.
Ah.
He was screwed.
Earning the Empress's favor—he had gone way too far. He should have been more moderate. He should have only used Muddy and left Charlotte and Julia out of it.
A sudden wave of regret washed over him.