Don't Leave. From Now On.
The terror had struck in the Imperial Capital of the Vlata Empire, and the Emperor had been attacked in the Imperial Palace.
It seemed like an event that hadn't happened since the chaotic period after the past, when the capital of the country and the head of the state were directly assaulted.
I might not know much about it, since I was just a country bumpkin from the edge of the continent, but...
Still, even for someone like me, this incident was serious enough that I could tell. It appeared the Imperial Information Department was already moving, searching for the culprits through every possible route...
“No clues at all?”
“Yeah.”
The Empress of the Vlata Empire, my legal wife sitting across from me sipping tea, continued speaking with a completely unconcerned expression.
“Surprisingly, not even a single tail to show. If they pulled off something that big, there should at least be some trace left.”
“We have the Golem they brought, right?”
“The Magic Academy is completely stumped too, saying they can’t figure anything out with just this.”
I wasn’t particularly surprised about the Golem, as I had heard about it from Selemin.
That said, it was strange. Like the resurrected mad magician Gilbert had fought, or the suspiciously powerful Black Knight who attacked Marianne, it should have left some mark.
Conversely, perhaps because of that level of power, they couldn’t leave any traces?
“Someone who would hold a grudge against the Empire… No, sorry. That was a stupid question.”
I didn’t know the details, but it seemed the tyranny of the previous Emperor that Marianne beheaded had been astonishingly bad.
It was said that among the continent’s countries, there was no nation that hadn’t suffered damage from the Empire at that time, so the grudges must have been overflowing.
My words made Marianne nod as well.
“So the Imperial Information Department is having a hard time. They didn’t really nag them, but the situation is chaotic even among themselves, so it’s hard to say anything.”
What was this Empress saying as if she were talking about someone else’s matter?
Well, the Emperor had been attacked in the Imperial Capital, so the Information Department couldn’t avoid responsibility. They hadn’t noticed any signs, and if they couldn’t even identify the culprit, I would be suffocating too.
But that aside, isn’t our wife too strong-minded?
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay?”
After being attacked by the Black Knight, Marianne had seemed somewhat unstable. I had thought she called me today because the anxiety hadn’t subsided, but apparently my worries were unfounded. Marianne was speaking with an even more comfortable demeanor than before.
That was good, but I felt a bit sorry. She had been the cutest when she was anxious then.
“……”
Oh, in a moment of distraction, a trash-like instinct of mine came out at a level that shocked even me. I should change the topic.
“Thanks for calling me today. I had to come anyway.”
“……Why?”
The Marianne who asked the question was looking straight at me. Both me and her usually looked into the other person’s eyes properly when talking, but that gaze was something great.
I didn’t know exactly what it was, but the point was separate.
“Among the Empire’s ministers and top nobles, there is a traitor. We need to root them out and deal with them.”
“……Ah, that.”
Her reaction was light, so it seemed Marianne had anticipated it too. I wasn’t surprised by her reaction either.
It didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t reach the possibility I thought of.
“The enemies read our Hounds’ actions precisely and lured us. That’s not something possible unless you know the Hounds’ existence and also grasp the personal information and abilities of each individual.”
“That’s right. If you didn’t know about me, you wouldn’t have lured me out to the Imperial Capital on purpose.”
In their scenario, even if I didn’t go outside the Imperial Capital, I would have had to at least join with Gilbert and fight the crazy magician.
Thinking about it now, it gave me the creeps anew. If I messed up, my beautiful wife might have been killed by that damn Black Knight.
Ah, wait. Thinking about it made my head hot again.
“Isaac?”
After clearing my mind from the anger, Marianne was looking at me worriedly. This was the first time I had received worry from her. And it was cute.
“Sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night. Now I’m okay…”
“Why couldn’t you sleep?”
I tried to give a somewhat clumsy excuse, but she asked about an unexpected part. Her eyes were icy, as if matching the eyes that had warmly worried about me just now.
Was it because of the story I had told her to be cautious of the Jericho Duke? What should I do? Actually, I had slept well.
“Uh, just because I’m a person, sometimes my condition isn’t good.”
“Is that so?”
Even though there was no reason to be tense, I answered while tense, and it lightened up unlike the worry. What?
I didn’t know if she knew I was panicking or not, but Marianne continued speaking calmly.
“I’ll leave the traitor search entirely to you. All responsibilities and issues that arise in the process, I’ll handle them, so don’t worry.”
Unlike the calm tone, the content was very forceful. If I were a woman, I would have been against it.
“Thank you. With the Emperor’s guarantee, I can move more comfortably.”
Judging that the mutual business was over, I got up from my seat. To search for the traitor, I needed to return to the headquarters and organize the materials of the ministers and nobles first.
But our legal wife was staring at me with a strange look.
“Where?”
“I’m going to work according to His Majesty’s imperial decree?”
With a joking tone, asking what else there was, Marianne brought out words I couldn’t have imagined.
“No. Don’t go. From now on, stay by my side.”
“?”
What did it mean to say “don’t go” after assigning me work?
Hearing that phrase alone sounded like telling a lover to stay with them, but through living in the Vlata Empire, I had already realized that she didn’t have special affectionate feelings for me.
It was different from Haria. She craved affection, so she hated affection. Of course, it was also because I had shown her so much trashy things.
Therefore, the meaning of the words Marianne said was probably.
“I don’t know if another attacker will come. In the current Empire, only you can confront that Black Knight, so protect me.”
It was as I thought. There was a slight regret, but as expected. The Black Knight was undoubtedly a strong one with Hero-class power, so Marianne’s words made sense, but my thinking was a bit different.
If they could send Hero-class strong people at will, they would have sent them long ago. But the enemies deliberately set up a troublesome decoy operation to shake the Imperial Capital and then sent the Black Knight.
That could raise the question of whether they were being cautious or not, and it was not completely impossible.
However, I thought there was some unknown risk. For example, there might be a problem with handling the Black Knight.
“So for a while, it should be okay.”
“It’s not 100% safe.”
That was true. No words.
“Originally, do you want to keep doing Hounds’ work?”
“Eh? What? You don’t want to?”
“That’s not it. I thought about it, but I think it’s better to keep doing it.”
There were a lot of confusing stories today, our wife. Are you tired?
“I mentioned it when I first took over the Hounds, but I don’t have any particular complaints. I’m getting friendly with my subordinates, and the work is pretty fun too.”
Especially, it was fun to kick out the nobles who asked for dirty work. Since I became the boss, I had been refusing dirty cleanup, so there had been many complaints from high-ups recently.
I myself didn’t have any particular scruples, but I didn’t want to force that on my subordinates either. Thanks to that, my reputation was rising vertically.
From my point of view, to act smartly, it would be good to clean up their backs.
I knew it with my head.
But not with my heart.
“Do you mean you want to keep doing it?”
“Yeah.”
Even though I couldn’t stop anyway, why ask? I answered honestly, and Marianne nodded her head.
“I see. Then from now on, do the Hounds’ work in the palace too. I’ll move the headquarters itself inside the palace.”
“What…?”
Why was our wife doing this?
With too many stories exceeding my brain’s capacity, I was wondering what to ask first, but Marianne said she had already decided on a place to use as the headquarters.
“In the palace? When? Can we use it as the Hounds headquarters? Is it okay?”
“Yes. Because I’m the Emperor.”
Saying that, and adding that there were many vacant rooms in the palace, no problem, Marianne was really forceful. Damn. I felt like I was going to become female.
“Wait, hold on. The existence of the Hounds was something that shouldn’t be known, right?”
I didn’t know why I was resisting, but it felt like I had to resist.
It was a futile struggle, but still.
“It’s okay. The Hounds will become my direct escort unit from now on. Then the previous incidents will naturally be covered up.”
“If it becomes like that, even if someone uncovers it in the future, we can say it’s another organization…”
Becoming a direct escort unit. Even though I could guarantee my subordinates’ skills, wasn’t it too out of place?
“It’s not at all out of place. The Empire’s Emperor was almost killed in an attack, and not taking any action is even more unnatural. The Empire’s citizens will become worried, and the Empire will be disrespected, making the enemies bold.”
Upon hearing it, it was a clear hit. Unlike me, who was just a fake prince rolling around on the battlefield, Marianne was truly the Emperor.
“Shifting the materials will take a day, so I’ll officially appoint it tomorrow. Since it’s work, there will be some wear and tear on the clothes. And even if it becomes a direct escort unit, the independent operational authority will remain the same, so the work won’t change much. Instead, as we reorganize, the rewards will be greatly increased.”
Considering the tragic past of the subordinates that I had read and seen directly, it was a drastic change in treatment that could be called a life turnaround.
I was looking forward to the subordinates’ reactions. They’d all be very happy. Before that, they’d be shocked enough to drop their jaws. Should I tell Gilbert to come back?
“Isaac.”
Marianne called me again while I was enjoying various thoughts. She did call my name, but with so much to hear today, I was starting to feel a bit scared.
Among the stories heard, there were many good ones, so when I asked why, Marianne maintained a calm expression and opened her mouth.
“Why aren’t you praising me?”
“……Eh?”
How many times had I been asked this stupidly? I wanted to count but didn’t want to. Exactly, I thought my brain would stop counting before that.
Have I ever praised her? Was that allowed? Fundamentally, this situation itself seemed like the first time, maybe my memory was wrong?
I reviewed multiple possibilities, but I couldn’t figure it out. For now, since thinking deeper would make me really go crazy, I just asked directly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re my husband.”
It was new but true. I didn’t know what the connection was.
“Thanks to me, you’ve created a good environment for the subordinates you cherish.”
That was right.
“Thanks to me, the subordinates you cherish will be happy.”
That was right.
“Thanks to me, the work from now on will proceed more comfortably.”
That was right.
“Then I should praise you, right?”
............Is that so?