Ruining the Duke's Daughter (3)

Just as Evan had said, Duke Albrecht Ballenstein discovered the rift connected to the Demon Realm at the edge of his domain, in a tiny rice paddy among his fields.

Not that he had any way of knowing it was destined to become the site of a certain saintess's outdoor bonus H-scene later on.

With this, the Duke resolved to stop questioning the words and actions of the young man called Evan entirely.

—"Friend of the Great Emperor, radiant Silver Shield of the Asteria Empire! Albrecht Ballenstein requests an audience!"

"Whew..."

The petition of one of only three dukes in the Empire was devastatingly effective. Within a mere two hours, the Emperor and every powerful noble in the realm had gathered in the audience chamber, waiting to receive Ballenstein.

He was a man who had weathered his share of storms, yet faced with a plan that was as simple as it was catastrophic — beheading the saintess right in front of the Emperor — his breath caught in his throat.

'...'

But this one act could bring back the daughter he had given up on. It could let him plant his feet once more on the hegemony he'd lost to Harben. Steeling his resolve, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he knocked on the door three times to announce himself.

"Open the door!"

As Albrecht, his mind made up, shouted at the top of his lungs, the great doors swung open and a blaze of brilliant gold flooded his eyes. He located the saintess — already inside, head bowed — took a place close to her, and dipped his head in respectful greeting.

'That bitch... so that's the harlot who sold the name of God to excommunicate my daughter...'

Albrecht crushed down the fury boiling up inside him and addressed the Emperor.

"Great Emperor, a fissure to the Demon Realm has opened within my domain."

—"..."

The Emperor waved a hand, and the imperial guard cleared a path. At last, the dawn beyond the throne came into his view.

"Summoning such dignitaries on such short notice — this must be no ordinary rift. I confess I fear something may already have crossed over."

"No, Your Majesty! The rift was small!!"

The Emperor's brow twitched.

"...Then tell me, my friend Albrecht. If the tear in your land was nothing special, why did you gather so many here?"

"The Demon Realm's fissure was never the point. I stand before you today prepared to stake my very life!"

"What did you say?"

"To cut down the evil that has taken root in our Empire! I, Albrecht Ballenstein, hereby offer up my neck!!"

—Murmur, murmur.

No one had seen it coming. The sword at Albrecht's hip flashed free from its sheath as he bowed before the Emperor, and by the time even the commander of the imperial guard — the strongest in the Empire — grasped the situation, it was already too late.

—Thud.

By the time Commander Leopold's kick slammed into Albrecht's chest, the saintess's head was already rolling across the audience chamber floor.

—"IMPERIAL GUARD!! Seize that madman at once!"

—"Ballenstein has lost his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind over his daughter!! He's insane!!"

The church elders immediately recovered the saintess's head. As the guard commander kicked Albrecht's weapon far away, the imperial guardsmen rushed in and bound his arms behind his back.

—"That wretch dares to lay hands on the saintess...!!"

—"He's not in his right mind. I've never seen a man so far gone."

"..."

Leopold Harben, guard commander, was especially enraged by the news that the saintess his house had painstakingly sponsored had died so meaninglessly. He drew his sword at once, intending to take Albrecht's head outright without even waiting for the Emperor's judgment.

"...Stop."

"!"

But when the great Emperor descended from his throne and caught the blade lightly between two fingers, every noble in the chamber — imperial guard included — bowed low in reverence.

"Unbelievable."

The situation flipped in the very next moment. From the saintess's severed neck, black smoke began to rise through the spreading blood, and dark cracks crawled across her once-pale skin.

—Sssssss...

And within mere seconds, the body that had been a saintess only moments before crumbled into ash across the golden floor.

—...

Only then did every sound die in the audience chamber.

"LEOPOLD HARBEN!!"

At the Emperor's thunderous voice, the guard commander's body went rigid.

"I could forgive incursions of demonic energy into the Empire as a matter of course! But now the beast's reach has extended even to the Holy Church — into the very woman we call saintess?!"

"Your Majesty! I can explain everything! I, Leopold Harben, swear upon my family's name—"

"Silence! I don't want to hear it!"

At the Emperor's groan of disgust, Duke Ballenstein shook his head slowly.

"I c-cannot say for certain! But surely Your Majesty knows who rushed so recklessly through the selection of the saintess candidates...!!"

"..."

At the Duke's words, the Emperor's eyes slid quietly toward him. The guard commander, growing frantic, hastily bowed his head before the throne.

"Your Majesty!! House Harben conducted everything with scrupulous fairness and gravity—!"

"Tsk."

The Emperor brushed aside the commander's plea, leaning back against his throne once more.

"Your... Your Majesty?"

"Effective today, all authority held by the House of Harben over state religious affairs is suspended."

"!"

"And the selection of the saintess, down to the flow of every sponsorship coin, shall be investigated from the ground up. Both House Harben and House Ballenstein are barred outright from any involvement in this inquiry."

"This is an injustice!"

"A most wise judgment, Your Majesty! I, Albrecht, shall comply with all my heart!!!"

The reactions of the two ducal heads could not have been more divergent. The church officials' responses splintered just as quickly. Those who had been losing the faction wars began to salivate and drift, one by one, toward Duke Ballenstein — while those who had lined up behind House Harben, unable to bring themselves to attach to Ballenstein, sidled up around Duke Arkright instead.

"Duke Arkright's house will take the lead and uncover every last detail of what transpired. House Harben is to remove itself from all matters of state religion until the investigation concludes."

—"Yes, Your Majesty!"

—"We shall obey!"

The Duke of Arkright's two sons answered the command in ringing voices.

"...We shall obey."

And then the Duke of Arkright himself, hidden until now in the shadow beside the throne, stepped into the light and drew every eye. He descended slowly from the dais and left the audience chamber with his two sons in tow.

"That concludes the assembly. My head aches from this whole mess."

"Your Majesty! I am innocent!! I truly knew nothing — I'll stake my life on it!!!"

True to a house whose bloodline could not live without clinging to another, Leopold Harben stripped off his armor and drew a dagger, intending to prove his innocence by his own hand. Albrecht rejoiced — but the Emperor, unwilling to see a loyal retainer die, flicked his wrist and snapped the dagger in two.

"!"

"Enough. Any man may err. Consider yourself dead once already, and... if you are to be commander of the imperial guard, then act like it — pour every ounce of your focus into the duty given you."

"Hhk... kuh-hnk!! Your Majesty!!"

As Leopold wept tears and snot alike and began to crawl toward the Emperor, the latter — loath to have impurities touch his cape — frowned and let his killing intent leak out.

—Crackle.

The moment the Emperor's displeasure made itself known, everyone in the audience chamber buckled under a crushing pressure and collapsed where they stood.

—"Gahk...! Gaaaahk!!"

—"Ah, Your Majesty... punish this Leopold all the more harshly, I beg you...!"

While everyone writhed and begged for the Emperor's mercy, Albrecht alone was smiling. A rope no one had untied had loosened of its own accord, offering him freedom. The Emperor's wrath alone touched everyone but him.

"...Heh-heh-heh."

Back from his deed done, Albrecht hummed a little tune in his office.

"Good day, is it?"

"Fucking fantastic."

Well, of course he was in a good mood. He'd gotten his daughter back and restored his family's standing in one stroke. Might as well let him enjoy it.

"There's my son-in-law."

"Why am I your son-in-law, exactly?"

"What kind of nonsense is that? I know perfectly well the reason you came to my manor in the first place was to announce your engagement to Carla!"

"As you well know, I only did that at the request of the Founding Lord. I don't have feelings for Carla one way or the other."

"..."

"......"

"Ge~ez."

"??"

The Duke's boomer-generation slang momentarily broke my posture.

"I'm sorry... what?"

"When a man stakes his very life for a woman he's only just met... the rest writes itself!! Hahahahaha!!"

Albrecht roared with laughter and gulped down his booze straight from the bottle. Watching a duke — a duke! — swig liquor without bothering with a glass struck me as, frankly, spiritual.

"You're trying to unload her on me, aren't you?"

"Pff—!"

My blunt one-liner sent liquor spraying from the Duke's mouth.

"Ahem. I haven't the faintest idea what you mean..."

"Your daughter's a lesbian, so you figured you'd take this chance to marry her off to me and be done with it—"

"MY DAUGHTER IS NOT A LESBIANAAAAAH!!!"

Albrecht, who had been about to bring the bottle down upside-down on my head, slunk back into his seat with an embarrassed look and took a small sip. Then he slowly opened a drawer and drew out a single document — the oracle the Church had used to justify Carla's excommunication.

"......"

He stared down at the paper for a moment, then wordlessly held it over the candle flame.

—Whoosh.

He gave a hearty chuckle, then opened the safe beneath the table and carefully lifted out a violet ring case onto the desk.

"What's that?"

"This ring is my small token of sincerity. It declares that House Ballenstein stands behind you, that my lands are your ground, and my soldiers your strength — the mark of a friend."

Albrecht drew out the ring and showed me the lion crest, his eyes grave.

"To slight you is to slight me, and your shame is Ballenstein's shame."

'Wait, don't tell me...'

In the game, it was must-have late-game equipment that massively boosted the wearer's magic aptitude. The only way to obtain it was to farm it off Carla's corpse after she died... and now he was just handing me a jackpot item before the game had even begun?!

"Whoa!?"

I slipped the ring onto my finger and savored the change in my stats as the familiar blue window scrolled past.

"Heh-heh. I suppose a commoner wouldn't know. The true meaning of that ring..."

And with an unreadable smile, Albrecht drained the rest of the bottle to its last drop.

'Oh, holy shit. This isn't a dream, right?'

My magic aptitude had jumped four whole tiers at once, and tears pricked at my eyes. So now I could light a fire with magic and grill fish without a flint? That's genuinely exciting.

"Take good care of my daughter."

"Yes!! I mean... sorry, what??"

The Duke bowed his head toward me in a slow, solemn gesture of thanks. And, uh... his crown was balding in patches. All that talk of hair loss — the man really had been through it.

"'Take care' — what do you mean by that..."

"That ring cannot be removed without Carla's permission."

"Why not?"

"Why? Because a powerful binding spell is engraved upon it. Unless husband and wife are of one heart, it cannot come off."

"What..."

Ah, shit.

So that's how she confessed while gifting Iris the ring? It wasn't just a confession... Carla, you lunatic — you tried to magically bind the Emperor's own daughter to you?

"G-g-go get Carla and have this thing taken off right now!"

"Tell her yourself."

"Fine!"

As I bolted for the door, Albrecht caught my shoulder.

"What now?"

"I say this because I hold you in the very highest regard."

"Yes?"

"I'd like to ask your advice on one thing."

"Go ahead."

The Duke scratched his cheek, hesitated a moment, then cleared his throat awkwardly and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forced the words out.

"The truth is... no matter how thoroughly I erase the records and spit and sputter my denials... my daughter is, beyond any doubt, a homosexual. Isn't she?"

"If either your brain or your eyes is functional, then yes."

"Ahem. Watch your tongue with your father-in-law..."

"I'd have decked you the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment that ring's effect registered if you weren't a duke. Say what you're going to say while I'm still being polite."

"...What am I supposed to do?"

I let go of the door handle and turned my gaze back toward him.

"*Sigh*. Duke, I'll be honest with you."

"Please do."

"Who cares whether she's gay or whatever? Just love your daughter for exactly who she is. Why does she have to tiptoe around what other people think to be loved by her own family?"

"What are you saying?"

I shook my head.

"If your daughter loves women, does she stop being your daughter?"

"..."

"If you go bankrupt tomorrow and end up a beggar — if every hair on your head falls out — if you turn into a demon beast — do you really think Carla would abandon you?"

"Something strange got mixed into the middle of that."

"Ahem, tsk. I'm making an important point here."

"Hmph."

The Duke smacked his lips, stroking his slightly sparse hair.

"I guarantee it. So do what you did today — just trust me."

"Trust you?"

"Me — and Carla. Because she is the most honorable knight I have ever seen. A person who shines all on her own."

Well, in the far future she does go completely batshit, kidnapping people over a chipped castle wall and all — but that's a problem for another day...

"She only ever wanted to be acknowledged. To be loved. To have someone she could believe in, lean on, and follow."

"You mean for Carla, that someone was the Third Princess?"

"No idea."

"..."

"Besides — who's to say how a heart will change in the years to come?"

"Hm?"

"Whether she loves women, loves men, or loves no one at all her whole life — we'll simply wait and see."

The Duke smiled faintly and extended his hand, and the Duke and I clasped forearms in a firm handshake, each privately savoring how magnificent we were.

Hell yes. I was so damn cool just now.

—CRASH!

"Huh?"

"Well then. Consider everything settled."

"W-what is?"

"It seems my daughter has gone off to find that person you spoke of... My worries truly are all laid to rest now. Come visit whenever you like, ease and comfort... son-in-law."

"Sorry... what?"

Unease seized me and I sprinted out of the office — just in time to see someone's back disappearing frantically down the stairs. I quietly reflected on how badly I had underestimated Albrecht Ballenstein. Truly the political instincts of a ducal head.

Reflecting on how thoroughly I'd gotten played in the mind game, I clutched my balls in regret and resolved to accept, with stoic grace, the sex flag that had been planted on me whether I liked it or not.

'Right, well. Nothing for it now but to enjoy some furious, passionate sex with the Duke's daughter...'

As if mocking my lip-smacking delight, a status window slowly rose up in front of me.

—Ding!

—Carla's status has changed!

'Yeah, I know, you system-window bastard.'

...Huh?