Heading to the Marquisate (1)
Heading to the Marquisate (1)
A few days after the carriage bearing the Duchess had left, Sister Elena left the mansion as well.
I, too, continued training under Miguel.
Life went on as before.
The people who whispered while looking at me hadn't changed, and neither had my two brothers, who continued doing their best to ignore me.
But Miguel spoke to me differently.
"Are you perhaps training separately with another knight? There's no way your skills could have improved so suddenly..."
"Ugh, calling you a genius doesn't begin to cover it. Your understanding of the sword has changed completely."
I was frustrated because my body wouldn't move the way I wanted since I had shrunk back to a child's body, but Miguel seemed to see it in a completely different light.
Then again, although my body had returned to that of a six-year-old, the training and real combat experience I'd accumulated up to age ten remained perfectly intact in my mind.
If everything had stayed the same as before, there would have been no point in regressing.
Perhaps because of that, I was growing much faster than before.
It took less time to grasp swordsmanship, and since all I had to do was strengthen my body, I could surpass my past rate of growth in the blink of an eye.
Unlike before, even the Knight Commander showed his face, and the Duke seemed to pay more attention to me.
Rumors had begun circulating that I might be a swordsmanship genius, not just book-smart, but I paid them no mind.
This was because there were many things I needed to investigate and prepare for besides training.
In my previous life, under the pretext of learning the sword, I hadn't paid enough attention to the political situation around me.
Objectively speaking, it wasn't something a child under ten should have worried about, but since that lack of awareness had led to my death, this was no time to walk on eggshells around anyone.
First, I went to the library and examined every book on the Kingdom's history.
They were books I'd already read for the most part in my previous life.
Even after reading them again, I found little substance. They were filled with nothing but praise for the Hero who founded the Kingdom and glorification of the royal family that inherited his bloodline.
They also said absolutely nothing about the Kingdom's current state, which was what I actually wanted to know.
"Since there are no newspapers or broadcasts here, my only option is to ask people..."
"The current state of the Kingdom, you say?"
Miguel's answer was far more pathetic than I'd expected.
"There is the King, his two sons, and one daughter. Then there are the Duke and the other nobles."
No, even I knew that much.
"I'm a knight. Knowing that much is plenty. More importantly, it's training time. Please focus on your training."
Miguel's words made me sigh.
"...Well, I can tell you the basics, but I doubt they'll be of much help."
I heard a few more things, but even the chief butler wasn't much help.
Fortunately, the scribe gave me a more detailed account.
"This... You must never tell anyone I was the one who told you."
"Don't worry. You know very well I can keep my mouth shut."
At my words, the scribe nodded.
All the effort I'd put into greasing his palms, both materially and spiritually, had paid off.
"Broadly speaking, the nobility in our kingdom can be divided into two groups—or three, if you look more closely."
He lowered his voice to a whisper and continued.
"Broadly, they are divided into the Royalist Faction, which believes we must strengthen His Majesty the King, and the Noble Faction, which seeks to protect the rights of the territories and the nobles. Recently, the Royalist Faction has split into the First Prince Faction and the Second Prince Faction."
"Is it because of His Majesty's advanced age?"
"Indeed."
The scribe nodded with a satisfied expression at my response.
"There's also the Princess, isn't there?"
"She'll eventually marry a high-ranking noble or be sent to another country anyway."
Moments like this made me realize once again that this world was much like the Middle Ages.
"Then the Gracia Ducal House is on the First Prince's side."
"Oh, that's right. What made you think so?"
I knew because I'd heard it before I died, but I couldn't tell him that.
"Since we're also of royal lineage, we'd naturally belong to the Royalist Faction. And since the First Prince has the legitimate claim, we'd support his side."
There was no way the Duke, an aristocratic traditionalist to his very bones, would support anyone else.
"You know your stuff. The Gracia Ducal House does belong to the First Prince Faction. Still, His Majesty is in good health, and the princes have only just reached adulthood, so the division isn't severe yet."
But that wouldn't be the case four years from now. The conflict would escalate to the point that the Gracia Ducal House, aligned with the First Prince Faction, and the Hierro Marquisate, aligned with the Second Prince Faction, would have to form an alliance through marriage.
But by then, shouldn't the Noble Faction also be lining up behind one of the two princes?
"Does the Noble Faction have a leader of its own?"
"Yes. Grand Prince Julian de Carlos. He's the younger brother of the current King."
Ha, what a total shitshow.
"He is an incredible person. The Grand Duchy was practically established by him personally."
He seemed to be a rather popular noble. The scribe, who had spoken of the princes indifferently, was now full of deep respect.
In any case, there were two princes eyeing the throne and an uncle who had gathered the nobles to build up his own power.
In the end, three people were vying for the crown.
Then which faction did the people who killed Adria belong to?
"Which side is Count Lapalma on?"
Count Lapalma—the noble served by the man who killed me.
"Count Lapalma is a little ambiguous... There are rumors he belongs to the Second Prince Faction, like his neighbor, Marquis Hierro. But he is probably closer to the Noble Faction."
I stared at the scribe again. Had he always been like this?
"You really know a lot."
"Haha, to teach a genius, one must at least have a wealth of knowledge."
As I lived through age six once more, I earned the nickname of a genius in my studies as well.
No, more than that, he knew far too much about the Kingdom's political situation for a mere scribe.
Aside from tutoring me, he was just an ordinary scribe who handled the territory's administrative affairs.
For such a man to know the Kingdom's political landscape in such detail... Did even an ordinary scribe harbor some sort of ambition in his heart?
I took note of the young scribe and engraved our conversation deeply in my memory.
Even after hearing about the political situation from the scribe, I continued asking questions whenever I had the chance.
I asked the knowledgeable about the Kingdom's affairs and the common folk about the territory.
One day, while wandering around asking questions like that, I ran into Manuel in the hallway.
He was a brat who usually went out of his way to avoid me, but today we ran right into each other.
Seeing eight-year-old Manuel after seeing twelve-year-old Manuel in my previous life made me chuckle.
The deeply mocking expression he put on was incredibly funny and cute.
"I heard you've been wandering around asking strange questions. You'd better watch out. Mother didn't look too pleased when she heard about it. Don't get too cocky just because you're being doted on lately."
Ah!
Manuel spoke in a thoroughly mocking tone, but his words brought me to my senses.
I'd messed up. I'd been too reckless under the guise of asking questions.
Wandering around asking people about the Kingdom's political situation was a perfect way to invite suspicion.
Especially if the Duke or the Duchess—Manuel's mother—heard about it, they might suspect I was aiming for Simon's position.
Now wasn't the time to invite that sort of misunderstanding. I'd already died several times because of similar misconceptions, and I had absolutely no desire to go through that misery again.
"Thank you, Brother! I'll be careful. I won't let any rumors start, so don't worry. Thank you so much for telling me!"
"U-Uh, yeah. As long as you get it."
Manuel wore an expression that said, "This isn't how this was supposed to go," then scurried away.
Since I'd gathered a decent amount of information, it was time to lie low.
While continuing my training, I began a different investigation.
This time, I investigated Majorka Fortress and the crest on the tomb I'd seen underground there.
As I turned the library upside down searching for the crest and began asking the scribes and others about it and the fortress, the rumors that I was aiming for Simon's position died down before I knew it.
They simply came to see it as a genius's far-reaching curiosity. Thanks to that, rumors that I was an eccentric genius began circulating, but that was a small price to pay.
Although I heard various interesting legends about Majorka Fortress, unfortunately, no one recognized the crest.
Just in case, I also checked the crests used by the Heroes, but none were listed in the books I had.
Thus, I spent my time much as I had in my previous life, keeping my ears constantly open.
And just like that, three years passed.
I was finally able to match Miguel as an equal.
"Ngh! This really makes no sense!"
Miguel spoke through gritted teeth. His arms were taut with tension, and his face had turned beet red.
I couldn't answer.
If I opened my mouth, the mana I'd connected to the ground would surely disperse.
Miguel's sword and mine were locked together, completely motionless.
"No, how can you not be pushed back when there's such a huge difference in our weight!"
I could understand his frustration.
There was a stark difference in our heights, and I weighed a mere third of what he did, yet I was holding my ground against his sword.
That was thanks to the new way I'd learned to use mana, but since I hadn't revealed my secret, it was only natural that he was bursting with frustration.
"Let's stop here."
He stepped back.
"How on earth did you do that?"
"It's a technique."
"Sigh, a technique... Then I suppose my teaching ends here. Our skills are evenly matched, and you even use techniques I don't know, so it's unreasonable for me to remain your instructor."
Oops, that hit the mark.
That would be troublesome. It would be a disaster if my sparring partner ran away.
Where else could I find such a perfect pushover?
"This was just a duel without mana. I still need to learn how to acquire mana, and I need to learn the Mana Cultivation Technique, too."
I had already acquired mana, and I was confident I wouldn't lose even in a duel using it, but since Miguel didn't know that, it was fine.
"That's true. Still, if it's you, Young Lord, you'll learn it quickly and defeat me in a mana duel before long."
It worked like a charm again. He truly was my wonderful pushover knight.
"Anyway, that's it for today's training. I have to go because the Knights Order is being mobilized."
"What is it about?"
"In a few days, the Knight Commander and Young Lord Simon are heading to the Hierro Marquisate. We were told to gather for that. They're probably selecting those who'll accompany them and readjusting our duties."
Was it around this time?
Finally, the event I'd been waiting for was beginning.
After returning to the mansion with Miguel, I requested an audience with the Duke.
"You may enter."
Perhaps because my skills had improved so much, I didn't have to wait this time.
As I entered, the Duke set down his pen and looked at me.
"What is it?"
His treatment of me seemed to have changed slightly, but his frosty expression remained the same.
Since I hadn't expected anything anyway, I wasn't disappointed.
"I would like you to allow me to join the party heading to the Hierro Marquisate this time. I will secretly guard Brother Simon from the shadows."
It must have been unexpected. The Duke's expression shifted slightly.
"Hmm. It is a plausible idea..."
Just as I'd expected, the Duke took the suggestion positively. All the hard work I'd put into honing my skills and showing them off had paid off.
"Why did you suddenly think of that?"
"I've only ever seen the world through books. Now I want to go out and experience it."
Ugh, I got goosebumps.
It was a truly cringeworthy line, the sort of thing a boy full of dreams, confined to a mansion, would shout.
"...Is that so. You are nine years old now."
The Duke, who had been expressionless until then, looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
Dammit, my embarrassment doubled.
"Whatever the reason, it is a decent idea. I shall permit it."
Yes. My hard work had paid off.
As expected, the Duke was a cold, rational... piece of trash noble.
"By the way, I assume you have already told Amanda?"
"Ah..."
"Since you were the one who requested this, you should be the one to tell your mother as well."
I was doomed. The image of my mother in tears flashed through my mind.
The corners of the Duke's mouth seemed to curl up slightly as he looked at me.