The Pitiful and Unfortunate Young Lady
The Pitiful and Unfortunate Young Lady
The Imperial Capital.
The Imperial Palace, where the Emperor resided, boasted strict security.
Even within that place, there was a location where the most important information gathered: the desk in the Emperor's secret office.
"Hmm... Sonia, was it?"
Emperor Reina Roswell was sitting at her desk, sifting through documents.
Among the various papers, she picked up a sheet containing information on one person.
A paper featuring a portrait of Sonia Lugner.
It was a profile created by the Empire's intelligence agency.
The document contained enough information to explain Sonia's life.
"Academy grades were excellent, she knew a bit of magic, and her social life was fine."
Reina summarized the contents of the document aloud.
"She has a pretty appearance, but out of twenty academy peers, she's ranked about fifth or sixth. Her chest is a bit big, but... still, it's not exactly huge...."
A young lady who was excellent, but nothing special.
Even looking from a broader perspective, it was hard to find anything special about her compared to other young ladies.
But that was exactly why Reina couldn't help but be suspicious.
She wanted to know the reason why the Silberg family wanted a woman like this.
"Or is it really to obtain the Lugner territory? Why? What does Silberg gain from that? The only reason to need a territory is to make money... but there's no reason for Silberg to do that, right?"
However, she couldn't find a satisfactory answer.
It wasn't that she couldn't think of anything, but no matter what reason she tried to attach to it, it was difficult to make it logically sound because of the name 'Silberg'.
It wasn't for money.
And the woman they took wasn't anything particularly extraordinary, either.
She had even investigated whether Sonia was close to the ideal type of Leon, the head of the Silberg family, but this was the first time the two had ever crossed paths.
What was clear was that Sonia had been dragged to the Silberg family at Leon's suggestion, and that she had been trapped there for over a month.
That was all.
"...Or is she really a sex slave, like the rumors say?"
In the end, the Emperor even dragged out rumors that weren't included in the official intelligence.
That was how much she wanted to know.
No, she had to know.
Historically, it was an undeniable fact that whenever the Silberg family moved, major incidents and accidents occurred.
As the Emperor of the Empire, she had to know why Leon had taken her, and what the reason was for the Silberg family to start moving.
━ Knock, knock.
It was then.
Someone knocked on the door of the Emperor's secret office.
"Come in."
"Excuse me."
The person who entered was 'Wolfram Johannes', a member of the continent's only eight Masters and the Knight Commander of the Empire.
"What is it?"
The secret office, as the name suggested, was not a place just anyone could wander into.
In the first place, the only people who knew about this place were the Emperor herself, the Knight Commander Wolfram, the Chief Chamberlain, and the Prime Minister.
It was that strict of a place, and a place one shouldn't visit unless it was truly necessary.
The fact that he had come all this way meant there were only two possibilities.
It was treason.
Or it was a matter of such urgency that it couldn't wait.
The young Emperor's sharp eyes pierced the middle-aged Wolfram.
"Your Majesty, they say Sonia has come out of the Silberg estate."
"...What?"
Today's answer was the latter.
The urgent news came from Wolfram's lips.
At the mention of anything related to Silberg, the Emperor put down the paper she was looking at and faced Wolfram.
"Explain in detail."
"Sonia Lugner is currently on her way to the territory of Count Zahel in a carriage provided by the Silberg family."
"The reason?"
"They say the daughter of Count Zahel sent an invitation. I have a copy of the invitation obtained through another young lady here."
"Give it to me."
The Emperor carefully read the copy of the invitation Wolfram handed over.
It was an invitation written in the language of the nobility.
But the content was cruelly vulgar and ugly.
"The daughter of Count Zahel really went all out with this invitation. What? Exhausted from serving day and night? This is just mocking her, asking if she's doing a good job as a sex slave."
"Yes. That is correct."
It wasn't difficult to read the intent of the invitation.
This was a letter of mockery disguised as an invitation.
Lady Zahel was openly laughing at Sonia Lugner, to the point where any noble could grasp it at once.
It was the kind of thing that, if one were to read it, would usually be torn up on the spot, ending the situation right there.
"But wait a moment, didn't you just say Lady Sonia is on her way to Count Zahel's territory? Does that mean she's going there even after receiving an invitation like this?"
"Yes, that is correct, Your Majesty."
"Why?"
"...Well."
That was why the Emperor couldn't understand.
She received an invitation like this and is still attending the event?
That was something that couldn't happen in noble society.
In fact, the reason Lady Zahel could even send such an invitation was likely because she was certain the other party would never come.
Even if the other party couldn't hold back their anger and went, all that would return to them would be the condemnation of other guests and a barrage of mockery dressed in noble language.
So, the recipient of such an invitation only had two choices.
Endure it and let it pass, or start a territory war to pay back the other party's mockery.
However, if one were to start a territory war over this level of mockery, it was obvious they would receive a poor reputation in noble society, even if they won.
It wasn't like they had openly cursed at her.
Starting a war over a sentence elegantly expressed in the form of an invitation?
That would be an act that even the commoners of that territory would point fingers at.
But the news that Sonia had chosen a third option made the Emperor feel even more that something was strange.
It was a situation that looked like nothing but volunteering to be paraded around and humiliated.
"Is Leon going with her, by any chance?"
However, if one added one situation, the story would be different.
That would be a case where the Silberg family intervened directly, like what happened with the Lugner Count family before.
"I don't think so. Due to the unique closed-off nature of the Silberg family, it is difficult to investigate accurately, but according to recent news, Cecilia Way is staying in the North."
"The Lance Master? She's Leon Silberg's personal bodyguard, isn't she?"
"Yes. That is correct."
"Why is she in the North? That in itself is Silberg... ah, right. Lance Master Cecilia. She is definitely from the Northern Grand Duke's family...."
The Emperor stopped mid-sentence.
She remembered that Cecil was from the North and the daughter of the former Grand Duke.
"Yes, that is correct. She is the older sister of the current Grand Duke. So, we judged that to be a visit to her hometown rather than anything related to Silberg. In fact, it has been confirmed that all she does there is help the soldiers train or look around the territory with her brother."
"I see...."
"Anyway, since she is staying in the North, and according to the information we secured, Sonia Lugner did not include the Silberg name when she sent her intention to attend the tea party, so there is no possibility that he went with her. In the first place, since the purpose of the invitation is a tea party, it would be difficult for him to cut in."
"...Yeah. That's right. Come to think of it, it's a tea party for young ladies."
Wolfram presented the results based on the secured information.
The Emperor nodded at his explanation.
She judged that Wolfram's explanation was correct.
'Well, logically, who would attend without being invited? And it's a gathering of young ladies, and Leon Silberg is a man. Going to such a place together is only possible for a lover at the very least, so that's nonsense. Besides, there's no way the Silberg family doesn't know about the sex slave rumors circulating.... Would he be crazy enough to go there with her?'
The Emperor finally organized her thoughts.
Regardless, while it was news related to Silberg, she judged it wasn't an important matter.
"Understood. I'll keep it in mind."
"Yes. Then I shall take my leave."
"If there is any other news related to Silberg, report it immediately. You really are the Knight Commander.... Always thank you."
"Not at all, Your Majesty. I am... your knight, after all. Then, I'll be going."
"Hehe... Yes. Thank you for your hard work."
With that, the Emperor sent Wolfram away.
And to take a short break, she leaned back in her chair and thought.
"Sonia Lugner... how pitiful...."
The result derived from synthesizing the situation.
The Emperor could only see it as Sonia responding to the invitation because she didn't understand the language of the nobility.
She thought that perhaps, being in a situation where she was dragged to Silberg, her judgment had become clouded due to the intense tension.
That was why she felt sorry for her.
How hard must it have been for her to make such a choice?
It was pitiful and unfortunate.
In the end, because of this choice, Sonia would be publicly humiliated.
The humiliation Sonia would experience would surely remain a laughingstock until she died.
Would Silberg try to protect her from that?
Or would they throw her away?
The answer was as good as given.
There was no way the Silberg family would move just to protect a mere young lady.
It was obvious that this would be the end of Sonia's social activities.
The relationship between Count Lugner and Count Zahel was already known to be bad, and the mental damage the Lugner Count family would receive from this incident would be considerable.
"It can't be helped."
However, even knowing all that, the Emperor intended to remain a bystander.
From the beginning, she thought everything was the Lugner family's fault.
If they hadn't carelessly sent an invitation to Silberg, the current problem wouldn't have happened.
If that were the case, the Emperor's anxiety wouldn't have existed either.
"Because it's your fault for trying to get involved with Silberg."
Thinking of Count Lugner, who brought the downfall of his family upon himself, and Lady Sonia, who volunteered to be a laughingstock with her foolish choice, the Emperor threw the file related to Sonia into the trash can.
Thinking that she wouldn't have to see it again in the future.
Just like that, she tried to erase it from her memory as well.
I left the territory for the first time in a while.
Riding in the carriage with Sonia,
Looking at the high mountains and wide fields, I could feel once again that this was a medieval setting.
Well, that wasn't any different even when looking at Sonia in front of me.
"You look pretty."
"Ah? M-me? Heh.... Thank you."
Sonia blushed at my words.
I was talking about her dress.
It seems she mistook it for a compliment to herself.
But I had no intention of correcting her.
In reality, Sonia was pretty enough.
To be honest, her face wasn't extremely beautiful.
She was attractive enough, but with Cecilia, and some of the other young ladies I'd encountered at parties... this place, this romance fantasy world, was overflowing with beautiful people, so Sonia was probably in the top 10~20%? Something like that.
In fact, her charm came more from her body than her face.
That wasn't a judgment based solely on her having a large chest.
From her chest to her cinched waist, and the hip line that drew a curve so intense it was scary to stand behind her.
If we were talking about her body alone, she was at a level that would be in the top 1%.
Seeing a woman like that, how could I not say she was pretty?
Anyway.
Sitting in the carriage, just the two of us, I couldn't help but feel something a bit steamy.
I'd felt it with Cecilia before, too.
Certainly, this is what's good about romance fantasies.
"By the way, will you be alright?"
"What?"
When I was lost in such thoughts.
Perhaps wanting to erase the awkward silence, Sonia asked me.
"Attending together."
"It's fine. Or what, did you want to attend alone?"
"No. How could that be! It's just... if we go together to a place like that, um... other people might think... that we are...."
Sonia trailed off, not finishing her sentence.
From what I gathered, it seemed that because the attendance at the tea party was decided so suddenly, they hadn't been able to make decisions on a few matters.
Especially the part about me attending with her seemed to be bothering her.
"Men don't usually attend those kinds of places, right?"
"Yes... that's right. If they are lovers or a married couple, they attend together, but it's... rare for a man who isn't to attend. So...."
"Hmm. It could certainly cause a misunderstanding."
Hearing her explanation, it was a subject that could definitely cause that.
Unlike a general party that doesn't limit participation, a tea party was said to be a kind of club-like gathering where young ladies of similar age or people of a specific gender or profession gathered.
Therefore, the only people who would bring someone of the opposite sex there were lovers or spouses about to be married.
Come to think of it, that seemed correct.
If friends were gathering, and someone suddenly brought a friend of the opposite sex who didn't fit into that group, they would feel burdened.
Actually, in that sense, when I sent the reply accepting the tea party, I had told her to send it without my name.
The part related to attendance was something I had missed.
Sonia probably thought I had something in mind, but
Well, it's not like I have experience with this kind of thing....
Anyway, it was late, but I felt I needed to make a quick judgment on her question.
So, I reached a conclusion of my own.
"I'll just go with you, but I'll skip the tea party itself."
"Ah... yes."
Sonia looked visibly disappointed, as if she had wanted me to go to the tea party with her.
But my conclusion didn't end there, you know?
"Instead, how about this?"
"...Yes?"
While delivering the disappointment, I also presented an alternative.
And at that suggestion,
"Really... are you going to do that for me? Is that possible? If you do that... I would be so grateful."
Sonia nodded.