Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The War Hero Becomes the Fairy Godmother (7)
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[At that moment. Senderan Duchy Archduke's Castle.]
"Your Grace. Have you decided on a reply to the letter from the Arsin Barony?"
"Don't rush me, my dear."
In the archduke's office at the castle.
The middle-aged archducal couple sat side by side amicably across from a desk, deep in thought over the few letters and sheets of parchment laid out before them.
"Shall we side with the Arsin Barony, or with the Glasion Marquis Household and the rest of the noble faction?"
"If we're thinking about justice, we should help the Arsin Barony."
The middle-aged archduchess cautiously offered her opinion.
"Even if it goes to court, legally speaking, the Arsin Barony's legitimate bloodline would win. We can't just stand by while outsiders ruin the family's assets. Not even if the baroness has remarried."
"That's unexpected, my dear."
"Unexpected how?"
"I thought you'd say, like in other kingdoms or duchies, that since the wife remarried, she should take her share of the assets."
"Your Grace, that's something that happens in the Empire."
The archduchess shot the archduke a sharp glare.
"They say Empire women take their husband's assets as alimony in divorces. My home country was heavily influenced by the Empire, but it hasn't degenerated to that extent."
"Ahem, it's not degeneration so much as..."
"What is it, Your Grace? You're not considering introducing those Empire laws, are you?"
"...I'm not talking about just adopting the asset division in divorces. Once we open the borders and Empire culture starts flowing in, all that will gradually seep in too."
The archduke picked up a ballpoint pen from beside his desk.
"Even using a mass-produced item like this instead of a quill pen is a culture that came from the Empire. Their influence will permeate every aspect of daily life, and the duchy will soon be swept up in the wave of Empire culture."
"And this Arsin Barony issue is what will decide that flow?"
"Coincidentally... it has come down to that."
The archduke picked up the neatly penned letter from the Arsin Barony.
"Precisely because the Glasion Marquis Household, which wants the Arsin Barony to fall, is at the core of the noble alliance. They thoroughly reject introducing Empire culture through border openings and refuse any Empire artifacts entering the duchy."
"Yet behind the scenes, they use Empire goods better than anyone."
"That's nobles for you—two-faced by nature. If you think that's the archetype of nobility... Sigh, no, this isn't the time for that."
The archduke ran his hand over the words in the letter.
"To suppress the noble faction and check the Glasion Marquis, shall we save the Arsin Barony they're trying to destroy? Or, starting with their sacrifice, sweep away all the outdated nobles?"
"It's a good opportunity and choice, but the Arsin Barony isn't outdated, is it?"
"That's why I haven't decided yet. Especially since Baron Arsin earned merits in the war against the Empire."
The archduke sighed deeply and sank back into his chair.
"If he'd committed corruption or colluded with the Empire, I'd feel better about it, but his only crime is being too pure-hearted."
The archduchess's eyes turned to a sheet of parchment on the desk, and the archduke picked it up and unfurled it wide.
"Blinded by the fact that the woman he took as his wife had magitech armor, he got greedy, and at a time when the family head needed to hold steady, he collapsed for some unknown reason."
"We still don't know the cause?"
"No. But thanks to that collapse... the daughter of the woman he was closest to has sent this letter."
"......She really looks just like Cindy. It's heartbreaking that she's had to send a letter like this."
The archduchess stared at the letter stamped with the Arsin Barony's seal for a long while before shaking her head briefly.
"So what will you do? Will you grant young Lady Arsin's request at this banquet?"
"Hm...."
"Politically speaking, there's no downside. This is a celebration of surviving the Empire, but it's also the perfect way to assert the duchy's prestige by putting the Empire in its place."
"That's true... enough."
The archduke and archduchess turned their eyes toward the bed, where a mannequin wore a flowing, ethereal dress.
"Attending the banquet in magitech armor."
"Interpretations may vary, but those captivated by the beauty of magitech armor might lose their aversion to Empire artifacts. At least on the surface, it's clothing that rivals any in high society—not lacking, but even more beautiful."
"...To seduce the great hero with the Empire's th-"
"Magitech."
"Right. The attire made by scholars and geniuses."
Magitech armor.
The term "armor" might sound suited only for battlefields, but hang one in a boutique salon on the street, and it wouldn't be out of place—it would even overwhelm other dresses with its aesthetic beauty.
"If we allow young Lady Arsin to attend the banquet in magitech armor, other noble houses will subtly follow suit. It won't be a dress showcase... it'll be a magitech armor parade."
"...High society banquets are essentially brag-fests anyway. Whether it's trendy jewels, dress designs, faces, or figures."
"Then...?"
"We'll help."
The archduke picked up the quill pen next to the ballpoint.
"How can I sit idle when my wife's dear friend's daughter is suffering? And..."
The archduke gazed at the elegant yet vigorous handwriting on the letter and pressed the quill's tip to a blank parchment.
"And?"
"Since we're dressing them in magitech armor anyway, let's send our eldest daughter out in some too."
"Eh... Is that alright?"
The archduchess tilted her head in concern.
"That girl won't even glance at anyone but Sir Wilhelm."
* * *
The archduke's banquet.
As a matter of course, a banquet hosted by the ruling house is the grandest social event in the land.
Especially if it's a post-armistice gathering to pray for peace—its significance is all the greater.
How should the duchy's nobles live in this era of peace?
Simply put, it's a place to steel one's mindset for navigating the new age.
Thinking politically and complexly, the archduke's banquet determines—or announces—the policy direction the Senderan Duchy will pursue going forward.
Take the Grates Kingdom, for example.
'It was a political declaration that the royal family would embrace Hans Wilhelm.'
Bringing up the marriage to Princess Knight Sylvia in front of all the nobles was a ploy to check them while solidifying royal authority.
Even if the king, with his flower-filled head, simply thought, "Hehe, if it's the dying old man's last wish, Sir Wilhelm might take my daughter out of pity," if it led to politically meaningful processes and outcomes, it was a political act.
Because he was the king.
Because he was the highest authority in the land, every action could be interpreted politically, and he had to be mindful of that.
The Senderan Duchy's archduke was no different.
As archduke, he was probably agonizing over it.
Over the idea of someone appearing at the banquet hall not in a mere dress, but in magitech armor.
From the duchy's perspective, it might be uncomfortable for a mere baron's daughter to wear magitech armor.
Unable to grant special privilege to one, others with magitech armor could attend in theirs too.
It would become a full-blown magitech armor showcase.
Politically sensitive, and militarily risky—terrorism targeting the armor at the banquet wasn't out of the question—but
"Yuri!! It's approved!"
Just like Diela Arsin bouncing around in joy, the archduke had apparently approved it coolly.
"Look at this! A letter from the archduke's house!"
"They said it's fine to attend the banquet in magitech armor?"
"Yes!"
Diela clutched the letter stamped with the archduke's seal in both hands, overjoyed.
"Yuri! We need to go to the salon together!"
"If it's to escort you, miss..."
"No, Yuri as a guest too!"
"Pardon?"
"I can't go alone, right?"
Diela extended one hand toward me like a lady being escorted by a knight, smiling faintly.
"At the banquet hall, Yuri's not the butler—you're a knight."
"A knight...?"
"A knight from a foreign land with amnesia. You can prove it, can't you?"
Diela pointed to the mercenaries' underlings outside the office—more precisely, the ones stealthily watching us.
"You beat 17 aura-less knights 17-to-1. Who could say you're not a knight?"
"Well... if proving knighthood comes down to skill, I can certainly demonstrate... Hm?"
Now, what's this mana reaction?
"What's wrong, Yuri?"
"Miss...!!"
I charged toward Diela at the mana reaction from outside.
I hugged her tight and rolled to the floor.
And then.
KABOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion rocked the mansion.
I shielded her body over Diela's prone form on the floor, protecting her from the shockwave.
Thump.
"Ah...!"
It's not my fault it touched.
Even lying down, it didn't flatten—Diela's fault for pointing straight up.
"Wh-what was that explosion...?"
"Miss!!"
The door burst open as the butler appeared.
"The armory!!"