Volume 2 Chapter 66 Missing Information
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Maribel stepped out into the hallway with 2 guards.
Outside the door, a noblewoman they had seen before waited with a worried expression.
”Your Excellency!”
”Fringilla, I am now heading to Oswald.”
”It’s dangerous outside, Your Excellency.”
The noblewoman called Fringilla said this in a reproachful tone, but Maribel just shook her head.
”Your Excellency, as the lord of the border, you must not easily bow your head to your vassals. It was Lord Guillaume who acted disrespectfully to Lord Oswald. It is only right to go and have Lord Guillaume apologize.”
”……”
Maribel stood still, as if in doubt.
She certainly understood what the noblewoman was saying.
If she bowed too much, the surrounding noble lords might look down on her for lacking pride, and it was unreasonable for Maribel to bear the responsibility for Guillaume’s misdeeds alone.
The guard looked at Maribel.
”Shall we bring Lord Guillaume?”
”…If we bring him, Oswald won’t let him into the mansion. He might be turned away on the grounds of poor health.”
”Such a traitor should be purged, Your Excellency.”
”Fringilla, are you serious about that?”
Maribel’s words were calm.
Fringilla seemed to understand the situation, her expression troubled as she listened to the young princess’s words.
The Margrave family could not afford to be easily disliked by Oswald──.
The Margrave family’s finances depended significantly on Oswald.
If their relationship soured and he demanded repayment of the money lent, Maribel and the others would have to borrow from elsewhere to make up for it.
Without a doubt, Oswald was the foremost person they could not afford to make an enemy.
”I should have kept a proper watch on Lord Guillaume.”
Maribel lowered her dark blue eyes.
”It’s our mistake. Just because he came from a knight’s family and he’s a skilled adventurer, he completely ignored what was happening between the two of you.”
If the relationship with Oswald is the main artery, then she should have at least managed whether there were issues with Guillaume.
If she had known there was something off with Guillaume, she could have quickly arranged a substitute.
But now it’s too late to regret.
”I’ll go too!”
”No, there might be assassins hiding in the fortress. It’s dangerous to be with me.”
”Precisely because it is dangerous, I shall go!”
Fringilla bent down and took Maribel’s hand.
”Even someone like me can at least dodge arrows! If your resolve is firm, I won’t say anything more. Now, let us proceed.”
”Thank you, Fringilla.”
Maribel smiled faintly.
The lady stood beside the guard──behind Maribel.
The group increased from 4 to 5 people.
’How adored she is.’
(That lady Fringilla is, if I’m correct, hired from the center as Maribel’s tutor, according to Christy.
She must be quite fond of her pupil Maribel.)
The group moved through the corridor with Maribel at the lead.
Most of the nobles quietly made way, but at the entrance, 3 men and women forced the young princess to stop.
Current ‘Knights of the Sun’ Eleonora of Sunlightland.
It seems she was chatting standing with fellow ‘Knights of the Sun’ member Renaud de Châtillon and Knight Owl.
The red-haired lady──Eleonora was in a graceful dress today, but she seemed angry, exuding an aura of rage.
Dragon knight Renaud glared at Maribel.
Owl was wearing an apron.
Despite the casual appearance, he looked at them blankly, even though he usually wore a big smile.
”Your Excellency, are you back?”
Eleonora raised her red eyebrows and asked in a cold voice.
Fringilla and the guard stepped forward to protect Maribel.
However, both were slightly intimidated by Eleonora’s presence.
”No, to Oswald. Is he already in the carriage?”
”Yes, Aisha has collected him.”
”I see… about today’s rehearsal, I too think Lord Guillaume went a bit overboard.”
”A bit?”
Eleonora’s anger seeped through.
”Is worried about the man who’s kneeling and trying to connect the oil in the instant he’s about to leap, is it ‘just a bit’? What do you think Your Excellency sees Oswald as? A jester serving the king?”
”──Well, I’m not planning to side with Oswald,”
Renaud squeezed out his words like a growl then he continued.
”It’s rare to see a match that makes you feel sick just by watching. The audience getting excited over that is ridiculous. That knight on the opposing side, does he not have even the minimal pride or courtesy needed as a knight? This isn’t a real kill or be killed, it’s just practice, right? If I were there, I would have trampled him right on the spot and turned his corpse to dust for dousing others with oil mixed with the fat of undead ghouls.”
”I was the one who knighted him. I spoke to him before and after the ceremony, and Lord Guillaume did not seem like a strange man at all. Your Excellency, I hope no one has conspired to have Lord Guillaume humiliate Oswald.”
”That is not the case.”
”Then, it was something Guillaume did of his own judgment?”
”We are investigating. My steward will soon call Lord Guillaume himself to hear the circumstances. We will know exactly what happened by tomorrow, and we intend to take appropriate measures at that time.”
”I look forward to Your Excellency’s skills. However, Oswald is one of the core knights who will lead the next generation of the ‘Knights of the Sun.’ Please keep that in mind.”
”We will carry out the judgment with precision and fairness, in a manner that satisfies the majority. If Oswald is an innocent victim, we will take appropriate measures against Lord Guillaume.”
”It’s clear that Oswald is an innocent victim, anyway. ――Well, that’s fine. I’ll take my leave now. Farewell.”
Eleonora said this with a stern expression and turned her back to Maribel.
Her attendant, who had been waiting behind her, hurriedly followed.
”Hey, Kian.”
”…What is it, Sir Renaud?”
”How is the sharpness of the Windsong Blade?”
”…It’s simply wonderful.”
”That’s the most important thing.”
Renaud grunted lowly while turning away.
His eyes──whether from excitement or anger──had changed to yellow reptilian eyes.
”You’re my prey. I won’t let anyone else kill you before that. ――That’s right, remember it well.”
”……”
Renaud said only that and followed Eleonora out of the arena.
Only Owl remained behind.
An awkward silence flowed in the air, but after a moment, the knight of the owl opened his mouth with concern.
”Your Excellency, are you heading to Oswald’s house right now?”
”Yes. Is there a problem?”
”It’s dangerous outside. Should I accompany you?”
”No, please continue to guard here. Oswald, Aisha, Renaud, and Eleonora have all gone home. If the enemy attacks again, you will be the only one who can stand against them here.”
”Hmm…, will you be going by carriage?”
”Yes.”
”I see. Kian, I leave Your Excellency to you. You seem to have exhausted quite a bit of magic power, are you alright?”
”Yes, I’m fine.”
”Well, I think Kian can keep up with most assassins…”
”Oh, we’re here too! Lord Owl!”
The young guard stepped forward in indignation.
Owl, after fixing his narrowed eyes behind his glasses on the guard, simply said, “Well, I’m sorry.”
”Is your familiar hiding in the shadows?”
”…Did you notice?”
”Yes. It’s a much more perfected concealment than last time I saw it. If Kian and your familiar are here, it seems fine. ──Well then, Your Excellency, I’ll see you later.”
”Yes. ──Um, Owl.”
”……?”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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