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Volume 3 — Chapter 1 — Fiancee Part 3
— — —
The next day. I put forward a plan for managing the territory that took Noma's cooperation into account, and as expected, my subordinates questioned my sanity.
I had no choice but to introduce Noma. Only I could make it happen because it requires an enormous amount of Mana, and materialize the Spirit as well.
The people in charge of agriculture, distribution, and finance were consulting with each other with wicked smiles on their faces, so I am sure they would be able to manage the plan well. For the time being, Noma will be extremely busy. I felt pity for her, but it was a contract, so she had to put up with it.
In addition, I introduced her to Caron and Orca. They were calling her “Cute” repeatedly and rubbing Noma the wrong way. I was a bit jealous.
Getting back on topic.
The work was done in one go. In the afternoon, I was about to attend Nina’s training, a girl in my custody, when Daniel, the executive in charge of foreign affairs, came into the office. He had a difficult expression on his face, so I guessed that it was a troublesome matter.
I stopped him, who was about to start with various greetings and asked him to quickly explain what he had to do.
“I received a letter from the Royal Court.”
Daniel's one word changed the atmosphere in the office. It became heavy and tense.
No wonder. The incident with Curtis has been shared with all of my subordinates. Their distrust of the Royal Court was extraordinary. They were so wary that a single letter could cause such alarm.
That was proof that Caron was loved by everyone, but let's put it aside for now. The first priority was to proceed with the topic.
I urge Daniel to give the letter to me. Then, using the letter knife handed to me by Shion, I cut the seal.
The letter was covered with a lot of words, but since letters for nobles were often decorated, I skimmed through it and confirmed only the main points.
Five minutes later. I let out a small sigh as my subordinates held their breath. Then, I told them in a simple manner what the Royal Court wanted.
“It seems that they want to propose Caron as the Second Prince’s fiance.”
“““““““!?”””””””
I could feel everyone gasp. We all had a common feeling and that was, “This is beyond brazen and shameless.” It was totally unexpected.
That’s right. I had already guessed that Caron would be proposed to as a fiancee to the Royal Family. She was a Light Magician with a reputation as the “Saintess of Sunlight.” As we know from Curtis' case, the country was in desperate need of such a person. There was no way that the royal court would not take the most reliable means of securing the talent. The fact that Curtis, who manipulates with [Dolls] was reporting that there was no problem probably contributed to this trend.
There was nothing unnatural about being notified a year prior to her Ninth-Ceremony.
There was nothing unnatural about being notified a year prior to the nine-order ceremony. She was going to be a partner of someone from the Royal Family, so we should be given at least a year to prepare in advance. Well, one year was not much. Are they trying to harass us?
But, it had finally come…
I had anticipated this engagement apart from the aforementioned factors.
Needless to say, game knowledge. In the game, Caron was engaged to the Second Prince. Not to mention that the Second Prince was a capture target, though there was no chance for them to get together because Caron dies on any route.
When I remembered the Second Prince, I got annoyed. The Second Prince hates Caron more than when they first met. He ignores Caron, who tries to do everything for him, and doesn't treat her as if she were his fiancée. He also doesn't like her because she was blonde, for some unintelligible reason.
No, it was fine that he doesn't like blondes. Considering his relatives, it was understandable why he dislikes them. And yet, the reason I say it makes no sense was that the protagonist, the Saint, was also blonde.
I really don't get it. How could he be with the Saint when he said that he dislike blondes? And if I enter the exclusive route, he was still in love with the Saint just like the common route.
You have to improve your bad first impression and get to know each other. I understand that was one of the spices of a romance game. I couldn’t help but pity Caron in the game. To be honest, I dislike him the most among the targets in the game.
The reason why I dislike him was not only because he was related to Caron.
The Second Prince has the character of giving his undivided affection to those he likes, but he was thoroughly cold to those he dislikes.
It may sound a little better to say, “His affection for his people is boundless, but he shows no mercy to his enemies.” I often see characters with such personalities as protagonists in recent fiction.
However, as a member of the Royal Family, I could only say that he was unqualified. If he couldn't deal with people he disliked with a smile on his face, there was no way he could rule a country. He wasn’t fit to be king because he was not able to mix the two.
Well, in the Second Prince’s route, he will take the position of the Holy King. His route develops with the support of the Saint.
Sigh…I've complained a lot, but now I have to think about how to respond to the demands from the Royal Court.
In Foranada’s current state, it was very difficult to turn back demands from the royal court. And if we were to refuse an engagement from the Royal Family, we would inevitably be bashed by the nobles in the vicinity. Normally, the only course would be to accept the request, but how should we deal with the situation?
—Let's put the situation into perspective.
As someone has already guessed from my past actions, the power of the Royal Court was quite strong in the Holy Kingdom. This country was also a religious nation, so even though it was organized separately from the church, the idea that “Those who are deeply religious must follow the King's words,” has been ingrained in the country.
Of course, they were not so powerful that they could be flexible about anything. The nobles, who were the ruling class, have a certain independence, while the commoners do not.
However, there are many nobles who belong to the Holy King's faction for the sake of their power, and if they overtly rebel, they will turn even the nobles of their own faction against them.
If I were to overtly rebel, I would make enemies with the nobles of that faction as well. Therefore, I have been careful not to take any hostile action against the Royal Court. It was impossible for us to win at this stage.
Then, should I destroy the Holy Royal Family?
To be honest, I thought about that too. It would be one way for me to demonstrate my overwhelming military might and keep my surroundings through fear.
But, I don’t want to do that.
My goal was to overturn Caron’s impending doom—but I didn't think it would be better if she simply didn't die. Even if she survived, it would be too sad to leave her with nothing but a future in which she would not be able to laugh.
If a government through fear was put in place, what awaits them was a probing battle with potential enemies. Surely, Caron would not have a pleasant life. Such an ending was not what I wanted.
That was why I endure for now. I have to be careful not to fall into the wrong trap, but to act with an eye on the future, not the immediate future.
I asked, turning my attention to the people in each department who were present.
“How’s that progressing?”
“No problem on my end.”
“No problem here either.”
“We will need a little more time. But with Noma-dono’s help, our plans will move forward significantly…”
“Likewise.”
“Same here.”
“...No problem here.”
“Fumu.”
So Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Intelligence are all ready to go, and Agriculture,
Finance and Distribution were up to Noma. The Knights and the Magician's corps were about to reach their minimums, so I have to seriously ask Noma to do her best.
“How long will it take?”
My further question was answered by the three of them, who ponder the question as they were not ready. After some discussion, the treasurer spoke up.
“We need time until the end of the current fiscal year.”
“Just in time.”
The Royal Court was of the opinion that they would like to announce the engagement at Caron’s ninth birthday ceremony. Caron's birthday was in March, that was, at the end of this school year.
Just in time—no, it was a little too late, since some nobles would probably get the information in advance.
However, I couldn't complain. They must have made the utmost effort to come up with this estimate. If that was the case, then we should just go around so that it won't be a problem even if it takes time until the end of the fiscal year.
“Proceed as quickly as possible. You can take as much time off as you want after we're done.”
“““Yes sir!”””
The three of them responded in a spirited manner. I believe they will be fine.
Now, we have decided on a plan.
“Accept the engagement to the Second Prince. However, I have no intention of simply agreeing to it. Everyone should make their own preparations toward the end of the year. Next March, Foranada will be on the move.”
““““““““Yes!””””””””
My subordinates were fired up and handled their work at a faster pace than before.
“It's going to be another busy year.”
I muttered to myself as I watched them work so quickly and efficiently.
— —
Later, when I told Caron about her engagement to the Second Prince, she reluctantly accepted saying, “You must have some plan Onii-sama.” She seemed to have understood my intentions.
As I expected from my sister who was as much of a Brocon as I am. She seems to know everything about her brother.
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