Stranger’s Handbook

Chapter 82: The Imperial Family’s Scheming

“That was rather fast, grandson-in-law-dono. Did you make your move?”

After the junky sister preached for me, I traveled to the Frontier Count’s domain.

There was something I needed to confirm no matter what.

“So my coming here was within your expectation.……..Well, I, more or less, took some measures.”

I showed the Count the sermon the sister wrote for me; it was enveloped by the Priestess’ Blessing…….something similar to a magic seal.

The parchment containing the sermon was inside this seal.

“Oh? A sermon……..Hoho, this can be useful in so many situations…….”

“Yes. But what about the Emperor? What’s his real intention after all?”

“The elf prince is a blockhead…..That’s why he wants them to get married.”

As expected……..

I put the parchment away, and the Frontier Count continued.

“Grandson-in-law-dono, princess Tsubaki betrayed you…….Does this anger you?”

He looked at me, examining my reaction……

“No. This was originally a political marriage. That princess…….or, better said, the imperial family has to be like that, otherwise it’s no good. Precisely because it was in their advantage, that they lowered their heads to me in conciliation.”

“………It’s good you understand this. Listen, all right? You should never even consider that the imperial family moves based on emotions. You can’t sit at the top of a country and still act with simplicity. You should never trust other nobles apart from your family either. It’s okay to rely on them, but you should never completely open up to anyone.”

He looked me straight in the eyes then continued.

“I left Bea in your care, and if you want to protect her as a noble, you must possess a capacious mind. But that’s only in case you act like a noble…….For a stranger like you this might be rather strict.”

“……I made up my mind already.”

“Then it’s all right. The Emperor wants to conquer the elves’ country from inside, since that blockhead is the crown prince after all. If he takes the Princess as his legal wife, their child will rule the country after the next king…….That’s about it.”

“Then, what I must do is……..”

“Yes, that would be to cancel the engagement in a skillful manner……In addition to that………”

“I have to adopt princess Tsubaki and make her marry the prince……am I right?”

There it is….

That face!? That’s why you’re scary…….

“That’s right. It will be troublesome if she marries as a princess, since we don’t know if the elven royal family will turn against his Majesty the Emperor in the future.”

“She’s thoroughly treated as an object…….”

The Frontier Count sipped some of his tea.

I drank some too…..My throat was really dry……

“Right. If she marries as a princess, our empire loses its inheritance rights, so they can easily interfere with our affairs. But in case she marries as the daughter of the hero who achieved spiritification, the man also called the sword of the empire, no one would complain; the spirit gives its divine protection to both our countries after all……so it’s beneficial.”

“All that’s left now…….is for me to find a reason to cancel the engagement, one that the nobles will find acceptable too.”

“Indeed. You cannot say that you canceled the engagement because of the existence of another proposal. But in case this is the Will of God, then it can’t really be helped……Spirit-sama also agrees to this, right?”

He smiled at Toto, who sat on his shoulder.

Haha, the Frontier Count’s soft spot was exposed……

“Yes, everything should be all right.”

“Hoho, grandson-in-law-dono………….You got a perfect score. The Emperor might trust you a little now.”

He said and started to laugh. The Frontier Count was really scary in such moments….

Toto, it’s all right, you can try to send him away flying! I won’t mind.

I was in the imperial capital, inside the audience room.

I read the parchment out loud in front of his Majesty and the other nobles.

‘This is a sermon on the engagement between his Excellency, Duke Zest and her Highness, Princess Tsubaki. The river water flows into the sea, praying for the birth of a new life. Every tree in the forest needs light, so we should never try to perforate the rocks. And the reason for that is the Will of God!’

Yeah, I don’t understand it either……However…….

“This sermon itself is the Will of God. In our empire, the Frontier Count’s domain is blessed with fresh mountain rivers, while the imperial capital is the sea. And on the opposite side of the sea, there’s a forest……..In short, the God’s Will is for the princess to marry inside the elven royal family and make the light shine on our both nations.”

Toto nodded in agreement.

“The Frontier Count’s Household is the rock, and since I have a deep connection with it, I will end up piercing the rock…..in short, this means that I must never marry her Highness, Princess Tsubaki.”

Toto smiled broadly and kept on nodding to my words.

“The spirit recognized the Will of God as well…….In this case, I will cancel my engagement and accept the Will of God. I advise you all to do the same, and approve of her Highness, Princess Tsubaki’s marriage with the elf prince.”

“This is certainly something approved by a priest…….Since the God and the spirit spoke their thoughts, this is unavoidable. However, isn’t it troublesome for the Duke’s Household?”

“There’s no such thing.”

“What about letting Tsubaki get married after she’s adopted into the Duke’s Household?”

“If that’s what you wish, your Majesty, then the spirit will become a bridge between our both countries, and it will be an honor for my Duke’s Household as well. I must express my gratitude to your Majesty’s consideration.”

Yes, this was all a huge farce, since everything was already decided.

I interpreted the sermon as it seemed fit at the moment, but because Toto acknowledged it, it all became real.

It couldn’t be helped if the spirit agreed.

As for princess Tsubaki……yeah, she was indeed part of the imperial family…….She’s pretty wicked for a little girl.

The Emperor wishes for me to bond with her.

For the time being, I’ll try that once she’s part of my family.

While we’re at it, I will indeed have connections with the elves’ country, but princess Tsubaki will never make a move with only my words.

It will be impossible for me to……turn against the empire together with the elves.

The Emperor knew this as well, that’s why he proposed this arrangement.

And since I was already showing him an attitude of cooperation for the benefit of our empire, he didn’t want to force me any further.

………….Or maybe I was being tested? That’s one possibility too.

He might have wanted to see if I will make a move for the benefit of the empire.

If I do make a move, then everything is great. But if I don’t, then he will offer me his daughter as a concubine……..

Really now, how deep is their scheming!?….This damned imperial family!

Well, I already decided that I will be loyal to this empire as long as they don’t make a move at Bea.

And they didn’t for now.

Instead of making Tsubaki marry me from an inferior position, and probably end up fighting with Bea, it was better, to some extent, for our connection to have a different nature. That’s what they most likely considered.

It was all about politics……and that’s really troublesome…………

It’s really hard for me to interact with the imperial family for some reason………

I hope I won’t have anything to do with them for a while…………..

Therefore, it was decided that princess Tsubaki will get adopted into my family and marry the elf prince.

As for me, I just wanted to return home……