186 Grand Duke Debonis
...I think Rosemary's ideal is probably to strengthen and centralize royal power.
He left the friendship with Glowonica to his younger brother and formed his own faction, and did not want his maternal relatives to have power. As he follows in the footsteps of Prince Josiah and Princess Stefania, it is clear that he wants to reduce the influence of the Grand Dukes and Dukes on the royal family.
This is also reflected in the concept of meritocracy - if Rosemary were to follow her ideas, she would place more emphasis on marriages with excellent magicians, priests, and shrine maidens "for the future of the labyrinth and the royal family" than between those two families. I'm going to do it. There is already an example of Albert and Marlene, and Rosemary recognizes the abilities of those two.
There is a point where King Melvin and the first queen try to avoid conflict between the two families by not supporting either of them. After marrying the first queen and establishing the face of the Grand Duke family, both the second and third queens have chosen to have no connection with either family.
If you look at the current situation with that background in mind...
“…You couldn’t investigate Marlene’s assassination attempt too deeply because you were wary of your maternal relatives?”
"Rather than being on guard, I guess it's more about maintaining relationships. If you push too far into the bushes and a snake comes out, it's probably a bad thing. After the devil's attack, it was urgent to rebuild, and the Archduke's cooperation was needed for that purpose. I have to ask the duke's family as well.If we proceed with a thorough investigation and find out that there is a relationship with either family, it will inevitably lead to a deterioration in the relationship.''
As a result, when Roy was replaced by a member of the Grand Duke's family, Roy had no connection to the Grand Duke's family, and he was the one responsible for the crime...Roy seems to have been aware of the circumstances.
That said, it's something that has been bothering King Melvin for a long time...I guess the reason he's backed my investigation recently is because the situation is different from back then.
That's what Rosemary said about King Melvin being able to move more easily.
The damage caused by the attack of the Sleeping King has largely been repaired, the knights have been rebuilt, and their personnel and equipment have been updated, allowing the royal family to come out strongly against both families.
I myself have no ties to either of them.
“Grand Duke Debonis is supposed to be at the royal castle today, so I thought it would be a good idea to let him know. Grand Duke Devonis is not stupid, so I don’t think there will be any problems.”
I see. Was King Melvin's guest the Grand Duke Debonis?
Since the Grand Duke's second son is King Melvin's cousin, does that mean that King Melvin's aunt is married to the Grand Duke? A family tree can be complicated in many ways.
After finishing talking with Rosemary, I headed to the King's Tower to arrange another meeting with King Melvin, but on the way I saw an elderly man coming from the other side with his companion.
When he catches my eye, he quietly opens his mouth.
"Hmm. The color of that hair and eyes. I think it's the ambassador from another world that I've heard about. My name is Debonis Baltwistle."
"Are you Grand Duke Devonis? As you may have guessed, I am Theodor Gartner, the ambassador of another world."
"...Hmm. I've heard about your success. You should work hard."
DeBonis just left.
...I guess I was expecting something more. It seems like he was careful not to get too deep into me. Also, the expression on his face at the end when he squinted his eyes a little and smiled...it looked like that of a tired person, or rather, it looked sad.
"-Theodore-kun?"
As I looked into the hallway where Grand Duke Debonis had disappeared, I heard Prince Josiah, the crown prince, calling out to me from behind.
“This is His Highness Josiah.”
"Did you see Archduke Devonis here? Did he say anything to you?"
“I exchanged a few greetings, but…”
I don't think it's okay to talk about that impression, but Prince Josiah looks at me as if urging me to proceed.
"For some reason, you seemed a little tired."
"I see..."
Prince Josiah also frowned at my response.
"Please give me some time after talking with my father. We talked about the feud with the duke and the Roy incident... but I got a little emotional."
Was there something I said too much?
It's true that behind Marlene's assassination attempt there was a feud between the Archduke family and the Duke family. It is also true that Roy took advantage of that.
If you look at it from Grand Duke Debonis' point of view, he would have been dissatisfied with King Melvin, the first queen, Prince Josiah, Princess Stefania, and others who were not very accommodating.
However, Roy was different. The fact that a member of the Grand Duke's family was appointed as his successor also meant that Roy had become close to the Grand Duke to some extent.
Therefore, it is not unthinkable that Roy's way of thinking is influenced by the words and actions of Archduke Debonis.
I guess Prince Josiah blamed him for that. From Prince Josiah's point of view, Roy has always been a good brother to him... so he would probably want to voice his dissatisfaction with Archduke Debonis.
I don't think Prince Josiah's thoughts would be as dangerous as the Grand Duke's, but seeing as he distanced himself from me, Prince Josiah's words might actually have been answered quite well.
“…If you don’t regret it, wouldn’t it be better if you just said something to me?”
"--That's right. Let's do that."
Prince Josiah smiled bitterly at my words and quickly walked down the hallway.
"Oh. I've kept you waiting, Theodore."
While waiting in the salon, King Melvin appears.
"yes"
The tea will be brought to you soon.
"I just went to the north tower."
It doesn't seem like I should get involved with Grand Duke Devonis or Prince Josiah.
I will proceed with my story. First, I told King Melvin what I had talked about with Rosemary. Since it is related to Silvatria, it will probably be related to the story from here on as well.
"I see... I guess it's a connection between Silvatria and the founders of barrier arts -- the ones who built the Spirit Hall and the Moonlight Temple... It's not an impossible story."
“Did you find out anything about the magicians the other day?”
"Those people are said to be the vassals of Marquis Gilbolt of Silvatria. They claim to be former vassals, but I think they were arranged that way as a formal measure against the Magic Inquisition."
In fact, if it's formalized, it won't be a lie, and the other side will be able to make amends. Considering the fact that they are putting up preventive measures, there is a high possibility that even if they protest, they will be ignored.
But it's Marquis Gilbault. I don't know much about the nobles of Silvatria, so I don't know what kind of person they are...
"Although he belongs to the Crown Prince's faction... he's not a person I've heard very good rumors about. That's why I can't say he's connected to the Crown Prince."
Is it Marquis Gilbert's arbitrary decision, or is it the Crown Prince's intention? I guess they couldn't reach a conclusion on that point even if they interrogated those two people.
There's probably no point in listening to their opinions. In the first place, I still can't see a single reason to send agents here.
"Confirm the identity of the magicians and protest. Let's make sure to do this. I have approved the personal letter so that it will not reach the Crown Prince's ears. Also, is it necessary to warn them about the Belliondora incident? ”
"Certainly... If it's a normal messenger, there's a possibility that the Crown Prince will get in the way."
"Hmm. Also, about Randolph and Skugslow's tail."
"yes"
"The wealth that Randolph accumulated through fraud will be confiscated. This will be used to compensate the victims. The Tail of Skugslow will also be discarded after some demonstration experiments. Is this the kind of place it is?"
Well... that's reasonable. I don't know how much money Randolph had saved up.
"...So, let's leave this complicated topic for now. I'm a little tired today as well. There's still a lot of confusion regarding the governance of the south."
Is that what Archduke Debonis needs? The power of the Duoberis cult has been diminished, but that doesn't mean things are going to be tough in the south.
"Let's change the topic then."
"That's right. I heard from Albert that you guys seem to be doing some pretty interesting things."
“Are you talking about opening a store in Higashi Ward?”
"Yes, that's it. I was thinking of ordering the things I'm going to sell there at the castle as well."
Billiards and darts. And maybe cards too. Maybe a shaved ice machine or carbonated drinks?
He may have heard from Albert about the entertainment room. He certainly seems like a good advertisement to have in the castle.
"The King's Tower and the Knight's Tower. I'm also thinking of installing one in the guesthouse. Is that possible?"
"Okay. I'll try to get it to you as soon as possible."
"Hmm. Thank you."
Just like that, King Melvin showed a smile that looked similar to Albert's.
Comments
Post a Comment