Chapter 314 - Bandit Extermination ③
The Royal Capital of Northern Gram was a circular town where the outer walls, built along the curve of a river flowing to the south, occupied about two-thirds of its circumference. Due to the wide river and its proximity to the sea, it had developed as a trading town involving the continent. The royal palace was located on the southern side, surrounded by a cluster of aristocratic mansions.
One of these, the mansion of Duke Hexham, was exceptionally large, reflecting his prestige.
The mansion was a grand three-story building employing many servants, but even today, the servants' gossip centered on the heir of the house.
"The young master was scolded by the master again. He's being quite strict, isn't he?"
"The young master doesn't have a very proactive personality, after all."
"He's kind-hearted. He originally wanted to become a priest, didn't he?"
"That may be so, but he's the only child now, right? You can't send your biological child to the church and take an heir. For the master, who wants to see the house prosper, it must be incredibly frustrating."
"Prosper any more than this? The only thing left is to become king."
"Hey! Don't say such reckless things!"
In fact, the Hexham family could be called the preeminent noble house in Northern Gram. While there were two other families of similar rank, their involvement in military and judicial affairs gave them a far greater voice in the royal palace than the others.
The heir to the Hexham family was the third son, who would turn fifteen this year, as the eldest son had died young and the second son had been lost in the war. As the servants' reputation suggested, this third son was quiet and shy, possessing a personality far removed from commanding military forces and engaging in mutual slaughter.
The Duchess had already passed away.
"At one point, he was a candidate for the Prince Consort. He must have been interested in Saxburg-sama himself, right?"
"I wonder. But even so, having someone that quiet become the Prince Consort..."
"That's true."
The sound of a butler clearing his throat was heard, and the servants who had been gossiping fled the scene as if escaping.
The butler had served as the third son's tutor. Realizing that the book-loving boy was not the type to straddle a horse and shout orders, he had provided enough education to manage a branch family and then let him leisurely cultivate plants and care for animals. The boy himself seemed to enjoy such things; rather than going out to hunt, he observed and cherished the animals that were usually hunted.
Hearing the servants' gossip, the butler lamented that his educational methods had been insufficient and sighed. This, too, was a daily occurrence.
Just then, a knock was heard at the service entrance.
"Who is it?"
If someone were to enter, it would be a servant or a tradesman. When he opened the door, as expected, it was a tradesman from a major merchant with a shop in the capital.
"What are you doing here at this hour again? Today's orders should be finished."
"No, actually, there's something I'd like to bring to your ear..."
The information brought by the tradesman was terrifying.
It was said that the head of a great noble house was complicit with the bandits on the border.
"Of course, I believe in Duke Hexham. It's just that last night, there was a guy in the tavern saying such stupid things, so I gave him a piece of my mind."
"I appreciate the trouble you took."
He took several silver coins from his breast pocket and handed them over casually.
"Ah, I'm grateful to receive this, thank you very much."
The tradesman bowed repeatedly.
"Did that person say anything else?"
"No, that was all, but when I poked around a bit, it seemed there were others saying similar things."
"Unforgivable. It is an insult to our house, which has sworn loyalty to His Majesty and seeks to protect the country together."
"Exactly so, sir."
"I'm sorry, but could you investigate how far that rumor has spread and what kind of people are talking about it?"
This time, he handed over a gold coin.
"T-This is... Yes! I'll get right on it!"
"I assume you understand..."
"Master, I'm always in your debt, I understand. Of course, I'll keep this strictly between us."
Watching the tradesman leave the mansion while bowing repeatedly, the butler headed toward the office where the master was.
◆◆◆◆◆
When morning came and I went to the villa where Saxburg was waiting, her complexion was quite poor.
"Ah, Jeanne! Beatrix! Good work!"
She stood up and gave us a smile, but she was clearly forcing it.
"Wait a little longer for the results on this end. How about over there?"
Her shoulders twitched.
"The scouts my brother uses are spreading rumors. They aren't used to that kind of thing, so it seems fights are breaking out everywhere, but they're running away without fighting back even when hit, so it seems they haven't been caught. The other side sent out scouts too, so they've withdrawn for now."
I thought spreading rumors was a basic skill for scouts, but apparently, it differs by country.
"Does it look like it'll become a rumor?"
"Hmm, it seems merchants who suffered damage have come to inquire about the truth of the matter."
"Then it's fine."
That should be enough. The point is for those who have doubts to come to the royal palace to ask. That will be the trigger. It seems Bonnie's idea—the 'Operation: Spread Rumors so the Royal Family Can Summon the Other Party'—was a success.
"But it's amazing, isn't it? Sertoria. Shaking the greatest noble in the country with commoners' gossip."
"Well, yeah. It's a country founded by hunters, after all. Hunters are, you know, scouts."
It's not something for you to brag about.
"So, Saxburg. There's something I want to ask about what comes after this."
"What is it? About what comes after?"
After all, it's a matter between a man and a woman. It's hard to ask. I wish Beatrix would ask, but she's looking down with a solemn face.
"Um, well. Even if it goes well, there's the matter of the other person, right? You know, your former fiancé. How is it in terms of human relationships?"
"Human relationships?"
"Yes. I mean, you were on good terms, weren't you?"
"There's no problem. I am royalty, and the other party is a mere noble. I will simply fulfill my duty."
It's so stiff.
"That's not it."
Beatrix finally spoke up.
"The ghost of the Queen who came to support us said it. There is no royal family or serf. In the end, it's person to person."
Positions must be protected, but what is necessary for a ruler is to face the other party as one person to another, no matter who they are, she had said.
When the Queen said that, Eleanor-sama also nodded.
"Even if it didn't go as far as love, weren't you on good terms? It'll be painful if you don't think of those things separately. The one who makes the judgment is the King, and you don't have to shoulder everything, Saxburg."
"But..."
"It's fine! So, for now, could you tell us what kind of person that former fiancé is?"
I ended up forcing the issue, but Saxburg told us about her former fiancé.
After being introduced at the royal palace, she apparently visited his mansion several times. They were both still before their coming-of-age, just a boy and a girl.
"He tried to keep rabbits. But he said they escaped immediately."
For a noble boy, rabbits are usually things to be hunted.
"He seemed to dislike killing living things. He didn't seem to learn swordsmanship much either. He mostly read books."
"Did you get along?"
"Yes. He had many books of fairy tales, so I was allowed to read them. On sunny days, we would read back-to-back on the veranda and share our thoughts afterward."
You got along plenty well, didn't you?
"He wanted to be a priest. Every noble family has at least one priest. But his two older brothers passed away. So, he was forced to become the heir against his will."
He seems quite different from his father who incites bandits.
"He's a kind person, isn't he?"
"Yes. That's why I thought if I welcomed him as Prince Consort, I would have to do all the internal affairs, military, and diplomacy myself."
Finally, she laughed naturally and brightly.
"He definitely wouldn't betray you, would he?"
"He himself wouldn't."
This is the difficult part. It's entirely possible for the noble family that produced the Prince Consort to act as they please, wielding power.
"Suppose he inherited the house, what would happen? If I recall, they have the largest military force after the direct royal army, right?"
"Hmm, military affairs would be impossible for him. Judicial matters might be okay. Because he's serious."
So he's not a fool. He doesn't seem biased either.
"Hey, Saxburg. If you were to marry that person, how would it be? This is a 'what if' story, under the condition that you don't think about diplomacy or this current incident at all."
The wizard, who knows no restraint, asked head-on.
"How... I don't know."
Her face turned red.
"Do you dislike him?"
"I-I don't dislike him."
She looked down with a red face.
I see, I understand well.
"Hey, Saxburg. I have one more plan."
There's no need to hear everything. At the very least, the former fiancé doesn't seem like a bad person.
"A plan?"
Saxburg looked up.
When I returned to the hideout after finishing the consultation with Saxburg, several bandits were tied up and lashed to trees. The medicine seemed to have worked; they were snoring and sleeping.
"I caught the leader. The others were a hassle to carry, so I tied them up and left them at the enemy's base."
As she said this, Will kicked a bandit with her foot, but there was no sign of him waking up.
"I wonder if the guys from the forward base will come back."
"It's fine because Wilson-san is keeping watch with the Queen and Fiona," Will said, assuring us it was a perfect setup. It certainly was the strongest combination.
"Shall we start the interrogation once they wake up? Jeanne, please be present."
Since Eleanor-sama said so, we'll be using [Thought Communication].
When we actually began the interrogation, a shocking fact was revealed.
The leader was a former commander of the Septanaquila army, a proper knight who had served in the royal palace. And the subordinate bandits were also former Septanaquila soldiers.
At first, he remained silent, but after we correctly guessed his thoughts one after another using [Thought Communication], he seemed to get creeped out and softened up, starting to talk a little.
His attitude changed when I bluffed, saying the mastermind was likely the great noble of Northern Gram, Duke Hexham.
"We fought for the people of Former Septanaquila who are being treated unfairly. Why would we cooperate with a noble of Northern Gram!"
He was saying not to insult them.
Even when Eleanor-sama listened, it wasn't a lie. It was his true feelings even through [Thought Communication].
What does this mean?
"However, the letters you were sending via the magic circle for sending correspondence were flying to the Northern Gram royal capital. And the food aid for the supplies that were burned in the fire was also sent from a great noble with a mansion in the Northern Gram royal capital."
"Don't say such stupid things! There's no way that's true!"
He had been silent until now, but it was as if he had confessed that there was a mastermind; however, he himself seemed to think a coward from Septanaquila was the collaborator. I understood through [Thought Communication].
"Can you analyze magic circles?"
"N-No, I can't."
Eleanor-sama removed the leader's blindfold.
"Y-You are... could it be..."
He was stunned. It seems he knew her.
"I am Eleanor, the former Queen of Sertoria. Have we met somewhere?"
"N-No."
He shook his head, but it was obvious. You shouldn't underestimate my magic.
"Eleanor-sama. This person served in the Former Septanaquila royal palace. It seems he was one of the knights in charge of security when Eleanor-sama visited."
It was his first big job after being appointed a knight; when she said that much, he hung his head.
"We can analyze magic circles. The recipient of the letters you sent was the Northern Gram royal capital."
"N-No way!"
He seemed to understand that as a priest, I wouldn't lie.
"Our initial guess was, as you said, that a noble of Former Septanaquila was the collaborator. However, that person has nothing to do with it. Despite that, they are scheduled to be summoned to the royal capital next week. It seems the one scheduled to conduct the investigation is the true culprit, Duke Hexham."
"W-What did you say!"
As expected of a knight. As soon as he realized Eleanor-sama's true identity, he straightened his posture and his speech became polite.
"It is a false accusation. Everything is a trap set by Duke Hexham. Surely, they will be subjected to cruel torture and forced to confess to things that never happened. And after the torture, that person, to keep them quiet..."
Eleanor-sama hung her head.
"After that, a subjugation force will be formed, their territory confiscated for treason, and the entire clan slaughtered. Surely, the commoners will be framed for complicity and heavy taxes will be imposed. Small children and children who cannot use magic will likely be sold to the continent as slaves in place of taxes."
She was pretending to break down in tears, but it was definitely fake crying. It's beyond malicious.
"No way, such a thing... W-What should I do..."
Hearing those words, Eleanor-sama made a fist pump with one hand so the leader couldn't see.