Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 11 - Chapter 5.2

Four days later, Zenjirou was in the Purple Egg Palace of the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle. He was using the same annex as the last time—it was currently serving the role of an embassy from Capua to the Twin Kingdoms.

It went without saying that he had used teleportation to arrive.

“Welcome, Sir Zenjirou.”

“Ah, Lucretia. It will only be for a short time, but I shall once again be in your care,” he said, lifting his hand to greet the blonde.

Isabella had already been sent back by Aura after checking that there were no major issues with either the queen or the new princess. They had used the opportunity to have her inform the Twin Kingdoms that Zenjirou would be following the day after. Preparations had therefore already been made for his arrival.

“As the letter I sent with Princess Isabella mentioned, I have little time on this occasion, so I would prefer to offer my greetings in writing to Pope Benedict and King Bruno. I also offer my apologies that the latter is addressed to King Bruno rather than King Josep. Naturally, I do not mind which of them it is delivered to.”

Zenjirou pulled two letters from his pocket as he spoke and passed them across to Lucretia via the maid at his side.

He had only found out upon his arrival that the throne had passed from father to son as the year passed from prior to the next. It had not even been half a month since the new year, so things for both the former and current king would be busy during the transition, and neither of them would have time to hold an audience with him.

That duty would inevitably fall to the pope.

“Very well,” she said after checking the seals on the letters. Zenjirou then moved directly to the main topic.

“The reason I am in the Twin Kingdoms is to offer you transport. To be certain, you have acquired permission from the Twin Kingdoms, have you not?” he asked, holding back the hopes that she hadn’t.

She nodded with a wide grin.

“I have. King Bruno gave me official permission to visit the Northern Continent.”

“Hm? I see. Very well.”

Even as he replied, he considered the nuance of what she’d said. Lucretia was officially being allowed to go to the Northern Continent. She was not officially being sent to the continent by the top brass of the Twin Kingdoms.

She had also specified that the permission came from the former king. She had returned to the country last year, so it was while Bruno was still on the throne, albeit barely.

However, the actual event was happening this year, so it would ordinarily have been allowed in King Josep’s name. Leaving it in the former king’s name left an escape route if the worst should happen.

The caution seemed almost lacking in nerve. It seemed like Aura’s estimation was correct. He left a note in the back of his mind to report that to his wife later as he continued.

“As I have said, I have little time. The weather may change things, but the Glasir’s Leaf is planning to leave in ten days. I want to be in Valentia five days before that. Naturally, you will have to go before then.”

Zenjirou was the only one there who could cast teleportation, so if she was to use the spell to get to Valentia, she would have to be sent before him. There was a strong light of conviction in her big blue eyes. She was well aware of this fact.

“That is acceptable. From tomorrow onwards, there will be no issues.”

“You have been allocated two spaces on the Glasir’s Leaf. Just to confirm, but I assume that the two I will be sending are you and your maid?”

“Indeed. Flora and I would be my request.”

Flora was the maid assigned to Lucretia by the Broglie family. She was a close, close confidant to Lucretia and was currently waiting in Valentia while her mistress was temporarily in her homeland.

The urgent teleportation home had not stretched that far, after all.

“Very well. Then I shall send you tomorrow at noon. Will sending you directly to Valentia be acceptable?”

Zenjirou himself would be returning to the capital to say his farewells to his wife, son, and daughter. He would then head to Valentia as well. Sending Lucretia to the capital, and then to Valentia would increase the cost. However, Lucretia seemed to have some slack in her budget, since her response was to the contrary.

“I would also like to travel via the capital. I have several things to take care of there. If possible, I would also like an audience with Her Majesty.”

Zenjirou thought her suggestion over before nodding. “Very well. Her Majesty is a busy person, so the possibility is rather remote, but I shall convey that. Is that still acceptable?”

Ordinarily, such a sudden meeting would be impossible, but Aura currently had some leeway.

She was recovering after childbirth, so much of the governing was being carried out by Prime Minister Fidel and Marshal Pujol. However, she had recovered faster than expected, so there was some space in her schedule. A short meeting would be feasible.

With that said, if it turned out to not be possible, the rather significant cost of an extra teleportation would go to waste.

Lucretia nodded firmly in response to the warning. “That is fine. Thank you for your concern.”

“Very well; that is how we will proceed, then.”

The conversation simply halting once their business was concluded demonstrated that the relationship between the two was not particularly strong. After a long pause, Lucretia hurriedly tried to break the silence at the same time that he addressed her.

“Ah... Ah—”

“Incidentally, Lucretia—”

“Ah, yes? What is it, Your Majesty?”

“You are welcome to go first,” Zenjirou decided.

“I could not possibly. It is nothing so urgent.”

“Nor is what I had to say.”

“Please, I could not delay you further.”

Whatever it was, he was clearly about to ask her for something, and she would not let the opportunity pass.

Zenjirou let out a sigh quiet enough that she wouldn’t hear before continuing. “Very well. I wanted to ask why you requested passage on the Glasir’s Leaf. While you may be unaware of the exact dangers of an intercontinental voyage, you must be aware of the risk to your life over the next hundred or so days. I would like to hear why you are willing to face that risk,” he said. Then, as an afterthought, “Of course, you do not need to answer.”

She seemed to lose her earlier energy at that, her eyes filling with a strong sense of indecision. Then, she rallied and looked meaningfully at his right wrist.

“Well. I presume you have heard a little about me from Princess Margarita?”

Zenjirou traced the Windhammer with his other hand as he nodded. “I know your general circumstances, yes.”

Princess Margarita—one of the most skilled among the younger generation of the Sharou family’s enchanters—was Lucretia’s older sister by blood. He had been given the Windhammer by Margarita in exchange for “being there for my sister.” More precisely, for not turning her down on three occasions.

With her having made such a request, it was unlikely the two were on bad terms. At the very least, Margarita saw Lucretia as family.

Lucretia’s expression was affectedly blank as she continued. “The circumstances around my birth were never secret to begin with, let alone being an open secret. However, it is not the kind of thing one talks about, so most outside of the country are likely unaware of it.”

The utter lack of emotion in her voice as she derided her circumstances was somehow even harder to hear than it otherwise would have been.

“I was born to Prince Philbert and his legitimate wife, Lady Yolanda, but lost that right due to my lack of ability in their lineal magic. I was therefore raised as part of the Broglie family for as long as I can remember. The silver lining is that both my blood and adoptive families are kindhearted people. However, the cloud is that they are all almost clumsily earnest. So much so that they will not treat a child as a child.”

As she spoke, her expressionless face morphed into a bitter smile. Zenjirou didn’t miss the tears welling in her eyes, though. While her voice remained even, he could hear the sadness in it.

“So I was brought up without any deceit. Without hearing a single falsehood. While the Broglie family treated me as one of their own, they also never forgot the respect of my lineage. Conversely, while Prince Philbert and Lady Yolanda treated me as nothing more than a member of a vassal family in public, they showered me with the love and affection of a family in private.”

“That...” Zenjirou began, his face twisting like he’d swallowed something sour as he understood the situation she’d been put in.

The slightest imagining made it obvious what a strained environment it would have been. Neither the Broglie family nor Prince Philbert’s family were wrong in showing her honest affection. However, giving her the full knowledge of her situation at the same time made things hopelessly tense.

The Broglie family was effectively bringing her up with love and affection while simultaneously reminding her she was not really part of their family. At the same time, Philbert’s portion of the Sharou family was keeping up the pretense in public while also loving her as a part of their family. It was obvious that in such an environment, she would end up with a deep-rooted desire to return to the royal family.

With both families treating her with love and affection as they brought her up while both stressing that she actually belonged to the latter family, a child that loved their family would inevitably try to live up to those “expectations” and correct the issue. The desire to correct the situation was the predominant challenge and reason Lucretia lived.

Despite her youthful looks, she was an adult. Correcting that perspective would be nigh on impossible.

I get the reasoning, and I can sympathize, but why do I have to get dragged into it? Zenjirou sighed mentally at the information, which was more bothersome than he’d expected.

Either deciding to go on the offensive or simply change the way she was doing things, the young woman’s smile turned to one of childish innocence. “That is why I want to return to the Sharou family. I need achievements and to fulfill conditions to do so. Going to the Northern Continent is a foothold to attain those things. Does that answer your question?” she asked firmly.

“It does. You have my thanks for your honesty,” he replied evenly, keeping his conflicted feelings from his voice.

In the Twin Kingdoms, someone in Lucretia’s position would only be allowed to return to her own family by marrying royalty. That would also apply to her becoming Zenjirou’s concubine.

She had taken advice from Freya. To do so, she needed to show what benefit it would have to Capua. Thus she had made her request in order to raise her value. She was willing to marry a man she had no fondness for to achieve her goal. Staking her life on a sea voyage was much the same.

It was somewhat refreshing for her values to be so straightforward. If he had been completely uninvolved, he might have even been tempted to support her. However, being her target made the idea a far less tempting proposition. Still, considering it a marriage of convenience rather than one of any emotion might make it easier.

“I shall send you to the capital tomorrow, then. Would three days there, heading to Valentia on the fourth work for you?”

She nodded. “It would, thank you.”

Zenjirou remembered something else. “Incidentally, Lucretia, while I am an amateur myself and cannot precisely speak from a point of knowledge, I know that a ship is a lethally dangerous place during an intercontinental crossing. In short, I would like to recommend that you wear something easier to move around in while on board.”

“Right,” she replied quietly, her voice embarrassed. She had purposefully worn a larger dress than usual, and even now her hands were hidden in its sleeves.