Chapter 108: “Be Careful When Looking Up From Below!”
I was able to get important testimony from Hannah, a maid who worked for the Lingerburg family up until the time of Nikolaus’ assassination.
The Lingerburgs had two maids at the time. Hannah, the young maid, and Annette, the old maid. They were a little reserved and wary of me at first, but as I played with Alexandra, they grew closer and closer to me. I think they trusted me enough to let me through when I came over to Lingerburg Manor.
After the murder, most of the Lingerburg family disappeared. We finally found Hannah, and we got her to testify in a very important case. I feel like storming into the Duchess of Nassam’s house right now. I can’t let them get away with this.
But it’s too early. We need to calm down. If we go in there now, we’ll be evasive. We need to get our hands on something more perfect… For once, we can’t fail. We can’t go back and fix this, and Alexandra’s safety is on the line.
The five of us, along with Helmut and Isabella who had returned from vacation after dark, discussed the information Hannah had given us. Everyone seemed to be very angry when they heard what Hannah had told us, but we made sure that we didn’t act prematurely on each other’s behalf, and we disbanded for the day.
I’m worried that someone will make a rash move. But I’ve told you not to go off on your own, so I trust that no one will do anything rash.
… I’d run out of here right now if I heard that story. I’m sure you would, too. But I made sure Alexandra knew not to do anything rash. Right? I’m worried, but I believe you.
There was a knock at the door and a voice called out. I motioned for her to come in, and Isabella came in, just as I knew she would. In her hand was a letter.
Excuse me. You have an invitation for Miss Flora.
“Thank you.”
I got a letter from Isabella saying it was an invitation…
“What the–? This is…
“…”
I hand over the invitation and Isabella’s waiting for me in front of the room without leaving. I look at the sender and I’m about to explode with rage, but I restrain myself and cut the envelope.
“… I will attend.”
Yes, sir.
Isabella finally left after hearing my words. I received an invitation to a soiree. From the Second Queen of Amalie. How could she send an invitation to a soirée to me?
Is this because you don’t think we’ve discovered the connection between Amalie and the Dukes of Nassam? Or is it because they know we know what they’re up to? Or maybe they invited us here to find out.
An invitation to a royal soirée isn’t that unusual. I’ve received several in the past. But they were from Wilhelm and Ludwig. I’ve never received an invitation from Amalie.
I didn’t live in King’s Landing before and I’d turned down all the invitations to evening gatherings. I don’t think the people who invited me to these evenings ever really thought I’d attend. From this year onward I’ll be living mainly in King’s Landing, and it’s to be expected that I’ll be invited to evening gatherings. I can’t just turn them down because it’s too far to King’s Landing like I used to do.
But I never expected an invitation from the Second Queen of Amalie. I didn’t expect a letter of invitation from a political enemy of the House of Carruthers on the Frontier.
But not so much? Even if they are political rivals, if they don’t explicitly invite him to join them, it’s as if they are showing that they are enemies. It’s also possible that the aristocracy, which lives by prestige and respectability, wouldn’t be so blatant about it.
On the other hand, they may try to lure the other faction to get information, or to bring them into their own faction, or to induce the other faction to disunite with them. If it’s an internal gathering of your own faction, but if it’s a large gathering of other factions, I wonder if they’ll extend invitations to people from the opposing faction as well.
The upcoming Amalie soirée seems to be a rather large affair. And yet there is no statement of purpose. It only says that we should look forward to the day of the event.
What the hell are you doing? Even a night meeting needs a reason to be held. We can’t hold all these parties for no reason at all. To cheer up the men going off to war or to celebrate a birth or a wedding or…
You don’t think… No… No, no… No way…
… Wilhelm and Dietrich stopped Alexandra from getting married. And while it’s possible that the royal family or someone close to them would celebrate, they wouldn’t throw a royal soirée to announce the marriage or engagement of a vassal countess.
But… What if… What if Alexandra’s wedding is announced at this gala? Even though it’s hosted by Amalie, it’s still a royal soirée. That would send a signal to the world that the royal family approves of Alexandra’s marriage.
Even if His Majesty King Wilhelm doesn’t approve of it officially… it can’t be forgotten once it’s announced at the soiree where all the major nobles are gathered. Of course there will be a great backlash. It would cause trouble. But… But what if we risked it and announced the wedding at a royal banquet called Amalie?
This is just my imagination. It’s an unproven fantasy. But… Amalie and the Dukes of Nassam are getting tired of Wilhelm and the others refusing to give their permission for the Lingerburgs to get married… we have to stop them at all costs. If they do, there will be consequences.
No matter how misinformed the news, no matter how arbitrarily the Amalie faction decides to go through with it without His Majesty’s permission, it’s a huge blemish on the career of a highborn daughter whose marriage has already been announced and then dropped. The moment Alexandra’s wedding is announced in front of this crowd, in the name of the crown, we lose. If we pull it back later, Alexandra will be damaged goods, and that will have a huge negative impact on her career and her marriage.
We don’t have time. We have to hurry… We’re gonna settle Alexandra’s score at the gala.
******
I care about Alexandra, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now. There are things that I need to do to prepare for the party, but it’s not something that I’m in a rush to do, so I need to keep up with my daily routine.
The school is so peaceful that you’d think Helene and Zofie would have given up on it by now. I wish it would just go away, but I guess I’m not that naive.
As I was walking down the hallway after school thinking about this, I was stopped by a voice I hadn’t heard in a while.
Lady Flora, are you home?
“Master Jeamon…”
I haven’t been able to stay after school and practice magic since I got banned for destroying the range. I’ve always been bullied, and if I got involved with him he’d probably make me a target too. That’s why I usually try to avoid contact with him at school, but it’s rare for him to talk to me.
“Do you have a moment now? I’d like to talk to you about a few things…”
“What? Yeah. It’s okay. Shall we move?
I agreed and he started walking away and I followed him. We go into an empty classroom and he locks the door. And then he wandered over to me.
“Lady Flora…”
Mr. Jeamon?
I don’t know what’s going on. He’s obviously not normal.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Lady Flora, please forgive me!”
“… What? Um…?”
When Jeamon walked up to me, he suddenly got down on his knees. And I don’t mean this in the literal sense like before. He’s really on the floor in front of me, his head bowed. There’s no such thing as getting down on one’s knees in this country, but I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that he’s in a similar position.
“I’m really a cunning person! It wasn’t really an accident when I sent that fireball at Flora-sama! I did it on purpose because Emma and the others told me to! Even if Flora didn’t get burned as a result, it’s unforgivable! And I was thinking that if I didn’t tell anyone about it, I could cover it up! If it was true, I should have told you right away! I’m a coward for saying this after all this time! I’m sorry, Flora! I’m sorry!”
“Oh… “Oh… well, I thought it would be something like that.”
“… Eh?”
Jeamon looked up when I said that. But I didn’t have any proof or evidence, but I knew it was something like that. I’ll explain to him how I came to that conclusion.
“When you were practicing magic with me after school you never once failed at casting a spell. He never failed that often. It would have been more unnatural for him to have made such a mistake by accident only in that class. If that’s the case, then there’s a strong possibility that it wasn’t an accident or a failure but a deliberate mistake.”
The moment I said it was intentional, Jeamon’s shoulders jerked up. He looked up at me like an abandoned puppy.
“But I haven’t had anything to do with anything that would make Master Jeamon target me. It’s possible that I’ve done something to Master Jeamon without him noticing, but I can’t think of any reason why he would risk his life to kill me since we’ve had almost no contact. Then it’s more likely that someone gave him an order. And the person who would order me to do such a thing is…”
It could only be Zofie, Emma and the rest of the Five or even Helene who’s behind it.
“So, you knew all that, and you treated me like that?”
He smiles at the frightened look on Jeamon’s face. I don’t blame him.
“I’ve seen with my own eyes what kind of a man Master Jeamon is. Master Simon wouldn’t do something like that voluntarily. If Master Simon would do such a thing under orders… doesn’t that mean he’s in a very vulnerable position? I want to ease his suffering.
“Ugh, oh… “Ugh, oh… Oh, my God!
Jeamon started crying again. He’s a real crybaby. It’s easy to see, even from just a passing acquaintance, that Jeamon doesn’t have the guts to risk his life for something like that. Even if he doesn’t try, if it gets out that he did that, he’ll die. Or worse, he could be killed.
I think Emma and the others must have a big weakness if they’d let a weak-minded Jeamon go that far. We’ll eliminate that weakness and free him from Enma’s grasp. This is a big deal because it reduces the number of pawns the enemy has.
But that’s not the point. It’s not just that. Jeamon’s the first boy friend I’ve had in this lifetime. Some of the younger boys were at the plantation. Some of the older ones are under my command. But Jeamon’s definitely the first male friend I’ve ever had from my own class. I can’t let you conspire against him and make him cry like this. I’ll ruin my good name if I don’t tell you.
“I can’t take it anymore! What the hell are you doing in there!”
But then the door was kicked in and someone broke in. or rather… the idiotic duo of Ludwig and Lutger… For some reason this pair of idiots had kicked in the classroom door.
“Herr Ludwig? Prince Lutger? What is this?
“That’s my line, Flora. What the hell is going on here? What were you doing alone in a locked classroom with a man?”
“… Huh?”
Hey! Hey… You think that Ludwig… You think I’ve been having secret meetings with Jeamon? You really are an idiot…
“I’m friends with Master Jeamon, what does that matter?”
Ludwig seemed to be thinking of something stupid and I told him coldly. He didn’t like that. Ludwig and Lutger get angry.
What is it? That’s not what this is about! Young men and women meeting secretly in a place like this in secret, it’s no wonder people think you have something to hide!”
“That’s right, country girl! Why is he crawling around peeking up country girls’ skirts in the first place?”
Huh? Look up my skirt? What are you talking about?
What the hell are you talking… What the hell are you…?
“–!”
I look down… I see him on the ground. No, not exactly eye contact, is it? He wasn’t looking at me.
What are you looking at?
“Boom!”
I press Jeamon’s head to the ground with my hand on top of his head as he looks down into his skirt. If you try to step on her with your foot, you’ll see more of her skirt when she lifts her foot. In comic books, people often step on their feet, but that would only make it more visible. I don’t want that to happen, so I hold her down with my hand.
Today… Yeah. I’m fine. I’m wearing underwear. It’s not like he saw me. I’m not supposed to… My face is burning. I can see my face in the glass and it’s bright red. Me? Just because I’m a man and a man might have seen my panties?
That’s not possible. The skirt’s too long to begin with. You can’t just peek down and see her panties. It’s not supposed to…
“Noaaaahhhh ～～～～～.”
I jumped through the smashed door and ran down the hallway, holding my face.
