Chapter 01: Arrival

　　Aside from some encounters with wild dragons, Zenjirou and his group arrived safely in the March of Guzzle without any further incidents.

　　The capital of the March of Guzzle was a city fortified with high walls.

　　Needless to say, it was nothing out of the ordinary. The South Continent was housing obviously hostile creatures in form of dragons, so every human settlement in the borderlands was protected by walls to a greater or lesser extent.

　　On top of that, the building of the feudal lord in the middle of the capital resembled a fortress, symbolizing the fort.i.tude and straightforwardness of the Guzzle Family.

　　In other words, it was a fortification within a fortification.

　　That fortress was quite large, giving the townspeople the opportunity to withdraw there in case of need, but it had practically no pompous beautification.

　　Truth be told, it deserved the term “shabby”, when comparing it to the Royal or Inner Palace, where Zenjirou usually spent his time, or even the Mansion in Valentia, where he had stayed for a month not long ago.

　　But Zenjirou was glad to be in a proper building again after he had spent the last few days in the b.u.mpy carriage and foreign wilderness.

　　Having reached his destination, he finally cast off his travelling attire and heaved a sigh of relief.

　　“Hah, sweet freedom…”

　　In the building allocated to him within the residence of the feudal lord, Zenjirou sloppily got rid of his shoes and socks, flopped himself onto the couch and rested his bare feet on the low table.

　　He rarely ever displayed such an ill-mannered behaviour, not even in his Inner Palace, but right now, he was too tired to care. The ride in the carriage without proper suspension and the unfamiliar camping outside had exhausted his stamina and mind to the limit.

　　“You have done well, Master Zenjirou. Would you like some water?”

　　Waiting Maid Ines gave a warm smile and offered him a silver goblet with cold water.

　　She and Zenjirou were currently the only ones in the room. In front of the acquainted maid of the Inner Palace, he could unwind.

　　“Yeah, thanks, Ines. But I’ve to say, you sure are tough. You should actually be even more tired than me, since you took care of me the whole time.”

　　Saying this, Zenjirou looked up to the waiting maid standing next to the couch.

　　Just like he had mentioned, the dignified appearance of Ines showed not the slightest hint of exhaustion.

　　The middle-aged maid showed a faint smile in reaction to the appreciation of her master.

　　“Well, I am used to it. I have been serving Her Majesty Aura on the battlefield during the previous war as well.”

　　“Oh, wow. Not bad.”

　　Zenjirou was honestly surprised at the confession from Ines. He was certainly surprised, but at the same time, he made sense of it. Ines surely had been sent with him this and last time, because she had that kind of backbone.

　　The attendance in the wilderness would be difficult for a normal waiting maid that had never left the Royal or Inner Palace before.

　　Ines took the empty goblet out of Zenjirou’s hand and said.

　　“It seems that you will be staying in this building. I am sure there will be all kind of inconveniences, but please bear with it.”

　　“Yeah, I know. It’s no problem. I expected this from the beginning.”

　　Still slumping down in the couch sloppily, Zenjirou answered Ines like that.

　　The oldest daughter of the Guzzle Family, Lucinda, was going to marry General Puyol. Zenjirou had come all the way to the March of Guzzle to attend their marriage ceremony.

　　It goes without saying that General Puyol was the guest of honour this time around. Hence the main building of the residence of the feudal lord was used by General Puyol and his relatives as well as the Guzzle Family itself.

　　So it was inevitable that Zenjirou was placed in the adjacent building, even as royalty. He usually did not need all that much personal s.p.a.ce, so the annex building was not bothering him at all.

　　He had been a bit perplexed, when he found out that the building had no own bath, but they were going to prepare a bathtub for him every day, so he could put up with it. Of course he would refuse to live his life in a house without a bath, but it was no reason to become willful, when he was just staying in it for the period of his visit.

　　“Fuh…”

　　For a while, he just lazed around on the couch, when Ines suddenly called out to him.

　　“Master Zenjirou. I am sorry to interrupt your rest, but I think it is about time the Guzzle Family will send a messenger to welcome you.

　　Please compose your clothing a bit. Even casual wear will be alright.”

　　“Oh, already that late? Got it.”

　　With these words, Zenjirou reached out for some socks and indoor shoes.

　　The only maid he had brought along from the Inner Palace on this occasion was Ines. After all, the marriage between the eldest daughter of a feudal lord and a bra.s.s hat of the military was a big event, so an unbelievable number of n.o.bles was rus.h.i.+ng for the March of Guzzle.

　　The capital of the March of Guzzle was built to withstand long-time sieges, so it was big enough to accommodate that unbelievable amount of n.o.bles, but it did not change the fact that the guests were putting a large strain on the capacity of their sleeping quarters as well as food provisions.

　　Because of that, the number of servants they brought along was supposed to be kept to a bare minimum.

　　Zenjirou fixed his attire and sat down on the couch again, mannerly this time. Before long, the door was knocked.

　　Three women entered the room. Two of them were obviously past their youth, but the third one was a girl so small that she still looked like a child.

　　Although they might as well be mother and daughter in age, it was obvious at a glance that the little girl was the important figure of them. For one thing she was standing in the middle, for another thing she alone was wearing different clothes.

　　The two middle-aged women wore something plain, almost like an uniform, whereas the girl was wearing a dress of clearly superior cloth, even if its design was simple.

　　She was not a mere messenger, but obviously the daughter of a n.o.ble.

　　(Is she the child of a branch family?)

　　While this thought crossed Zenjirou’s mind, the girl opened her mouth with an expression stiff from nervousness.

　　“It- It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Zenjirou. My name is Nilda, the second daughter of the Guzzle Family.

　　My father has asked me to take care of you during your stay here. Please just say the word, if you need anything.”

　　She must have practiced it beforehand. Despite her nervousness, the little girl, Nilda smoothly delivered her speech without stuttering and then lowered her head politely so that her short ponytail swung around.

　　“Okay. Then I shall take you up on your offer. By the way, could it be that you are the little sister of Lady Lucinda and Sir Xavier, seeing as you said that you are the second daughter?”

　　Zenjirou was puzzled by her introduction at heart, but kept his composure on the outside for now as he asked this.

　　Unaware of these inner thoughts of the Prince Consort, the little girl widened her already large black eyes even further

　　“Yes, quite so! Although our mothers are different, Lucinda is my older sister and Xavier is my older brother!”

　　and replied like that in an energetic voice. Judging by her expression seized with pride and joy, she seemed to harbour an honest affection for Lucinda and Xavier.

　　It was not uncommon that siblings of different mothers were harbouring complicated feelings towards each other in High Society, but that did not seem to be the case for the Guzzle Family.

　　“Sir Xavier looked after me in Valentia. If the chance arises, I would like to speak to him again.”

　　“Thank you for your kind words. I will relay it to my brother.”

　　Nilda smiled even happier as a result of his words.

　　“Then I already have the first request. Can you arrange a bath for me? I worked up a sweat on the way here and would like to wash it off before dinner.”

　　“Yes, of course. I shall arrange for it immediately.”

　　When Zenjirou requested that, the pet.i.te girl straightened herself and bowed with a jerk. Then she left the room together with the two middle-aged servants.

　　“…Ines.”

　　Zenjirou remained silent for a while after Nilda and the other two were gone, then called out the name of the waiting maid standing next to him with a stern expression.

　　“Yes, what is the matter, Master Zenjirou?”

　　“Her Majesty Aura has briefed me about the important people of the Guzzle Family prior to this. However, a Nilda Guzzle was not amongst them.

　　Can I a.s.sume that Her Majesty purposefully did not tell me about her?”

　　He was alone with Ines now, but he still kept the att.i.tude and tone of Royalty, so she must have discerned the importance of his question from that.

　　The faithful maid kept her stern expression, when she immediately shook her head to the question of her master.

　　“No. I dare to say that is not the case. Her Majesty Aura has no reason to keep her existence from you, even if she is the daughter of a mistress.”

　　Zenjirou relaxed his shoulders a bit relieved, when Ines answered him flat out.

　　Aura was his beloved wife, but before that, she was also the Queen of a country, so he did understand that she obviously kept some things from him or schemed some ploys unknown to him, but at the same time, it was obviously not a pleasant feeling to have your wife do that to you.

　　Hence he immediately felt better, when that possibility was ruled out.

　　“Then she did not cause this misinformation on purpose. The easiest explanation would be that it ‘slipped her mind to tell me’…”

　　“Her Majesty is only human, too, after all, so that possibility is not unthinkable, but I would say we can rule it out for now, because Secretary Fabio is with her.”

　　“Then the only other explanation is that Her Majesty did not know about her, either… Is that even possible? That Her Majesty does not know about a child from an influential feudal lord?”

　　Zenjirou c.o.c.ked his head doubtful, whereupon Ines responded with a businesslike tone.

　　“It is relatively well-known, when an illegitimate child does not get acknowledged. But it also not unheard of that a feudal lord tried to conceal his child from Royalty in the past, either.

　　But in neither of these cases, they would have made Lady Nilda appear before you like this.

　　So it would mean that she is abiding by some kind of conspiracy, but for that, Lady Nilda showed no guilt in her eyes and behaved straightforward, even if a bit nervous. And above all, the Guzzle Family is not known for acting underhanded like this, so I believe that possibility is extremely unlikely as well.”

　　“In the end, this got us nowhere.”

　　“So it would seem.”

　　The situation was obviously strange, but the other party was not behaving conspicuous, so their intentions were not perceptible.

　　“…..”

　　Slumping deep into the couch, Zenjirou pondered for a while with his hand against his chin, but in the end, there was only one conclusion he could arrive at.

　　“I will inform Her Majesty Aura and await her instructions. Until then, we will not stir up this matter any further.”

　　“Very well. I will prepare everything at once.”

　　Like always, Zenjirou was going to rely on Aura’s judgment. Ines just lowered her head respectfully.

　　* * *

　　Evening of the same day.

　　After was.h.i.+ng off the sweat from the travel in the bathtub, Zenjirou had taken a short nap to relieve his fatigue. Now waiting maid Ines woke him up and informed him about the dinner plans.

　　“Ehm, in other words, today’s dinner will be an ‘open-air banquet hosted by Princess Freya’ in the garden of this building?”

　　“Yes. Or more precisely, Princess Freya does want to hold it like that and is awaiting your approval for it.

　　We still have a lot of the smoked meat of the ‘Meat Dragon’ from the other day left over, so she suggested we share it with everyone. Well, if you are against it, the whole meat will just be gifted to the Guzzle Family.”

　　“Oh, that meat.”

　　A few days ago, Princess Freya had killed a wild Meat Dragon along the Salt Road and Zenjirou still had not forgotten about it.

　　Most of the killed dragon had been consumed for dinner on that very day, but they had smoked the leftovers and put them into the supply cart.

　　Apparently Princess Freya wanted to host a great banquet with that smoked meat now.

　　“I do not really mind giving my permission for it, but what are the respective consequences for allowing or refusing it?”

　　The middle-aged maid smoothly answered the question from her master without pause.

　　“Well, considering that the banquet shall be held in the garden, you would have to invite Lady Nilda, because she is responsible for this building, as well as some other n.o.bles, too.

　　And when Princess Freya is the host of such an event with your permission, it will only reinforce their impression that she will be your concubine.

　　On the other hand, if you were to refuse it, it will give the opposite impression. Namely that you have reservations towards Princess Freya.”

　　“I see…”

　　Zenjirou could not help but grimace in reaction to the detailed explanation from the waiting maid.

　　In short, he would practically be announcing to the guests that he himself was welcoming Princess Freya as his concubine, if he were to accept her request.

　　He would literally do away with himself with that decision, seeing as he actually did not want to take a concubine.

　　Then he should just refuse her request. But unfortunately, it was not that simple. Refusing her in turn would be like officially announcing that he did not accept Princess Freya.

　　Queen Aura herself had officially recognized her concubine matter insofar as allowing her to attend this marriage ceremony as a partner for Zenjirou.

　　If Zenjirou were to reject Princess Freya in the open now, it would give other people the misunderstanding that the Queen and her Prince Consort had a conflict of opinions.

　　“Fine. Tell her she has my permission.”

　　In the end, Zenjirou could only do this, even if he knew that he was putting his own head in the noose.

　　His own self-interest against the reputation of the Queen. It goes without saying which he ought to prioritize.

　　His waiting maid lowered her head briefly in light of her master’s response.

　　“Understood, Master Zenjirou. I will convey it to her.”

　　“Good.”

　　With this short reply, Zenjirou stood up from the couch and started to change his clothes.

　　By now, he had gotten less reluctant to let the maids see him in pyjamas or underwear, so he blatantly took off his blue-striped pyjama and let Ines help him put on the traditional clothes of the Carpa Kingdom.

　　These clothes were the same as the third official attire he often wore in the Royal Palace, but with less decoration and easier to move in. Zenjirou had gotten used to the traditional clothes lately, so he had faith in himself to put them on by himself, but according to the waiting maids of the Inner Palace, it would turn into a “scandal”, if he were to appear in public after putting them on without their help.

　　While changing his clothes, he made some small-talk with Ines.

　　“Are you getting along well with Princess Freya, Master Zenjirou?”

　　“Hmm. I’m sure we’ve grown pretty close on the way here. After all, we spent several days together in the same carriage. And I don’t really dislike her personality, anyway.”

　　He was being honest, when he said that.

　　Her behaviour and choice of words was certainly sophisticated, but Princess Freya did not really beat around the bush like n.o.bility usually did, liked to move around and displayed a variety of expression, so Zenjirou was by no means put off by her.

　　“Then there should be no problem to accept her as a concubine, right?”

　　But he firmly shook his head in reaction to the question from Ines.

　　“These are two different things altogether. The problem is not my feelings towards her, but my fear of disrupting our domestic peace by taking a second wife.”

　　It would work out, if they were “a happily married couple + a woman on friendly terms with both of them”, but Zenjirou could not envision a bright future, when “two women loved the same man”, no matter how well these two women might actually get along.

　　He did acknowledged the difference in their culture and moral values in the head, but his heart had a hard time catching up to it.

　　“It’s really comfortable in the Inner Palace with Aura, Zenkichi and me right now.

　　I know Princess Freya is a good girl, but to be honest, I’m scared to add her to our harmonic family.”

　　Ines narrowed her eyes to slits, like being blinded, when Zenjirou gave her his honest opinion.

　　“You sure love Her Majesty Aura and Prince Carlo-Zen from the bottom of your heart.”

　　“Ah, well, yeah. Oh, speaking of Zenkichi, you always call him Carlo-Zen.”

　　Embarra.s.sed by the straight compliment, Zenjirou stammered a bit and quickly changed the topic.

　　Carlos Zenkichi. In short, Carlo-Zen. In fact, Zenjirou was the only one calling him Zenkichi and about everyone else called him Carlos. Ines was actually one of the very few that referred to him as Carlo-Zen.

　　Zenjirou had brought up the matter without any ulterior motive. He just had wanted to change the topic, but it was somewhat meaningful for Ines.

　　“You are right. The t.i.tle of ‘Princess Carlos’ always reminds me of His late Majesty Carlos II. after all.”

　　With a distant look in her eyes, Ines uttered melancholic.

　　“His Majesty Carlos II.? You mean Aura’s predecessor? Now that you mention it, they do have the same name. Ah, but shouldn’t it be ‘His Majesty Carlos’ instead of ‘Prince Carlos’ for him?”

　　Recalling the knowledge he learned from Lady Octavia, Zenjirou asked this, whereupon Ines shook her head a bit, the distant look still in her eyes.