ED: I’m slow.

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Father’s Advice

…Well, I guess it’s about time to leave.

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Thinking that, I headed towards Father’s room. I knocked on the door, and walked in.

“Excuse me, Father.”

Father stared at me from beyond the wall of papers. Though I spoke to him once after I was banished from the Academy, that conversation feels like it was forever ago.

“You’re heading home?”

“Yes. I plan on returning to the fief tomorrow.”

“Is that so.”

Father placed down his pen on the table. He then gestured towards the seat that was placed in front of the study room table.

“If you’ll excuse me.”

I obeyed and sat down.

“I have one thing that I want to warn you about.”

Upon hearing Father’s strict tone, my posture corrected itself. It feels as if this conversation is more strict than the last time we faced off.

“What is it?”

“Be careful of Queen Elria and her house… the Marquess Maeria’s household.”

“I understand they’re the head of the 2nd prince’s faction, so I’ll be sure to take extra care.”

“That’s not what I meant. During the Foundation Day party, you proved you protected the crown prince’s back in front of both domestic and foreign powers.”

“So basically, I’ve become a nuisance to Queen Elia and the Maeria Household?”

My engagement to the 2nd prince had been annulled. Because of this, I figured it’d be next to impossible for me to be accepted by their faction. It’s not a question of just my own feelings, but their image becoming worse. If that were the case, I’d be nothing besides a nuisance in the eyes of Queen Elia.

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“No.. Not just you, the Armelia House too.”

“Oh…”

“By nature, the Armelia household is seen as an annoyance to the Maeria house. Although I’m a comrade of the royalty I’m merely the prime minister, and because Melly is a favourite of the crown prince and has such an influential voice in high society, we’ve managed to stand at the top. Even so we’ve avoided being involved with political affairs for a long time. By doing so we avoided being attacked by the Maeria house again and again. But now…”

“By breaking my engagement with the second prince, I’ve applied pressure as a daughter of the Armelia house…”

“Precisely. You caused the fief to boom even faster than I could imagine, and even managed to found a conglomerate and turn a profit. You’ve accomplished too much too quickly. Because of that we’ve become an existence that cannot be ignored by the Maeria House.”

“…My.. My apologies…”

How shameful… Everything going so swimmingly had me simply accepting my good luck and not considering its aftereffects. It was something that I could have seen had I given it even the smallest amount of thought – how annoying my existence was to the Armelia house. I was allowed that position out of the kindness of my father’s heart. Yet, to think I simply caused my family more trouble…!

“…No. It’s also my fault for not gauging your strengths properly. No need to apologize.”

“But still..”

“Fortunately, nothing has happened yet. So, Iris… Take the utmost precaution when moving forward from here on out.”

“Yes!”

Hearing my response, Father rang a bell. A maid promptly entered the room.

“Something to drink.”

“Absolutely.”

Without a moment’s delay, a teacup was placed in front of me. I decided to drink it to calm my racing heart.

“This may seem a bit redundant…”

Looking troubled, my father prepared to speak.

“… It’s obvious that you have to take precautions around the Maeria house, but you must also at all costs avoid Queen Elria.”

“Is that different from what you said earlier?”

“…It appears that Queen Elria betrayed the royal palace.”

Father spoke slowly, choosing his words with great thought. What is he saying with such delay..?

“… The disappearance of the real queen-to-be seems to also be related to Queen Elria.”

“Father, have you such proof for a theory like that?”

“There was no evidence left. Are you saying that we should try investigating the queen?”

“…It was a slip of tongue.”

If I think about it, in this world where forensic investigation doesn’t exist, finding the answer would be difficult. It’d also be difficult to use physical force on someone with such high influence.

It could be a ploy by the 1st prince, or it could be true. I don’t know who it might be, but the reason for spreading this rumor might be so that people won’t investigate it further.

“Anyway, there’s a rumour like that floating about. Make sure you take heed of what’s happening around you.”

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“Yes.”

I felt my heart shiver. I don’t want to acknowledge it, but it seems like the opposing side is trying to single out opponents.

“I’ve told Tanya, Ryle, and Dida ahead of time, so you be careful of yourself too.”

“I’ll take Father’s advice to heart.”

I’ve come a long way since my confinement. I know for sure that I don’t want to die yet. Furthermore, if I were to die at this point in time, there’s no doubt I’d cause trouble for my territory’s people. The reform I’m leading right now and the politics surrounding my territory cannot be left aside.

“… In addition, you’ve been looking into Baron Noir’s daughter, Yuri, correct?”

“Ah… Father seems to know everything.”

“Well… So how much do you know?”

“Yuri’s mother was a maid that worked in the royal castle.”

“Alright. …By the way the family that was protecting her was the Reuben house.”

“…The Reuben house?”

I tilted my head in confusion at the name of a house I never heard of before.

“This is the limit of the information I can divulge at this moment.”

Hearing his statement, I gave up on prying more information from him.

“If you look into this, you should be able to discover what’s been going on at the capital. But don’t look too far into it. You’d only be adding more stress to your already severe situation.”

“…Then why has Father…” Translated by jynkitl.wordpress.com

“If your protégé was sniffing around the capital, you’d want to stop it before something happens right? If it’s just a family name you should be able to discover information about it from a book.”

“…Thank you for the information.”

‘Don’t look into it any further‘… huh. Considering our previous conversation, I can’t simply do what I please anymore. As expected of Father. I have no reason to object.

“Thank you for the time. With this I’ll excuse myself.”

“Ah. Be careful on your way home.”

I almost thought I heard him add “too” to the end of his sentence. True, it’s practically a given that attacking travelers is easier. I should listen well to what Tanya, Ryle, and Dida say on the way home.