Master’s Smile

“I see, my brother was involved as expected….”

After Ritter and I returned from our escort duty, we reported the incident to Princess Neena.

Though, I was the one doing all the reporting, and Ritter was just standing there in a daze, closely following me, but I didn’t really mind.

It seems that no assassins came to any of the other nobles except ours.

This means that Theldorff must be the one who had been going around killing the nobles of Princess Neena’s faction.

“Still, I never thought that Theldorff would lend a hand to such a heinous act….”

Princess Neena pondered with a difficult look.

…I honestly don’t know who Theldorff is, but what does he look like usually?

“…Don’t know.”

Yeah, I’m not expecting any answer from Ritter, so it’s okay.

“He was the most upright and strongest knight in the kingdom. That’s the man named Theldorff…. To think you didn’t even know him, who in the world are you, Master?”

Hee, I guess being the leader of royal knights must be appropriate to the person in question.

As for who I am, well…, please let me be.

I’m proud to say that my travels in the past gave me a broad perspective of the world, but these days, I’m not keen enough due to all the paperwork I had to do back home.

However, listening to her explanation, it seems to me that the man named Theldorff is not the kind of person who would assassinate someone that easily.

Nevertheless, it was definitely Theldorff who attacked us.

“…Well, he’s also a member of my brother’s faction. Although he used to be a chivalrous knight before, he may have changed now…. I am going to see my brother in person. Both of you follow me.”

Princess Neena then got up and left the room.

…Hmmm, I wonder if it will be that easy?

I’m sure Prince Lintz had been informed that Theldorff’s face had been exposed to us….

Oh well, I’ll just go along with whatever my employer decides to do for now.

“…….”

I tried to follow suit, but Ritter tugged my sleeve.

Wondering what’s wrong, I turned to her and she looked up at me blankly.

There were hints of trepidation and anxiety in her eyes.

…Well, she had seen a “Demon”, albeit a low-ranked one.

Given her past, it was natural for her to be terrified.

If you want, you can remain in the estate, okay? I’ll go with Princess Neena.

Ritter shook her head.

“…No. Ritter will, protect Master.”

…It’s a little pathetic that a guild member, who is like a daughter to me, would say such a thing, but it’s also a fact that Ritter is stronger than me, so I guess it can’t be helped.

But if Theldorff ever summons a demon again, you will hide behind my back, okay?

I will definitely protect you (as your guildmaster).

“…….”

Ritter gazed at me with a daze.

…Eh? Did I say something weird?

“Ritter! Master! Be quick!”

Oops, Princess Neena already called us.

We certainly might have taken quite some time.

Come on, Ritter, let’s go.

“…Mhmm.”

Thus, Ritter and I left the room.

⬥

To my surprise, the meeting with Prince Lintz was easily granted.

I had expected he would refuse to keep his mouth shut, but we were actually allowed to enter his office without any such problem.

Seems like I have become a worrywart because Theldorff had a demon with him.

If that had appeared when I was working with Laladi or Sorglos, I would not have been this alarmed.

However, I had no choice but to be wary in order to protect Ritter.

“Now then? What can I do for you, Neena?”

“I assume esteemed brother already knows. I’m here to discuss the recent incident regarding the assassination of nobles that have been taking place in the capital.”

Princess Neena quickly cut to the chase with Prince Lintz still remaining irreverent and relaxed.

She had no intention of having a futile discussion.

“Aah, that. Truly a scary event, isn’t it?”

“It is as you said. For some reason, the ones that have lost their lives were only the people from my faction.”

“Hohou!”

Will Prince Lintz intend to keep his mouth shut?

Though, I’m sure a report had been sent to him by Theldorff….

I kept my smile and looked at Theldorff, who was standing behind him.

He, too, was looking at me and Ritter, yet he didn’t seem to be restless at all.

Was it perhaps his strong mentality or was he just looking down on us…?

“Last night, my men got into a battle with brother’s aide, Theldorff. Are you still going to feign ignorance?”

Princess Neena glared at the prince with sharp eyes.

His face, which had been smiling before, finally changed.

“…Tsk! And? What will you do about it?”

Ah, he admitted it.

“…So you admit that you had launched an attack against my faction, yes?”

“Perhaps? But, so what?”

“Of course, I will report this matter to the King as this is clearly illegal.”

Well, that’s expected.

Killing off a part of the population that supports your political opponents is atrocious by any measure.

There should be some kind of punishment.

“Hah! I see? Then where is your proof that I instructed him to kill the nobles of your faction?”

“…Theldorff was the one who carried it out, and that is already enough evidence, yes?”

“That’s just your assumption, isn’t it? Certainly, the word of a princess would be credible. But too bad. When you are dealing with me, the first prince, you have no power.”

“Kuh…!”

Eeeh…..?

His words were utterly idiotic that it made me cringe.

I looked at Princess Neena, thinking that there was no way such a thing would work, and for some reason her face was contorted in frustration.

S-So this kind of rhetoric argument is acceptable in this kingdom, huh….?

“But it is against my pride to be told things that have no basis in reality. Hence, allow me to make a proposal.”

“Proposal…?”

Prince Lintz grinned and continued.

“Let our entourages fight one another. The loser will withdraw their candidacy to the throne… What do you think?”

“Wha-…!?”

Prince Lintz demanded a duel, which I did not expect at all.

I thought the throne-selection was fully democratic, but I guess it was not.

“T-The ruler should be chosen by the vote from the nobles! Deciding such a thing with armed might-….”

“Is that strange? The king must be strong. That is an absolute requirement.”

Princess Neena argued, still being at a loss for words, yet Prince Lintz was not to be outdone.

Hmmm… Certainly, it doesn’t seem strange to me.

Outside of Evans Kingdom, there are probably several nations that have their kings risen to power with their military might.

Knowing this, Princess Neena couldn’t argue back.

“Nevertheless, if both of us fight, it will turn into a fight between royalty which could split the kingdom in the end. Therefore, as proxies, each of us will send respective entourages to fight instead.”

Now that I think about it, the official candidates for the throne were only Prince Lintz and Princess Neena, weren’t they?

By the looks of things, setting aside the princess, Prince Lintz also seems to have some experiences when it comes to combat.

If they were to fight against each other, it would probably result in the destruction of Evans Kingdom.

In that regard, his proposal was not entirely irrelevant.

“…Very well. I will accept your offer.”

“Good answer. In recognition of your determination, allow me to be the first one to speak. From my faction, I will send out Theldorff.”

As soon as she accepted his offer, Prince Lintz confidently pushed the knight commander forward.

Wissen, who was also in his faction, was not chosen as he was an alchemist.

Hence, It was obvious that Theldorff would be picked by him.

“From your faction, as expected, will it be Ritter?”

Prince Lintz naturally looked at Ritter, who was also considered one of the best in the royal knights.

Under normal circumstances, I would also have sent her off without a second thought.

However, the demon that Theldorff summoned last night.

As long as that existed, I couldn’t help but worry about her.

“…What?”

Thus, I stepped forward.

The one who will fight is not Ritter, but me-

“Master.”

Yet, my sleeve was tugged from behind.

It was Ritter who had stopped me.

“…I’ll fight.”

E-Eeeh….

W-Will you be okay? Knowing your past, I wouldn’t want you to get too involved with demons.

You can leave it to your master here, you know?

“No, I don’t feel that bad. I met Master there.”

Hmmm…. I feel like Ritter and I would still have met even without that, though….

“Besides, I can’t be weak forever.”

Ritter stared at me with strong eyes.

Although her expression didn’t change, her eyes already revealed her feelings.

…I see, so this is what it’s like to have a daughter growing up.

It almost made me shed a tear.

…Alright, then, let’s leave it to Ritter!

“…Hmph, I have no idea what they were talking about, but I assume Ritter will be the one?”

“Yeah.”

Princess Neena was the one who answered Prince Lintz’s question.

He then nodded in satisfaction and stood up.

“Very well. Then, you will be informed of the details later…. I will show you which of us is more suitable to be the ruler of this kingdom.”

“Ritter will not be outdone. Not against a knight as unjust as Theldorff.”

With their last exchange, Prince Lintz left the room.