I feel like there’s been some huge misunderstanding, but I decided to just roll with it.
Reversing things now—well, I could, but the effort I’ve put in is just too precious to waste. It’s not like I’d suffer any major losses, but convincing the Duke was a hurdle, and finding another way will be such a hassle.
Besides, it’s not like there’s a need to worry about it because eventually, the colonies will start their independence movements in the later parts of the story.
By then, the Empire will have declared war against nearly the entire world, and as a result, the Emperor will die, which will somehow put an end to the war. However, by then, it’ll be a mess, and those who don’t want to fight anymore will have to settle for a haphazard truce. Meanwhile, there’ll be continuous bloodshed in the colonies while the Papal State moves in a suspicious manner… that’s how the story goes up to the point I played.
Moreover, some of the protagonist’s group will be dead, which makes the situation even gloomier.
…Well, no need to dwell on that here.
“Are you talking about true friendship?”
“Yes, indeed.”
Well, I could talk about friendship if that’s what they want.
It seems they’re purposely being vague, so we can also just match their vagueness. There are political statements and all that jazz, but whatever, I could just brush it aside later. It’s not like I’m going to incite a rebellion against the royal family. In that case, we’d be the ones in a tight spot.
“If you marry the son of my house in the future, it might indeed happen.”
“Understood.”
At my words, the Duke responded with a smile.
“Then we shall think positively as well.”
*
Somehow, we wrapped up the situation.
Looking back, didn’t that end much smoother than I expected?
I was worried there’d be shouting and ashtrays flying around. Of course, they wouldn’t throw that ashtray at me.
“What kind of conversation did you have?”
Jake asked as I came out of the room. He seemed puzzled that his father didn’t come out with him.
“Multiple positive discussions took place.”
Alice squinted her eyes as she looked at me in response to that, but I deliberately ignored her gaze.
After all, we’ll all be in the same room tonight, so there’s no way I can hide it.
I could almost visualize Alice pinching her forehead after hearing about my conversation today.
“Is that so?”
Jake probed, but luckily he didn’t press further.
“….”
Apart from that, nobody had said anything particularly significant.
Leo seemed awfully serious.
“Is there something wrong?”
When I approached him to ask, he shrugged and redirected his gaze from outside.
“No, it’s nothing major.”
“Then why have you been staring outside since earlier?”
Jake chimed in.
“Is it that rare to see so many people working on such a vast farm?”
“….”
Jake’s words had no particular meaning, but his tone suggested he wasn’t too keen on the situation.
He may look like the kind of guy who easily charms multiple women, but in reality, he’s a pure-hearted guy who only has eyes for one woman while feeling sorry for the colonists… Why isn’t he the hero? Roti would fit much better as a male character instead, wouldn’t she?
While I was lost in those thoughts, Alice interjected.
“There are plenty of people like that in the Empire. Those who work in factories. It’s not like there aren’t farms either.”
With her gaze drawn to her, Alice showed a slightly awkward expression as she replied.
“That’s not a good thing. Just… it is what it is. It means that the nobility is surprisingly unaware of such occurrences happening everywhere.”
“Even in Velbur, fruits named after Lindbergh are quite famous.”
Finally, Charlotte, who had been quiet like Leo, spoke up.
“They’re cheap and tasty… Even if they wanted to cultivate such things in Velbur, they wouldn’t be able to replicate this method at all.”
That would require the citizens of Velbur to be directly employed.
Of course, just because Velbur hasn’t industrialized doesn’t mean the lives of the people there are particularly great. Most of the national industry is agriculture, and that agriculture relies on landowners exploiting tenant farmers. And those landowners, of course, are mostly the nobility.
It must be frustrating, huh?
Even if they squeeze every ounce of strength out of the people to boost national power, there’s no way they can match the Empire, which creates colonies like this.
And if they try to create colonies now, they’d have to spark a war, and once those colonies are formed, the cycle of exploitation begins anew.
Well, who created the ‘good’ of those good old times anyway?
“….”
And Claire, who would end up being among those exploited, had nothing to say.
A moment of silence fell in the guest room.
“Our business is finished.”
When I opened the door, the kids turned to look at me.
“Shall we head back? Although the Duke said it was fine for us to stay here.”
If we stayed a day longer and woke up tomorrow, we’d be greeted with a much more horrific spectacle. A far more depressing scene.
“…No, let’s just go back. There’s nothing left to see if we linger here.”
It seemed Alice had realized what kind of scene we’d witness the next morning.
Everyone nodded eagerly to follow Alice.
*
“Your Highness.”
The fact that Roti called me before Jake means she has a lot she wants to say.
She had come along, but the fact that Roti wasn’t in the guest room… It seems it wasn’t because she was treated differently.
Roti had been talking in the hallway.
Her conversation partner was her mother, who was dressed in a maid’s outfit.
I thought all the maids here were white.
Well, maybe one person is getting special treatment. From the Count’s point of view, Roti would be the connection point with me.
As for what she was doing in the banquet hall… I’ll ask about that later.
Roti’s mother noticed me and quickly bowed her waist.
“The conversation has ended well.”
“Is that so….”
Roti had an expression that showed she wanted to ask many things, but she couldn’t directly ask anything.
Even through her emotionless facade, I could sense her feelings… Hmm, maybe Alice is able to notice my expressions like this.
Roti’s mother kept her head bowed.
Speaking of which, if Roti were to receive a knight title, how would that affect Roti and her mother’s relationship?
I should keep that in mind as well.
As I casually turned my gaze, I noticed Alice had a complicated expression too. It’s only natural for ‘a friend’s mother’ to show such feelings.
“Then, let’s return.”
As I said that, Roti’s mother lifted her head slightly to look at us.
When I slightly bowed my head in her direction, she hurriedly hid her face.
*
After wandering around the room for a while, Alice finally spoke up.
“Is Roti the daughter of Lindbergh?”
“If you mean ‘the daughter of Lindbergh,’ that would be correct. But she isn’t the daughter of ‘Duke Lindbergh.’”
“….”
Alice squinted her eyes as she stared at me for a moment and then said,
“Well, fine. Let’s put aside how you figured that out for now.”
She sighed as she said this and plopped down in front of me.
“Tell me. If Roti is the daughter of Lindbergh, then ‘which’ Lindbergh’s daughter is she?”
“Roti is a distant cousin of Jake.”
In Korea, that counts as incest, and they can’t marry, but in this world, there’s no such restriction for nobles.
Moreover, internationally speaking, many countries allow cousin marriage… That’s the law, although public perception is a mess. But here, where they go out of their way to find a family with mixed blood for marriage, it’s a different story.
Roti was the daughter of the Duke of Lindbergh’s cousin, who had raped a colonial citizen in her teens. Naturally, she wouldn’t be able to use the name Lindbergh and wouldn’t acknowledge her status whatsoever. It would be as if nothing had happened at all.
The rumor would go that the Duke of Lindbergh offered her a maid position out of generosity after she was born from an affair while living loosely outside… that would be the common knowledge.
“….”
After hearing my words, Alice pinched the bridge of her nose.
“No, well, fine. That’s good.”
She said it with a completely displeased expression.
“You do know, right? No matter how esteemed the royal family’s authority is, if you meddle in the family matters of the Duke’s house, it can get incredibly messy.”
“….”
Uh.
Ah, I was aware of that.
Alice’s gaze on me narrowed even further.
“What did they ask you for over there?”
“True friendship.”
In the end, Alice pinched her forehead.
“I hope you know what true friendship means, right?”
“….”
“If something goes wrong over there, it’s only natural that the imperial family would step in to sort it out together, right?”
“….”
Oh, is that how it is?
“Don’t give me that relaxed expression… Seriously.”
It seems Alice caught on to me thinking the Emperor would somehow manage it.
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