It was quite an annoying verification method, but in the end, Argantir trusted my words.
A person who thinks of killing someone just because they threatened them, especially someone with royal blood, could never be trusted.
The qualities required for the national power are superhuman strength and loyalty to the extent that it’s considered safe to rely on.
In my case, it seems the latter is overwhelmingly lacking?
“A double-edged sword… No, that’s even an exaggerated expression. You are a blade without a hilt. A flawed item that can cut off its own master’s fingers. Who would want to grasp that?”
Argantir said.
An unreliable superhuman is, from the kingdom’s perspective, merely a blatant threat, so I had no other path but to retire after all.
Thus, even if they nurture me, there’s no way I would become a threat to their country in the future.
“So… I suppose I can hand over the compensation you’ve desired.”
The deal was struck.
◆◆
“You wanted the authority to freely enter the dungeon, right? In that case, a disguised identity would be the best solution.”
The first compensation Argantir proposed was to create a new identity for me.
An identity that would allow free access to even heavily guarded deep dungeons.
“Tell me. Do you want an identity that only allows dungeon access, or one that lets you freely come and go outside as well? Which do you prefer?”
“Well… the latter would be better, right…? Of course, the former wouldn’t be a huge issue either.”
“Hmm….”
Argantir stroked his chin as if pondering something and lightly tapped the table with his fingertips.
“Next, do you have any restrictions regarding names or hair color? If you mixed in part of your real name with a pseudonym, there must be a reason for that.”
“I don’t particularly care. The pseudonym Hilde was an attempt to confuse any potential pursuers… but it wasn’t very effective.”
“That’s a low-level thinking that would only work on an idiot.”
Seriously?
…No, hold on. Control yourself, inner strength. Don’t let a prince’s head ruin your well-cooked rice.
“This is the last question. Is it alright if your mother is two different women?”
Should I hold back…?
“…I don’t quite understand the meaning of the question. Are you trying to insult me?”
I barely held my temper again, repeatedly reminding myself that royal murderers get drawn and quartered.
“Insult? You’re misunderstanding me in a strange way.”
Argantir shrugged, smirking.
“What I’m asking is simply whether you can serve an unfamiliar woman as a mother figure with that personality of yours.”
“Are you suggesting I act like an adopted child? If you mean I should show affection as if she’s my real mother, then I’m afraid I can’t do that…”
Being asked whether I could treat a woman I just met like my biological mother. After some thought, I answered that it might be a bit difficult.
I could manage that if she were a child under ten, but to treat someone over twenty I just met as my mother? That’d be incredibly awkward for both of us.
“I wouldn’t expect that much. Just don’t be rude to her, and you can simply act like her daughter in public.”
It means it’s fine to maintain a distant relationship privately as long as I pretend to be her daughter in public.
“…That should be okay, I suppose.”
“Good, that’s excellent. I’m relieved.”
Argantir puffed out some smoke from the cigar he had and smiled as if he were satisfied.
Seeing him puffing smoke in a closed space made me wonder about his upbringing.
◆◆
“I’ll prepare two identities for you. One as a high-ranking member of the organization you impersonated and an official title to represent externally.”
An official title. That meant I would live as someone’s daughter, thanks to Argantir’s introduction, while discarding the name Brunhilde.
I had no real reason to complain about the offer. After all, it seemed like the best option given the current situation.
First, I’d build my strength under a fake identity, and later, once the false accusations were cleared, I could reclaim the name Brunhilde.
As I agreed and expressed my gratitude, Argantir began listing the disguises available to me.
There were a total of four options.
First off….
“The daughter of Count Cygnus. Twenty years old with dull blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s been bedridden for six years due to an unknown illness.”
“Are you suggesting I become her temporary substitute? Pretend she’s recovered?”
“She died two years ago. It’s not publicly known, though.”
The proposal to fill in for a deceased noble lady. It seemed to have its perks.
The status of being a high-ranking noblewoman, Count Cygnus’s assets, and six years of time meant that even if someone changed, there would be few who could recognize her.
However, there was one critical problem with that identity.
“The daughter of Count Cygnus was betrothed to the son of Baron Brun. The betrothal came with a hefty dowry, so the Count must send his daughter.”
The troublesome issue of a complete stranger being my fiancé.
“…Are you asking me to take over the engagement too?”
“It would only take about a year. The Baron is affluent but has always had weak health and a scarcity of heirs, so he’ll be satisfied if a healthy successor comes along. You could just divorce afterwards.”
Argantir casually spouted nonsense.
To suggest I pop a baby and leave? He seemed to be thick-headed like a typical noble.
“I-I can’t—”
“No way!”
Just when I was about to refuse, Friede, who had been quietly listening, suddenly leaped up and shouted. It was nearly like the roar of a tiger.
At her sudden movement, the two knights standing behind the prince hesitated to draw their swords. I froze up for a moment and flinched.
“H-Holding an engagement? A child! Those kinds of things—absolutely no way!”
What a sudden outburst! Flustered Argantir, who now looked like he swallowed a bad cigar, hacked violently.
“Cough, cough…! All of a sudden, I never said you should marry. What the… Ah, don’t tell me?”
Argantir looked back and forth at me and Friede, as if searching for something. His gaze turned towards my face, then to Freede’s bright red cheeks.
“Ohhh…. I see. I didn’t know you two had that kind of relationship. When you said you’d retire together, I thought that meant something else….”
Was it just my imagination, or did Argantir’s gaze hold a subtle contempt when he looked back at me?
“Ugh….”
…I get what he might think, but that’s a huge misunderstanding, you know?
She’s a fully grown adult over twenty, and I never even touched her!
Feeling a sense of injustice, I thought through everything. I was the one who got eaten, not the one who did the eating!
“…Well, I understand. In that case, Count Cygnus wouldn’t do. You can’t have a man intruding on a loving couple’s relationship.”
Argantir retracted his first proposal. Having a man intrude upon a love relationship is a serious crime in his eyes.
Only then did Friede calm down, apologizing for the disturbance and sat back down.
“If you two share that relationship, the second and third choices wouldn’t work either… There’s only one option left.”
He pondered over the second fake identity, which would require Friede to be away for a long period, and the third identity that had rumors of changing men every month.
What on earth did he think I was? I wondered, but he merely glanced at my chest plate instead of answering.
…Come to think of it, Argantir had no sense of propriety whatsoever from the start.
Meaning… the exposed areas of my armor must have been fully visible to him.
“……”
I slightly turned my head and lowered my cloak to cover my chest, while Friede glared at Argantir like a bewildered Chihuahua.
“There’s only one remaining disguised identity. The position of the retired kingdom knight, Lady Esther.”
Ignoring Friede’s glare, Argantir spoke casually.
“You’re currently eighteen. Blue eyes, black hair. It’s said she rebelled against her mother, who tried to raise her as a knight, and ran away… Since then, there’s been no news about her.”
“She’s probably dead.”
“That would be likely. Either murdered… or kidnapped. In either case, she won’t return to the world.”
So, he’s saying I should find the house of a woman who ran away and died, and somehow expect to be treated as her daughter.
…Wouldn’t I get stabbed in my sleep or something?
“Though she retired, she was one of my aides, and it’s said she received much from me, so she couldn’t refuse my request. Thus, go and behave accordingly.”
Of course, Argantir said that if I refused this, he wouldn’t be able to offer me anything more.
While I could sneak into a dungeon with the identity of an organization member, that would be unofficial and only for covert entry using connections.
So, if I wished to freely come and go in the dungeon and walk around the world with confidence, there was no other choice.
Thus, my identity changed from the traitorous knight Brunhilde to the long-lost daughter of the knight Lady Esther.
Fernhilde Esther.
That would be my new name.
“And, as for my alias as a member of the ‘Shadows’… yes, let’s go with Krimhilde. That sounds good.”
Krimhilde.
It means Hilde in a mask or something?
And so, I acquired three names.
Brunhilde, Fernhilde, Krimhilde.
None of them were my real name, though.
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