“Are you guys Reese’s friends?” (Cardeas)
When he turned his face to us, the clear outline of a slap on his right cheek ruined his whole image. Was that the barely audible sound following Lifell’s angry shouting?
“You picked now of all times to arrive? For the time being, please sit down next to me.” (Lifell)
In delicate atmosphere, we were made to sit next to Princess Lifell. Emilia and Reus were desperately holding in their laughter when they saw the handprint on the King’s face. You guys… Please forgive them if they laugh, you are the king after all.
“I called you guys because I want to inform you of the result of the investigation from yesterday. I was just made aware that the ceremony from yesterday… was fake.” (Lifell)
“…Ane-sama, one more time please.” (Reese)
“It was a fake ceremony. Put simply, would it be easier to understand if I said its true purpose was to weed out corrupt and dirty nobles?” (Lifell)
After all, was it so?
The people seen during yesterday’s ceremony were only those who had poor conduct or some notoriety to their name. In other words, rotten apples. If the ceremony were simply requiring the presence of influential people, those like the Principal would have been invited. That he wasn’t was definitely evidence to the contrary.
When I recall it, I do remember the reaction of the castle guards being unusually fast. They didn’t fail to catch a single noble that tried to run from the assembly hall, and they moved to capture everyone. To lure them all with honey, and catch them a single go. They appear to function a lot like the police in my previous life. They can’t do much, but they are clever with how they do function within their boundaries.
The real problems are the damage caused by such a move, and the grudges incurred from said move.
“Don’t you understand, Reese! Not only was he keeping this a secret from me, but also from you, whom he used as a decoy in his plot! What are you thinking, this was originally supposed to be your daughter’s wedding!?” (Lifell)
“If I tell you, won’t you please drop it!?” (Cardeas)
“Of course! Your reasons for making my cute little sister bear the brunt of these consequences, you had better tell me!” (Lifell)
“That’s why I didn’t say it! For the sake of collecting and capturing the fools, I’m going to think about preparation and time, no matter how long it takes!” (Cardeas)
Even if the engagement with Princess Lifell was stopped because of the illness, even if forcing the ceremony to Reese who was concealed specially, the preparation to capture those guys who were selected didn’t go waste. I think this King is a fearless calculating man.
However, Princess Lifell will not stop because of such reason.
“I don’t care such thing! It would be fine for me to go because I was cured!” (Lifell)
“Shouldn’t you be spending time recuperating!? Trying to pick the right choice was quite distressing!” (Cardeas)
“If that’s the case, give birth to more girls! You only birthed boys; a brother I don’t care for, a brother who has his nose stuck in a book all the time, and one with zero appeal in any regard! How long do you think I’ve had trouble with men for!? Then, finally, a younger sister appeared!? She’s so cute, you can’t blame me for getting attached!” (Lifell)
“My aim is not to have more children!” (Cardeas)
… I think the talk has begun to derail.
The king that I heard from Reese was a cold figure, who only spoke when necessary. However, the man in front of us quarreling is none other than a father with aspirations abound, with no trace of the aforementioned personality.
Of course, most surprised out of all of us was Reese, whose image of the King was far different than the picture in front of her. Her eyes were wide open in shock, and her face was stiff.
“Say… will you calm down a bit more?” (Reese?)
“Yeah… you’re right. I cut loose too much.” (Lifell)
“Me too. It became intense after such a long time.” (Cardeas)
Is that the kind of exchange people are supposed to have after a long absence? Senia, Melt and the servant who waited behind the King were calm and collected though, almost as if it were a daily occurrence.
“So, is that the reason why we were called?” (Sirius)
“Of course there are other reasons. For starters, my request to kidnap Reese.” (Lifell)
“I’m going to take over from here. Although you were asked by Lifell, it wasn’t wrong to obstruct the ceremony. Normally, I would pass down some kind of punishment but since the ceremony was sham, I’ll forget it.” (Cardeas)
In other words, since the ceremony was sham, he’ll forget about it. Although he is the king, was it challenging to convince other nobles to let it go?