Chapter 92
The Biggest Argument of Personal Feelings (Part 2)
Emperor Conrad did not even try to hide his disappointment from the former Emperor, who was brimming with energy .
When they were invited into the shop, they sat next to each other at the table near the back .
It was strange that the two did not sit across from one another . Shinobu wondered whether they were expecting another customer to appear . The aquiline nosed man pinned a flag on the wall behind the two . The flag had an image of a three headed dragon with hawk talons, the crest of the former Emperor .
Conrad opened his mouth .
「Grandfather, what do you mean by this?」
The former Emperor made an apologetic expression at Conrad, who was tapping on the table with his fingertips .
「Ah, this certainly needs an explanation . 」
「Yes, it does . Greatly . 」
「…Using this izakaya as the venue was a distraction . 」
The former Emperor continued with a serious tone .
「I had considered choosing a renowned inn for the location, but the reason I ultimately chose this izakaya was part of a plot of mine to outwit the enemy . I had a messenger wait at the intended venue to inform the other party of the change in location, so the other party will come to this ship after hearing from him . Besides, the food here is quite delicious . 」
The beat of Nobuyuki’s knife changed when he heard the word delicious . It was part of Nobuyuki’s charm to rejoice honestly when praised .
「That’s not what I’m asking!」
The former Emperor nodded at Conrad, who had unintentionally raised his voice .
「I understand . It is unusual for you to be so infuriated, though . 」
「Of course it’s normal . I was suddenly set up for a marriage interview . The other party is the Princess Regent, you know!」
Shinobu’s heart ached when she heard the words ‘marriage interview . ’
In addition, it felt as if something was impudently forcing open an old, half-healed wound .
Shinobu had run away from home because she was being forced to attend a marriage interview that did not consider her feelings . As a result, she had decided to open Izakaya Nobu here .
Although she thought that she had completely forgotten about it, as it had happened more than a year ago, it seemed that the wound was deeper than she had thought .
However, she was more concerned about Conrad .
What about the woman named Celes, who had made him so happy?
While the two of them had a slight gap agewise, it was clear that they were in love with each other, even to an outsider like Shinobu .
What had they meant by marriage interview when that incident had just happened yesterday?
Nobuyuki also tilted his head in wonder .
「That’s right . She is the Princess Regent . The age gap is a bit wide, but she has good looks . Above all, she’s intelligent . 」
「But, she’s the princess of the enemy country . Moreover, she holds the real power in politics . 」
「If you’re saying that, aren’t you also the Emperor of the Empire? If you say that you do not want to marry an enemy’s leader, they can say the same to you . 」
「That’s what it is . Is grandfather unaware of her craftiness that knows no bounds? The witches who lived in the corners of Mount Taranx pale in comparison to this woman . Why do you think that woman accepted this marriage interview? It must be a ploy . 」
「But, that craftiness is what you are lacking in regards to your politics . 」
The former Emperor took a satisfying sip of his genmaicha tea, which had become his favourite during the Grand Bazaar .
「My politics is lacking in craftiness, you say?」
「It is lacking . Your politics is too pure and reputable; there is not enough craftiness and murkiness within it . 」
「Isn’t that good? I might be labelled as naive, but if it’s possible to do things without violence, then wouldn’t that be better?」
「Yes…and someone else has to bear that role . 」
The sharp gaze of the former Emperor fell onto the aquiline nosed man who was standing near the entrance . That man, who was called Sebastian, looked down and slightly cleared his throat .
Shinobu did not understand politics but, despite that, she understood what they were talking about .
In order for the successor of a company to play an active role as the president, the executives under him had to be experienced with both good and evil in order to strengthen his position . Currently, in the Empire, it was the former Emperor and probably Sebastian who filled those roles .
However, Conrad had an immature way of thinking for his age . It would be fine if they could support him forever, but both the former Emperor and Sebastian were getting old .
The former Emperor continued .
「Currently, the Empire is peaceful . It has been the most peaceful this past hundred years . This peace is precious . It must be defended . To do that, you must be prepared for everything . 」
「I understand that peace is important . But how does that relate to the marriage interview with the Princess Regent?」
「Well…」
The former emperor knew what Conrad wanted to say, but decided to dodge the question .
There was a lot of benefits in marrying someone with a different personality . That was probably what his grandfather had wanted to say . Of course, there were sure to be political dimensions to his wishes .
However, as his grandfather, that was all he could say to Conrad .
The former Emperor took another sip of his tea . In that silence, only the sound of the sipping could be heard .
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Shinobu silently rooted for Conrad in her mind .
It did not mean that she could relate to him in regards to a political marriage . But, even if it was not the same, there were some things that overlapped .
She had resisted when she was not allowed to decide on the partner that she would be walking with in the future of her own free will .
She did not have a reason to interrupt, but she still wanted to say something .
While she thought that, Conrad opened his mouth .
「I…am against this marriage interview . 」
The former Emperor’s eyes, which were closed, opened on one side and then closed again when he heard Conrad’s clear protest .
「That’s unusual . Why are you objecting so clearly?」
「I can speak out at times when it is needed . I just didn’t have the opportunity to do so before . 」
「I see . Is that so?」
A smile appeared on the former Emperor’s face, even though he was refuted .
It seemed to have further fueled Conrad’s anger .
「The Eastern Kingdom is the enemy . And the Princess Regent is the princess of that enemy country . This marriage interview could lead to a foreign conflict . 」
「It is possible, but it can also be improbable . Both of you might be on good terms and build a family together . Marriage has always been like that . 」
「I’m not here to play with words, grandfather . 」
「I’m not playing with words . It is precisely because I think it will turn out that way that I arranged a marriage interview like this . 」
「I never said I wanted to get married, though . 」
「I’m not asking you to get married . It’s just a marriage interview . 」
Shinobu sighed a little, having seen this exchange somewhere before .
「That is the same thing . This is a marriage interview between the Emperor and the Princess Regent . In the worst outcome, there could be war . That is why, once there is a marriage interview, it means we will have to get married . 」
The topic was like an argument between a parent and their child, but there was the social positions of the two to be considered . It was on a pointlessly large scale . Furthermore, it was not a topic that Shinobu could calmly listen to .
Nobuyuki gently placed his hand on her shoulders as she busily and anxiously helped out with the dishes . When she looked up at him, he nodded with a serious face .
A customer was a customer . He seemed to be telling her to concentrate on her work and not think too deeply about it . Her story had ended, and she had preparations to make .
As she moved her hands, she gradually calmed down .
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That was right, her story had ended . That felt strangely satisfying .
「Today’s marriage interview is just a preliminary one . For that reason, I asked Aitheria’s city council to show some effort and reserve a rustic pub like this . There will be public implications if it was done at a formal inn, but if it’s here, we can just say the royal families met each other unexpectedly and had a meal here together . 」
「Is that even possible? This is a pub on the outskirts of Aitheria, you know? Certainly, the food here is delicious, but it is impossible for royalty to be here by chance . 」
Shinobu could only smile wryly at that plain declaration .
Indeed, it was just a pub on the outskirts of Aitheria . Even so, as the former Emperor had said, there were many highly ranked customers in this shop . It was a situation where a connection caused a chain of connections .
「Or is there something else? Don’t tell me you’ve found a girl you liked?」
It was a sharp blow .
Conrad was at a loss for words, and his eyes wandered around for a moment .
From his attitude, Shinobu understood it was about Celes . However, it seemed he intended to hide it .
He had declared to the former Emperor that he did not intend to get married, so he thought it would be difficult to bring her up .
「It’s more than that . Take a look at this . 」
Conrad cleared his throat and made an eye signal to Sebastian, who respectfully handed over a piece of parchment .
The former Emperor received and glanced through it . However, his expression did not change .
「You may not know this, grandfather, but this is solid evidence that the Princess Regent is plotting a conspiracy against our Empire . 」
「I see, it is a document requesting the release of Damien . 」
Speaking of Damien, it was also related to Izakaya Nobu . During the Toriaezu Nama incident and the witch uproar, Damien was in conflict with Nobu .
After the witch uproar, they thought he had actually escaped somewhere after he had passed through the back door, which he should not have been able to pass through . However, before anyone had noticed, he had been caught and was now in prison .
It was the first time that Shinobu had heard of this request to free him .
「There is even the signature of the Princess Regent, Celestine de Oiria . It was said that he was a small fry who was moving around in Aitheria, and a letter was sent to the council after this person was caught . I have received a report from Marcel, the president of the city council of Aitheria . Isn’t this proof of that evil woman plotting against this country?」
「Proof? But this letter does not seem to have any traces of a wax seal . 」
A wax seal was wax that was melted to seal a letter . A seal was then stamped on the melted wax to make a wax seal, so people could identify who the sender was .
「That’s true, but that is a trivial matter . 」
「Have you ever wondered whether it was forged?」
「That’s…」
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Without the wax seal, it did not matter who had written it .
「Sebastian . While you’re here, what is the meaning of this?」
The former Emperor’s voice became low . Sebastian bowed respectfully .
「I have no excuses . I had carelessly believed it because the parchment used was the same quality as the one used for letters from the Eastern Kingdom . 」
「You have understood your mistake, but I don’t understand this . You’re not my vassal now, so I’ll leave the punishments to Conrad . 」
「But grandfather, it has not been decided yet that this is a forgery, and even if it is a forgery, the Princess Regent is not innocent . 」
The former Emperor nodded at Conrad, who could not stand it and rebutted .
「That’s right . Isn’t this enough proof?」
The former Emperor’s attendant began to line up the contents of a bag onto the table .
All of the parchments that were lined up looked the same in Shinobu’s eyes . The quality of the papers were the same .
「Both the quality and quantity of the information are necessary in order to investigate a plot . The quality would be the presence or absence of the wax seal . As for quantity, it’s these . 」
「Grandfather, these are?」
Conrad picked up a piece and scanned through it . The former Emperor, who linked his hands in front of his face, answered .
「In the past few months, the name of the Princess Regent’s correspondent in the Empire was confirmed . These are the letters . There are no wax seals and the high quality parchments that were used were identical to the ones used from that place . 」
「What on earth are these…」
「These are all forgeries . 」
「Forgeries…?」
「The Princess Regent… is being framed?」
At that point, a carriage stopped in front of the shop .
It was Reinhold who then knocked on the glass door and peeped inside .
The somewhat tense Reinhold puffed out with pride, and announced .
「Announcing the arrival of Her Highness, Celestine de Oiria, Princess Regent of the Eastern Kingdom . 」
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