Chapter 194: 194

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The day of the grand hunting party. Fortunately, the weather was clear.

The grand hunting party was actually Her Highness the Imperial Princess’ debut into the political world. Sebastian and I were hoping for the greatest stage. If the sky were gloomy, then the atmosphere throughout the hunting party would’ve been the same as well.

Many nobles gathered in a forest near the imperial capital. Her Highness Johanna had to greet each individual noble as the host of this event. The first person she greeted was naturally Crown Prince Rudolf von Habsburg.

“What good weather we have, little sister. Congrats.”

Crown Prince Rudolf’s lips twitched as he spoke. It was obvious that he wasn’t in a good mood. His eyes were fiercely saying that he should be the one standing in Johanna’s position. 

It was a bit stupid. Congrats? What was he congratulating her for? Because the weather was good? That makes it sound like he wanted the weather to be bad. How could such a narrow-minded person be the crown prince? Even if you’re narrow-minded, you should at least be able to hide it.

“You do not seem to be in a good mood, Older Brother. Are you perhaps not feeling well?”

“…….”

Crown Prince Rudolf fell silent for a moment. The Crown Prince’s tone may have been blunt, but our Imperial Princess Johanna had a bluntness that far surpassed his. He was probably at a loss for words.

How unfortunate, Crown Prince Rudolf. Our Highness behaves in an unprecedented way. He probably didn’t know his little sister’s personality since he was never interested in her before. Ignorance comes back to bite you. It’s regrettable, but you have to endure this.

“……No, I’m not unwell. Thank you for your concern.”

“That’s good! If you start to feel unwell later, then feel free to tell me.”

Her Highness Johanna let out a grand sigh.

“Sheesh. My body isn’t feeling well after preparing all this. I realized a few days ago how amazing you are, Older Brother, for having hosted this twice already.”

“……Thanks. I hope you get better soon.”

Crown Prince Rudolf responded bitterly. He looked like he had no idea how to respond.

I understand how you feel, Your Highness. Sebastian and I experience that often, after all.

In the end, His Highness the Crown Prince walked away almost like he was running away. The nobles around us started to buzz. Anyone could tell that Her Highness Johanna had won the first round. However, Her Highness Johanna’s depth was still unknown……. The nobles seemed interested in the imperial princess whom they were unfamiliar with.

The greetings with high-ranking nobles continued.

“You are much more beautiful than what I heard through the rumors, Your Highness!”

“Mhm, thanks, Margrave Westfalen. I have not heard any rumors about your appearance, but if I did, I am sure that I would have returned the same words to you.”

“Hm? Haha, thank you very much.”

Most of the nobles were satisfied with Her Highness Johanna’s reception.

Her Highness was a frank person by nature. The etiquette that was hammered into her since she was a baby was still engraved into her every action, but she herself wasn’t very ceremonious. It was a strange balance.

“Throughout my fifty years of life, who would think that I would have my appearance complimented by the Imperial Princess. I still have much to experience.”

“That is unfortunate. If you were half your age, then I would have confessed to you.”

“Huhahaha!”

Her Highness Johanna looked truly discouraged. This idle chat made the other nobles around them laugh.

More important than anything else, Her Highness Johanna had a quick wit. Not a wit that was forced out, but a quick wit that came out naturally. A majority of the nobles here were meeting Her Highness Johanna for the first time. However, they were quickly taking a liking to the young imperial princess. 

A hidden pearl. This same thought was probably popping up in their heads. 

“Kuh. To think I missed an opportunity to receive Her Highness the Imperial Princess’ confession. I curse the heavens.”

Margrave Westfalen cried out.

“Hey, Fritz! Did you see this? I am a man of this much quality!”

“This chap is going to turn into a monkey in front of Her Highness at this rate.”

An older gentleman who was next to greet Her Highness shook his head. He was an old man with a heavy build.

He stepped in front of Her Highness and bowed. It was a courteous greeting, but even that wasn’t capable of diminishing this old man’s intense pressure.

“I offer my greeting to Her Highness. My name is Fritz von Rosenberg.”

I let out a silent ‘ah’ in shock.

Fritz von Rosenberg. He was an incredibly special individual in the game.

He didn’t acknowledge the hero, but he wasn’t hostile to the hero either. Margrave Rosenberg valued the duty of humankind more than anything else.

Humankind shouldn’t rely on a single hero but should instead fight as humankind. Even if they manage to beat the Demon Lord army, humankind would only end up being plagued by the idea of heroism…….

Till the very end, the margraves sortied claiming that they would show the world humanity’s pride. For the sake of showing everyone that humankind could fight against the Demon Lord army without relying on the hero. In the end, the margraves lost, but they were the first people in history to advance past the Black Mountains.

Her Highness Johanna smiled gently.

“Welcome, Proud Lion of the North. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Proud Lion of the North……. It was as Her Highness had said. There was no better title than that to describe Fritz von Rosenberg.

The person in question must’ve been surprised as the Margrave widened his eyes slightly. A thin smile soon appeared on his lips.

“I am an old man who has left his prime and is now slowly dying. I am truly grateful for this honor Your Highness has bestowed upon me.”

“You are? Puhaha, what nonsense. If you are dying, then almost everyone in the world must also be dying.”

Her Highness Johanna chuckled. It was enough to just barely not be discourteous. Margrave Westfalen and Margrave Rosenberg watched her with great interest.

“I may be young, but I know that things are not determined by whether you are old or young. Contrarily, there are lives that are proven after death. Margrave von Rosenberg, my greeting to you was not an empty compliment.”

“……My apologies, Your Highness.”

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Margrave Rosenberg bowed his head deeply. The atmosphere felt completely different from the courteous bow he had done earlier. It felt genuine.

“If there is an individual who remembers this humble one, Fritz von Rosenberg, here in the imperial metropolis, then this alone is enough to make this one return to the north happily.”

“Dear me! You are way too rigid.”

Margrave Westfalen spoke up.

“Why are you being so serious in front of Her Highness? This is why you are less popular than me, old man.”

“……Hoo, they say that tadpoles have bad memories. It seems you have forgotten about how I had taken Miss Marienburg from you.”

“H-Hey! You promised to never bring that up!”

Margrave Westfalen floundered. Margrave Rosenberg watched this and smiled. It was a mischievous smile. It was surprising to see as someone who had only seen the Margrave’s serious and calm side in , but it wasn’t awkward.

“Your Highness, my apologies, but if the two of us were half our age, then you would not have confessed to Sir Westfalen.”

“Is that so? That is interesting. Why is that?”

“That is because this humble one would have confessed to Your Highness first. I must inform Your Highness that I have taken a total of 7 ladies from Sir Westfalen.”

Her Highness Johanna let out a laugh. Her laugh was contagious as it made the other nobles around us laugh as well. Margrave Westfalen who had suddenly become the man who had his women taken from him was the only one with a red face. 

“T-That is not true! Your Highness! That is a groundless statement.”

“Oh? My friend, do you intend to lie in front of Her Highness? I could whisper the names of the 7 ladies to you right now if you want.”

“It……was not seven, it was six!”

Margrave Westfalen cried out.

If this were a battlefield, then the plants and trees would’ve trembled. Unfortunately, this was a hunting ground. The other nobles broke out into laughter. There was a warm air flowing between the margraves and the palace nobles who were normally hostile to one another.

I was satisfied. The debut was an immense success. Now then, how will things proceed from here…….

Imperial Princess Elizabeth walked forward while wearing a military uniform.

Her hair was silver like Her Highness Johanna’s. However, different from Her Highness Johanna, Imperial Princess Elizabeth let her hair grow long. Her silver hair fluttered in accordance with her stern strides. 

It was the Third Imperial Princess Elizabeth’s turn after the margraves. She officially had the title of Earl Evatriae. As long as she wasn’t the host of a palace banquet or an event, her priority was treated similarly to that of earls. 

“It has been a long time, Sister.”

“Likewise, Elizabeth! Long time no see. Has it almost been 2 years?”

“It has been about that long. Being unable to see my own sister’s face for so long has made me realize how busy the times have been.”

Imperial Princess Elizabeth smiled. It was a smile that was so refined that you wouldn’t think she was only 13-years-old. Well, Her Highness Johanna would also show a level of insight that went beyond her age. What’s with this bloodline……?

“The last time we met was at our oldest sister’s funeral. If she were still alive, then she would have been delighted to see how gallantly you have grown. It is unfortunate.”

Her Highness Johanna’s expression froze for the first time at that moment.

The air around them became cold.

The words she had said weren’t a problem; however, the nobles gathered here had all gained their positions after getting through a battle of succession in their own way. They weren’t so simple-minded that they wouldn’t be able to see through the Imperial Princess’ intent.

Since the previous year to the start of this year, two imperial princes had died in succession. The Third Imperial Prince and the Fourth Imperial Prince. It was told to the public that they had either died from a disease or an accident, but……there were also rumors that Imperial Princess Elizabeth had planned their assassinations.

Elizabeth, who had received these suspicions before, had mentioned the First Imperial Princess. She was warning Johanna. Why are you stepping out of line? Do you want to die like our elder sister?

Imperial Princess Elizabeth smiled. It genuinely looked like a little sister was saying loving words to her older sister.

“It is fortunate that our family still has you and our brothers. Of course, our father is in good health as well. I truly pray that our small family will remain peaceful.”

“…….”

Her Highness Johanna’s face became pale. I was able to notice her shoulders tremble ever so slightly since I was standing right next to her.

I took a step forward. I stepped between Her Highness Johanna and Imperial Princess Elizabeth ever so slightly and courteously held out the wine I had prepared beforehand to Her Highness Johanna. She naturally turned to look at me.

We exchanged glances briefly.

That was enough. Her Highness Johanna’s complexion returned to normal as she received the cup of wine. Her shoulders had stopped shaking as well.

I silently returned to my original position. From an outside perspective, it simply looked like a servant had offered a drink.

“That’s right, Elizabeth. Our family has undergone too many misfortunate events. Robert’s death was especially shocking for me……. May the Goddess watch over our family’s souls.”

I then prepared another cup of wine and offered it to Imperial Princess Elizabeth. With this, I probably made it seem like the wine I had offered to Her Highness Johanna was completely natural.

“…….”

For an instant, the Imperial Princess’ blue eyes turned to look at me. An unknown, cold sensation flowed down my spine. It was only for a very brief moment. Imperial Princess Elizabeth was still smiling.

“Indeed, Sister. May the Goddess watch over our family.”

Cling, the two sisters clinked their cups together.

***

Author’s Afterword

I had fun while writing this, so I intend to finish this in the next chapter. Well, I was originally going to end the grand hunting party and this apocrypha in chapter 193…

Johanna is cuter than I expected.

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Quite the tension in this chapter. Elizabeth is constantly built up as this overwhelming character in every single side route that has been released so far, but we haven’t really been able to see that much of her in the main story. She was sort of swept under the rug after she lost to Dantalian in that speech. Of course, this will most likely change after this arc is over, but we probably won’t see her much until the matter in Frankia is dealt with.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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