Level 99 Villainous Daughter

Chapter 22

VOL . 2 CHAPTER 22: A PATRIOT OR A TRAITOR?

The information we got from Viscount Cottnes suggested that the Duke is in league with Remrest . This information alone was already beyond our control, we had to inform the right people .

Hence, I decided to fly to the capital, the royal castle, to be specific . After dropping me off here, Ryuu was to fly to Ashbaton with Patrick in tow . We decided that his family, who lived along the border of the neighboring country should be informed .

I never thought the day would come where I had to visit the royal castle on my own . Though I didn’t expect to have an audience with His Majesty immediately, I still told the minister’s secretary that I wanted to meet him .

I thought I would have to wait at least a few days and would have to stay at my residence until everything was ready, but the secretary immediately returned .

“Count Dolknes, this way . His Majesty would like to see you now . ”

Seriously, isn’t this too quick? Is it really this easy to have an audience with His Majesty? Maybe next time I’ll shout, “Your Majesty, let’s play together,” in front of the castle .

The secretary walked me to His Majesty’s office while I imagined things I would never do .

The office was crammed with neatly organized papers and there was no sign of any decoration . He was sitting alone in a room full of paperwork, looking over his papers .

When he heard the door open, he looked up and set the papers aside with a serious expression .

“I never thought I’d see the day when Miss Yumiela would come to see me voluntarily . Should I be happy or sad? I suppose you brought some bad news . ”

He knew that I wouldn’t come to the castle unless something serious had happened . He knew her all too well .

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty, but I have something to share with you today regarding Duke Hillrose . ”

I explained what the Viscount had told me about the Duke schemes . About how the extremist had banded together to remove the King’s faction and Remrest was involved .

I thought it was quite dangerous, but His Majesty didn’t even bat an eye . Eh? Did he already know about this?

After I had finished my explanation, he was silent . He just closed his eyes . Like he was reminiscing about someone .

His Majesty sighed, opened his eyes slowly and said .

“The only one that knows about Remrest’s involvement is Hillrose, is there any question about this?”

“That was what Viscount Cottnes had said . He also said it was an unusual move by the duke . ”

“In that case, it’s not a problem . ”

I believe it’s full of problems .

Despite His Majesty not knowing the information beforehand, he showed no signs of being upset at all . Normally, this information could cause a major uproar throughout the country, but he showed no sense of urgency .

Although I had no intention of interfering with His Majesty’s policy, I couldn’t help but voice my concerns .

“Is Ronald-san okay? I understand that he is the Duke’s son . Right now, he is His Majesty’s close aide, but there is a possibility that he will side with the Duke in this debacle . ”

“That won’t be a problem . ”

“Then why would the duke send his son away?”

“It was for the sake of his son . You forget that he can see the future . ”

The Duke’s future predictions were brought up once again . Ronald and the queen mentioned it before, but I had no idea what that meant .

Perhaps my dissatisfaction was reflected in my attitude, as His Majesty began to speak first .

“See, Hillrose was my close friend . He foresaw that, even if the Demon King’s problems were solved, the unrest in the kingdom would never end . ”

“Is that what the Duke saw? I don’t think that’s a good reason to distance Ronald-san . ”

“Both of us had a different solution . Now we have no choice but to confront each other and to avoid being caught up in it, he has entrusted his son to me . ”

It would seem like the Duke is moving under the assumption that he will lose in the confrontation with the King . I wonder why he would risk a losing battle and if he were to drag other countries into the fray, he knew he wouldn’t be spared .

His Majesty’s speech, which I had expected to continue, ended there .

“I can’t divulge any more than that . Forgive me, but I’m not about to break a promise to my friend . ”

“What does the Duke have in mind? What is his goal?”

“Duke Hillrose leading his faction attempts to seize control of the kingdom by enlisting Remrest’s help . That’s it . And I will make sure that his schemes are thwarted . ”

When His Majesty said that his former best friend was an enemy and the bad guy, I couldn’t ask him any more questions .

He looked sad .

　　　　　　　◆　◆　◆

I was absorbed in my thoughts while taking a break .

Afterward, we were sent home and were told that all the problems would be taken care of as long as we quietly stayed in the territory .

I get the feeling that His Majesty is not worried about the kingdom being tipped by the Duke’s schemes . But I don’t think he has taken all possible measures against the Duke . He didn’t seem to know about the neighboring country’s involvement until I told him .

As I wondered about these things, I heard a boisterous voice coming from the doorway . There she was .

“Yumiela-san, I’m here!!”

“You’ve arrived early . ”

“You said you wouldn’t be coming to the capital for a while, so I was thinking of coming to meet you myself . ”

I wish she would quit coming uninvited . But, we’re friends, right? I think it’s okay once in a while?

Eleanora showed up as usual, just in time . Let’s ask her about her father .

“I will invite you to the Dolknes territory soon, just wait for a little while . ”

“Really?! Yes, yes, yes, I’ll wait for you!”

If I don’t invite her, she’s likely to come unannounced at some point . I subtly brought up the topic about the Duke .

“Doesn’t the Duke say anything when you go out so much?”

“Father says that all the time, he’s too overprotective . ”

“He must be very fond of you . ”

Eleanora, who was in an obviously good mood, started to grin . She said, swaying her body happily .

“But father loves this kingdom too, you know . ”

“Balshine Kingdom?”

“Yup, he also likes to clean . He said that he likes to gather all the things he doesn’t need in one place then get rid of them together . ”

I don’t care about the Duke’s decluttering hobby .

However, I didn’t know that Duke Hillrose loves this kingdom . Maybe he’s lying in front of his daughter, I couldn’t help but wonder .

Judging from Eleanora’s attitude, it appears that she has been kept in the dark regarding any information related to the coup . There was no point in learning about the Duke’s unexpected side when he was with his family .

A knock was heard and Patrick’s voice came through from the other side . He’s already back from the frontier, that was fast .

“I’m home . Did Eleanora-sama come to visit?”

“Pardon for the intrusion . ”

“You’re home early . ”

“I asked Ryuu to rush . Anyway, I’m a little tired from the journey, so I’m going to rest now . ”

His steps were a bit shaky . He wasn’t good with heights . Patrick was about to leave the room when Eleanora abruptly called him out in a loud voice .

“Oh! What about that? What happened to it?”

“What are you talking about?”

She grabbed my left hand and looked at it intently . Was there something wrong with my hand?

Patrick then turned and looked at us with a reluctant look on his face .

“Eleanora-sama, I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention anything about that yet . ”

“It’s been too long! Are you sure you want to go through with it?”

“Sorry, I haven’t got the chance to do it . ”

“Oh no! While romantic places are nice, don’t rely on them too much! Just like any other day, all of a sudden! That would still work perfectly . ”

“I’ll try . ”

While Patrick looked unhappy, Eleanora put her hands together and started sparkling . I was left out of their conversation .

After he left the room to rest, I asked Eleanora .

“What was that about?”

“I’m not going to talk about it . ”

She said, turning away with a pouty face .

Eleanora has a strange stubbornness about her that makes her unwilling to talk, though she can be tricked through indirect questions .

Back to what I was saying earlier, I brought up the topic of family . She seems to love her father and brother, so I don’t think it’s a surprise .

“I don’t want to pry but, what kind of person is your mother?”

“My mother, she died due to illness when I was young . ”

Uh-oh, that was a landmine . I was unsure of what to say, but she continued .

“But I’m happy! I have a kind father, a wonderful brother even though he doesn’t live with Yumiela-san and me, so I won’t be lonely!”

“Right . ”

If the Duke is going to stage a coup d’etat, what would happen to her? It was well-known that Eleanora, unlike her brother, was a member of the Duke’s family .

In the back of my mind, I kept seeing the Duke’s face when he asked me to take care of his daughter .

Is he a patriot or a traitor?