Ch.178Don’t Ever Do What You’re Good At For Free

Leopold graciously arranged for Frider and me to have a private conversation.

He guided us to a gazebo for relaxation, located in a corner of the 1st Prince’s Palace garden, which was bathed in the red glow of sunset.

He mentioned this place was better than indoors for confidential talks since there were no wandering eyes and ears.

The table we were guided to even had tea and snacks laid out.

Leopold remained in his office.

He said it wouldn’t be polite for him to intrude on a conversation between women.

Thanks to this, Perseval had to start his duty two hours early, but he didn’t seem to mind.

In truth, it wouldn’t make any difference whether he cared or not.

When Leopold tells him to do something, what choice does he have but to comply?

—-

“So, how did you come to have this letter?”

“You know the Rose Cross Knights? With the recent incident and the suspicious movements of the Werebeasts, they wanted to come north just in case. ‘For the safety of the Empire’ or something like that? Anyway, one of them came to see me with this letter, asking me to deliver it to you.”

This must be Leonore’s doing.

At this rate, the knights are finished anyway, and even if Leopold defeats Isabella and takes the throne, Leonore can’t trust him, so she’s choosing to place herself under Faelrun’s protection instead.

For something that came from her mind, it was a wise decision.

Faelrun is always hungry for knight forces, so they would welcome these defectors rather than reject them.

The Imperial House would have no justification to forcibly detain knights who claim they want to protect the Empire from the frozen frontlines.

If they were Imperial Knights it would be different, but the Rose Cross Knights are essentially Leonore’s private military force, independent of the imperial military.

With different command structures, no one would have the authority to intervene if they defected to Faelrun.

With this, even if Leonore herself wasn’t safe, at least her knights would be.

Given Leonore’s intelligence, this probably wasn’t her plan—perhaps one of her subordinates with a good head on their shoulders?

Anyway, if she went to such lengths to send me a letter, Leonore must have something important to discuss.

It’s fortunate that she reached out before I had to find her.

“Do you know what it says?”

“How could I? Secretly opening someone else’s letter? I would never do something so undignified.”

Frider shrugged her shoulders.

…Isn’t it too late to worry about dignity? You’re always rolling around on my bed.

Next thing you know, you’ll be bringing your own pillow.

“It’s a bit late to be concerned about dignity now… Anyway, thank you.”

After expressing my gratitude, I opened the envelope.

As expected, it was a letter from Leonore.

– Could I ask for your help? Would that be alright?

True to Ernst’s sister, it was an extremely brief message.

Just one sentence for the main point, followed by a time and place.

The time was midnight today.

The location was near the Church of Astraea.

…So she was hiding within the system after all.

I could go there under the pretext of escorting Frider back.

—-

After that, we engaged in everyday small talk.

How Nigel was helping train them as I’d asked, how Demian’s skills had improved remarkably, things like that.

“By the way, I wonder how your guard duty is going. With your personality, working under someone else can’t be easy.”

“There’s hardly anything to call work. I just spend all day walking around.”

I need attackers to actually guard against.

Right now, I’m basically just a walking screen.

To put it nicely, one could say attackers don’t appear because of my presence, but still.

“You’re a treasury thief. No, a treasury plunderer.”

Frider chuckled and elegantly brought her teacup to her lips.

Honestly, I still can’t get used to when she acts like this. After all I’ve seen of her, this refined act is…

Anyway, the accusation of being a treasury plunderer was somewhat unfair.

“I’m not getting paid a single coin, so how am I a plunderer?”

Since coming here, all I’ve received is a room meant for Leopold’s sister and imperial-quality meals.

“What? No, that’s not right. This isn’t charity work. Even if you’re in the same faction, someone with your skills being used privately should at least receive a salary equivalent to a Royal Guard! Even if you didn’t bring up compensation, Prince Leopold should have mentioned it first. That prince, despite appearances, seems to have a sneaky side…!”

She set down her teacup roughly, making a clinking sound against the saucer.

Frider’s expression clearly showed mild anger.

What’s this about? Is this really something to get so angry over?

It’s not like I’m doing this for money in the first place. If Leopold were to be assassinated, it would be troublesome for me too, which is why I agreed to guard him.

“Well, since our interests align—”

“Alignment of interests, how nice.”

Frider cut me off sharply.

“Then are the other knights receiving regular salaries and estates because their interests don’t align?”

Huh? Is that how it works?

Now that I think about it, that doesn’t sound wrong…

Perhaps it was Frider’s confident tone, but I found myself being persuaded by her logic.

“Well, I am receiving various things, like imperial banquets and…”

“How much could those banquets be worth? Besides, if they feed you and work you, isn’t that slavery rather than knighthood?”

I thought about it carefully once more.

Is Frider right?

…

She is.

Yes, I think she’s right.

I see. So I’ve been exploited…!

“Um… now that you mention it, you seem to be right. I should bring this up.”

Knowing Leopold’s personality, he’ll probably make excuses and brush it off.

“Of course you should. If it’s too awkward to bring up now, let me do it for you. I’ll mention it before I leave.”

“I appreciate it, but why do you seem angrier than I am…?”

As the one who’s had compensation withheld, I just feel a bit uncomfortable, but Frider, who isn’t even involved, seems more outraged… honestly, it’s bewildering.

“Of course I am. Do you know how much Faelrun spends to maintain its Masters? To think someone would use one without paying a single coin—it makes my blood boil.”

Ah, I see…?

How should I put this—the reason was more practical than I expected, leaving me speechless.

“Then… if I serve in the north after graduation, will I receive a regular salary then too? From what you’re saying, it sounds like quite a large sum.”

“Huh? Oh, um, that’s… I think it’s in the contract you signed as an enrollment condition. So, that’s the end of it, isn’t it…?”

Hey, come on.

—-

After finishing our chat, I returned to the 1st Prince’s Palace and reported to Leopold about the letter.

Frider had already gone ahead to prepare to return by carriage.

“You say Leonore contacted you first? That’s fortunate.”

“Yes, it is. So, I’ll need to move outside the palace from tonight until dawn.”

After seeing Frider off and meeting with Leonore to handle the matter, I probably wouldn’t return until around three in the morning at the earliest.

Since my identity has already been verified, I shouldn’t be stopped at the palace gates.

“Sir Perseval clearly doesn’t look like a spy, so my safety shouldn’t be an issue… but the princess should be careful. If the letter is truly from Leonore, that’s fine, but there’s a possibility it could be a trap set by the Empress.”

“Once I get close enough, I can generally distinguish by their presence, so if it’s a trap, I’ll just run away.”

Even if there were about ten bug knights waiting, I could flee before even encountering them.

If they tried to chase me in the middle of the district, they’d be surrounded by the Imperial Knights who would respond to the emergency, and everyone except me, whose identity is confirmed, would be eliminated.

“More importantly, your oath from before remains unchanged, right? The oath that you would guarantee Leonore’s safety on the condition that she and her descendants permanently renounce their succession rights.”

Just try changing your word later.

For now, the stability of the Empire takes priority so I can’t do anything, but if the world ever becomes peaceful… I won’t have a reason to let it slide then.

“Don’t worry. Would I break an oath made in the name of Elpinel? Especially in front of the ‘Divine Punishment’?”

His words left me speechless.

I unconsciously dropped the letter I was holding.

“No, where did you hear that nickname…?”

I was relieved because no one called me that…!

“Lady Faelrun told me.”

Frider…! This is your doing again…!

I could clearly picture her face with that smirk.

“I knew about nicknames like Were Eater or Goddess’s Knight, but Divine Punishment… khmph, isn’t it a splendid nickname? Even Sir Richard, the Paladin Master of the Elpinel Church, has never earned such a grand title.”

Leopold’s lips twitched, as if he was forcibly suppressing laughter.

…If you want to laugh, just laugh openly.

My conversation with Leopold wasn’t long.

Since Frider was waiting outside, I didn’t intend to chat for long either.

I also brought up the matter of my salary, but Leopold explained it away naturally without showing any sign of embarrassment.

He said he hadn’t mentioned it because he didn’t know how long the guard duty would last, but he intended to pay me once the job was done.

His attitude suggested it was obvious, so there wasn’t much room to press further.

This guy… I’m pretty sure he would have just let it slide if I hadn’t brought it up…

—-

As soon as I got into the carriage, I protested to Frider.

“Why on earth did you tell Prince Leopold about that nickname?”

Despite facing my intense anger, Frider just smiled calmly.

“What do you mean ‘that nickname’? You earned such an honorable title through our work together—isn’t it my mission to spread it far and wide for everyone to know?”

Mission, she says.

“Your mission should be increasing your friend count to over 65. Isn’t that a lifelong aspiration?”

“Well, being the ‘Divine Punishment’ must be worth about 50 ordinary friends. Not far from 65 now.”

Bickering with Frider as usual, I escorted her to the Academy entrance.

We arrived at the Academy in the middle of the night.

Since most would be asleep at this hour, only a few windows glowed with light, while the rest of the Academy was mostly dark.

“Well then, do your best. Be careful not to die. You need to serve diligently in Faelrun after graduation.”

As I was about to get out of the carriage with my hood pulled up, she offered a concerned joke.

Sorry to disappoint you, Frider. I’ll be enjoying military service at the rank of lord in Landenburg.

“Haah… you should also be vigilant for a while. Though officially you came to see me, the Empress won’t be pleased that you visited the 1st Prince’s Palace. She might try to use you as a hostage to draw in the Duke of Faelrun. Try to stay close to Nigel.”

If I were Isabella, it’s something I might try. I’m not sure how much the Duke of Faelrun cherishes his daughter, but still.

Frider looked surprised, then met my eyes and grinned.

“Worrying about me? You’ve become human after all.”

“That’s my line. Anyway, I’m going now, so please take care of Lena and the others.”

I’m glad I brought my hood.

The cloth covering my face hid my reddened cheeks.

—-

I arrived at the location Leonore mentioned thirty minutes later.