Ch.82After Finishing a Light Conversation

“Very well then. Thank you for your consideration.”

I suppose this means he wants me to refrain from speaking informally like last time.

Well, that’s not difficult at all.

“Good. The reason I called for the Princess is that many are curious about the new Master, so I wished to introduce you to them. Would that be too much trouble?”

“As my injuries haven’t fully healed yet, a lengthy conversation would be difficult… but I should be fine for a short while.”

I’ll go along with it as long as there’s no talk of political marriage.

—-

Afterward, I exchanged greetings with several nobles in order.

Fortunately, whether Prince Leopold had spoken to them beforehand or not, there was no mention of engagement or anything similar.

They didn’t shower me with compliments about my appearance either, focusing only on conversations about my deeds and martial prowess.

Being a foreign princess before an imperial baroness, the nobles who approached me maintained proper etiquette.

Well, I suppose I do outrank ordinary nobles, though perhaps not high nobles like margraves.

I also maintained proper etiquette, using polite speech.

After all, we’re in the same boat now, so there’s no need to be rude and create bad feelings, right?

“I heard you defeated a Werebeast Champion alone. That’s truly impressive. What kind of opponent was it?”

“A black leopard named Natalya. She was stronger than I expected… and I was already badly injured at the time, so if I hadn’t realized my Karma, I probably wouldn’t have won. The blessing of Elpinel that descended upon the island that day was also quite timely and helpful.”

It was Lacy’s wide-area holy magic, wasn’t it?

Without that, I would have been helplessly defeated before I could do anything.

“Indeed, it was Elpinel’s aid! She always protects humanity!”

“I suppose so.”

I’m not sure about protection… but she’s probably watching over me.

Though I can’t guess her intentions.

“I heard you use a longsword. Do Ka’har also use longswords? From what I’ve read, I thought they used curved blades, which surprised me.”

“That’s probably just me. I learned the basics of imperial swordsmanship from my mother.”

“She must have been an imperial knight. To have raised such an excellent lady, she must have been a knight among knights. I’m embarrassed that my knowledge is so limited that I haven’t heard of House Median.”

“I heard she kept her skills hidden. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

The conversations were mostly like this.

After responding appropriately for a while, I used fatigue as an excuse to leave.

Leopold nodded slightly, looking satisfied.

He certainly kept his promise to prevent half the nobles from pestering me.

I wonder what he plans to do about the other half.

When I glanced toward Ernst’s faction, I could feel a faint hostility.

Hmm. It seems they’re convinced I’m part of Leopold’s faction.

I wonder if they might send assassins.

Since the meeting is about to end anyway, I should probably just greet Ernst briefly before leaving.

If I do that, Leopold’s side will see it as merely maintaining minimum courtesy, while Ernst’s side might interpret it as me taking a neutral position.

People generally prefer hopeful interpretations, after all.

—-

I approached Ernst and offered a light greeting.

A knight’s salute, with one hand on my chest and a slight bow.

“Prince Ernst. It’s been a while since we last met.”

“…This is unexpected. I didn’t think the Princess would approach me first.”

Ernst tilted his head slightly in surprise as he received my greeting.

The nobles of Ernst’s faction also showed clear signs of confusion.

“Having greeted Prince Leopold, wouldn’t it be proper to pay my respects to Prince Ernst as well, even if somewhat late?”

“Yes… you’re not wrong. Though following etiquette seems rather un-Ka’har-like.”

“Since I’ve become part of the Empire, I can’t behave as I would on the steppes, can I?”

Ernst smiled slightly, as if amused.

It was just a twist of his lips while his eyes remained motionless.

His subordinate nobles still wore confused expressions.

Yes, they’re probably uncertain whether I’m an enemy or neutral.

If I were an enemy, it wouldn’t matter, but there’s nothing more foolish than alienating a neutral party and turning them into an enemy.

“Very well. Let’s leave it at that… Anyway, since you’ve come, I should make introductions. As everyone knows… this is the Ka’har Princess, Baroness Median, Lady Aishan-Gioro.”

“Haschal Median Aishan-Gioro. Pleased to meet you.”

I offered a light greeting to Ernst’s subordinate nobles as well.

It was the Academy’s military salute rather than a lady’s curtsy.

“As the Princess just mentioned, it’s about time to conclude our meeting. If any of you wish to have a more detailed conversation, wait for the ball. That would be more convenient for the Princess as well, wouldn’t it?”

“I appreciate your consideration. Then I shall take my leave. Until we meet again. May you all be well until then.”

After this brief greeting, I returned to where Frider was.

The three of them seemed to have become friendly already, their earlier awkwardness gone as they conversed.

Mostly it was Frider boasting about her exploits while Demian responded and Millia expressed admiration.

They seem to be getting along better than I expected. I suppose Frider took a liking to them because they fought and won against Werebeasts.

I wonder why someone so desperate for conversation had no friends.

Making friends shouldn’t be that difficult.

It’s puzzling.

“You look like you’re having fun, Frider. You three get along well?”

“I don’t know about that. More importantly, you suddenly dumped two people on me. Aren’t you being too casual with me?”

Frider frowned slightly and crossed her arms.

There she goes being prickly again. And it’s not even her true feelings.

Her true nature has been exposed for a while now.

Poor thing without a single friend…!

“I’m sorry about that. It was urgent, and you’re the only person here I can trust.”

“W-well, that’s obviously true, but…!”

Her crossed arms slowly loosened.

…This is too easy. Is this really okay? Where did all that initial prickliness go?

Was it all just hysteria from loneliness?

“Well, I’m glad you all seem to be getting along. Both Demian and Millia.”

“Senior Frider has been very kind to take care of us.”

“Millia’s right. Thank you, Senior Frider.”

“No, well, that’s… Yes, I’ve given you special attention, so you may thank me.”

Frider’s face turned slightly red.

…Yes, you three get along well.

I plan to keep you together often anyway.

So does that mean Frider now has four friends including me?

I’m not sure if Kalix considers you a friend… but since you appear together frequently, I suppose he counts.

Your friends have quadrupled. Congratulations, Frider.

—-

Not long after, the brief meeting finally came to an end.

The princes and nobles departed in their carriages.

Margrave Ludwig also bid me a brief farewell before leaving.

Lord Wien and the two High Priests looked at me with curious eyes.

I wonder if they already know that I’ll become Landenburg’s successor. They’re fellow prince-electors, after all.

Outside the cathedral, the sky had already turned the color of sunset.

The sun hanging at the edge of the city walls announced the end of the day.

I boarded the large carriage provided by the Academy with my companions.

Unlike the carriage gifted by the Margrave, it was quite bumpy, though the interior space was vast.

I sat in the corner of the carriage, leaned my head against the wall, and closed my eyes.

Half-listening to the conversations between Frider, Asha, Demian, and Millia.

By the time we returned to our lodgings, the sun had completely set.

After saying goodbye to Demian and Millia, I returned to the special quarters.

Come to think of it, Edgar also greeted me, saying something about misunderstanding me before.

After washing up properly, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

The soft touch of the well-dried blanket warmly embraced my tired body.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t fall asleep for a while.

The funeral mass, Lacy’s speech, my incorporation into the imperial nobility, and the light conversations with other nobles.

It had truly been an eventful day.

—-

I asked Frider if she could train Demian and Millia.

“Train? Those two?”

“Yes. They have plenty of potential but lack practical experience… so I was hoping you could help with that.”

If they only fight against me, they might just get used to my attack patterns rather than actually improving.

I had already obtained permission from the Academy and the consent of my friends.

The Academy also felt it was inefficient to force the entire first-year curriculum on someone who already had knight-level skills.

As a result, they were granted permission to attend classes autonomously, similar to special students.

So they could train with Frider in their spare time.

Convincing Demian and Millia was even easier.

It was enough to tell them that now that their names were widely known, they would attract a lot of attention, and to navigate this without being swayed, they needed to further improve their skills.

“If I train them well, they might come to the north someday, don’t you think?”

“Hmm, perhaps? Well, I’m relatively free these days. Once a week should be fine.”

Frider readily agreed.

—-

By the way, Asha has started a new business.

She’s buying the Werebeast hides obtained from this incident, processing them, and selling them.

…Apparently, there’s quite a demand.

While the hides of inferior half-bloods had no commercial value, the hides of half-blood warriors were quite durable, and those of pureblood warriors were so strong they could be made into armor.

After hearing about Asha’s business plan, Frider showed an interesting reaction.

On the condition of sharing some of the profits, she agreed to hand over the hides of Werebeasts captured in the north later.

Additionally, some of the new nobles I met at the meeting somehow obtained high-quality Werebeast hides and commissioned her.

I heard the processing technique itself is difficult for humans to replicate.

As a result, Asha essentially monopolized the entire supply.

She was screaming with joy in her room, saying money was pouring in endlessly.

As the durability and practicality of Werebeast hides were proven by those who tried her products, it became a new trend.

The number of customers looking for Werebeast hide products gradually increased.

Especially among professions that primarily use their bodies, like adventurers, knights, and soldiers.

A single Dwarf was bringing a new trend to the Empire.

…Whether this is a positive trend or not, I can’t say.

I don’t know. Whatever will be, will be.