episode_0022

Episode 22

“…Therefore, I believe that in order to secure our future position, our Law Kingdom should dispatch numerous priests, including the powerful mages with influence from the Dweor Kingdom.”

In response to Saint Maria’s strong argument, the central figures of the Law Kingdom swallowed their sighs, and the Law King had to touch his forehead.

It was undeniable that it was a complete miscalculation. The Law King gritted his teeth and glared at Maria.

“I thought she was good, but turns out she just has bad habits.”

Reciting in his mind the typical repertoire of those who take advantage of kind personalities only to end up being taken advantage of, the Law King turned his gaze around.

Anyone could have opposed the words of the saint, but no one dared to step forward willingly.

Of course. The position of a saint inherently holds great power, and currently, Maria had the support of Edward Bell, the envoy of the Dweor Kingdom.

In other words, the Dweor Kingdom was backing Maria. Except for the Law King himself, no one dared to even retort.

“I understand the intentions of the saint well. Undoubtedly, the threat of the undead is not exclusive to our Law Kingdom. However, if those mages and priests all leave at once, it will be a significant loss for our Law Kingdom…”

Eventually, despite the Law King stepping in to voice his opposition, Maria seemed to have anticipated it and pulled out some documents from her bosom, handing them to the Law King’s attendants.

“Do not worry, Your Majesty. I have already made the calculations. With those numbers, even if an incident were to occur once in a while, we would be able to handle it with ease.”

“This damn woman!”

The Law King was genuinely furious. Just a short while ago, Maria couldn’t even meet his eyes properly, and now she was holding her head high, responding with confidence.

The more the arrogant are confronted with confidence, the more those who look down on them taste humiliation. Nevertheless, they couldn’t oppose her outright because there was no basis for refuting the information Maria provided through her attendants.

It wasn’t strange that they had been supporting to the extreme limit. Thanks to this, the Law Kingdom was able to maintain its current position, yet this traitorous woman didn’t even realize that!

Among the nations of mankind, the Law Kingdom was the only one capable of handling the deadly influence of the undead and demons. Therefore, by utilizing this point to the fullest, they could differentiate themselves from other small kingdoms.

Of course, sending envoys wouldn’t suddenly enable the Dweorians to handle the influence, so the rarity of the Law Kingdom wouldn’t change, but they wouldn’t be excessively exploited as before.

“Darn it. If we force it, we might be able to cover it up now, but if this fact reaches the ears of the Dweor Queen, direct sanctions will be inevitable.”

For the barren Law Kingdom, self-sufficiency without receiving resources from other countries was impossible without providing power in exchange.

Among them, the strongest nation, Dweor, held a significant portion, and now, practically conveying the queen’s intentions through Maria’s proposal, refusing it would lead to unknown consequences, regardless of possessing power.

Due to the aforementioned reasons, the Law King pondered for a long time and ultimately could only nod his head.

“……Very well. We will follow the saint’s words.”

“I express my gratitude for your mercy towards all, Your Majesty.”

Those present understood. The Law King had submitted to the saint.

From that day forth, the saint held unparalleled power in the Law Kingdom.

—

“Ehehe. Did I do well? I did as Edward suggested. Did I do well? Was it right?”

“Yes, you did great, Maria.”

Smiling at Maria, who approached like a fulfilled puppy seeking praise, I thought to myself.

“Why did it turn out like this?

No, not just during Rumaniehl, but I didn’t do anything wrong this time either.

I was just trying to be a little considerate for Maria, who always unfairly suffers. But when I came to my senses, I realized that I knew more about the Law Kingdom than most Law Kingdom people.

“Um, excuse me. Sir Edward. Sorry, but today…”

“It’s okay. Come here, Maria.”

At the gesture, Maria smiled widely and sat on my lap. Following the touch of her soft hips against my thighs, her body slowly leaned towards me.

If Raila had seen it, it would have been a scene where swords were drawn, but I’m definitely not avoiding the wind. Even though it may seem so, there is nothing to say; it’s just an act of praising Maria’s hard work.

“I, I spoke up in front of the Law King without flinching. It feels like a dream.”

“You’ve become able to properly assert your own opinions. Admirable.”

From head to back, as I gently stroked Maria, she seemed satisfied, emitting a triumphant cry.

She was like a puppy before, but now she seemed more like a cat. Then what should I call her? A cattog? Dogitty?

“To be able to change oneself so quickly, you’re truly amazing, Maria.”

“Hehehe.”

It reminds me of when I was an assistant to Rumaniehl. Our relationship wasn’t like this from the beginning. Now it even feels like an excuse, but originally, it was genuinely helpful.

Unfortunately, Maria couldn’t believe in genuine kindness. It seemed like she thought she had to pay a price for kindness unconditionally.

Since it wasn’t an action I desired, I told her that nothing was needed.

As Maria began to show signs of serious emotional instability, and as the symptoms worsened, she eventually began to hurt herself.

Deciding it wouldn’t work, I hastily sent a letter to the Queen.

Even if I wrote everything as it was, it seemed unlikely she would believe it, and even if she did, it would be difficult. So, I suggested using Saint Maria with a slight twist.

The result is this. The Law Kingdom entered into a favorable deal with Dweir, and Maria’s emotional instability was neatly restored.

Not only that, but I could also become well-versed in the internal affairs of the Law Kingdom. Thanks to Maria, the value of the information obtained outweighed this kind of behavior.

“Um, Sir Edward. What about that letter on the desk…?”

“It’s a letter from my wife in Dweir.”

“Oh…”

Maria’s face suddenly darkened upon realizing the existence of the letter left unattended.

She probably already knew I was married, but whenever she realized Leila’s presence, her face would darken like this.

I wondered if she felt guilty, but it was easy to see that wasn’t the case.

“Is it helping you, Sir Edward?”

“Of course. It’s providing tremendous help.”

Indeed. Thanks to Maria pressuring the priestesses, the treatment attempt that I thought would lose its sincerity due to the previous incident is progressing smoothly.

Well, there are no results yet.

“Then, am I more helpful than your wife…?”

“Well, I didn’t marry her expecting help.”

“I-I’m sorry! How dare someone like me…!”

In front of others, Maria speaks well, but in front of me, she was no different from before.

Moreover, her emotional ups and downs were very extreme. With one word from me, she goes back and forth between heaven and hell.

Because of that, she’s easier to handle than Rumaniehl, but… Damn. What am I thinking right now?

“No no no no no. That’s not it.”

“Sir Edward…?”

To get rid of the thoughts that came to mind, Maria looked at me with a puzzled expression as I scratched my head.

Indeed, it was a good thing that the Dweor Kingdom had been of great help in fighting undead monsters through this incident. We were able to secure magical tools imbued with power in preparation for the war against demons.

Not only Queen Pyeha and Leila, but even my mother-in-law sent me a letter praising me greatly.

Still, I hesitated to use others unilaterally.

“Maria.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s send the supplies intended to be sent in response to the priests and magical tools from the Dweor Kingdom in your name.”

At the same time, I was thinking about asking Queen Pyeha if she could provide more generous supplies than usual.

If we do it in Maria’s name, the people of the Law Kingdom will naturally think they have become prosperous thanks to her, so it wouldn’t be a bad deal.

To ensure that the nobles and officials do not take advantage, we would need to monitor them closely, but that part could be left to Maria.

She may have been timid before, but she handled things well. If we continue like this, Maria’s position will become even stronger, which seems like a good idea to me.

“Um, that’s fine, but if we do that, won’t it completely ignore the Law King…?”

“That’s a good thing, Maria. In the Law Kingdom that you and I will cultivate from now on, the Law King should not hold more significance than a symbol.”

It would be more beneficial for both countries if the Law Kingdom were led by Maria, who listens well, is cute, and kind, rather than the Law King who always comes out uncooperative under the pretext of power.

If that’s the case, it should be okay since it’s good for both sides.

Probably.

“…! Yes! I’ll do as you say, Edward!”

Maria was truly a good and obedient girl. If the Law King had been like her, I wouldn’t have had to step forward. Oh, but maybe I’m a bit too old to find her cute.

“I-It tickles, Edward…!”

“Do you not like it?”

“N-No! Please continue!”

I lightly scratched her chin with my hand without much thought, and surprisingly, she seemed to like it.

To thoroughly carry out what we started, we selected and disciplined those among the priestesses or the Order of the Holy Knights who had complaints about Maria or could not let go of their past perceptions.

Ah, disciplining didn’t mean killing. Neither Maria nor I had such cruel personalities.

We simply stripped them of their knighthood or sent them to some distant convent. It was disciplinary action within humanitarian limits.

During this process, we unexpectedly obtained some information.

“There was someone among the priests who colluded with demons?”

“Yes… We did issue a gag order to the relevant parties…”

“You did well.”

Strictly speaking, power is not essential when fighting undead or demons. It’s convenient to have, but fighting is not impossible without it. However, ordinary people see power as the ultimate weapon against demons and undead. Revealing that there was someone colluding with demons in the Law Kingdom would not bode well anywhere.

“What should we do, Edward? P-Pursuing them seems possible…”

“Hmm.”

Curiosity arose about what the demons were doing near the Law Kingdom, and there was no significant progress in treating the horn…

Shall we meet them directly somewhere?