episode_0037

One by one, all the witnesses, starting with Mirine, confessed that they had been threatened by Leopard.

Really… Is there a crystal that can tell you a lie?

The only crystal I brought to the court was to emit light.

However, if you use the authority of the emperor and the archduke against someone who does not know much about magic, you will inevitably be deceived.

If I or Theodora say one word, they have no choice but to die.

But Leopard couldn’t fall for this trick, and since he had seen and heard something about the principles of magic, he protested and was kicked out.

“So you’re saying you’ve never seen Hans commit a crime?”

The villagers sitting on the witness stand nod their heads.

I took out the card I had prepared, but no clear answer came out.

Hmm… I didn’t expect this.

Given the current circumstances, Leopard is believed to be the real culprit.

However, none of the witnesses here saw Leopard kill Milina.

In addition, Leopard’s motive and evidence for killing Milina have not been revealed.

Well, we still haven’t caught the real culprit, but we will soon.

I found out this much

There is no way the Imperial Court, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of the Interior will remain silent.

They must have felt burdened by my coming forward and their interest in this case.

He will no longer be able to look after the Baron, who is a low-ranking noble.

So, we can just look at the trial results later, right?

“Then, I will find the defendant Hans not guilty. It also orders the Imperial Court and the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Make sure Hans receives appropriate compensation, catch the real culprit in this case, and bring justice!”

-Bang!, Bang!, Bang!

With that declaration, I leave the courtroom.

***

With the trial, my work day ended today.

There is something I really want to do today.

Is this a small reward given to me after a busy schedule and tiring daily life?

Let’s go back to the office with such a happy heart…

“You…”

Next to me, Theodora had a strange expression.

She looks a little angry and curious as she opens her mouth.

“An artifact that allows you to tell a lie… Is that real?”

I confidently say that.

“No, it’s a lie?”

“Ha?, I thought so too.”

As he says that, he shakes his head and then laughs and says.

“Deceiving the people of the empire with lies like that. It was bad.”

I shrug my shoulders and say that.

“Well, I can’t help it. If you don’t do this, it will be difficult to know the truth of the incident.”

A well-constructed lie.

To destroy it, I also lied, and through that, I eventually found out the truth.

“Anyway, he wasn’t the culprit.”

At those words, I stretch and say.

“Ugh!, right? Somehow there were too many witnesses.”

When I think about it now, it’s strange that there are so many witnesses who witnessed the circumstances and scene of the murder.

The fact that there are many people who saw the scene of an incident that should have been kept secret and testified about the circumstances…

That can’t be because Hans isn’t an idiot.

It would have been more convincing if they had killed him in his bedroom at night.

Theodora says, nodding at my words.

“Whew… But I didn’t know that the empire’s nobles were this rotten.”

I answer that question.

“Not everyone is like that, honestly, I don’t even know why Leopard did that.”

But at least this proves that Hans is not the culprit.

“But… where are we going today?”

I nod my head at Theodora’s words.

“Yes, to give me a prize.”

She speaks with curiosity written on her face.

“What’s the point? People who are crazy about work take time off from work?”

“That’s…”

I ponder for a moment whether I should speak or not.

“It’s a secret.”

Theodora looks slightly offended by my words.

“Hmph, I’m not really curious either?”

As I see him making loud footsteps and heading somewhere while saying that, I smile involuntarily.

The relationship is not as bad as before.

With that in mind, I head towards my office with light steps.

-Quick!

I take out a small box that I had already put in the closet.

***

Gorgeous Roman.

A large-scale night market held here once a week.

“Hey!”

I drink a cup of coffee while watching the peaceful sight of children playing games at street stalls and a little girl riding a horse on her father’s shoulder.

-no! Is that wrong? The reason the empire is in trouble right now is because of the incompetent archduke?

-no way! Man, don’t you know that the Archduke is trying to run the empire in his own way?

-It’s hard to make a living right now, so why are you trying?

This is how you can find out about public opinion…

“Guest? This is the calzone and wine you ordered.”

“Ah, thank you.”

I look at the half-moon shaped bread in front of me and cut it with a knife.

A protruding half-moon shaped bread filled with soft and light mozzarella, tomato sauce, smoked ham, and mushrooms.

I personally like it because it tastes similar to pizza, but is it a food that is difficult to eat in the imperial palace because it is mainly eaten by common people?

Hehe… I’m going secretly because of this little happiness.

The clothes and hairstyle I am wearing right now are not the outfits I usually like to wear.

So people here probably don’t think I’m an archduke.

There are no photos here and no one will be able to meet me face to face.

After meeting Ioanes at the cafe the other day.

I think it would be a good idea to go secretly when the night market is open like this.

I eat delicious food like this and do it in secret to find out what the people of the empire think of me and what their lives are like.

So I never came out to play.

“Mmm~ It’s so delicious, right?!”

I feel very grateful to be able to eat comfortably outside, rather than in the imperial palace, where strict dining etiquette must be observed.

-Gulp!

“Hehe~ The wine is so delicious!”

That moment…

A familiar tune is heard.

-My beloved princess~♪ Why does fate try to separate us~?

Lyrics sung by a bard.

Somewhere, very familiar lyrics are sung.

-I will kill the evil lion for you and the empire. So… let me have you!♬

Ugh…

He is clearly a bard who sings very well, but…

I don’t like that song.

The reason is… it’s my song that I’m sponsoring and making popular in the empire…

I try not to listen, suppressing the feeling that makes my hands and feet tremble.

Then, pick up a piece of calzone with one hand and eat it.

-Well… well…

This is how we live in the world.

This is a moment where you can forget about complicated politics and the world and eat and drink freely.

And perhaps because I work hard, I relieve stress by seeing the people of the empire with smiles on their faces.

Because this is a small reward for me.

“Debian! What if it really comes out?”

Then I hear a familiar voice.

“Huh? Is Agrippa here?”

When I greeted him brightly, Agrippa sighed and sat down across from me, frowned, looked around, and spoke.

“No matter how frustrating it is… What are you going to do if something happens to you for no reason?”

I grin and say to Agrippa, who speaks the last words quietly.

“So, just in case, I called you too, right?, now drink it!”

Let me pour the wine into a wine glass and hand it to you.

“Phew… I can’t believe this is my brother-in-law… Really…”

I say that with a smile.

“What do you think? This reminds me of the good old days, right?”

Back when I was attending the Grand Duchy Military Academy. I smile because I remember frequenting the tavern with Agrippa.

At that time, we spoke informally to each other.

Later, because of the difference in status, Agrippa speaks to me with respect, but at this moment, it feels like we have gone back to the old days.

Well… since I am the Archduke, it is only natural that my personal identity will be exposed if I use a stiff honorific.

-Gulp…gulp.

Agrippa, who took the wine I gave him and drank it, said in surprise.

“But what is wine? It’s really delicious?”

I smile at those words.

“Right? I was surprised when I drank it too?”

I’ve wanted to come here for a long time because I heard about this restaurant a few times from my escort.

“That’s it…”

Agrippa, who was trying to nag, cut the calzone and handed it to the plate in front of him and said.

“Try this. It’s really delicious.”

Agrippa took a bite of the food I handed him with his fork.

“Huh? This is a whole new world of cheese, isn’t it?”

I smile and say that.

“How about it? It was a good thing you came out, right?”

Agrippa sighs and says at my words.

“I’ll just look at it this time.”

After finishing the meal, I go out and walk around the city center.

“Agripa.”

“Why?”

Agrippa answers bluntly.

Have you become a little emotional when you see people around you smiling happily?

“We really worked hard, right?”

“Well… I really work overtime every day, so it’s only natural.”

A brief peace achieved between me and Agrippa.

A man drinking and discussing after a day’s work, and children and their parents eating together in harmony.

Men and women of my age who are passionate about the songs of the bard.

I say this as I see this precious peace.

“You worked hard. Really.”

-Pisik.

Actually, I couldn’t say it… but it was really hard.

And it was scary.

Will what I do be wrong? I was afraid that many people would die because of my mistake.

The moment I tried to kill Valorant, the day I left to meet Ioanes.

I was afraid of what would happen to me and the people I love if I failed.

Every moment I was surrounded by the shadow of death.

I fell into despair and was so overcome by the fear of death that I almost couldn’t stand up.

My weak body and soul.

Because the weight of responsibility was heavier.

Overcame despair and death.

But will my followers die because of me?

That was the thing I was most afraid of.

So thank you. Agrippa and Mary followed me.

“Thanks to you. I wouldn’t have come this far without you.”

Thank you.

Agrippa relieves me of my work, and even if I do something wrong, I have Agrippa there.

I believe it will go according to the original.

I hoped that my choice would not lead to the worst outcome.

At that moment, Agrippa taps my shoulder and says:

“Then please give me a break. Aren’t you being too harsh on your conscience?”

-Sigh.

“Hey, I work similarly to you, right? I can’t rest, so how can you rest?”

In fact, my superiors say that I work all night and overtime every day, but I absolutely cannot allow Agrippa, let alone anyone else, to rest.

The more capable he is, the more this empire will prosper.

But Agrippa doesn’t seem to think so and sighs deeply.

“Really… it’s too good.”

“Tsk tsk… Oh, that’s right. When is your engagement ceremony?”

Agrippa is planning to go to the Grand Duchy for an engagement ceremony with Mary.

Of course, we plan to hold an engagement ceremony and subdue the anti-emperor nobles who have turned their backs.

“Maybe I’ll go next month?”

I nod my head at those words.

“It’s later than expected?”

Agrippa frowns at my words and says something like shooting.

“Isn’t it because there are so many things that so-and-so ordered?”

“Haha… so-and-so was at fault.”

As I laughed and passed it off, Agrippa sighed.

“Whoa… What am I talking about with you?”

and…

“But you and Theodora don’t get along well?”

Agrippa’s unexpected words.

“Uh… it’s not good, though. It’s not as bad as it was the first time, right?”

Is it because I actually see it often? We even joked around with each other a little bit.

“Then it’s a good thing… There was a strange rumor among the attendants.”

“Rumor?”

When I asked a question back to me…

“Theodora was simple-minded.”

“Huh?”

I am taken aback by these unexpected words.

“You always sleep in the office?, Theodora sleeps in the room? What else is it if it’s not simple?”

“Uh… But…”

Actually, there are two main reasons why I don’t sleep in the master bedroom.

Firstly, if I get tired from work, I can sleep right away, and the other thing is…

Looking at the beautiful Theodora, I am afraid that I may have crossed a line.

Actually… I know what a scary woman she is.

Because there are times when I look at her beautiful face and my heart starts pounding without me even realizing it.

“Don’t insult Theodora for no reason, but go to your room and sleep if possible.”

I sigh involuntarily at Agrippa’s words, which do not even know how I feel.

“Whoa… Is it a big insult to not sleep together after getting married?”

Agrippa nodded as if my words were obvious.

“Of course. Do you like it when someone calls you really ugly? Especially in aristocratic society, you know how much people whisper behind your back if you say you don’t sleep together, right?”

“But…”

“So, starting from today, let’s sleep together if possible, and don’t get criticized for being rude to Theodora for no reason.”

Well… I still tried to create a fake image that I loved Theodora. If you get it right, people will think it’s strange.

Is this a self-inflicted disaster?

With that thought in mind, I looked at the moon.

The moon looks big today.

Is it because of my mood?