episode_0043

Episode 43.

The next morning, regular meeting.

Carmel didn’t show up again today.

As the meeting was coming to a close, I reported Walter’s resignation to Fehart.

“Wilter… Yes, it was unfortunate. He was a great knight… but he could become stronger if he overcomes defeat. Frustration is how a man grows.”

For a fehat, you say good things. Well, the person involved can’t hear it.

“It is impossible to leave the position of commander in charge vacant. We need to find the right person urgently.”

“Hmm, it’s definitely true. Do you have the right talent?”

“Vice-captain Keibara is a strong candidate. Since he has been assisting Walter all along, he would be worthy of filling his position. Of course, my swordsmanship is far from that, but…”

“There is objection. The position of a direct unit commander is not one that simply handles administrative tasks! As a model knight, he should have excellent martial arts skills and tactics. I think Keibara lacks the capabilities to take on the role of captain.”

It’s a long story. The two ministers continued their argument. Fehat cleared his throat and asked my opinion.

“Stop it. Sarah, what is your opinion?”

“I think… why not leave it to Captain Pilgret?”

“To Sir Pilgret? However, princess, the position of commander of the direct corps is equivalent to that of the commander of the bodyguard. I guess it’s a little…”

“But since the bodyguard won the battle of the sword, even if it is an equivalent position, the unit directly under its command falls under Captain Pilgret’s jurisdiction, right? If you are a self-selected person, work and communication will run smoothly. Moreover, the same knight knows the knowledge of the knight best.”

“Uh, umm… Hahona…”

I’m not saying this specifically to place my own people in direct control. This is reasonable when considering mission efficiency.

Nevertheless, the reason why the ministers’ reaction was unfavorable was probably because Philgret was from a low-class noble family and belonged to the loyalist faction.

The Graves were also not on the side of the nobles. The intention may have been to seize this opportunity and plant a person from a noble family in the direct government.

“In that case, princess, it would be okay to leave the final judgment to Captain Pilgret, but recommending a candidate?”

It’s a recommendation… If that’s the case, there’s no reason to refuse it. If the final authority is given to Philgret, a recommendation would be fine.

“Of course. Is it okay, father?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah. I will do as the princess says. I will leave it to Pilgret’s judgment, but I hope you will recommend qualified talent without hesitation.”

The regular meeting ended with the final agenda item from the commander in charge.

I headed straight to Carmel’s room.

Considering that he did not even appear at the regular meeting, Carmel appears to be quite uncomfortable. The reason, of course, is that the elaborate plot came to nothing.

The reason I went to Carmel was to see the face of defeat.

The sound of something breaking or breaking is heard from the far end of the hallway. The direction was clearly Carmel’s room.

As I hurriedly approached, I saw the maids trembling in fear at the door.

“What’s going on? I wonder if something happened to my mother…”

“Princess Sera…! Please stop Queen Carmel! If this continues, Sinia…!”

Now I see that among the maids, there was a child who was sobbing with red cheeks as if he had been hit. I pushed the door open and went inside.

The scene inside the room was horrendous. Carmel was holding a thin whip with a venomous face.

In front of Carmel, Sinia, dressed in underwear, is kneeling with her arms raised high as if she is standing in front of a bee. Red lines from the cane were drawn on his chest and thighs.

No matter how attractive it is that she is a villainess, it is impossible not to get angry after seeing a scene like this. I walked forward and got between Carmel and Sinia.

“Sera… That’s rude, without even knocking.”

“What are you doing now? Mother?”

The voice is lower than usual. It felt like something was bursting out of my chest.

“You won’t know it if you look at it, right? I’m training a maid who doesn’t have a long hair. It’s not a situation you’d be in.”

Sinia was not even able to make eye contact when she saw me. It seemed like his heart had already been broken by the corporal punishment.

“What did Sinia do?”

“The black tea was too hot. I almost burned my tongue. Injuring a member of the royal family is considered treason. You should be lucky that it doesn’t go to this level of corporal punishment.”

It seems that he was relieving his stress by finding fault with trivial things. When I thought about how scared Sinia must have been after hearing the accusation of treason, something seemed to well up inside me again.

“Please stop this barbaric behavior, mother. This is behavior unbecoming of a member of the benevolent Lustier royal family.”

“Hmph, he’s merciful…”

A look of disdain passes through Carmel’s eyes. Of course, I don’t really believe that.

“If you’re such a merciful Princess Sera… would you take it instead?”

A voice that is extremely cold. If I accept, Carmel will do so without hesitation. I filled up all the resentment I felt last time.

At that time, Sinia, who had been quietly shaking, let out a loud voice.

“Oh, no! Princess…! There is no need for the princess to do that…! Because I-I-I did something wrong… Ugh… It’s all my fault…”

It would not be acceptable for a single maid to intervene in the conversation between the princess and the queen. Moreover, from the perspective of being beaten for making a mistake.

If I really step down as I said, Carmel will suffer even greater embarrassment for daring to speak out. There’s no way Sinia wouldn’t know that.

Nevertheless, I mustered up the courage from my discouraged heart and shouted. I didn’t want to neglect Sinia’s feelings.

“Insolent…”

Carmel glared at Sinia with murderous eyes. It may be that they are trying to do something even scarier, not at the level of being caned. Carmel would definitely do that.

To put it bluntly, from my perspective, it is more advantageous for Sinia to continue to be Carmel’s dedicated maid.

The more Carmel harasses Sinia, the harder Sinia will work to bring me information.

Using cynia by giving only hope that one day we will be able to escape the pain. That situation is the most beneficial to me.

But you can’t always live like that, only considering gains and losses.

I stared straight into Carmel’s cold eyes.

Even if we get out of this situation right away, the harassment will continue at any time as long as Sinia is exclusive to Carmel. In order to save Sinia, there is no choice but to remove her from that location.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we should just accept Carmel’s demands. If you make me think that I can get something out of you by harassing the maid, that is actually the worst.

What is needed here is a firm response.

You need to make it clear that doing this will only turn the situation against you.

I raised my right hand and slapped Carmel’s cheek as hard as I could.

Sigh!

A cheerful sound rings out. Carmel looked blank for a moment. It seemed like it took him a while to realize what the heat he felt on his cheek meant.

“When, did you hit me…?”

Carmel, Sina, and the maids who were watching through the crack in the door were all unable to hide their looks of astonishment.

“Me, me, hit me…? How dare you…”

“If you do something bad, you should get hit. To fix your mother’s messy hair, I may have to hit her a few more times!”

“This is…!”

Carmel also raised her hand as if she couldn’t bear it anymore. However, unlike the way he lifted it without hesitation, Carmel’s right hand did not strike but stayed in place.

Carmel’s face is even more angry than when I first entered the room. Compared to what he did to Sinia, a slap in the face cannot even be called violence.

Nevertheless, in the end, Carmel was unable to touch me and instead trembled and lowered her hand.

“This matter will never be passed lightly, Princess Sera. It is a big mistake to think that you will get away with committing this kind of betrayal.”

A voice that suppresses anger. The reason Carmel does not respond to a slap with a slap is not because she has an adult personality.

The reason is probably… because they are afraid of me.

Carmel has already lost every time she has faced me. And in return, I experienced horrifying shame and humiliation. Those memories are not something that can be easily shaken off.

The boldness of slapping the face of an adult, even a stepmother, of one’s own mother. It’s not something I normally do. Carmel must have guessed that there was some kind of trap.

Besides, a person like Carmel would never have been able to understand. I was really angry for just one maid. From there, the suspicion would have become even more intense.

Rather than falling into the trap I set for myself, I guess they decided that it would be better to use my immoral behavior as a weapon to plan another plan.

I wrapped the maid uniform that was on the floor around Sinia’s body. And he grabbed her hand.

“Let’s go, Sini.”

“Wow, wow, princess…”

Although she was afraid, Sinia followed my lead and left the room. Meanwhile, Carmel was glaring at the backs of me and Sinia with murderous eyes.