episode_0099

After Rahbe died in the dungeon, his authority was officially at rock bottom.

It was a natural result, as his past corruption had been exposed and it was known that he had died a horrible death while fleeing to the royal army.

Much of his power naturally passed to Saint Angela, and with it, the support of the people within the order increased.

It was a good result for the kingdom, and anything more than that would have been excessive interference, so the church and the kingdom were able to maintain friendly relations with each other.

And many people gathered in a splendid place to praise the achievements of Estelle, who was at the core of the operation.

“Then, the princess herself will personally reward Estelle for eradicating the evil group that was causing corruption within the kingdom.”

The figure sitting on a throne decorated as extravagantly as a throne was Princess Reika, the heir to the Kingdom of Zeof.

In front of her, countless soldiers were lined up on both sides.

And at the end of it all, Estelle, a female soldier with impressive red hair, was walking confidently.

In addition to the soldiers, nobles from various positions were looking at Estelle and talking to her.

“You’ve been ambitious since you were young, and you finally achieved it.”

“It wouldn’t be strange if he were one of the strongest swordsmen in the kingdom.”

“He will become a key figure in the military in the future, so it would be better to be close to him.”

“Sure··· He has the princess’ trust and is so capable, so it wouldn’t be bad to be close with him.”

“What does that mean? I guarantee you that you will become the leader of the military.”

Most of the gossip was in praise of Estelle.

Of course, there was some gossip, but few people wanted to be hostile to her as she continued to grow.

Estelle, who was walking briskly along the path made by the soldiers, knelt before Princess Lacquer.

“Estelle, who punished Rahve, who had been persecuting the people through unfair means, your achievement was absolutely necessary for the bright future of the kingdom.”

Reika’s voice had a different kind of charisma than that of the confident, strong-willed woman Estelle.

The voice, which gave off a sense of royalty, felt noble.

The people who had been chattering stopped talking and looked at the two, and when Reika made a slight gesture, she moved the servant next to her.

“The Princess appreciates your achievements! I will give you a higher position and grant you the right to rule the city of Pierre, which you have been asking for!”

The elderly courtier approached Estelle, holding a magically created document in his hand.

He handed over the document on behalf of the seated princess, and Estelle accepted it politely and showed her courtesy.

“I will continue to be loyal to the future of the kingdom.”

While the subjects returned to their original positions, murmurs began again among the nobles.

“If it’s Pierre… where are you talking about?”

“Stupid… It’s the name of a city in the outskirts.”

“The outskirts? Where on earth is this? A city whose name I have never heard of···“

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t know. It’s a city in the northeast that’s rumored to be worthless.”

“Northeast···? There was a city there?”

The cause of the murmur was Pierre’s right to rule.

The fact that he had deliberately sought the rights of a remote city rather than being granted the rights of a valuable city made everyone scratch their heads.

Although Estelle could have been granted the rights of a large city in exchange for her great achievements, what she wanted were the rights of a little-known city.

“Was there something there?”

“Well··· I don’t know about that. The nobles who were there have already moved to another place a long time ago.”

“Hey, weren’t you from there too?”

“Why would I have come over there? If there was something worth coveting, I would have stayed there.”

Estelle’s choice to say that she wanted Pierre’s right to rule was her own.

It was a decision made purely of her own free will, without Croton giving any separate orders or anything.

For her part, she didn’t want to be caught by Croton.

‘I’ve already made enough achievements anyway…’

Although the situation should have been sacred and solemn, Estelle felt her body heat up slightly when she thought of Croton.

That was precisely why she said she wanted Pierre’s right to rule.

Although she couldn’t say it out loud, she was already enjoying the pleasure to the point where she thought she couldn’t live without Croton anymore.

While it was a good thing to gain valuable rights, it was more important for her to come up with an excuse not to leave Croton.

Moreover, just making it known that he was trusted so widely and had achieved great things was already having a great effect.

“Then, I will end the award ceremony here, looking forward to your future activities!”

Music blasted out, signaling the end of the award ceremony along with the subject’s speech.

But Reika’s blue eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

Estelle, who discovered it, couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding.

After the award ceremony, a social ball awaited them.

*****

The ballroom, filled with luxurious food and decorations, was filled with a lively atmosphere, unlike before.

The soldiers were just there for security, most of the people walking around were nobles.

But Estelle was feeling tired of that fact.

‘Making achievements isn’t always a good thing…’

The main character of the day was, of course, Estelle, and many nobles approached her to have a word with her.

Some for the sake of checks and some for the sake of establishing friendly relations in the future.

Originally, that was the purpose of most of these balls, but it couldn’t be helped that they were tiring.

“Haha! I believed you. I had no doubt that you could do it.”

“Thank you, Terrian.”

“How about setting up a blind date with my son? I think we can both elevate our families.”

“I think it would be difficult to get married yet because I have a lot of work to do as a soldier.”

“Is that so? That’s too bad… But still, think about it.”

From talk of marriage to trivial talk about establishing connections, it was a tiresome conversation for Estelle, but she couldn’t just ignore it.

I politely declined, but it didn’t really suit her personality.

‘I haven’t gotten used to this atmosphere since I was a child…’

But Estelle, who noticed a person approaching, thought that it might be better to talk to the nobles a little more.

Reika, wearing the most gorgeous and beautiful dress, was walking towards her.

Most of the nobles gave way to Princess Reika, and those who had been conversing with her could only watch the situation quietly.

“Can I borrow today’s main character for a moment?”

“Of course, princess. We can talk anytime.”

Terian burst into hearty laughter and stepped back.

At first glance, it might have seemed rude, but no one said anything because that was part of his charm.

“Then Estelle, can we talk alone outside the ballroom for a moment?”

No matter how capable a soldier Estelle was, she couldn’t refuse the princess.

She followed Reika to a secluded place, feeling somewhat ominous.

But that doesn’t mean things were awkward or uncomfortable between the two.

Rather, we were on the close side.

Since we had known each other for a long time, we were able to get along without any barriers.

That’s why Reika’s sparkling eyes a little while ago were even more suspicious.

“You worked hard this time.”

“No. Compared to Reika, who is working hard for the kingdom···”

“Then shall we stop talking about the hard stuff here?”

Reika’s public image was that of a dignified and noble princess, but in private she was friendly and outgoing.

Only a few people, including Estelle, knew of this fact, but not everyone accepted it comfortably.

“You said you became close with the saint while working on this project?”

“Yes, that’s right, but···”

“What kind of person was he?”

“She was a beautiful person. She was kind to people enough to make you believe she was a saint.”

“Huh··· I see. But I heard that the saintess tamed the monster?”

Reika speaks with a face full of curiosity.

Estelle, who had been weak towards her since childhood, had no choice but to speak honestly.

“That··· That··· Yes··· That’s true···”

“That’s amazing! I heard that communication is possible···”

In Estelle’s opinion, the princess in front of her seemed to know more about Croton than she thought.

I wanted to hide it if possible, but I couldn’t lie to her since I didn’t know how much she knew.

“···That’s right.”

“I want to meet an Orc who can communicate…”

“No way!”

Estelle shouted so loudly that she surprised herself.

But that only piqued Reika’s curiosity.

“When you say it like that, I want to see you even more.”

“The princess meets the orc in person··· That··· That kind of thing···”

“It doesn’t matter if we’re not meeting officially. And besides, it’s already been verified as safe.”

“That···That’s true···”

Estelle remembered what had happened with Croton, but she couldn’t tell it exactly.

“Can you speak by any chance?”

“···Yes”

“Really? It’s amazing that an orc can even speak. I’ll go and look for you when I visit Pierre, so please show me around then.”

“You’re coming in person···?”

Reika was a beauty that anyone who saw her would find beautiful.

It was easy to guess what would happen if she and Croton met.

Estelle tried her best to dissuade her, but it was impossible to convince her without a clear reason.

The fact that he had been tamed by an orc was something he could not tell anyone, even if they had been close friends since childhood.

“Then I’ll ask you something.”

Estelle could only watch the princess’s back as she left after finishing her story.