episode_0071

“Durandal. It’s a grand name.”

“It is a sacred object that is said to not break under any circumstances and can cut through anything as long as its owner protects humanity. If it falls into the hands of a wicked person, it will be broken one day.”

It is a sword that cannot be broken. First of all, it is the ability I need the most.

“It’s definitely great, but is there any other effect?”

As long as it doesn’t break and has excellent cutting power, it is a very good sword, but it still feels a bit plain for a legendary sword.

…I’m not particularly hoping for a heat ray from the sword.

The Marquis shook his head.

“Well. I don’t know that much. The lore about the Swords of Oath is very abstract. The contents written in the family notes also say that the sword guided them and gave them the strength to move forward endlessly. That was all there was to it.”

In the end, it means that you actually know very little.

It’s the guidance of the sword… but it feels a bit uneasy.

Still, if I didn’t have this sword, I would have died a long time ago.

Whether it was Knut or the beastman, they were not enemies that could be avoided.

“Other than that…a true silver sword would naturally have some functions. The entire body of the sword is Jin Eun.”

Jin Eun.

The metal of humanity that is stronger than black iron and can cut through magical power and even the spiritual body, destroying all evil things.

This was also a material that did not exist until 800 years ago.

“…The story is long. Yes, I asked about your mother. Aimella de Median. I’m talking about Baron Median’s daughter.”

Marquis Ludwig closed his eyes and searched through his memories.

—-

“It was about twenty years ago…a young female swordsman came to Landenburg. She was a beautiful woman with hair like marigolds and blue eyes. I still remember that image fondly.”

While speaking, the Marquis glanced at me.

With eyes that seem to miss something.

“… Now that I think about it again, it’s similar to what the noble girl looks like now.”

Are you saying that her eyes look like Hershela’s with milder eyes?

Well, then she must be a beauty.

The Marquis raised his teacup again.

“The Median Lady was not a very famous figure in aristocratic society. She was the daughter of a local baron and rarely showed herself, so it would be natural… However, her skills as a knight were several steps ahead of those of a master. . There were only a few people who knew that fact.”

Are you saying that you have been hiding your skills?

Well, if the young and beautiful female knight had that level of skill, she would have received too much attention in no time.

“Yes. He came to see me, who was a young head of the family at the time, and held out his sword and said that he was a descendant of the Twelve Knights. He asked me to make him a knight of the East. I agreed to this.”

“Nigel doesn’t seem to know?”

“After all, this is a story that happened twenty years ago. Sir Shane wouldn’t know, but it’s natural that Sir Nigel wouldn’t know.”

Well, Nigel back then would have been a baby who had just started walking.

It’s baby Nigel.

The image of a two-year-old child doing push-ups with short arms came to mind, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“She became a knight of Landenburg, and while fighting sporadically on the eastern border for a year…she suddenly disappeared. I thought I might have been killed or taken prisoner by Kahar. It was a sad thing.”

In the end, it looks like he was actually captured by Ka’har.

This is a talented and beautiful woman captured by barbarians… What can I say, it has a very disturbing tone.

It’s just a joke, not my real mother. If it were my real mother, it would make my blood boil.

“After that, I couldn’t even hear a word of news until I met the noble woman. I never could have imagined that it would become Orhan’s rain.”

“What happened to Median after that?”

“It fell in an instant. Before anything could be done, the head of the family collapsed from the shock of losing his only child and passed away. In the end, there is no one left in the Median family except the noble woman.”

Then, Median will be doomed.

Because I will be single for the rest of my life. Let’s just disappear.

“This is all I know. It would be nice if there was a satisfactory answer.”

—-

Assuming the Marquis spoke honestly, it was a pretty useful answer.

Because I now know a lot about my lineage and the origin of this sword.

In other words, it means that something big has happened.

“Yeah…honestly, it was a pretty interesting story.”

“Good luck. Now then, let’s get back to the original business. With a story about the imperial family.”

Marquis Ludwig took a snack and ate it. I also put one in my mouth.

It was a cookie with a light taste. The taste of well-roasted flour and soft butter lingered on the tip of my tongue.

“The imperial family. Besides that, didn’t you say there was something important to talk about?”

“I just did it. In the first place, I was going to talk about the noble woman’s family.”

“So…?”

Hmm. Indeed, is that true?

Since this incident has brought me to the attention of the imperial family, I will tell you in detail about the secret of my identity before any trouble arises…

okay. It makes sense.

But, in that case, I think it wouldn’t have mattered if I had just told you when we first met.

Why did you hide it back then?

Are you still not willing to tell me the reason?

“First of all, it would be good to start by talking about how the imperial family is elected.”

Marquis Ludwig picked up another snack.

Surprisingly, you like things like cookies?

“Elected? Isn’t the emperor’s eldest son the next emperor?”

“That’s usually the case, but it’s only nominally elected. When Your Majesty passes away, the five electors of the empire gather together to discuss and select the person most suitable to be the next emperor among the princes. It is just a formality to select someone who has already been designated as successor… but if there is no designated successor, from then on it is up to the decision of the elector.”

It’s a perfect structure for a power struggle to arise.

no wonder.

“The imperial family must really dislike the elector.”

“If he is not fit enough to be an emperor, he probably will. On the other hand, if you are a vessel, you will try to get closer somehow.”

“Hmm…I guess so.”

At a time when the right to elect ultimately lies with the elector, I think he may harbor bad feelings on the inside, even if he farts on the outside.

“The problem is when there is more than one prince who is eligible to be emperor…and that is the situation right now.”

Marquis Ludwig exhaled smoke into the air. Like the chimney of a crematorium.

—-

The empire’s current emperor, Ferdinand II, has seven children.

No, it’s probably six now.

Five princes and two princesses.

The first empress, Anna, who is now widowed, has three children.

The new empress, Isabella, who remarried, had four children.

1st Prince Leopold, 2nd Prince Karl.

1 Princess Eleonora.

And the 3rd Prince Ernst and the 2nd Princess Leonor.

4 Prince Matthias, 5 Prince Josef.

Well, Josef is already treated like a dead person.

He disappeared during an outing.

All of the attendants, including the prince, disappeared, and their bodies were not even found.

It’s missing. That’s ridiculous.

Carol leaves for the North and is active as a military officer there.

It is known that Matthias went to study in the Holy Kingdom and is currently receiving training to become a priest.

Eleanor became the princess of the southern kingdom of Panam, and Leonor commanded the female knights…?

They don’t need to worry much.

The problem was 1st Prince Leopold and 3rd Prince Ernst.

—-

“In the past, the support of the 1st Prince was strong. There was no problem back then. However…perhaps because of his age, things started to turn strange when he fell for Isabella and started showing more and more affection for the 3rd prince.”

For a marquis, his tone was extremely aggressive.

I wonder how much a nobleman who gives honorific titles to his knights hates the empress to the point of openly calling her by her name.

Well, she is a worthy woman.

Because she is a woman who can give up her own children for power.

“3 Do you think the prince is an incompetent bastard who will ruin the country?”

“It would have been better if he had done that…if he was that incompetent, he would have no reason to receive support from the electors.”

Marquis Ludwig frowned and crossed his eyebrows.

The deep wrinkles were full of embarrassing emotions.

“However, Prince Ernst is also a very capable person. Rather, that is the problem…”

“If he is capable, isn’t it okay to select the 3rd prince?”

“No, Isabella, that woman should not be given more power than this. She may be an unknown woman, but she is definitely dangerous.”

I can’t figure out what’s inside…

That’s what I think every time I see you.

I don’t know yet if it’s dangerous.

“So, you support the 1st prince?”

“Well. How about it? I just hope that His Majesty will issue a final decision. If His Majesty’s will is firm, the electors will also follow suit.”

To say it back.

“But in the end, is it really necessary for me to know that?”

“Of course. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have bothered to come to the system.”

Well, originally, he would have been busy spying on Ka’har’s situation.

Perhaps Orhan is in the midst of his conquest work by now.

Still, it would take nearly three years to conquer the entire vast prairie.

“The authority of the imperial family has never been lower than this for the past 800 years, and now the imperial family is divided into two, each keeping each other in check. Both sides waiting for a decisive opportunity. It was in such a situation that you appeared. A female warrior who saved the system. A new master…and a descendant of the Twelve Knights. Do you understand?”