How do you do!
“How do you do? Marquis Hattere.”
“…! Why are you here?”
“It’s not unusual for me to be here, no? These people are my Father-in-law’s trusted subordinates. Of course, I would take care of them by bringing them refreshments.”
I can’t really say that I came to see how you are doing now, can I? He was in a prison, stuck behind iron bars. Marquis Hattere who was yawning on his bed stood up in a panic. The cell Marquis Hattere was in was a prison for nobles.
Unlike the freezing cold cells for the commoners, the only similarity the cell for nobles has are the iron bars since the room behind the bars was cleanly arranged and it even had a bathtub and toilet. The time for bathing and meals has been decided upon beforehand and the caretakers come to take care of the prisoners, so even they can spend their time behind the bars clean.
I didn’t have the chance to see a prison before, so I observed while I could. It looked much more comfortable than I thought.
“Well, even though you are a prisoner, it’s not much different from your usual life, huh. You seem to be quite comfortable, yes? Didn’t you gain weight a little?”
“As if. I did nothing wrong. Quickly let me out of here. I will complain about your disrespect.”
“You did nothing wrong? Complain?”
While feeling stunned by Marquis Hattere’s defiant attitude, he declared.
“I only helped Troylans who were in trouble because of manhunt.”
“Manhunt, huh. You will be punished by law for using this excuse to assist Troyl spies in our country. What do you think will happen to Manon? She, who is not guilty of anything, will be slandered as a criminal by others because of you, her father.”
The world is unexpectedly cold. The Marquis grabbed the bars when I told him so.
“Don’t you dare raise your hands against Manon.”
“My, oh my. You make it seem like I am the villain here? Marquis Hattere. No matter how large your contributions to Troyl, you can only be treated as a traitor in Ligisia. Do you understand that?”
Who is the villain here? When I glared at him, the Marquis begged me.
“I beg you. Please leave Manon alone.”
“You are going to admit your crimes then? Depending on your reply, I might stop being a good person too. How about I retort for what you did to Noah?”
When I approached the iron bars and used my folding fan to poke Marquis Hattere chest, he let out a pathetic “Hiii” and spoke the truth even though I had not asked him.
“My nanny… my nanny’s husband is from Troyl’s anti-monarchy faction. They are dissatisfied with the politics of the current king. The anti-monarchy faction is not monolithic, but the close associates of the Second and Third princes who lost their lives during the conflict are fighting behind the scenes with each together. Everyone is trying to raise up those who inherited the blood of their masters, while trying to drag the current King from the throne.”
“How troublesome.”
It’s a world that I, who is unrelated to power struggles, is uninterested in. I would ask you to take your internal struggles back to your country.
“As the Second Prince’s faction and the Third Prince’s faction continue fighting among themselves, the Second Prince’s faction is looking for the child raised by mercenaries who was born from a concubine who disappeared in the streets.”
“So the Third Prince’s faction who was impatient to oppose remembered about the Prince born by the Crown Princess they have forgotten about and sent people to search for the Prince to our country? So Anna was among that group, huh.”
I’ve heard about it from Fii before. That the anti-monarchy was plotting to support the prince birthed by the Crown Princess, the daughter of Duke Manela.