v1 Chapter 17

The Order of Saintess Brunhilde (Empire Side)
"Her Highness Gertrude reportedly also said this: that although the Imperial prince is smaller than her, to have been suffering continuously ever since he was born was so pitiable."

"Ah...!"

Constanze covered her face with both hands.

Toward Wolfram, for whom even living was difficult, those around him had been continuously cold. There were even voices hurling abuse at him as a defective prince.
The one who offered kind words for the first time to such a Wolfram outside of his parents and relatives was another country's six-year-old princess whose life was to be ruined for Wolfram's sake.

Know shame.

On the surface-polite face of the express messenger, it was written as such.

They should have quickly abandoned Wolfram, who could not live by his own strength, along with Constanze, and welcomed a new Empress. Royalty of other nations would do so without hesitation. Just as Queen Claudia of Silvana was trying to welcome a new Prince Consort in order to obtain a daughter.

If Andreas or Constanze themselves were sacrificing something, that would still be fine. But the one whose very life was dragged into their selfishness was Gertrude.

Andreas and Constanze realized their own deep sinfulness once more. As well as their foolishness in being unable to help clinging to Gertrude despite that.

"... To Queen Claudia's decisive judgment and Princess Gertrude's true sincerity, I, Andreas, give thanks from my heart. As long as my life remains, I will likely not forget the favor and mercy received."

"Then?"

"I have no intention of seeking blame from Princess Flora. Please convey to her to take care of her health."

At the point he was able to draw out these words, it could be said that the express messenger's duty was half-finished. Even if Andreas and his side's selfishness was the root cause, Flora's action was politically deserving of condemnation.

If Andreas had shelved his own reckless act and demanded reparations, an apology, or a reduction in the reward paid to Silvana, it would have become an extremely troublesome situation. Of course, if such a thing happened, condemnation would likely concentrate on Andreas, though.

"I shall bestow the Order of Saintess Brunhilde upon Princess Gertrude. While the medal itself will likely be conferred after she arrives in the Empire, that status shall be valid from this very moment."

"—...!"

The sound of the express messenger catching his breath rang out loudly in the hushed space.

The express messenger chosen as the envoy to the Empire in this situation was, naturally, Silvana's foremost expert on the Empire. That was why he of course knew. That the Order of Saintess Brunhilde was the highest-ranking order bestowed upon Imperial women.

Yes, “Imperial women”. It was never bestowed upon someone of another country, even if they were royalty. No, it had not been bestowed.

That was because all sorts of privileges were granted to one who was conferred the Order of Saintess Brunhilde. The greatest of these was the privilege of non-obedience, being permitted to submit to no one other than the Emperor. As long as it was anyone other than the Emperor, even if it were an order from the Empress or the Crown Prince, one was allowed to ignore it.

Therefore, being bestowed this order was limited to Imperial women who had made tremendous contributions to the Empire over many years.

The only one upon whom it had been bestowed until now was a single person, the first Emperor's younger sister Brunhilde. The Order of Saintess Brunhilde was an order established in order to make peaceful the remainder of life for her who fought on the front lines of the monsters' great offensive and lost all four limbs in exchange for victory.

Since he was saying he would bestow it upon Gertrude, it was natural that unrest ran through the nobles. If it were after she became an Imperial Consort and became a member of the Imperial family, that would still be one thing, but upon a mere six-year-old, and what was more, still royalty of another country!

"While this is likely still far from fully repaying Princess Gertrude's devotion, for now I wish to make this a token of my gratitude. Please convey this to Queen Claudia."

"Yessir..."

Amidst the murmurs growing louder, the express messenger bowed his head deeply while calming the trembling of his entire body.