CH 47.4

“Chaos doesn’t have enough experience to govern a territory,” Roseline says.

“Then, couldn’t you appoint someone to manage domestic affairs?” Alexia asks.

“Yes, that’s true. But even if Chaos had the skill to govern a territory, governing a territory requires more manpower than that. One or two people won’t be enough. We could hire locally, but since the region has been devastated, we shouldn’t expect much. Besides, Chaos is a foreigner, isn’t he? He won’t have vassals like other nobles, and he doesn’t have a noble dynasty either. Do you think Chaos would have those kinds of connections?”

I’m a loner even in real life, but the people in this room are just about everyone I know in this world. There’s no way I’d have any connections.

“As embarrassing as it is to say, I don’t even have the luxury to be able to introduce him to any suitable people.”

I doubt anyone in this castle would have their hands free, and if Roseline told them to become a new noble’s subordinate, it would be the same as demoting them.

“So I have no intention to make Chaos a noble. I’m planning to give him a medal instead. However, if he accomplishes even more on top of this, I won’t be able to contain the situation. Therefore, for the time being, I want him to stay away from Clermont and from me.”

I don’t want to be a noble either, so if she’s right about this, it would be better for me to leave and wait for things to cool down. No, actually, the vampires themselves have also settled down, so I should probably stop coming to this world.

“But this is just for my own convenience. If you want to leave this country, I can’t stop you. You aren’t my vassal, after all,” Roseline says as her eyes tremble. Seeing her like this reminds me of back then, back when she looked so sad and lonely.

I can’t stay by Roseline’s side forever, but…

“Alright, I’ll leave Clermont for a while.”

Just as she said, I’ll temporarily hide myself, since it seems like she still needs support.

“I see… Thank you,” Roseline smiles.

“Ugh,” I hear someone groan. That’s Alexia’s voice. She’s puffing her cheeks and furrowing her eyebrows a bit. She kind of looks like a kid.

“What’s wrong, Lady Alexia?”

“Nothing at all!” Alexia says, turning away with a huff. Apparently, I made her upset.

If I need to stay away from Clermont, maybe I should stop logging in for a while.

“Um, Your Highness. This may be presumptuous of me, but could I ask you something?” Havoc interrupts.

“Yes, I don’t mind. What is it?”

“You say Chaos will have to leave Clermont for a while, but if it’s only temporary, then he should avoid going too far, right?”

“He just needs to stay away long enough for me to take care of the situation. Chaos can use teleportation magic, so if he stays in the country, he should be able to return immediately,” she says.

“Then, I have an idea. Hey, Nel. What do you think of Chaos coming with us on our trip?”

“You think he should stay in my hometown? It’s far from Clermont, but it’s a village of elves who don’t interact much with humans, so it may be perfect for hiding someone,” Cornelia says. “I don’t mind. Chaos would be more than welcome.”

Come to think of it, I did hear that Cornelia’s hometown was in Commune.

“How about it, Chaos? You wanna come with?” Havoc says.

“Yeah, we might as well all go together, right?” Liam says.

…That might not be a bad idea. I’m scared to fight monsters, but I do want to know more about this world.

“Then, it’s settled. Well, I guess we’ll be traveling together for a while,” Havoc says with a smile on his face.

***

After the tea party ended and Chaos and the others left to prepare for the trip, the only ones remaining were Roseline, Alexia, and Irene.

It was Alexia that stopped Roseline from leaving. Unlike before, the atmosphere isn’t the least bit peaceful.

“Your Highness, may I ask you a question?” Alexia asks with a serious expression, and despite it being a request for permission, Roseline feels an unspoken pressure forcing her to answer.

“…What is it, Lady Alexia?”

“I understand why you want to send Teacher away, Your Highness. I also know that there would be drawbacks that would result from granting him a title. However, that’s no reason to have him leave Clermont. If you want to prevent Teacher from making more achievements, all you would need to do is have him stay off the battlefield. What possible reason could you have to keep him out of Clermont in spite of this?”

To Alexia, the story Roseline gave at the tea party felt like a somewhat insufficient explanation. Perhaps her teacher noticed and deliberately neglected to mention it, but Alexia can’t let it pass.

Chaos is in a precarious position right now. Despite the fact that in the Allied Commune, his fame and popularity is second only to Roseline, he is nothing more than a foreigner and a commoner.

Therefore, someone may take advantage of him. Just like her own father, who tried to bring Chaos into his faction, knowing him to be a brilliant mage.

Even though she would be delighted if Chaos became a noble due to his accomplishments, Alexia can’t just turn a blind eye if there are people who would approach Chaos with such ill intent.

“So you noticed. It’s true that I was hiding something. Although, if I had to say, it wasn’t Chaos I was worried about, but you, Lady Alexia.”

“Do you mean to say that it’s something you can’t reveal to a noble of another country?”

“No, just you personally,” Roseline says.

Alexia gives her a puzzled look.

“You should know just as well as I do that Chaos is in a precarious position. So, naturally, the nobles will be trying to bring him into their own factions. The problem is their method for doing so.”

‘As I suspected, that’s what they’re doing,’ Alexia thinks. However, she can’t imagine why Roseline didn’t tell her. In the end, her suspicions still aren’t cleared up.

“There are several ways they could bring someone into their faction. What do you think is the most common method among them?”

Alexia can’t figure out the right answer right away. Her attendant, Irene, helps her out.

“Are you referring to marriage?”

“What?!” Alexia exclaims, taken aback by her attendant’s unexpected answer. However, when she thinks about it, it’s common practice for nobles to have their relatives get engaged into political marriages in order to build close relations. Especially since Chaos is young and single, there’s no reason not to use this method.

Roseline nods, confirming that this is the correct answer.

“B- but… Teacher is a commoner. Even considering the circumstances, there is a difference in standing.”

“That’s why there was talk of granting him a title. Even if he’s a new noble, if he has a title, he can marry into a house of moderately high rank. And even for a high-ranking house, they wouldn’t need to have him marry someone in their own family. They could simply marry him to someone from a close-ranking house in the same faction and form a connection to him.”

Alexia is at a loss, unable to deny her response. Nobles’ connections are wide-ranging. They’ll soon find a girl of marriageable age who meets the requirements.

“Teacher is, Teacher is… That’s right! Even if he gets married, he’s generally unsociable, so his fiancee will surely lose patience with him! He can’t possibly get married!”

“It’s just a political marriage. Compatibility is only secondary. And they might find a girl who’s surprisingly compatible with him. But saying that he won’t be loved because he’s unsociable is awful. No matter how you look at it, it would hurt him to hear that,” Roseline chides with a bitter smile.

“…Yes,” Alexia says, at a loss for words and dejected knowing that what she said was illogical.

“So, because of this, the nobles who have gotten ahead of themselves may make contact with Chaos while I am away from Clermont. It would be troublesome if the royal family intervened in the marriage. If it came to that, the situation would become complicated, so I thought I should avoid having Chaos come into contact with nobles.”

Ever since the vampire incident, Roseline has been keeping Chaos by her side, and the fact that the nobles have seen her giving him an important role has had repercussions.

If he becomes a noble, there is no doubt that he will become an important person who will play a central role to this country in the future. Even if he doesn’t become a noble, building a good relationship with the person who is deeply trusted by the future queen isn’t a bad move by any means.

Even so, the reason that the nobles are hesitant to interact with Chaos is because they simply don’t have time for it, because they are sounding him out as there is so little information on him, because they’re looking into what the other factions are up to, because he is Roseline’s savior and the princess’s guest, and above all, because Roseline was by his side. She can easily predict that once the situation calms down, the nobles will make contact with him as soon as she takes her eyes off him.

“Chaos is unsociable and awkward at times. I doubt he can refuse an invitation from nobles and their devious methods of persuasion. He may get talked into it before he even realizes what’s happening.”

Alexia understands the point she’s making.

“Despite his appearance, he can be quite oblivious. It would be bad if he made a troublesome promise just by talking to them. I mean, haven’t you ever gotten anxious when he did something that made you wonder if he’s incapable of understanding the hearts of others?”

“You’re right, that has happened!”

Just like earlier. Chaos and Roseline had a good atmosphere about them. Alexia was incredibly displeased with this, and even though she knows she’s being self-centered, she wanted him to notice her feelings.

“But he has more than just flaws. No matter how I look at it, I’ve caused nothing but trouble for him, but he’s so unbelievably kind that he helped me rather than abandoning me.”

“Yes, that’s true!”

‘She truly understands Chaos,’ Alexia thinks. This is the first time she’s had someone to talk to about Chaos like this, so she’s become absorbed in the conversation. To put it simply, Alexia is in high spirits.

That is why…

“That’s why you fell for him, right?”

“Yes! …Huh?!”

She’s so caught up in the moment that by the time she realizes what she said, it’s already too late. Her attendant Irene lets out a deep sigh.