146: Auditory hallucinations
"... Hmm? Kaisar, did you just lash out at me?"
"No, I didn't. There's no way I can use such words against His Highness Claude."
"Hmm, true. I was wrong after all."
"Is this guy stupid?"
I might have hallucinated and heard something, but it was probably just me being tired.
More importantly, I don't give a damn about this trash right now. Karendoll has to be my priority.
"Sorry, I guess that, in dealing with this scum, I broke our conversation in the middle. Nevertheless, why does Karendoll hold Kaisar up so high? And what's more, you insinuate that I am unfit to succeed to the throne?"
"I'm just saying since you don't seem to understand the obvious. Is there anything wrong with that? In the first place, you are the second in line of succession to the throne, and if things went according to order, your brother would be the one succeeding to the throne. But where does your confidence come from? And you called my fiance, Kaisar-sama, a scum, but aren't you the scum to call someone else's fiancée one?"
"What are you talking about, Karendoll? Are you saying that I am inferior to that foolish brother of mine? My foolish brother will lose his place from the line of succession due to his own stupidity, and we are currently making plans to drag him down."
I replied, and for some reason, Karendoll looked at me as if I was a worm in the trash.
When I saw the look in her eyes, I wondered the extent to which Karendoll got brainwashed.
I glared at Kaisar, the culprit who had made her so. Though, unlike last time, I won't fall for his trap by challenging him to a duel.
"Kaisar, how dare you to brainwash not only Bridgette... but also Karendoll?"
"No, I didn't brainwash Bridgette or Karendoll. In case you really think they are, I'd like you to undo it."
Even the stupid and dim-witted Kaisar wouldn't tell the truth so readily, would he?
However, it is obvious that Bridgette and Karendoll, who hated Kaisar so much, have started both liking Kaisar, which implies they got brainwashed by him.
That is why Kaisar is such a hypocrite.
And unlike Kaisar, I'm intelligent. I won't make the same mistakes.
"Then let us duel once more in a week's time."
"Ha? I don't want to."
I certainly won't be making the same mistake as last time. It's why I didn't tell him we would fight immediately.
In the first place, the reason for the last failure was that I hadn't expected that he'd play such a trick and allow me to win the duel, but this time I prepared some things in advance so that the outcome won't be changed even after I win our duel.
"Then, wait till a week from now, after school. Until then, keep your head clean."
"No, I told you I don't want to do it, scum."
"Hn? I just heard you say something rude─"
"Ha? There's no way I'd use such language with His Highness Claude, and I don't want to duel either."
"Well then, I'll get permission to use the arena next week, so at the very least, in the time you have left, you can train or do whatever you can to become as strong as possible."
And so I told Kaisar and headed to the staff room to get permission to use the arena for the duel next week after school.
147: That's ridiculous
[Dark Guild Master, a different one.]
◆
When rumors began to spread that the largest Dark Guild in the Imperial City collapsed, the other Dark Guild Masters, sensing something was amiss, gathered at a site in an abandoned village on the southern edge of the desert area stretching the south of the Empire.
The Rasaha district was a savannah-like region that was a harsh environment. Years ago, the area was a combination of wilderness and grassland, but twenty years ago, the sandworms went on a rampage and turned the whole area into a desert. Most surrounding villages and towns got abandoned.
"The Dark Guild Fenrir got attacked by someone. It seems that all the guild members got killed within a single day, and we have not received any information at all, but the fact that not only the members but even their dead bodies are missing suggests that someone did it."
"Hn? What's with Fenrir? He can only summon Kobolds, you know?"
"Watch your mouth."
"Hei-hei."
The effect of the loss of the Dark Guild Fenrir, who practically united the numerous Dark Guilds, was enormous. But now, it became impossible to unite those who were already difficult to deal with.
In the first place, it would be impossible to unite the leaders of the other Dark Guilds, including me, the leader of the Dark Guild Goblin Gathering, with the leaders of the other Dark Guilds aiming for the next top spot.
Incidentally, although we are called the Dark Guild, our situation is actually different from the guilds on the surface. It is more like a clan. It is connected enough to be called a guild in terms of connections, and as a result, it has come to be known as the Dark Guild, though I don't know who started calling it that.
This connection is the main reason why the Dark Guilds have not disappeared from the Empire, and the only common rule is the 'sharing of information on the constable'.
Of course, each of the Dark Guilds has at least one informant in the Knights and Vigilantes, and the closer the mole's location is to the center of the country, the more power that guild has, while the further away it is, the less say they have.
The rest was determined purely by the guild's strength.
The Dark Guild Fenrir was connected not only with the Knights but also with the County of the Hohenheim family. There wasn't an insider man, but rather, they had a connection with the family itself.
The fact that he had a connection to the Count meant that he could leak the country's inside information, so from an intelligence and military perspective, the leader of the Dark Guild Fenrir was the actual top leader in the underworld.
"E-emergency! It's an emergency. Everyone be on your guard!! Look outside! There are three d-d-d-dragons flying towards the capital!"
Just when I was thinking about the clash of arms over the Dark Guilds' leader spot, a dirty little man, probably a lowly member of some Dark Guild, panicked and said that three dragons were flying towards the Imperial City.
That's ridiculous.
148: The arrangement to escape to a neighbouring country
Just one dragon was enough to be considered a natural disaster.
No matter their size, humans are no match for them.
If a dragon were to attack a town or village, it would have to get held off until it gets bored, or until a platoon of court magicians or imperial nights, or a group of high-ranking adventurers can manage to fight it off.
Due to the dragon's strength, the platoon or group of adventurers who manages to slay a dragon gets awarded the title and honor of Dragonslayers.
Even one such dragon is considered dangerous, and it would be impossible for three dragons, all of which rarely appear in human villages, to be on their way to the royal capital.
It would still be more believable if people said they had seen a hallucination or something or that they had mistaken something else for a dragon.
The last time a dragon came to a human settlement was around sixty years ago when it attacked a farming village on the Empire's outskirts, and they have remained unseen ever since.
The fact that three such dragons appeared together close to the royal capital was an unbelievable threat to the city.
If what this low-life said was true, something is happening that, if not dealt with properly, could wipe out the royal capital itself.
I walked to the window, somewhat in disbelief, and looked up at the sky out of the broken glass window.
"This can't be happening...?"
There was a huge jet-black dragon, a huge pure-white dragon, and a smaller dragon with a crimson exterior, all flapping their wings and heading straight toward the capital.
Even the smallest of the three dragons was noticeably larger than the dragons in the stories my grandfather had told me, and it was clear that these dragons were beyond human capability.
If my grandfather's old tale were true, and even if it were only that crimson dragon, resistance would require a level of not just one platoon but of a whole country, or multiple countries, to deal with it.
After confirming the appearance of dragons with my very eyes, I decided to leave immediately to a neighboring country.
"There's no saving it."
It's too dangerous to be in the Empire right now.
If those three entities go on a rampage in the Empire, they can return to loot and do whatever they want when they have calmed down, but if they just pass by without incident, it would be much better.
Having made the decision, I told my Dark Guild members that we were leaving this place immediately.
Life is what makes us what we are.
Do not confuse bravery with recklessness.
If you don't think about the scale of the disadvantage rather than the size of the advantage and act accordingly, death will come sooner than you had expected.
With that thought in mind, I fled from the abandoned village to the neighboring country after seeing the dragons getting smaller and smaller as they moved toward the imperial capital.
149: I'm ready to get impregnated anytime!
[Kaisar POV]
Although the daily involvement of His Highness Claude is a pain, the rest of the time, it is quite comfortable.
The main reason is the widespread rumors that 'if you get involved with Kaisar, you will be forcibly brainwashed and enslaved.'
Thanks to that, only one guy ever comes to me.
But the drawback is that the girls look at me like I'm trash, and the men look at me with a mixture of jealousy and irritation.
Even before my memory of my previous life returned, I was still the son of a duke, so for that very reason, I was avoided because there was no telling what I might do if someone were to look me in the eye.
That's if we exclude the little hassle that is getting involved with His Highness Claude.
I'm glad to see I'm finally getting back to my normal life.
The duel with His Royal Highness Prince Claude that is coming up in three days' time is just as good as the previous one, and to tell the truth, it's a hassle.
Since I'll be the one cleaning up the mess when something goes wrong in a duel against royalty, it's better to lose than to win, of course.
After all, there have been too many things going on these days.
It has been too much for me to feel at peace in what used to be my everyday life recently.And somehow, the number of slaves increased even more...
I really don't understand why Bridgette and Karendoll volunteered to become my slaves in the first place, and I don't really understand how things got here, nor do I want to.
"Can I help you, Kaisar-sama? Did I have something on my face? Or is it that you've been admiring me? If that's the case, you can count on me tonight. I'll keep the bed warm with my body heat!"
I had nothing to do after school, so I went straight to the carriage, and before I knew it, I was staring at Bridgette's face sitting next to mine, and she happily pointed this out to me.
Karendoll, by the way, was unable to go home with us today because she had something to do, so I was alone with Bridgette in the carriage.
"No. I just thought that some strange creatures existed in this world. Nothing more about it."
"? I see. Ah, besides, I'm ready to get impregnated at any time!"
"Ah, is that so?"
"Yes!"
As I've recently found out, if I responded to each and every comment made by Bridgette (or any of the slaves), I wouldn't be able to hold my throat, so I'd just have to go through with it.
So I won't even go into where the topic of 'impregnation' came from.
Bridgette, who probably doesn't know I'm thinking that, comes staring at me with a glistening, doggy-like expression on her face.
Although she is cute and adorable, this is not the emotion one has for the opposite s*x, but rather the one has for a pet animal.
I would never say that because if I did, she might bring me the leash and say, "Come on, let's go for a walk!"
I can say that the slaves' sense of ethics, common sense, thought process, or whatever you want to call it, is definitely far from normal thinking. I should definitely have more common sense than all of them, but sometimes I feel as if I'm wrong, so I've been more careful than I should have been before.
So, Bridgette, I had to pretend not to notice you. Also, I wish you stopped looking at me with those expectant eyes like a dog wanting to go for a walk.
150: Lingerie aggression
[Karendoll POV]
"We've arrived, Karen." (Karendoll's nickname)
"Ohh, mother... So this is the store where you bought the underwear that seduced my father that you have been talking about since I was little?"
"Yes, it is. Once you see the real thing, you'll know how improper the underwear sold here is at a glance. It would be quicker to see it than to explain, so let's get in there quickly."
With that being said, I stepped into a lingerie shop, a place I had never thought I'd be able to relate to in my entire life, as she guided me by the hand.
This lingerie store seems to be a very famous and long-established business. Its exterior has an architectural style that shows its long history (The equivalent of renaissance architecture, as we call it on Earth), which indicates that it has been in business for at least three generations.
"However, I never would've thought that the day would come when you'd come and ask me to take you to the 'lingerie store where I bought the lingerie that made your father fall in love with me' because you wanted to buy lingerie that would make a man fall in love with you as well. I have always been worried about you because you were tomboyish by nature and have always refused to go on blind dates or get engaged, so I was about to resign myself to the fact that, at worst, you'd be late or never get married, you know?"
I was happy to see my mother smiling while saying that, while at the same time, I was a little bit embarrassed.
My parents always said they wanted me to marry someone from the opposite s*x I like as much as possible. But since I had rejected every engagement and matchmaking proposal my parents brought to my attention, they had begun to give up on my marriage. However, now that I know, I wish I had met Kaisar-sama earlier than Sufia.
I can easily imagine that even if I met Kaisar-sama earlier, I would have hated him just as much as I had one-sidedly, only looking at his public image and never trying to see his inner self.
I feel ashamed of myself, thinking about how I used to say that people who were beautiful on the outside are always good. I now realize how shallow my way of thinking was.
"Even so, when I asked to get engaged to Kaisar-sama, whom you have heard nothing but bad rumors about even though we owe him a debt of gratitude as he saved brother, how could both mother and father give their permission?"
"That's true. But he's the man you wanted to marry, Karen. That alone is enough for your father and me to decide that Kaisar is someone we can trust. That's how credible your word is to us compared to a hundred bad rumors."