Chapter 115: The Outcome of Our Secret Talk

Good morning, master.

Were you able to sleep last night? Dont push yourself too much, all right?

Thank you, master. There is nothing to worry about.

Because of the Emperors letter, Suu turned ghastly pale last night, and I also took great damage.

I wanted to talk about it again, now that the night passed.

Can you arrange a meeting with the Emperor?

An informal one is possible. In the evening, Ill make plans for you to visit his Majestys residential area to discuss young lady Tsubakis marriage. This should work.

Its perfect.

She truly is excellent at this sort of things.

Please do it then. Also, write to Katalina and tell her to make preparations as well. And send a secret messenger to the Frontier Count.

Certainly! What are the contents of the message?

The fairy-tale might repeat. Hell understand.

As you wish. Ill make the necessary arrangements. What about Lamia-sama?

She probably felt uneasy because I didnt mention my mother-in-law at all.

But its all right.

Im sure that Bea will go visit mother-in-law. Shell tell her then.

Thats right. If we make too much of a commotion, it will become suspicious.

Suu agreed, then left the room.

Today will be a very busy day

I entrusted Bea with contacting mother-in-law.

The daughter will visit her mother after a long timeTheres simply nothing out of place with that.

Much less since Bea is pregnant. It is the perfect reason to go see her.

In the meanwhile, I summoned Kalfa.

The pretextTo choose a present for my pregnant wife who is in a bad mood.

However, the reality was different.

Kalfa, if I were to ask you to prepare food for me.How big a quantity can you make preparations for?

FoodIf you want it at this time, I can make arrangements for an amount that could sustain his Majestys entire army for a year.

You dont have to start gathering right now. I asked just to be sure.

Understood. You can call me anytime.

In case a war would start, this is essential.

Katalina would take care of my soldiers, and the Frontier Counts army would come to my help as well.

As for the food, I can guarantee a certain amount.

..Still, the most important thing is whether I can get my hands on it or not.

It all depends now on the meeting with the Emperor.

I took all the measures I could, and I decided to take a nap until evening.

Theres a chance that after I meet with his Majesty, Ill rush straight into a meeting with the elf prince.

I must rest when I get the chance.

As I fell in a doze on my chair in the office, I felt Suu shaking my shoulders.

Master, it is time. Please get ready.

UnderstoodWhat about Bea?

I asked her as I rubbed my eyes.

Madam said she will return after dinner. Its been a while so she stayed longer to chat, I figured.

I see..But this is my mother-in-laws way of protecting her.

I must send her another present later.

I washed my face and changed clothes.

For the time being, I am meeting the Emperor, so wearing ordinary clothes is no good.

I put on my black military uniform and walked towards the imperial familys quarters.

Oh! Zest. Im glad you look good.

Yes, your Majesty. Im relieved you look the same.

A retainer maid of the imperial family guided me to the room where the Emperor was waiting.

The Empress in not presentIs there a reason for that?

Once the maid prepared the tea and left the room, the smile disappeared from his Majestys face.

Since you hurried to come see medoes it mean that you got the meaning of the letter?

Yes, its about the fairy-tale matter, right?

Ah, such a bothersome story. Were you able to arrange somehow your end and the Frontier Counts?

It depends on how settled we are when it comes to the elves. Should time and circumstances permit, I could involve Lilac as well.

The Emperors face was bitter but he made his decision having no other choice.

There are all sorts of rumors about the Holy Country of Lilac, so its not really all right to involve them, but

Its better than losing.

We still dont know if a war will start, do we?

Yet, supposing the worst is necessary. The elf prince will arrive soon as well. Hes truly an amazing guy.

The elf prince? What on earth is he coming here for?

He dares to feign ignorance.

After I asked that, the Emperor looked at me reproachfully.

.Did he find me out?

Does he know that I consider the prince to be a very sharp person?

Or maybe hes only suspicious.

Enough with that. Lets take our time until he arrives.

As you wish.

You knew about it, right?

I dont understand.

If you wanted a free translation, this is what we talked about.

After I chatted with the Emperor for a few moments, that guy finally arrived.

I felt the presence of two people outside the door.

Excuse us. The eldest son of the elf king, Mars-samais here.

Enter.

The door opened with the Emperors words.

A young man with long silver hair entered after the maid.

He had long, thin slit eyes and a slim physique.

He gave the impression of a beautiful youthStill, his ears were long.

His outward appearance would fit perfectly in a Japanese idol band.

Its been a long time, your Majesty.

He sent a fleeting glance at me, but the first one to greet is always the Emperor.

Prince Mars, Im glad you look good. Well, sit now.

Prince Mars did as the Emperor told him and sat on the sofa.

I casted some magic to check him out as I stayed vigilant.

The maid prepared more tea, and once she left the room, his Majesty began to talk.

Prince Mars, this man is Duke Zest. Did you know him?

You areIts a pleasure to meet you, Im Mars.

Nice to meet you too, prince Mars. Or, I shall call you son-in-law-dono.

It was a greeting full of smiles, but I didnt let my guard down not even one bit.

This prince Mars..Hes quite formidable.

I prepared myself in case he would stand up at any moment from that sofa where he sat so comfortably.

Nowthat we finished with the greetings, lets get to the main topic. Prince Mars, you have some magnificent acting skills.

I was frequently impolite towards you, so I must humbly apologize.

He stood up and propped one knee to the floor.

My vigilance ascended in level.

From that position, it was possible to attack the Emperor.

Son-in-law-dono, sit down on the sofa right away. In that position, youre too close to his Majesty.

I unleashed my magical power, as I warned him strongly.

Its not like I swore absolute loyalty to the Emperor, but if prince Mars would do it in this situation.

Without any question, Ill be made an accomplice.

Whats wrong, son-in-law-dono? Sit down on the sofa.

..Yes sir! Asas you wish.

He sat on the sofa, his face sort of stiff.

After I confirmed that he did what I said, I restrained my magical power.

Zest is prone to worrying. But he doesnt have ill will towards you, prince Mars.

Your Majesty. I apologize for my son-in-laws discourtesy.

Hahaha, thats because hes your son-in-law. Dont worry about it.

Thank you for your consideration.

Good. A splendid monkey show.

Prince Mars, if you get cocky, Ill kill you!

You understand who is superior here, dont you? Youre a prince, you say? Your country is in a state of chaos, so that title means nothing to us. Youll be treated like nothing more than Zests adopted son.

That was the hidden meaning behind our exchange.

Prince Mars seemingly understood it, so he quietly sat down on the sofa, his body trembling.

So, whats the situation like in the elves country?

His Majesty took a mouthful of tea, then asked the prince.

His answer was, in all honestyobliquely above my expectation.

YesMy father, the king is already deadThe Prime Minister seized the power. He plans to..

He probably did it in order to motivate himself to continue.

Prince Mars stroke his face with both hands, then informed us.

The Prime Minister plans to revive the legendary magic science. That abominable devil kingHe intends to become the king of magic science!

So by devil king.they meant the king of magic science.?

So this is how it is

The room become completely silent.

Even the Emperor was speechless.

My heart was thumping as well.

In this tensioned room, the sound of violent knocking reverberated.

His Majesty returned to himself and started to speak.

What! Whats wrong!?

This is Tsubaki! Im coming in!

The answer to the Emperors question was a simpleIm coming in.

With a thick sound, the door collapsed.

Prince Mars! Ive come to save you!

Exactly like a hero from legends, Tsubaki stood there with a smug face.

The Emperor and the prince froze in place in a second, as I started to beat Tsubaki, being careful not to break her neck.

You stupid girl! What the heck are you doing!? You came to help him? You fool! You made it worse instead!! In the first place..

Zest, Tsubaki cant hear you anymore, you know?

Fafather ZestTsubaki is spouting foam and shes cramping.

I looked at my feet and saw that Tsubakis eyes turned white.

You dare falling asleep!? You stupid daughter!

Zest, she most likely fainted.

TsubakiTsubaki..

This chaos continued until the Empress arrived, alarmed by the noise coming from this room.

..I might die from worrying too much.