Because I've Been Reincarnated As A Girl I Just Want To Do Yuri Things, But Things Aren't Going Well Chapter 100

Published at 25th of January 2023 07:15:41 AM

Prompted by the King, I enter the room and take a seat. I was soon served tea by a beautiful maid. I wait until the maid is gone before opening my mouth.

“I would like to extend my gratitude that you'd find time for me in your busy schedule…” I started.

“Wait, wait, wait. I told you, it will be as if you're my daughter here. Such formalities are unnecessary,” Wilhelm said.

What kind of relationship do you think we have…? A King and just one of his knights… a King wouldn't casually meet up with a Knight, would he? So this would be a necessary formality.

“Well, well, let's have just dispense with the formalities and have some tea first,” Dietrich said, cutting in. “It is quite delicious.”

From my standpoint, I can't say anything more about these two. After exchanging a few words, we drink tea. I can't help but do it even though it was offered to me. I thought it was just niceties, but I was surprised when I tasted it. Delicious indeed. He's not called King for nothing, is he? He is selecting and collects the best items.

The tea that was served tasted very similar to Japanese tea. This is genmaicha, brown rice tea. It tastes like fragrant brown rice. If there is such a thing as genmaicha, it must be in that strange country. In the first place, there seems to be no rice farming in this region, so that place is definitely involved.

The area around the Kingdom of Ploiss, including the surrounding countries, has a very high affinity with medieval Europe. And yet, in that area, a culture just like Japan is sprouting up. It's too foreign for me.

“So you want to talk about your relationship with Ludwig today?” Wilhelm asked.

“…… Huh?”

I was taken aback for a moment. What? What do you mean?

…… Ah! Did he think I was asking for a meeting because I had something to discuss Ludwig? I don't talk about anything involving Ludwig. It's just an assumption.

No… wait a moment. Is this convenient for me? It wouldn't hurt to take this opportunity to warn Ludwig and Rutger's parents a bit about the two's idiocy.

“Actually, I was invited to lunch the other day after Ludwig borrowed a court cook,” I said.

“Oh, come to think of it, that did happen one of these days before,” Wilhelm said.

Well, the King and the Prime Minister ought to know about borrowing the castle's chefs. If they know, this will go by quickly.

“Perhaps they asked me out of the blue to surprise me, but without contacting me in advance, they suddenly came to me on the day they intended to invite me to lunch and caused quite a bit of ruckus…”

I told Wilhelm and Dietrich that their sons are idiots. The words are not like that, but that's what I want to say.

No matter how uninterested they are, they don't even notice they got Helene's name wrong and that she corrected them. By the time they'd arrived at 1st Year, Class 1, the whole school was in an uproar, but they don't even pay attention to that noise. They caused a lot of fuss, so I explained in detail.

“Hah-hah-hah!” Wilhelm laughed. “I suppose love is blinding!”

“My apologies that my son has caused so much trouble, Princess Flora,” Dietrich said.

“No, it's not that I'm seeking an apology, but if they keep doing things like this, I worry it will affect both the reputations of Prince Ludwig and Lord Rutger, so I think they should be a little more considerate…”

It was annoying. But I can't tell them not to do it again because it's annoying me. This is the sad part of being a lower-class noble. Nobles don't live as they please. Aristocrats have their own hierarchies and hardships.

I ended up talking a little too much, but I didn't come here today to talk about this. Let's cut to the original business soon.

“By the way, Your Majesty Wilhelm, I would like to ask you a few questions about House Lingerburg…”

When I brought up the matter, Wilhelm touched his beard and went, “Hmm…”.

“House Lingerburg? That House was the one Duke Nassam was entrusted with…” Wilhelm said.

Dietrich nodded, confirming it.“If I remember correctly, they applied for permission to marry recently.”

Aristocrats cannot marry on their own. The King's permission is required for marriage because it would be troublesome if nobles collude and cause a rebellion. Wait? What? Who? Who's getting married?

“Wh-Who's getting married?” I asked.

“Alexandra, daughter of House Lingerburg, is seeking permission to marry and inherit her father's title,” Dietrich said.

“……………… Huh?”

My head went blank.

……What? Is Alexandra getting married? Why? With who? I do not understand what this means.

“I suppose the daughter of House Lingerburg is acting above her status as she has the prestige of Duke Nassam behind her…” Dietrich said.

“No! Alexandra is not that kind of girl!” I yelled, interrupting him.

Alexandra, lording the status of her supposed guardian, Duke Nassam? No way, it can't be. Alexandra is not that kind of girl.

I don't know what other people think of her. The only thing I know is that even if the people around her thought Alexandra was carrying that connection as a point of pride, Alexandra herself didn't want it. And Alexandra doesn't take that kind of attitude either. No matter how many years have passed, even if Alexandra has changed, I can absolutely affirm this.

“Ah, House Lingerburg is a vassal of Carruthers, isn't it?” Dietrich said. “My apologies. It was a failure of my memory.”

“No…” I said. “I was the one who behaved rudely towards you, Your Grace Dietrich. I offer my apologies…”

It's no good… I'm not calm now, I still can't rid my mind of Alexandra's crying face during that lunch break.

Calm down…. the enemy is neither Wilhelm nor Dietrich… at least at the moment, what are you going to accomplish by meaninglessly biting the hand that favors you? Stay calm. If you want to get things done, do things calmly and coldly, even if you're called cruel. Only this time, there is absolutely no room for failure.

“So what do you want to hear about House Lingerburg?” Wilhelm said.

The atmosphere had become tense as I emotionally snapped at Dietrich. I suppose Wilhelm decided to say that as a rescue boat. After all, I'm still a child… in terms of the total number of years since my previous life that I remember, Wilhelm, Dietrich, and I shouldn't be that different in age. But what about my mental immaturity?

After all, in my previous life, I was raised in a greenhouse called modern Japan, and in this life, I was brought up warmly as the daughter of House Carruthers. I have a big mental difference from Wilhelm and Dietrich, who have been dealing with thousands upon thousands of nobles throughout their lives.

“First… why did Duke Nassam take House Lingerburg under his protection?” I asked.

I have a prediction. The Siegen Marquisate is a branch family of the Nassam Duchy, that is, they're blood relatives. The Second Queen Amalie came from House Siegen and is connected to Duke Nassam. And from Amalie's point of view, the Third Prince Ludwig is competing for his right to inherit the throne and is a hindrance to her sons' ability to do the same.

I am Ludwig's fiancée. Naturally, from Amalie's point of view, it would be troublesome if Ludwig's fiancée's House, the Carruthers Margraviate, came under the royal family's protection and favor. If you're fighting for the right to succeed to the throne, you probably want to reduce the enemy's power even by a little.

Therefore, Duke Nassam will be entrusted with House Lingerburg, driving a wedge into the Carruthers's vassals. House Lingerburg should turn over to House Nassam. And even if they don't change allegiances, there are many ways to use them without hesitation.

If Amalie gains power and her sons take the throne, it will be a great advantage for the Nassam Duchy. In other words, House Lingerburg… Alexandra is involved in a royal dispute. I can't forgive them for involving Alexandra in their squabbles and making her cry like that.

But above all, I can't forgive myself. Somewhere along the line, I was optimistic that Alexandra was living well in the royal capital. I didn't go after Alexandra myself, didn't look into her, just reassured myself that if Father didn't say anything, without any evidence to prove the contrary, everything was just fine.

I can't forgive myself for being so pathetic!

My father never said anything about the Lingerburg marriage application. My father isn't the type to bother to keep such things a secret, so they probably haven't said anything to the Carruthers nobles, who Lingerburg is supposed to serve or serve alongside.

That's right…. while Alexandra was embroiled in a terrible situation in the royal capital, there was no way Alexandra would trust me, who had lived carefree in Carruzan and Caanburg and hadn't even contacted her. There's no way she would contact me or my father like that…

Even if they are tempted or used by Amelie or Duke Nassam, that's not all. It's because I and the rest of House Carruthers are idiots who don't deserve to be relied on.

“That's, well… it's a situation involving matters with the adults…” Dietrich said, hesitating.

The fact that he can't say it clearly now, probably means it is related to the right of succession dispute with the Second Queen's Faction.

“In other words, the Second Queen's Faction planned to drag down House Carruthers in order to improve their odds to win the throne, yes?” I said.

“No, that's…”

I've had enough of this beating around the bush. It's not the time to do that. I will bring back Alexandra, even if I involve the Caan Knighthood and the Carruthers Margraviate in open war. I will never let Alexandra look like that ever again.

Dietrich's vague answer is the same as saying I was right. As Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Ploiss, Dietrich should know that much. There's no way Dietrich, who is fighting with wicked nobles, would make such a mistake against a little girl like me. This is Dietrich telling me information.

“Then who is Alexandra's marriage partner?” I said.

The quickest way is to use a relative of the Nassam Duchy. The surest thing would be to have a blood relative of Duke Nassam take over House Lingerburg. That husband would wrench Alexandra's control from her, infiltrate the Carruthers's vassals, and leak any information back to Duke Nassam. If anything, they may also work to take in Carruthers's other vassals, make them switch allegiances, and cut down Carruthers' power.

“If I remember correctly~……” Dietrich said. “I believe it was a man named Kaspar, who was awarded the title of Baronet.”

“………… Huh?” I said.

Kaspar? The coachman of House Lingerburg?

No, no, no, that can't be right. If it's a Knight's House, it's possible to get close to the family and get married or make them mistresses. However, there is no reason for a county to marry Kaspar, a commoner coachman, especially in House Lingerburg's situation where the House Head was killed under mysterious circumstances and there was no immediate replacement. In that case, it would be better to be associated with some other aristocratic family.

Dietrich said earlier that he had obtained the title of Baronet. I guess Kaspar has a title now. But let me tell you, a baronet is not noble. In short, it's just an honorary title that can be bought with money. Even a knight is noble, but an associate baron is not noble.

In the Kingdom of Ploiss, the ranks of nobility are Dukes, Marquises (Margraves are on the same level), Counts, Viscounts, Barons, and then Knights. No Baronets are to be found here. A baronetcy is nothing more than an honorary title given by commoners who pay money in the name of donations to the country.

To say that Kaspar, a commoner, is going to marry Alexandra, who belongs to a county, is too strange. That's why he probably bought a baronet in order to improve his appearance. Even so, the difference in social status is extreme, but…

What does it mean? If I belonged to Duke Nassam, I would have her marry my blood relative or a vassal. Won't House Nassam be sabotaging this for their plans?

No, no… they won't. Keep calm. I'm wrong. House Nassam is pushing for Alexandra and Kaspar's marriage. That's why even though there's such a difference in social status, the negotiations are progressing without any particular problems. If House Nassam hadn't thrown their weight behind the decision, the nobles would be noisier about this. Aristocratic society is quite particular about such things.

""

The nobles should take action to prevent the creation of a precedent where commoners can easily marry high-ranking nobles for no reason. The fact that there is no such protest must be because Duke Nassam is laying the groundwork.

So why would House Nassam marry Alexandra to Kaspar? Ordinarily, a blood relative or a vassal… in other words, House Nassam, even if they marry Alexandra to Kaspar, they can fulfill their purpose. Paradoxically speaking, Kaspar belongs to the Nassam Duchy… wouldn't he?

Wait… wait, wait, wait… I'm thinking crazy things right now. It's dangerous to assume that without evidence. But if what I'm thinking is right, all the mysteries will come together.

All of this mysterious series of events started with the assassination of Nicholas, the former Head of House Lingerburg…

T/N: We've hit 100 chapters. I have… 445 more to go. I know I was in it for the long haul, but this puts the “one step at a time” line I told myself into perspective.

Chapter end