Chapter 12 - III -

 

And so the time came for Maddie’s ‘vacation’ to be over, and we had to make our way back to the Holy Palatial Gardens.  After being absent for quite a while, it’s been the first time I saw the Marquise of Monfort’s face once again.

 

“Oho!  Look at the lucky boy!” the Marquise greeted the moment she saw me, “You’re a hot topic back in the capital, you know.”

 

“About the tourney?”

 

“Yeah, about that and how you thrashed that asshole prince’s face in front of his father.  For us Cherseans, it’s the ultimate form of insult.”

 

“Oh great.  Now I’ve got to worry about an Imperial enemy…”

 

“Ah, don’t worry about it.  The current emperor knows his son’s mistake, and of course, he’ll be wary to ask for revenge if the entire continent is behind you.”

 

“Ha?  I don’t get it?”

 

“Man, it seems like you’re not updated with the news.” the Marquise grabbed the back of my neck and hugged me tight, “Your name has become a household word that meant ‘resistance to the Empire’.  Children sing songs about you, perpetrated by some minstrels who witnessed what you did in the tourney.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“For example, since I’m getting pissed by you not understanding what I’m trying to say, do you want me to ‘Kuro’ you?”

 

“That’s lame, you know?”

 

“What’s important is you kicked the Imperial jackasses!”

 

“You guys hate the Empire that much?”

 

“They’re a bunch of arrogant oafs, see?” the Marquise then pulled something out from her bag, “Hey look at this bottle of rum.”

 

“Err…that’s…hey, what the heck!?  It says ‘Fist of the North Lands Kuro’!”

 

“That’s your brand, boy.  You got your rum to your name!”

 

I don’t know if I should be happy or not with that.  I mean, they just used my name without permission!  Didn’t they know about trademarks and copyrights?  Besides, they also branded me like I’m a rip-off from that muscle anime back on Earth…

 

Well, I guess this land had got no idea about those things just yet.  Maybe sometime later, I’ll inform Maddie about it.

 

“Hey, what’s up, Your Highness Lily!?” the Marquise greeted the Nerfes royal princess when she appeared in her old maid clothes.

 

Lily smiled at her and waved at me.  Of course, I waved back out of courtesy.  She then went on her way.

 

“…”

 

“Hmm…looks like the royal princess has something going on her head.”  The Marquise of Monfort commented, “Did anything happen while I was gone?”

 

“Well, I’m not so sure…” then I told Lady Monfort how I ended up being almost-engaged with Her Holi—I mean, Maddie.  She seemed to not believe it at first; but in the end, she accepted the fact that it was true.

 

“Well, you could say that she’s jealous, but I’ve never seen her act like that.” the Marquise suggested, “If I know, she’s even fine being your second, so what’s the point of being jealous now?”

 

“What do you mean by that?  And wait, you had that kind of talk?”

 

“Yeah, girl stuff, you know.”

 

“I think you shouldn’t just drop that information on me so casually.”

 

“Oh, come on!  You’re being way too much of a prude.  Why don’t we check her out for a while?  I guess it wouldn’t hurt to do that, since we’re her friends, right?”

 

“Of course.  I’ll also tell Maddie about her.  She’s her closest friend, remember?  She might help her as well!”

 

“Ayt, let’s do that then.” the Marquise agreed to my proposal and we both went our separate ways.

 

 

***At a certain hidden part of the Rubinforth manor***

 

Before the Human Saint and her group went back to the Holy Palatial Gardens, the Beastman Saint checked on some things with the help of Maddie’s paladin, the Marquise of Monfort.

 

“…”

 

And now, she had returned from the mission Her Fluffy Holiness had entrusted her to do.

 

“Greetings, Beastman Saint!  I have completed your orders, just as you would have wanted me to do.”

 

“Thank you, Lady Monfort!” Ruro asked the paladin to take a seat while she rummaged through the papers that she had given her, “So, what do you think about those incidents?”

 

“You mean?”

 

“Yes, I’m talking about the bandit attack on our way here.  And that assassin who killed my master, Kuro.  Are they somehow related?”

 

The Marquise of Monfort, in contrast to her usual cheerful personality, was serious this time.  She took a deep breath and told the Beastman Saint everything that she knew, “Yes, those two incidents are related, just as you suspect, Your Holiness.”

 

“I see…”,

 

“Kuro’s assassination is a work of someone who’d benefit the most from his death.  That bandit incident before is related in such a way that it would also benefit the one who takes control of the Human Saint.”

 

“Meaning?”

 

“The Empire surely has a hand on this.  If Kuro dies, then the Prince would end up marrying the Human Saint, effectively controlling her.  That one almost happened.  And the bandit incident is also their work in their attempt to capture Her Holiness.”

 

“So they’re on the move again, huh?”

 

“Well, I guess it’s not because they’re interested in the Human Saint.” the Marquise of Monfort replied, “but those people from the Empire who tried to capture our Saint wanted something more than just controlling her; I think they haven’t given up their ambitions to dominate the entire land of Chersea…”

 

“By going to war, right?”

 

“Yes, Your Holiness…our Saint is a hindrance to their plans.  She was using her ‘god powers’ to bring the human nations in-line with her pacifist policies, and the Empire wouldn’t risk being excommunicated—or their subjects might rebel.”

 

“I see…excellent work, Lady Monfort.” the Beastman Saint continued, “Maddie’s a bit of a soft-heart in these things, that’s why you guys need to prepare secretly for the conflict.  It’s almost coming upon your world…”

 

“Thank you for your guidance, Great White Wolf.”

 

“As always, I’m just doing my promise to that idiot, Jimmy Nee…”

 

And, without further ado, the Marquise of Monfort let herself out of the room of the Beastman Saint, leaving the latter alone.

 

“…”

 

Ruro knew that this brewing conflict was about to erupt soon.  However, before it becomes a full-blown war, she had to do a pre-emptive move on her own against the one who controlled the Empire from the dark…

 

She already knows the identity of that person…

 

“Seirna…”