“Now, Sir Reinhard. I must know about our competitors in this election. Could you tell me more about them?” Asked Arturia to Reinhard with a serious face.

“Alright, Milady. There are 4 other candidates excluding you, three of them are fully human, while one of them is a half-elf. I believe you met one of them yesterday, her name is Emilia. The lady that we saved from Elsa Granhiert yesterday.” Answered Reinhard.

Arturia nodded her head because she already know about Emilia. She remembered the girl with platinum silver hair from yesterday. Her white dress screamed out that she was someone from high-ranking. But something was more visible than all of that, the kindness that she showed towards the boy, Subaru was amazing.

Even though she only knew about that boy yesterday, she was willing to shelter him in her mansion. Arturia respects that kindness.

“The half-elf that I talked about earlier is Lady Emilia herself.” Added Reinhard.

“I know, I noticed her pointed ears. Can you tell me her supporter?” Asked Arturia.

“Yes, her supporter is the best magician in this kingdom. His name is Roswaal L Mathers, he’s the Margrave of Mathers territory as well as Lugnica’s court mage. He’s a bit of an eccentric man, but he’s the best magician in this kingdom.” Explained Reinhard.

“So he’s like Merlin, huh… I kinda want to see him.” Said Arturia which managed to gain Reinhard’s attention.

“Merlin? If I remember correctly, he’s the great magician that made the prophecy about your sword, Milady?” Asked Reinhard.

“Yes, he is. I believe he’s the strongest Mage that I know, that’s why I am curious about this person named Roswaal.”

‘If he’s like Merlin, then we have a troublesome enemy.’ Added Arturia in her mind.

Reinhard nodded his head and said. “I believe he will attend the gathering that will be held in a week. All supporters and knights of the candidates will be invited to the gathering.”

All knights and supporters? All Arturia has is Reinhard, she has no supporter right now. Will she be okay? No, she will.

“I see, then who is Emilia’s knight?” Asked Arturia.

Reinhard was a bit hesitant to answer her question, but he still answered her. “She has no knight for now. Because of her heritage, there was no one willing to become her knight.”

Arturia narrowed her eyes at Reinhard’s answer. Because Emilia is a half-elf, there was no one willing to be her knight? Arturia has a lot of questions, but she just said one word.

“Why?”

“A lot of people from our kingdom are afraid of her appearance. She has a really similar appearance with the most feared witch in the world, The Witch of Envy. She almost destroyed the whole world four hundred years ago, before ultimately being killed by the Sage, The Dragon Volcanica, and my ancestor, the first sword saint Reid Astrea.” Explained Reinhard.

‘A witch, huh. If I remember correctly, Arturia has a sister that turned into a queen witch because of her envy towards Arturia who was loved by her father. She was also the reason why Arturia lost her scabbard, Avalon. Truly, there is even a witch in this world?’

“That’s, terrifying. So there is also a witch in this world? Let’s talk about that matter in the other days, Sir Reinhard. I would prefer if you continue your explanation about the other candidates.”

Reinhard smiled at Arturia and said. “Very well, Milady. The next candidate is Anastasia Hoshin. She was a merchant from Kararagi, the owner of Hoshin Trading Company. She managed to make her company into one of the biggest ones in Kararagi in such a short amount of time. I believe that she’s the richest out of the 5 candidates. Her Knight is Julius Juukulius, the man who is known as the Finest of Knights in this kingdom.”

“Oh, that’s interesting. I wanted to meet him and have a little bout as a fellow knight then.”

“I believe he will accept your offer, Milady.” Answered Reinhard with a smile.

Arturia was interested in this Finest of Knight and wanted to have a bout with him. But, right now she must focus on the gathering that will be held in a week.

Arturia understood that money will be essential in this election. Her plan with Reinhard to win this election is by monster hunting and some other plan that Arturia had in mind. Such as rebuilding the slum into a better place.

Maybe the noble will be offended, no, they will be offended for sure. But, Arturia wanted the citizens to have a better life. They didn’t deserve to be thrown even if they are poor.

So, Arturia decided on something. She needs to cooperate with the other candidates or some merchant.

“We can sell the result of your monster hunting to her company. That way both of us will make a profit. That way, we could hire mercenaries and feed the people in the slum.” Said Arturia to Reinhard.

Reinhard nodded her head and said. “That’s a good idea, Milady. The candidates were indeed enemies to each other, but there is nothing wrong with allying ourselves with the other candidates.”

“That’s right, Sir Reinhard. Now, who is the next candidate?”

“That would be Priscilla Barielle, Milady. She’s known as a haughty individual who has really good luck on her side. Her knight always wears a helmet, but we know him as Al.” Said Reinhard.

Arturia put her hand on her chin and muttered. “Luck, huh.”

“Yes, she was lucky. Even though she is only nineteen years old, Priscilla had 8 husbands who all died due to ‘Mysterious Illness’. If we are talking about the luckiest individual, she will sit on the number one spot.”

Arturia was suspicious of this Priscilla. She narrowed her eyes and asked Reinhard. “Mysterious Illness? Are you sure that they are not poisoned?”

Reinhard shook his head and said. “No, Milady. They were not.”

“Fine, the last candidate?”

“The next one is Crush Karsten. She’s the Matriarch of House Karsten and she’s the favorite candidate to win in this Royal Selection. She has a knight by her side by the name Felix Argyle, who is also a good knight…”

Reinhard looked a bit hesitant to continue his explanation, so Arturia asked.

“What’s wrong?” Arturia was a bit worried about Reinhard. He suddenly stopped in the middle of his explanation, there must be something wrong or something that made him hesitate to tell her.

Reinhard shook his head and replied with a smile.

“No, there is nothing wrong. I will continue the explanation, Milady.”

Arturia nodded her head a little, gesturing Reinhard to continue.

“There is also a skilled swordman that worked as Karsten’s instructor. His name is Wilhelm van Astrea, my grandfather.” Said Reinhard with a bitter smile on his face.

Arturia understood, there must be some family problem that made the relationship between Reinhard and his grandfather to be strangled.

She didn’t want to bring it up if Reinhard didn’t want to tell him either, that’s why she just said.

“Alright, now we just need to prepare for my speech, right? Can you accompany me, Sir Reinhard? I need your opinion.”

Reinhard was smiling at Arturia, he somehow understood that Arturia wanted to change the subject for him, and he was grateful that she didn’t ask him any further.

“With pleasure, Milady.” Answered Reinhard as he bowed his head politely.

*****

There is advanced chapters on my Patréon.

Chapter 17 was uploaded on my Patréon!!

Patréon: www.patréon.com/ShuviLily

Thank you!