Chapter 90 – The Two Princesses

I restrained the unconscious Anastasia with Light Bind and further wrapped Caduceus around her neck.

Attaching Caduceus was a countermeasure against chantless magic. While I couldn’t prevent her from activating magic, the moment she used it, I could have Caduceus constrict her carotid artery and take her down. That should be sufficient as a deterrent.

The investigation inside the mansion would have to wait until after I delivered Anastasia to the Royal Castle.

I might have to undergo Magical Inquisition myself this time, but well, that couldn’t be helped given who I was dealing with.

“You should have just come with me. How foolish,” Anastasia said as we were heading toward the Royal Castle by carriage after she regained consciousness. Perhaps because she was restrained by Light Bind, she didn’t put up any real resistance.

“I have no intention of negotiating with someone I can’t trust. You’d better not use any magic. I’ve taken countermeasures.”

“I would resist if it meant anything. But doing so against you would be pointless. At worst, you might burn the entire carriage to ashes to ensure no evidence remains.”

Well… I wonder about that… I was curious about how she saw me, but it seemed better not to ask.

“I’m not finished yet, you know?”

“Surely you can’t get through the inquisition without the secret medicine?”

“That’s true. Since my plan has been so thoroughly countered, I have no choice but to admit defeat. But just watch. I’ll at least manage to keep my head.”

She smiled thinly. Quite brazen, indeed.

For example—she might negotiate using the secrets of the nobles under her control as a Shield. With those secrets alone, she could claim the royal family would gain superiority over the nobles.

Between discovering Alraune’s Kiss and Mixing it, and the Dragon Fang Soldiers, there was no doubt she was talented personnel.

Killing her would be a loss. She was essentially saying, “Use me even though you know I’m poisonous.” That might be how she intended to negotiate with King Melvin.

The stripping of her succession rights was almost certain. I expected various measures to be taken, but who knew what would happen.

Well, regardless of her future, I decided to ask a few light questions.

Since it was clear she was responsible for this incident, she would probably answer to some extent. As for the attempted assassination of Princess Marlene… it probably wouldn’t mean anything without Magical Inquisition.

Assuming Rosemary, aka Anastasia, was the perpetrator… she likely planned to definitely use the medicine when the king abdicated.

Then why did she give the secret medicine to Kathryn?

If her goal was the queen’s throne—

“Was I the reason you gave Alraune’s Kiss to Kathryn?”

If the person was close to the king, Rosemary would want to draw them in as an asset.

If Kathryn could get leverage over me, she would jump at the opportunity. And if she didn’t recognize its rarity, it wouldn’t be surprising if she used it on Father.

“Oh my. Are you going to believe what I say without Magical Inquisition?”

“Just killing time until we reach the castle,” I replied, and Anastasia laughed cheerfully.

“Very well. Since she seemed dissatisfied with you, I suggested, ‘What if we drug him and extract at least one weakness?'”

Just as I thought.

“You may not know how much I know, but I have information on the Marquis’s family too? To be honest, it didn’t matter to the Countess whether she drupped the Count or you. If the Count’s family became troubled as a result, I could either threaten them or offer help to gain favor depending on the situation.”

Whichever way it went, huh? Nasty tactics.

“Did you also give Byron information about me?”

“Through my agents.”

—Whether through messengers or letters, she gave information about my family via Byron, while simultaneously giving the secret medicine to Kathryn.

She distributed the sources of information to create a disguise, then had me drugged. And then she would obtain secrets and leverage.

The main thing was to create a pretext or method to secretly summon me. After that, the secret medicine could handle the rest.

“But that Byron-kun was completely useless, wasn’t he? I heard he ran off immediately after hearing about it? Because of that, many of my arrangements couldn’t be completed in time. Since he was Count Gartner’s son, I expected him to be about as capable as you.”

Byron usually acted meek. He hadn’t spent much time in the capital either, so he’d managed to avoid exposing his flaws.

As for why Rosemary would do such things—the motivation part was probably a foolish question. She likely believed she deserved the throne. That she should rule because she was superior.

In that sense, she might be speaking honestly to me because I countered her schemes.

—After delivering Anastasia to the Royal Castle, when Anastasia’s true identity as Rosemary was revealed, the important people in the castle were in an uproar.

The Royal Castle was in chaos, but it would probably calm down a bit once King Melvin returned from the Nation Protecting Ceremony. Who knew what would happen to Rosemary’s treatment? I’d likely hear about it from King Melvin later.

As for me, since Rosemary admitted to her crimes, I was released. I headed straight to the workshop and was talking with Alfred.

“I see. Bringing in a Request and solving it the same day,” said Alfred with a somewhat astonished expression.

“Hmm. But well, I think you’ll need the Amulet of Evil Repulsion.”

“I know. I’ll make it. Of course I will.”

Alfred gave a dry laugh.

“Still, if Rosemary is the perpetrator of the attempted assassination, I don’t really understand the motivation part.”

I’d understand if she targeted the Crown Prince or someone like that as the assassination target. The question becomes why she went after Princess Marlene, who was far down the succession line. But Prince Albert seemed to suspect Rosemary as the culprit.

“That’s because in Termwills’ royal succession, the first prince doesn’t necessarily take priority. The fundamental requirement is the king’s role… one must have sufficient Magical Power to perform the Nation Protecting Ceremony and the appropriate magical aptitude for it. Then they consider birth order, character, popularity, and so on.”

The prince paused and sighed.

“Those with great Magical Power are the Crown Prince, the Second Princess, and the Third Princess. Those with magical aptitude particularly suited for the Nation Protecting Ceremony are me—and the Second and Third Princesses. Even accounting for that, the Crown Prince would normally succeed to the throne.”

“So Rosemary had motivation to target Princess Marlene.”

“That’s right. With each generation, those with aptitude for the Nation Protecting Ceremony are decreasing. That’s why they bring in queens from close family lines, take particularly talented apprentices from the Moon Temple as concubines… they’re struggling in various ways.”

Based on what I just heard—if we’re only talking about aptitude, the closest to the throne would be Rosemary and Princess Marlene, I suppose. In reality, they probably also examine whether one can maintain governance as a ruler and consider character aspects.

I didn’t think the Crown Prince lacked ability, and his reputation wasn’t bad either. If things proceeded normally, it should be secure.

So Rosemary was advocating ability-firstism, trying to make it the basis for royal succession.

As for qualities as a king and character—if enough people praised you, black could become white. If she increased her supporters, even the king couldn’t ignore it. She was probably trying to reach a point where it wouldn’t be unnatural for the king to be influenced by ability-firstism and make Rosemary his successor. That’s why she was so eager in the Power Struggle to expand her faction.

However, following that logic—Princess Marlene might be more talented than Rosemary.

This leads to the understanding that Rosemary, who always advocated ability-firstism, saw Princess Marlene as her rival. Because according to her own rationale, Princess Marlene would be more suitable as queen.

“Rosemary always said that if the most excellent person becomes king, the decline in aptitude would stop. Marlene lost her voice after drinking poison… but I thought maybe that was helping her. Since you can’t perform the Nation Protecting Ceremony without chanting. There’s a possibility she might recover in the future, so publicly declaring she would enter the Temple would provide further reassurance.”

“…I see.”

“So we’re waiting for the Magical Inquisition for details? Either way, I have to thank Theo-kun. Rosemary was particularly harsh toward the other princes and princesses, so they didn’t get along well.”

That must have been quite tough for Prince Albert and Princess Marlene. Since the other side was a large faction, the two of them had weak foundations.

As for Princess Marlene disguised as Marian, she seemed to have offered prayers to several Magic Stones and was now breathing quietly in her sleep at a sunny desk.

Even during the BFO incident, I heard rumors about Rosemary trying to wield power in the royal palace. And that’s precisely why Prince Albert was doing various things to protect himself. I suppose we could say one future concern has been eliminated.

Well, I’m just glad that Father, Prince Albert, and Princess Marlene are all safe this time.

What remains—is settling accounts with the Marquis’s family.

Father seemed quite angry about that, so my condolences to them.

After all, the Marquis family’s lifeline is the shortest Route through the Count’s territory. So what happens when you anger the lord of that territory? Well, it’s clear nothing good will come of it. I wonder what will happen to that Marquis.