Chapter 194 – Grand Duke Devonis

…I imagine Rosemary’s ideal is likely the strengthening of royal authority and centralization.

The fact that she left goodwill with Growfonica to her younger brother while forming her own faction suggests she doesn’t want the maternal relatives to gain power. Following Prince Josiah and Princess Stephania’s methods clearly indicates she wants to diminish the influence of the Grand Duke and Duke families on the royal house.

This also appears in her meritocratic aspects—according to Rosemary’s thinking, she would prioritize marriages with excellent magicians, clerics, and shrine maidens “for the future of the Labyrinth and the royal house” over those two families. With the actual examples of Albert and Marlene already existing, Rosemary recognizes those two’s abilities.

King Melvin and the First Queen seem to be steering things in a direction where they don’t take sides with either family to prevent conflict between them. After saving face for the Grand Duke family through marriage with the First Queen, both the Second and Third Queens appear to have been chosen to have no connection with either family.

Keeping such background in mind while looking at the current situation from above…

“…Were they unable to investigate Marlene’s attempted assassination deeply because they were wary of maternal relatives?”

“Rather than wariness, I’d say it’s about maintaining relationships. It would be quite problematic if poking the bush too much made a snake appear. After the demon attack, reconstruction was the top priority, and we needed cooperation from both the Grand Duke and Duke families for that. If we had pursued a thorough investigation and found connections to either family, worsening relations would have been unavoidable.”

As a result, placing a person from the Grand Duke family in Roy’s vacant position suggests Roy had no connection with the Grand Duke family and it was his solo act… but Roy probably understood the circumstances and acted accordingly.

That said, it’s been bothering King Melvin too… The reason he recently supported my investigation is probably because the situation is different from back then.

This is what Rosemary meant when she said King Melvin can move more easily now.

The scars from the King of Deathly Slumber’s attack have been largely restored, the Knight Order has been rebuilt with personnel and equipment being refreshed, and the royal house can take a much stronger stance against both families.

I myself have no ties with either family either.

“Grand Duke Debonnis should be coming to the Royal Castle today… Well, I thought it would be better to let you know. Grand Duke Debonnis is no fool, so I don’t think there will be any problems though.”

I see. So King Melvin’s visitor was Grand Duke Debonnis.

Since the Grand Duke’s second son is King Melvin’s cousin—that would mean the Grand Duke’s aunt married King Melvin? The family tree must be quite complicated.

After finishing my conversation with Rosemary, I headed toward the King’s Tower to request another audience with King Melvin when I saw an elderly man approaching from the opposite direction with his attendants.

Noticing me, he quietly spoke.

“Hmm. That hair and eye color. You must be the rumored Otherworld Ambassador. I am Debonnis Bartwhistle.”

“You must be Grand Duke Debonnis. As you wisely observed, I am indeed Theodore Gartner, the Otherworld Ambassador.”

“…Yes. I’ve heard of your achievements. Keep working hard.”

Debonnis continued on his way without stopping.

…Somehow, I had braced myself expecting something more. I also got the impression he was being careful not to get too involved with me. And that expression where he narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled at the end… it looked like that of a tired person, somewhat lonely even.

“—Theodore-kun?”

While I was watching the hallway where Grand Duke Debonnis had disappeared, Crown Prince Josiah called out to me from behind.

“Your Highness Josiah.”

“You didn’t happen to see Grand Duke Debonnis around here, did you? Did he say anything to you?”

“We exchanged a few words of greeting, but…”

I wondered if I should mention my impression, but Prince Josiah looked at me as if urging me to continue.

“He seemed somewhat tired.”

“I see…”

Prince Josiah also made a bitter face at my response.

“I asked for some time after my conversation with Father. We talked about the conflict with the Duke family and the matter with Roy… I got a bit emotional, you see.”

Did he say something excessive?

It’s probably true that the conflict between the Grand Duke and Duke families was in the background of Marlene’s attempted assassination. It’s also true that Roy took advantage of that.

From Grand Duke Debonnis’s perspective, he probably had complaints about King Melvin, the First Queen, Prince Josiah, and Princess Stephania for not providing much favor.

But Roy was different. The fact that a person from the Grand Duke family was placed in Roy’s vacant position also means Roy had somewhat closed the distance with the Grand Duke.

So the idea that Grand Duke Debonnis’s words and actions influenced Roy’s way of thinking… isn’t entirely unthinkable.

And Prince Josiah probably criticized him for that. From Prince Josiah’s perspective, Roy was originally his close younger brother… so he would want to voice at least one complaint to Grand Duke Debonnis.

Though someone of the Grand Duke’s stature probably doesn’t have such naive thinking… judging by how he kept his distance from me, Prince Josiah’s words might have actually hit quite hard.

“…If you regret it, wouldn’t it be good to say a word to him?”

“—You’re right. I’ll do that.”

Prince Josiah gave a wry smile at my words and quickly walked down the hallway.

“Ah. Sorry to keep you waiting, Theodore.”

As I waited in the salon, King Melvin appeared.

“Yes.”

Tea was promptly served.

“I visited the North Tower earlier.”

The matters with Grand Duke Debonnis and Prince Josiah didn’t seem like something I should meddle in.

I proceeded with my own story. First, I told King Melvin what I had discussed with Rosemary. Since it involved Silvatoria, it would likely be relevant to our discussion from here on.

“I see… The founders of Barrier Magic—those who built the Spirit Hall and Moonlight Temple having connections with Silvatoria… That’s not an impossible story.”

“Has anything been discovered about those magicians from the other day?”

“Apparently those individuals are retainers of Marquis Zilbolt of Silvatoria. They insist they’re former retainers, but we believe it’s something arranged formally as a countermeasure against Magical Inquisition.”

Actually, if it’s formally arranged, it wouldn’t be a lie, and they could make excuses. Considering they’ve set up preventive measures, it’s highly likely they would feign ignorance even if we protested.

But Marquis Zilbolt, huh. I’m not very familiar with Silvatoria’s nobility, so I don’t know what kind of person he is…

“He belongs to that Crown Prince’s faction… but I haven’t heard good rumors about him. Precisely because of that, I can’t say it connects all the way to the Crown Prince.”

So the question is whether it’s Marquis Zilbolt’s independent decision or the Crown Prince’s intention. They probably couldn’t determine that even by interrogating those two.

Hearing the individuals’ opinions probably wouldn’t be meaningful anyway. More fundamentally, we still don’t clearly see the reason for sending operatives to our side.

“Regarding confirmation of the magicians’ identities and our protest. We should definitely proceed with this. I’ll prepare a personal letter so it doesn’t reach the Crown Prince’s ears. We also need warnings about the Beriondora incident.”

“Indeed… There’s a possibility the Crown Prince might interfere if we use ordinary envoys.”

“Yes. Next, regarding Randolph and Slugthrow’s tail.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll confiscate the wealth Randolph accumulated through improper means. This will be used to compensate the victims. After some verification experiments, Slugthrow’s tail will also be disposed of. That should cover it.”

Well… that seems reasonable. I don’t know how much Randolph had accumulated though.

“…So, let’s end the stressful talk here. I’m also a bit tired today. There’s still various confusion regarding southern governance.”

So that was Grand Duke Debonnis’s business. Although the Duoveris Cult’s power has diminished, the south still seems to have its share of troubles.

“Shall we change the topic then?”

“That would be good. I heard from Albert that you all are doing some quite interesting things.”

“Are you referring to opening a shop in the Eastern District?”

“Yes, that’s it. I was thinking of ordering some of the things you’ll be selling there for the castle as well.”

Billiards and darts. And cards too probably? The shaved ice machine and carbonated drinks as well?

He might have heard about the entertainment room matters from Albert. Indeed, placing them in the castle would make for good advertising.

“The King’s Tower and Knight’s Tower. And also the Guesthouse. Do you think it’s possible?”

“Understood. I’ll arrange to deliver them as soon as possible.”

“Yes. I’m counting on you.”

With that, King Melvin showed a smile that reminded me of Albert’s.