5 (The Duchess of Uentas’ Perspective)
A few days after leaving Frontier Lord Lohengrin’s castle,
after passing through the border with a forged ID and entering a small fortress beyond, the envoy party bowed their heads as one when Ayano entered.
Ayano let out a relieved sigh as she removed her overcoat, asking,
“How was everything, Minister? Were you all doing well while I was away?”
“We managed somehow…Oh my, Your Grace. It seems your chest has become even flatter in the short time since we last met?”
“I’m wearing a chest binder!”
Ayano puffed out her cheeks in feigned anger, but in reality her bust was only slightly – no, moderately below average size.
However, having just come from Frontier Lord Lohengrin’s castle, it was understandable she’d feel somewhat inadequate in comparison.
After all, the average bust size of the women there, Ayano excluded, could easily surpass even the legendary Queen Succubus.
Catching a retainer stifling laughter in the back with “Ah, the humble chest of the Great Plains…pfft…!”, Ayano shot him a stern glare that snapped him back to attention.
Right, there was no time to waste on such trivialities.
“Minister, apprise me of the current situation in our nation.”
“After the Uentas Principality agreed to the ceasefire and withdrew its forces, nothing has changed significantly since Your Grace unilaterally infiltrated Frontier Lord Lohengrin’s territory…However, calls among the nobility to attack his lands by force are only growing more insistent.”
“That’s unavoidable, I suppose. But once the captured commanders return after the signing ceremony, public opinion among the nobles should shift dramatically.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because the captured noble commanders will effectively become useless.”
Ayano heaved a heavy sigh.
“Queen Toko’s schemes are truly ruthless – one could even call them admirable.”
“Wha- You don’t mean..! Surely not something like c-cutting off the ‘seeds’ of every captured noble?!”
“Of course not…though in a sense, you could say that’s correct. Their masculine ‘seeds’ will essentially be crushed.”
“I beg your pardon?!”
“It’s simple. They’ll be forced to witness daily training between Frontier Lord Lohengrin, the Killing Goddess – that Killing Goddess – and the frontier lord’s sister.”
“…Huh?”
The Foreign Minister’s face was blank with incomprehension.
His role demanded maintaining an inscrutable poker face regarding internal affairs,
but the fact he was so transparently bewildered in Ayano’s company spoke volumes about their longstanding relationship and the privacy of this audience.
“You mean to say Frontier Lord Lohengrin will reveal his true abilities…? If so, that would certainly be a valuable opportunity…”
“It’s not some trifling display like that, absolutely not.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re implying…”
And Ayano could hardly blame him.
Even she likely wouldn’t have grasped it without personally witnessing slivers of those hellish training sessions between duties.
Having seen it, however, made the reality excruciatingly clear.
“You’ll understand once you see it. Or rather, they’ll bludgeon that understanding into you… Bludgeon you with the realization of just how immensely you’ve provoked someone you should never have dreamed of provoking…”
“I see…?”
“They defeated hundreds of thousands of enhanced ogres, but that pales in comparison to their current strength – an overwhelming degree of training bordering on outright violence! Draw too close and the mere sword pressure could bifurcate you! A destructive power that could pulverize castle walls erupts from even the most minute strikes!”
“…………”
“The ludicrous gap in offensive and defensive ability…I’d wager over a hundred million times stronger than our own military forces, at the absolute minimum! To have that disparity drilled into your very soul, day after endless day – it would instinctively compel complete and utter surrender.”
“Even so…a million times is too much…?”
“Then how about ten thousand times? Or perhaps a hundred thousand times? Though really, we can’t measure how strong they are. It’s like an ant crawling on the ground trying to measure the strength of a dragon soaring through the sky. So it may not be a million times, but the gap could be even greater.”
“…This is quite a troublesome matter…”
“Indeed it is.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
The foreign minister listening to the Grand Duchess Ayano was not concerned about Margrave Lohengrin’s remarkable strength.
Rather, it was an issue that came before that.
If the defeated lord or the next lord returned and insisted on not attacking Lohengrin’s territory, there would surely be trouble.
This is because the people left in the country do not understand that tremendous strength.
“We must avoid rebellion or civil war…”
“Yes, indeed.”
Although giving an agreeing response, Ayano thought it would likely be difficult.
“…In any case, it was good that we infiltrated Lohengrin’s territory. Really. If we had neglected gathering information, our country would have been in grave danger.”
Ayano continued,
“Over the next few years, the map of the continent will change drastically.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Any country that picks a fight with Margrave Lohengrin will disappear.”
“…Goodness…”
Having observed closely, it was clear to Ayano –
we must never antagonize that man, no matter what.
Conversely, as long as we don’t antagonize him first, he is kind and harmless.
After all, his nature is that of a commoner.
He would never declare war unless provoked, even if Queen Toko incited it. So for example –
“The soldiers deployed along the border with Lohengrin’s territory should all withdraw.”
“That is…quite bold…”
“But it’s rational. He would never wage war even if we were stark naked. And if war did break out, having a million soldiers would be futile. If it makes no difference whether they are there or not, it’s just a waste.”
“My, my…Is there no weakness to the overwhelmingly strong Margrave Lohengrin and his companions?”
Rather than just sighing, the foreign minister raised a natural question.
Ayano gave a slight nod.
“There is a weakness.”
“And what is that…?”
“Margrave Lohengrin is single. That is where my aim lies.”
“Hm?”
The foreign minister pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands.
“Ah, so you mean that you, my lord, will marry Margrave Lohengrin?”
“No no no!? I’m just saying that even if we can’t defeat him, if we can get him to go somewhere else, it won’t be a problem for the Principality of Uentas!”
“I see, when you put it that way, it makes sense. How about making Margrave Lohengrin your consort, my lord? Or better yet, ceding him the position of Grand Duchess? Margrave Lohengrin is a commoner, so he’d be popular, and he’s invincibly strong in war.”
“There’s no way I’d marry him!”
“Why not?”
“You may not know this, minister, but Margrave Lohengrin has a harem of extremely beautiful girls like Queen Toko, the Killing Goddess, and his sister Suzuha, who are just as pretty as elves with goddess-level figures vying to be his brides!”
“I see. So you’re self-conscious about your own figure.”
“That’s not it!”
“Rest assured. In that country, royalty cannot marry commoners. Even if he is now a margrave, since he was born a commoner, there would be great opposition. Besides, he cannot marry his sister.”
“Normally that would be true, but…!”
Both Toko and Suzuha seem capable of enacting some outrageous stratagem, which is honestly terrifying.
In any case…
“However, from what you say, my lord, it seems there is no choice but to enter into a marital relationship with Lohengrin…?”
“Please don’t say that…!”
Ayano has a certain pride as a capable politician.
And when calmly surveying the situation, she can understand that may be the only path.
“Or does my lord simply dislike Margrave Lohengrin?”
“No…rather, I find him quite admirable as a person. Unlike many arrogant nobles, he is not conceited, diligent and capable at his work, and even an amazing cook…”
“Then there should be no issue. Let’s feel him out at the ceasefire agreement signing ceremony before someone else snatches him up.”
“…I suppose so…”
Ayano will switch out with a body double at this fortress and head to the ceasefire agreement signing ceremony as the Grand Duchess.
At that time, as the foreign minister tries to feel Margrave Lohengrin out beside her, what expression should she make?
Leaving aside Toko, how will Suzuha and Yuzuriha look at her?
Just thinking about it made Ayano feel heavy already.
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