Kays Translations

Chapter 123: Announcement of Engagement

On the third day of the Great Council at the royal palace, which involved reporting and setting policies, it was the final day today.

Returning from there in the evening, exhausted expressions adorned the faces of both Viscount Selfers Klaufeldt and Viscount Dafyyd Jansen, the heads of the Klaufeldt and Jansen families, respectively, as they slumped in the living room on the floor where the Klaufeldt family was staying on the third floor of the inn.

“Ugh, I’m beat. These three days of mostly listening every year are truly hell…”

“Well, yeah… Since all the lords gather, it can’t be helped, and it’s not like there’s an urgent issue piled up, so it’s a welcome event.”

Even though some parts of the kingdom’s territory were lost in the previous war, the kingdom’s land was still extensive. The Klaufeldt family, a minor noble family, governed multiple municipalities at the village level within what would be equivalent to “prefectures” governed by Count Bisseling, a close relative of the Klaufeldt family, and there were nearly 30 such territories. Among them, there were about 3 to 5 minor noble families like the Klaufeldt family who governed territories at the municipal level, making a total of about 150 noble families with land holdings. Furthermore, when including court nobles who held positions of importance in the country without holding territory, the number exceeded 200. As a meeting where such nobles gathered, minor nobles like them had to spend every year simply listening.

“But well, this year was somewhat better. Since the topic of the attack by those monsters was brought up and discussed frequently. Moreover, both our soldiers and the soldiers from Selfers’ side who repelled them were praised for their strength and bravery.”

Dafyyd leaned back on the sofa, his hands clasped behind his head, and spoke.

“Yeah, you’re right. Besides, we sheltered Isamu, the wanderer, so there was talk about that too. It seems like we’ve been quite exposed.”

As they sipped warm tea, Selfers also agreed.

“Speaking of Isamu, that’s a whole other story. What did you guys do in town? Rumors about the knights of Sel being both righteous and exceptional have even reached the royal palace.”

“Huh? The royal palace? But why? It was just a commotion at a stall, and we happened to be nearby to help put out the fire. Why would that concern the royal palace?”

Isamu was surprised by the unexpected words from Dafyyd.

“Didn’t I tell you that there’s an announcement of a noble family’s eldest son’s marriage tomorrow? The permission for that will be granted on the last day of the council meeting. Well, there was an objection raised about Isamu and Anne’s engagement during that.”

“What? There was an objection!?”

Isamu was astonished, thinking it would be approved without a hitch. Anne-Marie sitting beside him looked uneasy.

“Yeah, but the engagement was approved in the end.”

“That’s a relief… If it didn’t, Anne and I might have had to seek asylum through Sylvio’s connections.”

Isamu and Anne-Marie breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing it was approved.

“Don’t say something so scary. Anyway, the reason for the objection was something like ‘He’s a newcomer here, so there’s no guarantee of his thoughts or character being good, isn’t he dangerous?’ Well, what they’re saying isn’t entirely wrong, but given how short the assessment periods for marriages with nobles or royals from other countries often are, the reason isn’t all that disagreeable.”

Such cases are often judged based on past similar incidents, so indeed it seemed far-fetched.

“And, surprisingly, those who defended against the objection were Marquis Innocenti, Count Bisseling, and even Duke Chartreuse. Oh, and of course, Dafyyd defended as well.”

“Eh? Duke Chartreuse? That’s unexpected… It would make much more sense if Duke Chartreuse were the one who raised the objection.”

“Haha, that’s true. We’re not sure why he supported it, but the content of his defense was about the rumors in the town that Dafyyd just mentioned. ‘The prowess and kind heart of the magic knights who swiftly extinguished the fire in the city, preventing it from turning into a major disaster, are assets to the kingdom and pose no threat. The judgment of Viscount klauffeldt is sound.'”

“That’s…unexpected.”

Isamu made a complicated expression at the unexpected praise. While it was better than being conspired against, being praised felt eerie.

“Well, to begin with, we found out later that the objection was almost entirely staged, but Duke Chartreuse wasn’t involved in that plot.”

“Eh? Staged? What do you mean?”

Isamu became confused again with the additional information.

“The one who raised the objection this time was His Excellency Zvar Zabadak, the Margrave. He’s guarding the northeastern border of the kingdom. He gets along well with Marquis Innocenti because they’re both border counts. Count Bisseling and a few other lords conspired with him to improve your reputation.” 

According to Selfas’ explanation, Count Bisserink and Margrave Innocenti, who liked Isamu, wanted to improve Isamu’s image as much as possible since he was trying to do something important after the engagement.

Whether it’s Margrave Innocenti or Count Bisserink, they all know that Isamu is capable.

Both parties want to maintain a friendly relationship if possible, but they don’t want their relationship to collapse if something happens, so they are probably trying to take measures in advance.

Margrave Zabadak and the others heard about it from the two and decided to join in. The other nobles who were involved in the scheme are said to be pragmatic types. They thought that if someone was useful, regardless of their background, they should be supported. They started moving to get Isamu on their side.

“I see… Both of them didn’t ask me to join their faction, so it’s a relief to have them on my side. But…I still don’t understand Duke Chartreuse’s intentions. He’s in favor of the royal family, right?”

“Unlike Count Bisseling’s group, he may value status and lineage more. But, it might be more than that. Maybe he just thought if you could be useful, they should use you. Anyway, now that the engagement has been approved, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Having been through some ups and downs, Isamu and Anne-Marie’s engagement was finally approved, and they looked forward to the announcement day.

(Ugh, this is so out of place…)

That was what Isamu muttered to himself inwardly. They were on the terrace facing the courtyard of the royal palace, where noble eldest children and their partners were gathered for the marriage announcement ceremony. This was where rewards and elevations were bestowed, along with the announcement of noble eldest children marriages and engagements.

On this day, the first gate of the royal palace was open, and the courtyard was filled with the capital’s residents. Isamu had been worried about letting people into the royal palace, but he was told that from the first gate to the second gate, there was only the inner moat and a space used as a square and guard post, so the real royal palace was beyond the second gate, which made him feel relieved.

The reason why Isamu was muttering to himself was that the enthusiasm of the noble boys around him was terrifyingly different from his own.

This year, there were ten couples of marriage or engagement, of which seven were marriages of the eldest sons of the lords, and only three were marriages of their eldest daughters.

The attire of these eldest sons was extraordinarily flashy.

I don’t know what kind of clothes they were wearing, but they had huge ornamental collars, sleeves, capes with fur, belts with dazzling gold decorations, and shoes with shining ornaments.

Isamu thought it was natural for noblewomen to dress up, but for men at a wedding, who are considered accessories, the excessively flashy outfits were shocking to him.

On the other hand, those who were engaged to the eldest daughters of the lords were all dressed in formal attire. They were the perfect accompaniment to the bride.

The other two besides Isamu were apparently knights, and they wore the knights’ formal attire splendidly.

And Isamu, guided by the advice of the lord and lady, attended in the uniform of the Klauffeldt Knights. Since he had recently been appointed as a magic advisor, the emblem representing that shone on his right shoulder, and a small embroidery of Orihime’s “Nyafu mark” was on his left chest.

The Nyafu mark was, of course, an original for Isamu.

Thanks to wearing the same knight’s uniform as the other two, Isamu felt relieved that he could somehow fit in this place. When he looked again at Anne-Marie standing next to him, she noticed and smiled.

Anne-Marie was always beautiful, but today she was breathtakingly so.

The bright blue mermaid-line dress, which was simple but detailed, suited Anne-Marie’s well-proportioned figure very well.

It seemed to be a design not yet seen in this world of Ethersia, but Isamu had ordered it, believing that Anne-Marie would look absolutely stunning in a mermaid-line dress.

While the other young ladies were all wearing princess-line dresses, Anne-Marie’s dignified beauty stood out even more, and her light blue hair, shining in the sunlight and fluttering on her back like waves, made her look like a goddess.

Isamu was grateful to his in-laws who had recommended the knight’s uniform to him, as it spared Anne-Marie from any unpleasantness.

While Isamu was pondering these things, the time for him and his companions’ names to be called approached.

Since this was a presentation ceremony, their brief titles and names were announced in front of everyone.

“Lastly, from the Klauffeldt Viscount’s family, the eldest daughter, Anne-Marie Klauffeldt, and the family’s knight and magic advisor, also the president of the Orihime Trading Company, Isamu Matsumoto.”

“”Yes.””

It was perhaps the priest of the capital. They resembled Chief Priest Benedict, an acquaintance, in their priestly robes, but their name was called by a man dressed in even more luxurious attire, prompting them to step forward.

“May the blessing of the goddess be upon both of you.”

“Thank you.”

The priest gave the customary blessing, and cheers erupted from the audience.

Most of the cheers were directed towards Anne-Marie, who looked especially stunning in an unfamiliar design of dress.

“Knights really are popular after all!” – such envious voices were also included among the cheers.

And the other cheers weren’t directed towards Isamu either.

They were directed towards Orihime, who perched on Isamu’s shoulder, standing proudly as if boasting about her master.

As Isamu smiled at the popularity of Anne and Orihime, the priest, who was supposed to have finished the introduction, spoke again.

“In addition, due to the remarkable achievements of both parties and the KlauffelDt family knights in recent times, allow me to introduce them here.”

The audience began to stir at this unprecedented flow.

Isamu and the others were perplexed, as they had heard nothing about this.

“First, the Klauffeldt Viscount’s territory was attacked by a horde of over 500 monsters the other day. There were even ogres and mage ogres among them. However, these were repelled by the knights and soldiers of the same family, including Lord Matsumoto. Lord Matsumoto even slew a mage ogre with his skilled magic! Furthermore, the eldest daughter of the family, Miss Anne-Marie, not only stood on the front lines alongside Lord Matsumoto but also bravely used her own magic to annihilate many enemies!”

“””Woahhhh!”””

“Amazing, to slay a mage ogre…”

“Wow, Anne-Marie-sama!! Not only beautiful but also strong, how wonderful!!!”

The audience erupted in excitement at the priest’s words.

It was very itchy on their backs, but since it wasn’t a lie, Isamu and the others couldn’t refute it.

“Furthermore! Just the other day, there was a commotion at the festival stalls here in the capital. Well, luckily it ended with just a commotion. And the ones who resolved this commotion were none other than Lord Matsumoto and Miss Anne-Marie, as well as the magic knights of the same family!!

Some of you may have witnessed it, but thanks to Lord Matsumoto’s swift and precise instructions and the powerful water magic of Miss Anne-Marie and the magic knights, they managed to extinguish the fire more quickly than the guards could arrive!! According to the chief of the guards who inspected the scene, without their efforts, it would surely have become a large fire. They are truly the saviors of the capital!!!”

“I saw it! Dozens of water balls were floating around, and even though it was a fire, I was so amazed by how beautiful it was!”

“I saw it too! Lord Matsumoto’s magic quickly covered the area in thick fog, preventing the fire from spreading, and then they put out the fire!”

As it was an event on a busy street, there were many eyewitnesses, and the audience was greatly excited.

“To the brave and righteous duo, and to all the members of the Klauffeldt family knights, I offer my heartfelt blessings!!”

“Wooohooo!!!”

With the priest’s concluding words, the audience’s excitement reached its peak.

Isamu and Anne-Marie could do nothing but wave their hands with forced smiles.

It’s unclear who wrote the script for this, but thanks to this presentation, the names of Isamu and Anne-Marie, along with the name of the Klauffeldt family knights, began to spread subtly.

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