Chapter 46: An Etude of the Pharmacists

The discussion came to an end when it was decided that the siblings would serve Liselotte.

After that, Lute then informed Heinrich about the treatment of the siblings and that they would be disposed of according to the situation, and ordered his men to set up a rotation of surveillance.

In addition to these instructions, Lute’s day was unusually busy, as he had a meeting with a high-ranking military official who had come to visit at Liselotte’s request.

And now. Lute, who is washing away the stress caused by his long absence from work with a drink, is visited by an unusual person.

“… I didn’t expect you to come at this hour.”

“My husband usually visits me, so I thought I’d try something different for today.”

Lute let out a small sigh in response to Liselotte, the rare visitor who smiled in the light of the lamp.

“It’s not a very admirable thing for a lady to visit a man’s room late at night, even if it’s with her fiancé.”

“Oh, since we’ve already had many nighttime meetings, isn’t it too late for such rumors?”

“…Well, I don’t mind. Come on in.”

“Excuse me”

With no reason to turn her away, Lute maturely invites Liselotte into the room.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any fancy tea leaves on hand. I can only offer water or wine.”

“Then water, please.”

“Okay. Do you need ice?”

“I appreciate the sentiment, It cools the body down. ……”

“I see. Here.”

And so, after the drinks were prepared, Lute sat down facing Liselotte.

“So, what’s your purpose for visiting me? You say you’ve changed your style, but what’s the purpose of your visit anyway?”

“Oh, you’re unusually straightforward tonight. Usually, you would entertain me with stylish stories at first.”

“Of course, that’s because I’m the one visiting your room. I don’t deny the opinion that it’s not too late to be out of your room, but that doesn’t mean you should stay in someone else’s room at this time of night. Staying up late will cause problems tomorrow, won’t it?”

“… I feel like I’m being treated like a little child, but I’m willing to accept that it’s just the way a gentleman acts.”

While sighing wistfully, Liselotte honestly began to talk about the main subject.

“Well then, let me ask you a question. Husband, are you sure you’re okay with the impromptu act you performed during the day?”

“Impromptu act. That’s a very apt description.”

“Isn’t it true? I was really surprised, you know? I was in the middle of a political task when suddenly an icy text appeared on the wall. For a moment I thought it was an attack.”

“… Oh. So the opening remarks were a little bit dumb.”

“Please allow me to return the favor.”

Liselotte’s voice became slightly sullen, and as expected, Lute also showed an awkward expression.

To tell the truth, I had wondered about it. It is true that the demi-god’s high energy swallows even the battlefield, but that is only when it is unleashed without any adjustment. The fact that the pressure was applied only to the sister and brother during the daytime, there was no way that it would interfere with the work in the mansion.

Lute thought it was a suitable excuse to intervene, so Lute agreed, but to be honest, he didn’t think it would be such an unspoken protest.

“You’ll have to forgive me about that. That’s the only way I can remotely get the message across.”

“It’s not that simple. I thought it was convenient enough to be able to communicate in parallel and at a distance, ignoring even obstructions. I just wish you had said something beforehand.”

She must have been surprised. Liselotte still protested.

“I’m sorry. At that time, I suddenly wanted to hear your opinion.”

“I could tell from the text. ‘Come here for a moment. I want you to listen to our conversation and do what you think is right. I’ll adjust the conversation as I see fit’. It was easy to see that I was in for quite a challenge”

And that prediction was correct, if anything, it exceeded Liselotte’s expectations.

“Another world. It was hard to believe at first glance, but let’s leave that aside for the moment. Why did you call me there?”

“That’s why I called you there.”

“Yes. You, my husband, kindly and politely explained the danger through the door so that I could make a decision easily.”

“Oh.  I had to give a sarcastic sermon thanks to them. In that sense, I feel bad for those two.”

“That should be treated as a lesson. It’s all about personal growth.”

Liselotte shrugged her shoulders and acknowledged the validity of Lute, who looked at her bitterly as if she had done something out of character.

Although she was the one who insisted on sparing the lives of the siblings out of regret for the knowledge of another world, it was only natural that Liselotte was deeply troubled by the carelessness of both of them.

“Anyway. As a result, I was able to fully understand the concerns about the knowledge of another world. So, I don’t think it’s a mistake for Danna-sama to want to silence them before it spreads. If safety is your priority, then it would be best to keep their mouth shut.”

Why then was she summoned? That’s what  Liselotte didn’t understand.

Lute’s stance had not changed from what she had eavesdropped on and from their conversation the day before. His declaration that he would dispose of them depending on the decision was definitely a serious one.

Then there should be no need to call Liselotte. Secrets are definitely better when fewer people know about them.

“There are two reasons. First, the existence of another world is simply not that important. I was going to decide what to do with them right then and there. I decided that the most important thing, the contents of their minds, should not be spread around.”

“If you don’t accept it, it doesn’t matter, because you will take care of it. If you want to accept them, you mean I should know?”

“That’s what it is. Well, even without that, there are currently two people with knowledge from another world. It’s possible that they would spring up again, so even if you don’t know the details of the knowledge, it doesn’t matter if you know the existence itself. It doesn’t change that existence itself is the most important secret.”

There is a clear difference in response between the known and the unknown. If that is the case, it is better to tell those in the position of lords that such people exist.

Of course, this depends on the person you are talking to. If they knew that there were people with knowledge from other worlds and as a result, were likely to go off on strange rampages, Lute was not going to tell them.

However, he decided that Liselotte would not go out of control like that, so he got her involved.

“… then should I tell His Majesty?”

“I would think that an emperor under heaven would know of its existence. We also have a living witness to history in the form of Axia-sama. It would not be surprising if she had  it somewhere in her possession from the past to the present, just because we don’t know about it.”

“… I can’t deny that.”

Liselotte is also a member of the royal family, but of course she doesn’t know everything about the empire.

So it is quite possible that the “what ifs” that Lute mentioned are also classified and Liselotte just doesn’t know about them.

And the existence of the continent’s two great powers, the emperor of the empire and the god of fire, Axia, is so formidable that there is no denying it.

“Well, that’s it. Now that the siblings are in your custody, I’ll leave it to you. Just make sure that the contents of Rick’s head don’t leak out.”

“That’s the most difficult problem… but I’ll do my best.”

“Oh. If it seems impossible, I will negotiate directly with them. So, make sure you let them know.”

“Understood.”

At Lute’s words, Liselotte nodded back with a solemn expression.

For Lute, there is only one thing that matters: preventing unnecessary disasters caused by knowledge of another world.

He is willing to do the hard work and take on the dirty jobs to prevent future hell from breaking loose. If he deems it necessary, he will kill good people and bad people, old people and babies, no matter who they are.

But on the contrary, he has no intention to be basically concerned with anything else. Since the siblings are now in Liselotte’s custody, Lute has no intention of doing anything that would go beyond that territory.

That’s why he’ll leave the troublesome negotiations to Liselotte, and if that doesn’t seem possible, he’ll take action himself.

“Now, let’s get back to the point. The second reason I called you here is that the siblings were failing on one side and just barely passing on the other..”

“Do you mean whether or not that was in your good graces?”

“Yeah. Failing first. Simple about this. It’s the little thoughtless part of those brothers and sisters.”

Acting recklessly without imagining the repercussions of one’s actions. In response, Lute spoke, quite naturally, yet without mercy.

“That point alone made my evaluation of those guys fall to the ground. I was inclined to cut them off, or even get rid of them.”

“… From the tone of your voice, I thought that was the case, but then again, there was no reason to call me, was there?”

“That’s a simple reason. There are two kinds of idiots. There are redeemable idiots and irredeemable idiots. Fortunately, that sister and brother were redeemable idiots.”

“Oh……”

Lute shrugged and said that was just about the best he could do.

“As you can see Liselotte, being an irredeemable idiot is really bad. They are humanoid entities who really believe that the world revolves around them. And at the root of such people is a misplaced belief that they are special.”

Lute secretly suspected that the same was true for that sister and brother, especially for Rick.

In fact, Rick is special. With his knowledge of other worlds growing, it’s not too much to believe he’s the hero of a story.

“But that particularity is fragile, because there are so many special people in the world. The reality is that there are many more special people with more direct power than those with knowledge of other worlds.”

Lute is the most special one. And Liselotte was also one of those special people as long as she was a duke of the empire.

“The irredeemable idiots don’t understand that. They seriously believe that they’re gods or something, so they won’t listen to anything you say, and if you carelessly damage that belief, they go mad.”

“It’s obvious, but the siblings weren’t like that.”

“Yeah. Humans reveal their true nature when exposed to fear and despair. That’s why I kept threatening them…”

──Natra immediately became the shield of her beloved family and protested against Lute.

──Rick’s mouth became heavy with fear, but at the very end he showed the spirit to protect his sister, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.

He was not thoughtful, but he was not corrupt with such a nature. Lute judged that to be the case.

“At least sticking a nail in it will have an effect. That’s why I called you up. I don’t need them, but you do.”

After understanding all the dangers, if Liselotte said that she would manage it in her own name, he thought it would be fine to give her a chance at least once.

If, on the other hand, we both agreed that it was dangerous, then we would take care of it without hesitation.

“And that’s how it turned out. The impromptu play moved into its final chapter. I kept nailing it as the villain, and Liselotte was on the side of justice, stealing all the popularity, and the farce was complete…”

“I think the performers are too gorgeous for a farce. ……

He is one of only three demi-gods in the world. She is a former princess and current duke of the Empire, one of the two largest on the continent. A mysterious boy with knowledge of another world.

Liselotte is right when she says that it is too luxurious. The only mediocre one is Natra.

“It’s a good thing in a play that the performers are gorgeous, because it makes it more spectacular.”

“In proportion to that, though, the transition part of the ‘turn’ in the beginning and end of the story is going to be more intense…..In fact, I’m worried that if something goes wrong – no. That’s gibberish. That’s part of the reason I decided to bring in that sister and brother.”

Words of anxiety that probably leaked from her immature mind. Liselotte immediately shook her head to dismiss them, but──

“If it’s a result of taking all possible measures, then that time will come. You said it in the daytime. People make mistakes and fix them.”

Surprisingly, Lute did not deny the misstatement, but took it in stride.

“…is that okay?”

“That’s what it means to take all possible precautions. Either way, we can’t put our regrets ahead of ourselves. All we can do now is to do our best to avoid regrets.”

“──That’s the truth.”

“It’s important to look ahead, but you can’t neglect what’s right in front of you. You are one of the leading actors in the second act, the next scene after the lunchtime farce.”

Then Lute smiles.  Like an audience member. Like a director in charge of a stage.

“Don’t let your performance scare away the frightened siblings. I’ve already threatened them enough. You’ve got to get them just right before they get nervous or scared and break down or go off the rails.”

“… I understand. This Liselotte will show off a performance that matches my husband’s expectation.”

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