Chapter 19: Before the Wedding ⑱ ~The Princesses Inside the Cell~

After recovering from the shock that had come from an entirely unexpected direction, Viscount Earclut faced Edel again.

“Alright, then let me confirm this properly.
You are the husband of the Margrave of Lodnight and a friend of Count Faberti, which makes you an extremely troublesome… rare individual, is that correct?”

The viscount quickly corrected the slip of what sounded suspiciously like his true feelings, but to be fair, Edel was at least somewhat aware that he was, in fact, troublesome.

That said, the truly extraordinary ones were his wife and his friend, not Edel himself.

Raffaello was genuinely a friend he got along with well, but from an outsider’s perspective, the reaction tended to be, “You’re friends with that eccentric?”
Apparently Raffaello had his own set of standards that were difficult for others to grasp.
From Edel’s point of view, having a brilliant but odd friend whose name scared off mediocre nobles was incredibly helpful.

As for Aria, well, she was the Empress.
That alone explained everything to anyone who heard it.

“Well, yes, that’s about right.”

“I did not know that the Margrave had married.
Did you tell Count Faberti about this?”

“Raffaello?
No, I didn’t.
I planned to tell him the next time we met in person.
I was going to tell him this time, actually, but we haven’t met yet.”

To be honest, Edel had even hesitated over whether he should say anything at all, since he had no idea when he might be divorced.
But now that they were holding a wedding ceremony, he figured it was better to say it himself than let it reach Raffaello through rumors.

At Edel’s answer, the viscount nodded thoughtfully.

“It seems the two of them are probably meeting over at the manor now.
…For some reason, I cannot imagine those two getting along.”

“Ah, yeah.
I can see that.”

Knowing both Aria and Raffaello, neither the viscount nor Edel could picture the two of them chatting pleasantly.
What came to mind instead were smiles hiding schemes on both sides.

“They are not openly hostile, but one is the frontier and the other is the center.”

“They used to be two separate countries, after all.”

It was common knowledge even to Edel.
The Lodnight Kingdom and the Twilight Kingdom had once been separate nations before being unified into the empire, and the grudges passed down from that era still remained.
Now, Lodnight had become the frontier faction, while the Twilight side centered in Escala formed the central faction.
On the surface things were calm, but beneath it all, territory-grabbing continued in the form of controlling which nobles ruled which lands.

“Our house was originally aligned with the central faction, though.
Depending on how this goes, we might switch to the frontier side.”

Baron Holo was a central noble.
Despite that, he had kidnapped Viscount Earclut, also from the center, and involved his disinherited son.
There was no way he could have done that on his own authority, which meant a powerful figure was backing him.
And without knowing it, he had also kidnapped the husband of the frontier’s ruler.
That alone had prompted the Empress herself to appear, which meant the power behind Baron Holo could not be from the frontier.
It was almost certainly someone from the central faction.

“Well, why not come over to our side?
I think Aria would happily welcome you.”

Since they had finally gotten to know each other, it would be difficult for the husband of a margrave to casually visit a central viscount’s home.
If the viscount came to the frontier instead, however, he would be more than welcome.

“I’m only sneaking around right now, so it’s fine, but once my identity’s exposed, I won’t be able to visit so easily anymore.”

“Now that your identity is out, I would prefer it if you brought proper guards next time.
In that case, rebuilding that manor might be just right.”

Unaware that his wife and the margrave had already reached an agreement, the viscount began planning to rebuild the secret-passage-filled manor while he was at it.

“I fled here because I grew tired of the power struggles in the center, but the central nobles seem to think anyone outside their circle is a servant.
They really believe anything they do will be forgiven.
That is not how it works, of course.
You agree, do you not, Edel?”

The viscount’s eyes were not smiling.

Why was it that so many people around Edel had smiles that were terrifying?
At this point, it almost felt like the central nobles had a special talent for provoking exactly the people they should never anger.

As a result, it seemed likely that man-made disasters would strike them long before any natural ones.

“Well, we are all citizens of the Ielshahar Empire.
According to the words of the great first Emperor, everyone is equal, so I do not see any reason for central nobles to look down on others.”

The first Emperor who unified the two nations had declared that all people were one and all were citizens of the empire, whether in the capital or the frontier, each fulfilling their role.
He had never said that central nobles were superior.
Each region simply had its own responsibilities.

“I’m not well-versed in all that, but what exactly are the Escala nobles doing right now?”

“They are in the middle of a power struggle.
The First Prince with the consort, the Second Prince with the Empress, and various nobles attaching themselves to either side.
Personally, I think the First Prince is more fit to be Emperor.
If you want a puppet, the Second Prince is the better choice.”

Being told so bluntly that the Second Prince could be used as a puppet made Edel unexpectedly curious.

“Edel, if you ever have occasion to go to Escala, be careful around nobles on the Second Prince’s side.
If they learn you are the margrave’s husband, they will use any means necessary to obtain you.
They would use you as leverage to make unreasonable demands of the margrave.”

“I’m not sure that would work.
I don’t think Aria would be threatened by something like that.
I’m more like… wait, what am I?
A contract spouse?
A convenient marriage partner?”

Even as a husband, that was about the extent of it, so Edel doubted he would make effective leverage against Aria.

“I cannot imagine the Empress marrying for such reasons, but only the couple knows the truth.
Either way, if you go to Escala, be careful.”

“Understood.
I’ll really be careful.”

Having been warned so clearly, Edel made a mental note that the Second Prince’s faction was dangerous.

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Is it really okay to talk about things that sound this confidential in front of me?”

Jessica, whose presence was faint, asked timidly.
She was just a fledgling musician and would much rather be left out of noble politics.

“Once you have been involved like this, it may happen again.
Musicians, especially, are often tied to factions through their patrons.
You should learn about these matters, or you might anger someone just by choosing the wrong piece to play.”

Playing a song praising the frontier margrave before the Emperor, for example, could end far worse than mere scolding.
Edel knew this well from years of performing in many places.
He even knew colleagues who had spent nights in jail for playing the wrong foreign songs at the wrong time.

“Yikes.
Noble politics are scary.”

“They really are.
Even if a song is beautiful, if it does not suit the setting, you can end up in a cell.
Some nobles laugh it off, though, and that tells you a lot about their character.”

Aria did not care at all, and Raffaello openly declared that art transcended people and nations, praising any piece he liked.

“Then all we can do is buy a bit of time.”

“Buy time?”

“We are not fighters, so our best option is to chat with Baron Holo.
Fortunately, he does not seem intent on harming us.”

“We are merchandise, after all.
At least our bodies are guaranteed safe for now.”

“We will have to be careful not to push too far, but let us do what we can.”

“I hope we can hold out until Aria and Raffaello arrive.”

“As prisoners, all we can do is wait for our princes to rescue us.”

The three princesses in captivity, the handsome middle-aged viscount, the easygoing husband of the margrave, and the cross-dressing musician, agreed to stall for time until the princes, the frontier’s Empress and Escala’s eccentric noble, arrived.