A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 40

※The Clue※

Fermos nodded and began to speak.

[Fermos] "Yes, just as I said..."

[Liene] "No, before that, I must ask. What happened to your face?"

As Fermos stepped closer to answer, Liene was startled.

One side of his face was mottled with a deep, dark bruise. When he had dragged Lyndon by the scruff of his neck out of the study, his face had been perfectly fine.

[Liene] "Did someone hit you? Who did this?"

[Fermos] "Ah, this is..."

Fermos stole a glance at Black.

[Fermos] "I am actually grateful it ended with just this."

It was impossible not to realize that Black was the culprit.

Surprised, Liene grabbed Black's arm.

[Liene] "Did you hit him? Why?"

Black glared at Fermos, but it was already too late.

While Black hesitated to answer, Fermos quickly interjected.

[Fermos] "I deserved it. I failed to stop that man in time. Because of that, a bruise was left on the Princess' wrist, so it is entirely my fault."

[Black] "……"

Liene frowned and looked up at Black.

[Liene] "That doesn't mean you should hit him. That is... well... certainly not something to be praised."

There must have been a reason for Fermos’ delay to save her, and Liene had already guessed what it was.

He likely hadn't wanted to be caught entering the study without permission. And he probably intended to eavesdrop on what she was discussing with Lyndon.

Thinking back on it, it was a dizzying moment.

She didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if she had shown signs of cooperating with the Kleinfelter family instead of being threatened by them.

[Black] "It was not my intention to strike him."

Black spoke in his usual emotionless voice.

However, there was a subtle hint of embarrassment in his tone.

[Liene] "Then what?"

[Black] "......"

His silence contained the excuse that he had only come to his senses after his fist had already flown.

Fermos, watching Black’s rare display of awkwardness with his mouth agape in fascination, stepped in to smooth things over.

[Fermos] "I’ll say it again, it was my fault. I am very grateful he stopped at this. Of course, the men who had to hold him back suffered quite a bit too... Ah, not that I’m complaining."

[Liene] "Whew..."

Liene sighed and shook her head.

[Liene] "I cannot judge the military discipline of the Tiwakan, so I will leave it at that. However, Sir Fermos' entering the King’s study without permission is unacceptable. I will mete out an appropriate punishment later."

[Fermos] "Ah, yes. I will wait humbly for it."

[Liene] "What were you doing in there?"

[Fermos] "That is, well... I needed to look something up in the royal archives. While handling the tasks my Lord assigned me, there were things about Nauk I needed to know. It felt inappropriate to ask the Princess about every single detail."

It wasn't an unreasonable excuse.

The only thing of value in the study was the Royal Seal. While Lyndon might covet it, it wasn't something Fermos would desire.

[Liene] "I will accept that explanation. Next time, I hope you ask for permission in advance. What became of Lyndon?"

Fermos, who had been wearing a face full of guilty conscience, sighed in relief as the topic changed.

[Fermos] "I threw him in a cell with the illegitimate child. Since the noble lord was so full of energy, the prison was quite noisy for a long time."

[Liene] "That isn't hard to imagine. He isn't the type to accept things quietly... What about the other Kleinfelter?"

[Fermos] "He is quiet so far. I probed to see if he knew about the evidence the older one was blabbering about, but he seemed oblivious."

[Liene] "I see."

[Fermos] "It is just my opinion, but I don't think the evidence exists. I suspect it was fake bait to lure the Princess."

[Liene] "I think so too. If such evidence truly existed, they wouldn't have sat on it quietly until now."

[Fermos] "Correct. If they had something like that, they would have used it long ago. They could have even claimed the engagement was void."

[Liene] "That is correct."

Even from this brief conversation, Liene was quite surprised.

She had guessed Fermos was clever, but he seemed to be far beyond that.

He had only been in Nauk for a short time, yet he seemed to have already pierced through Lyndon’s nature.

[Fermos] "However, he seemed to have a reliable safety net. He kept babbling about the Risebuty Treaty—are you aware of it?"

[Liene] "Yes. Regrettably."

[Fermos] "Regrettably? That doesn't sound good."

[Liene] "It is a peace treaty signed with the Grand Council Elders and advisors of Nauk during the late King's reign. Most of the rights the Kleinfelters enjoy now stem from that treaty."

[Fermos] "A peace treaty... Was there a civil war?"

[Liene] "As far as I know, yes. The drought lasted too long, and the King was the only one to bear the responsibility."

Fermos clicked his tongue.

[Fermos] "This isn't just 'not good'."

To Liene, the peace treaty signed in the distant past, which she couldn't even remember, was 'peace' in name only; in reality, it was a humiliation for the royal family.

Due to the continuous drought, the late King suffered from financial difficulties and attempted to tax the nobles.

The nobles, rallying around the Kleinfelter family, revolted and pushed the kingdom to the brink of treason. The late King, unable to hold out, had to sign a treaty that acted as a gag on the royal family.

[Fermos] "He was rambling that according to the treaty, to punish the Chairman of the Grand Council, a unanimous verdict from the Council Trial is required. Is that also true?"

[Liene] "Regrettably, yes. That is also true."

[Fermos] "Then the only options are to stomp every noble in the Grand Council to death or to nullify the treaty itself."

[Liene] "No noble would agree to abolish the treaty."

[Fermos] "Ah, then would killing them be better?"

Thinking it was an absurd suggestion and thus a joke, Liene calmly shook her head.

[Liene] "Then Nauk would be cut in half."

[Fermos] "Surely the numbers aren't that... Ah, right. Nauk is a place with strong familial ties. We'd have to consider the loyalty of the servants working in noble households. And those servants would have families and relatives."

[Liene] "Exactly."

Fermos let out a heavy groan, as if he hadn't been joking at all.

[Fermos] "I forgot that politics was such a complicated matter. War is preferable."

As Fermos grumbled on, Black spat out a single word.

[Black] "Enough."

[Fermos] "...Oh, yes."

Fermos immediately changed his attitude as if nothing had happened.

[Fermos] "A Council Trial is useless. We must find a way to alter the treaty."

That was something Liene had thought about for a long time. However, she simply lacked the power to do so.

[Liene] "If there is one exception, it is the Temple."

[Fermos] "The Temple?"

[Liene] "Yes. The Temple has the power to overturn the verdict of any trial. Since they deliver the word of God."

[Fermos] "Aha."

[Liene] "But the problem is that the Risebury Treaty granted the Council Chairman the authority to appoint the next Cardinal. Since then, the Cardinal has always been Kleinfelter's man."

[Fermos] "Ah."

Fermos' monocle glinted.

[Fermos] "Isn't the position of Cardinal currently vacant? Has the next Cardinal been decided?"

[Liene] "Not yet."

A faint shadow cast over her calm eyes.

[Liene] "They likely delayed the appointment on purpose. Lyndon intended to postpone the wedding."

[Fermos] "Hmm... Then surely, was the Cardinal killed for that reason too?"

[Liene] "Probably."

[Fermos] "Ha! The King is right here, yet the Chairman has been diligently acting the tyrant."

[Liene] "……"

Liene twisted her lips as if swallowing something bitter.

The treaty signed by the late King was a giant parasite eating away at the royal family.

It was rapidly and indiscriminately gnawing at this small kingdom.

Even while seeing it clearly every day, Liene had been unable to do anything.

All of it was proof of her weakness. It felt shameful and painful to have it all laid bare in front of Black.

[Black] "Then delay the trial and solve that first."

Black intervened again.

[Black] "Find the culprit and reveal that the Chairman ordered it. Unless the priests are idiots, they’ll figure out which side ensures their survival."

Fermos made a pained noise.

[Fermos] "Urgh... That is more difficult than you might think. The investigation hasn't made much progress. The priests and acolytes all wear the same clothes, and their daily schedules are messy... Anyway, I need more time."

[Black] "How much?"

When Black slightly raised the end of his sentence, Fermos flinched, pulling his shoulders back and darting his eyes around.

[Fermos] "That is... well, not exactly..."

[Black] "Well?"

[Fermos] "I don't kno— No, no, my Lord. I will find him somehow. In fact, there was exactly one clue, but the method to confirm it was a bit awkward, so I was putting it off. If the Princess permits it, I will use it right now."

[Liene] "What is it?"

Liene asked before Fermos had even finished speaking.

She wasn't aware of it, but her voice was thick with excitement.

[Black] "Princess!"

Black called out to Liene.

[Liene] "Yes?"

When she turned to look at him, he grabbed her wrist and lifted it.

[Black] "If you do this, you will hurt yourself again."

[Liene] "......?"

Liene had been clenching her fist tightly without realizing it.

Black placed her clenched fist on his palm and used his other hand to unfurl her fingers one by one.

[Black] "I do not wish for any marks to appear on the Princess' body that were not made by me."

[Liene] "......."

Fermos’ jaw dropped silently.

Liene was also slightly surprised.

[Liene] "Are you going to hurt me?"

There were many kinds of marks lovers could leave on each other, and what Black meant was not a literal injury, but a metaphor for intimate acts.

However, looking at her expression, it was all too obvious she wasn't thinking in that direction at all.

Liene didn't understand the words that even Fermos, who had zero interest in human affection, understood immediately.

[Black] "Do you not know what I am saying?"

[Liene] "I think so. Common sense suggests it’s a joke, but your expression doesn't look like someone joking in the slightest."

[Black] "...... I let my guard down again."

Black let out a short sigh.

[Black] "I didn't mean I would create painful wounds. You do not need to misunderstand."

[Liene] "I know you wouldn't. And I know you care for me deeply. I don't misunderstand."

[Black] "……"

Fermos couldn't bear to watch the expression Black would make upon hearing those words, so he turned his head away.

[Liene] "Then please tell me what I need to permit."

Fermos nodded vigorously, trying hard not to look at Black.

[Fermos] "The clue I found is bloodstains. Judging by the amount of blood dropped, the wound cannot be small."

[Liene] "Blood?"

[Fermos] "Yes. However, when I examined the Cardinal’s corpse, there were no wounds that would bleed."

[Liene] "Then..."

[Fermos] "It seems to be the culprit's blood. The culprit must have an injury. And circumstantially, the culprit must be someone affiliated with the Temple."

[Liene] "That makes sense."

[Fermos] "So, if you permit, I intend to strip off the priestly robes. Anyone with an unhealed wound on their body is likely the culprit. For now, that is the only clue we have."

[Liene] "So you have to strip them and check them one by one. That won't be easy."

[Fermos] "Exactly. I doubt those stiff-necked fellows will obediently take off their clothes."

Black tossed out a comment.

[Black] "Then make them take them off."

[Fermos] "That... Of course. Whether by force or threat, stripping them is simple enough... But it is the Temple. If I act unilaterally, things could get ugly, so I wanted to ask the Princess in advance. Do you permit it?"

[Liene] "It's not just any matter; it's about finding the criminal who killed the Cardinal. Even if it is uncomfortable, it must be done. Then... Ah, perhaps?"

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.

Blood seeping from beneath thick priestly robes. A child of God who remained still even when beaten, offering a prayer of repentance.

It was the servant, Klima.

[Liene] "Yesterday, there was a servant who was bleeding."

[Fermos] "What?"

Fermos' face lit up.

Honestly, stripping priests wasn't exactly an appealing task. There was no way he wouldn't be pleased to hear he might not have to do it.

[Fermos] "Who is it?"

Prev

Chapters

Next