Chapter 54
54. The Way to Breach the Iron Wall2022.03.06.
“But what was in it?”
Reina sniffled as she asked in return.
“……Pardon?”
She was still nestled in his arms. Arthur ducked his head, stifling a laugh at her stuffy, nasal voice. Then, from above her head, he murmured softly.
“……It said I’m picky about sardines.”
“…….”
Reina’s ear tips flushed red as she clamped her mouth shut. Arthur gazed down at her, fingers interlaced behind her waist, and pulled her even closer as if urging her on.
“Does it embarrass you when I ask?”
“…….”
Reina buried her face downward, avoiding his gaze. At that, Arthur slipped an arm behind her knees, scooped her up, and sat down on the bed.
“…….”
Reina ended up sitting sideways on his lap. Their eyes met. Arthur lifted one corner of his mouth as he looked at her.
“Tristan apparently took it to the knights, thinking it was some kind of code, and just got called an idiot before coming back.”
“…….”
Reina looked at Arthur awkwardly. His grinning face was handsome beyond belief, like something out of a fairy tale.
“Don’t take it too much to heart when Tristan does that. It’s his job to scrutinize even the things I say are fine, to check if they really are.”
“…….”
Why had the Marchioness warned her to be careful of interrogations? No matter how she thought about it, she should have been worried about the honey trap instead. With a strangely melancholic yet unrealistically exhilarated feeling, Reina stared at him. Arthur continued with a smile.
“Well, he’s just doing his job diligently. It’s regrettable that it ends up making you uncomfortable.”
Reina couldn’t help but smile faintly and sniffled again. Of course it was…… Rather, isn’t it weird that you’re acting like it’s fine, comforting me even though you knew? Reina bit her lip and muttered softly.
“……I’d do the same…….”
Then, ashamed, she bowed her head, her face turning red.
“I’d probably say why you’re being nice to a woman like that…… That you shouldn’t keep someone so ungrateful close.”
Arthur laughed.
“…….”
Reina kept her head down but glanced up shyly to meet his eyes. Arthur pulled a note from his pocket as if he’d just remembered, saying “Ah,” and handed it to her. Reina took it in a daze.
“…….”
Arthur said.
“I was planning to send it next week? Send it whenever you like, as scheduled. We’ll pretend we don’t know.”
“…….”
Arthur continued.
“But the last note must have said I’m picky about mushrooms, huh. I thought you’d written about meeting Crown Prince Kyle…….”
“…….”
Reina stared at him blankly. Arthur arched one eyebrow with a grin and went on.
“Shouldn’t you have told me about that first? Ah, or did you write both? ……Yeah, that must be it. You had to report my ‘weaknesses,’ right?”
“…….”
Reina’s mind went blank. Knowing about it…… meant knowing it this precisely? She gaped at him, and Arthur let out a short chuckle. He shifted his posture, pulling her closer into a more comfortable position.
“But is it okay to send that kind of thing to the Marchioness? I doubt she was expecting reports like that. Didn’t she get mad, thinking you were playing a prank?”
“…….”
Reina’s lips twitched. But in her fluster, no words came out. Arthur rubbed his chin with a smiling face and said.
“Ah. But the only thing I avoid is mushrooms. Sardines aren’t particularly good or bad. I had them removed at meals because you said you didn’t like fish.”
“Ah…….”
Reina felt like a complete idiot. Arthur’s words continued as usual.
“Well, it doesn’t matter if you send it as is. But if you do, are we going to be getting sardine dishes for a while?”
“…….”
Seeing Reina’s utterly dumbfounded face, with her mind completely scattered, Arthur smiled brazenly and interlaced his fingers behind her waist again.
“If that happens, I’ll eat the sardines for you. You already ate the mushrooms for me.”
“…….”
Reina stared at him in a daze.
“……How do you know everything like that?”
Arthur paused at her words, then smiled with an oddly inscrutable expression. He looked at her steadily and tossed out casually.
“……Is that what’s important right now?”
Reina’s eyes widened round. She’d heard those words before. He even knew that? Arthur was looking at her, smiling.
“Well, anyway.”
Arthur smoothly changed the subject.
“Keep sending reports however you want. There’s no need to let the Marquis and Marchioness know we’re aware of everything. That would just put you in a tough spot, right?”
“…….”
Arthur gently brushed her hair back over her shoulder, tidying it.
“We’ll pretend we don’t know. Get everything you can out of the Marquis and Marchioness.”
“…….”
“Of course, including what I give you.”
Then Arthur placed two pouches of gold coins right on the folds of her skirt.
“It’s all yours.”
“…….”
Arthur continued brightly.
“If you don’t have anything good to report, just ask. I’ll pick something suitable. You can do whatever you like, but a report about me being picky with sardines…… I don’t think the Marquis and Marchioness would appreciate that.”
Reina gazed at him blankly. Hiding anything from him anymore felt utterly pointless.
“……They said they liked it.”
Reina bowed her head and murmured in a small voice.
“……I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.”
Arthur blinked in confusion.
“……What?”
Reina let out a timid sigh, closing and opening her eyes softly. Then she sneaked another glance at him.
“……They must be satisfied with that much. Fortunately…….”
It felt like a huge wall inside her had suddenly vanished into thin air. Arthur stared at her, speechless in bewilderment, before turning his head and bursting into laughter.
“…….”
For the first time, Reina blankly took in the result of breaking the taboo she’d committed. After spilling everything she’d feared so much, seeing him burst into laughter felt strangely off.
* * * As Kay stepped out of the mansion’s main building, he looked up toward the bridal chamber where Arthur was staying.
“…….”
At first, he hadn’t paid much attention, thinking it would be a brief matter. But assigning a maid from the Marquis’s household to that woman had been careless. The doctor too…… Since her presence was actually helping negotiations with Marquis Julius, and the timeline was stretching longer than expected, it seemed necessary to manage it. 【 ― Sir Arthur is picky about sardines too. 】
“…….”
Kay ran a hand through his hair. With the likelihood of drawing that woman to their side increasing…… It looked like they’d need to find a separate maid or attendant to assign to her. But even if they found a maid, the issue was under what pretext to bring her into the mansion. The knights could be quietly slipped in under the excuse that they were direct subordinates of Sir Arthur, who hadn’t been fully demobilized, so not under the Marchioness’s purview. But managing ‘maids’ was the inherent authority of the lady of the house and the head maid in any mansion. For Arthur, there was no good pretext to bring in their own exclusive maid without her permission, as it would feel like overstepping. It could even give the impression of clashing with the family’s true heads. That could become a political burden for Arthur. They had to avoid anything that made him seem arrogant. A son-in-law overreaching against the family head and lady could overlap with the image of a bastard overreaching against the Crown Prince and Empress. That would undoubtedly give Empress Maria a pretext for scrutiny. Arthur needed to show he was simply fulfilling his duty.
“…….”
Perhaps look into a suitable female knight or camp nurse who could pass as part of the ‘army.’ But Sir Arthur’s direct command had never included women, so the pretext wasn’t great. A son-in-law fresh from war suddenly adding a female attendant absent from the battlefield would raise suspicions instead.
“…….”
Kay sighed and turned, his footsteps heading toward the guest annex of Julius Mansion, where Lord Rembrandt stayed. It was also where his older brother, Francis Ford, was lodging. * * *
“Hm. You want to bring in a maid who only takes orders from Sir Arthur within the mansion?”
Kay said.
“It’s not something Your Excellency mentioned; it’s just my own idea.”
As Kay spoke, Francis rubbed his chin. Having stripped out sensitive secrets like the sham marriage, Kay deliberately leaked that Arthur was going through heir authority adjustments with the Marquis’s family amid some tension. By not overemphasizing unrealistic harmony but naturally implying realistic friction and strain, he signaled that Arthur was properly proceeding with power-sharing as co-ruler of House Julius. It was also an indirect gesture of trust, showing the imperial side was on their side, and that they were faithfully handling the marriage the imperial family had arranged. Francis would likely guess Kay’s intent in dropping the info on purpose, so it would be shared with Lord Rembrandt too. Framing it as Arthur targeting Julius, not the Crown Prince or Empress.
“…….”
Though the Empress’s scrutiny was subtle, they were still allies against Julius for now. Francis crossed his legs and propped his chin.
“It’s not a bad idea…… But to bring a maid into the mansion, Lady Christina’s approval alone won’t cut it. You’ll definitely need the Marchioness’s permission.”
“…….”
Kay fell silent. Lady Christina’s approval. Did they think we could naturally secure that? Well, Arthur probably assumed his relationship with Lady Christina was fine. Rumors were spreading through the mansion that Sir Arthur was so smitten with Lady Christina that he wouldn’t let her out of the bedroom…… Francis continued.
“If you don’t get the Marchioness’s formal consent, she’ll take offense. That would just give them unnecessary ammunition.”
Kay leaned back against the sofa and let out a light sigh.
“Yes. We anticipated that.”
