Chapter 3
Chapter 3.
“…….”
Enoch buried his face in the towel the butler offered him. Conrad was mistaken.
Even if his family was on the verge of collapse, he was the head of the Marquisate and a victorious general of this war.
Did the master not know what the retainer knew?
“Ben. What I ordered last time.”
“It is ready, master.”
The butler respectfully presented a bundle of documents.
〈Agatha Nobilis〉
Conrad’s eyes widened as if they would pop out upon seeing the title of the document.
“What! You knew all along and stayed silent until now? How could you! You knew I was struggling with financial problems…!”
“Please calm down, Lord Conrad.”
While the butler was calming the frantic Conrad.
Enoch, with the towel draped around his neck, was examining the report that had been brought up. In truth, he knew about Agatha Nobilis to some extent.
She was a woman who had already been in two political marriages even before he lost his parents and was driven to the battlefield.
‘She was thirteen then, wasn’t she?’
Since she was three years older than him, she would be only about twenty-three now. At the victory ball, he had just heard the news that she had recently divorced for the sixth time.
The butler, who succeeded in calming Conrad down, added a remark.
“I heard that after she became an adult, she secured independence regarding marriage from His Majesty. Since then, she has married three times, and all have ended in divorce, including the most recent.”
“That’s amazing. Truly a Nobilis. Even with inheritance rights, it wouldn’t be easy to divorce so readily. Isn’t this proof that Lady Nobilis holds immense power?”
Conrad marveled. Although direct female descendants could not inherit titles in noble families, they possessed inheritance rights.
In Agatha’s case, as she was the only remaining direct descendant, all the wealth was hers.
With a history and lineage second only to the Imperial Family, and immense wealth to boot.
Her power was bound to be extraordinary. She was even god-daughter to the Emperor and childhood friends with the Crown Prince.
“Assassination or kidnapping attempts?”
“Frequent. As she is the sole direct descendant. After divorcing, she seems to seek protection for her public activities while in seclusion, but most venerable families seem reluctant. It’s a matter of honor, as they are paid for protection…”
“Is the next successor a foreigner?”
“Yes. That is why His Majesty the Emperor is said to be paying great attention to Lady Nobilis’s succession.”
If all direct descendants were to die, the succession would pass to collateral relatives. If a female direct descendant were alive, the succession would pass to her children.
Here, the reactions of the relatives diverged.
Some wished to pledge loyalty to the next successor rather than an uncertain heir, while some distant collateral relatives attempted forced marriages.
They knew that only the head of the family possessed the right to mobilize the knights and maintain family discipline, thus Agatha could not act easily, and they acted accordingly.
This is why assassination and kidnapping attempts were bound to occur frequently.
Enoch, who had stripped his relatives of their privileges and expelled them all outside the capital immediately upon returning, let out a wry smile.
“Let’s go to the office first.”
He went up to his office and sat at his desk, continuing to examine the documents.
While the butler prepared tea, Conrad, standing before the desk, swallowed hard.
‘What conclusion will my lord reach?’
Ever since he heard the news, Enoch had been well aware of the danger of this matter.
Intrigue involving astronomical wealth.
Within this, Nobilis’s military strength was not something to be expected.
When Agatha became the sole heir at the age of ten, the Nobilis Knights were disbanded, and even after she came of age, she was not the head of the family, so she could not order the mobilization of the knights.
All they had was an army that could not enter the castle.
Even that lacked a commander, so it was questionable what its state would be after 18 years.
“My lord…”
“...?”
Enoch gazed at the document Conrad had placed down with teary eyes.
〈Family Financial Situation Report〉
“……”
It was a matter that made him instinctively touch his temples.
‘Right. Nothing has ever been easy from the start.’
From the time he was forced onto the battlefield at the age of ten under the pretext of his younger sister’s forced marriage, nothing in his life had been easy.
Sweet rewards always came with a price.
And he harbored no prejudice against contracting protection with money.
When had honor ever fed him?
“Alright.”
“Hooray! Finally, finally, can we escape the financial pressure!”
While Conrad jumped around like a madman, Butler Ben skillfully placed the brewed tea before the head of the family.
“I will sound out Lady Nobilis’s side.”
“Yes. Please take care of it.”
A few days later.
Rumors circulated in high society that Marquis Aratus had shown a positive response to Lady Nobilis’s proposal.
Unlike the Aratus family, who struggled even with social activities due to poverty, Agatha, who had established a faction in society, could hear the rumors immediately at her residence.
“……Lady Iris. I am so happy to hear such good news…”
Agatha, who sent a letter of joy to Iris Domunia, who delivered the news, quickly prepared for her visit to the palace.
Although they had confirmed their intentions, nothing was yet certain.
Before any contract, investigating her martial prowess and the nature of her family were essential procedures.
In that sense, how precious was the existence of the Crown Prince, who could send invitations to all nobles naturally without needing an introduction.
Even if his character was terrible, his status was reliable.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Agatha entered the Imperial Palace under the escort of the security detail.
Upon arriving at the Crown Prince’s palace, she was greeted not by the Crown Prince, but by his head steward.
“Welcome, my lady.”
“Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“He is still in his chambers.”
As expected, her dissolute childhood friend was still rolling around in bed even at midday. The head steward of the Crown Prince’s palace naturally opened the bedroom.
“Wake up!”
Agatha, who barged straight in, kicked the Crown Prince’s body, whose face was the only part that looked decent. Fumbling, a pale body groped the bed.
“Mmm, who…? Agatha?”
“Get up! I need your help, Your Highness.”
“……”
It was not the attitude of someone asking for help, but neither the Crown Prince, Agatha, nor even the steward seemed to care.
“I told you not to come in when I’m sleeping. Do you have to wake me up even when I’m trying to sleep?”
“Then stay awake. You spend half the day in bed and half outside; if you don’t wake up, when am I supposed to state my business? I’ll wait in the garden, so wash up and come out.”
“……Ah, really.”
Grumbling, the Crown Prince, Antony Roxiva, slowly got out of bed.
His bare, muscular body was magnificent, but Agatha was now too accustomed to it to feel any particular emotion.
Agatha immediately gave an order to the steward.
“Wash His Highness and escort him to the garden. He will also dine there, so prepare accordingly.”
“Yes, my lady.”
She heard a mumbled remark, “You might as well be the Crown Prince,” but naturally, no one paid attention.
About twenty minutes after Agatha began her tea time alone in the garden?
The Crown Prince, with wet hair and dressed haphazardly, sauntered over and sat opposite the table. His eyes were still hazy, but he seemed somewhat awake.
“What is it today?”
“Don’t you feel like holding a hunt?”
“Why again. Who should I invite? Ah, you mentioned you sent a proposal to Marquis Aratus for protection, didn’t you? Did he respond positively?”
“Yes. I want to see his skills. Please mediate, Your Highness.”
“The price?”
There was no such thing as a freebie for Antony Roxiva, who was the son of the Emperor’s godson and goddaughter, or more closely, a sixth cousin and childhood friend who shared their pain.
“The horse I’ve had my eye on before.”
“Deal! Send out the invitation immediately, Lady Agatha.”
Antony, suddenly becoming solemn, ordered for stationery to be brought. The letter, written on the spot and bearing the Crown Prince’s seal, was immediately dispatched to the Marquis Aratus’s residence.
It had been about a week since Agatha had hinted at her intentions.
The Crown Prince’s luncheon was soon laid out on the table. Agatha, who was snatching sweet desserts, frowned at the sudden attack.
“How many times are you planning to get married? Are you trying to set a new record in imperial marriage history?”
“What did I do? Look around you, including His Highness. Is there a proper husband candidate?”
“So you divorced because Madam Neuta and Grand Madam couldn’t stand you?”
“That also has to do with the man who neglected his duties.”
He was a man who worked impeccably but was indecisive about his own family affairs.
That was Theodore Neuta, her sixth ex-husband. Antony tapped the report on Enoch Aratus that had been brought up and said.
“So. Is this man your seventh husband candidate?”
“I don’t know. For now, I need protection urgently. Ah, when I return today, there will surely be an attack. Please lend me some guards, Your Highness.”
