Unless Chernosser was crazy, there was no way he could have added life-threatening poison to the champagne.
So, I handed it over to the daughter of the Marquis de Lanchot with peace of mind.
As expected, what Chernosser had added to the champagne was a laxative.
That too, is an overdose of laxatives.
The antidiarrheal medication Chernosser was taking over the prescribed dose caused various side effects, one of which was temporary erectile dysfunction.
As soon as I found out, I spread the rumor that Perdes had consumed champagne and that was causing his health problems.
This is so that the Emperor can prevent Perdes from urging him to have a child or doing useless things.
For the time being, but where is it?
It was important to gain time.
The rumor became true because many people saw Perdes drinking champagne.
The problem was that people who heard the rumor that Perdes had become a temporary eunuch took pity on him and kept bringing him good food and health supplements, such as eel.
Even though he said he didn't need it, they couldn't just sit still and keep bringing it.
“...I’m going crazy.”
Perdes clicked his tongue as he looked at the piled up gifts as usual today.
“Everyone says you don’t need it, but why do they keep bringing it?”
“That’s how much they like Perdes.”
“There is no need for feelings like this.”
Perdes looked at the snake wine in the long glass bottle and said in disgust.
“There’s no use eating something like this.”
“Do you want to write?”
“...I shouldn’t say anything.”
I was just asking out of curiosity, but the response was strange.
I shrugged my shoulders and stood up.
“If you’re ready, shall we go now?”
"Yes."
Today was the day to go out to inspect the estate. The plan was to carefully check and correct any problems within the territory before the weather got any hotter.
It was impossible to tour the entire territory in one day, so we planned to divide it into the east, west, south, and north and visit one area every two days.
Once this was over, it was the investiture ceremony for new knights.
At that time, I decided to take an oath of loyalty from Lord Aldor.
Just thinking about that reminded me of the cruel things of my second life, my head throbbed, and I sighed deeply.
"Head hurts?"
Perdes asked worriedly as I held my head.
“Should I bring some medicine?”
"No."
I refused because it wasn't something that could be solved by taking medicine.
As I left the mansion, the horse manager came with a horse.
Since we couldn't see the estate properly if we rode a carriage, we decided to ride a horse.
Since Perdes gradually took off his foolish mask, no one looked at him strangely when he rode a horse.
Some people look at him with wonder, thinking, "He really isn't that stupid."
First, Perdes mounted his horse and looked up at the clear sky.
“It’s sweltering in the capital by now, but it’s not that hot here.”
I also answered as I got on the horse.
“Because it’s the northern part of the continent. There are places among the high mountains where the snow hasn’t melted yet.”
“That’s why it’s so strange. I thought it would be really hot because there’s a volcano right behind it, but it’s not.”
“Let’s call it the Red Dragon’s Blessing.”
“Is it okay to call this a blessing?”
I went forward first, leaving Perdes muttering to himself.
“Let’s go together!”
Perdes followed immediately.
The sound of the horse's hooves hitting the ground echoed refreshingly through the wind.
The place we will see today is to the east of the territory, which was the residential area of territory residents.
If there was a problem with the place you lived, it was the place you worried about the most, no matter how normal everything else was.
We walked around every nook and cranny to thoroughly check places we could not enter on horseback, and if we found a problem, we returned to the mansion and discussed with the managers what to do.
“Make the wall a little stronger...”
“What Perdes said also makes sense, but then the budget...”
Perdes also attended the meeting.
Even the officials who had been the flagship at first now took it for granted that Perdes would participate as he presented some good opinions.
If he doesn't attend a meeting, people will look for him and ask where he went today, so that says it all.
In this way, Perdes gradually sheds his idiot image.
***
Perdes was both happy and unhappy with the idea of taking off his foolish mask.
First of all, the good thing was that he didn't have to laugh like an idiot even when he was in a bad mood.
He really liked being able to clearly express that he didn't like something.
Besides that, it was nice to play dumb and make sure people didn't ignore him.
What I don’t like is...
“This is it.”
Perdes sighed deeply as he looked at the pile of documents he was holding.
Adele initially gave it to Perdes to try, but when he did well, she passed it on to him.
There were so many things that happened like that. He couldn't count them.
He was afraid that if he continued like this, he would end up taking on all the affairs of the dukedom and the estate.
“We need to talk about this.”
It was when Perdes was thinking seriously and heading to the main building.
He saw Aldor walking from the other side.
“...”
As soon as Perdes spotted him, he reflexively stopped.
Although it had been over a month since they worked together, Perdes was still uncomfortable with Aldor.
“...”
Aldor also stopped when he saw him.
Aldor was wearing the uniform.
By the way, today was the day the new knights were joining the company.
'And tomorrow was the inauguration ceremony.'
As he worked as a craftsman, he naturally became familiar with the schedule.
Perdes shuddered at the horrible thought that tomorrow would be even busier.
Meanwhile, Aldor, who had come close, looked at Perdes.
In the past, he looked down at Perdes, but now they are at somewhat eye level.
Although Perdes was still small.
He will say hello indifferently and leave as always.
“Meet Perdes.”
As he thought so, Aldor bowed politely in greeting.
He usually does this, but the atmosphere is different.
He guess it feels like he's made up his mind.
Perdes, who was disgusted by Aldor's appearance, frowned and asked.
“Why did your attitude suddenly change? What’s going on?
“Nothing. Just...”
It was strange that he added a word after saying it was nothing.
Perdes, who had been looking at him as if telling him to speak, opened his eyes wide at his next words.
“I plan to swear allegiance to Lady tomorrow, so I will simply show more respect to her fiancé, Lord Perdes.”
***
It's better to be someone who doesn't know anything than someone who has been trained haphazardly.
It was the motto of not only my father but also of my predecessors, Duke Leopold.
So, 80% of the new knights were selected from among the young chicks who graduated from the knight academy at the end of June.
The remaining 20% were experienced workers, and the screening process for experienced workers was more stringent.
In most cases, the knights did not move the order once they entered it.
It was because of the belief that once you pledged loyalty to your lord, you must continue to swear until the day you die.
But moving the Knights meant there was a problem, and that problem was often the fault of the person involved.
The reasons varied, including sexual harassment, assault on the owner, and theft.
The bigger problem was that experienced knights did not write down this fact when submitting their resumes.
There was no way he would write anything unfavorable to himself.
So I had to check each knight to see if there was a problem, which was a huge waste of time and money.
...But not this time.
I laughed when I looked at the resume for an experienced engineer.
“Only two people applied?”
The Knights of Leopold were really popular among the knights, not just because they were my family's knightly order.
There were many reasons for this, but the biggest reason was that new knights were given a one-week adjustment period before officially joining the knights.
The reason was that once you joined the Knights, it was difficult to turn back.
So, it was a kind of consideration to get a feel for the atmosphere by living in the Knights Templar and to leave before joining if you thought it was not for you.
Few knights gave this kind of consideration.
To prevent most of the new recruits who didn't know anything from running away, they were made to join the company first and were treated very strictly.
However, the Knights of Leopold not only treated new knights with consideration but also strictly prohibited violence or swearing under the pretext of maintaining discipline.
In addition, the treatment was much better than that of other knights, so when knights were recruited every year, the competition rate was four times higher than that of other knights.
However, this year, there were far fewer applicants, including career positions, than in other families.
Looking at the fact that two out of four career positions applied, it seems like it says it all.
“At least there are a lot of things in this life.”
In my third life, when I went into hiding to prevent the dukedom from being taken away by the Emperor, not a single experienced person applied, and only three young knights applied.
The reason for this decrease in applicants was the absence of Duke Leopold, the head of the ducal family and commander of the knights.
A group without a leader is likely to disintegrate, so they did not apply for membership.
Still, thanks to the good image it had built up so far, and the support of Duke Leopold's help from those who successfully graduated from the Knight Academy, they applied to join, so the number of new knights recruited was able to be filled.
“What about career positions?”
Since only 2 applied to select 4 people, it would be better to select both...
While I was thinking about it, I heard a knock. It was Perdes.
He asked me as soon as he put down the documents he brought with him on the desk.
"What are you talking about?"
What else could have made you so angry?
“How am I supposed to understand if you ask me clearly what I’m saying?”
“That guy!”
As soon as Perdes mentioned Lord Aldor, the reason why he jumped came to mind.
“You heard.”
“I heard.”
Perdes put one hand down on my desk and tilted his upper body.
“To the man directly.”
Lord Aldor told you that story himself?
He's not the type to talk lightly, so this is strange.
“Are you really going to take his oath of loyalty?”
“I have to accept it. Because I promised to do so.”
"Why? Why did you make that promise?”
“Then why do you hate me accepting Lord Aldor’s oath of loyalty?”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment