That's good. Wait, no, it was not good, but it was not a problem for the Second Order, which only valued the strong. What they did have a problem with was something else.
What was amazing was that Elisha was only 13 years old at the time. She did not meet the age requirement of 15 to be appointed as a knight. She had submitted his application with a false name and an inflated age. This caused an uproar not only in the Second Order, but also all of the Imperial Guards. Since it was a violation of the rules and regulations, it was only natural to invalidate her acceptance as a knight. However, it would be a shame to lose out on her, the big fish among applicants who had passed the exam. After a heated debate, the head of the Second Order of Knights at the time, who was impressed by her talent, forced through the discussions and allowed her to pass the exam as a special exception. She officially became a knight of the kingdom.
The fact that she was recognised as a knight also meant that she received the rank of knight apart from her family's marquis rank. In other words, under the laws of the kingdom, she became a separate family from her parents. The Balbastre family could no longer bring Elisha back or allow their daughter to be with a man she did not want. This was an unprecedented runaway from home, and an unprecedented method of breaking off from an engagement. Those who feared a repeat of the incident plotted to revise the laws, but it was never accomplished. This was because there was nobody else who could repeat her feat.
After that, Elisha racked up military success one after another, which happened in part because of all the commotion she drew to herself. And now, ten years later, she has become the youngest person ever to stand at the top of the kingdom's strongest knight order......
She was too talented and too unorthodox. It's not just her talent with the sword that's out of place for a noble lady, but her decision to become a knight in order to get rid of her engagement, or how she drove her opponent to death during the assessment. Everything about her was abnormal. How could such a woman like this be born from a Marquis family?
In this sense, she was in the same league as Tullius, Anrietta, and Uni. She was unlike a child from the traditional and glorious noble bloodline, and was more of an unnecessary mutation. It was a monster child that made use of a human’s womb to be birthed.
And if she was the same kind of person as his abominable brother, then she could never be compatible with this Linus Strein Oubeniel.
(Hmph...... No wonder it feels so unsettling)
Once again, Linus felt a strong discomfort.
Even though she was a key member of the Imperial Guards, she was a knight who did behave appropriately to a Count. Unashamed to shed blood and trample on life. The more he thought about it, the more he saw the similarities of her with the despicable Tullius Shernan Oubeniel. But the clear difference was that compared to that thing who always talked about wanting to live a long life, she didn't seem to feel any qualms about dying herself.
(Well, whatever. There is a saying, "Control foreigners with the foreigner".)
Lavallee said that Tullius might be using some kind of dubious drug for brainwashing. If we enter Volden, his territory this time, his people might try to poison Linus as well. In preparation for this, the strongest of the Imperial Guards, the Second Order, led by Elisha, was dispatched under the pretext of border inspection.
Linus could sense the role that Lavallee was expecting him to play. He was bait to catch Tullius. If he acts unrighteously and points a blade at him, the strongest forces in the kingdom would move to crush him. If he decides to wait out this obvious trap, in that case, he would impose several unreasonable tasks on him and deprive him of his freedom.
It didn’t feel good for Linus. Even though he was assigned the strongest guards, whose main role was to protect the king, he was the decoy or the pawn to be made use of. There was no way he could take on such a role enthusiastically.
However, there was a small chance that they might be able to slaughter their archenemy this time. Even if the other side chose to not make any moves, there was always the possibility of framing them and putting them to death. And the person who would carry this out would be the Second Order. It was an unpleasant and risky role, but depending on luck and his own ability, he can free himself of his distress in one fell swoop.
Without thinking in this light, he wouldn’t be able to bear being the bait.
"Oh, the scenery has changed. Is this the famous Volden vineyard?"
"This is fresh for me. I've never seen it before."
Whether or not they understood about Linus' melancholy, the two women were admiring the view outside the window.
All across the mountains of the highlands, patches of fruit trees spreaded in stripes. Reddish-purple grapes were ripening, adding a vivid accent to the greenery.
The Volden region was famous for its wines, especially for Cabernet Sauvignon. However, in the Kingdom of Arquell, known for its fertile lands and the arts, it was difficult to narrow down the list of famous wine regions.
"What do you think, dear? Isn't it a sight to be missed?"
Simone seemed to be in an unusually good mood as she talked to me. In addition to her elation from the trip, she was probably relaxed from her conversation with Elisha.
But it was not a topic Linus was too happy about.
"I've never seen it before either. After all, I've lived in the royal capital most of my life."
"......huh?"
Simone rolled her eyes at the unexpected response. It was not that she was trying to be mean to Linus.
"I suppose my father enjoyed the waters of the Amon River more than the wines of this domain. He's been in Broussonne ever since he became the head of the family. Of course, this applies to me since I was raised by him. This is the first time I've been in Volden."
"What have you been doing since your assumption of the headship, my lord?"
Perhaps surprisingly, even Elisha interrupted me. It was not something that could be carelessly explained to an outsider, but she was basically a chaperone assigned to me by Lavallee. Now that she was asking him, he'll have to answer.
"There was no time for that. There was a lot of work to be done because of the change in headship the year before the last. Last year, there was also the wedding ceremony...... and many other social engagements."
It was a ridiculous thing to say. The previous generation was drowning in the amusement of the royal capital, and the current generation, who grew up under him, stepped on this land for the first time two years after inheriting it. For two generations in a row, the land of Volden has had lords who only knew their territory on paper.
When Elisha heard this, he glanced at Linus with a questioning look.
"Hmm? And the place doesn’t look as rundown as it should, huh? Maybe it's just along this path?"
"......Are the Imperial Guards these days contracted not only to guard but also to conduct audits?"
"Dear."
"Right you are. That was indeed a presumptuous statement of mine. I'm sorry, forgive me Count."
Then Elisha began to chuckle in amusement.
"You're a man with a lot of promise. It's no wonder the old man went to so much trouble to lend you a hand."
"What do you mean?"
"It's not a big deal. It's just that I'm glad you're a more worthy target for protection than I thought."
"......You are making less and less sense."
Linus looked completely out the window this time and turned away from the female knight who was thinking about something he had no way of knowing.
She smirked at him and was trying to hint at something. Such an attitude reminded him of that maniac and made him deeply uncomfortable. He didn't want to talk to this woman, after all. Linus firmly believed.
And then, ah, that.
Once again, Linus would have to see disgust inducing Tullius again. As long as he returned as the Count, he could not avoid meeting with the Viscount, who had been entrusted with the land. Also, if the other party was not forthcoming in meeting him, then he would have to arrange it.
It was a depressing job. However, thinking about it further... On the contrary, while he was here, he could give orders to that man as he pleased. He could request inspections to make sure he was following the orders, and reprimand and punish him for any faults.
