April 16, 2031
We left Bilvan at 8 am and headed for Beastar, the capital of the Duchy of Cerence.
I stayed in the carriage until we left the town of Bilvan. Just like yesterday, I rode in Baron's carriage with Minerva, but Baron was still sleepy because he went to bed at 3 am and woke up at 6 am yesterday.
While Baron was dozing off in the seat opposite me, Minerva, who was sitting next to him said,
"Baron, come here, I'll give you a pillow on my lap."
I'm jealous. Baron happily rested his head on Minerva's lap. I also wanted to be pampered like that too... Of course, I don't want to be resting my head on Minerva's lap, but on the [Reimei] girl.
Baron fell asleep immediately, but the carriage was shaking quite a lot, probably because the roads in the Duchy of Cerence were not well maintained.
Then, for some reason, Minerva took out some chains from her bag and began to tie up Baron.
"Eh...? Minerva...? What are you doing?"
I asked Minerva in surprise.
"Well. I'm tying him down because I feel like he might fall off my lap."
With a smile she began to tie up Baron with practiced hands, and even though Baron was asleep, a grin broke out on his face.
Feeling as if I was seeing something I shouldn't, I got off the carriage, and we had just left the town of Bilvan.
"Hey, Marth. we just left Bilvan. I think they'll be a lot less wary of you from now on, but please stay on your guard just in case."
I nodded at Brad's words and headed for Beastar. The journey to Beastar went smoothly, and on the way, the other members came outside and we walked while looking at the rich nature of the Duchy of Cerence. Just as Brad said, it seemed that the closer we got to the capital, the less wary they were of us.
On the way to Beastars, we stopped at other towns, and when they saw Ellie, the residents
"It's the Golden Lion!"
"It's Lady Ellie!"
"Ellie has returned!"
Some people let out cries of joy. Ellie seemed embarrassed by this, so she bowed her head and quickly returned to the carriage.
ads
"Hey, Brad. Can I ask you something?"
I lowered my voice a little and asked Brad. Brad seemed to understand and just nodded.
"Ellie has human ears and no tail. She doesn't seem to have any beast-like characteristics, so how do the beastmen know that she's a Golden Lion?"
"I wonder why. I don't know either. All I know is that there's no doubt that Ellie is the Golden Lion. Not just the ears, has Ellie lost her tail too? Does she tuck it inside her pants or... You! How do you know that!? Perhaps you're already with Ellie!?"
Oh no... I shouldn't have asked Brad. Brad became enraged and grabbed me by the collar.
"N-no... it was a misunderstanding. I swear we're not in that kind of relationship yet. A new kid happened to see me and asked me about it."
If I wanted to forcefully shake him off I could have done so, but the question I had just asked was inconsiderate so I didn't.
"Really?"
I nodded my head frantically in response to Brad's question.
"Is that so? Then I'll believe you."
I was finally free from Brad. The girl in the carriage were looking at me with worried looks on their faces.
"It's nothing... don't worry."
After I said that, the girl returned to the carriage. I need to be careful when asking about Ellie...
We arrived in Beastar, the capital of the Duchy of Cerence, around 4 pm and the first thing we did was look for a place to stay.
Brad suggested we stay at the Duke Cerence's mansion, but Ellie seemed to dislike the idea, so we decided to stay at an inn. Even if Ellie didn't mind, I wouldn't, so we'd stay at an inn either way.
ads
After that, we were about to head to the Duke of Cerence's mansion, but Brad told us that only Ellie and I would be there.
Ellie requested that at least Clarisse be allowed to join us, and so Clarisse was permitted to accompany us, but the rest of the members would have to wait until tomorrow.
I thought Karen might complain, but she seemed tired from the carriage ride, so she was actually relieved.
Brad led us to the mansion, but the Duke Cerence's mansion was enormous. It seemed to be twice the size of the Duke Regan's mansion.
Duke Cerence was having a meeting with several people in his room. When we entered, everyone, including Brad, left the room, leaving only the four of us, Duke Cerence, me, Clarisse, and Ellie.
"I only called Marth and Ellie though?"
Duke Cerence suddenly looked at Clarisse, I expected him to first say something like "Thank you for coming" or "Are you well?" but he didn't. Clarisse was taken aback, and as I was about to support her, Ellie spoke up.
"...Clarisse stay. If not, I'll go home."
"Well, that's fine. Now let's talk about why I called you here."
he replied, readily accepting Clarisse's presence. The Duke of Cerence began with a serious face.
"My brother...no I want to tell you about Barnes Leo. Why I started a coup d'état."
I was surprised. I didn't expect him to explain this to me....
"First of all, for us, power is everything. Both my brother and I think the same way. If there's one crucial difference between us, my brother has the policy of 'no matter what happens, you have to clean up your own mess'. For example, in the case of a kidnapping like this one, his policy is for the victims to rescue the person on their own. If you can't do that, then give up, as if it's the fault of the weak.
But I'm different. I want to save anyone I can, as long as they're a beastman. I've told my brother many times. But he never listened to me. I guess my brother, who is a Golden Lion, doesn't understand the feelings of those of us who aren't Golden Lions.
There were many others who disagreed with my brother's policy. In fact, over 90% of them thought the same as me. That's why I planned and carried out a coup. After I became Duke of Cerence, the number of kidnappings dropped by half. I still believe that the decision I made back then was not wrong."
I understand what he's saying, but I don't agree with the idea that it's okay if only the beastmen are fine. However, I waited for what Duke Cerence say next.
"I want to change the current situation of beastmen. In the Lister Alliance, beastmen are given a certain degree of status. However, in the Kingdom of Zarkam, beastmen are not treated as humans.
Do you know how horrible the beast slaves are treated in the Zarkam Kingdom? They are subjected to violence on a daily basis and are not given food. This is something I've heard but have not confirmed yet, but it seems they were also used as experimental tools.
No matter how many times we appealed at the Lister Alliance Round Table Conferences to other countries to take a firm stance on the treatment of beastmen, Caesar strongly opposed, claiming that this was interference in our internal affairs, and so we are still in this situation.
The majority of kidnappings occur in the eastern part of the Duchy of Cerence, on the border with the Duchy of Caesar. That's why we've strengthened surveillance there, but still, it happened again this time, by someone wearing your uniform."
Does Duke Cerence suspect Duke Caesar? Ellie thinks it's Duke Miliord who is behind the kidnappings. Either way, Duke Regan mentioned that Duke Caesar and Duke Miliord have a close relationship...
"Any questions so far?"
ads
Duke Cerence turned to us and asked. To be honest, there were a lot of things I wanted to ask, but I was hesitant to ask questions in front of Ellie.
"Yes. I have a few questions, but I'm tired from the long journey today, so would it be okay if I ask you another day?"
"Understood. I still have some things I want to talk about, but let's do it tomorrow. Marth, come alone in the morning and be prepared to move."
Duke Cerence seems surprisingly understanding. But I'm concerned about his readiness to act... Well, if he had intended to beat them up from the start, he wouldn't have said something like that in advance, so there's probably no need to be so cautious...
On the way back to the inn, I asked Ellie about the reason behind Duke Cerence's earlier coup d'état.
"Ellie, is the reason Duke Cerence mentioned earlier for starting a coup true?"
"...Yeah. I think...it's probably right. I...love Papa...but I prefer Uncle's way of thinking..."
So, it wasn't just about wanting power. When we returned to the inn, the other five had already gotten out of the bath. The three of us decided to eat dinner first and then take a bath, and we all ate our meal.
During the meal, I shared our conversation with the Duke of Cerence. Karen commented,
"After hearing that story, I feel a bit sympathetic, but I can't forgive him for the incident at last year's Freshman Combat Tournament."
"That's right. Now that I think about it, was it Marth who healed Dominique's right arm, didn't you? It was fortunate that you, a holy mage, were there, but it's still inexcusable."
Baron agreed with Karen. I nodded silently in response to his question.
But Why did the Duke of Cerence tell me about Barnes and the coup? Although I intended to ask him myself... anyway, I'll think about it after I talk with Duke Cerence tomorrow.
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Thank you very much for the chapter
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