Chapter 77: We are debating!
“Lady Elidranthia, I am a messenger from the king.” A messenger came to Elidranthia right after class. Eli tilted her head, wondering what the man was up to with the invitation. She wondered whether Ludwin was asking for her again. Despite her efforts, apparently she couldn’t break the curse.
“Look, that upstart is getting an invitation again.” Whispers from the peanut gallery reached her ears. Eli could only take a deep breath and calm herself at the invitation presented before her.
“May I know on what occasion such an invitation came to this lowly count’s daughter?”
“The king thinks highly of you, and he wishes for you to lead a seminar with Prince Ludwin, Saintess Elidranthia.” The messenger smiled. He then kneeled, presenting the rolled parchment as the formal invitation.
Eli gaped at the man who seemed to view her with such reverence.
“I-I am not a saint. Please. You must be exaggerating. Oh hohoho.” Eli tried to play it as a joke, but the messenger said otherwise.
“The king has acknowledged you as a saintess. While I personally think of it as a mere political move, I think highly of you, Lady Elidranthia. I had a cousin who went to war, and he wrote a letter about how you saved his life. I personally thanked you for this occasion.”
“Well… I’m sure other light mages would do the same.” Elidranthia said.
“Regardless, you are the one who saved his life. For that, I thank you. Here is the invitation. The king thinks highly of you, calling you a model subject that every noble should aspire to be. And that’s why the king sent this invitation. He wishes to hear how you view this country and whether there is something you wish to discuss for the betterment of the country.” The messenger said.
After hearing the lavish praise from the messenger, Eli could hear the shift in the peanut gallery’s comments. They had turned from a demeaning attitude to praise.
“Wow. Now that you mention it, she does have a medal. I guess she really does have some skill.” The peanut gallery commented. Eli already had enough of these social media-like comments. She thought she could be free from such things in this medieval fantasy world, but apparently not. No matter the era, people always talk behind one’s back.
“Wasn’t it simply because she was a mage?”
“The king wouldn’t give a medal just because she was a mage. There were other mages sent to the frontline, and they didn’t get a medal.”
These people. I thought medieval people would be more honest, but they were the same. How fast does public perception change?
Eli couldn’t help but frown at their attitude. Alas, the problem in the form of a scroll of invitation still lay before her. Since it came from the king, she had to accept it lest she be deemed a traitor.
“I am honored to be invited by the king. I might not be able to provide much wisdom, since I know I am still young, but I shall serve him to the best of my ability.” Elidranthia curtsied.
“Thank you, Lady Elidranthia.” The messenger said, but before he left, he said one more thing. “Ah, the invitation also applies to Mage Alicia, Lady Elidranthia. The king wishes to grant her a noble title for her contribution at the fortress.”
“I-I-I see. In that case, I shall bring this invitation to Alicia at once,” Eli stammered.
“Thank you.”
Then, Eli rushed to Alicia and brought her out.
“Ugh… Is this the political tea party thingy?” Alicia frowned.
“Does this event appear in the web novel?”
“Well, there is an event where Heracles, Claire, Ludwin, and Charlotte discuss politics at one of their tea parties.” Alicia recalled the web novel she had read. It was only one chapter, but she remembered it because she disagreed with how Heracles supported democracy.
“I see. So Heracles was exiled because he wanted to change the kingdom from a monarchy into a democracy, with senators and presidents.” Elidranthia nodded.
She finally got the picture now. Basically, Heracles’s ideology had spread to the populace, and the kingdom wanted Eli to oppose it. She needed to make a convincing speech about the kingdom, explain how good the monarchy was, while criticizing the ideology of democracy.
“But Heracles was never exiled in the novel. How did they come here? Was it the correction plot power I heard so much about? I thought they were a myth.”
“But they still came, right? Maybe you just forgot such settings existed?” Eli thought.
“No. I wouldn’t forget such important topics!” Alicia said.
“Anyway, you will come with me as well.” Eli said. “The invitation also invites you, Alicia.”
“Ehh? I thought noble business was your area.”
“Just say something bad about democracy. Like corruption and stuff.” Eli said as she guided her to the carriage. Since Alicia was also a guest, Eli told her to wear a dress rather than a maid uniform.
“I see. Heracles seemed to get chummy with the scholars.” Alicia nodded. She remembered how Heracles always seemed to be surrounded by scholars.
“That would be a problem for another time. Let’s go,” Eli then climbed into the carriage that was headed for the castle for another dinner invitation.
“Ah, Lady Elidranthia! How nice to see you. I see that you are also invited to the castle.” To Eli’s surprise, Claire hopped in minutes later. She had wondered why the carriage wasn’t departing. A carriage this large wouldn’t usually carry just one or two guests. That was why she was willing to wait, but she never thought the other guest would be Claire.
At that moment, Eli understood that the empire had decided to fight Claire’s ideology head-on and was hoping for Eli to be the spearhead.
She momentarily wondered why they would entrust such things to teenagers barely in middle school, but this was a medieval era. People aged fifteen were considered adults. That meant in less than two years, Eli would be considered an adult as well.
Moreover, Claire and Heracles were of a similar age. So, instead of using older and more experienced scholars hired only to lick the crown’s boots, the crown wanted to use Eli, who seemed to genuinely like the empire and its monarchy.
Eli’s status as a mage probably helped, but she couldn’t even begin to wonder why mages supported Claire to begin with. As far as she knew, mages received even fewer privileges under her ideology.
They weren’t brought to the usual dining table like last time. Instead, they were brought to a hall. Food lined the tables like a banquet.
Alicia didn’t hesitate and went to the food section, where a butler immediately cut her a piece of steak and poured black pepper sauce on top.
“Alicia,” Eli was amazed at how calm Alicia was.
“Eli, please call Alicia to sit with us. Father has reserved a seat for us and several dukes’ sons and daughters. Ah, Claire and Heracles are welcome as well. You can come and sit here with us,” Ludwin called them.
“As you wish, Prince Ludwin,” Eli curtsied.
“Look, the upstart count’s daughter is here. If she were not a mage, she shouldn’t even be here, let alone be declared a saint by the king.” Ronya said, her eyes narrowed.
“Indeed. One shouldn’t rely on mage status alone. I believe education and wealth are also important. A mere count’s daughter from a poor backwater county shouldn’t even sit here.” Margareth said.
Just when Eli thought she had no friends in the dining room, Julius defended her.
“Thank you for attending this dining table, Lady Elidranthia. Meeting a high-ranking mage like you and Alicia is an honor. I believe this is the first time we’ve met. I am Julius Slane, scion of House Slane. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Greetings. I am Elidranthia Shadowstep, daughter of Count Shadowstep.” Eli curtsied before sitting, while Alicia merely offered her thanks and sat down, ignoring all etiquette. She still had the steak given to her by the butler from before.
Margareth and Ronya obviously criticized her rude behavior, but Alicia barely knew them. Alicia recalled that Ronya was more demure in the novel, but she had never liked Margareth to begin with. She vaguely remembered Ronya being Elidranthia’s friend, but somehow they both seemed to dislike Eli and Alicia here.
“Greetings, Lady Ronya. Greetings, Lady Margareth. Greetings to you as well, Lord Julius. I am honored to have been invited int his party. I wished the best for Althemer as Lustria’s princess.” Claire curtsied before a butler welcomed her to sit in a chair.
“Greetings. My father has told us much about you and Heracles, Princess Claire,” Margareth smiled. Ronya, on the other hand, didn’t return the greeting.
“Grertiings, Princess Claire from Lustria. I sincerely wish for our nation’s good relationship as well.
Eli watched the events unfold, wondering whether she had missed some critical political intrigue. She noticed that Duke Luca’s faction seemed to favor Claire, while Duke Bron’s faction seemed to dislike her.
They might be teenagers, but they were the duke’s daughter and granddaughter. They understood politics, albeit at a superficial level.
As for Julius, despite being the one who invited Claire here, he seemed more interested in Alicia and Eli, even though Claire was also a high-ranking mage.
“I had heard about your exploits, Lady Elidranthia. I am grateful for your service in the war.” Ronya bowed.
“You are welcome. It was certainly tiring, but I will always help defend Althemer. Shadowstep and Althemer are my home now. We must defend them against monsters.” Alicia nodded.
“I must say I am against war, but Mage Alicia’s and Mage Elidranthia’s medals were earned fighting monsters, not humans. So I wholeheartedly support their endeavor.” Julius said.
“Ah, but I think humans can become worse than monsters. My life was almost ruined by humans, after all. With debts and runaway interest that simply couldn’t be paid off, even if you worked for a hundred years.” Alicia frowned.
“Ah. My apologies. We certainly need to change the country.”
“Bron Dukedom didn’t have such rules. All debt had a cap. It’s in the usury laws.” Ronya said.
“Yes. But unfortunately, my debt was accrued by my parents in the capital. Duke Bron’s laws didn’t extend there.”
“I had heard about it. You went through a trial and managed to win, right?”
“Yes, but I fear for others in the same situation who are not as lucky as I was.”
“Well, now that the trial has the king’s acknowledgment, I am sure we can do something about the rest of them. It’s why the crown is important. It can fix the system.”
The debate soon began, with Alicia at the center of it, charging ahead like a headless chicken.
Eli could only manage a silent scream as she watched Alicia make enemies of Duke Luca’s faction.