: Between Your Leaving (4)
"You're a lewd bastard without equal in this world. The world is in this sorry state because a man like you is the High Priest of the Archdeity Church. You should have stopped when I told you to, what if something happens to the child in my belly..."
"You're the one who rolled around with such a priest. That's like spitting on your own face."
On the day we parted, Erina, her face beet red, tried to curse at me again. I cleanly cut off her tirade. It was a necessary measure because she was still trying to paint herself as pure and me as the bad guy.
She seemed completely unwilling to admit she was addicted to pleasure. It was already a relationship officially approved by AA, so couldn't she just be cool and open about it? As I thought that, it also occurred to me that it would be no fun if Erina just spread her legs for me with a dazed look. Yes, the way things were now was just right.
That look of being addicted to pleasure but refusing to admit it. That was the perfect look to get me hard. After waving until Erina disappeared in the direction of the Elf Kingdom, I began preparing to return to my territory in earnest. I had spent an extra day fucking Erina, but since the dungeon capture had finished faster than expected, it wasn't a problem.
I felt a smile spread across my face as I imagined the surprised looks on Eve and Sieri's faces when I returned so early. It would be great if they'd developed a passionate love for each other on the bed while I was away. Then we could have a threesome.
"Excuse me, High Priest Lusius."
Had they noticed I was about to leave the capital city? Someone knocked on the door of my quarters with an urgent voice. The sound of the knocking seemed to signal urgent news, so I stopped packing my luggage, turned around, and opened the door.
An official from the Royal Palace stood before me, holding a letter.
"What is it?" "Ah, that... that is... the... the Amur Territory has filed a lawsuit against the Peta Territory, and I am here to inform you of the facts of this case..."
"Fucking... what did you say?"
I had to restrain the curse that unconsciously slipped out and ask again. Who filed a lawsuit against whom? A fucking lawsuit? I helped them out with all those donations, and this is how they stab me in the back? I barely held back my anger. It was possible that Eve had caused trouble and they were demanding compensation for it.
There's a cause and effect for everything. If a trial was being held because Eve caused trouble, I would first have to prostrate myself and beg for forgiveness. Eve had a glass body; if an incident broke out now, she would be done for.
"Well, an incident occurred where Lady Peta murdered the son of Grand Duke Rubicon. That's why Grand Duke Rubicon and the Amur Territory are in the middle of a lawsuit against the Peta Territory, demanding compensation for it."
".....Who did she kill?"
"The son of Grand Duke Rubicon."
"Grand Duke Rubicon lives in the Northern Region, so how could our Eve kill his son? Did Eve go all the way to the Northern Region for a trip or something?"
My territory is in the Southern Region, and Grand Duke Rubicon's lands are in the Northern Region. Calling them south and north, considering the capital city is between them, meant it was a fucking long way. It was a distance that would take a month on horseback. But to hear that Eve killed the son of that territory's lord, I was dumbfounded. Did she learn voodoo or something without me knowing? How on earth did she kill him?
"Ah, well, actually, the Lord of Amur from the Amur Territory and Grand Duke Rubicon are very close, so he was reportedly sent as an aide to learn basic administration before becoming the next lord. That's why Rubicon Condrix came to the Amur Territory."
"I see. So, did Eve go to the Amur Territory and suddenly beat Grand Duke Rubicon's son to death?"
I still didn't understand. Why would the son of Grand Duke Rubicon, who was quietly in the Amur Territory, be killed by Eve? Did they have a hostile relationship? The most plausible scenario I could think of was that Eve, who had a pre-existing grudge, beat Rubicon Condrix to death, but even I didn't know who the aide of the Amur Territory was, so there was no way Eve would know.
"Well, they reportedly fought over the matter of the Territory Representative."
"Territory Representative? For the Amur Territory?"
"No. They were fighting over the representative of the Peta Territory, and during the dispute, the son of Grand Duke Rubicon was murdered."
The more I heard, the less I understood. Fuck, why was the son of the Grand Duke of the North, who was in the Amur Territory, fighting over my territory's representative problem? What the hell happened in my territory?
"Why on earth did they fight? My Territory Representative should be Peta Eve."
"Well... it seems the Amur Territory declared that they could no longer tolerate a monster like a mermaid acting as a territory representative, and tried to put forward the son of Grand Duke Rubicon as the representative."
"I see."
Of course, the Amur Territory had never said such a thing while I was in my territory. If they had at least proposed to me first that it could be problematic and suggested appointing the son of Grand Duke Rubicon as the representative, I might have accepted.
It wasn't because I trusted the son of Grand Duke Rubicon, but because the Grand Duke himself was trustworthy. He was a character who appeared in the original work, and he was quite popular for being charismatic, dignified, and handsome. Because this game is an erotic game and due to his social standing as a grand duke, he couldn't join as a companion except during the Dragon Mountains Quest.
But instead of proposing it to me first, they waited until Eve was alone to flaunt their status as a grand duke and barge in? This was a move with a painfully obvious scheme. They must have wanted Eve to get flustered and just hand over the position. But it seemed things didn't go as they wanted. Seeing as he ended up dead at Eve's hands.
"So why did she kill him? Did Eve just say she disliked him on sight and stab him?"
"Well, according to the testimonies of the Lady of the Peta Territory and the guards on duty at the time, Rubicon Condrix directed verbal abuse at her, calling her a 'fish prostitute' and 'half-fish', and even went so far as to wave a mermaid-skin wallet in front of the Lady's eyes as she tried to endure it."
"Is that so? He deserved to die, then."
"Pardon?"
The official stared at me with a look of disbelief. I shrugged my shoulders. What was I supposed to do? Insulting another man's wife is grounds for a duel. And not just any insult, but 'fish prostitute.' This wasn't just cursing Eve; it was calling me a madman for having a fish prostitute as a wife. Even if I had been there, the son of Grand Duke Rubicon's head would have been smashed.
"No, it's not that."
The official shook his head and denied it. It seemed he realized that if he defended Rubicon Condrix any further in front of me, he himself might end up following that bastard.
"So, what kind of face does the Amur Territory have to file a lawsuit? Insulting a wife is an act for which one can't complain even in death, and since he's dead, he has nothing to say. On top of that, trying to force their way into my territory by flaunting their authority seems like a matter for Grand Duke Rubicon's side to reflect on."
"Well, the Amur Territory and Grand Duke Rubicon's side are arguing that since mermaids are not human, the insult is not valid, and that this case is an unprovoked murder where a wife of mermaid-hybrid descent unilaterally killed the other party..."
".....I see."
My head throbbed. They had latched onto an annoying problem. Is Eve a person? I remembered Cellu's words. If one day a cannon started to speak, would you call that child a person? Even if you did, would other people accept the cannon as a person?
I said I would return to my territory and closed the door. Then, I packed my luggage as quickly as possible. Since Eve was caught up in a fucking incident, I had to return to the territory as fast as I could. I muttered to myself to erase Cellu's words that wouldn't leave my mind.
"Fuck, as if being human would make a difference."
** **
The return journey was just as long as the trip there. Arriving at the territory, I was surprised by the milder atmosphere than I had expected. Robin had come out to greet me after hearing the news of my return. The expressions on the knights' faces were not good, but it wasn't as despairing an atmosphere as I had thought.
"Robin. Where are Eve and Sieri?"
"Ah, they are in the office."
"What happened with the trial? I heard a judge was being dispatched."
"Rumors are rampant that the trial will be held in two days."
"I see. Did anything happen in the meantime?"
"Well....."
Robin hesitated. Was there a casualty? With me, the one holding ultimate military command, absent, there was a possibility that the Amur Territory had carried out a military provocation. I assumed the worst and asked Robin.
"What happened?"
"Knight Charles and two soldiers who went to the Amur Territory to deliver the body were assaulted."
"What did you say?"
I doubted my ears. Are these bastards trying to start a war? Beating the kids who went to deliver a body? I picked up my mace and asked.
"That's terrible. Have they all been treated?"
"Yes. Lady Peta is treating them using the territory budget and the priests, and they've also been given reward money."
"I see. What did Eve say about it?"
"Well... I strongly urged retaliation, but Lady Peta refused, saying she couldn't create more problems before you arrived, My Lord."
Just killing the grand duke's son was already a major incident. If we started an invasion for the sake of avenging the soldiers and knights, it would be a real war. With the Amur Territory having filed for a trial, starting a war now would only get dragged out because of it anyway.
This was something Eve did well to endure. The soldiers' revenge could wait until after that trial. I rubbed my mace and encouraged Robin. Robin's expression was utterly gloomy. With some of the few knights having been beaten, their morale must have been in shambles.
I put the mace back on my hip and headed for the office. The atmosphere in the office was strangely quiet. Even as I approached the door, there was no presence inside. I opened the door, feeling something was off. And there,
"Aheu....."
"Ugh......"
Sieri and Eve were kneeling. Sieri even had her hands raised high, and Eve, after glancing at Sieri and then at me, slowly raised her own hands as well. Sieri squeezed her eyes shut and said,
“We're sorry.....!”
Following her words, Eve said,
“Well.... I'm sorry.... So, the thing is.....”
This cute situation was so absurd that I let out a hollow laugh. I was planning on spanking Eve's buttocks a bit, but seeing this, that thought completely vanished. Their attitude of repentance was too clear.
"What are you doing?"
"Well..... for now..... well.... in a spirit of reflection....."
"Ms. Eve is not at fault.... I-I couldn't stop her......"
Fuck. There's no way I can get angry now.