Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 225

As I entered the room, it was clear that security was strictly enforced.

The room itself was made of steel that not even a superhuman could kick through, further fortified with magic-enhanced inscriptions.

I pondered what to do next, stroking my chin in thought.

Well, as Duke Temeraire mentioned, this wasn’t exactly a honey trap.

It was more of an order to engage in casual conversation for a while, so I decided to proceed with that.

Seora, standing before me, appeared disheartened. She showed no signs of attempting to escape, nor did she seem inclined to do anything in particular.

Might as well start with a greeting.

“Faust von Polydoro at your service. How should I address you going forward?”

I made an effort to speak as politely as possible.

Some believed I should kill her—yet I had no desire to torture her.

Such actions would accomplish nothing, as she would not speak.

She seemed to regain a bit of interest in reality and looked at me.

“Just Seora is fine, Lord Polydoro. I’ve long heard of you.”

“My reputation has reached Mongolia?”

“No—not really known there.”

Honestly.

Mongolia does not know of me, Seora replied.

“To be precise, Mongolia doesn’t show much interest in superhumans like you. For instance, my mother, Toktoa, knows of Queen Liesenlotte and Queen Katarina. She keeps tabs on the names and characters of the electors, as well as the movements of influential lords like Duke Temeraire—but someone who isn’t crucial in a war, like you, isn’t of much interest. I only took the effort to learn more about you.”

“Mongolia itself doesn’t care much about those it intends to crush, does it?”

“Pretty much. I mean no disrespect, Lord Polydoro. Like the superhuman brigade I lead or ‘The Knights of the Mad Boar’ that Duke Temeraire commands, unless it’s part of a unit, it’s probably not a concern. If you had been an assassin or something similar, you might have been regarded as a threat.”

Assassination.

I briefly considered that method—

“Stop there. There are plenty of reasons it wouldn’t work—firstly, with your appearance, you’d stand out too much to get close to my mother.”

Well, that’s true.

At two meters tall with red eyes, I’d be far too conspicuous. Being one of the few men in this world only adds to that.

If the world’s top assassination guild couldn’t manage it, then neither could I.

“The best possible outcome would be if only my mother died. The invasion of the empire would likely cease. Even if it happened in the middle of war, everyone would rush home first. Imperial rule is a low priority. The moment my mother dies, a succession dispute will begin. Of course, the successors are already determined, and I’m not even considered—but still, disputes will definitely arise. The first to return home will have the advantage.”

Casually, Seora continued the conversation.

If, hypothetically, Toktoa were to die—

“I’ve already heard from the pope. Isn’t Toktoa supposed to die within three years?”

I voiced the information that had already been shared with the elector, which I had heard secondhand.

“That’s correct. It’s no lie. A disease is indeed consuming my mother’s body. But still—three years are three years.”

Her tone suggested she mourned a friend’s misfortune.

Seora muttered, as if reminding me not to forget reality.

“That’s enough time for her to rule the empire, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so.”

I had no intention of denying it.

Honestly, if it came down to whether we could win or not—the empire would most likely lose.

But it’s a different story if you give up without resisting.

“…”

“…”

The conversation paused for a moment.

Seora looked at me with a surprised expression.

Did she expect me to rage and insist on victory no matter what?

Unfortunately, I knew from the start that the odds were against us.

Duke Temeraire, whom I trust, plainly said, “This might be impossible,” and had even given up.

It was just about doing what we could, striving for a graceful end.

Even now, electors, popes, and emperors are betraying each other.

Well, thanks to Cardinal Cologne, the pope barely managed to hold on.

The internal chaos of the empire was too great, and speaking realistically, we couldn’t win this.

But we have to try.

One of those efforts was this conversation with Seora.

Now, what should we talk about?

There’s a lot I want to ask—

“Lord Polydoro, having sworn a geas, I thought you’d say you’d definitely win.”

Seora spoke first.

Her tone was now completely different from the meek attitude she had shown earlier, as if she was genuinely interested in what I had to say.

“The reality inside the empire is a mess. I need to stay calm and act accordingly.”

“Such as?”

“Talking to Lady Seora is one of those things.”

I stated clearly.

I let out a heavy sigh.

“… At the very least, there are ways to prevent invasion damage.”

“Such as?”

She seemed to know what I wanted to say.

I had heard some of what Seora wanted, just as I knew about Toktoa’s three years.

“Making me the emperor, perhaps.”

“You haven’t given up yet?”

“It’s a proposal made after many compromises.”

Seora didn’t speak joyfully.

Rather, she spoke with a look of having given up on everything.

“Right, I wanted to destroy this country once and then revive it. I tried to create a decent country according to my ideals.”

“I don’t care about your dreams. I’m not interested in hearing them.”

“Aren’t you interested?”

I bluntly stated.

“Whether strangers I don’t know fall into hell is none of my business. My greatest interest lies in the Polydoro domain, and as a feudal lord, it’s my duty to improve their lives and bring happiness. If someone is suffering right in front of me, I might help, but I don’t care how much strangers are suffering.”

“Cold, aren’t you? I hated that about the world and tried to reform it.”

“It’s that kind of era. And you, lady, have failed in dreaming foolish dreams during such times.”

There’s no leeway at all.

Yet, it’s not that there’s no rule of law, no compassion, no love.

Without forcibly seizing from others to enrich ourselves, we live with and cultivate the land, striving for everyone’s happiness.

That’s the teaching of the Cologne faction that my subjects and I follow.

Anything beyond that is beyond tolerance.

Saving the world is not within the scope of Agape.

“Well, whether I failed or not, perhaps I was too hasty. Maybe I’m no longer needed.”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t worry about it. Maybe your Cologne faction will somehow deal with all the poverty in the world. It’s that kind of talk.”

You probably haven’t heard about it yet.

She seemed to say, looking at me.

I am interested in the Cologne faction.

“Well, it would be better to hear it from the cardinal himself. Surely, he’ll tell you as a reward this time.”

“Let’s do that. But can we get back to the original topic?”

“Indeed.”

Honestly, I’d like to hear it right now.

But it’s better to be taught directly by His Eminence the Cardinal.

If I return and tell my subjects that I met His Eminence the Cardinal and received his praise, they will be delighted.

“So, was it about making you the emperor?”

“Well, yes. Because right now, they’re probably discussing who to make the emperor or who to make the pope, right?”

“… Well, yes.”

Who to make the pope is what we’re discussing right now.

So, who to make the emperor is probably also under discussion.

If it goes as expected, Queen Katarina, with the help of Lord Reckenberg’s closely related Landsknecht, may well forcibly seize the imperial throne.

Considering this possibility, I also brought Lord Reckenberg’s daughter, Miss Nina, along.

“And as I said earlier, my ambition has been thwarted. But if everyone agrees that it doesn’t matter who the emperor is, there’s also a way to transfer the imperial title to me as a conciliation measure with Mongolia. That would at least minimize the war.”

“There would still be a war, though?”

“That’s right.”

Even I, foolish as I am, can predict what will happen in that scenario.

Regardless of Seora’s wishes, Mongolia’s nobles will demand territorial control inside the empire.

“A large-scale war could be avoided, but as for the direct domains of the emperor, the electors’ direct domains, those might just barely be avoided. But the thousands of feudal lords would demand the transfer of castles and domains. Humans who are forcibly stripped of their lands will resist desperately, especially small lords like you, Lord Polydoro. If their domains are taken away, they have nowhere else to go.”

That’s likely what will happen.

And no matter how certain defeat may be, the electors’ pride is not so low that they would accept such concessions without a fight.

We kill those who underestimate us.

Otherwise, we lose everything.

If the electors acknowledge such a thing, we frontier lords would simply band together and kill the electors.

“If concessions are made to Seora, and that is accepted, the electors would be killed before they could even oppose Mongolia.”

“Well, maybe so. Ultimately, my way of thinking is naive, isn’t it? My mother would say the same.”

That’s probably why I wasn’t acknowledged as Mongolia’s successor.

A child crying over a fall.

No one would choose such a person to succeed their grand empire.

Seora seemed downcast.

What a troublesome person.

“Let’s continue the conversation.”

I had no intention of consoling her.

The important thing was the conversation.

“As a concession, there’s a plateau right above Anhalt and Virendorf. It’s a grassland area dominated by local nomadic tribes. That’s about all the empire can tolerate.”

“That’s not your land, is it? Really, you don’t care about anything other than yourselves.”

Seora said in an astonished tone.

Of course, it’s not our land, so I can mention it easily.

Honestly, no one would want Mongolia at its peak as a neighboring country, but that’s what we’re putting up with.

“No good, then. Only those originally promised that highland as a domain would be satisfied with that. Only Seora would be satisfied with that. Others, even if not highlands, would demand tax lands.”

“I see.”

I tilted my head and said.

“So, it would only be acceptable to you alone, then? Only Lady Seora and her superhuman brigade would be satisfied with just the grasslands?”

“Originally, I—I mean, we—”

Seora seemed about to say something.

She smiled slightly and then spat out.

“Lord Polydoro, talking with you is enjoyable, but you’re completely unsuitable as a suitor. Didn’t Duke Temeraire tell you? Surely you’re not trying to persuade me and the superhuman brigade to side with the empire just by offering the grasslands.”

I’m aware of that.

Embarrassingly, I’m not very intelligent.

So I just said it as a test.

“Is it no good?”

“No good. I can’t betray my mother or my country.”

Seora snorted.

“There’s no way I’d betray them. Who would act against an opponent they have no chance of defeating? Ultimately, this Seora tried to escape her mother’s control—and failed to escape from anything at all. Just a foolish person who can’t even have a rebellious phase anymore.”

Everything.

Truly everything was spoken in a tone of complete resignation.