Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 76

Michael has black hair, black eyes, and slightly tanned skin.

Every time I gaze upon Michael, I can’t help but notice how strikingly handsome he is.

“Lord Polydoro, please.”

“As I said earlier, you can just call me Faust. Thank you for the tea.”

Michael pours tea from his tanned hands into a teacup. The aroma mingles with the scent of Damask roses from the garden, creating a refined fragrance. I wonder if Lord Robert also enjoyed his tea like this. Now, let’s listen to the stories of memories shared by Liesenlotte and Michael. Who knows where the truth lies.

“…Lord Michael, won’t you sit down?”

“I need permission from Queen Liesenlotte to do so.”

Michael answers with a gentle smile. I see, he’s a page. He’s been educated to handle royal receptions.

“Michael, sit. I won’t be bothered to tell you to sit every single time like Robert used to command,”

“I liked it when Lord Robert would frustratingly tell you to sit, Michael.”

For some time, I’ve sensed something unusual about Michael, and now I’m certain. He is very much like my chief retainer, Helga. He deeply admires those he serves, seeing them live as nobles. He’s a nuisance, this guy. Of course, I try to behave as a noble as Helga wishes, embodying a form worthy of her loyalty. But sometimes, I feel her loyalty is strangely burdensome. If Lord Robert, who is no longer alive, had told Michael to die, he would’ve calmly plunged a knife into his own throat. Helga might do the same, which is frightening. Ah, love can be burdensome.

“Well, I would sit on a command from Queen Liesenlotte as well, just so you know.”

“You really only listen to Robert’s commands, huh?”

“Do you remember when Lord Robert told Queen Liesenlotte that he was hiring me as his page?”

Michael chuckles softly. His whisper has a sensual, androgynous quality.

“I still remember it. If you are serious about serving, serve until the brink of death. Defy even the queen’s orders. Believe only in what Robert says.”

“He did say that,”

Queen Liesenlotte sighs, takes a sip of tea, and then sniffs slightly.

“Robert is gone now. You agreed to my persuasion to live in the present.”

“I live not because I agreed with your persuasion, Your Majesty.”

Michael’s smile deepens, twisting at the corners of his mouth, giving him an almost beast-like demeanor.

“I reconsidered because I cannot die until I find and kill the person who murdered Lord Robert.”

“We won’t find him anymore. I’ve said it before, but this investigation is like trying to resolve a lingering regret.”

“I understand that we cannot continue the investigation forever. However, I will keep searching.”

Michael’s voice is filled with determination. I think his spirit is commendable, but after five years, it’s likely impossible. Several things come to mind, but it might be worth raising a few points.

“Liesenlotte, just to clarify. There were injuries on Lord Robert’s body similar to bee stings or rose thorn pricks, right?”

“That’s correct. Do you have something in mind?”

Knowledge from a previous life. Even a bee sting can be fatal.

Anaphylactic shock.

But there’s a reason why I haven’t mentioned it yet.

“A bee sting can indeed be fatal.”

“I know that,”

Everyone knows it. Even without knowing the medical term “anaphylactic shock,” they understand that one can die from a bee sting. Even if they don’t know the word “allergy,” they know the symptoms.

“Some die after the first sting. Others die after the second. Some experience a reaction after multiple stings and stop because it becomes frightening. That, I’ve heard. However, honey is attractive, and the wax from beehives is used to make the candles we nobles use. There’s not much that can be done. By the way, Robert would remain unfazed no matter how many times he was stung. Gardening and farming are battles with insects.”

So it goes.

Five years of investigation. Surely, every possibility has been considered, including death by bee. The possibility of Robert dying from an allergic reaction when no special allergic reaction was noted?

That’s unlikely.

My previous life knowledge is of no use here.

Michael opens his mouth as I ponder.

“Lord Polydoro, do you have any other insights?”

“No matter what I say, I feel you’re going to tell me it’s already been investigated.”

“Indeed, we’ve investigated thoroughly. However, being a third party not involved in the incident at the time, you might see something we didn’t.”

Hmm. 

A third-party perspective is crucial, and I’ll do my best. However, it’s important to note—I’m not particularly clever. I lack a political perspective, but I can understand things when explained. Ultimately, I’m just an ordinary person. It’s no good. I shouldn’t have sent Martina to the Polydoro territory, but at that time, it seemed the right decision—damn, my head is starting to hurt. I put my hand to my forehead and close my eyes in thought.

“My head is starting to hurt. Could you, Queen Liesenlotte and Lord Michael, please share some memories of Lord Robert for a while?”

“Very well.”

Queen Liesenlotte sets down her teacup on the table and begins to speak, resting her chin on her hand.

“Robert was very kind, as I’ve often said. Whether people took advantage of that kindness or were frightened by me, well, the petitions from nobles were countless. It was normal to wait months for an appointment with Robert. He also accepted petitions from citizens.”

“From citizens too?”

“Of course, he couldn’t personally address every citizen’s petition. Only representatives from the merchants’ and craftsmen’s guilds met with Robert. He believed that civic participation strengthened the nation. It might seem idealistic, but he pointed out improvements for politics and problems that arose in the capital, and he advised me on them.”

The more I hear, the more peculiar he seems. More humane than any modern person before I reincarnated into this bizarre world.

“But it wasn’t just that. In hindsight, he might have been trying to shield me as a consort. What do you think, Michael?”

“I was only with Lord Robert from the ages of ten to twelve, just two years. But it was a precious time for me. Lord Robert always said, ‘What you do is never in vain; it will surely benefit Liesenlotte.'”

Did it truly help, I wonder? I’m a bit skeptical.

“Yes, it did help. Robert didn’t just recklessly cut his own stipend to give to others. He would say, ‘It’s fine to cut my stipend, but what will it yield? I provide jobs and sustenance, but what will you do with it?’ He was strict about such distinctions.”

“Lord Robert intensely disliked those who endlessly repeated, ‘I am impoverished, I am not fortunate,’ like parrots. He was kind, but he was also often seen striking such fools.”

I see, he was kind but drew clear lines. Liesenlotte just mentioned he was useful, but I wonder what exactly was produced. I’m curious, but perhaps they’ll speak of it without my prompting.

“Robert identified many capable individuals for the Anhalt Kingdom. One such individual, a bureaucrat who now manages some of my duties, was recommended by him. Originally the third daughter of an impoverished noble family, she proved very competent. Her parents appealed to Robert for employment on her behalf. After his recommendation, I met with her and, finding her indeed capable, allowed her to rise within the palace.”

“She is the one who married a fellow page, correct?”

“Yes. She’s a woman who misses nothing, both in work and in love.”

Queen Liesenlotte remarks with admiration, her eyes reflecting nostalgia.

“Anyway, Robert provided opportunities for capable children to rise, effectively functioning as a lubricant for the state. Faust, do you remember the herald I asked you to retain every word from during the Gesh incident?”

“Yes, I remember her, but why her?”

“She was also recommended by Robert. From a frontier territory on the border with Virendorf, the second daughter there. A letter of appeal from the lord claimed it would be a waste to bury her talent, and following Robert’s recommendation, I tested her and then hired her.”

I think it could have been handled directly by Liesenlotte.

Essentially, she was probably intimidated by Liesenlotte. I’m also intimidated. Liesenlotte is a monster of reason and logic.

What level of resolve do you think I had when I appealed to Liesenlotte about the Mongolian threat during the ‘Gesh incident’?

Of course, I calculated that she wouldn’t kill me for bringing peace negotiations with Virendorf, but the possibility of receiving a death sentence wasn’t zero.

From what I’ve heard so far, Lord Robert would straightforwardly punch someone he found disagreeable at the moment but wouldn’t nag about it later.

If it was truly a dire situation, and Lord Robert cut his stipend showing sincerity and ability, he would reciprocate that sincerity.

Everyone would cling to Lord Robert, that’s for sure.

“Well, anyway, he was a good man. Faust, as Michael said earlier. He really did resemble you.”

“The aura is exactly the same. I had thought they were similar from afar before, but I never imagined to this extent.”

I don’t think I’m like the kind Lord Robert.

I am a lord knight after all, and as the lord of 300 people in Polydoro, feeding everyone is my top priority.

I don’t have the luxury to be kind to others.

—Martina, regarding that pardon, it was foolish.

No, it was as if my past life’s moral values and the knightly education I received from my mother, Marianne, combined disastrously.

I couldn’t help it and regret is pointless.

Even if I could travel back in time, I would do the same.

I understand that pondering it is useless.

Still, the concerns never end.

Why am I, Faust von Polydoro, so hopeless?

Enough.

Everyone has flaws, and no one is perfect.

That’s beyond my control.

What I need to think about now is finding the fanatic who assassinated Lord Robert.

Whether it ends in vain or succeeds, it’s just a conclusion.

“Queen Liesenlotte, Lord Michael, from what I’ve just heard, it seems Lord Robert received petitions from various people, including lower nobles, citizen guild representatives, and feudal lords.”

“Yes, I understand what you’re saying. We’ve looked into that. Everyone he met that day cooperated with the investigation, tearfully insisting they didn’t kill Lord Robert. Nothing came of it.”

Queen Liesenlotte glances briefly at Marina, who was in charge.

Marina nods slightly.

She’s been silent, practically blending into the air, but that’s understandable.

Neither Marina nor I knew Lord Robert well at that time.

I listen for what Queen Liesenlotte will say next.

“Nothing came of it, Faust. After all, as I said earlier, Robert was a kind man. What benefit would a petitioner have in killing such a kind man? They would be losing their advocate. Even those he struck down in direct anger, he was kind to them.”

These words are terribly sad.

Even from what I’ve heard so far, I wonder who benefits from killing Lord Robert.

But to resolve Queen Liesenlotte’s lingering regrets, everything must be done.

“Lord Robert received all those petitions here, in this rose garden. The palace was fully secured, and no strangers could enter.”

In this rose garden?

That means—

Considering it wasn’t through oral intake, nor an allergic reaction like anaphylactic shock, nor accidental or sudden death.

And the only injuries on his body were like those from bee stings and scratches from rose thorns.

If I consider it to be poisoning—

“Was there a gap to tamper with the rose thorns with poison?”

It’s likely already considered.

Of course, it makes no sense—why use such a method with low certainty, hardly an assassination.

But there’s still time to think.

For now, I’ve voiced my suspicion.