Vol 4 Chapter 35 – Emergency Response Headquarters【Vol 4 – Stop Shion’s Fabricated Engagement】

A sign reading “Emergency Response Headquarters” was prominently displayed in the large conference room at the Succubus Knight Order Headquarters.

When I opened the thick soundproof door and stepped inside, the two people seated there stood up in unison and bowed their heads.

Princess Shion, Commander of the Succubus Knight Order.
General Yuna, the nation’s strongest Dark Elf hybrid and Commander of the First Knight Order.

Both were top-tier VIPs in the Succubish Kingdom, yet I desperately wanted to look away from the fact that, for some reason, they were both my disciples.

Then there was the self-proclaimed maid who brought me here, Nagisa.
Until recently, she was supposed to be the Crown Prince of the Sebas Empire and a highly skilled assassin, but for some inexplicable reason, she now insists she is my personal maid. How did it end up like this?

“I’m sorry, Master, for summoning you during your vacation after the expedition.”

“I don’t mind that at all. You said it was an emergency meeting?”

“Yes. —Well, it’s about my engagement.”

“Ah, that…”

When we returned to the capital, a certain rumor was circulating through the streets.
They said Princess Shion was going to marry Vakanamesh, the Crown Prince of the Sebas Empire, whose royal family had just recently changed.

Incidentally, the Sebas Empire’s royal family changed right after the former Crown Prince, Nagisa, defected. We had unwittingly aided in the usurpation of a neighboring superpower’s throne, but well, that’s a story for another time.

Although there had been no official announcement yet, the atmosphere in the capital was incredibly tense at the news that Princess Shion—the Demonbane Princess Knight and symbol of the nation’s defense—might marry into another country.
It felt like the eve of war.

“I was meaning to ask you about that, Shion. Is that rumor true—”

“There is no way that is true!!!!”

Wham!

Shion slammed the desk.
In the next instant, the desk into which Shion’s merciless fist had sunk was pitifully smashed in two.
It was a solid, single-slab desk that looked like it cost roughly a commoner’s annual salary. What a waste.

“Shion? I really can’t admire treating objects so roughly.”

“I-I’m sorry! I just…”

As Shion slumped dejectedly after my scolding, Nagisa, dressed in her maid outfit, lightly picked up the split desk and cleared it away.
Judging by that thickness, it must weigh at least two hundred pounds combined, but isn’t it heavy?
As I suspected, everyone in this room other than me must be a gorilla wearing the skin of a beautiful girl.
Well, setting that aside.

“Um, so the rumor about the engagement is a mistake?”

“…It is true…”

“What do you mean?”

According to what Shion told us after that:
First, it is true that talk of Shion marrying into the Sebas Empire has come up.
However, the premise itself—that the Sebas Empire claims Shion’s marriage was decided by a “pact made over a hundred years ago”—is completely vague and suspicious.
Shion’s stance was that such a thing was obviously a fabrication.

“And so, Master! Applications for my lifelong partner are still very much open and eagerly awaited!”

“But Shion, you’re a Princess, right? A Princess marrying into a neighboring country seems like a pretty common story, doesn’t it?”

“Normally that is the case, but I am a Succubus, so it is impossible!”

“No matter how I think about it, that’s irrelevant, isn’t it!?”

“No, Master, it is very relevant. Because if a Succubus enters a political marriage, it results in nothing but misery.”

“What does that mean…?”

“The reason is simple. —A Succubus can only love the person she has fallen in love with.”

I had thought that a lack of romantic feelings was normal for a political marriage.
Apparently, the situation was dangerous on a completely different level.
If a Succubus falls in love after a political marriage, it seems it is only natural that she would treat her political husband like something less than a pebble.
Furthermore, despite being married, she would relentlessly visit and devote herself entirely to the man she actually loved.

“…And that is how it is, Master. In aristocratic views on marriage, keeping a lover is generally tolerated, but in the case of a Succubus, it lightly transcends that level.”

“Wouldn’t she get scolded for that, at the very least?”

“Of course, she would be scolded severely. But in that case, a Succubus would throw away her status, her lifestyle, everything, and elope with the gentleman she loves. That has been the instinct of the Succubus since ancient times.”

“Isn’t that a little too passionate!?”

No wonder Shion asserts that a hundred-year-old pact is a fabrication.
No matter how beautiful a Succubus might be, she is far too dangerous to be used in a political marriage.
It is obvious that a political marriage meant to deepen friendship would instead become the spark of war.
Though, considering Succubi are all incredibly beautiful girls, I imagine there are nobles who would want one as a bride anyway. Whether that’s good or bad is another matter.

“In that case, if you just get married and quickly have a child, is there a chance…?”

“Impossible. …This is top secret, but a Succubus does not go into heat for anyone other than the man she loves, so a child cannot be conceived in the first place.”

“Seriously? In that case, wouldn’t spreading that information reduce the number of idiots making up these fabrications?”

“…I think so too, but according to Father, if we keep it a secret, there is a tradition of foolish rich men who want to marry a Succubus pouring in money…”

“There’s an enemy of men right here!?”

“I-I haven’t done anything!? It’s the fault of those trying to use Succubi for politics!”

Shion is making an argument that hardly sounds like one befitting a Princess, but I wonder about that too.