When I Infiltrated the Enemy Nation as a Slave, the Yandere Beauties There Started a Civil War Over Me - Chapter 13: The System of Control

Chapter 13: The System of Control

—A few days remained until Celestine’s marriage meeting.

I wasn’t sure how much money I would receive if we succeeded in rejecting the proposal, but considering that Celestine was a duchess and her personality, it was unlikely that she’d give me a small amount just because I’m a slave. 

If that goes well, I’ll finally be able to gather information by using the shops in town and find a way to break through the situation with the Elenorde Empire.

Until then, I just needed to keep things calm. 

For now, I was standing next to Cecifelia as instructed, while she worked.

“Haa~h, there are way too many nobles who don’t know how to properly manage their land or finances. It’s so frustrating!”

“…You mentioned something similar during the last meeting. Are you in charge of managing the land and finances for the nobles in this area, Miss Cecifelia?”

There might be something suspicious about my question since I was trying to gather information, but considering Cecifelia let me sit in on meetings between nobles, it was safe to assume her guard was low when it came to such matters.

“Yeah, just lightly overseeing things to avoid any unnecessary trouble… Though, even then, some families go ahead and make decisions on their own, which leads to issues, like the ones we saw during the last meeting.”

“Even so, managing other nobles’ affairs as well… that’s really impressive, Miss Cecifelia.”

I didn’t feel anything emotionally about it, but it was an impressive task, so I said it anyway. Cecifelia was visibly pleased and responded excitedly,

“Eh~? If Luke says that, maybe I should work even harder~!”

“If someone as capable as you is putting in the effort, it looks like the Elenorde Empire will be in good hands for a while… Are there others in this country as talented as you, Miss Cecifelia?”

I felt a wave of nausea saying something so distasteful, like praising the stability of the Elenorde Empire, but I held it in for the sake of gathering information. Cecifelia responded:

“I’m so happy Luke is complimenting me~! But besides that, of course, there are others with exceptional talents too. Though each of them specializes in different areas.”

“Specializes in different areas…?”

“Yeah. I’m more of an all-rounder, so I’m often asked to give my opinion and make appearances in various places. But generally, people here tend to have one area where they truly excel.”

I see… The Sandrotheim Kingdom is more of a place where people support each other to keep things running smoothly. But in the Elenorde Empire, it seems to be built on the talents of individuals like Cecifelia, who lead and direct the country’s affairs based on their specialized abilities.

In other words—if I could gather information on these talented individuals and find a way to undermine one of them… it could give Sandrotheim Kingdom a chance to turn things around.

It’s a bit risky, but I decided to speak up in a way that seemed like a natural part of the conversation.

“Marquis Vadling seemed powerless against the church… Does that mean there are also people in the church with exceptional talents?”

“Ah, well, the church holds a bit of a special position, but yes, there’s someone like that… It’s the leader of the church. That person has quite a unique personality… Actually, now that I think about it, all the people with outstanding talents are a bit unusual.”

To me, Cecifelia is already more than unusual, but there’s no need to say that out loud.

“Still—Luke, why are you suddenly giving me all these compliments? You’ve never done that before.”

…!

Damn… I pushed too far, trying to get information…! I need to say something to follow up on the compliments I gave earlier—

“Oh, but it’s silly to ask something like that, right? Normally, when a slave gives compliments, nothing comes of it. But I don’t want to treat you as just a slave, Luke, so to prove it, since you complimented me, I’ll make sure you get something in return.”

Give me something in return…?

If I can get something useful just by giving her compliments, then it might be worth occasionally praising Cecifelia, as long as it doesn’t seem too suspicious.

Cecifelia stood up from her chair, faced me, and for some reason, began unbuttoning her noble outfit.

“M-Miss Cecifelia…? What exactly are you doing…?”

“Hm? Since you gave me so many compliments, I thought I’d reward you by showing you my breasts.”

“…!?”

N-Not this again…! I’m here, risking my life, and she’s treating me like a fool…!

“I-I’m not interested in that, so please stop unbuttoning your clothes!”

“Come on, you shouldn’t lie. You’re a guy, Luke, so of course, you’re interested. Just imagine it—my big, soft breasts, and you can do whatever you want with them. You can grab them with both hands or just tease them with your fingertips—”

“S-Stop being so specific!”

This is ridiculous!

If this were a woman from the Sandrotheim Kingdom, maybe I’d get excited under the right circumstances… But I’m on a dangerous mission, infiltrating an enemy nation! There’s no way I could be thinking about something like that with a duchess from the enemy country! I have to figure out a way out of this situation—

“…!?”

I let out a surprised gasp when I noticed a piece of paper on the edge of the desk in front of Cecifelia’s chair. 

Seeing my reaction, Cecifelia paused from unbuttoning her outfit, picked up the paper, and said,

“It’s a slave catalog. As you probably know, Luke, this Elenorde Empire is currently at war, and as the territory expands, we rely on slaves to fill the increasing labor demands. But with so many slaves coming in, the auctions alone can’t handle the volume, so catalogs like this are circulated.”

“…”

That’s right… While the origins of the people listed here aren’t mentioned, there’s a chance some of them could be citizens of the Sandrotheim Kingdom.

If I want to save those people… I must— As I was lost in thought, Cecifelia suddenly asked me,

“Hey, Luke, what were you just thinking about?”

“…Nothing.”

“There are times when your eyes shine with an incredibly strong will, Luke… and just now was one of those moments. I really want to know more about you, Luke.”

I have no interest in knowing more about Cecifelia. 

Even if I had to, it would only be to destroy her… and ultimately bring about the downfall of the Elenorde Empire.

“There’s nothing to know. I’m just a slave.”

“I find myself drawn to you more and more… The more time I spend with you, the more I’m captivated. You’re my slave, you’re supposed to be by my side more than anyone else, but… you always feel so distant. Why is that?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Then, I suppose we’ll have to figure it out over time… Even when we do, I’m sure I’ll never let you go.”

After that, a quiet moment passed between us.

The more time I spend with Claire Cecifelia, the less I understand who she really is. Is she kind or terrifying? Is she smart or not?

This conversation only made her even more confusing to me. Will there ever come a day when I truly understand this woman…? No, I don’t need to understand her.

To me, Cecifelia and the Elenorde Empire are both enemies… All I need to focus on is destroying them.

—For the sake of the Sandrotheim Kingdom.