BBYW Vol. 1 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Prank Celebration

【POV: Duke Rosais】

(Maxwell’s rascal is up to no good again…)

Royal capital of the Lamperouge kingdom, in the royal duties office.

I, Burt Rosais, the current head of the house of Rosais, read the contents of the letter sent by house Maxwell and grumbled to myself.

『I offer heartfelt congratulations for Prince Sullivan’s marriage into the family of Baron Nommes』

Congratulations…so the letter said, but this was, for all intents and purposes, a threat.

The malice contained in this short sentence was so intense that I, as the kingdom’s chancellor, could not help but be impressed by its craftiness.

Approximately one month ago, my beloved daughter Marianne was told by crown prince Sullivan that their engagement was no more. The reason was that he actually loved someone else…truly childish.

The sender of this letter, Dyngir Maxwell, was none other than the fiance of prince Sullivan’s mistress, Selena Nommes.

Sole responsibility for the broken engagements fell on Sullivan’s shoulders.

Sullivan apparently continued repeating that he had found true love, while also pathetically whining about how Marianne was not suited to be his fiancee.

In any case, he had laid hands on another woman despite being engaged, so there was no doubt that he was at fault. The woman he laid his hands on was also engaged herself.

No matter how many excuses the moron of a crown prince could find, abusing the authority of the royal family to snatch a vassal’s fiancee would brand him with infamy.

~

“U-uhm, chancellor…can we do something about this…?”

This pitifully weak tone was produced by none other than the master of this office of royal duties…His Majesty the King.

This ancient man, far too weak-willed for his position, had two sons, but he especially favored his firstborn, Sullivan. He looked at me with an expression full of concern for Sullivan’s future.

His Majesty, King Saloucha Lamperouge, was a rather ordinary man compared to his rank.

He had no impressive military feats to his name nor enough wisdom to be remembered. His only positive trait was that he was well aware of his limited abilities.

He never imposed his opinion on political or military matters, always carefully listening to the opinions of those around him.

(You could also say that he can’t decide anything by himself, though.)

While mentally judging him harshly, I answered the king’s question.

“Nothing, I’m afraid. Maxwell, the victim in this series of events, is *requesting* for the ‘marriage of prince Sullivan into the family of Baron Nommes’ to be celebrated. Our only option is for the prince to actually marry into the Nommes family.”

Regardless of what they actually thought, on the surface, the victim was relinquishing their rights, so they could not be denied.

“H-however, if that happens…”

The king faltered and babbled.

Sullivan marrying into the family of Baron Nommes — even his mediocre intelligence grasped what a terrible punishment it was.

A baron might be a noble rank, but its status was extremely close to a commoner. The territory a baron could rule over amounted to one or two villages at most, with minimal tax revenues.

Such a house could not lead a lavish lifestyle, naturally. For Sullivan, who had lived among luxuries all his life, as a member of the royal family, it would be impossible to endure marrying into such a family.

In addition, the Nommes were vassals of house Maxwell and even owed them money. They would have to obey almost any order from house Maxwell. In the case of armed conflict, they would likely be sent to the frontlines.

Sullivan would thus become the subordinate of the man he angered by stealing his fiancee: a life of torment would await him. Could there be any punishment more terrifying than this?

The king seemed to want to say something, so I encouraged him to speak, and the words started sputtering out of his mouth.

“Hmgh…hmm…I know…I know what Maxwell means…but is this not too much…? For a member of the royal family to marry into a baron’s house…there could be no worse humiliation. Sullivan has already been disinherited…why must that poor boy meet such a cruel fate?”

“…that punishment was not enough, then. At least, that is what Maxwell seems to think.”

(A judgment my house of Rosais fully agrees with.)

In the letter sent to the house of Maxwell, it was written that Sullivan would be punished severely. His Majesty, the weak and kind King, however, had no intention to actually administer a strict punishment to his son.

Sullivan’s rank was demoted to that of a vassal of the royal family, but depending on the situation, it did not amount to a very severe punishment.

Because he would be adopted by a marquis without heirs and thus lead a stable lifestyle.

(They probably saw through the fact that the king wasn’t strict enough to actually punish Sullivan…mmph, while it is a troublesome matter, it is a favorable development for me as a Rosais.)

The Rosais family was also a victim in this series of events and was equally dissatisfied with the slap on the wrist Sullivan received.

Despite our dissatisfaction, we were forced to accept this conclusion because, as representative of the central noble families, it was our duty to minimize any threats to the capital’s stability.

However, my precious daughter’s face had been smeared with mud…as a father, I would like to at least rip that idiotic former crown prince to shreds.

“H-however…oh yes, chancellor, if you bowed personally to Maxwell, then…”

That’s the proposal the king came up with.

“I should…do that, for Sullivan’s sake?”

“Yes, a king cannot bow his head to his vassals, but if you, the chancellor did, then…maybe…”

I glared at the king with all the murderous intent I could muster, and his words trailed off.

“Allow me to ask one more time, Your Majesty. I should throw away my pride and lower my head, for the sake of the man who betrayed my daughter?”

“Gh…”

The king finally seemed to comprehend the enormity of his blunder.

(Like father, like son…)

I sighed mentally.

His Majesty did not spout such nonsense normally. But, like Sullivan, he apparently had a tendency to let his emotions take over at times.

(If he truly wished to protect his son, he should just do so, even at the cost of offending the Maxwell or the Rosais nobles. Was he so scared of us? However his cowardice made him ideal as this kingdom’s ruler. A truly competent king would be resented by the Four Houses.)

In the Lamperouge kingdom, the four margrave houses protecting the borders in the four cardinal directions boasted considerable power. They were normally called the Four Houses.

The measure of a king’s true ability in this country was in how well they could rule while not making enemies of the Four Houses.

His Majesty the king was too weak-willed to be the ruler of a nation.

But because of that, there was no threat to the Four Houses’ privileges or authority. He was seen as an easy to carry figurehead.

(Truly able kings never last long, after all…Sullivan should consider himself lucky not to have had any *unfortunate accidents*…)

The Four Houses must not be opposed.

The kings buried in darkness because of them were too many to count.

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