Despite the fundamental differences in political system and religious practices between Taliteld and the Theocratic Nation, does the Duke have some strange competitive drive against them?
Of course, that’s all assuming their gods actually exist.
“So your presence in Terthed was for that research, I assume?”
“…Indeed,”
Cordle replied, furrowing his brow.
It must be tough for non-humans trying to live in the human world. Could it be that pretending to be human is a secret? I really do understand the struggle.
I smiled encouragingly, as if to say I can’t be of much help, but do your best. At that, Cordle’s attendants started panicking, and he turned his gaze away with a strained expression. Why?
“Eurushia-sama, if you’re not enjoying the meal, would you like a drink instead?”
Duchess Isabella suddenly interrupted, speaking quickly.
I wonder what’s wrong? I don’t really want a drink, but if I refuse both the meal and drink, it might be rude.
“Isabella…?”
“Cordle-sama brought a rare Terthed drink as a souvenir. Since it’s here, let’s have Eurushia-sama try some.”
“Is that so…”
The Duke didn’t seem to know about this. For Isabella to be receiving gifts from a man other than her husband, she really is a sinful woman.
Isabella instructed the maids to bring several bottles. They poured it for everyone, not just me, so it must be quite a delicious drink.
It has a strange, shimmering orange color. I wonder what it is?
“To the future of Taliteld and Terthed!”
the Duke proclaimed, raising his glass in a toast.
Oh my… is this…
“What’s wrong, Eurushia?”
“No, it was delicious.”
There’s a definite taste to it – a bittersweet, malicious flavor.
But this…
“…Ugh.”
“Eurushia?!”
My sudden groan caused Rick, who was sitting next to me, to jump up in alarm. But Rick also started to sway, pressing his hand to his forehead, and Noel, who tried to move, collapsed as well.
Even my sisters and Cordelia lost consciousness like they were falling asleep, and the attendants rushed in from the next room, kicking the door open.
Oh dear, what a predicament.
“Princess Eurushia!”
“My lord! Fanny, teleport us!”
“No, it’s no good…”
“Your Lordship’s magic is unstable.”
Looks like the servants haven’t indulged too much, that’s good…
“…Let there be light.”
Light spread out from around me, enveloping the fallen people.
I think I was able to neutralize it…
“Please…”
So strong… That’s why, I’ll leave the rest to you.
“You humans!”
When Tina, enraged by the harm done to her beloved master, tried to unleash her power, Nia, who had the power of “absorption”, grabbed her shoulder to stop her.
“Let go, Nia!”
“No, Tina! Have you forgotten Lady Eurushia’s instructions!?”
“Tch.”
The four great demons had been given instructions by Eurushia beforehand.
It wasn’t just for this particular situation, but in case Eurushia was unable to respond, the instructions were to first protect the humans close to their master.
From Eurushia’s perspective, it was just a way to prevent her demonic servants from going berserk if problems arose when she couldn’t act as a human. But the great demons were faithfully following those instructions.
If the great demons unleashed their full power here, Eurushia’s human friends would be the first to die. It’s not a matter of protecting or not protecting, but that human beings cannot withstand the miasma of a released great demon. Likely, they would be defiled not only physically, but also spiritually.
“Listen, all three of you. As per our master’s orders, we must first secure the safety of the humans our master is fond of. Since Vio and the other maids have fallen, the others who are elsewhere are likely also asleep. Find them and throw them all outside the castle. Fanny, you and I will take care of this.”
“Okay!”
Noah, the one tasked with coordination, first gave instructions to Fanny. Maintaining calm as the coordinator, but inwardly raging enough that the normally self-referring Nia reverted to his true self.
“But, what about our master…?”
“In her current state, teleportating master is impossible. Her is raging within, and our magic cannot safely transport therhem.”
“Then, what do we do!?”
“Nia will restrain our master until they stabilize. Tina, protect our master and Nia.”
“Understood.”
Dividing the roles, Noah carried Ludrick and Noel, Fanny picked up Eurushia’s sisters, and they took them out of the room.
“Nia, are you okay?”
“Somehow.”
Tina and Nia remained, jointly restraining Eurushia’s rampaging magic, while on the other side, the humans left behind began to stir.
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“Wh-What is the meaning of this!?”
Around the time the demons started moving, Duke Capel, who had not been informed, was alarmed at the sight of the collapsing guests.
“It seems the Lady Eurushia’s servants have taken the princes away. …How troublesome.”
“Isabella!?”
Turning to his wife’s words, Duke Capel saw her gently cradling their fallen daughter Cordelia, her cold eyes fixed on the golden-haired girl.
“Is Cordelia alright!? Was that wine your doing!?”
“Why the fuss? Cordelia is merely sleeping. I had hoped to put everyone to sleep, but it seems Lady Eurushia had made prior arrangements? What a truly saintly and vexing girl she is.”
“What are you saying!? How do you plan to resolve this situation!?”
It’s true that Eurushia was emitting light just before collapsing. If that was a detoxification spell, then Isabella really did poison them.
Desperate to understand the situation, the husband faced with a calm, cold smile from Isabella.
“I’ve simply been helping you. Isn’t her ‘magic’ what you desire?”
“Isabella…”
Duke Capel’s original plan was to build a magical infrastructure to protect the country.
The Capel family was a ducal house with royal blood. If something happened to the royal family, it was the role of the ducal family to guide the people, and to correct any mistakes of the royal family.
The current royal family are good people. In peaceful times, that would be fine, but now there are a number of countries, like the “Holy Nation” to the south, that covet the fertile lands of Taliteld in the central continent.
For this reason, Duke Capel proposed to combine unstable summoning magic and spirit magic, creating an infrastructure that could reliably borrow the power of higher beings like gods and spirits.
However, in the Holy Kingdom where divine authority is strong, even the idea of manipulating such powers was unacceptable to the royal family, and the plan had to be abandoned.
Yet there were other noble houses that supported Duke Capel’s methods. The Coel family was at the forefront, and the next heir, Albertine, was arrogant, but Duke Capel respected her noble character.
But… when the former Second Prince Folt married into the Coel family, their policy completely changed.
He pushed aside Albertine and, aspiring to become the duke himself, focused on diplomacy and cooperation with neighboring countries, which the royal family also endorsed.
From that time on, the Capel Duchy and the Coëll Duchy began to politically clash, but gradually the opinions of the Coëll family, who had a former prince, started to prevail. Then, when Albertine passed away and the Coëll family effectively dissolved, with Folt becoming the Grand Duke, the rift between the two families deepened further.
Likely, His Majesty the King had a desire to protect his own child and granddaughter, but he also revived the Grand Ducal house as a backup for the royal family, in order to strengthen the kingdom’s defenses.
It’s true that the four remaining Duchies are cadet branches that have split off from the royal bloodline, but over the centuries they have essentially become vassals to the royal family.
As vassals, it is natural for them to devote their lives for the sake of the nation, but the current King was too kind to send his vassals to their deaths. That’s why he gave that role to his own child, and made Folt the Grand Duke, so that he himself could bear that responsibility.
However, it is precisely because of this that the Duke of Capel felt that the pride of the Duchy, who was willing to risk their lives for the nation, had been tarnished. He could not accept it, and secretly decided to restart his own plan.
Theoretically, the Duke of Capel believed it was possible. But the construction of that ritual was extremely difficult, and even now, the identified challenges… the prospects of securing the massive magic power were unclear.
However, the one who brought him the means to resolve both the ritual and the magic power acquisition was his second wife, Isabella.
She was from a shadowy lineage serving the Capel family, and used her connections to introduce the Capel Duke to Archbishop Calisto, who had been exiled to the Kingdom of Sigress, and Cordle, a researcher from Terthed.
Calisto showed understanding for the Duke’s idea and promised to cooperate as the “Coste Cult.”
Cordle, with his knowledge, built the ritual and taught the method to secure massive magical power.
Both were individuals with peculiarities and were suspicious, but the Duke of Capel, who had no allies until then, trusted them and decided to proceed with the plan.
According to Cordle, magic power has a “quality,” and the purer the magic power, the better, especially those without attributes like fire or water.
They had been gathering people who could use Holy Magic, with Calisto’s cooperation, to secure high-purity magic power, but even that was not enough to meet the required amount, troubling the Duke of Capel. Then, his wife Isabella introduced him to another individual.
Eurushia, who cannot use attribute magic but possesses immense magical power and is called the “Holy Maiden,” should be able to provide the equivalent of several hundred people’s worth of pure magical power.
Relying on that man’s daughter was distasteful, but if her magic power was to be used in a way that went against his intentions, it would also serve as retaliation against Folt and the royal family for neglecting Albertine. The Duke of Capel nodded in agreement to Isabella’s proposal.
How did it come to this?
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