abcnovels
Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Tetra and Abraham looked at each other for a while .
The first to speak was Abraham .
“Lady Tetra, I heard that your esteemed mother is a Cretian . I have a question regarding that . Is the name of your mother…… . . perhaps Helen?”
“……Yes . My mother’s name is Helen . You’re quite informed . ”
“Naturally……Helen is my daughter after all . ”
I see . If you think about our strange feeling… .
This old man, he looks like Tetra .
Although he doesn’t look like him that much . Perhaps, Tetra takes after his father more .
However… . . now that they said it, these two do resemble each other to that point that you’d recognize it .
The reason we couldn’t for sure was physique .
This old man, for a Cretian whose stereotype is smallness, is quite huge . Furthermore, his muscles were amazing .
In contrast, Tetra, even amongs the small Cretians, is quite small .
You could probably get away with this excuse .
However, I wonder if these two really have blood relation .
I have a feeling there’s enough possibility that this is just accidental resemblance but…
“…… . . You don’t have evidence . If just by resemblance my mother is your daughter, then my family would increase infinitely . ”
Tetra refutes him .
Yeah, that’s right . Besides, could such a coincidence really exist?
Rather, how did a tyrant’s daughter got wed to an Adernian great clansman from the country side?
“Let’s find out whether we have blood relations through sorcery distinction . You know of it, yes?”
“……then, let’s confirm it . ”
As Tetra declared so, Abraham’s slaves brought over a container, grass, and a knife .
What’re you guys going to do .
“Hey, Almis . Please call over Julia . Julia would be suitable for this job . ”
“Well, that’s true . ”
If it’s that girl, mistakes would be impossible . She’d also be able to notice anything that the other party might have prepared or planted .
“Now way, as expected there’s no way that’s possible, you know . ”
Even while Julia is denying the possibility, she still begins preparing .
While looking at the water on the container, she puts some pulverized medicinal plants .
She then mutters some kind of incantations, maybe, as she holds out the container before Tetra and Abraham .
“Now then, Your Excellency, Lord Abraham, your blood please . ”
“Here . ”
Abraham pricks his own finger with a knife . Blood dribbles forth from the wound .
It falls down into the water’s surface in dribbles and makes ripples on contact .
It dissipates like smoke into the water and mixes with it .
When the water changes into a slightly pink color, Julia tells Abraham to stop .
She then hands over a different knife to Tetra .
Tetra quietly pushes the knife into her thumb and makes a wound .
When the blood falls into the container, the liquid radiates a faint light .
“There’s no mistaking it……to think that… . ”
“In other words, it’s true?”
Julia nods at my question .
“To think that the son of the Griffon – the New King Rosyth – is my grandchild!!”
Abraham breaks into a good mood .
By the way, would this really make me this person’s grandchild?
Is the husband of your grandchild also your grandchild?
I don’t know… . .
Now then…what to do…
I don’t have any relatives . That’s find relatives I would be able to rely on is a good thing .
Although the status of a tyrant is not quite well received, that’s only true amongst the Cretians .
There are a lot of Adernian countries with monarchial customs . Therefore, there won’t be problems .
However…
“By the way, when will my great grandchild be born, I wonder? “
“Umm… . . our plans for the present are……”
I exchange glances with Tetra . She shakes her head .
“What is that? I’m already fifty . I don’t have much time left . I can’t die until I see the face of my great-grandchild . Let’s see… . . ”
Abraham rings a bell upon which a slave immediately enters .
He orders the slave .
“Bring that here . Do you understand?”
“Yes, that, am I correct?”
You understand with just “that”……
What are you two, a married couple?
The slave brings over a beautiful glass bottle . Inside is a gold-colored liquid .
“I’ll give this to you . It’s honey-wine (mead) . A queen bee gives birth to a lot of children . ” [TLN1]
In a good mood, Abraham pushes the bottle into Tetra’s hands .
“Th, thank you very much…… . umm……Your Excellency . ”
Tetra is making an extremely complicated face . She’s shaking terribly .
Her eyes are swimming around, evading seeing Abraham’s face . She then sends me and Julia glances from time to time as if asking for help .
This might be the first time I’ve seen Tetra this way .
She had always thought that the only family she had was her husband (and Julia) . Then suddenly, her grandfather showed up . Furthermore, this grandfather is a a tyrannical despot which, as generally viewed by the world, is a bad person .
Not only that, this grandfather of hers just handed her mead along with a dirty joke… . .
Yep, Thing’s aren’t making sense to her .
“If this truth becomes clear then my and your country will deepen relations all the more . ”
In other words, you intend to make this public, huh… . .
It’s not a bad proposition for my and Abraham’s relationship to turn familial .
From my point of view, as someone who had no choice but to have familial relationships with Julia’s relatives, being able to strike a balance ((through Abraham)) is good .
However, a problem is sure to develop regarding whose child, Julia’s or Tetra’s, would be made to succeed .
In the first place, it was through marrying Julia that I was able to gain the right to the throne .
Therefore, it’s only logical that Julia’s child is to be made next king . At the very least, trouble isn’t bound to happen .
However, if you’re asking if it’s impossible for Tetra’s child to become the next king, then the answer is – not at all .
If you traced the Ars clan up to its very origin, you’d find that it is, like the DeBell clan, a branch clan of the Rosyth clan .
Therefore, Tetra’s child would also have Rosyth clan blood . Therefore, the qualification is there .
If Julia first gives birth to a boy, then the problem would be peacefully settled . However, things don’t necessarily always go well in the world .
Since the present power relationship is overwhelmingly in Julia’s favor, her child will, without fail, become the next king regardless of whether he is born first or next to Tetra’s child .
However, if Cretian influence, with Abraham at the center, starts backing Tetra then . ……… . things will become troublesome .
At any rate, I’m thinking of aiming for Cretians as human resources for the bureaucracy and such .
From the point of view of a bureaucracy consisting of a huge percentage of Cretians, they’d probably be happier with the next king having Cretian blood .
I fear a war between the Rosyth Clan plus the great clansmen vs the Cretian bureaucracy plus foreign Cretian states might occur .
Ahh……my head hurts……
“Regarding the public proclamation…… . how about the next new year’s?”
It’s the sixth month now . In other words, the public proclamation would be seven months later .
The country should be in order domestically by that time .
“Well, I guess so . It’s more convenient that way too . Then let’s go with that . ”
For the meantime, I manage to buy some time .
Well, I won’t blame you even if you say buying time doesn’t necessarily does something .
As such the curtain closes on our honeymoon .
Because we were able to take home several souvenirs (people), the results weren’t bad .
From hereon, the number of Cretian merchants will probably increase much more .
……… . A troublesome reality had come into light, however .
After Almis had left, Abraham had called for his close-aides . (Edit for plural/singular)
“Regarding the human resources you’ve sent to the Rosyth Kingdom… . . I’ve planted amongst them several mice . Order the sorcerers to cease operations . I fear they’d be found out . ”
Lezzad and Nemes, too, had probably sent spies .
Since it was a chance to send spies to the Rosyth Kingdom without easily arousing suspicion, any country is sure to pounce on it .
Their objective is the production method of paper and fire medicine .
That, however, should also be evident to the new king . Because he knows it, he probably judged that the returns overweigh the risks .
Perhaps he won’t let the bureaucrats he had taken home handle important documents .
What they’d would probably know would be trivial information, fragmentary information that would be cryptic, and the like .
Besides, they should be concealing with all their might the means to producing paper and fire medicine .
Getting your hands on them would be extremely difficult . No, it’s almost impossible .
However, It’s not a hundred percent . There’s enough merit in trying if there exists even one percent probability .
Besides, they would now be able to understand Rosythian domestic conditions even more than before .
Although Adernians have the same skin color as the Cretians, since they speak a different language they’re easy to make out .
However, if they can send that much to the Rosyth Kingdom, then they should also be able to more easily gather information on other countries .
“Let’s prepare for that and the present . I’ll make my great-grandson the crown prince by all means . ”
Doing all these with just Gehenna is difficult .
However, doing this with just one country is unnecessary .
At the same time as the new year proclamation, they will begin contacts and maneuverings with three other states .
If they combine the power of the assets of Cretian merchants and the Cretian bureaucrats in the Rosyth Kingdom, then there’s no difficulty that can’t be overcome .
The problem, however, is the nobility…… .
“Let’s take some time and let these great clansmen from the Rosyth Kingdom feel luxury . ”
“Understood . We shall send them a large amount of spices, metalware, and glassware – for friendship! – or under the guise of something like that . That new king, too, had bought up quite a lot of them, yes? If he flaunts them off, then the great clansmen are sure to want them too . ”
Negatively speaking, simply and sincerely, Adernian culture is something that reeks of destitution .
To the order that their meat, even for great clansmen, is only from hunted wild boar whereas pork from fattened ((domesticated)) pigs and the like are only brought out in banquets and the new year .
Although there would be some that would buy splendid things such as metalware, it’s not like all of the great clansmen would want them and do so .
However, the number of Cretian merchants going to the Rosyth Kingdom would increase .
If the number of goods would increase, then the number of great clansmen that would show interest would probably follow .
Money is necessary to buy such extravagant goods .
However, money isn’t something harvested from the fields . It’s obtained from commerce .
The fears regarding money are based on the change of their value .
It often happens that something you could buy with one gold coin would, in just a month later, then cost a gold coin plus five silver coins .
These are great clansmen that had just recently gotten known currency .
They would, without fail, err on the use of money .
They won’t be able to gather and prepare money .
However, they want luxury .
Then what should be done? Borrow, of course .
There’s also the option of suggesting investment . Let them take a huge loss and sink them into debt .
If that’s done… .
“They’d completely fall into our whims . At the least, I want to secure a quarter of them . If we have that much, we’d be able to forcibly drag them to our position . ”
There’s also, of course, inciting the commoners .
In the Rosyth Kingdom, all the commoners are landed farmers and soldiers, at the same time .
Right now, they are under the impression that they need to obey the king and the great clansmen but…
What would happen if they come to know about the Cretian system of government?
If you want to the agitation to end, then make Tetra’s son the crown prince… .
Such pressuring is also one of the options .
Besides, all women want to become the best in their beloved’s eyes and want to have their children as the foremost successors the more they love the man .
Even if they say that they aren’t dissatisfied, is there really a person who can completely say there isn’t discontent in their heart? No, there isn’t .
There isn’t anything strange in wanting to visit one’s grandchild .
Abraham proceeds by himself and murmurs… [TLN1]
……Grandpa will do something .
“Haha, I’m a little sad that Helen died but… . well, I’ve already thought from the very beginning that she had died . Leaving that aside, she had left me behind the best gift . What a good performance . I thought she lacked filial piety but……I need to take that back, huh . She’s a filial daughter . Hahahahaha…… . ”