We had arrived at the capital residence of Count Maslius.
Count Maslius, who had been in charge of making arrangements for Marial in various departments, greeted us and we all went inside the mansion.
Since the marquis was ahead, preparations were made for a bath, and Marial was guided directly to the bathhouse.
A servant of the Count's family was going to take care of the bathing, but Marial strongly opposed this idea. In the end, it was decided that Marial's attendant would be in charge.
…yes, it was me, Belle, and Layette-chan.
Marial thought we wouldn't be able to take a bath if we were taken care of by the Count's mansion, so she decided to be considerate.
Well, there weren't any nobles who let their servants use the bathhouse for guests….
Marial couldn't stand the fact that she was the only one taking a bath, and we… or rather, I, was just using a towel to dry myself with water from the basin.
…well, I thought so.
No matter how much I played the role of master and servant, and even though Marial had become very good at it, there was no way that Marial, who thought of me as a goddess, would be able to put up with something like that. Even when she played master and servant, I was doing it because I said it was "necessary and divine will," and that's why it was a serious act.
So, on the pretext of letting us take care of her, she arranged for us to take a bath with her. …Belle and Layette-chan were the ones who took part in the spill.
To be honest, I was grateful. So, I happily accepted Marial's kindness.
"…bathing with the Goddess. Kufu. Kufufufufufu…" (Marial)
I pretended that I hadn’t heard the suspicious voice.
Since Francette was an escort knight, it would be a bit unreasonable for her to take a bath with him. I'm sorry, but I'll let you be the hub this time. I didnt't mean any harm, I couldn't help it, yeah.
…I didn't want to talk about bathing.
I would never take a bath with Marial again.
After taking a bath, I had a strategy meeting with Count Maslius.
The members were the count, two of his subordinates, Marial, myself, Belle, and Layette-chan.
Belle was just sticking with me as my bodyguard, and I couldn't leave Layette-chan alone, so I was just with her, but in reality they had nothing to do with each other.
The Count looked suspicious that the three of us were sitting together.
No wonder. Even if I was fine with being a lady's maid, I didn't think they would understand the meaning of Belle, the babysitting nursemaid, and Layette-chan, the babysittered maid. Just because it would be unnatural for bodyguards to be present at the strategy meeting, there was little point in excluding Francette, Roland, and Emile.
Well, it was also true that there were so many people on this side, so it couldn't be helped that those three people were left out.
"…hmm? That person…" (Count)
Hey, Count, had you noticed me?
"Ah, yes, I have met you at Mari… Viscount Reifel’s house." (Kaoru)
Oh man, I almost said "Marial"!
However, all of the servants of Viscount Reifel's family not only called Marial "Young Lady", but also "Marial-sama" and "Lady Marial", so there shouldn't be any problem. You'd think I'd almost called her as usual, and then realized I was at someone else's house and hurriedly corrected mayself.
"After that, I noticed this child's excellent wisdom and hired her as a lady's maid. She has been useful in many ways." (Marial)
Marial said so and followed up, and the Count seemed to be convinced.
"Hmm, what did you say? I'm sure…" (Count)
"A person who searches for the truth and investigates. I am a 'detective'." (Kaoru)
The truth was always the same!
After that, the strategy meeting began.
The Count noticed me, and thanks to Marial's good follow-up, I was not just an ordinary lady's maid who takes care of Marial's personal affairs, but I also serve as Marial's staff member. Because it was recognized that I was doing something, I was tacitly recognized as having the right to weigh in on the content of the meeting… I think. Atmosphere-wise, somehow.
Well, that was some unexpected luck!
And the content of the meeting was….
According to the Count's story, the "head of the faction" who summoned Marial to the capital seemed to have completely lost his temper.
In this country's political and business world, where there was a royal faction with the king as its de facto head, a merchant faction backed by commercial guilds, a religious faction that had incorporated into temples, and other various factions, it was a middle-ranked faction that did not stand out. That was the faction to which Count Maslius, in other words, the Viscount Reifel family, belonged.
It was a big deal since the head of that faction said that he had given away a "beloved child who received the favor of the goddess" from an aristocratic family under his control. They seemed to be eager to use this as a foothold to expand their power and eventually become the largest faction. …ah….
That was why, in order to use Marial as a billboard and expand his influence, he was plotting various things…or rather, he was "planning."
Well, just because they were just ordinary people who were the descendants of someone who happened to become a king a long time ago, they were not capable of performing miracles or have connections to goddesses, nor were they ordinary people who had not received the oracle of a goddess. A "beloved child of the goddess" who actually performs miracles would be much more appealing than a religious person who was a human being. To the nobles, to the people of the temple, to the merchants, and to the general public….
Yes, that was right, I would carry it up to the portable shrine.
"The head of the faction, Marquis Cerdric, is planning to take Marial around temples and merchants, and incorporate her into his faction regardless of her occupation.Of course, he has direct contact with these people. Including lower-class and middle-class aristocrats…" (Count)
It was a natural way to attack, considering the actions of someone who had acquired an incredibly powerful weapon.
"And of course, other factions are trying to incorporate Marial into their faction, by any means necessary. Depending on the situation, it seems like he plans to take me in as well, hahaha…" (Count)
Said that, the Count laughed weakly.
Perhaps people from other factions believed that the relationship between Count Maslius and Viscount Reifel was just a political and power hierarchical relationship of a mere parent and a child, and that was Marial, who had just replaced. They probably thought that she had almost no sincere loyalty to his parents, the Count Maslias family.
Yes, they probably had no idea that she had been loved since childhood and that they had had a strong sense of trust and loyalty from the beginning.
As for the idea of incorporating the entire Count's family, I didnt't know the deep circumstances, such as what position the Count occupied within the current faction and what circumstances led to him becoming a member of that faction. As far as I could tell, I couldn't say anything.
…however, from the Count's helpless laughter earlier, it seemed unlikely that the Count would change his faction.
"And, not only the various factions of the nobility, but also the royal palaces and temples are trying to directly take over Marial, and the merchants seem to be desperately trying to make direct contact with her, hoping to use Marial's name for business.
When Marial meets the head of the faction, Marquis Cerdric, I will present as a guardian, but after that, when the Marquis takes Marial from place to place, I cannot accompany her. At that time, make sure you don't make any strange promises or statements…." (Count)
"Does that mean we will support you?"
"Well, I asked for it. And in particular, please be careful not to get involved in any talk of marriage, financial support for the territory, becoming a shrine maiden, attending a party at the royal palace, or anything like marriage." (Count)
Saying that, the Count reminded us.
…but why did you say "marriage" twice?
It was so important that he said it twice, right?
Author's Note
The PV promotion video for the Korean version of "Roukin" has been released on YouTube.
This is a masterpiece created by painstakingly processing small amounts of image data.
You are working very hard and I am very grateful.
For the Korean version, although the company is different, "Average Value" also sends out promotional goods every time, and they are doing really well.
And the video is here! ! (^^)/
Furthermore, on the 11th, two days after publication, the third volume of the comics "Potion" and "Roukin" will both be reprinted! (^^)/
Thank you!!
And "The Ride-on King," which I liked so much that I ended up buying the last copy at the bookstore, also seems to be doing well. (^^)/
Good luck, Pooch… No, it's nothing. (^^ゞ
Furthermore, I have one more announcement.
Next month, at the "Wonder Festival 2019 Winter" to be held at Makuhari Messe on February 10th (Sunday), Komino Kobo will be offering "Mile Figure" (a resale of the work that debuted last time in the summer of 2018). In addition, a new product, “Kaoru Figure” is now available! (^^)/
Since each item is manufactured one by one, the number is small.
…color the eyes however you like! (^^)/
In addition, there are many ultra mechas such as Space Mummy, Macky 1-3, etc.!
Edit History
11 Oct 2023: improved readability.