The Elven Duke Reluctantly Marries The Cursed Lady - Chapter 24
“This section is usually off-limits to those who are unauthorized, but today I am going to show you a special room. This is the first time we are showing this to the public during an inspection.”
“Oooh, I see, I see!”
Believing that he was being given special treatment, the Minister followed Hydrangea with a spring in his step.
“Hmm, it’s dark.”
“This is the Forbidden Archive. I shall turn on the lights now.”
Hydrangea proceeded to use magic to create a fireball directly above the head of the gargoyle that was guarding the Forbidden Archive.
When the Minister saw it, his eyes widened and he exclaimed,
“Gyaaaaa~~!! Monster~~~!!”
The Minister turned away and ran, with Quince and the aides running after him.
“Hmph. I even thought of surprising him by making the gargoyles move, but he ran away the moment he saw them. Coward.”
The gargoyles heard him and spoke while only moving their eyes.
[Uwaah, how nasty.]
[Poor uncle.]
“It’s appalling how he would be scared by only this much. I was even thinking of accompanying him to the sealing room and putting him in a state of suspended animation.”
[Somebody stop him.]
[Just hearing about it gives me the chills.]
Upon his return, Quince informed Hydrangea that the inspection had been canceled because the Minister had fallen ill.
In other words, the inspection would not be rescheduled anymore.
Quince, who had been in charge of coordinating the visit, couldn’t help but voice out his complaint.
“Your Excellency, I wish you would stop looking down on the Minister with an expression that looks like you’re saying, “You fools”. I’m just glad he didn’t notice.”
“And what does that expression look like?”
“It’s like a dark smile.”
“I don’t get it at all.”
After that, he was summoned by Prince Magnolia. His audience with the prince was to be conducted over lunch. Leaving Quince in his office, Hydrangea teleported to the dining area where he was invited.
“Hello! Good day, Duke Laudense.”
Prince Magnolia welcomed Hydrangea with a soft smile.
“Take a seat and have a meal with me.”
While they ate, they discussed the contents of the letter that Hydrangea sent the previous night.
“I was surprised to find that I’ve been so busy that I wasn’t able to visit my father for the past month or so.”
“I suspected as much.”
Prince Magnolia was wise and sensible, and had the makings of a great king. His only fault, however, is that he was on bad terms with his father.
The current king was an ever-smiling, tolerant man who listened to other people’s opinions— at least, it was how it should appear in nicer terms. In reality, however, he was an indecisive but an all-around good natured man who makes decisions based on the opinions of others rather than his own.
And because of this, Prince Magnolia’s respect for his father rapidly declined.
To put it bluntly, the current king was unfit to rule.
But in his own way, the king has prudently ruled the nation while taking in the opinions of many wise men.
“But in recent years, I’ve noticed that his sense of judgment seems to have dulled.”
Although the king listens to those who have authority and huge influences when it comes to public affairs, it was unexpected that he was even taking in the opinions of his vassals in his private affairs.
“We were able to identify the person who convinced father to change doctors thanks to the list of suspects you provided. But where on earth did you get that?”
“I suspected that it must have been one of those people from the families His Majesty suggested I pick a bride from.”
“Ahh, makes sense.”
We have to carry out the investigation carefully from now on.
Prince Magnolia continued to talk while he cut up the meat in his main entrée.
“I shall not forgive anyone who tries to blind my father and make him their puppet. If I find that someone has been planning to do that behind my back, then—”
Without saying another word, he grabbed a fork and aggressively stabbed the carved meat. The sauce splattered from the plate and stained the white tablecloth.
The usually gentle Prince Magnolia was quite angry.
“Oh, right. Father asked me to hand this letter to you.”
Hydrangea immediately opened the letter and found a carefully written thank you note for his visit yesterday.
At the end of the letter, the king mentioned that he had done his best to drink the magic potion as if he were asking to be praised for a job well done.
Hydrangea used fire magic to directly burn the king’s letter.
“Was there anything confidential written in it?”
“No, it was just so nonsensical that I burned it on impulse.”
The prince showed his understanding with an empathetic nod.
