Overlord And The Blue Citadel 20 『Crown Of The Prince』

She had long brown silky hair that reached down to her flat rear, healthy soft rosy skin spotted with freckles and big doe-like brown eyes. By all means, her frame was slender and pet.i.te. She suffered from depression, kept locked away in the Palace, kept from the eyes of the public. For the first time, he had let her out to roam in the gardens, to smell the roses.

Marquis Boullope had married his daughter to him in a bid to gain control over control him in the future. It was a political marriage, so she had no real say in it. Perhaps she had someone else in mind before the arrangement, but that was the past.

The girl was about the same age as his sister, though that never mattered and would no longer if it did since Barbro was no longer himself. This Barbro wasn't planning on letting her go either.

s.h.i.+fting in front of the window, he glanced over his shoulder to gaze at the room that was devoid of life. His eyes moved to his desk and contemplated with his eyes upon the stationary.

That was when there was a knock and his eyes darted for the door, "Come in." In his military garb, and ready for generally about any type of presentation, he sat down at his desk as the door opened.

Baron Cheneko and the Marquis came walking in through the door, nearly marching at that.

Cheneko was a deceptively sly looking man who tries his best to win the favor of the Crown Prince every chance he got. The Baron had light brown hair styled in a quiff that would remind one of a cinnamon roll. Upon his face was also has a curly mustache and eyebrows. To Barbro, he looked like a rat and probably was one in nature.

"Your Highness, I have brought Baron Cheneko with me today for our talks," Boullope grinned lightly, the scars on his face being illuminated by the light from the outside. Though his expression slowly faded as he saw his daughter outside the window in the garden.

"I was just watching my wife in the gardens," the Prince brought the gla.s.s of wine to his lips once more, savoring the taste for a few seconds before swallowing. "What about the talks?"

"Uh, hm..." The Marquis turned his gaze to the Prince from the window and nodded, wondering why the woman who he had sired was outside on the Palace Grounds. "About the Nation's future, your highness! You are the Crown Prince of the Kingdom after all. we must make plans in order to act on them when the time is right."

"Your Highness! By all means, if you wish for us to leave you to your wife, we will come back another time," Cheneko who would want favors from him in the future spoke hastily.

Barbro grinned lightly hearing the Baron and nodded slowly, "No. You came today, grab a seat, any seat and we will talk," lifting the gla.s.s to his lips he downed the rest of the wine before placing the gla.s.s down on his desk.

"Your Highness..." The Marquis started as he pulled a cus.h.i.+oned chair over to the desk, sitting down before the Crowned Prince. "Is it wise of you to be drinking at this hour?"

"We are talking about the future of the Kingdom, why must I be sober?" Without hesitation, the Prince seemed to make a soft quip, with a rather stern tone accompanied by a smile.

"Good point, Your Highness!" Baron nodded his head in quick succession, seated in a chair beside the Marquis, as he spoke.

"Be careful about nodding your head so much, Cheneko... You might give yourself a concussion," the stern expression overtook his smile to match the tone of voice the Prince used.

The Marquis simply shook his head as he looked over the Prince, watching as the royal heir leaned back in his chair. "This is the first time I've seen my daughter outside, does she have any attendants, Your Highness?"

"They're by the doors," The Prince chuckled at the father-in-law, "Now... Tell me, what is it you really want?" Barbro's tone had changed towards a darker tone as he leaned to the side, resting his jaw against his fist with his below on the arm of the chair.

"Your Highness?" Boullope kept his gaze on him, confused about his question.

"I've been thinking about this for a while," Barbro's hand s.h.i.+fted from his cheek and caressed his chin, feeling at his blonde beard. "You married your daughter to me... You've done me favors, sponsored me when I needed the coin. When I become king, what is your desire? Of course, you would want my support, but what other than that is there to gain?"

Boullope stared at the young prince with his pug-like eyes. With a s.h.i.+ft of his jaw and a subtle movement in his seat, he nodded firmly. "Your Highness, what does this have to do with..."

"It has everything to do with the future of this Kingdom, as it does for the Future Queen," Barbro cleared his throat as he glanced to the side to look over to Boullope's daughter. At that very moment, they locked eyes with one another as she had turned from the roses to face the window.

Boullope watched as his daughter was almost startled by the gaze, and immediately turned away. "She is still shy with you despite it being a year already! Heh, she should know better..." Nearly stood up before the Prince raised his hand to stop him. The Marquis saw no reason for concern, he had intended on punis.h.i.+ng his daughter for disrespecting the Crowned Prince.

"She is no longer yours Marquis Boullope," Barbro reminded the n.o.bleman of the n.o.bility Faction affiliated with the Six Great n.o.bles. "She is my Princess Consort."

"O-of course, Your Highness. Forgive me for my offensive conduct," Boullope quickly sunk back into his chair with his head lowered in a bow.

"This offense is forgiven," uttered the Prince and shook his head as he looked to Cheneko for however briefly before turning his attention back to the Marquis.

"The King has sent out the Head Warrior out to the fringes of the Kingdom in order to combat an unknown threat that has been attacking our frontier villages," the Marquis informed with a frown. "They entrusted a mere commoner to the job and glory of a n.o.ble!"

Slowly nodding his head, Barbro didn't give much response to this news. "If the Head Warrior were to die... Who exactly would protect the King? Would it be you?"

"You surely jest your highness!" Laughed the Marquis, "I am in no position to protect the King. My place is on the battlefield, not guarding the King's side from his enemies, but the Kingdom itself..."

"I do wonder why the King, my father, hasn't offered him the Status of n.o.bility for his deeds and friends.h.i.+p. While he may be the n.o.ble of Pigsblood should it happen," the Prince carefully eyed them as he conversed, "he could gain the t.i.tle of Knight. As would his children's children."

Raising a brow at the words used here, the Marquis was trying not to burst out into a fit of laughter. The t.i.tle alone was something to behold, especially as he tasted it on his lips, "A n.o.ble of pigs blood?"

"A commoner who has gained the right to pa.s.sage into n.o.bility. Before n.o.bles were born, they were made," the Prince snarled in a light scoff, "Obviously." His eyes then trailed to his empty gla.s.s.

"That is so..." Boullope straightened his back against the chair. Normally the Prince poked at the Head Warrior because of his common-blood and how he was not a true Knight of the Kingdom.

It was the n.o.bility Faction themselves which were stopping the King from appointing the Head Warrior Captain as a n.o.ble.

A small frown could be seen decorating the Prince's lips as he was still looking over his wine gla.s.s.

That was when Baron Cheneko shot up from his chair, grasped the nearby open bottle of wine and stood beside the desk to pour it into his gla.s.s.

Chuckling softly, Barbro looked to the rat who had begun to fill his gla.s.s. "Perceptive of you, Baron Cheneko," he mildly praised the baron as he filled the gla.s.s and put the bottle down before returning to his seat.

Reaching over the Prince plucked the gla.s.s back up into his hand and sipped from it.

"If there is a mole in the Kingdom speaking with the Empire, I want you two to find them," Barbro spoke with a frown across his lips. "My own ears had found that they've been too well informed."

"Your Highness?" The two n.o.bles furrowed their brows.

"When you find them, report them to me directly. They must be found out before the annual war approaches..." Nursing the gla.s.s between his fingers, the Prince was looking at them with serious ice blue eyes. "Both parties of the n.o.bles must be combed through, every last drop."

"What will become of the one who is found to be the traitor, Your Highness?" Cheneko asked as he leaned forward with great interest, being given credit for taking out a traitor sounded like it would come with an immense reward.

"Their land and properties will be auctioned by the Royal Family, their families stripped of their n.o.ble status, and the perpetrator likely hung for treason." Letting out a huff at the end of his sentence, the Prince swallowed half of the contents within his gla.s.s before folding his ankle over his knee. "Of course, the one who accurately investigates and reports the traitor will be rightfully rewarded. However, if the n.o.ble accused of treason turns out to be innocent... There will be complications, that is obvious."

"Your Highness... If the traitor is one of the Six Great n.o.bles, how will--" Boullope was cut off by the Prince as he rose his hand to silence the Marquis.

With a grin across his lips, Barbro lulled his head to the side as he leaned into his chair a bit more than before. He was beginning to relax as he then went on to address the n.o.ble's question, "They will be dealt with accordingly. If you two play your hands right, you won't only save the Kingdom, but make a hefty profit off of doing so..."

"Your Highness, do you know who we should look into?" Cheneko queried anxiously.

Barbro looked over them callously, as if they were looking to be fed hints, "I know who is clear of any suspicion. Marquis Raeven, Margrave Urovana, Panasolei Gruze Day Rettenmaier, and my brother-in-law Marquis Pespea are not traitors."

"That makes up the majority of the opposition..." Boullope leaned back into his chair, caressing his chin in deep thought. It looked like his brain was going to go into full nuclear meltdown as he was sifting through the little information that was available to him.

This left several n.o.bles throughout the Kingdom that could potentially serve as a threat to their own people and the crown itself. The future of the Prince depended on it, and Boullope wasn't going to let it threaten his wager.

"I want you two to begin your investigations a week from now. You'll need to get your people and resources in order, at least I would think..." Barbro took another sip of his wine before pus.h.i.+ng himself up and out of his seat. The two n.o.bles did the same seeing their prize card stand.

"Your Highness, if I may ask, what made you ask this of us? Was there reason to suspect a traitor amongst the n.o.bles of our kingdom? It is a heinous act." Marquis Boullope again decided to question the man, not wanting to be turned astray by promises of treasure that could ultimately lead him to the gallows instead.

"Looking over various records of our Annual Wars with the Empire, it is clear someone has been feeding them information... It is either being sold through merchants or directly through surrogates who dispense the information at their own discretion to a particular source." The Prince seemed to be rather adamant about this. "Now leave, the next time I see you, speak nothing of this unless there is something conclusive to report."

The two n.o.bles nodded to him and as quickly as they came, the two went befittingly out the door.

About thirty minutes later, the side door would open and his wife came walking in slowly, peering over to see that her husband was alone and on his third gla.s.s of wine.

"Took you long enough to return, Sienna," the Prince tsk'ed his tongue at her before turning his gaze to meet her. Not at all affected by the wine he drank, Barbro placed the gla.s.s upon his desk once more.

"W-what did my father want?" His consort asked as she stared at him from across the room.

"Do not stand so far away when you talk to me," Barbro neglected to answer her question as if completely disregarding it as if it had no meaning at all. He listened to her dainty feet as she made her way across his reception chambers and up to a couple of feet away from him.

"That's better, now ask me again," raising a gloved hand she nearly flinched but held still she felt his digits lightly dragging along her skin.

"Your Highness..." She swallowed, "What did my father... Wish to speak to you about?"

Letting his hand move from her face and into her hair, he gazed over her timid persona, she was afraid of his authority "Would you believe me if I told you he was asking about you?"

"No... Not necessarily," Sienna's eyes were to the floor as she spoke, "Your Highness."

"Call me Andrean," his fingers encompa.s.sed the back of her head as he pulled her in closer to whisper into her ear, "I hate the name Barbro, Andrean is a name far more befitting of a future King."

Blinking at his proclamation, her eyes wandered up to his chest as her head lifted slightly to gaze upon his face. The arrogance that he usually aired, seemed to be hidden behind a genuine smile. Though he reeked of wine, he seemed somewhat more pleasant than all the other interactions they've shared.

"He sees me as nothing more than a tool for his ambition," this small murmur leaked from her lips.

"There is no other reason for him to pool all his resources under me if he didn't have any purpose behind it," the Prince spoke in a slow and quiet manner as he retrieved a dagger from his desk.

"What are you doing with that?" Blinking at his actions, she wanted to back away. If he wanted to do away with her, he surely could and cover it up. Yet she couldn't find the ability to move, even as his fingers were tightening around her hair.

Her eyes watched as the glistening blade was moving closer and closer to her person. Without an answer as he moved the blade close to her face, she closed her eyes tightly as it was the only thing she could do.

Sienna was expecting to be stabbed, her throat slit, or something along those manners yet none of those had occurred. She didn't quite understand what was going on at all.

Parting her lips as she then felt a light tug, the strange sensation of her head feeling light came to her attention. Surprised by the occurrence, she opened her eyes, centering her gaze on the dagger as he was planting it back on the desk. "Wha..." Confused she reached behind her head and found her brunette locks had been reduced to jaw-length.

In his free hand was the length that he had cut from her head, held in his fist. Carefully taking a string out from one of his pockets, he wrapped hair with care before placing it down beside his dagger.

"What was that for, your-- Andrean?" Sienna's gaze kept jumping from the dagger and to the Crown Prince of the Kingdom, all the while letting her hand fall to her side.

"Undress and meet me in my bed chambers," He gave her soft right cheek two little playful slaps. "I'll be there in a few minutes," he folded his hands behind his back as his blue eyes stared through her.

Rapidly bobbing her head in a nod, Sienna was quick to escape the room, though he was sure he could see a faint smile across her lips.

"Now then..." He listened for the door to click shut behind her as she left.

With his wife now gone and he doors secured, he silenced the room before using, 『Message』.

"Archona, is that you?" Fenrir's voice sounded through the Shade's mind.

"Yes, Fenrir-sama," They spoke with Barbro's voice which caused an instant brief and awkward silence. "Fenrir-sama? Are you there?"

"Ah, so it seems you found a worthy host, Yes? Who is it that you're using I wonder." Fenrir seemed curious, as he had not seen inside the building as the Atlas did not show it.

"As expected to know I, Archona the Shadow of Death, have chosen a Worthy Host such as the Crown Prince of the Re-Estize Kingdom. He has quite the face... And quite the wife. Am I being spoiled?" The Shade questioned its master curiously as it crossed its host's arms.

"Oh? So one of my Floor Guardians gets married before I do, it seems you are being spoiled..." Fenrir retorted with a chuckle, clearly amused by the antics of the Shade.

Deviously grinning, the dark spiritual creature inhabiting the body of Barbro nearly squirmed feverishly in glee, "Fenrir-sama... Give me one word and I'll take their souls... Just one word. One way or another I will hand you the Kingdom on a silver platter, piping hot but still bleeding."

"All is well, Archona. You have gained a regal position within their government, use it to gather influence and subtly eliminate those who work against you if you cannot bring them under your control." Fenrir ordered with a callous tone, no longer joking around. "Thank you..."