「She feared that harm might come to the child born between Argusta-sama and the woman who is the 『hero』 of the Kingdom of Univance. Above all, the other party is connected to the Royal Family. We do not know what methods they might use. Therefore, she relied on relatives’ connections and came to our Republic seeking 『protection』.」
It was the expected response. So, I deliberately pressed further.
「Forgive me, but I have a question. We were unaware of her existence entirely. We only learned of it a few days ago when Marisan-dono, a witch from the Republic, visited us and said, 『There is such a story…』 The witch who met Lady Rashem reportedly said, 『There is no doubt that woman is lying, but please endure it as a kind of celebrity tax.』 And also, 『Do not tell anyone…』 Chairman. Can I retract that slip of the tongue?」
「…You cannot.」
「Then I will rely on the generous hearts of the people of the Republic.」
Do your best, Witch. I haven’t forgotten that you asked if it was okay to 『stab』 my wife? And I wonder what happened to the plate I sent?
The VIP seats on the Republic’s side buzzed at the unexpected information leak from within their own ranks.
This time, I would use whatever was available. Let the Republic know that there are enemies within their midst.
「…We will verify that statement upon returning home, but that is merely the Kingdom’s word. It does not serve as proof that you truly did not know.」
Somehow recovering, Kumura-san spoke.
Indeed, she was right. Even if we knew, if we said we didn’t, that would become the truth.
In other words, such tactics were usable.
「Let us get to the root of the matter. I do not know the Lady Rashem sitting there.」
Lady Rashem, the target of my accusation, slammed the desk with enough force to stand up.
If not for Kumura-san’s quick wit in placing a hand on her shoulder from behind, she would have surely stood.
「Is there any falsehood in that statement?」
I nodded vigorously at Kumura-san’s question and spoke before they could make their next move.
「This is something I mentioned to the Minister of Finance of the Republic during the wedding… I lost almost all my past memories due to a large-scale healing spell formula used for treating an illness. There is no way I would remember only her when I cannot even recall the faces of my family or parents. With that in mind, let me say it again. The fact that I have no memory is a 『famous』 story that even the people of the Republic should know. So, against someone like me, those who bring up matters from the past and propose holding an hearing like this… I must ask, on what basis do you confirm the 『truth』?」
When I asked directly, Kumura-san’s gaze briefly flickered to the back.
Perhaps she was checking the expression of her superior, the Minister of Internal Affairs?
「Ah. One correction. I had forgotten my father’s face as well, but he is sitting in the chairman’s seat.」
The muscle prince went 「Hmm, hmm」 and pointed with his chin, so when I looked at the chairman’s seat, His Majesty the King was shocked and depressed.
I wished a grown adult wouldn’t get depressed over a joke.
「We have also heard of Argusta-sama’s 『amnesia』. However, there is no proof that it is factual.」
Kumura-san countered with a logical argument.
But if she brought that up… we could set various traps. Was she okay with that? Since we were the ones setting the traps, we weren’t troubled at all.
「If there were concrete evidence that Argusta-sama had lost his memory, we would be satisfied. But without it, we can only continue the hearing thinking that he 『might have lost his memory.』」
「Well, certainly, what you say has some merit. However… bringing up that line of reasoning was a mistake.」
「What was?」
Did she not realize? Or was her pace disrupted by my free-flowing words… Yes. It was going according to plan.
「Then we also have a question. We request the presentation of concrete evidence that Lady Rashem is who she claims to be, and concrete evidence that the child was born by her. If you cannot present such evidence, we will have to treat the persons there as 『a woman and child brought by the Republic for today’s hearing』. After all, if you don’t present evidence, we don’t have to be convinced, right? Since it seems the hearing must continue even without conviction… we will continue, though.」
Kumura-san, who had groaned, clearly changed her expression. She seemed to have realized she had made a rudimentary mistake.
You have to calculate that the opponent will use your own words against you. As for me, I had spent the entire night thinking only about how to trip up the Republic side.
Now, shall we descend into a mudslinging match?
-0-
At noon, after finishing her meal, Noie stared blankly at the sky.
She stood still, gazing upward and straining her ears. But since this morning, his 『voice』 had not reached her at all.
Even though he was supposed to be having a verbal 『fight』 today.
「Captain～. Is something wrong～?」
Noticing the small, thin vice-captain running toward her, Noie turned her eyes.
「Arg-sama… worried.」
「What is this lovey-dovey talk! Even while fighting, you’re worried? That’s too enviable!」
The vice-captain, who punched the ground vigorously in sorrow, was acting as usual in her own way.
「Well, certainly, if stories about secret children come up, you’d want to fight about various things!」
「…Secret child?」
At the unfamiliar word, Noie tilted her head with a jerk.
「Huh? You haven’t heard yet?」
Lifted into the air in an instant, Mische choked.
「Tell me. What?」
「My neck… my neck!」
In response to her desperate plea, Noie grabbed the back of her collar and held her like a cat.
「…Argusta-sama is being accused of having a secret child, and a hearing is being held at the castle!」
Mische, who fell face-first onto the ground, nearly lost consciousness from the heavy impact.
But the person who had done it… had vanished from the spot.
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