I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 17

Jereuth’s steps halted at the thought that he might have to kill the crown prince's maid, Elly, in the Purge.

‘His Highness said that not only the nobles, but also the noble faction knights, vassals, and servants are all targets of the Purge. So, daughters sent to the royal palace as maids are naturally included. Then… this maid, the daughter of Viscount Heinem, must surely be killed as well.’

No matter if she was the crown prince’s maid, a noble was a noble.

In other words, she was also a target of the Purge.

Jereuth once again asked himself the same question.

‘Do I have to kill that maid during the Purge too…?’

Jereuth was mentally prepared to kill anyone for Leonardo's sake. That didn't mean he would become a murderer, but it meant that if it was Leonardo's command, he would not be greatly bothered.

Being that kind of man, Jereuth could draw his sword at any time if he had to kill the Heinem Viscounty in the Purge. His heart was already trained to the point where it would not waver no matter how many people he killed.

However, for Jereuth, it was not an easy task to cut down Elly, who had stayed by Leonardo’s side when he was at his most difficult, and who could be considered a more loyal subject than himself in a way.

Wouldn't that be against morality?

‘What is His Highness planning to do? Seeing as he calls that maid by her name, it seems he has a special affection for her…’

The crown prince who declared he would purge the nobles for the sake of his royal authority and the peace of this kingdom.

He was certainly a meticulous, wise, and frightening boy.

‘But even such a Highness is still just a twelve-year-old boy. Can he resolutely kill the woman who helped and protected him in many ways?’

Thus, Jereuth's worries deepened, but that was Jereuth's misunderstanding. In the first place, Leonardo was not even aware that Elly was a noble, and if he had known Elly was a noble, he would not have even thought of ‘purging all nobles’.

However, Jereuth, who had no way of knowing Leonardo's thoughts, couldn't help but have many things on his mind.

‘I don't know to what extent His Highness has made his decision. Seeing as he hasn't said anything so far, it seems he has already resolved to purge that maid as well… Should I ask him directly?’

Jereuth started walking again. He was going to meet Leonardo and ask, since he couldn't come to an answer by worrying alone. His steps were heavy.

Elly followed behind Jereuth, dejected like a scolded puppy.

***

A considerable amount of time had passed since Elly went to fetch Jereuth.

She usually arrived around this time, so was something wrong? Given the timing, I couldn't help but feel anxious.

—Knock, knock.

—Your Highness, it is Jereuth.

He’s here.

“Come in.”

At my permission, Jereuth and Elly entered. For some reason, Elly looked extremely crestfallen. Her shoulders were slumped like a puppy that had been severely scolded.

I was curious as to why she was like that, but there was something more important to discuss right now, so I decided to send Elly out.

“Elly, I have something to discuss alone with the Captain, so please step out for a moment.”

“……”

“Elly?”

“Ah… Yes! I, I’m sorry. I will leave right away.”

Elly, though dejected, quickly and hastily left the room.

Jereuth watched her leave and let out a deep, quiet sigh. It seemed something had happened between Jereuth and Elly.

‘Come to think of it, Jereuth got angry at Elly before too. But he quickly admitted that he was wrong back then. I guess something else happened.’

After a moment's thought, I asked Jereuth.

“Did something happen with Elly?”

“Pardon?”

“Elly’s expression looked downcast.”

“Ah…”

Jereuth was about to say something but then changed his words.

“Nothing happened.”

Something clearly had happened. But there was no need to pry.

“Well, that’s a relief, but the Captain and Elly are two of the few people I trust, so I would like it if you two got along.”

I spoke my mind sincerely, but Jereuth did not nod his head readily and silently just studied my face.

His expression was one of someone who had a great many things he wanted to ask me.

***

At Leonardo's words that he would like him to get along with his maid, Jereuth could not answer readily.

‘The maid and I are among the few people he trusts… What does he mean by that? Is he telling me not to kill her during the Purge?’

The worry Jereuth had just a moment ago naturally came to mind.

Leonardo took a sip of tea and began to get to the point.

“Captain. Originally, I intended to purge all the nobles. As you know.”

“Yes.”

“But after thinking about it more deeply, there is a problem if I purge all the nobles. The problem is that after the Purge, there will be no ‘talent’ for me to use when I lead this kingdom. No matter how much you help me, Captain, I cannot manage and supervise this kingdom by myself.”

“You are right, Your Highness.”

“So I intend to spare a few nobles from the Purge. What do you think, Captain?”

At Leonardo’s words, Jereuth was once again lost in thought.

‘…Until just a short while ago, His Highness was sharpening his sword to purge all the nobles. For that, he even persuaded the Mage Tower to join our side, and he resolutely ordered me to carry out the frightening plan of assassinating a noble from the Vaimal Ducal Faction and framing it as the work of Duke Panshin to sow discord.’

But now, that same crown prince suddenly said he wanted to spare a few nobles from the Purge.

That was clearly somewhat different from the words and actions Crown Prince Leonardo had shown. Something had clearly changed his mind.

‘Why would someone who was so determined to purge the nobles suddenly change his plan? Is it really to spare some useful nobles for after the Purge? Or does he have another purpose… Ah!’

As he was thinking, Jereuth thought of the crown prince's maid.

‘His Highness… wants to save that maid. Since she is also a noble, she is a target of the Purge, so he wants to exclude her. That's why he also told me he would like me to get along with her.’

Since Jereuth had been continuously thinking about Elly and her family, the ‘Heinem Viscounty,’ he couldn't help but make this misunderstanding.

‘However, from His Highness's position, he couldn't say it outright, so he must have said it in a roundabout way. Then I, too, should accept it appropriately.’

Having finished his thoughts, Jereuth opened his mouth.

“Your Highness. Sparing a few noble families in preparation for the post-Purge rule is excellent foresight. However, which families to spare will be important.”

“It’s good that you’re quick on the uptake. That’s exactly what I wanted to ask you. ‘Which family to spare.’”

“By that… do you mean I should choose the noble families to spare?”

“Yes. But if possible, I would prefer families that are too weak to oppose me even after the Purge. That way, my power will be stable.”

The crown prince's words, ‘I would prefer families that are weak.’

With those words, Jereuth was certain.

‘His Highness is telling me to spare the Heinem Viscounty no matter what.’

The Heinem Viscounty had lost its territory in a territorial war after the war with the demons ended. After that, its power weakened, and now it was a family in name only. It was so weak that it had to send its own daughter to the shell of a royal family as a maid.

So it unconditionally met Leonardo’s criterion to ‘spare a weak family.’

Then, the crown prince added a word.

“By the way, do you remember when I asked you to assassinate a noble from the Vaimal Ducal Faction on the day before the Purge and frame it as the work of the Panshin Ducal Faction?”

“Of course. You said it would lead to an armed conflict between the two ducal factions.”

“That’s right. The noble to be killed at that time, please make it ‘Viscount Krain.’ Viscount Krain of the Vaimal Ducal Faction.”

“If we assassinate Viscount Krain… I think it’s a good choice. If we assassinate Viscount Krain, who is favored by Duke Vaimal, and disguise it as the work of Duke Panshin, Duke Vaimal will surely not be able to contain his anger and will attack Duke Panshin―.”

As Jereuth was speaking.

He suddenly remembered another fact.

‘It was Viscount Krain of the Vaimal Ducal Faction who caused the downfall of the Heinem Viscounty.’

There were numerous nobles in the Vaimal Ducal Faction. But for Leonardo to specifically point out Viscount Krain for assassination among those numerous nobles might be his way of getting revenge for his maid's family, the Heinem Viscounty.

Jereuth became even more certain.

‘His Highness has personal feelings for that maid. A royal having personal feelings for a maid is something that should be discouraged, but… I, who loved the king's wife, am not qualified to point that out.’

In any case, now that he was certain of the crown prince's intentions, there was only one thing for Jereuth to do.

—Of course, this was Jereuth's misunderstanding.—

“I understand, Your Highness. Then I will report back after slightly modifying the Purge plan, along with a death list of the nobles to be spared from the Purge. Along with the plan to assassinate Viscount Krain on the day before the Purge.”

“Thank you. Then I will trust and wait for you, Captain.”

“Yes.”

Shunk!

Jereuth respectfully saluted the crown prince, rose from his seat, and went out of the room.

Walking down the corridor outside the room, Jereuth thought.

‘A great king needs four retainers. A ‘ruthless knight,’ a ‘heinous mage,’ a ‘wise advisor who reads the future,’ and a ‘woman to lean on.’ Among them, I can be the ruthless knight, and if the Mage Tower Master Seria becomes the heinous mage… then there is no woman to lean on and no wise advisor who reads the future.’

Jereuth could never accept Elly as the ‘woman for the king to lean on.’ Jereuth's standard for the ‘woman for the king to lean on’ was the woman he loved and who was the queen, Victoria.

Compared to Victoria, Elly was still far lacking. In terms of appearance, Victoria the elf and Elly the human were not even comparable, and beyond that, considering the knowledge, abilities, and culture she possessed, Elly was substandard.

Above all, in Jereuth’s judgment, Leonardo was fit to become a great king. A woman worthy of such a person was only someone like Victoria.

“Well… even so, it would be fine to let her serve His Highness until he has grown enough.”

As Jereuth was having such thoughts.

A maid stood out in the distance. It was the crown prince's only maid, Elly, standing with a dejected look.

Elly was holding a square box in her hands. It wasn't clearly visible, but Jereuth could tell it was a magical tool that responded to the crown prince's ‘calling bell.’

‘Is she waiting for His Highness's call?’

Jereuth approached Elly. Elly, who was focused only on the calling device in her hand, was startled by the sudden appearance of Jereuth.

“Hic…! Ca, Captain, you’re out. Ah, I’m truly sorry for my rudeness earlier―!”

“Don't mind it.”

“……Pardon?”

“I said don’t mind it.”

At Jereuth’s different attitude from before, Elly stared at him blankly. Passing by her, Jereuth said.

“His Highness is a strong and wise person, but even such a person needs someone to lean on. So you must serve His Highness with all your heart and soul. As a ‘maid,’ just as you have been doing.”

“Yes? Ah… Yes, I understand!”

To Jereuth's words, which somehow sounded like a compliment, Elly answered awkwardly yet brightly.

But as it happened, Jereuth added one more thing.

“However, always be aware of your place. Meaning, be prepared to leave His Highness's side at any time.”

“……When I leave His Highness’s side?”

“Yes. When that time comes, you will know. Unless you are remarkably foolish.”

“……”

“But if that time comes and you do not leave on your own, I will make you do so. Keep that in mind.”

Leaving those words behind, Jereuth walked away.

Elly felt a certain heaviness in her chest and quietly watched Jereuth’s back.