Medieval Knight System: Building the Strongest Empire Ever!

"It is necessary, my lord. Once a person is rumored to be a witch, she can never escape the brand unless a special trial pronounces her innocent. And rumors that Erika was a witch were already circulating. Very quietly, and very discreetly."

Small communities were far crueler and less forgiving than I had imagined. Even if I executed every one of those men, the suspicion would linger among the villagers so long as the rumor had spread.

The witch, that terror of the unknown, gnaws away at people’s reason just as the Devil does. Even if the problem were settled for now, the moment anything went wrong in Feuzen, Erika would very likely become the target.

Famine, disease, natural disasters, death: all manner of misfortune gets blamed on a witch. In the cities they would scoff and ask what sort of nonsense that was, but in the rural villages it was another matter entirely.

"So that’s why you demanded a special trial."

"Forgive me, my lord. For my brother and Erika to live safely in Feuzen, every last ember of the witchcraft charge had to be stamped out. And if the two of them are joined safely in marriage, wouldn’t relations between the Boeven migrants and the people of Feuzen soften a great deal?"

"Love as a stepping stone, then. Well, fine. I understand your intent. But you’ve let this grow far too large, and the biggest problem is that you are one of the accusers. If the accusation fails at the special trial, you will have to be punished one way or another."

"...I am already prepared for that."

"Your punishment will be decided according to the trial’s outcome."

Norman left after repeating his thanks several times over. The special trial’s purpose: judgment upon the slanderers, and a complete, unblemished acquittal for Erika the seamstress.

And personally, I thought it would be a waste to let Norman’s talents go unused.

A fellow who can paint a picture this big is a genuine asset. His disposition is resolute (good) too, which makes me like him all the more. I’ll have to work out the lightest punishment everyone can reasonably accept.

"Hans, put the accusers under close watch. No, assign guards to them openly. If anyone tries to approach them, block it under the pretext of protecting trial participants."

"Understood. I’ll cut off Dressel’s visitors as well."

The reason for posting guards was to sever the link between Wiegen and these men. They had surely been scheming over how to handle the trial, but being watched directly by the lord’s guards would weigh on them heavily.

I judged it would prevent any funny business.

And it must have worked, because Wiegen requested an audience.

Naturally, I refused to see him. I intended to make him good and anxious. Everything would be decided at the special trial, and I found myself eagerly awaiting it. What sort of scene would unfold, I wondered?

Lily, who had claimed a corner of my office, was still working on her unfinished novel. I heard she had changed course from a tale of a knight and a princess to the story of Hilda and me, but a finished draft seemed nowhere in sight.

Angela liked it when Lily sat quietly writing her novel, since it made for very peaceful hours. I gazed steadily at Angela, and feeling my eyes on her, she flushed red.

"Why are you staring at me like that? It’s distracting."

"My apologies, Fräulein. I was just thinking how hard you work."

"I never imagined it would be this hard. So this is what being a crown princess is really like."

Angela sighed and shook her head. Lily, absorbed in her novel, seemed to have heard none of it. When you’re engrossed in something, the sounds around you tend to fade away.

"I’ve sent a letter to Count Euz."

"Already? I’m not mentally prepared yet!"

"He’s far away in the east, so of course it had to go out quickly. There’s no telling when the reply will come."

It might not arrive for a month. Count Euz would undoubtedly investigate Bodo and the Viscount Elsheimer family, weigh the gains and losses down to the last detail, and only then make his final decision. That much was obvious.

"I hear you and Bodo fought quite a lot. How is he as a marriage prospect?"

"The worst! It could not possibly be worse!"

"Oh? If you hate it that much, shall we call the whole thing off?"

"What? You’d factor my feelings into a political marriage?"

Angela seemed genuinely startled. A political marriage is commonly understood to be one decided purely by the interests of the two families, with the feelings of the parties themselves ignored outright.

But if the two people involved utterly despise each other, I see no need to force such an unhappy marriage through. If they can at least tolerate one another, that is a different matter.

After some hesitation, Angela spoke carefully.

"Honestly, I don’t hate the idea all that much."

"Oh? That’s a relief."

"I don’t like that he’s a bastard, but I’d take Bodo over a complete stranger. And that cunning boy needs someone at his side to keep him in line."

I don’t know what memories the two of them built together. But the fact that she did not dislike Bodo, who had been upgraded from commoner to bastard noble, made me think there was no small amount of affection there.

Lily had recruited Bodo as a buffer against Angela’s nagging, but Angela, formalities aside, seemed to have taken an unexpected liking to him. People fall in love this easily more often than one would think.

It’s just rare for the person to be your political marriage partner.

When I had asked Bodo about it earlier, he turned pale with fear of Angela, yet the sentiment I read through the Scouter was not truly dislike. He simply seemed to regard her as a woman he couldn’t handle.

That’s plenty for a political marriage partner.

The Viscount Elsheimer family may be vassals of the Count Reinfeldt family, but with me and the Euznirks stepping in, the relationship can no longer be a one-sided hierarchy. Honestly, dissolving the vassalage contract would be less of a headache, wouldn’t it?

But Adelbert won’t give up Elsheimer easily. It may even be that Count Euz, once he has accepted this marriage, will coax Bodo into tearing up the vassalage contract.

And then take him on as a vassal of the Euznirk family instead.

I’m only a baron, so I can’t pull a move like that, and I can’t stand by and watch the Euznirks swallow Elsheimer whole either. We may be bound as sworn allies, but at the same time, all three powers are rivals.

Before I knew it, night had fallen.

Hilda must have been tired; she had fallen asleep before me. At times like this I could stroke her belly to my heart’s content, and I loved it. Is the child of the wolf growing strong and healthy inside this belly?

I’d have to invest 100,000 points to view the event.

It will be out of reach for a while, but once we move to Rosenheim, something is bound to turn up.

Just as I was finally about to turn in, I received sudden visitors: monks of the religious tribunal, sent from the Bishopric of Lanseh. The exhaustion of their hurried journey was written all over them.

"Forgive us for the disturbance at this late hour, my lord. I am Head Monk Francisco. I belong to the religious tribunal of the Bishopric of Lanseh, and all preparations for the special trial fall to me."

"You’ve had a hard journey. Why not warm yourselves with some hot water first?"

"I’m sorry. Father Nikolaus has moved up the schedule, so there is no time to rest."

The monks filed into the Feuzen church at that late hour and began setting up the tribunal. Surely the elderly monks did not mean to work through the night without sleep as well? They looked entirely serious about it.

In the end, I supplied oil to keep the lamps burning and had Hans pick out men to post as guards. Preparing the religious tribunal was the sacred duty of the monks, so any further help was politely declined.

"Head Monk, one last thing I’d like to ask. Why has Father Nikolaus moved the schedule up like this?"

"Because after the trial ends tomorrow, Father Nikolaus is scheduled to depart for Tyrol."

"If the schedule is that tight, then perhaps another priest would..."

"My apologies, my lord, but I cannot disclose our bishopric’s affairs to you. Only..."

The head monk glanced around and lowered his voice.

"It seems Father Nikolaus needs a track record as an inquisitor. I understand he petitioned the abbot most forcefully for this."

"...I see. Thank you for telling me."

He needs a track record as an inquisitor?

Don’t tell me that man’s real goal is the witch hunt itself?

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