154. The Secret Princess of the North (3)

“Wait a minute! Zeke Kleiman! What are you doing now!”

I came because I was worried that a commoner girl might be held hostage by the enemy and in a dangerous situation.

The scene that caught my eye was rather a situation where Zeke Kleiman was holding a woman hostage and threatening him.

The Duke of Joheiden looked at the suit of the other party, quickly noticed that the other party was from the Ira family, a duchy in the north, and intervened.

Just because they don’t intervene in the affairs of the empire, they must be a powerless family.

They are like lions taking a nap quietly.

Losing Chuck with the Ira family had to be prevented at all costs.

No matter how much Zeke Clayman has the power to face the entire duchy, they are the imperial shield that blocks monsters from moving south. This is also directly related to the safety of the empire.

“Ah, Your Excellency, Duke of Joheiden.”

“… … Now, do you know who they are?”

“The duchy of the north, the Ira family, they say.”

Even though he intervened, Zeke’s tone was calm.

The Duke of Joheiden thought of the worst possible assumption, which was reasonable but never wanted to imagine.

“… … No way, the Ira family… … . Genga, who joined hands with Lost Hope… … !”

At his question, Zeke shook his head.

“Ah, not that.”

“… … Then why?”

“I don’t like to fight.”

“Yes?”

It was not only the Duke of Joheiden who gave his words an absurd look.

The Heirang Knights, who had been taken hostage a moment ago and had thrown away their weapons and were on their knees, added to his shamelessness and absurdity.

What was the person who had pointed a knife at the princess to gather information about?

“… … that, no Are you the Duke of Joheiden… … ?”

The knight commander, who had suffered from Sieg while kneeling in front of him, turned his head and asked the Duke of Joheiden.

“… … It is.”

“… … Sir, are you sure you know the author?”

The Duke of Joheiden sincerely wanted to get rid of him, saying he didn’t know him here.

Anyone can see that the person who is committing evil deeds in real time is Joheiden’s benefactor!

However, it could be. In any case, Joheiden owed him an indelible debt.

“… … I am the benefactor of Joheiden.”

The Duke spoke in a low voice that was barely audible.

“Oh My God! The Duke’s prestige has fallen to the ground! In Joheiden, is it called a benefactor who takes women hostage? Think carefully! What will happen if the Ira family finds out about this!”

The Duke of Joheiden appeared, but the knight commander judged that the author would not be able to act recklessly.

However, Zeke was not a great person to give in to such things.

“uh? Are you hot? Have you guys bowed your head to me while thinking that in your heart until now?”

sigh-

Sieg thrust the knife into the saintess’ neck again.

Then, the leader of the knights of the Ira family looked at the Duke of Joheiden as if to try something.

‘Damn it, I’ll have to figure out what the hell happened.’

I can’t say I’ve seen Zeke Clayman for a long time, but at least I had a belief that he did this for a reason.

“Okay, wait a minute and see. Zeke Kleiman. Well, first of all, explain what you mean by saying you don’t want to fight.”

“It is literally.”

“?”

The Duke of Joheiden frowned.

To understand what the hell to do to be able to hold hostages and threaten people when they don’t want to fight.

“Yumma, you.”

After reading his expression, Zeke called the knight commander as if he thought he needed a little more explanation.

“… … What. No, a knife! What!”

“Please answer honestly. Would you have believed me if I had told you that I hadn’t the slightest idea what to do with this woman in the first place?”

“Do not lie!”

Zeke turned his head to the Duke as if to see this.

“Didn’t you play with his breasts!”

The captain of the knights couldn’t hold back his anger and shouted, as if Zeke’s expression had taken heat.

“Ha, I really don’t understand.”

“Yeah man!”

Zeke sighed and explained the situation.

“This woman suddenly passed out right in front of my eyes, and I just touched her to see if she was still alive.”

“Then from the beginning!!”

“If I explained it like that, would you believe it? Were you confident not to hold the knife? yes?”

“… … .”

At that, the knight commander also kept his mouth shut, as if he had nothing to say.

“… … I understand what you mean. However, taking hostages only makes the situation worse.”

“I really didn’t want to fight. Soyi is also passed out here, and no matter what I say, these guys will roll their eyes and run at me, so did I have time to think of another way?”

The Duke of Joheiden secretly spoke to the knight commander.

“… … Zeke, Iza says yes. Well, if you release the hostages right now, will you be able to clear up the misunderstanding and make things happen?”

“… … Already, we threw down our weapons and fell to our knees at Lee’s threat… … ! Our reputation has already been tarnished. I’m sorry, but I cannot cancel the duel with that unscrupulous man!”

“Ha, these brain muscle bastards… … . Duke Joheiden, what are you saying so kindly? You don’t have to. Dude, do you really want to see him scratch his neck? Swear quickly that you won’t duel.”

Zeke looks like a rare villain who uses hostages sparingly.

The Duke of Joheiden’s head was pounding.

At that time, a girl caught by Zeke caught his eye.

It was a girl who looked to be the same age as Serena.

‘blond hair… … ?’

The face of the Duke of Joheiden changed quite seriously.

Blonde hair was the mark of the imperial family.

When a member of the imperial family was not born with that rare hair color, there were often cases in which he could not gain the title of king or the support of his subjects.

Despite the controversies, the reason why the 2nd prince had more people than the 3rd prince was because he was born with blonde hair… … .

‘But, wasn’t it true that only black hair was born in the Ira family… … ? No, no way!? therefore… … . Did the Ira family withdraw from politics altogether… … !’

Originally, the Northern family hadn’t been too involved in politics, but they hadn’t been as isolated islands as they are now.

It wasn’t often that northern nobles came down to the island to attend banquets, and it wasn’t often that imperial nobles went up to the north, but it wasn’t rare… … .

However, since 20 years ago, the dukedom of Ira in the north withdrew from all aspects of politics and exchanges, as if intending to completely sever ties with the system.

Thanks to that, Justia and Yoheiden, who were weak compared to the Ira family, were able to grow up by picking up the rice cakes they left behind and swallowing them.

At one time, there was even a controversy over whether the Ira family in the north was trying to become independent from the empire, and the Duke of Joheiden could not easily think of the girl who was being held in Zeke’s hands.

‘Yes, if I had a daughter who was born with that hair color… … . And if you’re born with gold eyes… … !’

Then, a way to overcome this situation also came to mind naturally.

“Keuheum, the Heilang Knights of the Ira family.”

The Duke of Joheiden intentionally cleared his throat and called the knight commander.

“Please vouch for my duel with the author. I also ask that the hostages be released. If so, I will not hold Joheiden accountable.”

“No, what is your responsibility? Do you want me to swear now? uh huh Do you really get a knife mark on your neck?”

The Duke of Yoheiden desperately turned away from Zeke and opened his mouth.

“Yeah, if you want to, you should. Of course, I don’t think Zeke Clayman will lose to you… … . Um, but I have a question.”

The gaze of the Duke of Joheiden instantly changed to that of a senile politician and turned to the knight commander.

“The reason you guys are so desperate right now is because of the girl caught in the hands of Zeke Kleiman.”

“… … That, that!”

“Don’t say that I’m a completely unrelated girl. It’s embarrassing to say this to myself… … . I, too, am in charge of one of the three pillars of the Empire. You don’t know the weight of dropping your sword and kneeling.”

Then the duke touched his short beard.

“Blonde… … . Well, it’s not like there isn’t a child born to a commoner or other aristocratic family with a very rare chance, in that case, they usually go to the imperial family… … . As a maid or servant to assist the imperial family, live alone for the rest of your life, or become a distant relative of the imperial family. It’s as if gold is only for the imperial family. Isn’t it?”

The duke asked the knight commander, but he just clenched his fist.

“Of course, that is the case with ordinary nobles and commoners. What would happen if such a child came from the duke’s family… … . There’s no such history, so I can’t guess, but the imperial family will try to take it with all their might. Otherwise, their legitimacy will be questioned just because their symbol is in the north… … .”

“Peacock. Now, what are you talking about… … .”

The captain of the Heilang Knights showed his teeth and growled.

“Oh, I’m not done talking, so keep listening. What if my daughter, Serena, was blonde… … . Umm, if it were Justia, she would have married the imperial family and used it as a tool to strengthen the family… … . Also, I don’t like it. The position of the empress is far from happiness than I thought.”

The position of empress tended to be commonly thought of as the highest ideal that aristocratic women could reach.

By the time he reached the ducal family, he was fully aware of how far-fetched the rumor was.

An outsider to the imperial family.

Even if you see that your husband, the sun of the empire, has several wives and concubines, you should not be jealous.

In order to remove political influence, friends and people around them are all assigned to those selected by the emperor.

Both the tea party and the banquet were just sidestepped into the place where the emperor was attending.

And if you don’t give birth to a child born with blonde hair, how cruel your life will be.

“Right. That’s how it happened. It was intentionally hidden.”

The Duke of Joheiden nodded.

“… … Now, you’re fighting us, can you see it that way?”

The captain of the knights lowered his voice and asked with eyes that showed no respect for senior nobles.

“Um, I don’t really have any intention of telling this to the outside world.”

“… … ?”

“If you put it this way, I would say it was the mouth of a politician, well, let’s see. Quite a few people are watching here, so I’ll do this. I guarantee, on Joheiden’s honor, that I will not spread this fact anywhere. If this fact spreads as our fault, Yoheiden will make the best of apologies, and we will stand on the side of the Ira family and fight against the imperial family.”

“… … Now, wait a minute, what the hell am I saying… … .”

Duke Joheiden raised the corners of his mouth.

“Do I still have to fight Zeke Kleiman?”