Chapter 132 - The assassin throws a party
Translator: VALIANT
A carriage arrived in front of our house to deliver packages and letters.
Most of them were groceries.
We were planning to throw a huge party the following day, so we had been stocking up on the best stuff without worrying about the expenses.
While I picked them all up, I used this opportunity to post a letter.
It was addressed to Count Flantrude. In order to get him to cooperate with me for the trial, I seduced him by dressing up as a woman and pretending to be someone else named Lou.
It was what you may call a honey trap. For an assassin, it was one of the major tricks.
Now that Count Flantrude was no longer of use to me, assassinating him immediately would’ve been the easiest way to get rid of him. But I had made a point not to kill senselessly, and he devotedly did the work I gave him, so I chose to settle this matter peacefully, and spent a lot of time and effort on that.
I put distance between us and used our written exchanges to show the difference between his expectations and reality to make his love die out and have the relationship between him and my character naturally disappear.
Human emotions were easy to manipulate.
The feeling of not being a good match was much more likely to cause the romance to die out than a clear rejection.
[That was the plan, and yet…] (Lugh)
I stared at my letter with a dejected expression.
We had exchanged countless of them, but the passion in Count Flantrude’s letters hadn’t diminished one bit.
I didn’t take him seriously enough.
It wasn’t that he was particularly devoted to love. He was simply dumber than I imagined.
He was so blindly focused on his ideal image of Lou that he didn’t even notice the discrepancy between that and our correspondence. He wasn’t looking at Lou, but at the perfect woman that only existed in his mind.
[Well, this is not good.] (Lugh)
Some drastic measures may have been in order. I didn’t want to assume the identity of Lou ever again, but now I had to reconsider it.
Worst case scenario, he might even barge in on the noble daughter whose name and identity I had borrowed. If that happened, all the lies I had ever told him would be exposed, and things would become real messy.
Playing the role of Lou once again to show that fool the reality was more preferable than that.
[What’s this package?] (Lugh)
While checking the deliveries, I unexpectedly found a package addressed to Dia and Tarte. It came from Maha.
It’s all wrapped up and pretty large. Judging by the weight, maybe it’s clothes.
As I was wondering whether to open it, I heard footsteps and turned to look.
Tarte was rushing over while running out of breath.
And then, she snatched the package from me, and kept it close to her chest.
[…Did you look inside?] (Tarte)
[No, I didn’t.] (Lugh)
[Thank goodness. I made it just in time.] (Tarte)
Tarte was still in her training clothes.
She probably noticed the carriage’s arrival and rushed here.
I was curious to know the content of that package, but I didn’t ask her.
If it had been something she could tell me, she wouldn’t have been in such a panic.
[How’s your training with my father?] (Lugh)
I intentionally changed subjects. It was the safest choice.
[Very instructive. His assassination methods are similar to yours, but slightly different, and interesting. I managed to learn new techniques!] (Tarte)
Educating Tarte was my responsibility, but my dad suddenly insisted on training her.
I guess he’s got his own ideas.
Maybe that’s the Tuatha Dé way of training a bride.
[I see. Be sure to show me what you’ve learned later.] (Lugh)
[Leave it to me! By the way, are all those packages behind you food for the party? Wow…! That’s amazing. There’s a kind of fish I’ve never seen before, an extra large lobster, and they’re all alive.] (Tarte)
[I was thinking of cooking up all sorts of interesting dishes for the party.] (Lugh)
[Except that I will not be allowed to help you with them, will I?] (Tarte)
[I’ll do the cooking myself this time. I want to make it a surprise for everyone, after all.] (Lugh)
I was going to pull a little prank on them.
Something I never dared to do before.
[I’ll look forward to it.] (Tarte)
[You’re backing down pretty easily.] (Lugh)
[Yes, because we’ve also planned to surp-… *Cough*, *Cough*! Um…! Well… My break is almost over, so I will have to excuse myself.] (Tarte)
Tarte returned to her training with the same energy as when she arrived.
With the package still in her arms.
No matter how much time passed, her careless nature wasn’t about to change.
I went back to my room and read the letters I received with the deliveries.
There were four of them.
The first one was a report from Maha. It briefly summarized Orna’s business situation and the progress of our business plan.
The rise in the number of monsters had hindered the distribution of goods, and while numerous companies were losing money, Orna was making a solid profit.
What contributed to it was a new product we released for the military.
It seemed to have been exceedingly well received on the field, and it was likely to get us a huge and long term deal. This would ensure the safety of Orna.
The second letter came from the Royal Knights Academy.
They had finally finished renovating it, and would reopen in two weeks.
That in itself was good news, but there was one thing about it that bummed me out.
The academy was going to hold a ceremony to honor my achievement of eradicating the subterranean dragon demon.
I knew the reason for that. The academy was destroyed by a demon, giving it the negative image of a dangerous establishment.
That image had to be removed. Which is why they had to hold a banquet and celebrate the subjugation of the demons, and at the same time, they had to give people the impression that they would be safe as long as I was around.
[Guess I’ll have to bear with it. I don’t hate the academy itself, after all.] (Lugh)
And I would get to see Dia and Tarte in their uniforms.
That alone is worth the trouble.
As for the third letter…
[It’s from Nevan, huh. She replied sooner than I expected.] (Lugh)
That letter came from Nevan Romalung, the daughter of one of the four major dukedoms, and the woman who desired me.
The other day, I asked my father to spread the news about my engagement to Dia and the others.
When an aristocrat got engaged, he would inform the most influential noble in the area of his intention in a prescribed form. Then, that same dignitary would spread the news to the lower ranked nobles gathered around him, as well as the central government.
Reporting this was the duty of nobles, and failure to do so would render the engagement invalid.
The leader of our region was Margrave Ailersch, and the one above him was House Romalung.
So it was only a matter of time before Nevan heard the news.
Although, it appeared that she had no intention of interfering with my engagement.
In fact, she said that she was relieved to see my positive attitude toward marriage, proving that I wasn’t homosexual after all, and she congratulated me.
The fact that she concluded by writing that “three wives or four, it’s all the same” scared me, but for the moment, I was gonna be safe.
And finally, next was the fourth letter.
[…Well, I had a hunch he would say that.] (Lugh)
It came from Margrave Ailersch, the leading figure of the region.
Simply put, he wanted us to gather the other nobles at my engagement party. He wrote it like he was giving me advice, but it was pretty much an order.
There was also a letter he addressed to my father, but it was probably the same demand.
The rules said that if you got engaged, all you had to do was report it to the local leader of the aristocrats. That was all it took to make it official.
However, based on the common sense of nobility, when the heir of a noble family got married, as the margrave put it, he had to invite all of his noble acquaintances, and throw a party.
I’m gonna write him a response letter.
To tell him that I vehemently refuse.
I was a man of common sense myself.
But I had no desire to throw a party for a bunch of nobles I barely even knew.
It would be exhausting, and I couldn’t stand the idea of Dia and the others being looked down upon by people who knew nothing about them.
In any case, I could see what Margrave Ailersch was trying to do here.
If I, the Holy Knight, held an engagement party, I would attract the most influential nobles, and then he could build connections with them.
Either that, or he planned to criticize and humiliate me by complaining about every little thing to chastise me for standing out despite being a lowly noble from Tuatha Dé.
As if I was gonna go along with that crap.
The nobility can have their own promotion race and power struggles for all I care.
I finished writing my letter, and asked a servant to send it.
[And that’s the end of that. Guess it’s time for me to prepare the food.] (Lugh)
And I’ll have to go pick up Maha tomorrow.
Better finish what I can today.
The next day, I took a flight to go pick up Maha.
When I landed and dropped her off, she looked pale and fell to her knees.
It seemed she was keeping her mouth shut and trying to fight off nausea.
[Are you alright?] (Lugh)
[…It was pretty tough on me, but I’ll be fine. I remember you telling me about it, but it was beyond what I expected. If this aircraft was mass-produced, it would revolutionize the logistics industry.] (Maha)
[It would be hard to mass-produce. The amount of mana required for that would be insane.] (Lugh)
[Well that’s a problem. Still, I can’t help thinking that it would be great if I had one for my personal use. If I had more mana, I could operate it, but it seems impossible.] (Maha)
I could understand Maha’s desire for an aircraft. If she had one, a trip that would normally take days would be over in a few hours. That way, she would have more time in her schedule.
For a busy manager, time was more precious than anything else.
Especially for Maha, who traveled the world doing business all year round.
[Let’s try to think about it. If I attach a Fahr Stone to it as a rechargeable battery, I can make an aircraft even you could operate. Since you move around all year, a means of transportation like that is what you need, so I’ll try and build it.] (Lugh)
Simply attaching a Fahr Stone to it would ensure that she had enough mana, but it wouldn’t be enough to let her control it.
I had to develop a magic device that would fulfill that purpose.
It was gonna be tons of hard work.
But for Maha, I was willing to do it.
[I’m happy to hear that. I’ll look forward to it.] (Maha)
She smiled.
Just seeing her smile made it worth the effort.
After that, I kept cooking up my dishes until the party began, then I brought them to the party room we were using as the venue for the event.
Although we rarely used it, the Tuatha Dé residence did have such a room.
I told everyone not to go in until the time was right.
Maha, who had just arrived here, was waiting for the party to start in Tarte’s room.
[I managed to set everything up right on time, after all.] (Lugh)
I inspected the party venue.
A most satisfying result.
The decorations were to my taste, and the meals were served buffet-style.
They were arranged on large platters, and every one of them was boiled in hot water to prevent the food from getting cold.
This was a method used in hotels. And since the food wasn’t placed directly on fire, it wasn’t burned nor boiled down.
Half of the dishes on the table were home-cooked meals that could be called the taste of home. Cream stew, roasted pheasant, Dia’s favorite gratin, Lunan trout grilled with salt, a salad of vegetables from the Tuatha Dé land, soy bread, and much more.
As for the other half of the menu, I cooked up some extravagant and unusual dishes.
For example, broiled eel. There were no eels in Tuatha Dé, but many cities in the south of the country put them on their menu.
I bought them alive, and instead of soy sauce, I grilled them over charcoal with fish sauce and a sauce sweetened with honey and wine to suit everyone’s palate.
In this world, eels were eaten stewed, but they were best charcoal-grilled.
For the meat dishes, I prepared two of them using the most popular and high quality beef in the royal capital, which was raised only for eating purposes.
The first dish was the best roast beef prepared using low-temperature cooking.
The second dish was a tender beef stew made with cheek meat and tail meat, which were high in gelatin, and simmered in a special demi-glace sauce.
I was proud of them both.
As for the seafood, we had lobsters, which I purchased alive just like the eels. I first prepared them as raw carpaccio to bring out the sweetness of the lobsters to the limit before frying them.
And for dessert, I used tons of chocolate to make the king of chocolate cakes, my favorite kind.
All of these dishes were delicacies that no one in this world had ever tasted before, made with the knowledge of my previous life.
Normally, my parents and I didn’t indulge in luxury.
But that wasn’t to say that we didn’t like to splurge.
We didn’t hesitate to let loose at least on occasions like this, and I had also prepared home-cooked meals to help them relax in case they got tired of such extravagance.
I always considered food to be a crucial element of a party.
Eating good meals is the only thing that lifts your spirits and makes everything else more enjoyable.
Which is why I put all of my energy into them.
[It’s almost time, huh.] (Lugh)
I took a look at the clock and realized that it was time for the party or start.
Mom and Dad were the first to appear.
Both of them got dressed up for the occasion, and Mom had the alexandrite necklace I had given her around her neck, which suited her well.
She beamed with embarrassment when I complimented her.
And next came the three girls who would be my fiancées.
[How gorgeous.] (Lugh)
For a moment, I was in awe.
All three of them were wearing dresses I had never seen before.
I see. So what Maha sent to Dia and Tarte were those dresses.
[Eheehee! You always catch us off-guard with your surprises, Lugh, so this time, we came up with something of our own.] (Dia)
[Um… Do they suit us?] (Tarte)
[Well aren’t you a lucky guy, Lugh. You’ve got three beautiful girls such as us as your fiancées.] (Dia)
I broke into a smile.
I really did feel lucky.
All three of them looked stunning.
No doubt Maha had picked the dresses so they would bring out the best in all three of them.
I wanted to see them wearing the rings I crafted as soon as possible.
[…Well, you really got me there. All right now, you three sit in the center. Time to begin the party. This is our engagement celebration.] (Lugh)
My beautiful fiancées, my affectionate parents, and a banquet.
This was, without a doubt, gonna be the greatest day of my life.
I opened the wine bottle, and we were ready to toast.
Now, let’s get this party started.
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