Bara readily accepted Moruto’s offer.
She couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to cooperate with Catherine, who seemed approachable. In fact, she had been wondering how to bring it up.
“However, didn’t you consider that I might just use Catherine and then discard her?”
Moruto was unfazed by Bara’s teasing question.
“Yes. Bara-sama is also an ambassador of goodwill for Ranleo. I believed you would not do anything to disrupt relations between nations without good reason.”
Bara responded with a smile, but inwardly, she became more wary of Moruto, confirming that he was, as the information suggested, “rarely intelligent for a Boltner person.”
If she wished to foster friendship with Filat, she had to get along with Filat’s friendly nations as well.
For that reason, she preferred someone who was easy for a Boltner person to manipulate.
Bara surmised that the Boltner King, who was described as a hothead, good or bad, probably understood this much.
Incidentally, this was a complete overestimate, and only Moruto himself seemed to think that way.
“Then there is one thing I would like to consult you about immediately. Marius-sama seems to be negative about polygamy.”
“…What?”
Moruto felt like a sailor whose ship had suddenly run aground.
At this time, no one knew of Marius’s change of heart.
Therefore, they had to consult about a plan that would change Marius’s feelings.
Bara insisted that Catherine, with whom Marius seemed to be more comfortable talking, should be the excuse.
“How about I and Catherine-sama arrange an opportunity to invite Marius-sama together and teach him some simple magic?”
“I see.”
Bara thought it was indeed a good plan for Marius and Catherine, who was still young, to teach magic.
It would serve as a banner for friendship between the three countries, and Marius surely wouldn’t refuse.
“Regarding the surveillance of Filat people, frankly, it will be difficult for us alone.”
“As expected.”
Moruto was not surprised by Bara’s words.
It was only natural, as they were in Filat.
Espionage for the purpose of preventing Filat people from getting involved with Marius would not be permitted.
That was precisely why she had proposed an alliance.
Seeing Moruto’s reaction, Bara corrected his misunderstanding.
“No, Filat’s espionage is currently weakened. The problem is Marius-sama’s Familiar.”
“Familiar, you say?”
Moruto did not have accurate information about Zofi and the others.
Therefore, he needed to listen to Bara’s information.
“Yes. A very powerful Familiar that can accurately grasp our movements and report them to Marius-sama one by one.”
It was natural for a Demon, but Moruto did not know this. However, he grasped the seriousness of the situation.
“So, the current situation too…?”
“Probably.”
Since she couldn’t sense where they were at all, Bara suspected it was likely Zofi.
Moruto turned pale.
He mistakenly believed he had hindered his mission of advancing Catherine and Marius’s relationship.
However, sensing that Bara, who had been assigned to Catherine by the King, was not flustered, he quickly regained his composure.
“You seem quite calm. Are you confident that things won’t go wrong this time?”
Bara nodded, secretly further revising her evaluation of Moruto upward.
“Yes. I believe Marius-sama is lenient when it comes to small schemes like this. That’s why things are the way they are.”
“…I see, I agree with you.”
Moruto swallowed and nodded in understanding.
There was no doubt that Marius could crush them anytime if he wanted to.
However, he realized he needed to change his assessment, as Marius was not as dull-witted as someone with overwhelming power might be.
“Besides,”
Bara continued, observing Moruto’s every move.
“Let’s ask the Filat people to handle the surveillance of Filat.”
“Huh?”
For a moment, Moruto failed to grasp what Bara meant.
“In other words, let’s ask Lovisa-sama as well.”
“Haa…?”
Moruto involuntarily let out a foolish reply to the unexpected statement.
They were joining forces to deal with Filat, so why would they involve a Filat person?
“It’s best for Filat people to keep an eye on their own.”
Bara winked and smiled.
Her expression, conveying that she had a plan, was so charming that even Moruto, regardless of his age, felt a flutter of excitement.
In essence, she intended to use the Filat Princess to probe Filat’s movements.
“However, isn’t there a significant advantage for the Filat side…?”
Moruto’s concern was understandable, but Bara enveloped it with a gentle smile.
“Don’t worry. As long as Filat maintains its great power mentality and values its reputation, they will be troubled if they are the only ones to benefit.”
She added, “Fortunately, Princess Lovisa seems to be someone who highly values her position as a Filat princess.”
Moruto was horrified by Bara, who had said something outrageous with an angelic smile.
Perhaps he had made the wrong choice in forming this alliance.
Such anxieties crossed his mind.
(At least, she doesn’t seem like someone I can handle…)
Moruto sweated cold sweat, praying that Filat and Bara would clash and bring about their own downfall.
***
Inside a large noble’s mansion in the Royal Capital, Filatos.
“Marius! Marius!”
In a certain room, Ashton, the master of the mansion, was enraged.
He could see a picture of Marius monopolizing the three princesses, Lovisa, Bara, and Catherine.
However, the number of people who agreed with him was not as large as before.
Those who chose to play it safe, realizing there was no chance of winning, had clearly decreased.
This fueled Ashton’s anger.
He believed that marrying a woman of such noble status as a princess should be for someone of noble birth, yet Marius, relying on his strength, was taking them all for himself.
It wasn’t just that the Ashton Faction thought so; they firmly believed it.
Perhaps those who couldn’t keep up with them had defected.
The stories of Marius defeating Demons and Demon Lords had indeed sent chills down many spines.
Ashton was infuriated by this.
He cursed them with every disparaging word he could think of, calling them spineless cowards.
Certainly, Marius might be exceptionally strong.
But even so, what was the point of those born into glorious families cowering?
Where was their noble pride?
As Ashton shouted this, the remaining members echoed his sentiments and became greatly emboldened.
They thought Marius, who drew the attention of young and beautiful women, should be destroyed.
In other words, jealousy was their primary motive, but they were insidious enough not to realize it.
They firmly believed they were righteous patriots who truly cared for their country and its glorious Filat nobility.
“However, it is also true that we cannot match his strength. We do not condone unnecessary violence.”
It was Wilson who said this with a straight face.
He had previously made the mistaken judgment that “Marius is nothing special,” which had severely damaged his position. However, he managed to escape censure by exploiting the ignorance of the surrounding mages.
His skill as a mage was undeniable.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to attain the position of High Court Mage in the country of Filat.
“I heard even a surprise attack from the succubi didn’t work. In that case, isn’t it impossible to defeat Marius?”
Even with his distorted perspective, Ashton was worthy of being the leader of a faction within Filat.
He understood the bare minimum.
The reality that only Wilson among them thought it was *only* the bare minimum was the limit of this faction.
“What, we don’t need to attack him with force. If his reputation is ruined, he’ll leave this country on his own. That is, if he has any shame.”
Wilson grinned a dark smile, as if he had not a shred of shame.
No one in this faction considered how beneficial Marius’s presence was to Filat.
Such people either followed the Royal Family or had already defected.
Only those with narrow horizons and shallow thinking, who couldn’t stand their own interests or futures being threatened, were here.
Only Wilson was not inherently greedy and shallow-thinking.
However, the selfish anger toward Marius had greatly distorted him.
He had diligently endured his days, and just when he thought he might finally see some recognition, an intruder appeared and took all the best parts.
If Marius had been a noble or a Filat person, he might have been able to tolerate it.
However, Marius was not only not a Filat person, but his nationality was even unknown.
He was burning with intense anger, wondering what the Royal Family was thinking.
Marius being a rational human being was only a result in hindsight, and not all results had emerged yet.
One never knew when he might change his attitude and try to seize the country.
He needed to be expelled as soon as possible.
Wilson couldn’t understand why such a simple thing was not understood.
There was something Wilson couldn’t understand, let alone imagine.
Marius could easily and completely dominate Filat if he wished, but he judged that it would be troublesome after domination and offer little profit, and thus had no intention of carrying it out.
He had never imagined that there could be people who did not desire greatly increased profit if they wished for it.
They were all united by a desperate lack of imagination.
That’s why they could make such shameful proposals.
“For example, he’s a homosexual, or a pervert who lusts after babies. Given the stories about succubi, it’s hard to believe he’s not interested in young women.”
“I see, that’s good!”
Ashton’s mood immediately improved, and he burst into laughter.
The others also started laughing.
It was obvious that a pervert who liked men or babies would lose the support of women.
Lovisa and Bara would then look to other men, meaning themselves.
The faces of the young men who thought this naturally relaxed.
“But what specifically should we do? While young men are one thing, babies are not easy to procure.”
They couldn’t use their own relatives, and babies couldn’t just be picked up anywhere.
Moreover, it would be problematic to snatch them from the homes of citizens in the Royal Capital.
Therefore, a poor village far away, where the disappearance of a baby wouldn’t cause much commotion, would be suitable.
“By the way, what kind of treatment can a baby survive?”
“Who knows?”
When considering how to take a baby without killing it, everyone furrowed their brows.
Most of them had little contact with babies, and surely none of them had ever cared for one.
Their view was that trusted but low-ranking servants should take care of the babies.
“Why don’t we have one of the slaves do it, and then silence them once it’s done?”
“Wait, wait. They’ll ask why we disposed of the slave. The Royal Family is already so noisy.”
“How about using a slave’s child? We can say it’s for training. We’ll return them when it’s over.”
“No, they’ll raise a fuss about what happens to the baby. The Royal Family is too soft, so they’ve forgotten their place and are getting presumptuous.”
“Killing them is a crime, isn’t it? It’s unbelievable that nobles can be punished just for killing a mere slave.”
“Damn it, slaves should be working because of us. Why does the Royal Family say ‘don’t kill slaves’?”
“If they disappear, we can just buy new ones.”
Somewhere along the line, the conversation turned into complaints about the Royal Family.
But no one mentioned deposing the King or overthrowing the Royal Family.
They understood that they had few allies and no chance of winning if they fought.
“It seems best to drop the baby idea,”
There was no one to object to Ashton’s conclusion, sighed.
***
“That’s what seems to have happened, Master.”
Zofi reported to Marius about Bara and Moruto’s movements and the actions of the nobles called the Ashton Faction.
It had unfolded exactly as Bara had predicted.
Although she had acted on her own initiative, Marius looked at her with eyes full of expectation, his tail wagging back and forth.
A direct translation would be “Praise me, praise me.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Marius, though feeling fatigued, thanked Zofi and petted her hair.
Zofi happily narrowed her eyes and basked in happiness.
“Zo-, Zofi-sama, that’s unfair…”
“We were the ones who watched the nobles’ movements…”
Al and El protested with teary eyes.
Zofi glared at her two former subordinates, who had done something tactless, with murderous intent.
They flinched but, seeing Marius nearby, mustered their courage and stared back at Zofi.
It was too lacking in power to be called staring back.
“Zofi, monopolizing praise is bad. So bad that it ruins the credit.”
Marius’s exasperated and sigh-filled words made Zofi panic greatly.
“Eh, um, well, this, this is what you call a little joke, or rather, I just wanted to be praised first.”
She desperately explained, waving her hands back and forth, stammering repeatedly and even biting her tongue.
Marius couldn’t help but laugh at the contrast with her usual alluring demeanor.
“Behave, all of you. Therefore, Al and El, come here too.”
“Y-yes!”
“Yay!”
Al and El pounced on Marius from both sides.
As they did, a large, soft sensation ran through Marius’s arms.
Zofi, relieved that she wasn’t scolded further, snuggled up to Marius.
As Marius played with the three of them, he thought about the future.
Leaving aside the princesses’ plan, the problem was the nobles.
If they had attacked him directly, he could have repelled them, but they were apparently not that foolish.
Although he was unsure of the specific method they would use, it would be wise to inform the King.
“Ah, and by the way, I’ve eliminated the spies who had infiltrated the palace.”
“From other countries?”
“Yes.”
The night deepened.
