Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 425

When I received a call from my father, who had returned from the Imperial City, I immediately moved from the training area of the inn to the main house with Curtis and the others.

Fara and Capella are doing paperwork in the office at the accommodation.

Diana is with me, though.

When I arrived at the office where Father was waiting for me, I knocked on the door carefully.

"Father, it's Rid. May I come in?"

"Yes, you may."

After confirming the reply, I entered the room with Curtis and the others, and there stood Dinas, the Knight Commander, Cross, the Deputy Commander, and Rubens, all in a row in front of the desk where my father sat.

I sensed a slightly heavy atmosphere in the room and asked, "Well, shall we change the time? Father shook his head.

"No, we've just about finished the most important part of the meeting. No problem."

"Okay, Master Rid, Master Rainer, We will leave you now."

Dinas said, and the three of them bowed and left the office.

After watching them, the father got up from his seat and came over to me.

"Curtis,you've come a long way from Renalute. I am sorry for the delay in greeting you, even though you have traveled a long way from Renalute. Once again, I am Rainer Bardia, frontier count in charge of the Bardia territory."

"It is a great honor for me to hear from you, as I have been in retirement for some time."

The two shook hands as they greeted each other.

The two men shook hands as they greeted each other, followed by Stein and Raymond, who were standing by to greet their father.

"I wanted these two to broaden their horizons while they were still young. I took this opportunity to bring them to Bardia."

"I see."

The father looked at the two men.

"If it is all right with both of you, you may stay in Bardia until you are satisfied."

'Thank you for your concern, Master Rainer."

Stein and Raymond bowed in awe.

Their attitude was humble, totally different from the way they had been when they met me for the first time.

Well, a lot has happened in the last few days.

Maybe something was on his mind.

Then, I explained to my father the series of events that had occurred since Curtis came to Bardia.

In addition, I told him that Curtis had accepted the position of aide-de-camp to the Second Order.

"Rid and Lord Curtis. If each of you are satisfied with this, there should be no problem. Curtis-sama, I ask you once again a favor from now on."

"Yes, you can count on me. I am more than happy to stay with Master Rid instead of staying in hiding in Renalute."

Curtis nodded with the corners of his eyes lowered and looked up.

Then he muttered, "Well ......," and turned his head.

Master Rid and Master Reiner ...... will probably have something to talk about without us. Let's go, Stein, Raymond."

He stood up and bowed.

Then he stepped toward the door of the room.

"Oh, wait, Grandfather!　Well, I'll leave you to it then."

Stein and Raymond hurriedly stood up, bobbed, and left the room as if in pursuit.

Perhaps Curtis had sensed that my father and I had something to say to each other, and he had been careful to make sure that we were not alone.

Soon after it was just my father, me, and Deanna in the office, he nodded his head and said, "Hmmm .......

:I've heard he has a unique personality, but isn't he a good man?:

"Yes. Thanks to Farah and Asuna, I believe I have found good people to meet. So, Father. How was the Imperial City?"

'Mm, about that, .......'

Father, with a difficult look on his face, slowly told me about the events in the imperial capital.

In order to avoid any confusion between the nobles and the rest of the country, my father reported the incident of the attack on Bardia to Emperor Irwin and Empress Matilda in secret.

He explained that it was clear that it was an organized crime and that there was a strong possibility that some country was behind the attackers.

At that time, their Majesties were apparently both astonished and very indignant.

"How dare they mess with Bardia's territory? They have done a very big thing. ......"

His Majesty is right. The innovative aristocrats are very happy to have this opportunity. The revolutionary aristocrats will take advantage of this and say that they will build up the military. I can see the conflict between conservatives and innovators escalating. However, considering the future, it is dangerous to keep it a secret. ......"

Their Majesties and the father discussed how to explain the situation to the nobles, and then decided to gather the leading figures of the innovative and conservative factions to inform them.

Among the leading innovators was the Marquis Berluti.

Among the leading figures of the conservative faction was the Duke Burns.

The meeting was held to discuss the incident of the attack on Bardia.

As expected, the revolutionary faction said that the attack was proof that the prestige of the empire had been shaken in recent years, and that a military parade should be held to demonstrate the power of the nation both at home and abroad.

They argue that the military should expand its forces and hold a military parade, or "military parade ceremony," to demonstrate its national strength at home and abroad.

The conservatives, on the other hand, argue that, with the identity of the perpetrator of the attack on the Bardia territory yet to be confirmed, expanding the military and holding a military parade would raise tensions among neighboring countries and, conversely, provide an excuse to expand the country's military.

They countered with the assertion that they "express regret" or that the incident itself should not be made public.

However, the revolutionaries said that expressing regret would not change the situation.

Rather, they countered that it would send a message to the rest of the country that the empire would do nothing, which would lead to the aggravation of other countries, and that it was too passive and out of the question.

As the meeting heated up due to the arguments of both conservatives and innovators, the emperor made a decision.

"As long as we do not know the identities of the culprits who carried out and planned the attack on Bardia, we cannot proceed with the military buildup unnecessarily. However, now that the incident has occurred, you must be on the alert in the territories of the Empire. And, Rainer. You are to try to find the perpetrators and organizers of the attack. We will not go public with the attack until we have proof."

At that moment, it seemed as if the meeting was about to end, when a man raised his hand.

When I heard the name of the nobleman, my heart was aflutter.

"Baron Acheson Roadpis, ......?"

Yes. He took out a letter and read it out loud at the end."

Father described the incident with a sense of disgust.

Baron Ashen Rhodopis has brown hair and blue eyes, and seems to be more of a merchant than a nobleman.

He is a newly promoted nobleman who was knighted a few years ago in recognition of the achievements of the merchant association he runs.

"I don't know if this has anything to do with this incident, but there is something I'm a little concerned about. Your Majesty, if I may?"

"......mmm. If you have something on your mind, let me know.'

When he received the emperor's permission, he pulled a letter from his pocket.

"As many of you here know, I am a merchant and run a trading company. I received this letter from one of my business partners, a tribe in the beastman nation of Zubera."

Baron Acheson cleared his throat and read the letter aloud.

"Now, ......in recent years, children of the tribe of Beastmen have gone missing in the various territories of Zubera, the Land of the Beastmen. And there are rumors that some of these children have ended up in the Bardia territory of the Empire, so I would like you to investigate if possible. I was skeptical too,......, but it occurred to me that it might have something to do with the recent attack.".

What does ...... that mean?"

When my father glanced at Baron Acheson, he cowered his shoulders and made fun of him.

"Ha-ha-ha. Don't look so scary, Reiner. I have never held a sword as you have, and my legs tremble when you stare at me like that."

"Don't play tricks on me, Acheson. Make it brief."

The emperor pointed out, "I beg your pardon," he said, and he bailed.

He then looked up and continued.

'In other words, the children of the protected beastmen tribe in Bardia territory. I was wondering if it is possible that some radicals belonging to the Beast Nation who wanted to get them back caused the attack ......?　That's what I thought."

"Oh, yes, that's certainly interesting. "

Baron Acheson's comment was seconded by Bergamot, the son of the Marquis Berluti.

He continued his speech in a deliberate manner so that the nobles in the conference hall could hear him.

"But then. In the past, Reiner-sama said, 'It is only natural to solve problems that occur in one's own territory on one's own responsibility. Then, what about this case? If the root of the incident lies in the protection of the beastmen, wouldn't it be the fault of the Bardia family ...... rather than the empire?"

"You two are making a lot of assumptions and speculations. The Bardia family is not at fault. May I ask who is the tribe that sent the letter to Baron Acheson in the first place?'

Even though his father answered firmly, Baron Acheson was not intimidated.

"Of course, of course. The chief of the tribe of the Bird People, Horst Padgley. I would like to see the handwriting on the letter, if you don't mind."

Father, Baron Acheson, and Lord Bergamot. The air was heavy and tense around the three of them.

But then the emperor's voice rang out, "Enough! roared.

"I understand your concerns. But as Rainer said, we should not speculate and guess. What we need to do now is to strengthen our security alert. And what we need to do now is to identify the perpetrators and planners of this attack. Good!"

The meeting ended with the sound of a single voice of the crane once again.

After he had finished speaking, Father's face showed a rare signs of fatigue.

"Thank you for your hard work, Father."

'Mm. However, there are more rumors of the Bardia family's bad reputation in the capital than I had imagined. No nobleman seems to take it seriously, but there are many who wonder how smoke can stand where there is no fire. It's a very troublesome thing."

Father shook his head and took a letter from his pocket and put it on the desk.

'And this arrived as if in anticipation of the day I would return to Bardia. Read it."

'I will see .......'

I took the letter as I was told, took out its contents, and looked through it.

Then I blinked when I saw the contents and the name of the sender.

"Elba Grandek, the eldest son of the Foxmen tribal chief. The second son, Malbus Grandek, wants to visit Bardia."

"Yeah, probably. I don't know what they were planning, but the assailants fled into the territory of the fox people. We have a lot of questions, and this would be a good opportunity to ask questions. You'll have to be there. Keep that in mind."

"Thank you, Master."

A woman who called herself "Claire," the perpetrator of the attack on the workshop, was a strong fox-man.

Perhaps there is a connection between her and the Fox people who come to visit.

Whatever the case may be, it would be an opponent that we could not let our guard down.

I nodded my head and braced myself.