That evening.
Ende Castle's private conference room.
After dinner, Chris requested we go to the private conference room to talk. We moved to an inner chamber used only for entertaining distinguished guests when one didn't want servants to overhear the conversation.
I thought it might be related to Enrique's visit this morning. What exactly had he said to Chris?
"There's good news and bad news."
Nora closed the door and set up [Area Silencing] magic. Chris struck a pose like a commander's classic signature gesture and slowly began to speak.
"Anna, which would you like to hear first?"
"The bad news."
"The good news is... eh? Normally shouldn't you want to hear the good news first?"
I don't recall there being any such established convention.
But Carol Cat was quite considerate of Chris's feelings and instinctively asked:
"What's the good news, ow?"
"The good news is we have a way to leave Duke Obi's Territory."
"ow! Anna, we can leave—"
"However, the bad news is the one proposing this is Grand Council mber Enrique of the Watertown rchant Association, and his condition is that he wants Anna..."
"?!"
Chris must have been going for this shocking effect on Carol Cat. I had considered various reasons why Enrique might co calling and even pondered whether he might offer assistance, so I wasn't particularly surprised.
When I went to Baron Hurst before, I learned from an elderly person that nobles and rchant associations were obligated to provide gifts for the Third Princess's wedding. The Watertown rchant Association's influence spans every ducal territory in the Kingdom of Michel, with Grand Council mber Enrique stationed in Duke Obi's Territory. Theoretically, he indeed possessed the resources to provide wedding gifts.
So he had thought of a smuggling thod too... and the condition was... ...
"Anna! No way, ow! That guy definitely has his eyes on Anna's beauty, ow!"
"Eh?"
"Anna...! He absolutely planned out so evil sche for a house full of children and grandchildren before making such a demand!"
Could this ga really operate long enough for to hold grandchildren...
"Anastasia, you're going to beco a mother. Congratulations."
"Thank you... no wait, I would never..."
"Anna." Chris also spoke with deep emotion. "I won't allow such a thing to happen. I'll crash the wedding on your wedding night!"
No! Why is everyone assuming I'm just going to give myself away?
"Wait a mont—I know everyone's very concerned about , but..."
"There are no buts, Anna. I understand completely. If Anna were my family's maid and I were a man, Anna would already be the mother of three children."
Let calculate the tiline? I'm seventeen this year, so three years ago my age was...
I'm starting to seriously consider whether to report Chris to the Kingdom of Michel. She has considerable potential to beco a criminal.
"Everyone, please calm down a bit. Lady Christiana, could you repeat Lord Enrique's exact conditions?"
"Well, that's no problem. This morning that guy called Enrique ca looking for . First he said a lot of boring nonsense, then suddenly changed tactics and requested to see Anna. I firmly insisted Anna wasn't in Ende, but that guy said he had an adventurer skilled in Astrology working for him..."
"ow!"
Carol Cat excitedly swished her tail.
"Baron Trafalgar also said yesterday that soone with astrology had been hired away. So it was Enrique!"
"We really should eliminate that guy..."
Sigrdrífa narrowed her eyes. She held clear hostility toward Enrique.
The Watertown rchant Association's trade in unicorn horns showed no restraint, and their reputation in Midgard was probably even worse than Anna's Support Group's. Sigrdrífa had told before that she went to cause trouble for Enrique first, got beaten, then ca to assassinate , though she ended up getting beaten by too.
"As long as I continued to insist there was no Anna here, that guy couldn't do anything. But he's quite shrewd. He proposed conditions to help us smuggle out of Duke Obi's Territory, demanding to see Anna. He deliberately tid his visit perfectly, Nora."
"Yes."
Nora stepped forward and produced a list-like docunt from her chest.
"I investigated the current status of rchant caravans providing gifts for the Third Princess within Duke Obi's Territory. Currently, only Grand Council mber Enrique of the Watertown rchant Association remains in the territory."
"ow... so if we want to smuggle out, we can only beg that guy?"
"Exactly. Timing-wise, he's actually already missed Duke Carolingian's main force, but that's precisely the trap he's laid. Using 'we'll be too late if we don't hurry' as an excuse, the guards' inspection intensity will also decrease. Though it's discouraging to say this, the success rate is indeed very high. Nora."
Chris snapped her fingers, and Nora produced another list from her chest.
"This is a record of Enrique's trade dealings with major dostic lords. He has an excellent reputation among the great nobles with sufficient credibility. The Watertown rchant Association's trading partners even include His Majesty the King, so the Watertown rchant Association is a regular on the trade whitelist."
"...I see more than one record of sacred beast horn trading."
Sigrdrífa stared sharply at the transaction list, many items being objects that Midgard prohibited from leaving the country.
"It's their usual thod. They're willing to sell good items to nobles at a loss, then use the trade privileges nobles grant them to make huge profits. The Watertown rchant Association has monopolized trade in many places. Duke Obi's Territory has relatively little Watertown rchant Association penetration, but if Enrique speaks up, his words probably carry more weight than even Father's. Considering the Watertown rchant Association's background and credibility, the guards likely won't conduct thorough inspections."
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