Chapter 512: The Dancing Maiden
The Duchy of Rondine.
In its castle, Finne and her company had been kept waiting for a long ti.
"The King still does not wish to et us?"
"I apologize"
The knight, questioned by Lynfia, hung his head in apology. It was unprecedented to keep a foreign ambassador waiting. An ambassador is the representative of a country, an agent of the King. To ignore an ambassador is equivalent to ignoring their country. Unless there's a significant incident, when an ambassador arrives, the king ets with them. However, the Duke of Rondine had not yet agreed to et Finne.
"Finne is a formal envoy of the Empire. Making a representative of the Emperor wait is equivalent to belittling the Empire, isn't it?"
"P-Please wait a mont...! I'll go and confirm with the king"
In response to Lynfia's words, the knight hurriedly ran off. Ever since the Sea Dragon incident, Rondine had built a good relationship with the Empire. There's no rit for Rondine to intentionally ruin that.
"Do you think this is sabotage from the Kingdom? Should we force our way through?"
"That may be the case, but we can't act rashly. I'm the Emperor's proxy. If sothing happens, it'll cause trouble for the Emperor."
Despite having been kept waiting for several hours, Finne didn't rush, she just waited quietly. This would be an unbelievable treatnt for other ambassadors. It was because Finne was so mild-mannered that the situation was limited to verbal protests.
"Finne-sama."
"Do you have any information, Sebas-san?"
"Yes, it seems the Duke of Rondine has been neglecting his official duties recently."
"Neglecting? Is he ill?"
"One could call it an illness, I suppose. It seems the Duke of Rondine is obsessed with a dancer who ca from the Kingdom. If he has spare ti, he seems to be watching the dancer's performances."
"He's keeping Finne waiting this long just to watch a dancer's performance?"
Lynfia wore an expression of disbelief. However, Finne wasn't surprised.
"The Duke of Rondine is soone who inherited the war with the Duchy of Albatro from his predecessor. He's ambitious, but he wasn't supposed to have much interest in won."
"It seems that information was slightly outdated. The war with the Duchy of Albatro ended in the form of an alliance, and he must have had so leisure in his heart. It's not strange for his interest to shift towards sothing he wasn't interested in before."
"Not only in the Duchy of Albatro, but we were also outpaced in the Duchy of Rondine"
Finne contemplated. The Duke of Rondine, whose sole focus was the war with his neighboring country until now, had likely found his life's goal coming to a half-baked conclusion with an alliance and was in the midst of finding his next goal.
A dancer was sent in during this period. The more serious ones fall into decadence more easily. He was likely drawn into sweet, indulgent days.
"What shall we do?"
"This isn't just our problem. The people of the Duchy of Rondine must be even more frantic. There was a prince, wasn't there?"
"Yes, he's timid and not particularly favored by the king."
"Whether the king favors him or not is irrelevant in this situation. As long as the king's heart is captivated by the dancer, the prince is the one to rely on. For us, and for the subjects as well."
As Finne spoke, a lanky young man entered the room.
Ambassador Finne! Sorry for the delay! I-I am, no, I am Danio di Rondine, the prince of the Duchy of Rondine."
"Nice to et you, Prince Danio. I am Finne von Kleiner. I have co as a representative of His Majesty the Emperor."
"I-I am terribly sorry! I'll inform my father right away, so until then, please allow to be your host!"
"No, a re formality of a eting is aningless. I would be glad if I could have a constructive conversation with Prince Danio."
"M-? That's..."
Danio diverts his gaze to the floor. His face clearly showed that he felt overwheld. A voice was heard from behind Danio.
"Didn't I tell you? The ambassador wants to talk to you."
"E-Eva..."
A girl with shoulder-length brown hair appeared. Her green eyes were fixed straight on Finne.
"Nice to et you, Lady Finne. I am Evangelina di Albatro. Please call Eva."
"Lady Eva... Nice to et you. But why are you here?"
"I assu for the sa reason as you, Lady Finne. I thought the Duchy of Rondine's support was necessary to resolve issues within the Duchy of Albatro, so I ca."
"Did the Duke send you, Lady Eva?"
"No, I thought it would be a waste of ti to discuss deploynt, so I ca quietly. However, it was still late..."
At Eva's proactive action, Finne gives a wry smile. Even though they had ford an alliance, Rondine and Albatro had a long history of conflict. The country is full of problems for the princess to face alone.
"Your father must be worried. Let's resolve the issue quickly and return ho."
"That's what I would like to do... but I don't have a way to et the Duke of Rondine."
"Can't Prince Danio et him either?"
At Finne's question, Danio looks down again. Seeing Danio not answering imdiately, Eva showed a bit of irritation.
"Answer quickly."
"Well, I... I'm not good at talking to won..."
"You can talk to , can't you?"
"You get angry if I don't talk to you..."
"I'll get angry if you don't answer now."
"I, I got it... Well... I'm not exactly on good terms with my father..."
"Don't be nervous, just speak as you usually do. I'll do the sa."
"Thank you... I feel reassured when you say that..."
With that, so of the tension faded from Danio, who had been answering nervously. Not only foreign emissaries but also the only prince, Danio, can hardly et him. The Duke was as good as captive.
"Who is currently acting for the governnt?"
"The ministers are handling it. They are confirming with my father, but he only says to leave it to them, so in the end, it cos to ..."
"So, in practice, the ministers are dealing with it, and the prince is making the decisions?"
"It's just a formality. If my father doesn't like it, he could probably withdraw it imdiately..."
After understanding the situation, Finne thinks a little. If Danio had been taken in as well, there might have been no way out. However, Danio is fine for now. His vassals are also in trouble.
"Anyway, we need to et His Majesty the Duke first."
"But... the woman the Duke of Rondine is infatuated with is not just a dancer. She is the "Dancing Princess" of the kingdom."
"Dancing Princess... the highest-ranking dancer serving the kingdom, right?"
"Yes, one cannot beco a Dancing Princess without beauty and talent in dance. Her dance is only shown to VIPs, and her status is higher than that of a noble daughter."
Hearing Sebas's explanation, Finne nods several tis. The Dancing Princess, who captivated the Duke with her refined dance and beauty, is undoubtedly an obstructive staff mber from the kingdom.
"Miss Lynfia, do you have any plans?"
"I'm not very keen on it, but... there's only one."
"Please, anything will do."
"In that case... Lady Finne is known as the most beautiful princess in the empire. Everyone acknowledges that. Let your vassals spread the rumor, pique the Duke's interest. Then, with Lady Finne's beauty, take the Duke away from the Dancing Princess."
"You an... Lady Finne is going to entice the Duke...?"
"It's enough if he can't see the Dancing Princess. There's no need to do anything special. If you don't like it, we can think of another way."
"No, we don't have ti. Let's go with that. If it doesn't work, we just have to think of another way. However... Sebas-san. Would you mind guarding in secret?"
"I was planning to do it even if you didn't ask. I won't let him touch you, whether he is the Duke or the Dancing Princess."
Unusually, Sebas told her in a harsh tone. But the fact that there was no other way was also true. If the Duke only sees the Dancing Princess in his eyes, show him a more radiant existence. The only one who could do that was Finne. However...
"I'm glad that Lord Arnold isn't here... really..."
Lynfia nods at Sebas's words. But Sebas's words were ant for the whole Duchy of Rondine. If Arnold was here in this situation, they didn't know what he would do.
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