Abandoned Bastard of the Royal Family Volume 3 Chapter 25 (Patreon)

Chapter 25 – Lordship of the Fiery-Red Lady

Mariastel, Lord of West Adele.

Let’s call her Marie for now.

She is the only daughter of her father, the previous lord of the city, and his wife, and as such, being the only child, she was raised with the utmost love and affection.

Originally, in a kingdom with a patrilineal society, the man who would become her husband should have ruled the kingdom as the next lord, but since Marie herself grew up to be a very gifted woman, her father became so overjoyed and handed over the governorship to his daughter instead.

From there, a rather unorthodox female lord was born.

In the years that followed, the new lord Marie did not only manage her domain without a hitch, but she even doubled the tax revenue, so much so that anyone who tried to condemn her for her unorthodox ways was forced to keep quiet.

Soon, she became the most prosperous lord in the country that was not involved in any of the shenanigans and influence of the royal capital, gathering many lords under her who also wanted to stay away from the conflicts there.

This growth, however, became the deciding factor for this eccentric lord to be the tie-breaker for the unexpected event that will happen in the future – the implementation of the Magna Carta.

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“The Magna Carta, huh?”

After both sides finally became calm, all of them moved together to the reception room of the castle.

Schild and Carney had just finished telling Marie the purpose of their visit.

“So the people of the royal capital are still engaged in such petty power struggles. And having not contented with it, they’re now trying to drag down the king as well. Their ugliness has reached its peak.”

“Power struggles are ugly? Not that I’m contradicting you, but that’s a very you thing to say.”

Schild has also sat down on the sofa facing Marie and drank the tea offered to him in one gulp before asking for more.

And just as she was told, Carney is also sitting next to Schild.

“But then again, that is your true self. You only measured things by whether they were “beautiful” or “ugly” after all, no matter what they are.”

“Oh? What do you mean by that? A bunch of beasts who forgot their aristocratic duty and are flocking at every opportune moment to their petty greed. What’s wrong with calling them ugly?”

It was a scathing criticism of the power struggle at the center.

It was even more insulting as it came from a person who manages their territory in the countryside all on their own, without any help from the center.

“The words “noble” and “lord” are originally synonymous. But nowadays, this meaning has long been forgotten by the majority of the aristocracy. They often leave their lands to their deputies to live in the capital, playing around with the money earned from the hard work of their peasants until they run dry. Unfortunately, I have already known too many of such people.”

“Yes, it is rare to find a lord who is tinkering with their lands as much as they want as you do. Do you think such times are sad?”

“Sad? No way. I don’t see myself as a righteous woman who resents corruption. I just look down on the ugly ones.”

“You’re right, and you’re very thorough about that. A pure lord who only cares about the land they control. As if the fate of the entire world is a separate matter to you.”

“Has living in the capital caught you the tone of a foolish nobleman, Schild? What do you mean by “the entire world”? Is that what they say to you? Ha! They always tend to overestimate themselves, thinking that their decision always affects “the entire world” as a whole. But the truth is it doesn’t matter to the rest of the country, much to the “world” as a whole whether the king changes or the top brass changes.”

“The fate of the entire world” is nothing but an exaggeration, huh.”

“It has always been the case, and it always will be. Don’t make me disappointed in you, Schild. For you are the only one I consider as my rival in the world.”

When she first appeared at the door, Marie gave the impression of being an idiot, but the more they settled down and talked, the more dignified she became.

This impression became especially prevalent to Carney, who was sitting next to Schild and listening to their conversation.

It was as if the woman before her was gradually being transformed into a genius entity right before her eyes.

“So you won’t agree with the Magna Carta?”

“All I can say is, “Do what you want. I don’t care, and I will not take part in it.” I only work for my happiness, and my only happiness is making me and my people happy.”

“All three of the great noble families would be joining forces for this Magna Carta thing. If all of them begin to focus their eyes on you, won’t your happiness be in jeopardy?”

“It’s true, that’s scary. But from what you’ve told me, it seems that I hold the final piece. If I agree, the Magna Carta will succeed, and if I disagree, it will be guaranteed to fail.”

“You sound like you’re so sure about them failing.”

“Sure? Not really. I know that there’s still a possibility for them to beat the odds. But they wouldn’t send you back here if they are so sure they would win, wouldn’t they? Although, of course, they might be able to get it done on their own even if I don’t help them, and if that were to happen, my decision of not helping them here would bring me disaster in the future……but that is only if they win.”

“You will incur the wrath of not just one, but three of the most powerful houses ever. Even this paradise of yours won’t be left unscathed if that happens. Are you sure about that?”

“On the contrary, if I cooperate with you, I’ll be the first to be in trouble and the last to prosper. My faction exists because we want to avoid the influence of the capital in the first place. I’m becoming more and more disappointed in you, Schild. Since when did you become an open book when it comes to bargaining?”

“I’m always open and honest. I even say the word “pussy” and “cunt” directly.”

Meanwhile, Carney was silent, as there was no room for her in the conversation between Marie and Schild, who seemed to be shooting arrows at each other.

She was just looking at the two exchanging terms she didn’t know with a blank stare.

“We’re sorry to bore you with our masters’ discussions. Here, have some.”

It was then when “Servant” Chief Nancy, the female butler, placed freshly baked scones in front of Carney.

“My master has always looked forward to these conversations with Master Schild more than anything. It’s been months since Mr. Schild left our castle after all, so it has been a while since she enjoyed herself like this. As such, please take it easy on her.”

“I hear you, Nancy! Stop spouting your irresponsible demagoguery to your lady guest!”

Overhearing this, Marie stopped her polite questioning with Schild and started to snap at her butler.

“Uhm, may I have a question, please?”

But seeing that as an opening, Carney used it as a chance to ask a question.

“How did the Count get to know Schild? Rumor has it that you don’t like men but are fond of women, leaving me to question if you two are really in good terms or not……”

Carney found it difficult to imagine.

“Anything for you, my sweet little Dianthus. In fact, don’t be shy and ask me more~! As for my history with this wretched man……”

“It all started when we ran across each other in a monster subjugation mission.”

“Shut up, Schild. She was asking me, not you.”

Anyways, it was in a certain request to hunt down a monster that Schild and Marie first met.

As a lord, Marie had the duty to protect the security of the land she ruled.

For this, she must first possess the fundamental forces to do so, and this enters the vigilante corps to which Lagothe and Sae currently belong.

Of course, at that time, they were yet to arrive and join the corps.

There was also a branch of the Subjugators Guild in West Adele territory, but the power of this vigilante group was so strong that even the responsibility of defeating monsters had been overtaken by them.

On that day as well, it was Marie’s troops who were the first to respond to the news of the monster outbreak, and they have already surrounded the monster with a large number of troops and were ready to finish it off.

“But this man, who had just registered with the West Adele branch of the Subjugators Guild, intervened with us before I was able to end the monster’s life.”

“Yeah, right! The monster had already been killed at that time by me! Plus, how could it be called intervening when it is you who charged into me all of a sudden, brandishing your sword while screaming that I have stolen your prey after seeing the already bloodied corpse of the monster in front of you!”

“I wasn’t screaming anything! I just wanted to test your strength that time, that’s all!”

After encountering Marie for the first time in the field, Schild was transferred from the guild to the vigilante corps after Mariastel put pressure on the already useless guild with her authority.

Since then, Schild has wielded his sword under Marie’s banner in the territory of West Adele.

“No matter how strong he was, the Count would never take a man under her command……that’s what we believed that time, and that also went for the guild manager. In fact, I believed that they agreed because they were more confused than threatened.”

“Still, was she really frustrated to that extent that she even threatened the guild to cause him to leave and make him transfer to your jurisdiction?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something, Miss Carney, but allow me to make it clear first.”

It was then when Nancy suddenly spoke, also putting freshly baked macaroons on the table.

“Perhaps it’s time we told you. The real reason why the Master has kept Master Schild at hand.”

“Is it because she’s in love with me?’

“The hell I am! As if!” The Count shouted nearby.

“My apologies. But I’m sure you’re already well aware of this, Mister Schild, having lived with the Master for some time.”

“Hm?”

“You are aware that my master loves girls, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And you’re also aware that she’s willing to cross the line for her love for girls, right”

“You mean going lesbian for the girls? Yeah, I see that. Or rather, I knew it long ago.”

“And there you have it, Miss Carney.”

Something of crucial importance was revealed to them smoothly.

“The reason Master has all of her servants in this mansion to be women of a certain age is that she likes them so much she’s willing to go so far to have homosexual sex with all of them, and she has done this with almost everyone in this mansion.”

“Uwaaa……!!”

Carney droned on in shock.

“Isn’t it just fine? Young maidens are the most beautiful beings in the world. So what’s wrong with loving them in the best way possible?”

But the woman in question felt no shame; she was even proud of her attitude.

“As you see, she is a person who has this strange commitment deeply ingrained in her, so it is already futile to force it out of her system. Also, it’s not as if she is forcing anyone, as she believes in the notion of making them fall in love with her first will make it easier for her to open up their pussies later.”

“Of course! Corrupting their mind of my magnanimous figure and my magnanimous figure alone is the only way to true romance!”

“Milady, I believe there is a better term rather than the word “corrupting,” but oddly, I can’t find any more favorable term as it suits it best……Truth be told, Miss Carney, it was the same with the female warriors in the vigilante corps at that time. Master was always nonchalantly devising a plan to ensnare them until they agreed to have consensual lesbian sex with her.”

One of such plans was called “Operation Dashing Hero”.

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