'Dad, I want you to look at this before we eat. William and his men found it in one of the bandits' hideouts here in the country.'

Irene stood up and went to King Andrew to hand him the bundle of papers.
King Andrew took it from his seat and inspected it.

As he read through it, the King's eyes became sharper and sharper.
When he had finished reading, he sniffed uncomfortably and thrust the bundle of papers back at Irene.

'It's the knight Irene.

'...... Ah, yes.'

It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your business.
The fact that he took the trouble to call her 'Knight Irene' suggests that they were not talking as father and son, but as king and vassal.

'The person who brought you this letter is not making any false allegations, is he?

'Um, ...... is, yes. William is a trusted friend of mine, and it is hard to imagine that he would lie, at least to incriminate us. I'm sure your father ...... knows that, too.'

'Yeah, you're right. Then, Knight Irene, I leave this matter to you. I don't care if you hire an outsider or something. I won't tolerate any pigs fooling around in my country.

'Yes, sir!

After confirming Irene's reply, Andrew turned to me and raised the corner of his mouth in a grin.

'Thank you William and your friends for your hard work. Nice work bringing this to Irene. If you had given it to a low-level official, he might have thought it was a nonsense story and dismissed it. I'll give you a gold envelope later. You may accept it as a fair reward for your work.

'Yes, thank you, sir.

'Good. That's enough formal talk for now. Now it's time for dinner. I've prepared plenty of good wine and food. Enjoy it to the fullest.

King Andrew announced as the Queen, who had been delayed, arrived at the dining room.
A sumptuous feast began.


The dinner began.


'Well, I was surprised by all that. I never thought it would be my mission. Oh, what should I do? ......'

Irene, who was eating next to me, mumbled something like that to me.
She's a healthy daredevil, and she's eating a hearty meal despite her misgivings.

I, on the other hand, enjoy the mellow aroma of the wine and say something back to her.

'Is that so? You could have guessed the possibility of this happening.

'Oh, really?

'Yes. I think it's well within the realm of possibility, considering your character.

Andrew is the type of man who would push his own child down a very narrow path.
It's not hard to imagine that he would actively throw Irene into the valley if he judged it to be a moderately difficult obstacle for her to gain experience.

'B-but... You can't help it. I'm not as smart as Will.

'Well, it's unavoidable that you have your weaknesses.

'But what should I do~? I can't think of a plan! I wish I was as smart as Will~'

Saying this, Irene clutches her head.
Hearing this, I sigh heavily.

'Irene. You need to learn how to use people a little. What did His Majesty say to you earlier when he appointed you? I added a few words.'

'......, what did I say?

'It's okay to hire outsiders.

'Oh, I remember you saying something like that. What about it... ah!

Irene stood up and shouted loudly.
The eyes of everyone in the dining room, including the servants, focused on Irene.

'Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's nothing, haha. ......'

Eileen waved her hand as if to make up for it, and sat down with a shrug.

'...... Does that mean I should hire Will as my chief of staff?'

'To my ears, it sounded like His Majesty was presenting it as an option.

'Yeah, I know. ....... What's the matter with you, Dad? You could have just said so.

'It's one thing to let Irene think about it, and another thing to say that she doesn't think that deeply about His Majesty. If you're going to work for someone in an organization, you have to take into account the nature of the people above you.'

'Will is still amazing, ......'.

Irene seemed to have abandoned her thoughts.
I shrugged my shoulders, thinking, 'Good grief.

And then...

'Oh, William. I see you've been training my daughter well.

King Andrew left his seat with a cup in his hand and walked briskly over to our table.
He sat down next to me, on the opposite side of the table from Irene.

Where did table manners go?
He said he wanted to be rude, but it seems he's the one who wants to be rude the most.

Then Andrew puts his arm around my shoulder and whispers to me so that Irene can't hear.

'If you want, William, why don't you take my daughter as your wife while you're teaching her?

Suddenly, he says something out of the blue.

'...... are you kidding me?

'I'm not joking. She's a jerk, but she's my lovely daughter, and I'm not going to give her to some random guy. But that's not going to get me a wife. You're perfect and she loves you. Think about it.

'Huh. ......'

Apparently Andrew is serious.
When he says that Eileen likes me, he probably means that she doesn't hate me. .......

I've never thought about having a relationship with Eileen, but...

I looked to the side and saw Irene in a pure white dress looking at me with her head tilted curiously.

So cute.
Such feelings suddenly welled up inside me.





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