Tetra and Abraham looked at each other for a while.


　It was Abraham who first opened his mouth.

　'Lord Tetra. I have heard that your mother is Cilician. So I would like to ask you something. Isn't your mother's name ... isn't her name Helen?
　"Yes. My mother is Helen. You know her well.
　'Of course ... because Helen is my daughter.

　Well I thought this looked strangely familiar.
　This old man looks like Tetra.

　No, he doesn't look like him. Maybe Tetra looks like his father.
　But now that I think about it, the resemblance is definitely noticeable.

　The reason I didn't notice is the physique.
　This old man is big for a Cilician who has a reputation for being short. And his muscles are amazing.
　On the other hand, Tetra is small for a Cilician with a reputation for being short and small.

　


　But are these two really related to each other by blood?
　It sounds like it's possible enough to say that it's an empty imitation of someone else's...

　''I have no proof. If my mother was your daughter just because of the resemblance, my family would grow indefinitely.
　Tetra countered.
　Oh yeah, and is there such a coincidence in that?

　I mean, why would a Pretender's daughter marry into a wealthy Adelunian country family?


　''You can use witchcraft to determine if you're related. You know that, don't you?
　Well let's find out.

　As Tetra said this, Abraham's slave brought a vessel, grass, and a knife.
　'What are you doing?

　'Hey, Alms. Go get Julia. Julia's more suitable.
　Well, I suppose that's true, too.

　It's impossible for that guy to make a mistake, and if he has something planned for you, you'll know it.





　No, no, no, there's no way that's possible.
　Julia began to prepare, despite her denial.

　She looked at the water in the bowl and then filled it with polished herbs.
　She mumbled something like a spell and offered it to them.

　'Then, Lord Abraham. Blood.
　Yeah.

　Abraham scratches his own fingers with the knife and drips blood.
　The blood drips down to the surface of the water, creating ripples.

　The blood spreads and dissolves into the water like smoke.
　When the water turned a little pink, Julia instructed Abraham to stop.

　Then she handed another knife to Tetra.
　Tetra silently presses the knife against her thumb, making a wound.

　Blood fell to the surface of the water, and it glowed faintly.


　''I'm sure... no way...''
　I mean, really?

　When I asked, Julia nodded.





　''I didn't expect that Lord Gryphon's son, the new king of King Rosais' kingdom, is my grandson!
　Abraham is in a good mood.
　By the way, am I really this man's 'grandson'?

　Is your grandson's husband your grandson?　

　I don't know...


　Well I don't know what to do.
　I don't have any relatives. So it is good to have more relatives like this to rely on.

　The position of pretender is not very outwardly good, but that's only among the Cilician people.
　Many Adelnians are in the habit of having a king. So there's no problem.

　There isn't but....

　"By the way, when will my great-grandson be born?
　'Well I don't have any plans at the moment...'

　I look at Tetra and she shakes her head.

　'How's that? I'm 50 years old. Not for long. I can't die before I see my great-grandson before I die. I suppose...
　Abraham rings the bell.
　Soon the slaves will arrive. Abraham commands his slave.

　"Bring me that. Do you understand?
　Yes. That one.

　That's how you know it's him.
　You guys are a couple.

　The slave brought a clean glass bottle. Inside it is a golden liquid.

　"Here's what I'll give you. This is mead. "The queen bee is said to give birth to many children.
　Abraham is in a good mood and pushes the bottle into Tetra's hand.

　'Oh, thank you ... er ... my lord ...'

　Tetra looked terribly complicated. She is very upset.
　Her eyes were swimming and she would look at Abraham's face many times and then avert her eyes. And from time to time, he would look at me and Julia and ask for help.
　I may have never seen a tetra like this before.

　I thought my family was just my husband (and Julia) and then all of a sudden my grandfather showed up.
　And Grandpa is a dictator named Pretender, a bad person in the popular opinion.

　And he hands the grandfather a bottle of mead with a line mixed with a corny story....

　Yeah, I don't understand.


　"The clearer this becomes, the deeper the relationship between your country and ours, the better.
　You mean you're going to publish...

　It's not a bad thing that Abraham and I are related to each other.
　It's a good balance for me, as I only have relatives with a Uriah connection.

　But the question becomes a messy one: who can take the throne, Tetra's child or Yulia's child?

　First of all, I got the right to the throne by marrying Yulia.
　So it makes sense to make Julia's child the next king. At least there will be no trouble.

　But is it impossible for Tetra's son to be the next king?　Not so much if you ask me.
　The House of Ath is a branch of the House of Rosais, just like the House of Dibel.
　Hence, Tetra's son is also a descendant of the Rosais royal family. So the qualification exists.

　If Yulia would give birth to a boy first, it would be a full circle, but the world doesn't always work out that way.

　The current power relationship is overwhelmingly superior to Julia's, so without a doubt the next king will be Julia's child. Whether it is born first or not.

　But if the Cilician forces, led by Abraham, are united behind Tetra....
　It's going to be messy.

　After all, I'm thinking of applying Cilician to bureaucrats and other personnel.
　From the point of view of the bureaucrats, the next king would be happy to have Cilician blood in his veins.

　There could be a battle between the Rosais and the great families vs. the Cilician bureaucrats and the Cilician nations.

　Oh my head hurts....

　On the subject of publicity how about the next New Year?
　It's June now. That means the announcement will be made in seven months.
　By then, the country will be fully organized.

　I suppose so. It's a good idea. I'll do it.

　For the time being, I was able to buy some time.
　Well, it doesn't matter what you say, it doesn't matter what happens because I bought time.



　And so the honeymoon was over.
　We were able to bring back a number of souvenirs (people), so it wasn't a bad outcome.

　From now on, the number of Cilicia's merchants will be increasing.
　






　After Almus left, Abraham summoned his entourage.

　"As for the men to be sent to King Loseys' kingdom you may have a few rats in the wings. Don't be a sorcerer. They'll probably find out.

　Sending spies would have been done by both Rezad and Nemeth.　
　It was an easy chance to send a spy to King Rosais' country without being easily suspected, and every country readily accepted it.
　The target was the process of paper and fire elixir.

　However, the new king must understand that. After understanding it, he must have decided that the rewards outweighed the risks.
　Perhaps the bureaucrats he brought back wouldn't let him handle the most important material.

　What we do know is that the information is unimportant, or that it's fragmented and doesn't make sense in one piece.

　And they'll do everything in their power to hide the paper and the recipe for the fire potion.
　It will be extremely difficult to obtain. No, they're nearly impossible to obtain.

　But there's not a hundred percent. Even if there's a 1% chance, it's worth a try.

　And you'll know more about the inner workings of this country than you ever have.
　The Cilicians have the same skin color as the Adelnians, but they speak a different language and are more conspicuous.

　But if we can send so many of them to King Losais' country, it will be easier to gather information from countries other than King Losais' country.

　'And while you're at it, prepare for it. I'll make my great-grandson the crown prince by any means necessary.
　It's difficult for Gehenna alone.
　But it doesn't have to be done by one country.

　As soon as the New Year is announced, we will make contact with the other three countries and begin the operation.
　If we combine the financial resources of the Cilician merchants and the Cilician bureaucrats in King Rosais' country, it will not be difficult.

　The problem is the great families...

　"Take the time to make sure these rich and powerful men in King Rosyth's country learn how to live a life of luxury.
　'I understand. For the sake of friendship........so I'll send you a mountain of spices, goldsmiths and glasswork. That new king also bought quite a lot of them. If he shows off, I'm sure the great families will want it too.

　The culture of the Adelian peninsula is simple and robust, or worse, it is a poor one.
　The meat is wild boar meat from the hunt, even for the rich and powerful, and fatted pork is only served at New Year's and banquets.

　There are people who buy luxurious goldsmiths, but not all of the wealthy families want them.

　But from now on, more and more Cilician merchants are going to the country of King Loseys.
　As the number of items increases, so will the number of wealthy families who show interest.

　To buy luxury goods, you need money.
　But gold cannot be harvested in the field. It has to be sold.

　The scary thing about gold is that its value fluctuates.
　What you can buy with one gold coin, a month later you may need one gold coin and five silver coins.

　This is a great family that has only just known money.
　Undoubtedly, they make a mistake in using gold.

　Gold is not easy to collect.
　But they want to be extravagant.

　Then what shall we do?　Debt.

　You could offer them an investment. You'd lose a lot of money and get yourself into debt.
　And then.....

　'You're a complete powerhouse who listens to us. I'd like to get at least a quarter of them. If that's all we have, we can force them into it.

　And then there's the agitation of the commoners.
　The commoners in King Rosais' country are self-made farmers, all of whom are also soldiers.

　Now they are convinced that they must obey the great family, the king....
　What would happen if they knew the political system of the Cilician people?

　If you want the sedition to end, make the son of Tetra the Dauphin.
　And you can put pressure on that king to do the same.

　Besides, every woman wants to be the best of the man she loves, and she wants her children to be the primary heirs.
　The more you love the man, the more you love him.

　Who can say they have no complaints in their mouths, but not have any in their hearts?　No, he's not there.

　There is nothing strange about going to see your grandchildren.
　You must go to him yourself and whisper to him.

　Grandfather will do something about it.


　'Huh, it's a little sad that Helen is dead, but well, she was the girl I originally thought was dead. But she left me the greatest gift of all. Good job. I had assumed that my daughter would have no filial piety, but I take that back. Your daughter is a filial daughter. Kuh-uh...