After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 182
**Episode 182: Various Troubles**
It had been a nerve-wracking incident, but the cleanup was progressing.
For now, the foolish brothers were thrown into the underground prison. The crime of inciting what could have become a large-scale rebellion was serious. Normally, immediate execution wouldn’t have been out of the question. In fact, our mother, who was in the royal capital, had apparently petitioned His Majesty to impose the death penalty on her unworthy sons. However, Beato suggested they be kept alive as evidence to track down the mastermind likely behind them.
As idiotic as the brothers are, they’re still the children she gave birth to, so I wondered if she would protect them no matter how foolish they were. I realized that my thinking was still grounded in modern Japan’s perspective. My mother prioritized the nation’s order, the people’s peace, and her loyalty to His Majesty above all else. The values of the nobility in this world were far harsher than I had imagined.
Mother herself took responsibility for the great scandal caused by her sons and resigned from all her public duties. Liese, my older sister, also attempted to step down as commander of the mage forces, but Her Majesty did not allow it.
“This incident places great responsibility on the Freudenstadt family.”
“I understand that, Your Majesty, and I intend to resign from public office as well…”
“Resigning is not a light enough responsibility.”
“…As you wish. But what should I do then?”
“You must personally uncover all the details of this case. The perpetrators’ movements, the source of the drug, their motives… and the forces behind them. It’s hard to believe those two alone could have planned such a grand conspiracy. There must be someone who instigated them. Anneliese, I grant you full authority. You must get to the truth.”
“Yes, even if it costs my life!”
That was the exchange that supposedly happened in the royal capital. Though it seemed like Her Majesty was speaking to Liese, she was also likely addressing the high-ranking nobles present. There was certainly someone among them pulling strings from the royal capital, and Her Majesty’s words were meant to ensure they wouldn’t stir up more trouble.
With such a command from Her Majesty, Liese’s motivation shot up. She’s always been the type to give her all to any task, and now she was giving sharp orders to her subordinates and personally handling a mountain of paperwork while gathering information. Watching her work so diligently reminded me of an old-fashioned class president from the Showa era.
Looking into her serious and determined eyes, I couldn’t help but feel that all the romantic aspects of our supposed relationship as a recognized lover had drifted far, far away.
Well, it couldn’t be helped. This was a case where even I could have been punished for my lack of oversight. All I could do now was assist Liese in her investigation to uncover the mastermind behind it all.
“How’s the progress?”
“Not good. We thoroughly searched the mansion, but no direct evidence of orders was found. Knowing those brothers, they probably agreed to the plan simply because they thought it would cause you trouble, Lutz.”
Exactly. Even after being captured, the idiotic brothers showed no signs of remorse. Instead, they kept complaining about their treatment. They were completely oblivious to their situation. We interrogated them, but all they did was accuse me and Liese of wrongdoing. Even using some of the harsher interrogation drugs, we got no results. Just as Liese said, they had likely been manipulated and used as convenient pawns—genuine fools.
“Can’t we trace the source of the drug?”
“That would be difficult. The drug is banned, but it’s been around for a long time, and there are many possible ways to obtain it.”
“In that case, we’ll have to rely on the Dark Clan…”
The Dark Clan, who excelled in dealing with these kinds of conspiracies, had already found some leads.
Before this incident occurred, they had thoroughly monitored those coming and going from the brothers’ mansion. They’d tracked those who went to the capital and carefully followed their movements to see what they were plotting. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to prevent the initial incident, but they did identify the noble family that the suspicious individuals returned to. Kanako, the clan chief stationed in the capital, was keeping a close watch on that mansion, waiting for a chance to sneak in.
“I hope they find something… but I really don’t want them taking dangerous risks.”
“I feel the same.”
As Liese and I exchanged glances, a calm voice suddenly interrupted us from behind.
“My aunt will surely bring back some evidence. She won’t mind taking a few risks for it. Even if some of our people perish…”
Terrifying! Ayaka’s tone was calm and flat, but what she was saying was chilling. Her ability to remain unnoticed until that moment only made it scarier.
“I’d really prefer if you didn’t speak about such serious matters so casually…”
“Is it not natural? Lutz-sama, the one our clan venerates, nearly had a rebellion pinned on him. We will chase down the mastermind to the ends of the earth, and we will make sure those who dared harm our master are punished. If that requires sacrificing lives, so be it.”
No, no, you should care about life… I wanted to retort, but swallowed my words. Within Ayaka’s deep black eyes, a cold blue flame was burning.