A cold cynic dies after angering the goddess of love only to be reincarnated as a male capture target in a fantasy otome game (dating sim) with the added twist of a powerful attraction blessing and excellent magic aptitude. Now he tries to destroy t...
If that old saying about losing a piece of your soul every time you sigh is true, then mine might be in critical condition.
I looked from the daunting pile of documents on my desk to Maddie standing patiently across from me.
Sigh.
"And we're certain about this?" I prodded. She nodded in response.
"Positive, Master," said the older woman. "The servants in charge of bringing the former Queen's food overheard her meeting with someone affiliated with her paternal household. She appears to be planning yet another attempt at the Crown Prince's birthright with outside help this time. She and the unknown proxy mentioned getting in contact with the little master soon."
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I just barely bit back a growl.
Just like with Claire and Verne, it seems that I have greatly underestimated the zealous greed and stupidity of the woman that is Celia Von Gestalt nee Crystalli, the former Queen of Gestalt Kingdom.
She clearly hadn't learned her lesson from the last time she pulled this shit and lost her royal status, her prestige, her power and her only child. Why else would she keep trying at high treason the way she is right now?
Gods bless the overlooked well of information that is the household servants. I already have quite the network of informants in the royal palace, but the spies are not there to help me get ahead like most aristocrats would do if they had the required brain cells to rub together and realize that there are uninvolved people that are washing their dirty laundry, both literally and figuratively. These informants are more of a warning system, so if there's trouble headed my way from the top I can head it off with plausible deniability.
Like this situation right here.
That disgraced Queen had once again gotten it into her head to make another attempt on the throne, and she's even planning to drag Leon out of exile into this mess again too. He is her only connection to the royal line now after all.
As much as I'd like to rebuff any and all of her attempts to get in contact with Leon and traumatize him anymore than she already has, the woman is still his lawful parent, and it would be bad form to step in between that.
Not that anyone with a lick of sense actually believes for a second that she cares for any mother-child bond, but it's the look of the thing that matters to them.
I'll just have to find a way to plausibly deny this too somehow.
… Somehow.
I sigh again.
"That is all, Maddie, thank you," I give her a grateful look, and she gives me a firm nod, a warm smile and a curtsy before she leaves the room.
When the study door clicks shut, I'm left alone to ponder this latest issue.
