24. Some names are filled with death
Louis the Fourth certainly wouldn’t let me off easily. With the emergence of the “wanted notice” and my uncle’s mention of “recent situations in parliamentary restructuring,” the script also began to show strange words.
At such a critical moment, my safety was the least of my concerns. After all, with Kephiel’s protagonist halo, my life was definitely secure, so… I couldn’t just become the pretty boy that Kephiel expected, leaving all the dangers for her to face alone.
Thus, under my strong insistence and my uncle’s agreement, I didn’t hide because of the wanted notice but instead followed Kephiel, waiting for the “guest” my uncle mentioned—the Earl of Glamorgan—to arrive.
Soon, with a commotion outside the door, a middle-aged, chubby man who was very much a “noble of the Great Ying Empire” hurriedly buttoned up his belly, his face clearly showing thoughts of “I did something wrong, so I’ m very anxious.” He bowed cautiously and entered.
“Z-Zerola Lord, there was a bit of a traffic jam on the way…”
He first removed his hat and bowed, after all, my uncle held a high position. Then, upon seeing Kephiel, his expression changed dramatically, and when he saw me, his face became even stranger; the speed of his facial changes was comparable to that of a Sichuan opera.
“Uh, this is…”
“Ah, they are my daughter and son-in-law.”
Before I could react, my uncle had already unleashed a barrage of nonsense, “Anyway, it’s not a serious atmosphere in discussions with Earl Glamorgan. Just a casual chat, it’s fine if they’re here, right?”
“Hahaha… No, no problem, no problem.”
Perhaps due to fear of my uncle’s status, or perhaps because he was too preoccupied with his own wrongdoing—maybe it was both—the Earl of Glamorgan nodded and agreed with a lifeless expression. I could tell without even looking at the script that he must have done something bad.
As for the Earl of Glamorgan himself, my impression of him, aside from his name being filled with foreshadowing from the start, was mainly that he often ended up being dragged out by the queen to do hard labor. A character of this level should normally be a supporting role that occasionally appears, but now he looked clearly guilty…
“Earl Glamorgan.”
My uncle, who sat down with him, suddenly seemed like a different person, becoming much more serious, his face exuding an intimidating presence that made Earl Glamorgan so nervous he forgot about my and Kephiel’s presence.
—
“Recently, the parliament is undergoing a reorganization, and you are quite the veteran noble member of the House of Lords. I wonder how your recent vote-gathering efforts have been?”
There are countless ways to solicit votes; as long as you don’t resort to the underhanded tactics prohibited by the Great Ying Empire’s laws, you could even wear a sailor suit to solicit votes in drag without issue. But this once honest supporting character must have done something out of line recently to boost his own votes. Just look, before the uncle could finish speaking, he had already pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat beading on his forehead.
“Not bad, not bad. The number, well… that’s confidential, so I can’t disclose it.”
“But that’s only under normal circumstances, Count Glamorgan. While I’d like to say it’s a coincidence, recently, your competitors from previous years have been abandoning the votes they painstakingly gathered one after another, transferring them to you through various channels.. .”
The uncle suddenly grew serious, looking at Glamorgan. The questioning expression and the pressure it brought made me involuntarily exclaim: you and Kephiel really do have a close father-daughter relationship.
“Do you know the reason behind this?”
“Uh…”
Here lies the “strangeness” of Count Glamorgan, who has always been able to secure re-election. There’s no need for a seasoned member to take risks to suppress competitors at such a time. So why is Count Glamorgan acting foolishly?
“Perhaps they suddenly felt pressured and just gave up? Hahaha, then my family’s think tank came up with a way to divert those votes.”
Wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead, Count Glamorgan seemed to want to hold his ground a bit longer.
“Lord Zerola, you really don’t need to concern yourself with this; you surely wouldn’t understand. Who… who would complain about having too many votes?”
That’s indeed the logic, but the script doesn’t say so.
【Count Glamorgan maliciously acquired a large number of votes with someone’s help!】
Rather than what this supporting character has done, I’m more concerned about who helped him! Because not only does the script say so, but I also have a bad premonition rising within me… a sort of instinct I have as the main antagonist.
I immediately stepped forward!
“Count Glamorgan, who is the person helping you!?”
However, it was too late. Seemingly feeling he had nothing to hide, Count Glamorgan hurriedly stood up.
“W-what help? I have no idea, hahaha… Lord Zerola, congratulations on your daughter’s marriage…”
After tossing out a dismissive remark to the uncle, he completely wore a “guilty thief” expression, hurriedly packing his things and leaving. We were left exchanging glances, helpless: after all, we truly had no evidence, the script didn’t elaborate , and the uncle was merely suspicious.
To find out what Count Glamorgan had done, a thorough investigation was necessary, but that was not something I could easily resolve.
However, to our surprise: the misdeeds of Count Glamorgan were no longer ours to uncover.
The next day, the news had already spread through the streets and alleys of the Great Ying Empire’s capital, accompanied by a fact that could wake me in the middle of the night!
Count Glamorgan and the wanted criminal O’Keefe had embezzled votes and accepted bribes, and they had been detained for investigation! The Great Ying Empire was in the process of capturing the wanted criminal O’Keefe!
Me and that supporting character colluding to amass wealth and power? What a ridiculous joke! Just last night, I was sharing a bed with Kephiel! Yet this news had already become a fact, and even the script reflected this.
【O’Keefe was killed by enthusiastic citizens who discovered his identity!】
【O’Keefe was killed by bounty hunters!】
【O’Keefe died accidentally while fleeing!】
With a slew of death scripts emerging, I realized: the revenge of Queen Louise IV was not merely a wanted notice; rather, it was just the beginning!
That kind of soul-drawing portrait could never find me, but this series of actions clearly aimed at impersonating and discrediting O’Keefe would gradually force my existence and actions into a corner.
This queen is waiting, waiting for me to have nowhere to retreat, for even Kephiel to be unable to protect me, watching as I personally come before her to seek her forgiveness! This is the script that Queen Louise IV has for me now!
—