Young Lambs Adrift at the Minister’s Marriage Prospect

Episode 4

“The end is nigh, it seems.”

The report submitted by Owl that he saw upon arriving at work contained information that the cafe Christina was going to visit the day before was a front for a criminal organization in the underworld.

To put it simply, the first floor was decorated as a normal cafe, and the second floor was apparently a torture chamber, but unexpectedly, business was so good that it began to attract attention.

Apparently, one of the criminals was seriously passionate about baking, or something like that.

It was a rather sad story in a way.

In any case, those involved in the incident had been rounded up, so all I had to do was put my seal of approval on it.

And so, as I was about to stamp it and move on to the next item, the door to the Minister’s office burst open with a force that threatened to shatter it, and someone stormed inside.

Why does she always open it like she’s going to break it? Can’t she just come in normally?

And to top it off, it was a loud, annoying, bothersome, and troublesome woman who came in.

“Minister!”

“What is it, Commander Chirner?”

Her name was Francesca Chirner, and she approached me with a roar, wearing her shining white Imperial armor as if she was going to break the floor.

The famous Commander of the Acherus Empire’s Third Knight Order herself.

“Do you ask that because you don’t know! The Minister’s underlings have trespassed on our Order’s territory yet again! How many times must I say it? Maintaining the peace in this district is the responsibility of our Knights Order!”

So, it’s that again.

No use, is there?

Best to keep silent, as usual, out of fear.

—

‘Tired…’

Francesca, having raised all that fuss with the Minister of Intelligence, barely resisted letting her shoulders slump as she returned to the Knights Order.

Though she’d raised a fuss, in truth it was no more than a show put on by herself alone.

As it always was, no matter what she said, the Minister would simply sit and quietly turn a ring on his finger, watching.

She felt as though she were shouting at a wall.

‘No, a wall would be better.’

To be observed by the Minister’s emotionless eyes was enough to send shivers down her spine. Though their eyes met, it was as if she was being scanned from head to toe.

It was clearly her who was doing the shouting, but she felt as if her own mental strength was being chipped away.

‘Haa… Why is it always me who has to do this?’

It wasn’t as if Francesca *wanted* to go find the Minister and rage at him every time something like this happened.

For no other reason than being the youngest of the Knight Order leaders, she’d been forced by her seniors to take on this unpleasant role.

‘They’re just afraid of the Minister, so they pawn it off on me…’

It wasn’t hard to understand. He was the Iron-Blooded Minister, after all.

He’d proven his abilities with insane achievements over the last ten years, and not only that, he came from the Varmut Dukedom, one of the most powerful families in the Empire.

A man who could snap the neck of an ordinary Knight Order leader with a single finger.

Honestly, the only explanation for her continued safety after each of those tirades was the Minister’s magnanimous nature.

‘Maybe I should just give it all up and become an adventurer.’

Despite being a Knight Order leader at a young age thanks to her innate talent and diligent efforts, Francesca had recently been overcome with a sense of futility.

To begin with, the position of Knight Order leader was far from what she’d imagined, and the constant political maneuvering and infighting within the Order were enough to make her sick.

Some said it was proof of how peaceful things were, but no matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she simply wasn’t suited for it.

Perhaps that was why.

She’d finally agreed to the marriage proposals that her parents had stubbornly insisted on for years.

Or, more precisely, she’d agreed to at least meet with someone once, but after standing firm for so long, that alone was enough to make her parents leap for joy.

And then came the day of the arranged meeting.

“…?”

Francesca, arriving at the arranged meeting, could only tilt her head, observing the Minister already seated there.

—

“The next Duke’s title will go to Karl. Therefore, you shall attend a matchmaking meeting.”

These were her father’s words, delivered abruptly during a visit to his son’s workplace.

“The former I understand, but as for the latter, I fail to grasp the connection.”

That the Dukedom would pass to her younger brother, immeasurably more accomplished than herself, was already known. It held no consequence for her.

She’d never cared for it in the first place.

But why that should necessitate *her* attending a arranged meeting eluded her understanding.

Her father, regarding her with eyes that suggested she lacked basic intellect, continued.

“To attend a matchmaking meeting means you are to marry.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“Enough. Just go.”

“I refuse.”

Marriage was something she’d never considered. And with Karl to carry on the line, there was no need for her to produce offspring.

Presenting this logic, her father seemed to shift tactics.

“Ah, I see. You’re being inconsiderate, are you? Very well. If that’s the case, so be it. Although my reputation, and the standing of our family, will be utterly shattered by this failed arrangement, it is of no matter.”

Now hold on a moment.

“The entire Imperial high society will whisper of your refusal, without even meeting the man, but fret not. Your mother, your brother, and I will be unable to show our faces in public again, but you needn’t worry about any of that.”

This father of mine, truly.

The relentless cascade of doom-laden pronouncements finally forced her to raise the white flag.

“…Just this once, then.”

“Oh, you’ll go? Well considered.”

“So, who is the match?”

“You’ll find out when you meet him.”

When she questioned why she couldn’t be told in advance, her father replied that it would spoil the fun.

This man is the Duke of the Empire.

The Empire is doomed.

And so arrived the fateful day.

Arriving at the appointed location, I, who was already seated, noticed an unexpected person approaching.

“Minister…?”

“…Commander Cirner.”

The moment I saw her, adorned not in her usual white armor, but in a pure white dress, I understood the meaning of my father’s mischievous smile.

I say it again.

The Empire is doomed.

—

The Imperial Intelligence Agency was in a state of emergency.

The reason was singular.

Word had spread of the Minister’s arranged meeting.

It goes without saying, the Minister had never breathed a word of it to his subordinates.

If you ask how they found out anyway, the only answer can be, because they are the Intelligence Agency.

Celine immediately formed an emergency response team, spearheaded by herself, Christina, and a few other agents, and sprang into action.

After compiling all sorts of information related to the Varmut Duchal family, they discovered the identity of the Minister’s prospective partner, something even he didn’t know, less than two hours after the team’s formation.

“Francesca Cirner!?”

“Impossible!”

“That muscle-brain is not suitable for the Minister!”

While shocked, they were also relieved. They were certain that if the partner was Francesca, the marriage proposal would never come to fruition.

She was a woman who always showed up uninvited and caused a ruckus. It was their collective opinion that she and the Minister were not just on bad terms, but fundamentally incompatible.

Of course, not everyone was so optimistic.

“This could be dangerous.”

“What are you saying, Celine? There’s no way the Minister would marry a woman like that, right?”

At Christina’s question, everyone in the room turned their gaze to Celine.

She sighed.

“Think about it. Objectively speaking, Francesca Cirner is a promising young female knight who rose to the rank of Knight Commander at a young age.”

It was true. Francesca had become Knight Commander solely on merit.

“If he marries her, the Minister will be able to directly influence the Imperial Knights. Do you really think he would just let go of such an opportunity simply because she doesn’t suit his tastes?”

The faces of the staff and agents listening turned pale in an instant.

The Minister was the kind of person who would analyze every gain and loss in an instant when presenting them with choices, and always create the optimal route to benefit himself.

For such a tempting prize as the Imperial Knights, he was more than capable of going through with a marriage.

“Now, come to think of it, that’s…”

“And that woman isn’t exactly bad looking, either…”

“She’s rather pretty, actually…”

The atmosphere grew hopelessly bleak.

Though they hadn’t even met, and neither knew the other was their assigned match, their minds were already picturing the two of them vowing their love amidst the chimes of church bells.

Imagining that scene, Christina felt a crushing pain in her chest, clutching at it as she declared,

“This won’t do. We must kill her.”

“Are you out of your mind!?”

“The target is a commander in the Imperial Knights!”

“Ah, even so, going that far is a bit…”

Celine, hearing the horrified protest against Christina’s increasingly wild pronouncements, nodded in agreement, adding,

“Exactly. Killing her is a last resort. We’d have to accept the considerable risk that entails, even from our position.”

“…Celine? Before we even get to risks, we shouldn’t kill anyone, alright?”

Ignoring that perfectly reasonable objection, she swept the scattered documents on the table, leaving only those pertaining to Francesca.

“From this point forward, we will delve into Francesca Chirner’s entire existence, her relationships, her habits, her reputation within the Knights… We’ll dig up any dirt we can find.”

“Dirt…?”

“The Minister is the eldest son of the Duke of Barmut. Would the Duke accept a woman with blemishes as his daughter-in-law? Even if not, there aren’t many men who want to marry a woman who carries the stain of scandal.”

“What if she’s spotless?”

Without looking at the speaker, Celine’s eyes darted rapidly over Francesca’s records as she replied,

“No one is without fault if you search hard enough. But if, by some chance, she truly is flawless, then we’ll have no choice.”

“Oh, we’ll… we’ll bless the marriage with the Minister?”

“What kind of idiotic nonsense is that? If she’s flawless, it means we’ll *create* a flaw.”

Madness.

That was the shared sentiment of the saner members of the office, watching Celine and Christina pile up files at an alarming rate.

Information manipulation was a common occurrence in the Intelligence Department.

Suppressing information or spreading misinformation to protect the Emperor and the Imperial family or to bolster the prestige of the Empire was commonplace.

Even so, a scheme to ruin a person’s life, all to prevent the Minister of Intelligence from marrying, was an unprecedented, unheard-of affair.

‘Shouldn’t we inform the Minister…?’

Everyone had the same thought, but none dared to approach the Minister.

Partly because they couldn’t adequately explain how they had learned about the arranged meeting and the identity of the intended bride. But the bigger reason was that they were all afraid of Celine.

In the end, no one acted, and time flowed by, bringing them to the day of the meeting.

Having planned for every eventuality, Celine intended to release the damning information she’d prepared depending on whether the matchmaking was successful or not, but, fortunately or unfortunately, she didn’t need to use it.

“It’s off, you say?”

“Aye.”

A few days later, word spread throughout the entire System: the engagement between the Director of Intelligence and the Commander of the Third Order had fallen through.