A Wish to Grab Happiness - Book 13: Chapter 313

Chapter 313: The Secret Covenant’s Fellowship

After Largud Ann left the room, I opened my mouth at the right time.

In the room, Philos Trait seemed uncomfortable as she was shaking her legs while sitting on a chair.

「Just like I said, I want you to cooperate with me. It has something to do with the Gharast Kingdom. 」

Hearing my words, Philos Trait raised her head and narrowed her white eye. Then, without even a hint of hesitation, she opened her mouth.

「…I’m sorry, but I have to reject. I can’t take your words seriously. I wonder if you’re mistaking me for a servant or something, Lugis Vrilligant. 」

Philos Trait made her lips bounce with momentum because of my request.

What I saw was a clear expression of refusal. Of course, I had foreseen that there would be some kind of reaction, but even so, I didn’t expect her to reject me so strongly.

While wrapping my arm in bandages, I asked her why. Philos replied as if she understood everything.

「Just like I said. I’m not your servant, nor can I say that I’m your complete ally. Right now, I’m a temporary ally, or even a prisoner. 」

Well, if she were an obedient prisoner, she’d probably nod her head obediently to what the guards said. After cutting the words at once and raising the corners of her sharp eyes, Philos continued.

「I am grateful that you saved me, and if it is for the sake of Philos citizens, I will gladly cooperate with your people’s governance. But I can’t be a part of your game, and I won’t. 」

In a room where only the two of us could speak, Philos declared so without hesitation. She clearly made her point.

It was clear what stood behind her words. To sum up, she was worried about the safety of the city of Philos.

Regardless of the reality, it was an undeniable fact that Philos Trait was the ruler of the city of Philos.

If that person became an ally of the Heraldic Order and if she aligned with its intentions and showed hostile intents towards the Gharast Kingdom, then she would be jumping into ruin both herself and her city.

If she turned her fangs against the Gharast Kingdom, which was a huge dragon, she’d know what would happen in the future. The city of Philos had survived to this day precisely because it did not defy the powerful.

If she showed hostile intents, whether true or false, the Gharast Kingdom would undoubtedly take away the autonomy of the city of Philos. Even with force if necessary.

Honestly, even a temporary alliance with the Heraldic Order was dangerous enough. Even if it was something she personally despised, how much would they listen?

From Philos’ point of view, forming an alliance was the last line of acceptance.

While listening to Philos’ words, I unknowingly stopped wrapping my fingertips in bandages. Even admiration floated in my chest.

She, Philos Trait, was a betrayed person.

She had an agitator named Roseau, but it was an undeniable fact that the citizens of her beloved city of Philos sold her out and beat her with sticks.

In that case, it would be fine for her to have something called hatred and resentment in the depths of her heart, even if it was just in form of fragments. It should be fine for her to have a muddy desire to push the citizens into the abyss.

Even a human being called Saint would probably turn a blind eye to such people if the same situation happened.

No, perhaps she naturally possessed such emotions. She just tied them down with her self-discipline, which could be called her own naivety.

I had to take my hat off to her. I wanted to even give her a round of applause. But I had to refrain myself from demonstrating it at this time.

I said the words while holding them in my mouth at once. I added some decorations to make it as easy for her to accept it.

「…I’m not asking you to bite the Gharast Kingdom. I just want you to write a greeting letter to a few people. That’s all. 」

At my words, Philos raised her eyebrows with distrust. She must have been unable to read my intentions.

On the other hand, I put a smile on my cheeks and continued my words. The inside of my viscera was covered with something like stagnant mud.

Oh, I hated it. I really hated it. Something was grabbing the back of my stomach. I felt like vomiting.

「I want to know how the Gharast aristocrats are spending their time, so I would like to include you in one of my investigations. 」

It was no exaggeration to say that the city of Philos was currently attracting the most attention in the Gharast Kingdom.

Under the Heraldic occupation, would the citizens be friendly or defiant to its rule? Which one did the ruler, Philos Trait, intend to side with, the Great Holy Church or the Heraldic religion?

They wanted answers. Even in the age of dead snow, there should be more than a few spies entering this city.

If Philos, who was the party concerned, sent a letter, albeit a greeting, it would probably show some reaction. I wanted to explore that kind of reaction.

What I wanted to see was its reaction speed.

If a horde of demon beasts, which was a sign of a great disaster, had entered Gharast, the aristocrats would rush to deal with it and the reaction would be delayed. Otherwise, the reaction would be fast. I emphasized on what I wanted to know and told Philos about it.

If she just said hello quietly, she wouldn’t be considered hostile at all.

At my words, Philos put her finger on her chin and made a stiff expression. She seemed to be deep in thought, and her feet were taking a step back.

As for me, I swallowed the bitterness that rose in my chest and narrowed my eyes. I lowered my words slightly and whispered.

「…Okay. Then why don’t we make a deal? In the future, if I come to the conclusion that the Heraldic Order will leave deep scars in the city of Philos, I will try to protect it as much as possible. How about it? 」

I didn’t know how much my words were worth. I thought about that while taking out a chewing tobacco from my pocket.

To be honest, I didn’t think it was okay to say such things without Matia’s permission, but it depended on the situation. Would she forgive me?

Philos opened her eyes at those words for a moment and moved her lips.

「Don’t use ambiguous words as if trying to make things easier. If you’re going to take my side when the Heraldic Order and I fall into conflict, then let’s cooperate, Lugis Vrilligant. 」

For a moment, I intertwined my gaze with Philos. It was a time when both of us seemed to have stopped breathing. The flavor of the chewing tobacco passed through my nostrils strangely thickly.

Surely? Chewing inside my skull, I returned the words.

「It’s fine, and as long as you don’t betray me, I’ll be of great help to you. With this, we’ll be covenant partners from now on. 」

With the chewing tobacco still on my lips, I took Philos’ hand. I thought that her hands were much smaller than one might think.

I quickly sat down on a chair and stood by Philos as she dropped ink on the parchment, revealing who she should send to and what she should write. Philos corrected my words to aristocratic words and assembled the sentence.

Nothing was offensive, and the text did not seem to have any intention other than greetings. I didn’t know if it was even meaningful to write them in a letter.

Philos occasionally asked if this was really all I needed, and I said yes. Anyway, the content was fine.

Speaking of which, all that was required was the fact that she had sent the letter.

Finally, when it came time to write the signature on the parchment, I opened my mouth with a gesture as if I was reminded of something.

「It will be in the name of Philos Trait as the letter of the ruler? By the way… 」

I hid my eyebrows reflexively. Before I knew it, I was biting the corners of my lips.

Shame. Yes, I felt shame. Now I was trying to deceive and use her for my own purposes. I was trying to push myself past the point of no return by offering a hoax deal.

It was all about deception. Indeed, it seemed that the guys in the Great Holy Church were good at seeing through the true nature.

Even if my body and soul were torn into eight pieces later, I would not be able to make any advances. Rather, I had to be patient and accept it.

I opened my lips.

「…Your real name should be there. Would you like me to sign it for you? 」

The recipients of the letters were truly noble aristocrats who once discovered the existence of the illegitimate princess and tried to seize the real power of the Gharast Kingdom. They were such ambitious humans.

The Philos Trait family did not know her bloodline, but they knew the name of the princess.

A letter must be sent under Philos’ original name, who should have abandoned said name.

It would be enough as a material to stir the background. At the very least, it should be good enough to stimulate and excite the ambitions humans who had not received the King’s favor.

Well, I hoped things went well.

There were many things I would like to do, but if the place called politics boiled even a little, and it became a place where anger spread like flies, then it would be fine for the time being.

Doing so would certainly disrupt the movements of the army. The collaboration between the national army and the private army of the nobility, which would be indispensable in order to oppose the demon beasts, would disappear.

In that case, the Gharast Kingdom would not be able to prevent even a few injuries.

Well, it was just a wishful thinking after all. Everything was going to fall soon. Other than that, I should do my very best. In any case, it was necessary to delay all correspondence of the magical beasts in the Gharast Kingdom.

…After all, Gharat Kingdom, a large country, could not easily cooperate with other countries just because a herd of magical beasts was approaching.

Only after losing half of their people did they realize that the situation was beyond their control.

After all, a human being could not even defend himself unless his bones were ripped, and he was cornered.

In that case, it would be my conscience to create a trigger. Even if it was accompanied by massive bleeding.