Novice Alchemist 5-35 part 4

TL : I’m sorry it took a while (_ _)

 

Chapter 5-35 : Dealing With The Rest Of The Problem (part 4)

 

「So… It will be a marriage between two women…?」(Clancy)

「Yes. As long as they can find an heir, the kingdom will have no problem with their marriage.」(Prince Ferik)

Same-sex marriage is not prohibited in the Kingdom of Laprossian, but it’s quite rare.

Clancy was at a loss for words, while Prince Ferik shrugged and continued talking.

「It’s just my guess, but I think Miss Iris is willing to marry Miss Sarasa not only because she feels indebted to Miss Sarasa but also because she had a terrible experience of meeting the worst man she had ever seen in her life.」(Prince Ferik)

Prince Ferik knew about the Lotze Family’s circumstances. In fact, his guess was almost correct.

In order to pay off the Lotze Family’s debts to Baronet Kirk, Adelbert Lotze looked for a rich person who would lend him money, and he found Hou Baal, a rich merchant in the town of South Strugg. He was willing to lend Adelbert money on the condition that his daughter, Iris, should marry him. (chapter 3-20 – 3-21)

As a daughter of a noble, Iris had prepared herself for the marriage even though it was against her will in order to free her father from debt.

However, the person who would be her partner was Hou Baal, an awful man with a horrible personality.

Not only did Iris have to marry the worst man she had ever met in her life, but she would also lose her right as the heir of the Lotze Family.

Fortunately, Sarasa came to the rescue in such a hopeless situation.

She wrecked the marriage between Iris and Hou Baal by helping Adelbert pay off his debt to Baronet Kirk.

Thanks to her, Hou Baal’s plan to marry Iris and Baronet Kirk’s plan to seize the Lotze Territory from the Lotze Family were ruined.

Sarasa is a talented and kind-hearted girl. Prince Ferik thought that it was only natural that Iris would fall in love with her even though she was of the same sex.

「I’m glad for the Lotze Family that their problem has been settled, but at the same time, I feel a bit disappointed. Now that the Lotze Family is planning to marry Miss Iris with Miss Sarasa, there’s no chance for me to take Miss Sarasa as my wife.」(Prince Ferik)

「…Wha!? 」(Clancy)

Clancy was surprised by Prince Ferik’s unexpected words.

「Pardon me, Your Highness, but I think that would be difficult.」(Clancy)

「Do you think so? She is an orphan. We can just find an excuse. For example, “She is actually the illegitimate child of a noble” or something like that. Besides, she is a talented person who is fit to be a member of the royal family.」(Prince Ferik)

Sarasa is a commoner but Prince Ferik can use that excuse and ask a high-ranking noble to adopt her into their family. By doing so, there will be no problem if Prince Ferik wants to marry Sarasa.

However, even if it was possible, there was no way Sarasa would be willing to marry Prince Ferik.

If she had to choose between Prince Ferik and Iris, she would definitely choose Iris.

Prince Ferik seemed to understand that. Therefore, he shrugged his shoulders and smiled wryly as if marrying Sarasa was just a dream that would never come true.

「Well, I know it will never happen. She probably didn’t realize it, but I knew that she hated me for some reason. Whenever I visited her shop, I could feel the ‘Go home! Go home!’ aura coming from her.」(Prince Ferik)

「Is that so? I can’t believe there’s a woman who hates a good-looking young prince like you.」(Clancy)

「Haha. Thank you for the compliment, but Miss Sarasa seems to see things other than mere appearance. Honestly speaking, I’m kinda sick of women who are attracted to me just because of my appearance and status. Miss Sarasa is different. That’s why I like her. She doesn’t like me though. Ahh, finding a woman who likes me not because of my status and accepts me for who I really am is difficult.」(Prince Ferik)

Sarasa doesn’t like Prince Ferik because of his sly personality.

Women who would accept him despite his status and personality must be very rare.

Clancy, who has known Prince Ferik for a long time, knew about his true nature, but he never said anything about it because he was afraid of hurting Prince Ferik’s feelings.

「Perhaps it’s too difficult for ordinary people to understand how great you really are.」(Clancy)

「Fufu. You’re flattering me too much.」(Prince Ferik)

「No, no. It wasn’t flattery. Hahaha.」(Clancy)

Prince Ferik and Clancy laughed for a while, but then they both sighed and changed their expression.

「Nevertheless, let’s talk about the future of this town.」(Prince Ferik)

「Understood. As my last service in this town, I will prepare all the necessary documents for the next person who will govern this town. You don’t need to worry about the administrative matters.」(Clancy)

「Ah, about that, at first, I wanted Miss Sarasa to govern this town, but I changed my mind. After thinking about it carefully, I think the chance she will accept this troublesome job is slim. Clancy, I want you to take care of this town.」(Prince Ferik)

「M, Me…? But, Your Highness, now that the Kirk Family is gone, I’m just a commoner. If I become the governor, I don’t think Baronet Kirk’s relatives will accept it.」(Clancy)

「There are also commoners among the bureaucrats, so I don’t think they will mind. As for the relatives of Baronet Kirk, I will make sure they can’t complain about it, so you can rest easy.」(Prince Ferik)

「………」(Clancy)

Clancy didn’t know exactly what Prince Ferik would do to greedy people like Baronet Kirk’s relatives so that they wouldn’t complain about him becoming the deputy.

He was curious but chose not to ask Prince Ferik about it.

「If you don’t want to take this job, I can look for another person who I think is capable of governing this town, but honestly, I want you to do it.」(Prince Ferik)

Listening to Prince Ferik’s words, Clancy closed his eyes and folded his hands.

While thinking, the memories of him spending time with the first and the second generation of Baronet Kirk crossed his mind.

He remembered he worked together with them to develop the town. He even remembered the time when he argued with them.

Even though he had served Yokuo Kirk for a long time, the memories while he was serving the two predecessors of Baronet Kirk for a few decades were still vivid.

He thought that the Town of South Strugg that he and Baronet Kirk’s predecessors had worked so hard to build might end up miserably in the wrong person’s hand.

Therefore, now that he had a chance, he thought that he had to do it himself.

「So? Would you do it for the sake of the people in this town?」(Prince Ferik)

「Your Highness, I will gladly accept this job and I will try my best to not disappoint you and the people.」(Clancy)

Clancy bowed his head deeply to Prince Ferik.

While he was bowing, Prince Ferik noticed a drop of tear fall from the corners of his eye.

 

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