Then, at the same time, the danger of this power occurred to me.
First, there were the superstitions surrounding curse ore. If people discovered we were researching curse ore, which hadn’t received the blessings of the gods, in this superstitious world, people might grow distrustful of us.
If it were only within the country, I might be able to enlighten the people with time, but I was sure to make an enemy of theocracies like the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria. For a nation ruled by religious doctrine, anything that might undermine a part of their dogma (even if it was of superstitious variety) would lead to a decline in their authority. They could never accept it.
Furthermore, if they learned a land without much in the way of faith had a technology like this, they were sure to demand we hand it over. From what Liscia was just saying, it seemed there was a considerable amount of curse ore in this country, too. If we weren’t careful, the neighboring countries might invade us for our resources.
It was looking like I could form a secret alliance with the Empire, and the threat posed by Amidonia had finally been removed; but if that sort of situation arose, this country would be wiped off the map. While this technology had the potential to make us the greatest power on the continent, it also had the hidden risk of destroying this country utterly.
I stumbled. “What am I gonna do…?”
“H-Hold on, Souma?! What’s wrong?!” Liscia cried out, supporting me.
“…Sorry,” I said. “I was imagining something high risk, high return, and I started to not feel so good.”
“Imagining something?” Liscia asked.
I explained my imaginings to Liscia and the others. As they listened, Liscia and Ludwin’s faces went pale. They must have felt the same fear as I did.
However, Genia was the only one who seemed unperturbed. “What’s there to worry about? We just need to finish the research before the other countries can start targeting us, then grow so strong they can’t say a word against us.”
“…You’re overly optimistic about it, but I guess it’s the only way, huh,” I said. “Still, we need to proceed with absolute secrecy on this…”
In which case, custody of Genia was going to be an issue. At this point, she was as vital to the welfare of this country as Tomoe. I couldn’t let her run off to another country, or to be kidnapped, and I wanted to leave her in the hands of someone I could trust. She seemed wholly devoted to her studies, but she was still in her early twenties; a young woman in her prime. I wanted to avoid a situation where some noble realized her importance and tried to make a move on her.
— In that case…
I waved to Liscia and whispered in her ear what I was thinking. Then, after I had her opinion on it, I turned to the handsome Captain of the Royal Guard who was looking at me dubiously.
“…Hey, Ludwin,” I said.
“Yes? What is it, sire?” he asked.
“Tell me, do you love Genia?”
Ludwin was clearly shaken. “Wh-What’s this, out of nowhere?! Sire!”
“It’s important,” I said, giving the flustered Ludwin a serious answer. “Depending on how you feel about Genia… and how Genia feels about you, I’ll need to change how I handle things here.”
Genia was a very important person to this country now. If possible, I wanted her to marry someone close to me, so she would put down deep roots in this country. That was why… if Ludwin was prepared to do it, all the better; but if not, I would have to come up with other plans.
Before I’d proposed this idea, I had whispered:
“Hey, Liscia. I’m thinking I should have Genia marry Ludwin. As a woman yourself, do you think Genia likes him?”
“…It’s a 60 % chance, I’d say,” she’d whispered back. “She probably does.”
“That’s not a very clear answer,” I’d whispered. “Why so uncertain?”
“Girls are hard to read. But I don’t think you need to worry, you know? Genia’s a daughter of the nobility. If the king commands it, she won’t refuse.”
“You may be right, but… I don’t want to force anyone if I don’t have to.”
“…I see. Well, how do you think Sir Ludwin would feel about it?” she’d whispered.
“I’d say it’s like a 99 % chance he loves her.”
“You sound awfully certain of that.”
“Guys are easy to read when it comes to this stuff,” I’d whispered.
All that stuff we’d whispered back and forth had been a secret.
Now, perhaps Ludwin realized I was serious, because his lips were pursed. He must have been wondering how best to answer.
At that point, the other involved party tilted her head to the side and asked, “Am I going to be Luu’s wife?” She said it in such a relaxed tone that you wouldn’t have assumed it was a decision affecting her.
“Would it upset you marrying Ludwin, Genia?” I asked.
“Nah. It wouldn’t upset me at all.” Genia said it so clearly and easily that it was almost a letdown. “I’m a woman, after all. I was thinking I’d like to get together with someone eventually, and I was also thinking I’d like that somebody to be Luu. Though, with Luu being as popular with the ladies as he is, I was fine with waiting until he found a proper wife and then having him take me as his third wife or so.”
Ludwin’s eyes went wide at Genia’s confession, but Liscia seemed to have found some point in it to sympathize with because she was nodding emphatically.
When Ludwin came back to his senses, he said with a pained look, “Sire, I ask you to forgive me for speaking against you,” then refuted me. “No matter how important of a person Genia is to this country, suddenly tying her down with marriage seems a little much…”
“You’re going to say that to the two of us?” I asked archly.
The former king, Sir Albert, had given his daughter Liscia to me in order to make me the king of this country. Conversely, from Liscia’s perspective, she had been made my bride to keep me as the king of this country. Though our relationship had started out in that warped way, now that we had overcome many trials and tribulations, we were bound by an absolutely unbreakable bond.
I patted Ludwin on the shoulder. “Having been through it myself, let me say, how the relationship starts isn’t the issue. It’s how you two spend your time together after that which is important, don’t you think? Besides, you already have all the time you’ve spent with her as childhood friends, don’t you?”
“Sire…” Ludwin murmured.
“Do you need another push? If you take Genia as your wife, you can call your house Maxwell-Arcs,” I said. “That way, the House of Maxwell’s name will remain. On top of that, the Royal House will cover all expenses for your wedding…Also, the country will cover nine-tenths of the expenses for Genia’s research from here on. The House of Arcs won’t need to carry that burden alone.”
“I–I’m very grateful for the offer, but… we still have to cover one-tenth of it ourselves?” he asked.
“If I don’t make you pay at least a little of it yourselves, I feel like there would be no limit to the amount of money she’d sink into it,” I explained. No matter how useful the invention, I couldn’t have Genia upending the country’s economy to build it.
When I shot her a cold glance, Genia looked the other way and whistled innocently.
When he saw that, Ludwin said, “I see…” and laughed wryly. “You want me to keep a firm grip on her reins, then.”
“Or to become a work-horse that can support larger expenses, I suppose,” I said.