Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Two: Ottilie’s Reason
The young ladies began murmuring in disbelief and attracting attention from their surroundings, so Karen and the rest moved to Karen’s tent. Inside the tent were five people: Karen, Julius, Petra, Rosine, and Ottilie. Outside the tent stood Urte and Sepl.
In the tent that had become completely hostile territory for Ottilie, listening to Ottilie’s explanation, Karen finally grasped the accurate meaning of what a lowest-ranking wife was.
“I see… an indentured laborer in the case of nobles… no, more like a permanent laborer?”
In other words, if indentured laborers bound by magical contracts were the commoner slaves in this world, then lowest-ranking wives bound by magical contracts were apparently the equivalent of noble slaves.
Karen sighed in disgust. What on earth had Marian and Lyos of the past been trying to make Karen into? And how low her status must have been, that as an F-rank alchemist, she would not have been saved during the Great Collapse Stampede unless she became something like that.
—With what feelings were the not-insignificant number of people in this world who couldn’t even become F-rank alchemists living their lives even now?
“First, please allow me to apologize for offending you, Lady Karen, by desiring the position of lowest-ranking wife.”
Saying that, Ottilie stood and took an elegant bow. According to the explanation, she did not need to apologize at all, but she seemed to have misunderstood upon hearing Karen’s sigh.
“Please raise your head and sit down, Lady Ottilie.”
“As you wish, Lady Karen.”
Ottilie obediently responded to Karen’s words and returned to her seat.
Though only in name, as a wife, ties to one’s birth family were severed, and one couldn’t leave. Losing freedom, merely following the nominal husband and his wife—an existence in the lowest position. Though a noble, one’s dignity as a noble was reduced to the bare minimum, yet one continued trying to remain a noble.
If someone not in dire straits offered to become a lowest-ranking wife, it signified deep loyalty to the husband—and by extension, his house. Especially when someone like Ottilie—from a relatively high-ranking family and, moreover, a person who could be a fighting force using magic—made such an offer, it was normal to welcome her gladly to reward that devotion.
Because it was a contract that placed one’s very life and death in another’s hands…
“So, can you tell me again why you tried to become a lowest-ranking wife or indentured worker?”
“I want my family, my territory, and the people living there to be protected. And if possible, I would like you to help my friends who bear no ill will as well.”
“In the first place, what are you troubled by? Certainly, I think Lord Helfried is treating the Horst faction members coldly, but was it to the extent of affecting territories?”
What kind of situation would make her seek Julius and Karen’s help? Helfried was certainly eliminating people who had been in the Horst faction. Not just from within the mansion, but apparently also from the knight order and official positions.
It could be said he was treating people who had been in the Horst faction, the former earl’s faction, coldly. However, he was only trying to remove them from his vicinity and shouldn’t have been trying to touch their territories. In the future, too, he probably wouldn’t do anything to trouble the territories or innocent subjects. The Helfried that Karen knew was that kind of person.
“Are you about to have your land confiscated? Or are you talking about wanting to protect your status within the Ehlertt territory or your position in the earl’s house?”
Though she had been asked by Knight Captain Gottfried to help the former earl’s faction that was being treated coldly, it shouldn’t be harsh treatment to the extent that they would immediately need to become Julius’s slave or Karen’s slave.
To Karen’s question, Ottilie shook her head.
“Since we lost the factional struggle, it’s natural that our status within the Ehlertt territory would decline, and it’s to be expected that we’d be removed from positions. Also, the Earl is not trying to confiscate lands from our families.”
“Then what kind of predicament do you want to be saved from?”
“That is…”
Ottilie, who had been speaking smoothly until then, hesitated for a moment.
“…I want to show where our loyalty lies now, so as not to be caught up in Horst’s crimes.”
“So you won’t be suspected of being Horst’s collaborator?”
“Yes. We are innocent. But we have no evidence to make others believe that. So I want to prove it now.”
Karen looked up at Julius, who had been standing behind Karen and quietly watching until now.
“What do you think, Mr. Julius?”
“You can do as you like, Karen. As long as it’s not making her my wife.”
Julius smiled brightly. His gaze directed at Ottilie just before had been cold, and his attitude seemed indifferent. Seeing that attitude, even Karen couldn’t misunderstand. Rather, she asked, bewildered by his unexpected coldness:
“…Don’t you want to help her?”
“I do think it’s questionable whether she’s truly unrelated to Horst’s schemes. Rather, I can’t help but suspect that precisely because she is involved, she’s trying to enter the protection of the person, who resolved the dungeon anomaly together with Her Highness Waltride.”
Far from being indifferent, Julius was showing reluctance to help Ottilie. Karen, too, found herself agreeing with Julius to some extent.
“Indeed, the other young ladies didn’t seem to have as much sense of crisis as Lady Ottilie. Yet I feel urgency from Lady Ottilie.”
“Proving non-involvement is extremely difficult. If, after bringing her into your circle, her connection to Horst’s scheme comes to light, it could harm you as well, Karen.”
“That’s certainly true.”
“If you bound me with a magical contract so I couldn’t lie, and question me—”
“Even if you’re uninvolved, your family, relatives, servants, and close friends aren’t necessarily uninvolved, are they?”
Julius calmly shut down Ottilie’s rebuttal and looked down at Karen.
“Still, if you wish it, Karen, it’s fine—what will you do?”
What to do indeed—at this point, Karen had absolutely no motivation to help Ottilie. Both a lowest-ranking wife and an indentured worker were useless encumbrances to Karen. Rather, they were even troublesome.
So at this rate, she would probably refuse Ottilie’s proposal.
“What do you think, Lady Petra, Lady Rosine?”
“I have the same impression as you, Karen. Isn’t she coming to grovel for help ahead of everyone else because she’s already done something?”
“I agree, Ms. Karen. To begin with, what could a man like Horst even accomplish?”
Karen felt something catch at Rosine’s remark and tilted her head.
However, Petra immediately nodded at the very words that had troubled Karen.
“Right? Even if that man committed crimes, he’s not the kind of person who could commit serious crimes.”
“Yes. To seek Ms. Karen’s help because she doesn’t want to be caught up in such a man’s crimes—I find it suspicious. Don’t you have some other ulterior motive, Lady Ottilie?”
Horst and his group would be charged with treason. Even to Karen, who was not well-versed in legal punishments, that seemed only natural given the circumstances.
And yet, Petra and Rosine continued their strange logic.
When Karen got goosebumps, Ottilie said quietly:
“Lady Karen, this is precisely the reason.”
As she indicated "this," pointing at Petra and Rosine, who tried to protest with their hostility pushed to the forefront, Karen restrained them and urged Ottilie to continue her story.
