Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 106



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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 106

21-Arthur Hurt, Baron

Flavan’s words contained a variety of information. The man in front of him did not look favorably on the nobles, and there was a war of nerves over the vested interests surrounding the music box.

Arthur thought back to Count Hanbaya’s actions earlier. It seemed like the agreement between the king and the nobles regarding the rights to sell the music box had not yet been finalized.

Then it seemed that he understood why Count Hanbayah and Count Ivan had been arguing over him.

Could Count Hanbaya be a vanguard sent by a certain faction to Gando to take over the music box export business or acquire a large stake?

And after all, that faction seemed at least aristocratic. Arthur’s title of baron was the royal family’s decision, so the loyalists would not have acted so hastily, and the neutralists would not have taken such a risky measure without considering the conflict with the royal family.

Plavan continued speaking.

“Make a wise decision for the sake of the country.”

Arthur nodded. Not for the country, but for himself.

* * *

The purpose of this banquet was to introduce the semi-nobles to society. I wondered who would attend this small banquet celebrating the semi-nobles, but there was a certain demand.

Although the nobles in attendance were of low rank, there were certainly some who were semi-noble and grateful to those who had failed to find suitable spouses.

It’s a one-shot deal for nobles who need money, but could a commoner who’s rich enough to buy a title also be a good political marriage candidate?

In that sense, Arthur was a great son-in-law.

In general, officers were on average younger than merchants, and merchants on average had more money than officers. Arthur had the best of both worlds, so there was no other alternative more attractive to those who wanted to sell their daughters.

Of course, they were married, but wasn’t that marriage a marriage when they were commoners? Their logic was that if you became a noble, it was natural to marry a noble.

Of course, from Arthur’s point of view, this was nonsense. If the devout priests of the cathedral had heard it, they would have foamed at the mouth, calling it blasphemy.

Arthur, who was also a devout believer, was possessed and suffered from various ailments.

“No? Are you telling me to get a divorce?”

Marriage is sacred. Therefore, to divorce or annul a marriage, permission from the highest level of the clergy, the bishopric, was required.

Of course, divorces were rarely declared. Even when they did occur, they were never permitted for political or worldly reasons.

Divorce is permitted only when the spouse is found to be a cultist who worships an evil spirit, or when the couple is unable to have children. However, in the latter case, political considerations are significant. Failure to have a prince could shake the country over the issue of succession.

However, this is the position of those who are against divorce and devoutly religious, and the position of secular aristocrats who do not care about religious authority is different.

“Honestly, aren’t you a noble now? You should get a partner who is on your level.”

“I’m not telling you to abandon your wife who has supported you so far. Why don’t you take her as your lover?”

Their logic was thoroughly from the perspective of the secular aristocracy and political marriage.

For the secular aristocracy, who perceived religion as a mere tool of rule over the ignorant lower classes, a spouse was a political and business partner.

Although they sometimes sleep together to produce heirs, these wealthy and powerful people do not particularly feel aversion to the pleasures of the opposite sex other than their spouses.

Because their marriages were not based on love, but were tainted by political marriages and worldly interests. So they were the ones who knew better than anyone that marriage was not particularly sacred, and because of that, they were the ones who could most quickly throw away their faith.

Marriage is sacred, but I love that person more? Huh? But there’s no divine punishment for cheating?

It was a common tendency for those who were immersed in the power of imposition to pursue pleasure rather than responsibility and duty, and to them, who had even thrown away their faith, the duties and responsibilities of marriage vows were only a burden.

And, crucially, religious marriage and legal marriage were separated by interests. The class that could divorce by their own consent, regardless of what the priest of the church said. That was the nobility.

So Arthur’s insistence on keeping his marriage vows to a common woman seemed to them like a common mistake made by a novice nobleman. Wasn’t it also the duty of those born into the nobility to gradually teach the novice nobleman, who was unfamiliar with the glamorous and stimulating life of the nobility, about it?

Although he was wagging his tongue like that, he couldn’t help but feel the greed in his eyes.

Arthur wondered in their eyes why he had become the object of such greed, and guessed various reasons.

Are you less rich than you thought? It seems like a lot of money is being spent on maintaining the lives of nobles. Or maybe you are trying to sell your daughter to make up for your failed war bond investment?

Arthur maintained a naive yet stubborn attitude as he organized his reasoning.

“That can’t be happening. You’re going to hell.”

The nobleman responded with a snicker at the mention of going to hell.

“You’re going to hell for just that. How naive. You don’t have any children yet? In that case, wouldn’t divorce be possible?”

He said he had done quite a bit of research on Arthur. Of course, his argument that divorce was possible was far-fetched.

Arthur’s expression hardened.

“My husband and I are still young.”

“That’s because you’re young. It makes me feel bad to see you tied down to just one woman with all your youth.”

No, it’s not that. I guess he’s more interested in the money he’ll get from selling his daughter.

Arthur was fully aware of the corruption of the nobility. The country was really running well.

But reality was reality, and difficulty was difficulty. The nobles gathered here did not seem to have any intention of letting Arthur, the prey, go easily. Arthur rolled his eyes to escape this crisis or annoyance, when a court lady approached him and spoke to him.

“Are you Arthur Hurt, Baron?”

“yes.”

“The Queen is calling.”

“All right.”

Arthur secretly cheered and quickly followed the palace maid out of the banquet hall. He felt the eyes on the back of his head, but he didn’t even want to make eye contact, so he didn’t look back.

Following the court lady, he passed through several corridors and arrived at a splendid garden. In one corner, a queen he knew well was sitting at a table covered with a parasol, having tea time.

“Welcome, Your Majesty Arthur Hurt.”

“Meet the Queen.”

Arthur greeted her with gratitude for saving him from an awkward situation, but the queen’s attitude was indifferent.

“Now that I’m a noble, I guess I should pay attention to etiquette.”

“… … I will do so, Your Majesty.”

Didn’t Arthur know that he had brought up etiquette to gain the upper hand from the beginning? He understood it completely. Even though he understood, he also felt like a bitch. That was the human mind. Arthur was the same.

Still, Arthur decided to trade his gratitude for her saving him from a pack of greedy hyenas.

The queen opened her mouth.

“I heard you had some trouble at the banquet hall.”

“Thanks to you, I survived, Your Majesty.”

“Instigating a divorce… …. What kind of dirty thing is this as a nobleman… ….”

Does the queen really mean such things? Of course, you may personally think so, but a queen like her had to take such remarks into political consideration.

The queen opened her mouth.

“Why do you think they do that?”

“… … Isn’t it because of the money?”

Arthur answered honestly. It would have been disgusting to pretend not to know here.

“Yes. The music box you invented is quite a valuable item. I’m sure there are many people who would want to buy it.”

“I know. I already have someone who asks me to provide technology for export.”

“Among those who received titles this time?”

Arthur nodded. Then the queen became lost in thought for a moment. The procedure of trying to comfort and appease her with words was disrupted by Arthur’s words, so she immediately got to the main point.

“Exporting music boxes is a necessary business for the country’s finances.”

“But it’s difficult for just me and Mato Trading Company.”

“Yes, that’s why you need to disclose your skills.”

“But if we make the technology public, other countries may copy it.”

“So, it should only be disclosed in our country.”

“I will follow your instructions.”

The queen smiled with satisfaction. From her perspective, things couldn’t have gone smoothly, but from Arthur’s perspective, it was like playing golf for entertainment. Was it just going along with what the other person intended?

“Look at this.”

The queen held out a piece of paper in front of Arthur. It contained a list of shops and factories. The queen’s intention in showing it to him was clear.

“Would you like to work with these people?”

“is it so.”

“I will obey your orders.”

When Arthur answered readily, the queen nodded with a satisfied smile and handed him a carrot.

“Remember that the great affairs of the nation rest upon your shoulders.”

It was a carrot that told him to have some pride, but it was not something that would work for someone like Arthur who had been worn down by endless reincarnations. Arthur’s expression darkened at such a pointless, pointless remark.

“Why do you have that expression?”

When the queen asked, Arthur quoted her words of encouragement and said,

“I feel distressed just thinking about how I am doing important work for the country and yet they keep encouraging divorce.”

“Divorce… … It happens often.”

The man who wins the single-win prize gets a daughter from a noble family as his trophy wife, and the noble family sells their daughter for a large sum of money.

If only one woman, no, two women were sacrificed – one who was divorced and the other who was sold into marriage – everyone would be happy.

And there were bribed and corrupted priests involved. Is divorce permission a new business item in these times when the caste system is shaken? The bishops’ conference was also involved.

Since there was no way to stop a noble from getting a divorce anyway, the plan was to use some excuse to secure influence and money.

The queen asked.

“Doesn’t your highness the Countess Hurt have any intention of getting a divorce?”

“No, there isn’t.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know why we have to get a divorce.”

“Don’t you want to have a beautiful noble woman as your wife?”

“To me, my wife is the most beautiful.”

At Arthur’s answer, the queen looked at his expression for a moment, then sighed softly and muttered.

“Is it because he comes from a commoner background?”

There was still regret in the queen’s voice as she muttered like that.

Arthur felt his feet sink into the mud for a moment. Judging from his expression, if he had responded positively to the divorce, that woman would have definitely pursued Arthur’s political marriage. She would have chosen a bride from among the lower-ranking nobles who were loyal to the royalist party.

But Arthur’s firm attitude made him realize that it wouldn’t be easy going that way. He felt like he would have to stop there because he didn’t want to force things and it would have been difficult if he didn’t listen.

The queen continued speaking.

“In the future, there will be more nobles who propose divorce. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to decline, but… … I’m worried. I’m worried it might interfere with my work.”

“I see… … How much do you know about women’s titles, Your Highness the Hurt?”

“I know you follow your husband’s example.”

“That’s true in the case of succession to the title.”