The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me - The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me chapter 53

Chapter 7: The Madness of the Saint and Iris (8)

“I’ll take good care of you today.”

On the day of the meeting. I switched places with the escort knight Arthur again. And after pretending to be as close to him as possible, I went to see Iris.

Unlike before, she is wearing heavy makeup. But even makeup couldn’t cover her haggard face.

Of course, Iris was still as beautiful as a red rose.

‘Of course, it won’t take long for that appearance to wither.’

Thinking of this, I bowed my head and said hello.

“You are more beautiful today.”

“… Useless sound. More than that, you know? For today, the duke of Valois will apply for sparring. You must want to show your superiority in front of Archduke Charles.”

“I know.”

“So… If you lose today, you will die by my hands.”

It was unexpected. Did Iris originally make such a threat? At least he was the type to wear a mask in front of others.

As expected, she must have been driven to her precipice.

“… I will do my best.”

“Don’t talk dirty, win at any cost.”

“Okay.”

I hid my expression as much as possible and lowered my head. For my finale, it wasn’t bad to tune in to her rhythm right now.

“… Depart.”

So I took the carriage with Iris and headed for the Duke of Valois’ mansion.

***

When I arrived at the mansion of the Duke of Valois, it was decorated more luxuriously than ever.

A red carpet was rolled out from the front door of the mansion, and trees and flowers were arranged in a harmonious manner in the spacious garden.

There were lion flags, symbolizing his family, hanging everywhere, and a choir he hired himself was singing in one corner of the garden.

A visual that can only be seen at a big festival that only happens once a year.

‘They’re playing.’

Iris got out of her carriage, trying hard to hide her discomfort.

“Welcome. Was there any uncomfortable place to come?”

The Duke of Valois welcomed Iris. He was smiling brighter than ever.

Especially when he saw Iris, his expression brightened. He seems to think that, in fact, he has won the race against her.

“… You’ve spent a lot of money on the mansion needlessly. I thought it was some kind of festival.”

“Well, a high-ranking guest is here, so isn’t this kind of extravagant?”

“Still, I think it is too much.”

“The same goes for Duke Rossier.”

The Duke of Valois, who touched her planting from the start. Iris smiled awkwardly, trying to contain her seething stomach.

Arthur, no, Edmund, behind Iris, desperately suppressed laughter.

With that, Iris entered the banquet hall and met the other nobles.

And among them, Archduke Charles was already there.

Iris, seeing Archduke Charles, took a deep breath.

As he is the target of today’s attack, it is important to impress him as much as possible.

He has to show that the person he needs to hold hands with is her, not the Duke of Valois.

“Ah, you are the Duke of Rossier. I’ve heard many stories. Nice to meet you.”

While she was contemplating what to do, Archduke Charles approached her first and greeted her.

“You are Archduke Charles! As I heard, you have a splendid appearance.”

“Heh heh, thank you. You are beautiful too.”

Archduke Charles couldn’t hide his smile at a word of praise. Because he had lived in Frostville, full of men, he was very weak in front of beautiful women.

And Iris was not an ordinary beauty.

Fortunately, things seemed to work out better than expected. Iris shook hands with Archduke Charles, trying hard to hide her black feelings.

And she casually sat down in the seat directly to his left. Upon seeing this, the Duke of Valois showed a slight displeasure, but soon hid his expression.

“Now, as you all know, this is Archduke Charles, the lord of Frostville and the mightiest warrior in the empire. I have a special invitation to this place today.”

After the other nobles sat down, the Duke of Valois introduced Archduke Charles to them.

“I am surprised. Didn’t he swear at the last meeting that he was a hillbilly from the north? Why are you changing your words now?”

As soon as the introduction was over, Iris asked. Archduke Charles looked at the Duke of Valois, and the Duke of Valois’ expression immediately distorted.

I couldn’t have imagined that he would ask such a direct question at such an early timing.

“Ha ha ha… It was. However, when I met him in person, I realized that my evaluation at the time was wrong. I thought that this person is the one who will lead this empire in the future.”

He escaped the situation with a forced smile. In response, Iris looked at Archduke Charles and said.

“You are amazing. To change the Duke of Valois’ heart in one fell swoop.”

“Heh heh… I haven’t done much.”

“You don’t have to be too humble. Because I also recognized the Grand Duke’s ability.”

Iris even winks. It could have had an adverse effect if done wrong, but it worked well for Archduke Charles.

I tried my best to manage my expression because it was in front of other nobles, but even Archduke Charles couldn’t stop his white cheeks from turning red.

‘A b*tch like a fox.’

Seeing this, the Duke of Valois secretly bit his lip, but he hid his discomfort as much as possible.

Soon the servants brought all sorts of delicacies, and the meal began.

The Duke of Valois served Archduke Charles the best meal he could prepare to impress him as much as possible, but…….

“Grand Duke, try this too.”

“I don’t have to do this…. Thank you.”

For some reason, it seemed that Iris took all the spotlight.

I had to keep them apart somehow. It was the Duke of Valois who regretted it belatedly, but there was nothing he could do now.

Above all, it seemed that Archduke Charles was obsessed with Iris, so if he tackled him for nothing, it could have the opposite effect.

‘The plan is twisted.’

The Duke of Valois nervously sliced a steak while looking at Iris, who was giving a hateful smile to Archduke Charles.

Actually, he had already introduced his daughter to Archduke Charles, but things didn’t work out. Even then, the Duke of Valois thought that Archduke Charles had no interest in women at all.

But looking at that figure, he must have been seriously mistaken.

‘Wait a minute. Still, I’ll show you that I’m superior to you, empty-headed.’

Nevertheless, the Duke of Valois, who promised to press Iris’s nose soon, watched Iris’ attack of love.

***

“… I’ll tell you straight forward. I intend to surpass her princess and become the next emperor of this empire. I want you guys to help me.”

After the meal, Archduke Charles spoke first.

“You must have been ambitious. Welcome. Even so, we were disappointed with Her Highness, the princess, whose punishment for Edmund was lukewarm. Isn’t it?”

And then Iris hit the head first and said. The other nobles seemed to have something to say, but then nodded.

The Duke of Valois also reluctantly nodded.

“Thank you. Receiving your hospitality gives me strength too. So, now I want to talk more seriously. How should I strategize? Duke Rossier, what do you think?”

An unexpected question from Archduke Charles. Unlike before, he had a very serious expression.

The Duke of Valois looked at Iris.

Iris was taken aback at the sight of Archduke Charles who had changed 180 degrees. In response, the Duke of Valois said he was confident.

‘It’s okay if your b*tch rolls her head.’

There is probably no strategy Iris could come up with other than the abstract solution of catching Edmund.

Even if he said something else, it wouldn’t be too different from what he had already told Archduke Charles.

“… The biggest problem is that Her Highness, the Princess, still holds the real power. Therefore, when Her Majesty, who is already in critical condition, passes away, Her Highness the Princess will immediately take the place of the next emperor. In the end, the key is to somehow bring Her Highness down before then.”

“So, it’s a story about somehow catching aliens and connecting them with Her Highness the Princess. Archduke Charles must already know that.”

“… Don’t look too hard. I want to hear Duke Rossier’s opinion to the end.”

Iris expressed her gratitude to Archduke Charles.

“The surest way is to reveal that Her Highness, as already known, is helping Edmund, but finding that evidence is also difficult. Edmund, he’s not easily caught. So we need an alternative.”

“And how?”

The Duke of Valois held his breath and looked at Iris. If you see her spinning around like this, she won’t be able to point out after all.

Even if they did, it would be full of irrational content. Therefore, he only prepared to bite Iris.

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“Now, Her Highness the Princess is trying to punish those who have been issued indulgences. I heard that she is already investigating commoners as well as nobles.”

“You mean to side with Etoile after all. That’s already….”

“Continue.”

Archduke Charles interrupted the Duke of Valois. Iris looked at the Duke of Valois and said.

“Preventing the issuance of indulgences has already crossed the line, but investigating and punishing those who have been issued indulgences is an act that crosses the line even more. I’m sure many of the nobles are dissatisfied with this. Therefore, we will criticize such behavior. If they join us, Her Highness will have no choice but to withdraw.”

“… Prevents the punishment of those for whom indulgences have been issued. What effect does this alone have?”

“It is to confirm once again the power of her aristocrats to Her Highness.”

“Is that the end?”

“Yes, I know. Of course, this alone doesn’t do much damage. However, if we can’t find a connection with Edmund, the best alternative would be to weaken her position by opposing Her Highness’s actions one by one like this.”

“You don’t know when the Emperor will die, so what’s the point of keeping Her Highness in check like that little by little?”

“You don’t have to be so impatient. From a historical point of view, there are cases where the previous emperor was driven out and a new emperor was appointed, right? If you can’t drive Her Highness out quickly, looking at it for a long time like this is one way.”

“If Her Highness ascends to the throne of the emperor, the opposition may be purged.”

“As long as we stick together, Her Highness will not be able to do anything about us even after Her Highness ascends to the position of Emperor.”

“… In the end, the next best thing is to create a force equal to that of the princess as much as possible before His Majesty dies.”

Archduke Charles, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth. He seemed to be quite satisfied with Duke Rossier’s answer.

On the other hand, the Duke of Valois could not hide his anxiety.

‘Did I get help from the saintess….’

Of course, her Duke of Rossier didn’t mean much to her, but he seemed to have underestimated her too much.

She didn’t even get her break for trying to bite her.

In this situation, Archduke Charles would join hands with the Duke of Rossier, not him.

‘In the end, that’s the only way.’

So the Duke of Valois had no choice but to put his hopes on his last card. Prove that his escort knights are superior through sparring.

But his last hope was easily dashed.

Chang-Geurang!!!

In just a few seconds, his escort knight was defeated by Duke Rossier’s escort knight.