Reincarnated Princess Wishes To Avoid Death

Chapter 315

The Oldest and Weakest Loyal Retainer

Ludwig used all of his connections to help him find out what was going on. He paid secret visits to his fellow “disciples” and listened to everything they had to say.

“I thought I would start by looking more closely at what the House of Yellowmoon and its allies did. During this process, I heard that another student of my master wants to talk to me. He works for the Ministry of the Azure Moon.

“Who was it? You know, I’m always surprised by how big this group of your students is,” said Dion.

Ludwig smiled despite himself.

“They are a strange group, but in times like these, they can be very helpful.”

The two were waiting in a private room of a large tavern on the edge of the capital.

Soon, their visitor came.

“Oh, it’s good to see you again, dear senior student of our master. Too much time has passed.”

A young man walked in and smiled warmly at Ludwig.

Ludwig said with a grimace, “Not long enough to get that smug look off your face.”

Of course, it was a joke. Mostly.

“It’s nice to see that you’re still as annoyingly friendly as ever.”

“It’s a curse I don’t want to live with,” the young man said with an even bigger smile than before.

“And you, old student, seem just as likely as ever to stick your nose into sticky situations. Oh? Could that handsome guy behind you be Her Majesty’s sword? The one that’s been going around in the rumour mills lately?”

The young man looked at Dion, and Dion gave him a shrug.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be hanging from her belt, but for now I still am. Hi, I’m Dion Alaia.”

He looked at the young man with a sharp, careful eye.

“I’m still trying to decide if I’m glad to meet you.”

“Ha ha ha, you’re just as scary as they say you are! Ludwig, how do you spend so much time with this nice guy without getting dirty every other minute?”

Even though Dion had a scary vibe, the young man put out his hand.

He said “Gilbert Bouquet” with a flourish on the soft “g.”

His request to spare the lives of those whose families were involved in the plot added fuel to the fire, even though most people knew that the price of treason was the death of one’s whole house and clan. Gardier got a lot of flak for defending people who were guilty just by being around them. In the end, people had different thoughts about the two brothers.

People came to see the older as a scary, ambitious person who had the guts and courage to challenge the empire to get what he wanted. The younger was called a traitor and a coward for betraying both the country and his own family.

Even so, Gardier’s petition saved a lot of lives, and people who lived in houses that were suspected gathered under the Yellowmoon banner to show their thanks. People came to think of the Yellowmoon faction as a group of losers because it was made up of people who lost the power struggle. Over time, more and more nobles in similar positions, like outland counts who were often looked down upon by the central nobility, joined them. So, a group of outcasts formed, and the Yellowmoons got the name “the oldest and weakest of all.”

“And that’s the story in a nutshell, as everyone knows. But what if I said that everything was planned? That every step of the uprising was planned? Then, what would you think then?”

Gilbert asked in the way a parent might ask a child a joke to make them laugh.

Ludwig crossed his arms and thought, “You mean if the uprising wasn’t just an uprising but a way to get somewhere else?”

“Then, a lure... Like a light for moths...”

When Ludwig replied, Gilbert shook his finger at him.

“Bingo. I knew you’d get it. It’s not hard to find out about this, but some of the nobles in the Yellowmoon faction have known the duke for a very long time. Even before they lost that power fight. For example, around the time of the uprising, there was a marquess whose power and influence were almost as great as the emperor’s, but for some reason, he started losing heirs left and right. In particular, his sons were getting sick one after the other. Other nobles started to look at him funny because they thought he was bad luck. Eventually, he was cast out of high society. The Duke of Yellowmoon, an old friend of his, happened to be there at that time and asked him to join their group.”

Gilbert smirked and took a sip of wine.

“Doesn’t that smell like something is wrong?”

“I see. So what you’re saying is that the Yellowmoons killed the marquess’s sons to make him less powerful. They go up to people who bother the empire, win their trust, and then take away their power. The fact that they went after the marquess’s sons instead of him directly and that the imperial family seemed to have mixed feelings about them kept them from being seriously suspected of wrongdoing.”

“On top of all that, the Yellowmoons know a lot about plants and herbs. It makes you wonder, don’t you think?”

“‘They have been interested in medicinal gardening for a long time,’ would be a good explanation. But no. This is probably a case of medicine and poison being two sides of the same coin.”

“Precisely. The clan of assassins known as the House of Yellowmoon uses poison to kill people who are a threat to the empire. “That’s my theory,” Gilbert said in a tone that had nothing to do with the seriousness of the subject.

They tried to hide their fall from grace. The fact that they were called “the weakest” hid the fact that they did something important for the emperor. At the same time, they were still a group, which made those plotting against the empire want to gather in their area of influence.

The Yellowmoons’ job was to act as a lure. They were both the light that drew in the bad moths of the empire and the fire that burned them to death. Someone had to do the dirty work for every emperor. It wasn’t a very exciting job, but it was an important one that had to be done. It made perfect sense...for a normal empire.

But Ludwig knew that Tearmoon wasn’t like other empires. Taking into account what he knew about the first emperor’s plans...

“Being the weakest and farthest from the central nobility makes the Yellowmoons an attractive ally...to new nobles. Those who don’t have anti-farming beliefs. It would be easier for people to talk to them, like outcounts. And if that new person turned out to be a problem, kill them. Is that what they want?”

If this whole web of intrigue was planned to help the empire spread the idea that farming is bad, then the House of Yellowmoon would have played a very important role. And by being able to do that...

“I see. So, the other version comes from that. The loyal ones who are the oldest and weakest...”

“The point is, look behind you. The Yellowmoons seem to be pretty good at killing people,” Gilbert said with an easy smirk.