Papa, Papa, Papa… Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina murmurs that unfamiliar noun as she strides down the castle corridors, her footsteps clacking.

That man is now a father, perhaps it"s time to forgive his past sins. That"s right, this isn"t just for that man, but also for that newly born child, or maybe even for that open-minded young woman who married him.

To be honest, she doesn"t want to meet that person at all.

That man took her friend"s life. No, although he wasn"t the direct cause, it was still his unreasonable suggestion that forced so many people to the frontlines in Ruttenberg. To save those children who were left behind, even Julia, who was part of the support troops, went to the border… Although Gisela never said any more about it, Julia probably went even further than that.

If he wasn"t Lord von Voltaire"s cousin, Anissina would have dealt him the proper judgment long ago. And she would not have stopped at anything, she may even use her adorable ma-powered devices.

In a way, the way Gwendal handled it was very suitable. If that man hadn"t been exiled out of the country, there would have been yet another victim of the ma-powered devices.

That criminal had recently returned to s.h.i.+n Makoku.

"This isn"t the time to care about personal feelings."

Sighing softly, Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina pushed open the door in front of her. Without its master around, Blood Pledge Castle seems a little dark, and cold.

Maybe it"s her mind playing tricks on her. On the carpet that looks vaguely red, there stands a tall man and a young woman. The woman looks like no more than a girl from afar, and the man is standing slightly unsteadily, looking a lot older than his actual age.

Both of them seem distracted. As soon as they hear the door opening, they turn towards Anissina"s direction in unison.

"Anissina-sama?"

Only the woman speaks. The corners of the man"s mouth start trembling slightly as soon as he lowers his head, his normal eye looking at the ground. There is no telling whether or not his left eye under the grey eyepatch moved as well.

"Long time no see, Nicola. I"m happy to see you so spirited, how"s the child? If anything comes up with you or Baby, just call the Poison Lady health division anytime. They will send an excellent Poison midwife to you immediately."

Although that t.i.tle seems rather ominous, any subordinate of Lady von Karbelnikoff would surely be extremely capable. Knowing this, Nicola smiles happily,

"Thanks to m"lady, the baby is very healthy. And the madam is taking very good care of the baby as well."

"That"s great."

The people waiting in the visiting chamber are Nicola, who married into s.h.i.+n Makoku from human territory, and her husband Grisela Gegenhuber.

It was Anissina who summoned them here from Grisela Gegenhuber"s mansion. The man"s father owns some land in a corner of Voltaire territory. Perhaps wary of s.h.i.+n Makoku"s central power, where Gwendal is in charge, the head of the clan hadn"t allowed his son to inherit the family business.

Besides, to the wife who had grown up in the city, a life without the family business might even be more carefree and fun. Nicola keeps surveying her surroundings, and asks Anissina,

"Anissina-sama, about that… where are His Majesty Yuuri and His Excellency Gwendal?"

"They had no choice but to leave the castle due to some circ.u.mstances. Aah, don"t try to ask anymore."

Anissina raises a hand to stop the curious human girl as she walks towards the Maou"s throne,

"That"s also the reason I called you guys here. While His Majesty and Gwendal are absent, you two should be of some use."

"As long as we can help, it doesn"t matter what you want us to do."

Her expression had been disappointed since she could not meet her respected king and relative, but here it abruptly brightens up again.

"What do you want us to do? I have no idea at all."

"Perhaps. I think your husband over there should have guessed by now. In any case, there will always be some problems should the king and lead advisor of a country be absent at once. If the people were to find out about this, there would be even more problems. The more loved a king is, the more uneasy the people would be every day he"s not within the country borders. So Gwendal and I came up with a plan."

Nicola tilts her head, her expression still completely lost.

"I hope you two can be the shadow warriors of His Majesty the Maou and the advisor Lord von Voltaire."

"Shadow warrior?"

"That"s right. For further details, please consult "Learning about j.a.panese Warring States Period from the Poison Lady"."

The author is naturally Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina. This was the children"s book she had drawn out after twenty days of tirelessly quizzing His Majesty the Maou, who grew up on Earth. But the informant, Yuuri, wasn"t very good at history, so as a result the Sengoku era became a mess. This wasn"t a problem, though. After all, Anissina is the Poison Lady, not the History Lady.

"It"s written here in the fourteenth chapter, shadow warriors are those who look similar to the warring state generals."

Nicola can"t help but frown when she sees what Anissina is pointing at. Although it"s a picture to go with the descriptions, the person on it has messy hair, his armour is sliding off his shoulder, and there are quite a few arrows embedded into his body. There"s even blood dripping down his forehead, and his gaze is extremely vengeful.

"Um… No matter how I look at it, that person doesn"t look like a general… or the subst.i.tute for a king."

"Sorry, that"s a soldier who lost."

"I see, and I thought the kings in the Sengoku era look so tragic!"

"So, what exactly do you want me to do?"

Gegenhuber finally spoke, but maybe his excessive nerves made his voice somewhat hoa.r.s.e. "Oh my my, even this man has denigrated this much?" Anissina can"t help but be surprised.

He was once arrogant and conceited because he was supported by the queen"s powerful brother, but now he"s just a regular citizen. To be able to enter this visiting chamber has made him so nervous his voice turned hoa.r.s.e. Anissina thinks to herself, "That"s right, because the master of this country isn"t a man who would selfishly use the citizens." She never once thought that Gegenhuber would be so nervous because of her.

"I wish to have you two act as His Majesty and Lord von Voltaire"s shadow warriors."

The husband and wife open their mouths at the same time, their expressions saying "What did you say?"

"Ah—Naturally, I won"t ask you two to handle the duties and diplomatic matters that come up in this period. The shadow army and I will figure out how to deal with those, you two just have to pretend to be His Majesty the Maou and Lord von Voltaire respectively. It"s okay if you just sit on the chairs quietly."

"But why us… Forgetting me for now, His Majesty isn"t even the same gender as my wife."

"Weren"t you two mistaken for His Majesty Yuuri and Lord von Voltaire before?"

To be precise, it was Yuuri and Gwendal who were mistaken for these two. And that was because the sketch was drawn too simply, so it does not in any way mean Yuuri and Nicola look similar, but there"s no point talking about that now either. As for the cousins, Gwendal and Gegenhuber do look quite alike. Only those who have seen them at a close distance would be able to tell them apart.

"Whether or not we have someone acting like the king and sitting on the Maou"s throne makes a big difference in the stability of the country. The same goes even if there is a regent or a prime minister. Even if you"re just a silent subst.i.tute, your role is still very important."

"I-I heard of this before."

Gripping her fists tightly, Nicola says to her n.o.bleman husband,

"I saw this in "Stories of the Poison Lady who is Familiar with the Other World". There was a woman who exchanged ident.i.ties with her n.o.ble brother, and then took the world by storm on horseback, right? Uh—I think it was Subst.i.tute… That"s right, it"s Subst.i.tute Horse Whisperer[1], right?"

That seems to be an impressive and intelligent subst.i.tute, but Anissina just waves her right hand coldly,

"It doesn"t matter if you don"t do anything, all you have to do is sit there obediently, like a borrowed kitten. If you want to say something, just say "I"ll leave it up to you"."

"Is it okay just like that? I mean… Don"t we need to pa.s.sionately shake hands with people on the street, or give roadside speeches?"

Nicola seems to have gotten a monarchy and a democracy mixed up.

"You"re forbidden to go out anyway, so naturally you can"t tell anyone about this. It"s a promise, if you break that promise then I"ll deep fry both of you in hot oil, and if you say anything you"ll have to swallow a thousand needles."

"Goodness, I don"t want to swallow those!"

"That"s just to show your determination to go through with everything we just said."

"Ah, but…"

Even if the unexpected request took her by surprise, Nicola was quite excited about it. Now, however, she suddenly seems uneasy, and asks with a frown despite herself,

"U-uhm, but how will I care for my child? If I have to leave the baby, I…"

"You are perfectly allowed to continue taking care of the baby, I highly support the mother personally raising her child. As for the household ch.o.r.es during that period, just throw them at the men. Ah—for example when you"re sitting on the Maou"s throne, just give the baby to Lord Grisela. He"s impersonating Gwendal, and by now n.o.body would find Gwendal carrying an adorable infant surprising anymore."

Maybe this answer finally put her at ease, Nicola says something that a couple looking at houses would say, "You decide, honey—" Anissina takes this chance to take out a palm-sized machine that she had mysteriously hidden goodness knows where before now.

"In that case—"

"W-what is that?"

"This is Fiercely Head-shaving Man, "Fierce Man" for short."

They don"t even have time to wonder, "Why isn"t it "Fierce-shave Man"?", because Anissina is already pulling Gegenhuber"s long hair towards herself, and bringing that machine to his head.

"Please wait, wait a sec—! Why must you shave off the hair from the top of my husband"s head? After all, Hube and I are supposed to be His Excellency Gwendal"s and His Majesty"s shadow warriors… Uh—uh—Like that!"

The wife points at the open book, saying,

"Although the head of the fallen warrior looks like a plate, but a shadow warrior doesn"t need to do that, right!?"

"Nicola, that"s a bald warrior."

"Bald… Eh…?"

…Nicola can"t help but press the top of her head with a look of distress, terrified that she would meet the same fate.

"Don"t worry! How could I shave off your hair? A woman"s hair is her weapon, y"know. In emergencies, it can even be made into a whip or rope. After your child abandonment is all over, grow your hair out a bit longer."

"Please wait, Lady von Karbelnikoff."

After a desperate struggle, Gegenhuber finally manages to save his head from the Poison Lady"s clutches,

"I"m not hesitating because I don"t want to lose my hair. Although that isn"t the case, but based on how Lord von Voltaire would think, I don"t think His Excellency would want me to be his shadow warrior."

"Why? Because he hates you?"

"That"s right…"

"Idiot!"

Surprised, Anissina closes her eyes softly while yelling up at the ceiling,

"As long as it"s for s.h.i.+n Makoku, Gwendal wouldn"t care at all who the one impersonating him is. Even if he"s unhappy or dissatisfied about it later, that"s still a small matter that can be solved with a sniffle or two. After all, this is all his fault for being so careless, and simple leaving the castle empty like this. If he doesn"t like it, just come to Blood Pledge Castle. And besides…"

The machine in Anissina"s hand makes a sound and folds in on itself.

"Besides, I didn"t call you to the capital just to be a shadow warrior."

Gegenhuber can"t help but shudder.

Although he did commit an unforgivable sin, a life spent wandering far away from home was both empty and painful. But there are still some benefits of living overseas. That way, he could avoid being Lady von Karbelnikoff"s lab rats for her ma-powered experiments.

Compared to Gwendal, who was forced to live with her as younger brother, he was far less often used as a lab rat. Even so, the nightmares still woke him up at night several times. To this day, his eyepatch would loosen with tears whenever he recalls the tragedy of the fully ma-powered toilet was.h.i.+ng.

"You wouldn"t mean—"

"Exactly, it"s just as you"re thinking."

Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina approaches him with the aura of a manager waving a whip,

"If you remain silent, I"ll just have to ask your body directly. Alright, tell me everything about the Boxes!"

This time, the eyepatch loosens for a different reason.