Chapter 5: Let’s Send Back a Stained Invitation!
Several days had passed since Marie became my personal maid.
During that time, I couldn’t stop thinking about why Marie would volunteer to become my exclusive maid.
If Oliver’s words were to be believed, Marie had stepped forward for the role of her own accord.
But there’s no way she’d want to serve someone like me, who revoked her special treatment and even destroyed the detached residence she lived in. There must be some ulterior motive at play, right?
With that suspicion in mind, I decided to test her over the past few days by piling on one heavy task after another. Yet, far from showing any discontent, she wore a strangely happy smile the whole time.
Does she have a goal so critical that she feels the need to put on such a facade?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, it hit me.
Marie must have approached me seeking a chance for revenge!
That would explain why she can endure any amount of grueling labor with a smile.
In any case, now that I’ve seen through her intentions, the logical move would be to revoke her appointment as my personal maid.
—But then, I reconsidered.
If I’m to continue spreading infamy and aim for the throne of the final boss, assassins will surely come for my life someday.
This could be the perfect opportunity to hone my ability to deal with such threats.
And so, for that reason, Marie continued to serve diligently as my personal maid today.
“Goshujin-sama, here is today’s tea,” she said.
“Hmm,” I replied.
I took a sip of the tea Marie had prepared. Apparently, she’s been receiving further instruction from the chef, and compared to the first time I tried her tea, the quality had improved dramatically.
Under normal circumstances, one might be moved by the maid’s earnest efforts, but I, with my genius intellect, am not so easily fooled.
There must be a reason she’s so determined to keep the role of serving my tea.
Yes, poison, for instance. If Marie is indeed after my life, she’d likely try to slip poison into my tea at some point—it’s the perfect method.
Of course, I can’t limit my caution to just the tea. For that reason, whenever I consume anything Marie prepares, I’ve made it a habit to cast a status ailment resistance spell.
Thanks to my efforts over the past few days, my body can now neutralize most poisons.
For that, I suppose I owe Marie a bit of gratitude.
But enough about her for now. I turned my attention to the stack of documents awaiting me.
As I sifted through them, a particular letter caught my eye.
“What’s this… an invitation from Marquis Wyndham?”
Marquis Wyndham is a noble who resides in the royal capital, known as the king’s right-hand man.
The letter was an invitation to a party celebrating the tenth anniversary of his ascension to the head of the Wyndham family. Enclosed was a reply envelope, with instructions to indicate whether I would attend.
Before deciding on a response, I recalled what I knew about Marquis Wyndham.
To be honest, I was already familiar with him.
That’s because Marquis Wyndham is a supporting character in «Altena Fantasia».
His defining trait is the eyepatch he wears due to a missing eye, and his refined features made him quite popular among a niche group of female players.
Unfortunately, his role in the game was minimal.
He works toward dismantling a mysterious organization called [Phantom Hand], which operates in the shadows, and he enlists the protagonists’ help for this purpose.
—However, it’s later revealed that the true mastermind behind [Phantom Hand] is none other than Luciel, the final boss. In the game’s epilogue, a single line mentions the organization’s destruction, and that’s the end of it.
After requesting the protagonists’ assistance, Marquis Wyndham barely appears again.
What a poorly handled plot point for Luciel’s storyline, I sighed to myself.
But back to the matter at hand.
I was deliberating how to respond to this invitation from Marquis Wyndham.
“Honestly, I see no benefit in attending…”
If this were an invitation from someone like Luciel, I might attend to gather information or connect with potential villainous allies. But Marquis Wyndham is firmly on the side of justice from start to finish, so there’s no advantage in cozying up to him.
That said, simply sending a bland refusal feels dull.
What to do— I was mulling it over when:
“Goshujin-sama, I’ve brought a refill for your tea—kya!”
“!?”
As Marie approached with a cup, she tripped, sending the tea flying through the air.
I leapt to my feet and dodged in an instant, but some of the tea splashed onto the letter on the table.
Watching this unfold, I eyed Marie with a mix of dread and suspicion.
(Well, well, not bad. Realizing poison wouldn’t work, she’s switched to a scalding attack. I’ll need to start casting heat resistance spells alongside status ailment resistance from now on.)
I nodded to myself, impressed by her cunning, when Marie looked up at me, her face pale.
“I-I’m so sorry, Goshujin-sama! This is an unforgivable blunder for a personal maid… I’ll accept any punishment!”
“…Hmph.”
I wasn’t particularly bothered, but she was right—this was a blatant attack with clear intent, unlike poison.
If I let this slide without punishment, it could damage my charisma as an evil lord.
As I pondered what penalty to impose, my gaze fell on the tea-stained letter.
In that moment, a stroke of genius struck me.
“—That’s it, that’s the way!”
I’d send this stained letter back as my response.
An act so insolent it would make enemies of every noble.
Considering Marquis Wyndham’s status as the king’s confidant, the impact would be monumental.
My infamy would spread beyond my territory, reverberating throughout the royal capital!
“Th-that way…? Do you mean imprisonment, or perhaps a whipping? Whatever punishment Goshujin-sama decrees, I—”
“No, that’s not it. I’m talking about sending this stained letter back to the marquis as is… This brilliant idea came to me thanks to your actions. Well done, Marie. In light of your contribution, I’ll let you off just this once.”
“Eh, ehh!?”
Marie let out a cry of surprise.
Meanwhile, the more I thought about it, the more I marveled at my own genius.
No, this wasn’t just genius—it was practically an art form.
From that perspective, even the tea stain seemed to carry some profound meaning.
Unable to contain my glee, I let out an “A-hahaha!” despite Marie standing right beside me.
And then:
“Sending back a stained letter as is… Are you serious…? No, surely it’s a joke. To think Goshujin-sama would make such a jest to lighten the mood and forgive my mistake… As expected, Goshujin-sama is a wonderful and great person!”
Marie was muttering something to herself, but my excitement drowned out her words.
That evening, as promised, I sent the stained letter back to the marquis.
◇◆◇
Orto Wyndham, known as the king’s right-hand man, sat in his study, clutching his head.
Just a few days ago, the royal intelligence unit had reported signs of the Demon King’s revival.
If the Demon King were to return, the Solstia Kingdom would likely face an invasion, necessitating urgent countermeasures.
Unfortunately, the kingdom couldn’t devote all its resources to this threat.
Troublingly, there had been suspicious movements within the kingdom as of late.
Rebels seeking to undermine the royal authority were emerging across the land.
Given the scale, Wyndham suspected a noble was involved behind the scenes.
To investigate, with the king’s cooperation, he invited several suspicious nobles to his tenth anniversary celebration as head of the Wyndham family.
On the surface, the party was to honor him, but Wyndham’s true aim was to probe these nobles for information.
Whether they knew his intentions or not, responses confirming attendance poured in.
However, one reply stood out as utterly incomprehensible.
The moment he saw the letter from Viscount Renford, Wyndham’s eyes widened in shock.
“What is this!? He’s sending back the letter I sent him as a reply!? And it’s stained, no less—what is he thinking!?”
Viscount Renford was a young boy who had only become head of his house a few months ago.
New lords like him, still wet behind the ears, were often approached with shady offers from other nobles.
The Renford family had a poor reputation even under its previous head, so Wyndham had kept an eye on them, but he hadn’t expected such blatant hostility.
As Wyndham seethed, his butler, standing nearby, let out an “Oh?” as if noticing something.
“Please wait, Orto-sama. This stain… doesn’t it seem to indicate something?”
“What?”
What could the shape of a stain possibly mean?
Skeptical but curious, Wyndham followed the butler’s suggestion and examined it closely.
Then, he noticed it immediately.
“Could this be… the territory of Marquis Markovar?”
Indeed, the stain’s shape matched the territory of Marquis Markovar perfectly.
The marquis governed a region bordering the [Great Forest of the Underworld], which separated the human and demon realms.
Due to its location and various suspicious activities, rumors had recently circulated that the marquis might be connected to demons—one of the nobles Wyndham was most wary of.
Was this a coincidence or something more? Wyndham hesitated to decide.
The butler pointed to the stained portion of the letter.
“Look closely. If you extract only the characters touched by the stain… ‘vassal,’ ‘caution,’ ‘Gen,’ ‘ei,’ ‘hand’… that’s what it reads.”
“Caution about a vassal? Does this mean one of Markovar’s vassals is plotting something? And what do ‘Gen,’ ‘ei,’ and ‘hand’ refer to—wait!”
At that moment, Wyndham arrived at a realization.
“Could it be… [Phantom Hand]!?”
[Phantom Hand] was a criminal organization that had recently gained notoriety in the royal capital.
Rumors suggested it was a group of humans and demons plotting to overthrow the Solstia Kingdom.
However, with only rumors and minimal tangible harm, both Wyndham and the king had deemed it a low-priority issue.
Why would Viscount Renford know about an organization known only to a select few in the capital—and why would he try to inform Wyndham about it?
The more he thought, the more his mind spiraled into confusion.
The butler posed another question.
“How did the viscount even obtain this information?”
Wyndham placed a hand on his chin, deep in thought.
“Logically, he might have gained access to critical information by cooperating with Markovar. But considering the marquis’s cunning, it’s hard to believe he’d share such vital details with a novice lord. That leaves only one possibility: Viscount Renford acquired this information through his own network.”
At that thought, Wyndham’s body trembled.
(Even with all my efforts and the king’s resources, we couldn’t obtain this information, yet a young, novice lord managed it single-handedly…? And to encode it in a letter sent to me with such meticulousness. If this is all true, Viscount Renford is a strategist capable of reshaping this kingdom’s history!)
Above all, Wyndham was moved by the viscount’s unyielding bravery in opposing evil.
“At the very least, this must be Viscount Renford’s way of issuing a warning. Whether true or not, we must act. Ensure the guards keep a close eye on Markovar’s vassals.”
“Understood,” the butler replied, nodding and heading off to relay the orders.
Left alone in his study, Wyndham couldn’t help but smile at the terrifying potential of Viscount Renford.
Roughly a month later, at the party, Viscount Renford’s prediction proved spot-on.
One of Markovar’s vassals, disguised as a knight using a magical illusion tool, declared themselves a member of [Phantom Hand] and attacked Wyndham and the king, accompanied by several monsters.
However, thanks to the forewarned knights and guards, the threat was completely neutralized.
Not a single person was harmed.
There was, however, one lingering regret.
Marquis Markovar, the likely mastermind, claimed the incident was the sole doing of his vassal and denied any involvement.
Moreover, it was possible the vassal himself was an imposter using a disguise, and Markovar even claimed to be a victim.
The vassal self-destructed upon capture, leaving no evidence, and with several nobles vouching for Markovar, he escaped severe punishment.
If he had prepared such contingencies for failure, his cunning was truly formidable.
Nevertheless, the king imposed some penalties on Markovar.
Additionally, the nobles who supported him revealed themselves as likely rebels, which was a significant gain.
Above all, Wyndham considered it the greatest achievement that no one was injured in the incident.
“…I must express my gratitude to Viscount Renford.”
“Indeed,” the butler agreed.
Reflecting on the incident, Marquis Wyndham and his butler exchanged words.
In the original game world, these two were supposed to be the greatest victims of this attack.
In this world, Wyndham, spared from losing an eye, stood with his still-living butler, thinking of their benefactor.
Later, after handling various post-incident matters, Wyndham approached the king.
“Your Majesty, there is something I must report.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“It concerns the one who foresaw this attack and provided me with the information—the most courageous and brilliant strategist in this kingdom.”
And so, while Klaus laughed triumphantly in his territory, unaware of the consequences, his name unfortunately reached the ears of the king himself.
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