My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 220 You'd better really not be interested
The meeting with Salah III has concluded.

After the old emperor returned, the palace attendants led Roland and Iluvia to their room for the night.

Yes, there are still two rooms.

Clearly, the old emperor himself did not want Roland and Iluvia to have too much in-depth interaction before the wedding officially took place.

Unfortunately, Iluvia is already a big girl who can make her own decisions.

In no time at all, she slipped from her room into Roland's room.

It's perfectly reasonable for unmarried couples to have some meaningful and in-depth conversations, isn't it?
Early the next morning, in order to reach Isfar as quickly as possible, Roland carried the still not fully awake Iluvia onto the carriage and headed to the station.

Salah III, watching Roland leave the palace with his daughter from the palace terrace, also sighed deeply.

After saying that daughters should not stay at home once they grow up, he returned to his desk and continued his work.

Although there were some unpleasant moments, at least the young couple still had a good relationship.

Hopefully, it can stay that way.

With this in mind, the old father began to draft the matters concerning the knighthood of Roland.

After all, it is the title of Grand Duke... There were originally only three Grand Dukes in the entire empire.

One was the Iron Dukes, whose title was hereditary and passed down to Cafax.

One was Wellington, whose title had been stripped due to the rebellion.

His contributions and honors in the military were also stripped away.

The other one was the old general Lanzos, whom he had mentioned to Roland before.

However, all three of them share a common characteristic: they are merely titles.

Even the Iron Dukes, who have been the founding family of the nation, were stripped of their original noble rights during the reforms initiated by the late emperor and Salah III.

If nothing unexpected happens, Roland's title should also be the same, according to common sense.

They have the title but no real power.

High status, but that's all.

But if that were all, Roland's title would have been granted long ago.

His ability to save Riskan and quell the rebellion in the capital, assist in killing the Mad Lust Bishop Slo of the Chaos Brotherhood, and kill the Sword Guard Commander Cassius is enough to make everyone think highly of this young man.

Not to mention that he was also the fiancé of Iluvia, a princess with a less-than-stellar reputation... To marry a princess, one could not be a commoner.

If the title of Grand Duke of Roland had been granted solely for the purpose of marriage alliances, it wouldn't have been so complicated.

They might even pass through very smoothly.

After all, without Roland's intervention in the capital incident, who knows how many high-ranking officials and nobles would have perished in the disaster if he hadn't used his miraculous methods to counteract the methods of the mad bishop.

I wonder how many people would be willing to do a favor and express their gratitude.

but……

The problem is that Salah III doesn't think that way.

He wanted to make an exception for his son-in-law, a radical exception.

Of course, Roland would never know about this.

Just as Roland didn't know how much of what Salah III said to him last night was true and how much was false.

Roland believed that Salah III indeed could not mobilize any more ninth-ring powerhouses to participate in the investigation.

But he didn't believe the old emperor's claim that he lacked control over the empire.

But Roland didn't care about any of that.

More important things were before him.

……

On the magical train bound for Isfar, Roland and Iluvia, who had learned of the situation in advance from Salah III, sat in their compartment and read the intelligence the old emperor had given them the night before.

In fact, Salah III already gave most of the important intelligence and general information that needed to be known last night.

This file primarily serves to supplement the details.

And at the end of the archives, there is a reminder given to Roland in Salah III's own handwriting.

Trust no one except the Hatters of Isfar, at least not completely. Always be suspicious, child, just as you've always been wary of me.

In fact, the group had already left the capital for a while.

As the train traveled north, the scenery outside the window began to change.

The fields that were once dotted with green or withered yellow have been transformed into a vast snowfield where not a single tree can be seen.

If it weren't for the roaring engines of the magical train still spewing white steam, and if the train tracks weren't laid out on this wasteland, Roland would even have the feeling of being outside the civilized world.

This place is really too desolate.

Just as Roland was admiring the view outside the window, Iluvia's voice brought him back to his senses: "Roland, what are you planning to do?"

"...Action? Ha, take it slow. Just like His Majesty said, safety comes first."

Roland laughed, then poked Iluvia's nose: "I have contact with the Society, and I also asked that great sage for more information and help. He has agreed and said that the helper will arrive soon."

"I reckon those helpers will use the teleportation array."

"We'll talk to them first and then decide what to do."

Iluvia gently swatted Roland's fingers away, then sighed, "Hey Roland, we're talking serious business, and this incident is pretty serious, isn't it?"

"This is an anomaly that even the Legend of the Nine Rings has been affected by! How come you're not concerned at all?"

“That’s why I didn’t take it seriously.” Roland shook his head helplessly. “If we were to really investigate this, I doubt anyone besides me and Leah would be able to ignore this cognitive pollution.”

"Cognitive pollution and cognitive interference are not the same thing; the former is much more dangerous."

"I am protected by the World Tree, and I also have some little secrets that you don't know, so I am not afraid."

“Lia has a special constitution… but this involves her privacy, and it’s best not to tell you if she hasn’t told you.”

Roland then took out a ring, which was a reward he had received for a previous mission.

Anti-cognitive interference ring.

“This is a ring that can prevent cognitive interference, but I’m not sure if it can block cognitive contamination. But I can have Cellina try it.”

"The runes on her body can protect her, and she can protect herself even if the ring is ineffective."

“But if the ring is useful… I will give it to Ms. Flam.”

Iluvia nodded after listening: "It's a very reasonable arrangement. Is there anything I can do?"

"As for you... I really want to say that you can be of a lot of help, but if you can't ignore cognitive pollution, it's better if you stay out of the mission."

Roland sighed and gently rubbed Iluvia's head, who was looking a little unhappy. "Safety first, isn't it?"

"Hey, what makes you think I'm powerless?" Iluvia muttered unhappily, "I can completely control a corpse to do whatever I want."

"I've made progress lately, you know!"

Roland shrugged: "But don't you usually make these puppets on-site?"

"Hey, I already told you I've improved!"

As Iluvia spoke, she lit a wisp of purple flame in her palm.

Then a somewhat ethereal spirit appeared in her palm.

Then Iluvia began to explain: "Those who are killed by me, or who die under my power, have a portion of their souls taken from them."

"These souls are not complete, not even fragments, but merely remnants of souls."

"But these remnants can still be useful." "Hmm... just like the familiars used by demons."

"However, it is more reliable than a familiar, and it is invisible."

"It can be seen by you now because I want you to see that it does not actually exist in the real world."

"Instead, it relies on a gap between life and death."

“I can process each piece of residue once.”

“They exist between life and death, impossible to detect or influence by any means, but I can use a technique to reverse them, making these remnants reflect the reality.”

After listening to Iluvia's explanation, Roland rubbed his chin: "It sounds like a very sophisticated detection and surveillance method... Wait a minute!"

Some unpleasant memories from his time at the academy surfaced in Roland's mind at this moment.

"Hey, don't you trust me at all? I already told you I wouldn't spy on you anymore." Iluvia said irritably, sticking out her finger and poking Roland's cheek hard.

"Um... okay, I was wrong. I'll leave the initial reconnaissance to you, Iluvia."

……

In another compartment on the train, Kalia chewed on the super chewy beef jerky that Roland called Kalia's soothing food, somewhat irritably.

He chewed for a while, then glanced at the very calm Cherlinina in front of him.

The other person was propping their head up with their hand, staring at the snow scene outside the window, with a hint of nostalgia in their eyes.

Celinina hadn't seen such pure snow in a long time.

It felt like coming home.

As far as the eye could see, there was only snow; between the earth and the sky, there was only a blanket of white.

But Cellina knew very well that this was not the scenery of her hometown, but just a wasteland between the capital and the northern city, which she had already passed through once during her escape.

"Hey Nina... how long have Roland and that wicked woman been talking inside?"

"Wait a moment." Cherlinina was brought back to her senses by Kalia's words, then took out her pocket watch, checked the time, and stroked the fur on Nash's back as he fell into a deep sleep.

"It's been an hour and a half."

"Aaaaaaah, it's been this long already!?"

In a fit of anger, Kalia bit into the beef jerky that was practically a teething stick and began chewing it in large mouthfuls, completely unlike her nonchalant demeanor from the previous night.

Cellina shook her head helplessly.

Young people are still too impatient.

The diagnosis was that it was caused by an excessively possessive nature.

After Kalia swallowed half a beef jerky whole, she looked at Cherlinina and asked, "Nina, what do you think those two did last night? Where do all these little secrets come from?"

"Don't overthink it. Didn't Roland tell us before he got on the train that the Emperor has a mission for him this time?"

"He just needs to discuss the operation process with Iluvia before making it public."

"Ms. Fram has no objections."

Cellina tried to comfort her helplessly.

But Kalia's awkward and resentful expression didn't disappear: "Hmph, why can't I participate in the planning of the operation! Are they discriminating against my intelligence?"

Celinina: “…”

at this time……

Oh, right, Natalia taught her.

Just smile at this time.

Cellina gave an awkward but polite smile.

Even Kalia couldn't help but shudder at that expression.

She had seen Cellina smile, quite a few times.

But never before has the arc been so large, and it gave off a sense of hypocrisy.

It's like not knowing what to say, so you try to cover it up with a smile.

I have to say... the acting was rather poor.

"Hey Nina...do you also think I'm not very smart?"

"Uh... I, I, you know, we haven't known each other for very long."

"But I've only known Roland and that bad woman for a few days longer than I've known you," Kalia muttered to herself, her mood quickly dropping.

"So you think I'm an idiot too, right?"

Celinina: “…”

I'm glad you still have self-awareness.

But seeing Kalia like this, Cellina couldn't help but offer a few words of comfort: "That's not it. At least in my opinion, you're not stupid. You're just not very smart."

"...If this is meant to comfort you, thank you, Nina. Don't try to comfort me next time."

Kalia sighed deeply and slumped half her body onto the table, letting out a long sigh.

"Even if we're discussing plans, isn't this taking way too long?"

"This guy's plan will obviously turn into a chaotic free-for-all in the end, so there's no point in having a plan at all. We might as well just start fighting from the beginning."

Cellina sighed, "We can't just rush in without considering any danger, can we? It's always better to be cautious. Even if we're going to have a big fight, we need to know what the enemy has up their sleeve, right?"

"...Okay, you have a point."

Kalia sat up straight, her eyes sharpening: "By the way, Nina, do you remember what you said before?"

"What did you say before? Which sentence?" Cherlinina tilted her head, looking somewhat confused.

"It's that line, the one where you're not interested in human males."

“…Ah, that’s the sentence.” Cherlinina, relying on her strong control over her body, did not let her expression change.

Well, I'm grateful that I don't usually have many facial expressions.

Otherwise, the difference in quality would be exposed.

Ah...it seems I've already been exposed.

When Cherinina saw the sharp expression that hadn't faded on Kalia's face, she realized that her momentary hesitation had alerted Kalia to something was wrong.

This not-so-bright fellow was exceptionally sensitive when it came to topics related to Roland.

Kalia ultimately said nothing, but after staring at Cherlinina for a while, she finally asked, "Are you really not interested in human males?"

"……Um."

"And what about Roland?"

"Lia, are you planning to expel Roland from humanity?"

"How could that be! I just think Roland is a bit special... After all, he's the only human male around you, isn't he?"

Seeing Kalia's face getting closer and closer, Cherinina knew something was wrong.

Could this guy have actually figured something out?

Just as the situation was tense, the door to the private room where the two were located was opened.

Roland stood in the doorway and looked at the two of them, saying, "Are you chatting? Please stop for a moment and gather in Ms. Flam's carriage. I have something to say about Isfar... Lia, why are you looking at me like that?"

Kalia's gaze lingered between Roland and Cellina a few times before she slowly spoke, "Nothing... just looking around."

(End of this chapter)