The Human Saint is Bored, so I was Summoned to Another World

The 'Investigation' of Lady Eris, Duchess of Braunhauer (Vol. 5 Prologue)

"I'm Eris, the Duchess of Braunhauer. My father's daughter and heir." Eris told me, all the while she never shed an ounce of her dignity as a noble, "Why are you asking me that, Mister Kuro?"

"Well, it's just that, the way you talk now was so different, it felt like I was talking to a different person," I admitted. Contrary to how the Marquise of Monfort did it, my 'investigation' was direct and simple: I'd try to appeal to the subject's sympathy or relationships, and then proceed from there. There's no need for dark rooms, nor swinging lights. Only a table, a pair of chairs, one plate of cookies, and tea would suffice.

"Don't worry about me, Mister Kuro. I'm still myself." Eris answered as she crossed her legs while sitting comfortably on the chair. She followed that with a sip of tea and a bite of cookies, "However, the Eris that you got to know first was the 'other' me. Are you disappointed that I'm not that naïve as you think I am?"

Honestly, I'm surprised by the sudden change in her character. But as for thinking that she was naïve, I don't think so. Sure enough, I used to see her in that way before; however, after she displayed her understanding of the crisis in Amaranth, my opinion of her changed drastically.

Anyway, this is not the time to admire the Lady Braunhauer. There are things I need to understand.

"Regardless of my opinion of you, Lady Braunhauer, please tell me, why did you do that? Betraying Her Holiness suddenly."

"Oh, that..." the dignity in Eris' eyes turned into bitter sadness, "I guess I have to account for my actions, after all."

I remained silent as she prepared herself to speak about her motives. Suddenly promoted into the captaincy of the Paladin Corps with the Marquise's death, I possessed the authority to conduct investigations if it was about the safety of the Saint, to whom we were duty-bound to protect as her guards.

Of course, I will not miss asking Eris about her reasons for doing what she had done. She and Maddie are my friends, after all. And the last thing I wanted is for them to turn against each other's throats.

"Mister Kuro...do you know how the Braunhauers came to amass their massive wealth?" she asked.

"My apologies, Lady Braunhauer. You know that I'm a stranger from a faraway country, so I wouldn't have any knowledge about the nobility here."

"Alright, sorry. Let me tell you then. The House of Braunhauer had prided itself for having the greatest companies of mercenaries in all of Amaranth, a kingdom which also became rich through the waging of wars."

"That's the fact that I'm aware of; Amaranth was built from the blood of mercenaries that eventually founded a kingdom."

"Yes. And, if you'd look well into our history, Mister Kuro, Chersea, was never really at peace. After the last Human-Demon conflict, the human realm witnessed wars against alliances, individual kingdoms, groups of people, and even betrayals."

"True. Humans are like that. We're never content with what we have." I interjected.

"Indeed. Here, there were only a few seasons that came to pass peacefully. And, as a kingdom of mercenaries, we Amaranthines thrived from the conflict to become the richest kingdom in all North Chersea, if not comparable to the Empire's coffers."

"And, your house was at the forefront of this business, Lady Braunhauer?"

Eris smiled, "You sure are quick to pick up, Mister Kuro. My father became famous for leading his own mercenary band in checking the army of the Iron Princess several times, during Nerfes' invasion of our land in the last war. Even the current king of Amaranth was under his command back then, you know."