Two as One Princesses

「So what… you say? Who do you think I am?」

No longer frozen, the slim man said so. He probably wants to say something like 「I’m the Amyulute family’s heir, I’m important. Don’t you know what will happen if you oppose me?」 or something.

「The Amyulute family’s next head.」
「Then-……」
「That makes you greater than Mistress Fiiyanamia’s adopted daughter?」
「……」
「That makes you more powerful than me?」
「……」

The weak are eaten by the strong, that’s how Central works.
Those who lose are lesser and those who win are greater. The only reason things aren’t like this in everyday life is because organizations like the guilds and the nobles govern themselves. However, for those that go against mother Fii and us, the victor is in the right. That’s why he wouldn’t have been in any trouble if only he won against us.

The slim man stared at the ground in frustration before suddenly scowling at us with complete hostility. I suppose he’s doubling down now since he’s gone past the point of no return.

「To begin with, Fiiyanamia’s lack of proper governing is to blame! It’s clearly better to have a capable leader instead of an uncommitted sloth. A king exists for the people!」
「Mother is not a monarch. Central is Mother’s house and garden. You are freeloaders. You think freeloaders can make decisions for the homeowner?」
「What nonsense! There’s not a single proof of that being true!」
「Then what have you all ever done for Mother? Have you offered her anything? Are you paying her any taxes? Authority belongs to the owner of the land, it should be natural to do so.」
「……」

After being agape for a moment, the slim man’s face –seemingly remembering something– suddenly drained of color. It appears that he belatedly recognized certain overlooked aspects, although I can’t help but think it’s too late for such realizations.

She’s the head of the community called the Central, making her a monarch of that country. Authority and taxes are then to be bestowed to the populace to further the development of the country. Is that how he thought things worked?

That might be true for other countries. But Central is not a country. And mother Fii is not a king. These facts were probably forgotten and neglected in the passage of time, along with Mother’s true strength.

「Fools who don’t even pay any rent pushing their opinions on Mother, unbelievable.」
「B-But Fiiyanamia said she would hand over Central’s throne to anyone who wins-…….」
「And, have you won? Can you? When you can’t even defeat me?」
「That’s……」

The slim man has no more power behind his words. I nonetheless continue my verbal assault.

「Why you’ve done this, I won’t ask. I’m sure you just wanted to outdo your talented sisters. What trivial misfortune of yours.」
「Trivial!?」

He raised his voice, it sounded like I hit a landmine. Just as earlier, he’s letting his feelings control him.

「Your misfortune, my misfortune, they are but one of the many misfortunes in the world.」

And any misfortune, big or small, always feels larger when they befall you. But dragging us into your problem for your own self-satisfaction is something I cannot tolerate.
Not that I’m going to say that out loud. There isn’t any reason to.

「Incidentally, you dared to challenge and assault a household of higher status. Now, I ask you this: Will you surrender your older younger sister?」
「…Do as you wish.」
「Come again?」
「…By all means, take her as you please.」

Gaining the slim man’s powerless mutter of agreement, all that’s left is to go to the Amyulute manor. However, I’ve just realized that we haven’t thought of how to transport these captive men.

◇

『Ain, you were a bit mean earlier.』
『I got a bit heated back there.』
『It was kind of cool. Maybe not that? Is it charismatic? I’m stumped, really stumped! How do I even describe it!』

I think it might just be you fawning me too much. Still, it’s been a while since I’ve been in this situation, I admit that I might have overdone it. Next time, I should keep enough composure to avoid startling Ciel. Rather, it would be best if we don’t get into situations like this anymore.

In the end, we decided to tie the men with a rope, letting each of them decide whether they want to walk or be hauled along. They chose to walk on their own feet for now, so it’s stress-less.
Well, Ciel is the one doing the actual hauling. Since even with physical reinforcement, I can’t properly tug them along.

Leading tied up men, Ciel attracted a lot of attention but being conspicuous might actually be better in this case, so I decided not to worry about it. Ciel meanwhile wasn’t worried about it to begin with.

『I know I should bring them outside, but what should I do after that?』
『It would be great if Viviana is just waiting for us nearby. However, we stayed overnight, so that wouldn’t be realistic. Why don’t we just bring them to the Hunter’s Guild?』
『Right. Let’s do that.』

I imagine that things would be smoother if we bring only the slim man –or rather Viviana’s older brother– along to the Amyulute’s.

Shortly after, we found the exit, bathed in the radiant sunlight. Although the interior of the den wasn’t particularly dim, the sunlight outside feels much brighter. And as we exited, I saw a certain person running towards us with a frantic expression.

「Viviana, what’s wrong?」

As Ciel asked, Viviana drew closer with a grouchy expression.

「You didn’t return last night, so I came to check up on you. But it seems like there was no need for concern. Just in case, I brought along everyone from the Fool’s Gathering.」
「Then haul the nuisances away.」
「To the Hunter’s Guild, right?」
「Yeah.」

After Ciel nodded, she called for Chasse.
As I thought, this is his usual role. 「She wants these men to be brought back to the Hunter’s Guild.」 Viviana said. And while he gave Viviana an awfully unenthusiastic look, upon seeing Ciel, Chasse showed a kind smile and accepted the task.

「Where’s the Amyulute?」
「Right, of course. It’s understandable you don’t know. You could just ask my foolish brother, though.」
「Can’t trust him.」

Being called a foolish brother, the slim man glowered at Viviana but she continued talking, completely ignoring him.

「Fair enough. Alright, would you follow my lead?」
「Yeah.」

As Viviana walked off, Ciel followed after her.