“Oh-ho, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Lin Ge asked, his eyes half-lidded.

“Well, it’s actually… Ah, I’m not really in a position to say. Maybe we should just drop it and get back to eating…”

“If I tell you to say it, then say it. You’re a grown man—stop acting all coy. It’s disgusting. Who are you putting on a show for?”

Lin Ge shot Carnegie a sidelong glare.

He’d deliberately piqued Lin Ge’s interest so he’d tell him, and now he was pretending to be all reluctant.

He hadn’t planned on swearing, but Carnegie had pushed him to it.

“Ahem. Well, the thing is…”

Carnegie cleared his throat, suppressing the vein that was starting to bulge on his forehead, and explained:

“The key to saving Bota City is your wife, Lady Rosetti.”

“Oh? And why’s that?” Lin Ge took a small sip of water and put on a curious expression. “Let’s hear it.”

“Before that, may I be so bold as to ask what you know about Lady Rosetti?”

“She’s the only mage in the city, and… she’s also Alice’s personal maid. That’s about it.”

“Heh. It seems the lord really hasn’t told you any of this.” Carnegie gave a mocking smile. “Well, if she had, I doubt you’d be acting this way.”

“……”

Carnegie’s words clearly carried an ulterior meaning.

Lin Ge furrowed his brow as if confused, though he was on guard inside. Putting on a slightly angry expression, he said:

“What is it that I, her husband, supposedly can’t know?”

“Lord Lin Ge, please don’t be angry. I’m sure the city lord has her reasons for not telling you. After all, this is the sort of thing that would be bad for everyone if it got out… But since you’re already one of us here in Bota City, Mr. Lin Ge, I thought I should tell you first, so your illustrious reputation won’t get dragged through the mud later.”

Carnegie paused, then gave a shifty grin and beckoned Lin Ge closer. Lowering his voice, he whispered:

“The truth is, she’s…”

“Huh?! Is that true?”

This time, Lin Ge wasn’t putting on an acting performance. He was genuinely surprised and shocked.

“I swear it’s true. That really is her status.” Carnegie nodded. “A lot of people know, but the lord specifically forbade anyone from discussing it, so nobody dares bring it up.”

“……”

Lin Ge fell silent. He didn’t say another word, or even take another sip of water.

As Lin Ge pondered, Carnegie didn’t stop. He continued his pitch:

“As the son of a noble earl, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to bear such a stain on your name. Your marriage hasn’t been announced publicly yet, but once it is… well…”

“So what do you want me to do?”

Lin Ge rested his chin in his hand and asked with the faintest curve of his lips, looking thoroughly troubled.

Carnegie smiled at that.

“Well… in my humble opinion, she’s already a disgraceful sort, and sooner or later she’ll ruin your reputation. So why not make use of her? Turn something worthless into something valuable and get the most out of her.”

“Oh? You mean…”

“Have her keep studying even more powerful forbidden magic, then send her to fight the Beastfolk army. That way, Bota City will be safe, and you won’t have to suffer any disgrace. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?”

“Oh, right! You really are something, Little Carney. When it comes to being vile, shameless, and sleazy, you’re number one. You’re so baaad~”

“Heh, well… y-yeah…”

The fat on Carnegie’s cheeks twitched and twitched.

There wasn’t a single thing wrong with that assessment, but Carnegie still felt that something was off. It was like someone had dumped a whole chamber pot over his head.

So fragrant~ So thought-provoking~

“But the problem is… even if I asked her, I’m not sure I could get her to do it.” Lin Ge shrugged, looking troubled. “To be honest, we’ve barely spoken, and I don’t know much about her. There’s no way I can get her to study forbidden magic, let alone fight on the front lines… You know Alice won’t let Rosetti go to war.”

“Nonsense! This is absolute nonsense! Lord Lin Ge, forgive me for saying something unpleasant, but don’t you think it’s shameful that we men have been under women’s thumb this whole time? Since ancient times, women have stayed inside while men handled the outside world. It’s an unchanging law!”

“But look at things now! Ever since that Empress took the throne, she’s encouraged women to enter politics. All one hundred and eight nobles have abandoned tradition and started reforming things, letting women inherit titles… Hmph! They’re all a bunch of cowards. They’re disgraceful!”

“Now they’ve put a woman who knows nothing except how to swing a sword in charge of the city. How could she possibly lead the whole territory to prosperity?”

“Women should just stay in bed, make the most of their looks, and serve men!”

BAM—Carnegie slammed his fist on the table, furious. His whole body seemed to burn with a fierce flame.

He was railing against every injustice in the world.

Carnegie withdrew his fist, then turned to Lin Ge with a solemn expression and continued earnestly:

“Lord Lin Ge, I’ve also heard about the advice you gave the Empress recently. You must understand what I mean. We can’t let women keep walking all over us! The city lord was giddy with joy after successfully resisting the Demon Clan before, and that led her to make the wrong judgment this time.”

“This crisis facing Bota City is a warning from heaven. Heaven itself is telling us to seize this opportunity and become the true masters of this city!”

“Join me, Lord Lin Ge. Together, we can do it.”

“……”

The impassioned speech came to an end.

Honestly, if there were any pyramid schemes around here, Carnegie would be exactly the sort of person running one.

Lin Ge couldn’t help admiring him.

But admiration aside, as for anything else…

“Anything else you want to say?” Lin Ge took another sip of water and asked calmly.

“No.”

“Oh. Then goodbye.”

Lin Ge stood up and walked straight out, without the slightest hesitation.

Carnegie froze. After a long pause, he finally came to his senses, hurried to his feet, and called after Lin Ge.

“Wait, Lord Lin Ge! What do you mean by that? Do you… not believe what I just said?”

“No, I believe every word you said.”

Lin Ge stopped, turned around, and smiled casually.

“Then why are you…”

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one in charge of all the internal affairs in Bota City, right?”

“Y-yes…”

Carnegie blinked, then nodded, still completely bewildered.

Why was he bringing that up now?

The confusion was plain on his face.

Lin Ge nodded as if he understood.

“Then I was right. As I thought… I still don’t want it. Goodbye.”

“Why?! Is there something else you’re unhappy about? If it’s the territory’s rule afterward, don’t worry. You’ll definitely be…”

“Then I definitely don’t want it.”

Without giving Carnegie time to finish, Lin Ge interrupted him with a smile.

“Why?!” Carnegie howled helplessly. “What are you still unhappy about?”

“Everything, obviously. Why would I want to make myself the lord of the territory? That sounds like a huge pain.”

“…Huh?!”

Carnegie’s chubby face went slack, his eyes shrinking to tiny dots.

When someone’s that dumbfounded, there’s only one classic line to wrap things up with.

“I’ll let you in on a secret: my favorite thing, Lin Ge’s favorite thing, is saying no to people who think they have an absolute advantage! You can go play at this inhuman nonsense yourselves, Little Carney.”