A Fait Accompli

Riezel hadn't expected that when he planned to find Yuri, she would come over first.

This young lady, along with her maid, appeared unharmed. Not a single hair was out of place, and their clothes were unruffled either. They carried themselves with calm composure as if the invasion of their residence was nothing more than a mere game. Their steps toward him were oddly slow and unperturbed.

"It seems worrying about you was unnecessary..." Yuri remarked, glancing at the masked people lying in pools of blood or slumped in the corner.

Marilyn also glanced at Hermit in Riezel's hand, saying nothing, standing half a step behind, guarding her master.

"Why did you come here?" Riezel said while wiping the blood from the blade of Hermit. "It's dangerous here; you shouldn't have come out."

His tone carried a scolding he hadn't even realized was there.

"It's fine. Marilyn is with me, after all." Yuri picked up on his scolding tone and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. "If I didn't come out, no one would lift the tactical-class magic barrier shrouding this place. I had to come out to end this farce."

"Farce?" Riezel raised his eyebrows slightly. "Why do you say that?"

"Because no one would be stupid enough to believe I'd have an accident in the royal capital." Yuri said indifferently. "Including the one who planned this attack."

"Basolo family..." Riezel whispered.

"Yep..." Yuri responded mockingly. "They made their attack so obvious. If something really happened to me, they would be finished."

No one would believe the Basolo family could successfully hide their involvement in planning this attack since even Riezel himself immediately figured out who was manipulating him and who orchestrated this attack.

If he could, how could others not see it?

As Yuri said, the attack was too glaringly obvious. Only the abruptness of it led to uncontrollable chaos. Once the situation was dealt with, it would be easy to trace back the responsible party.

Other than that, all those servants and guards who took the Basolo family's money and indirectly helped them sabotage the Frenzel family's magic defense system could each become a witness.

In such a scenario, if Yuri, the national treasure-level magician of Jinas, came to harm, the royal family would undoubtedly be furious. The Basolo family would incur the wrath of the entire kingdom and face severe punishment.

In this world, a Strategic-Class Magician was that important. Any loss would significantly weaken a country's military power and threat level. If the Basolo family dared to do such a thing and made it so obvious, it was akin to digging their own grave.

No matter how foolish, even a marquis family wouldn't be foolish enough to stoop this low.

Therefore, in the eyes of some wise and perceptive individuals, this attack was nothing but a circus.

Riezel also realized this, understanding Yuri's importance.

"You're saying that the Basolo family attacked here solely for another purpose?" Riezel realized this.

"Um..." Yuri nodded, her beautiful face showing a hint of disgust. "They probably orchestrated this attack to stop me from leaving the royal capital and returning to my territory to cancel the marriage arrangement between our families."

It sounded illogical to his understanding, but Riezel grasped the details.

The Basolo family planned this attack not to harm Yuri but to create a false impression of 'Marquis Frenzel being attacked'.

A very important Strategic-Class Magician, being openly attacked in the royal capital, beneath the king's feet, was bound to cause a commotion.

After the commotion, the kingdom would become tense, fearing another attack on Yuri. Thus, if the Basolo family manipulated things a bit, they could make the royal family and other major nobles do their best to keep her in the royal capital, ensuring her proximity for protection and preventing her from venturing outside.

That was the Basolo family's goal.

"What's the point of all this?" Riezel said somewhat speechless. "Even if they force you to stay here and prevent you from returning to your territory to cancel the engagement, the Basolo family can't just forcibly marry their son to you, right?"

He really didn't understand the meaning behind these actions.

Yuri was clearly unwilling to marry the Basolo family's son.

Even if her father approved, so what? As long as she didn't agree, could the Basolo family really force her into marriage?

Forcing marriage upon a Strategic-Class Magician?

Did they think she had no temper?

However, Riezel momentarily forgot that this wasn't the modern world he was once in, but a world similar to medieval Europe.

"They naturally wouldn't dare to forcibly marry the Lady, but once the marriage arrangement is confirmed, she might actually have to marry."

Marilyn suddenly chimed in, leaving Riezel stunned.

It seemed illogical, but she wasn't speaking without reason.

In this world, nobles enjoyed privileges but also faced constant scrutiny, needing to consider their noble status and reputation in everything they did. Matters like marriages, which might seem less serious among commoners, were handled differently by nobles.

It was akin to the confined lives of young ladies in ancient times, bound by their parents' wishes and matchmaking.

Yuri, due to her abilities and unique position, wasn't entirely voiceless like those powerless young ladies, but in certain aspects, she was indeed still bound by limitations.

Otherwise, why would she mock herself as a tool for war without freedom?

Based on her position and the impact on the country, Yuri was frequently restricted. She couldn't freely use tactical-class or strategic-class magic, couldn't casually leave the national borders, and couldn't go wherever she pleased without the royal family's permission.

All of that was a representation of her lack of freedom.

If the attack of the Basolo family did indeed have an impact, causing the royal family and nobles to join forces in keeping Yuri from leaving the royal capital, would she still defy the royal family's orders and just walk away?

In that case, the Frenzel family might face charges of treason in a matter of minutes, and a mass execution wouldn't be an impossible outcome.

Therefore, if Yuri were restricted to the royal capital and not allowed to leave, the Basolo family, through negotiations with her father, might actually solidify the marriage.

At that time, with a bit of publicity, the public would believe that the two families were about to unite in marriage.

As a result, there would be extensive political, economic, military, and even societal cooperation between the Basolo and Frenzel territories.

Over time, the two territories might become inseparable.

If things escalated to that point and Yuri still refused to fulfill the marriage, there could be unrest between the two territories. This could range from impacting interests to potentially affecting people's lives in their territories.

If the unrest became too big, it could even affect the entire residents of Jinas.

In such a situation, even the king himself might order the marriage to prevent chaos and upheaval in the kingdom.

If Yuri still didn't want to marry under these circumstances, she would have to abandon her status, her family, and even her homeland, leaving this country behind.

But would the kingdom allow a Strategic-Class Magician to leave so easily?

Impossible.

What if this Strategic-Class Magician became a criminal in the future, using highly harmful strategic-class magic against Jinas? What if this magician were recruited by an opposing country, threatening Jinas's security?

All these concerns would turn Yuri into an enemy of the kingdom. At that time, her best outcome might be an assassination, and the worst outcome would be one—a public execution.

This was what they called a ripple effect.

Someone like Yuri, even with a slight movement, could provoke extreme reactions from others.

If the king could confine his own children because of her, giving her face, it was possible he might order her assassination if she didn't return the favor.

The Basolo family targeted this vulnerability, resorting to these tactics to forcibly keep Yuri, buying time to establish a 'fait accompli'. {T/N: Fait accompli means something that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept it.}

"Is that even possible?" Riezel asked speechlessly.

He had encountered political and business maneuvers like this in his previous life, but the dynamics of this world were different from his previous life. His experiences from before weren't entirely applicable in this world, making it genuinely eye-opening for him.

Yet, there were still some aspects he found perplexing.

"Even if that is the case, isn't it a fact that the Basolo family attacked you? Aren't they afraid of consequences?" Riezel was puzzled by this.

Yuri shook his head.

"What consequences? The people who attacked this time were slaves, and none of them belonged to the Basolo family. Even these masked people, it's doubtful if we can confirm any of their identities, and the Basolo family can easily claim ignorance of them. Even if the slaves are proven to be theirs, they could just explain it away as a rebellion, finding plenty of ways to justify themselves."

In the Akasha Continent, incidents such as slave rebellions were not uncommon occurrences.

After all, who would want to be a slave for their entire life? When faced with inhumane treatment and the harsh reality of having their human rights stripped away, slaves would rebel and resist.

Furthermore, canceling the slavery contract was not impossible.

Contracts were not absolute; they were merely tools used by magicians and could be both cast and undone by them.

The attendant contract was fine and safe since the terms were equal, establishing a stable relationship between the two parties, which made their cancellation somewhat difficult.

However, the slavery contract, being such a one-sided and forceful contract, was a whole different story.