299 – Luxurious Vacation (3)
Northern Territory, Jaegerburg Castle Throne Room
Three months of honest, honey-sweet vacation passed by in the blink of an eye.
In the meantime, she tried to spend as much time as possible with Laura, her wives, and her son Friedrich, and for the first time in years, she was able to live comfortably without worrying about her work.
I spent hot hours until late at night every day, and when the sun rose at noon, I woke up slowly, ate breakfast and lunch, and then enjoyed a peaceful life with Louise while doing knitting and cooking together.
But for me, a young person who had just turned 30, this stress-free daily life was not all that good and it felt a bit boring, so I didn’t even think about living as an unemployed person with a lot of money.
In my early 50s, I would have probably been promoted to marshal, so I made a life plan to retire at an appropriate time, travel several times a year with my wife, and live in peace.
Now that his suspension has been lifted, under orders from His Majesty, he has brought His Highness the Crown Prince and a regiment of the Knights Guards to the north and has an audience with the chieftains.
It’s not to the point where I want to retire, but I do wonder what they’re doing with 4 stars.
Furthermore, why does a castle that is the center of the northern region have ‘Jaeger’ attached to it?
No, I understand that you want to respect him because I killed Khan, but as a possessed person with very little Korean sensibility, seeing ‘my name is the name of the city’ makes my face get a little hot.
Actually, Anya, Laura, Charlotte, and Friedrich, who came with me, saw this name and applauded, saying it was cool, but…
While I was lost in idle thoughts, I heard a voice outside the door requesting another audience.
“Sir Mikhail von Homipich, the chief of the Homipich tribe, is requesting an audience.”
I came to my senses after hearing those words, and the crown prince answered confidently, as if he was used to it.
“I will grant an audience.”
When the door to the throne room opened, the Homipichi chief came in holding a scroll in his hand.
He must have been so nervous that his left arm and left leg, right arm and right leg moving at the same time looked very awkward.
Behind him, someone who appeared to be his son came in carefully, holding a northern-style sword and a leather cloak in both hands.
The two of them knelt on one knee and bowed their heads, as if they had practiced well what posture to use during an audience.
I was also very nervous when I first went to see His Highness the current emperor and former crown prince.
His Majesty Albert spoke in a very calm voice, as if he had learned well not to panic in situations like this.
“You can raise your head.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I brought you a small gift here. Please accept it.”
The two knights of the royal guard around the crown prince moved, one took the sword and leather cloak, and the other took the scroll.
The scroll immediately passed into the hands of the Crown Prince’s Chamberlain, who quickly opened it and read its contents.
From noble mtl dot com
“A cloak made of the highest quality bear skin, a sword scabbard and cavalry sword made using the traditional crafts of northern nomads, 10 bear skins, 20 wolf skins, 40 fox skins, and 30 war horses in gratitude for His Majesty’s grace. I offer it to you. “It’s not enough, but please accept my sincerity.”
If you convert the items here into money, they are worth hundreds of gold, but there is a reason why Chief Homipichi offers the items so carefully.
This is because it is a symbol of loyalty separate from the protection fee, to put it in the language of yakuza or gangsters, or, to put it more politely, the defense tax, which is 50% of the taxes collected by the lords of the empire.
So, if you offer these items, you will naturally avoid being captured by the empire.
You can also be protected if you do something crazy in Stockholm or the Kingdom of Sweden and threaten your tribe’s territory.
The more items you offer now, the more likely you are to make a good impression on the emperor and for your family to prosper in the future.
Due to His Majesty Michael’s personality, he will not receive such wealth and give any additional or preferential treatment to Chief Homipich’s territory.
“The loyalty of the Homipich tribe has certainly been well received by I, Albert von Reich, Crown Prince of the Empire. “I will leave a positive message to His Majesty.”
It was a somewhat difficult line for the 10-year-old crown prince to say, but thanks to the chamberlain’s thorough practice on the way here, this line was so perfect that neither pronunciation nor intonation could be touched.
Homie Peach, who doesn’t know the process, must think that the prince, who is only 10 years old, is giving such a confident answer, so he is a genius.
“I am devastated, Your Majesty the Crown Prince.”
“Hmm, good. Although it is a small matter, His Majesty the Emperor expressed his gratitude to Chief Homipichi for his loyalty. “Please bring the sword to the Chamberlain.”
The chamberlain carefully brought a treasured sword made in a workshop directly managed by the imperial family to the guard knight who was stuck in the corner.
The treasured sword was delivered to the chieftain in a box, and he very carefully received it with both hands.
“You can just leave now. “I will continue to do my best to repay Your Majesty’s kindness.”
“Chief of the Homipich tribe, Mikhail von Homipich, I pledge allegiance to His Highness the Crown Prince and the Sun of the Future Empire.”
“I will always believe in you.”
The crown prince personally raised the chieftain who was kneeling on one knee.
To be exact, His Highness Albert, who is only about 1 meter 20 cm tall, was not able to raise a grown man up.
Not being able to physically stand up in a situation like this is a really minor problem.
Because, in a diplomatic and political situation like this, it is important that the ‘crown prince’ showed such goodwill that he went to stand up while receiving an audience with a northern chieftain.
And the strategy seemed to have worked well, as Chief Homipichi looked like he was about to cry.
Until the imperial army came and subjugated the bastard named Ludvik, they were the ones who would go to the corners of the Kingdom of Sweden and Stockholm and live while being chased by them or like slaves.
With the help of the Reich Empire Army, including myself, Ludwig’s head was cut off, and now, thanks to the support of the Empire, the blessings I have received just by living without worrying about food as before will be like heaven.
So, they voluntarily honor the Emperor of the Reich Empire by giving him the title they are most proud of, Kakan.
How could they bear the emotion if the crown prince came to see them in such a far away place, greeted them and helped them up?
“I will do my best for the empire. Majesty.”
“Well, thank you as always. I hope you continue to work hard for the empire like you do now. Don’t forget that His Majesty the Emperor is always looking forward to you.”
After the conversation was over, the chief couldn’t hide his expression of disappointment and walked out the door.
His Highness Albert sighed as if he was tired, and the Chamberlain looked at him with concern for a moment…
“Is there no one coming for an audience today, Chamberlain?”
“More than 30 more chieftains will come for an audience tomorrow, but this is the end for today. “Captain.”
Hearing those words, I, like His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, breathed a sigh of relief and walked up to him.
“Thank you for your hard work today, Your Majesty. My wife, Viscountess Anastasia Kergit, is from the North, so she wants to tell me to cook delicious Northern food for dinner. “Can I do that?”
No matter how much the crown prince is, he is only a 10-year-old child, and it may be because he has become close to me as we have been traveling together for the past few months.
All tension disappeared from the face of the person who had been playing the authoritative crown prince with a very solemn, serious, and stern expression and voice that was unbecoming of his young age.
So his voice became clearer, and his face showed anticipation for the food. Is it because he thought that he should maintain a relationship with a military deity who is a few years older than me here?
“Please do so.”
I only tried to speak solemnly, but the voice that came out of my mouth was like that of a child.
When the Chamberlain saw that, he looked like he had no choice, and I decided to continue talking.
Because when he comes to the North, His Majesty the Crown Prince must truly enjoy the Northern culture, thinking that it is so good, in order for the Crown Prince’s visit to the North to be more effective.
In particular, many of the chieftains here have a sense of inferiority because the cooking is so simple and rugged compared to the mainland Reich Empire.
If the Crown Prince, who enjoys all kinds of luxuries, said that the food they eat is also delicious, there would be more than one person who would be thrilled by that alone, without exaggerating.
“Then, today I will ask Anastasia to prepare cheese fondue. Cheese fondue is a food made by boiling cheese and dipping bread or meat into it.”
His Royal Highness heard the explanation of a food called cheese fondue, which is not commonly eaten in the imperial palace due to health or etiquette reasons, and his face was filled with smiles as if he imagined eating food covered in chewy and soggy cheese.
The chamberlain looked at me and tried to say something, but I put my finger to my mouth and spoke quietly.
“In the imperial palace, there are etiquette in the imperial palace, and in the north, the best etiquette is to respect the northern culture and enjoy their cuisine. Besides, there are no other northern dishes that you might particularly like.”
“…… What you said is correct, Captain. However, if His Highness the Crown Prince later says he would like to have fondue after returning to the palace.”
I accepted those words very naturally.
“Isn’t there one more food that Your Majesty likes to eat?”
And today’s audience and the news that the crown prince enjoyed delicious northern food naturally spread throughout the northern region.