301 – Luxurious Vacation (5)
The day after finishing my long journey with the Crown Prince, I immediately walked to the Imperial Palace to report on His Highness’s mental growth and achievements. .
The regimental commander and chamberlain of the Knights Guards, including myself, have already submitted written reports, so I wonder if there is any need for me to report face-to-face as well.
Currently, I have 4 stars, but I am on standby with no proper position, and since the northerners couldn’t read the mood and sent me huge gifts, I need to confront His Majesty and explain the matter. .
I have had an audience with the Emperor almost once a month these days, and His Excellency the Grand Grand Master even said that, except for the court nobles who work at the palace and the direct imperial family who live in the imperial palace, I am the one who sees His Majesty the most.
It is a burden to face someone who has the authority to change 4 stars at any time.
“I handed over everything to His Majesty immediately after receiving the gift, but I still have to explain myself because of this. And has His Majesty’s credit and evaluation of the North, which is the real purpose for which the Northern guys offered me goods, improved a bit?”
It is said that when His Excellency, the Minister of Finance, converted the bribes paid to me by about 200 tribes in the North into money, the amount amounted to 30,000 gold.
Even though I received the money they gave me, I did not touch it because I was worried that my relationship with His Majesty would worsen if I ate it carelessly. In the end, I ended up having to explain this to His Majesty.
I swallowed the unfair feeling inside and walked forward, and before I knew it, I had arrived in front of the Emperor’s office where His Majesty was waiting.
When I knocked on the door, I heard the servant’s voice coming from inside.
“Who are you?”
“This is Captain Peter Yeager. “I have come at your Majesty’s call.”
After about 30 seconds, the door opened, and His Majesty was doing some errands with a smile on his face, as if he was happy to see his son who had gone a long way back after a long time.
No matter how good it feels to meet my son after being away for a long time, I can’t believe he is so happy that he smiles while doing his work…
“Welcome, Captain Jaeger. “Please, Chief Butler, bring out a chair for Captain Jaeger to sit on. He is such a precious person. Wouldn’t his legs hurt if he stands for a long time?”
After a while, the deacon brought a chair for me to sit on and placed it in front of the desk in the office.
“Hurry up and sit down. “There are many things I want to talk to you about today.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Okay, how is your physical condition? “I took the crown prince all the way to the north, but aren’t you tired?”
To conclude, this trip was not that tiring.
His Royal Highness was not someone who used his position to abuse me like the rude royal family members in novels and comics, and I don’t know what His Majesty said, but from the second month of the trip, he called me ‘Captain’ in private situations. “Captain,” He said, and followed along like a nephew following his uncle.
Rather, if you want to look around more or try something during the trip, don’t feel pressured and tell me. Even though I say I will agree on most things with the Chamberlain, I often make surprise visits to military bases along the way to provide training for soldiers. Because it was just intuition.
The division commander, regiment commander, and soldiers under his command may have died when the Crown Prince bomb suddenly fell, but I did not suffer.
Louise was unable to participate in this trip due to postpartum care, but Laura, Charlotte, Anya, and Friedrich were able to travel very leisurely while eating delicious food at the royal family’s expense without spending a dime of our own money.
Of course, in the process, I, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Chamberlain, and the Regimental Commander of the Knights Guards, who were responsible for leading this trip, had to perform quite a few duties. It was a refreshing experience compared to usual work.
“Your Majesty has never been pampered or forced. And considering His Majesty’s young age, we moved slowly and without overdoing it, so there wasn’t anything particularly difficult.”
“According to the report, I heard that you had a hard time because a banquet was held every time the crown prince stopped by the county capital.”
My title is Marquess, so my title is high enough that I can count from the top among nobles, but when it comes to nobles, I am so inexperienced that I can’t even compare to other nobles.
So even now, when a banquet is held, everyone else dances well, but I dance awkwardly, giving off a creaky feeling, even if I’m not the only one dancing well.
I don’t know much about art and culture, so I sometimes feel like I’m a fool.
At this banquet, Laura and I fit in well with the atmosphere, showing off our innate nobility, but I stayed next to the Crown Prince and refused all the women’s requests to dance, using the importance of leading His Highness as an excuse…
“I am embarrassed to say this, but I am a bit lacking in dancing and culture, so this time I ran away under the pretext of being led by His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“I can’t imagine you fighting so fiercely on the battlefield, but then hiding behind the crown prince at the banquet hall.”
Her Majesty said that, and she laughed for a moment as if bursting into laughter.
“Okay, all that small talk aside, what was the result of this trip to the north? It is clear that it was a great success, just looking at the fact that over 30,000 gold items worth of valuables were sent to you. “You were actually the leader of this journey, so the visible range would have been different.”
“Then, first, let me tell you about the achievements that His Majesty the Crown Prince showed during this expedition.”
His Majesty nodded at her as if telling her to speak quickly.
“Your Majesty has succeeded in showing numerous imperial nobles and northern chieftains a dignity befitting a 10-year-old. Although, due to His Highness’s age, there were no conversations or audiences that lasted for a long time and only conversations took place in a set manner. “Without any awkwardness or interruption, he demonstrated the majesty of the next supreme ruler of the empire.”
“Is that so? “It was worth the effort to educate that child.”
“A few months later, nobles scattered throughout the empire will gather in Reichburg for the harvest festival, and those who met His Highness at that time will tell ‘without any pretense’ the stories that impressed them.”
When nobles usually have a conversation, six out of ten are pretense bordering on lies, three tell extremely exaggerated stories, and only one tells the truth.
To explain briefly what this means, it is normal for nobles to naturally make a fuss when they meet a girl with average appearance in their class, as if they had met a girl as beautiful as Miku from Deseraphy.
However, when they talk about people who are overwhelmingly beautiful or have outstanding abilities, if they show ‘pretense’, they end up talking nonsense and pouting like the bards, and only tell the ‘truth’.
In this case, it would be said that His Majesty the Crown Prince’s dignified appearance was so perfect.
“And the way he showed himself when he had an audience with tribal leaders in the north was so impressive that it reminded me of the proverb that a lion’s cub is also a lion.”
His Majesty opened his eyes wide and showed interest at those words.
“After speaking with each and every tribal leader, he personally stood up and helped me up. And he always thanked me and gave me sincere words of encouragement. “The tribal leaders were extremely impressed by His Majesty’s appearance, and some of them even had tears in their eyes.”
“He was doing his job by just giving a proper audience to the tribal chiefs, but he knew how to give such encouragement. “It’s so special.”
“In addition, at my recommendation, he ate foods that northerners usually eat and even showed his approval of the unique culture of northern tribal leaders. “It can be said that the signal of reconciliation and harmony that His Majesty entrusted to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been conveyed very well.”
According to imperial law, northern tribal leaders and tribesmen are treated equally as imperial subjects.
However, even though they are legally equal, there are many idiots within the empire who have a low opinion of the culture and level of northerners.
If nothing else, the northerners, who were almost like barbarians, were far behind in terms of culture, so all northern residents had a strong tendency to admire and envy the culture of the empire.
No, there are also people who abandon their own culture with a kind of inferiority complex?
What if the crown prince, the next emperor of the empire, goes and eats the food eaten by northerners and says it is delicious, and also likes the northern culture because it is so different…?
Wouldn’t the sense of inferiority that we have had so far disappear completely?
His Majesty seemed to understand why I said this as he nodded and said.
“The crown prince has grown a lot through this trip. This is all thanks to you. “If you think about it, won’t you be unemployed once your role as leader for this trip is over?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The emperor took out one of his maps from his desk drawer, pointed toward the Faroesia City Confederation, and said:
“According to your advice, for the next five years, the empire will not start a war unless it is attacked first. However, in five years, we will have to flap our wings again to stand above everyone in order to seize future hegemony, right?”
Just as His Majesty said, if you rest for too long, you will be seen as a slob and could be threatened.
So the empire can stop the war, but it cannot stop it.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“According to the investigation of the Imperial Intelligence Department, I heard that the Farosian City Federation is a mess. “It looks like there will be a big fight this time.”
“Can I ask why?”