I put off meeting William for a while and enjoyed the imperial tour for a while. Nivea was very happy when she took a tour of hidden attractions that even people living in the ecliptic were not aware of, and Lena seemed to enjoy being with her family rather than that, perhaps because she was still young.
Rather, the contact came from William’s side first. I didn’t even put in an interview application, but I got a call to enter the palace.
I took Nivea and Lena and entered the imperial palace. Originally, it would have been a problem for Nivea to enter the imperial palace directly, but she entered the palace naturally thanks to William’s handling of it well in advance.
“You must be Nivea Christine. nice to meet you Also, it’s the first time I’ve seen Lady Lena Akasha.”
“It is an honor to meet you. your majesty”
“hello! your majesty”
Nivea was surprisingly not nervous, and Lena also greeted her without being rude.
It would be the first time seeing them in person, but they were two people who once shook the continent, so you must have heard the story about William.
William was not the only one present. Rarely, Prince Jerbin was also present. It’s not that I don’t know William’s intentions. William’s intentions were successful enough.
Even if it wasn’t, it was because the eyes of the two children were already twinkling. Of course, it was the eyes that came from the innocent hearts of children.
“How about giving Lena a tour of the imperial palace, Prince Zervin?”
I hit first. It’s not like you don’t know William’s cunning ulterior motive. There’s something William doesn’t know. Since I am the guardian spirit attached to Zerbin anyway, I can monitor it in real time.
“may I. your majesty?”
Jerbin asked permission from William, and William happily granted it.
“Yes, I will try my best.”
What do you mean by doing your best? No matter how much Jerbin said that he was a child I cherished, giving him a daughter is another matter.
The two children went outside and the time for adults came.
“Did you take a difficult step because of the problem with Baron Christine of Nivea?”
He must have guessed what I meant the moment he heard the information that I had brought Nivea into the ecliptic.
“It’s a combination of both sides. I’ve never given them a tour of the ecliptic, and I have a few other problems.”
“What does the Count want?”
“It is the nationality of Baron Christine.”
“If that’s the case, I can easily solve it.”
That’s right. Even though he is the emperor of an empire, accepting asylum for a foreign aristocrat is not a problem. However, Nivea’s problem is not so simple.
“But if Baron Christine renounces Cython nationality, the territory will be forfeited.”
William nodded his head in understanding even though I didn’t speak at length. Then he rested his chin on his chin and thought for a moment.
“I came up with many ways, but there are parts that I am hesitant to implement.”
It was. If this seemed like a problem that could be easily resolved peacefully, I wouldn’t have bothered to visit William.
“And to tell you all the reasons why I came, there are two more.”
“Tell me.”
“The first is the issue of the title of Shaq, a disciple of the Duke of Argin Tempest.”
“Right. Was he still a commoner?”
“Yes, it is.”
Shaq’s reputation is great, but since he has never really shown his skills in front of the public after reaching a certain level, what’s wrong with William? It was a face that said. This is because if a title is needed, it is a matter of giving him the title of vassal noble of the Tempest family.
“Of course, I could give you the title of vassal of the Duke of Tempest, but Shark’s skills have exceeded that level.”
“Could it be that you’ve already reached the master level? Was he 15 now?”
It doesn’t matter if you become a vassal noble if it’s a decent level. But if you become a master, the story is different.
Even if it wasn’t so, the revealed power of the Akasha family and the Tempest family exceeded that of the entire Aether Empire. But another powerful person becomes a vassal noble? It is rather detrimental to the empire.
“no.”
No, because he’s already a grandmaster.
“Then there is no problem?”
“Your Majesty, you may believe it, but Shark’s skills have already surpassed the Duke of Tempest.”
William’s face crumpled at once. And the color of his face changed several times in an instant.
No matter how friendly the emperor William is to me, he is fundamentally the emperor of the Aether Empire. No emperor likes to see an increase in power beyond his control.
“Huh, that’s right.”
William’s whole body stretched out as if he had lost all strength.
“You don’t have to worry too much. Shark is also a child who doesn’t have much desire for power or wealth.”
“So it’s more of a problem.”
William is right about this. Rather, if there was such a desire, there would be a risk of rebellion, but it could be used as bait to make him a man of the emperor. However, like Argin, a powerful person who has no such thing cannot control it at will from the center.
“And secondly, there are a lot of nobles who are putting forward the main war right now, right? That’s the problem.”
“That’s why I’m having a headache lately too.”
William was subtly expecting me. But, unfortunately, I will not intervene in the slightest if a war breaks out this time.
“If a war breaks out this time, neither I nor the Duke of Tempest will intervene.”
Of course, even if we fell out, the empire would not lose the war. Even if all the countries around the empire form alliances to resist, the same is true. However, if the war escalated like that, the empire would have to take considerable damage. But that’s all. Winning or losing doesn’t change. William’s expression hardened at my words.
“As you know, I do not like war.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to start a war at a time when the empire is in full swing.”
“I understand.”
It is William’s values that do not change from the beginning. This is highly appreciated.
“That’s why I want the count to suppress the main opponents a little.”
“I have been neutral up until now.”
I hinted at the intention of refusal. I don’t know what others think, but it was officially like that. Except for a brief moment during the war in the Principality of Nebra, he never interfered in the country’s policy.
“Instead, I’ll take care of things related to Baron Christine.”
It can be a bit complicated, but if William solves it in some way, there’s nothing wrong with it.
“Even if I express my opinion, there is no guarantee that the war will dampen the spirits of the main fighters.”
William snorted at my answer.
“Heh, what a boring joke.”
Well, if you believe in me that much, I think you have to use your strength. After talking a few more times with William, I looked at what Lena was doing, and it seemed that Jerbin was showing off his barbecue and wanting to play with him, but Lena didn’t seem very interested.
It is only here that Bakyu is a rare animal raised only in the imperial family, but in the new continent, Bakyu is overflowing, so Lena doesn’t seem to be very interested. Rather, the barque from the New Continent is bigger and smarter. Barque also seems to be influenced by Lena since it is based on plants.
After chatting with William and waiting for a while, Zerbin appeared with Lena.
“Bye Lena, see you next time”
Zerbin greeted Lena in a friendly way, but Lena looked a bit flustered.
“You know, brother”
That attitude of reluctantly greeting her is, after all, my daughter. Will there be something to come back to? I couldn’t guarantee anything, but Lena’s frequent visits to the imperial family wouldn’t be all that good for Jerbin.
After leaving the palace, Lena was scolded by Nivea for not having a good attitude towards William and Zerbin. I took Lena’s side a little bit and got scolded together.
“You didn’t have to do that for me.”
When it was time for just the two of them at night, Nivea cautiously opened her mouth.
“no. It was something I had to do someday. Rather, there is no opportunity like this if it is not now.”
“It doesn’t matter if you stay as you are now.”
“It’s still good, but only to get better.”
If the issue of Nivea’s nationality and territory is resolved, I plan to officially get married. Even now, Akasha’s territory and the New World recognize her as a de facto hostess, but I think that’s not enough.
A day later, I met the nobles and emperors separately. Everyone is familiar. and asked for their cooperation.
They weren’t the main ones either. He was just thinking of what would benefit the empire when war broke out.
To put it bluntly, it is now beneficial for the empire to wage war based on its surplus strength and expand its territory.
It is also a war that cannot be lost if the seven swords, the real power of the military, which can be said to be the core of the main battle, move.
But since William doesn’t want a war and has been asked to put the main fighters to rest, I’m going to do my part.
After meeting the great nobles, the heads of the two factions, I brought Argin and met the seven swords in turn. Argine, who was still suffering from Violetta, was told that she had something to do for a while, so she threw everything away and followed.
Even if the seven swords were the symbols of the imperial military, they were no better than a puppy in front of the swordsman.
And the power of religion was also used. As a saint, I visited the Daishinjeon in the imperial capital and gave a speech to the believers against war.
From noble mtl dot com.
The ripple effect of this, probably because the second saint’s prestige had not yet died, was quite large. Thanks to Argin, the core of the main propaganda group was silenced, and the public opinion that had risen little by little among the citizens was subdued by the power of religion.
Now I’ve done everything I could. Now it was time for William to keep his promise. A letter arrived from William. It was said that there would be good news soon.
For Argin, who escaped from Violetta, he decided to stay in the ecliptic a little longer.
The seven swords came to the mansion every day and asked Argin for instruction. He didn’t actually teach him how to wield a sword, but Argin’s throwing a few words seemed to be of great help.
In fact, Argin wanted to go to the place where Shaq and Howard smashed parts of the New World every day and sparred, but I couldn’t allow it because I didn’t know what I would hear from Violetta if they were away for a long time.
I was watching all the process William moved to handle Nivea’s business. What William and his ministers came up with was a kind of territorial exchange.
It is to propose a deal in which Nivea territory is received to the Nebra principality and the territory on the other side is given in return.
On the surface, it seems that there is no reason for the Sithon Kingdom to accept it, but this was a possible transaction attempt because they knew that Nivea and the witches were no longer regarded as their own strength within the Sithon Kingdom.
In fact, I was looking at the possibility that the Sithon kingdom would accept this.
Received a mission from the empire, competent diplomats were dispatched and went through the Principality of Nebra to the Kingdom of Saiton.
Me, Howard, Argin, Setas, and even Shark, who could be said to be at their maximum strength, were out on the narrow passage connecting the East and West continents.
“Is this the beginning?”
No one could answer Setas’ question. because no one knows Bastet suddenly disappeared around the time our family went to the ecliptic.
In front of our eyes, a jet-black hole about five meters high was open. It may be an entrance to a topological dimension or a passageway to another dimension.
It may or may not be a sign that Utuka is about to appear. All we could do was wait for something to pop out of this place.