112 – Conflict of Interest (4)
“…? What the hell do you want?”
Not too long ago, the sword fighting broke out at the university, and His Majesty was frightened and banned all duels within the royal domain, as well as factions for political purposes.
Nevertheless, my father asks me to re-form the faction that I had dissolved for the purpose of cultivating the cult, and to gather the children of the nobles belonging to the former Duchy of Burgon at the center. Excluding as much as possible those with strong political opinions among them.
‘Cliques for social purposes aren’t banned… But the atmosphere is so bad.’
Only factions for political purposes are prohibited by His Majesty, and factions for simple social gatherings have never been banned.
But that’s all there is to say, the factions in the social gathering have long since disbanded on their own for fear of getting caught by His Majesty, who is famous for his eccentric personality.
In this situation, even if I were the only one who tried to recreate the faction, it was clear that few people would gather. If I made a faction and a few people don’t get together, I’ll be the only one who gets humiliated.
‘Kuh, it’s completely upside down.’
By comparison, factions for political purposes are refusing to disband, claiming that they are social gatherings.
To say that the political faction survives and only the cult faction is disbanded is an act that goes directly against His Majesty’s edict, and it is certain that there will be problems someday.
I know that political factions survive by wearing masks, but don’t universities know that? The report must have already gone up to His Majesty.
Let’s write… In a situation like this, if you create a faction with social affiliation as the signboard, you’ll get suspicious eyes on your body. Aside from being able to gather people, even if they really did, if there was a guy who played in the political faction among them, it would be the end.
“Young master, what are you doing?”
“Ah, Marco. My father wants you to re-create the faction.”
“Hmm…”
Seeing my concern, Marco came to see what was going on. Hearing his father’s intention, he salivated.
That’s right. Marco, who waited on me and watched the situation at the university, must have the same thoughts as me. Since he is the same age as his father, he must have experienced many things and felt many things.
“How about carrying out Your Highness’ order?”
“Yes, I refused with a reason—- what?”
However, Marco gives an unexpected answer.
Listen to your father’s orders? There is no way that Marco is unaware of the dangers of forming a faction in this bloody situation.
“May I ask why?”
“Uhm… The ruler commands, so those who become subjects must obey, right?”
“…Don’t play around.”
“hahahahaha, I’m sorry. Umm… I don’t know where to begin…”
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Marco takes a break and slowly walks to the window.
The sunlight coming in from outside hits Marco’s whitened hair and beard and is reflected, and Marco’s bleached eyes stare blankly into space.
“Your Highness is obviously very impatient, hot-tempered, and reckless. Do you know what all these have in common?”
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Marco, who has been thinking hard about something for a while, finally opens his mouth.
What do you have in common? Uh… I guess I’m just being cranky…
“Well…? Father can’t be stopped? Surely he can’t be stopped, so he just gives up and listens to his father?”
“It’s true that I can’t stop Your Highness, but that doesn’t mean I want to listen to your orders. You only show that side when you’re sure you can claim something. In a word, you can eat a full meal right away. Waiting while you can means that it is impossible for Your Highness.”
However, if there are so many pitfalls that are hard to avoid until you get your hands on the meal, you don’t show any desire for that meal.
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Marco said that after taking a few deep breaths.
Hmm… I see what Marco wants to say.
“So your father was convinced that I could gain something by forming a cult?”
“Yes, boy.”
“I’m still a bit uneasy… My father doesn’t know the situation at all, so he might have made the wrong decision.”
“…Your Majesty, I’ve been a servant of the Berman family for decades, and your Highness has always calculated the number of cases and revealed this side of you when you judge with certainty.”
“Ah. Okay, okay. Why are you talking so hard all of a sudden?”
I’ve been watching you for decades as an attendant. I’ve been a vassal longer than my age, so you’re sarcastically saying that you know your father better than you do.
I feel ashamed if you suddenly scold me with such a serious face. It’s because Ji played the joke first.
“Kuhm… Anyway, I’ll have to follow my father’s orders. I’ll have to restore the disbanded social gathering and send out invitations to the nobles I’ve been interacting with again. I’ll make it clear that it’s not for political purposes, but honestly, I wonder if anyone will believe it? I don’t know.”
“Then I’ll prepare some stationery for them. Your hands will be busy.”
I hope it won’t happen outside of Your Majesty’s eyes.
“Oh, can I prepare a love letter for her?”
“Cool!! What? What kind of girl?”
“Mrs. Medici, who teaches medicine. Didn’t you like it?”
“…Don’t mind.”
…………
“About 60% of the political factions insisted on being an xie jiao and did not disband. In contrast, more than 90% of the factions that really were an xie jiao had disappeared, so it can be said that they were destroyed.”
“Hmm… I wonder why the cult faction disappeared when I said it was fine, but I’m glad the political faction survived as intended.”
“…”
What, why do you look like that?
Your eyes are a little… Stick out?
“Do you have anything to say?”
“…No, Your Majesty. I was just thinking about the future.”
“Yes? Then tell me. What should I do with them?”
It’s a very obvious statement, but I decided to just accept it. I was also curious about what happened in the future, which Leclerc put forward as an excuse.
“Those who still remain in the political faction must know their faults. Otherwise, there would be no reason to change the faction’s name to a social gathering.”
“Yes.”
“Then there is a very high possibility that duels forbidden by His Majesty will be passed over similarly to factions. For example, we will use the method of dueling each other in a completely enclosed room out of prying eyes. In fact, some There have been reports of many cases of students suffering mysterious injuries.”
Leclerc is right.
Doesn’t it make you want to do more of what people are told not to do? So far, no one has taken orders from anyone except the superiors in the family, and there is no way that the young nobles, who are hot-blooded, will listen to them properly.
Of course, I’m of a higher rank than their parents, grandparents, and if you don’t listen to me, a catastrophe will happen.
So… Yes, it’s similar to how many people find bears cute.
“You must have written down their list?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“For now, keep an eye on them and record any crimes or peculiarities they have committed. When the time comes, they will explode all at once and put pressure on their guardians.”
The first thing to think about when dealing with vassals is that the more excuses there are, the better.
Of course, they are people with emotions, not AI, so it’s not good to make them listen to me by threatening them only with excuses, but it’s good to have excuses even when you’re simply appeasing the nobles or teasing them. Because you have to be prepared for the unexpected.
Ah, of course those who still remain in the political faction will show bitterness. Those who jumped out of the political faction right away are admirable, so I’ll take care of them, but those who just changed their name and are still in the faction have deceived me.
‘Hmm… But it’s a bit ambiguous.’
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Most of their guardians are nobles from famous provinces, so if they punish them too harshly, big trouble will happen. The severity of the punishment must be carefully controlled… Umm…
‘What? What is this.’
While agonizing inwardly, I was skimming through the list of factions given by Leclerc, but there is one faction whose founding date stands out by itself. It is the only faction created after I issued the edict. Even the founder is the son of the Duke of Vermand.
Looking at the remarks section, it seems to be a faction for the purpose of xie jiao…
“Leclerc, is this really a faction for the purpose of cult?”
“What are you talking about? Ah, I’ve been curious about this too, so I’ve researched it closely, and it looks like it’s really a faction for xie jiao. There are a few nobles who have joined political cliques, but they avoid talking about political topics and only social. It’s because they’re only talking about purpose, and the founder has a history of creating factions for social purposes before.”
There are quite a few nobles who joined the faction. Ordinary aristocrats who have been wandering without a place to go since all the factions for social purposes have been disbanded are all focused there.
Aigoo, it’s also commendable. I was sad that all factions for social purposes suddenly disappeared, but I never thought there would be such a kind noble who would understand my intentions so well.
‘Yes, I should use this.’
I thought of a way to properly f*ck the nobles who disregarded my edicts. Besides, it’s a way for me not to dispose of it myself so I don’t get resentment.